THE EUROPEAN CONCERT AT CONSTANTINOPLE AND SHERIDAN'S "CRITIC." [To THE
EDITOR OF THE • SPECTATOR."' SIE,—The European Concert as represented by the Ambas- sadors of the Great Powers at Constantinople seems to be well foreshadowed in Scene 1, act iii., of Sheridan's Critic "[The two nieces draw their two daggers to strike Whiskerando, the two uncles at the instant, with their two swords drawn, catch their two nieces' arms and turn the points of their swords to Whiskerando, who immediately draws two daggers and holds them to their nieces' bosoms.] Puff : There's a situation for you! there's an heroic group ! You see the ladies [three in this case,—England, France, and Italy] can't stab Whiskerando for fear of their uncles [Austria, Germany, and Russia],—the uncles dare not kill him because of their nieces. I have them all at a deadlock,—for every one of them is afraid to let go first." At the same time, the said Grand Concert of the Great Powers seems to be another edition of the Congress of Vienna of 1814, which founded the somewhat blasphemously—so- called—Holy Alliance, which all in the interests of peace, God save the mark divided out the nations of Europe just as it seemed good to them, without the slightest regard for the feelings or wishes of Italians, Poles, Belgians, Greeks, Roumanians, Bulgarians, &c., and suppressed three Re- publics, each of millenary antiquity, Genoa, Venice, and Ragusa, handing over the beat part of Italy to Austria, the suppliant deputations and remonstranta on the part of Italy being referred by Lord Castlereagh to their " Master," the said "Master" being, by the dictate of the said Congress, the Emperor of Austria. All these arbitrary assignments of unwilling populations to " Masters " by the very Holy Alliance had subsequently to be undone at the expense of a good deal of revolution, blood-letting, and treasure-spilling, and so will it be with whatever the sapient diplomatists at Constantinople, backed up by their respective Governments, may in their wisdom choose to decide.
What a pity there cannot be sent such a solution as settled the cavil of Sneer in the Critic :- " Sneer : Why, then they must stand there so for ever !
Puff : So they would, if I hadn't a very fine Contrivance for't,— Now mind—
[Enter Beefeater with his halberd.
Beefeater : In the Queen's name I charge you to drop your swords and daggers. [They drop their swords and daggers. Sneer : That is a Contrivance, indeed !
Puff: Ay,—in the Queen's name. Therefore, in the Queen's, in humanity's, name I charge you all to drop your swords and daggers."
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