Wilson asked for and got his
resignation
in early Feb.
A-Companion-to-the-Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound-II
S.
The problem of Cuba was one of the most difficult and treacherous o f Pierce's administration.
The South demanded that Cuba be "freed" from Spain.
What really frightened them were rU' mors that Cuba was on the point of freeing its slaves, an idea which was anathema to all slave~state politicians in the U.
S.
Proposi?
tions to either conquer the island or buy it were in the works for years.
The Gadsden Purchase had just passed by a narrow mar~ gin.
In May 1854 a secret agent returned from Cuba and reported it was all true.
Spain was getting ready to free Cuban slaves.
An uproar ensued in the Senate.
The situa?
tion was more complicated because of a movement in Spain itself to overthrow the government.
This revolution in the making was being financed by Great Britain.
Pierce was prepared to buy the island, but Congress would not pass the funds.
Abolitionists in the North would by no means have Cuba entered into the Union as another slave state.
At this point carne the plan to borrow the purchase price [Pierce, 266?
267, 329?
330, passim] .
24. France
. . .
Europe: For
some time
[40: 18].
Says Nichols:
"Au?
? 666
French statesman from a wealthy family of
bankers and Hnanciers who became head of
the ministry of Louis Philippe (1831). He
opposed the ancien regime and supported the constitutional monarchy.
In Broglie we read: "Mr. Perier has just
made an incalculable mistake, by the decree which replaces the statue of Buonaparte on the column in the Place Vendome. The Buo- napartist party, led by the Republicans and Monarchists, will gain fresh strength. " A footnote reads: "See Casimer Perier's an- nouncement which preceded the king's proc- lamation, ordering the statue of Napoleon to be replaced (Journal des Debats, April 12). " The document is headlined: "Paris, April 12th, 1831" [Memoirs, IV, 95].
27. Mme de Lieven: Dorothy de Benken- dorf, 1784-1857, married the Prince de Lie- ven (1800) and was appointed lady-in- waiting to the empress of Russia (1828); she developed strong relationships with many powerful men. "Canning, and later on Lord Grey were the most constant attendants of her salon" [Memoirs, III, 279]. She was thus in a position to side with the Englishmen who were messing up Talleyrand's efforts to convince England to help him create a long- lasting balance of power in Europe. Broglie does not use a phrase such as "that bitch. " But he does indicate the situation: "Lord Grey, influenced by Madame de Lieven, sought for pretexts to avoid all intervention of the part of England in a cause that was looked upon as lost" [Memoirs, IV, 164].
28. Mme de Stael: [100/717]. A similar sit- uation applied.
29. Bolivar: Sim6n Bolivar, 1783-1830,
South American revolutionist who was
called "the Liberator. " As president of
Greater Columbia, he organized the govern- ment of Peru and created the state named after him, Bolivia. Pis death just at the wrong moment tended to destabilize South America and European interests there.
30. Tolosa: [101 :53]. Town in the Basque
provinces of N Spain.
31. Gubbio: [101:54].
103/733
32. on pouvait manger: F, "they can eat. " Pound believed that the economic actions of Mussolini, following the dictate of all wise rulers to "Feed the people" [101/695], led to this result.
33. Picahia: [87:31,32].
34. T. to Broglie: Achille C. L. Victor, duc de Broglie, 1785-1870, premier of France (1835-1836). Talleyrand wrote him a letter dated 9 April 1833 in which he said: "I am a little surprised to hear the public opinion of Vienna; my recollections and my actual knowledge of that place, led me to believe that there was no such thing as public opin- ion in Vienna; society there has an opinion, but society is one; it is not divided and M. de Metternich is its leading spirit" [Memoirs, V ,9].
35. Mettemich: [50:13,27]. Clemens Wen- zel N. Lothar, Flirst von M. , 1773-1859, Austrian statesman and the most compelling force at the Congress of Vienna. As a voice of conservatism he was anathema to liberals for over a hundred years, especially because of his endorsement and promotion of the Holy Alliance proposed by Alexander I of Russia.
36. Maria Theresa: 1717-1780, empress con-
sort o f Francis I o f Bohemia and dowager empress on the accession of her son Jo- seph II in 1765, after which she carried out a series of agrarian reforms. During her time Vienna became a center of the arts and music. The only application possible is that Metternich, at the Congress of Vienna 35 years after her death, helped destroy her aspirations and the work she had done. She is not mentioned in Broglie.
o f Tuscany famous for swamps, snakes, and malaria [Int. XXV, 19-20]. T. S. Eliot made the place famous with his note to line 293 of The Waste Land, which cites "Siena mi fe', disfecemi Maremma" ("Siena made me, the
Maremma undid me"), said by La Pia [Pur. V ,133].
38. Hroosia: Russia. If the phrases are put
103/733-734
667
power in Europe after the revolution of
1830. Napoleon I had made members of his
family kings in various places. His eldest son,
Charles, was known as the king of Rome (1811-1814); Napoleon I abdicated in 1814 in favor of Charles, who technically became Napoleon II. He became a sad creature known in literature as "L'AigIet," and al- though he never ruled, he and his family had a strong political following allover Europe known as the Bonapartists. But others, in- cluding Broglie and T. , were now supporting the Monarchist party, which meant main- taining in power the restored Bourbon, Louis XVIII. While king of Rome Napo- leon II-to-be married Hortense de Beauhar- nais. When the family fell she lived as an exile in Switzerland, with her son, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (1808-1873), who would eventually become Emperor Napo- leon III (1852-1870). At a most inopportune moment, Charles, the presumptive heir, was killed fighting the war in the Papal States. That made the second son the heir; and he turned out to be in the last place he should be during delicate negotiations: Paris. In ear~ lier years, when T. had served Napoleon I in a number of official capacities, he had done much for Hortense. During her exile she had taken the title of duchesse de Saint-Leu, a fiefdom that in better times T. had helped attain for her. She called upon him now for help in getting passports for herself and her entourage; but her son, Louis, was ill at an embarrassing moment. T. allowed her to stay in Paris, hoping to be unnoticed, until the health of the young prince improved enough to allow them to travel to London. But they were discovered, and the press had a field day. Broglie says of this contretemps: "Be- fore continuing my dispatches, I must men- tion a matter of no great importance in itself, but which gave rise to the most absurd comments in certain newspapers" [Memoirs, IV, 120]. It seemed as if the public outcry might blow to bits all efforts to reach a resolution to the problem of a balance of power in Europe, and undo T. 's years of work. It didn't. The final irony, however, may be that the young prince's health im-
37. Maremma:
Italian coastal
section
40. B. Mussolini: A trap for M had been laid, which he expected. Says M de R: "Mus- soHni was prepared for treachery, but not on the King's doorstep" [Discretions, 184].
41. Predappio: Village of Romany, south of ForH; hometown of Mussolini, who made the remark above to a man from there.
42. Knole: Perhaps the family seat in Knole and the Sackvilles, by V. Sackville-West. The chronicle, beginning in Elizabethan times, is sad enough.
43. Warsaw: In a letter to Talleyrand (Dec. 12, 1830), Madame Adelaide expresses sadness about the situation brought about at the Congress of Vienna which eventually led to another partition of Poland: "how star- tling is the news of the Revolution at War- saw. . . . Ah! if Prussia and Austria would only understand their own interests, how splendid it would be for England and our- selves, if we could obtain a fairer and more tolerable state of things for poor unhappy Poland! . . . The Powers are now reaping what the Holy Alliance sowed" [Memoirs, 1II,321].
44. de Vaux: Louis de V. , 1766-1841, who founded the Journal des Debats, which at first was interested in arts and literature. He lost this journal but edited others and seemed to conform to the tastes of the time. In 1830, however, he vigorously supported the monarchical party [Memoirs, IV, 51 ff. ].
45. (the Archbishop): This representative of
the church is an ironic picture of an authori- ty whose grasp of events in indicated by his belief that such things as sacred relics are significant [cf. 47 below].
. . .
T
into the mouth of Vienna personified, we would have the sequence "Maria made me, Metternich [with the contrivance of Alex- ander I of Russia] undid me. "
39. '"tranne
of the king. "
. . .
re": I,
"except in the house
46. St Leu
volve a detail that, ironically, complicated and delayed the resolution of the balance of
Talleyrand:
These lines in-
? ? I
668
103/734
France. . . . I have, perhaps, dwelt too long on this very uninteresting person, but this digression was necessary in order to expose the hot? bed of intrigue which impeded the progress of our affairs in England" [Mem? oirs, III, 309]. Pound would not caIl it a digression. He would call such things lumi? nous details at the heart of the matter. Dur? ing the decade in which these cantos were written, the same nations of Europe were struggling for position and power, as they always had been, only now the tentacles of intrigue reached into every corner of the world; and the U. S. was in the grip of such public panics as the McCarthy scandals, the Alger Hiss trials, and other cold? war battles. These considerations gave way at times to
such things as the vicuna coat seen as a bribe to Eisenhower's chief of staff, Sherman Adams.
103/734
shu the Troublemaker" in Frobenius. Prob.
Joachim von Ribbentrop or the jolli"~[i1ist Alfred? Ingemar Berndt, who added azerino the reported casualties of 5000 to get 50,000 [EH, Pai, 1? 1,86? 88].
53. 1831 . . . : Says Griffis: "Two great measures, the abolition of imprisonment for debt and that of religious tests for witnesses in the Empire State, are to be credited to Millard Fillmore. The first [was] passed by the assembly, April 2nd, 1831"
[Fillmore,S].
54. John Quinn: [12: 18]. A lawyer ofIrish background, 1870? 1924, who became a rna? jor supporter of artists in the 20th? century revolutions. His first law partner, Bainbridge Colby, was appointed by Wilson to be his new secretary of state in Feb. 1920. The furor in the press prompted Quinn (who hated Wilson and all he stood for) to volun? teer his services to represent Colby before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: "He worked hard for six consecutive days on the matter and apparently turned it into another oneman show, and a successful one . . . . Colby was painlessly instated on March 27" [Reid, The Man/rom New York, 460? 461].
55. Lansing's . . . : Robert L. , 1864? 1928, secretary of state, 1915? 1920, lost Wilson's favor by calling several meetings of the cabi? net during Wilson's illness.
Wilson asked for and got his resignation in early Feb. 1920
[ibid. ] .
56. 1841 Fillimore: Millard Fillmore, 1800? 1874, 13th president of the U. S. (1850? 1853). In his struggle for primacy among New York Whigs in the 1830s, he lost the speakership of the House to Henry Clay; but as runner-up, he became chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and thus, in 1841, was able to direct the finances of the nation. In addition to over a decade of squabbles about renewing the charter of the Bank of the United States, new conflicts arose over the use of the millions of dollars of income received from the sale of federal lands. A thirty? year struggle between "Free
669
Soilers" and those who wanted to buy land cheap for speculation, as well as fights over tariffs, reached many climaxes: "In 1841 the industrial forces had reassembled their strength in the Whig party. . . . To lead them into battle . . . they had chosen . . . Millard Fillmore" [Rayback, Fillmore, 126].
57. Wolverine . . . : Also in 1841,MFtooka statesmanlike stand on the "Caroline" affair: "During the Patriot War in Canada . . . a virtual invasion of the soil of the United States took place. " On Dec 29, 1837, armed Canadians boarded the American steamer Caroline, set it afire, and headed it blazing for Niagara Falls. The British government took responsibility and knighted the instiga? tor. Congress took to incendiary oratory. War seemed to 100m. Knowing we had no naval forces on the Great Lakes, Fillmore pleaded for good sense saying, "The best way to avoid a war with Great Britain is to show that we are prepared to meet her. " And while other Congressmen "vapored and threatened," he said: "Reasonable prepara- tions for defense are better than gasconad- ing" [Fillmore, 17]. "Not content with words, Mr. Fillmore on Feb. 25th, 1841, sought . . . to provide for American duplica- tion of British Naval armaments on the lakes" [ibid. , 18]. Eventually the first iron man? of? war, was built, which people ex? pected to see sink at its launching. Named the Wolverine, it set forth to engage the British; but the British, daunted by such a unsinkable monster, decided peace would be a better option. Says Griffis: "The issue of the Caroline affair [guided by MF] was ere? ditable to both nations. The treaty . . . created a precedent for the future, when war will be deemed barbarism. I t dismantled every fort and dismounted every gun, Ameri- can and British, along a frontier of three thousand miles" [ibid. ].
58. Telegraph bill: In the years of struggle to get his invention patented in England and France, Morse came to Congress in 1842 for an appropriation of $30,000 to test his dis? covery on a forty~mile line between Washing- ton and Baltimore. Sneers and ridicule pre-
proved and he lived to undo T. 's work in 1870. (N. B. : Citizen Talleyrand of the 1st Republic, while serving Napoleon I, had helped confer upon Hortense the titles in the lines. )
47. "a sapphire . . . skeleton: Charlemagne [89:201], during the centuries after his death, grew into a mythic figure of enor? mous proportions. His accomplishments both real and imagined were behind the for? mation of the Holy Roman Empire. He was canonized in 1165 by the Antipope Pas? chal III. In 1215 his tomb was opened and his remains, including all the sacred relics, were transferred to a splendid shrine, where they were exhibited once every 6 years. His image and accomplishments were in Napo- leon 1'8 mind when he made himself emperor
in 1804.
48. Mme de Genlis: [Ill :6]. Felicite Duc? rest de Saint-Augin, marquise de SillefY, comtesse de Genlis, 1746? 1830, married Charles Brulart, a captain in the navy, who was guillotined with the Girondists in 1793. The comtesse became an emigre in 1792 but returned in 1800 to be well received by the consular court. She became famous as the author of a number of novels and books on education. "under the Empire, she wrote every other week in different periodicals, at the request of Napoleon himself' [Memoirs, I, 123]. Broglie says much about the com? tesse but mentions no paintings. He does say: "M. de Celles had married the daughter of General Vallence) who had married a daughter o f Mdme. de GenIis. Mdme de Cel1es' sister was married to Marshal Gerard, who had been made War Minister after the revolution of July. Mdme. de Genlis' other daughter, the Marquise de Laevestine, mar~ ried to a Belgian, had left a son, who had distinguished himself as one of the leaders of the Buonapartist party in France. It will be seen what great inflUence this relationship gave M. de Celles, through Mdme. de Genlis, with the Palais Royale, and through Marshal Gerard with the government. It was by these means that he intrigued and plotted, to se? cure the re-union of Belgium with
. . .
credited with the unification of Germany, an
accomplishment that made him believe he could defeat France. He was right at least in the Franco-Prussian War.
49.
Bismarck
: [ef. 25
above].
He is
50. Ivar Kreuger: 1880? 1932,
gineer and financial tycoon who came to the United States and set up construction com- panies and the firm of Kreuger and Toll. In 1913 he formed a match trust that expanded from steel into forests and mines. After WWI his empire became international and special- ized in fraud, which made him a giant of usurocrats. He was discovered and com- mitted suicide. The investigation showed he had bilked his investors of more than $1/2 billion.
51. Lorrimer's paper: George Horace Lori- mer, 1867? 1937, editor of the Saturday Eve? ning Post, president of Curtis Publishing Co. , and a neighbor of the Pounds at Wyncote. He lived 2 doors away and used to take a shortcut through their backyard. Lorimer would certainly think a crook like Kreuger a titan. Pound said: "Lorimer honestly didn't know that there ever had been a civilization"
[GK,89].
52. Edishu . . . : Pseudonym based on "Ed?
a Swedish
en?
? 670
103/735
103/735
671
vailed in the Congress. Said MF later: "I, however, advocated the bill, and though I could not say that the telegraph would do all its inventor had predicted . . . I thought it waS possible, and even probable that it might . . . and $30,000 was not much for the nation to pay on a contingency of this kind, and the bill was passed and became law on the 3rd of March, 1843" [Griffis, Fillmore, 26J.
59. Griffith: [78/481J.
60. ut delectet: [delectatJ : L, "for amusement. "
61. Mat Quay: Matthew Stanley Q. , 1833- 1904, lawyer, Civil War veteran, Pa. poli- tician; he became chairman of the Republi- can National Committee in 1888. As U. S. senator, 1887-1899, he faced serious charges of financial and political corruption, none of which seemed to go so far as the secret reading of Greek.
62. Mr. Beecher . . . Boston: [40:17J. Be- hind these lines lies the bizarre incident upon which the U. S. approached a state of war with Austria in 1849. Austrian refugees, led by one Louis Kossuth, fled to Turkey because of intolerable oppression. Kossuth mastered English and sent an address to the American people, which created "instant and sympathetic excitement because of its hope for liberty and justice. " In 1849 Presi- dent Taylor sent an envoy "to Austria and Hungary to get the real facts in the case. " An Austrian envoy didn't arrive until after Taylor's death, but as soon as Fillmore was inaugurated, the envoy sent an official pra-
test that accused the U. S. of sending a spy to Austria and, among other things, threatened war. Fillmore's answer was, "the Govern- ment of the United States is willing to take its chances and abide its destiny. " He also said that, if the president's agent of inquiry were treated as a spy, "instant reprisal" would result, "to be waged to the utmost exertion of the Republic military and na- val. " Fillmore sent a ship to Turkey to res- cue the fugitives; but when Kossuth got to the U. S. he turned out to be a flamboyant
can man, rather than one "to touch the m . , d heart of the thinking man . . . [orJ t o ' . e the men worth moving. " That did not include Henry Ward Beecher, for whom rabble-rousing was a favorite sport. He joined in the movement called "Kos- suthism," which Some aspirants to fame and power saw as a way to become the next president. Says Griffis: "When he lectured in Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, Mr. Beecher carried some rusty canon balls, alleged to be from Bunker Hill, into the pulpit. Other ministers went wild" [Fillmore, 77-84J.
63. Nara . . . : First permanant capital of Japan (710-784), Nara is an ancient cultural and religious center with Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Says Griffis: "In 1854, the Japanese saw the first formal display of modern industries and inventions, by the seashore of a region which, in Nara days, was in their uncivilized 'far East. ''' And, "This was a thousand years after that first exhibi- tion in Japan of Greek, Persian, Hindoo, Korean and Chinese arts at Nara-and in a building erected A. D. 784 and still standing, the oldest wooden edifice in the world- which placed their island country at the head of all schools of art in Asia" [Fillmore, 85J.
64. Perry: [88:74J. On July 14, 1853 he presented his papers, induding a letter from President Millard Fillmore, to the emperor. On March 31, 1854 a treaty was concluded between Japan and the United States.
65. Sow-face: In 1944 (90 years after Per- ry's treaty) FDR was finishing his war against Japan: he is prob. intended by this epithet.
. . .
color. . . . It is a common superstition, grow- ing out of the colossal conceit of the average American, that Commodore Perry virtually created the New Japan.
24. France
. . .
Europe: For
some time
[40: 18].
Says Nichols:
"Au?
? 666
French statesman from a wealthy family of
bankers and Hnanciers who became head of
the ministry of Louis Philippe (1831). He
opposed the ancien regime and supported the constitutional monarchy.
In Broglie we read: "Mr. Perier has just
made an incalculable mistake, by the decree which replaces the statue of Buonaparte on the column in the Place Vendome. The Buo- napartist party, led by the Republicans and Monarchists, will gain fresh strength. " A footnote reads: "See Casimer Perier's an- nouncement which preceded the king's proc- lamation, ordering the statue of Napoleon to be replaced (Journal des Debats, April 12). " The document is headlined: "Paris, April 12th, 1831" [Memoirs, IV, 95].
27. Mme de Lieven: Dorothy de Benken- dorf, 1784-1857, married the Prince de Lie- ven (1800) and was appointed lady-in- waiting to the empress of Russia (1828); she developed strong relationships with many powerful men. "Canning, and later on Lord Grey were the most constant attendants of her salon" [Memoirs, III, 279]. She was thus in a position to side with the Englishmen who were messing up Talleyrand's efforts to convince England to help him create a long- lasting balance of power in Europe. Broglie does not use a phrase such as "that bitch. " But he does indicate the situation: "Lord Grey, influenced by Madame de Lieven, sought for pretexts to avoid all intervention of the part of England in a cause that was looked upon as lost" [Memoirs, IV, 164].
28. Mme de Stael: [100/717]. A similar sit- uation applied.
29. Bolivar: Sim6n Bolivar, 1783-1830,
South American revolutionist who was
called "the Liberator. " As president of
Greater Columbia, he organized the govern- ment of Peru and created the state named after him, Bolivia. Pis death just at the wrong moment tended to destabilize South America and European interests there.
30. Tolosa: [101 :53]. Town in the Basque
provinces of N Spain.
31. Gubbio: [101:54].
103/733
32. on pouvait manger: F, "they can eat. " Pound believed that the economic actions of Mussolini, following the dictate of all wise rulers to "Feed the people" [101/695], led to this result.
33. Picahia: [87:31,32].
34. T. to Broglie: Achille C. L. Victor, duc de Broglie, 1785-1870, premier of France (1835-1836). Talleyrand wrote him a letter dated 9 April 1833 in which he said: "I am a little surprised to hear the public opinion of Vienna; my recollections and my actual knowledge of that place, led me to believe that there was no such thing as public opin- ion in Vienna; society there has an opinion, but society is one; it is not divided and M. de Metternich is its leading spirit" [Memoirs, V ,9].
35. Mettemich: [50:13,27]. Clemens Wen- zel N. Lothar, Flirst von M. , 1773-1859, Austrian statesman and the most compelling force at the Congress of Vienna. As a voice of conservatism he was anathema to liberals for over a hundred years, especially because of his endorsement and promotion of the Holy Alliance proposed by Alexander I of Russia.
36. Maria Theresa: 1717-1780, empress con-
sort o f Francis I o f Bohemia and dowager empress on the accession of her son Jo- seph II in 1765, after which she carried out a series of agrarian reforms. During her time Vienna became a center of the arts and music. The only application possible is that Metternich, at the Congress of Vienna 35 years after her death, helped destroy her aspirations and the work she had done. She is not mentioned in Broglie.
o f Tuscany famous for swamps, snakes, and malaria [Int. XXV, 19-20]. T. S. Eliot made the place famous with his note to line 293 of The Waste Land, which cites "Siena mi fe', disfecemi Maremma" ("Siena made me, the
Maremma undid me"), said by La Pia [Pur. V ,133].
38. Hroosia: Russia. If the phrases are put
103/733-734
667
power in Europe after the revolution of
1830. Napoleon I had made members of his
family kings in various places. His eldest son,
Charles, was known as the king of Rome (1811-1814); Napoleon I abdicated in 1814 in favor of Charles, who technically became Napoleon II. He became a sad creature known in literature as "L'AigIet," and al- though he never ruled, he and his family had a strong political following allover Europe known as the Bonapartists. But others, in- cluding Broglie and T. , were now supporting the Monarchist party, which meant main- taining in power the restored Bourbon, Louis XVIII. While king of Rome Napo- leon II-to-be married Hortense de Beauhar- nais. When the family fell she lived as an exile in Switzerland, with her son, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (1808-1873), who would eventually become Emperor Napo- leon III (1852-1870). At a most inopportune moment, Charles, the presumptive heir, was killed fighting the war in the Papal States. That made the second son the heir; and he turned out to be in the last place he should be during delicate negotiations: Paris. In ear~ lier years, when T. had served Napoleon I in a number of official capacities, he had done much for Hortense. During her exile she had taken the title of duchesse de Saint-Leu, a fiefdom that in better times T. had helped attain for her. She called upon him now for help in getting passports for herself and her entourage; but her son, Louis, was ill at an embarrassing moment. T. allowed her to stay in Paris, hoping to be unnoticed, until the health of the young prince improved enough to allow them to travel to London. But they were discovered, and the press had a field day. Broglie says of this contretemps: "Be- fore continuing my dispatches, I must men- tion a matter of no great importance in itself, but which gave rise to the most absurd comments in certain newspapers" [Memoirs, IV, 120]. It seemed as if the public outcry might blow to bits all efforts to reach a resolution to the problem of a balance of power in Europe, and undo T. 's years of work. It didn't. The final irony, however, may be that the young prince's health im-
37. Maremma:
Italian coastal
section
40. B. Mussolini: A trap for M had been laid, which he expected. Says M de R: "Mus- soHni was prepared for treachery, but not on the King's doorstep" [Discretions, 184].
41. Predappio: Village of Romany, south of ForH; hometown of Mussolini, who made the remark above to a man from there.
42. Knole: Perhaps the family seat in Knole and the Sackvilles, by V. Sackville-West. The chronicle, beginning in Elizabethan times, is sad enough.
43. Warsaw: In a letter to Talleyrand (Dec. 12, 1830), Madame Adelaide expresses sadness about the situation brought about at the Congress of Vienna which eventually led to another partition of Poland: "how star- tling is the news of the Revolution at War- saw. . . . Ah! if Prussia and Austria would only understand their own interests, how splendid it would be for England and our- selves, if we could obtain a fairer and more tolerable state of things for poor unhappy Poland! . . . The Powers are now reaping what the Holy Alliance sowed" [Memoirs, 1II,321].
44. de Vaux: Louis de V. , 1766-1841, who founded the Journal des Debats, which at first was interested in arts and literature. He lost this journal but edited others and seemed to conform to the tastes of the time. In 1830, however, he vigorously supported the monarchical party [Memoirs, IV, 51 ff. ].
45. (the Archbishop): This representative of
the church is an ironic picture of an authori- ty whose grasp of events in indicated by his belief that such things as sacred relics are significant [cf. 47 below].
. . .
T
into the mouth of Vienna personified, we would have the sequence "Maria made me, Metternich [with the contrivance of Alex- ander I of Russia] undid me. "
39. '"tranne
of the king. "
. . .
re": I,
"except in the house
46. St Leu
volve a detail that, ironically, complicated and delayed the resolution of the balance of
Talleyrand:
These lines in-
? ? I
668
103/734
France. . . . I have, perhaps, dwelt too long on this very uninteresting person, but this digression was necessary in order to expose the hot? bed of intrigue which impeded the progress of our affairs in England" [Mem? oirs, III, 309]. Pound would not caIl it a digression. He would call such things lumi? nous details at the heart of the matter. Dur? ing the decade in which these cantos were written, the same nations of Europe were struggling for position and power, as they always had been, only now the tentacles of intrigue reached into every corner of the world; and the U. S. was in the grip of such public panics as the McCarthy scandals, the Alger Hiss trials, and other cold? war battles. These considerations gave way at times to
such things as the vicuna coat seen as a bribe to Eisenhower's chief of staff, Sherman Adams.
103/734
shu the Troublemaker" in Frobenius. Prob.
Joachim von Ribbentrop or the jolli"~[i1ist Alfred? Ingemar Berndt, who added azerino the reported casualties of 5000 to get 50,000 [EH, Pai, 1? 1,86? 88].
53. 1831 . . . : Says Griffis: "Two great measures, the abolition of imprisonment for debt and that of religious tests for witnesses in the Empire State, are to be credited to Millard Fillmore. The first [was] passed by the assembly, April 2nd, 1831"
[Fillmore,S].
54. John Quinn: [12: 18]. A lawyer ofIrish background, 1870? 1924, who became a rna? jor supporter of artists in the 20th? century revolutions. His first law partner, Bainbridge Colby, was appointed by Wilson to be his new secretary of state in Feb. 1920. The furor in the press prompted Quinn (who hated Wilson and all he stood for) to volun? teer his services to represent Colby before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: "He worked hard for six consecutive days on the matter and apparently turned it into another oneman show, and a successful one . . . . Colby was painlessly instated on March 27" [Reid, The Man/rom New York, 460? 461].
55. Lansing's . . . : Robert L. , 1864? 1928, secretary of state, 1915? 1920, lost Wilson's favor by calling several meetings of the cabi? net during Wilson's illness.
Wilson asked for and got his resignation in early Feb. 1920
[ibid. ] .
56. 1841 Fillimore: Millard Fillmore, 1800? 1874, 13th president of the U. S. (1850? 1853). In his struggle for primacy among New York Whigs in the 1830s, he lost the speakership of the House to Henry Clay; but as runner-up, he became chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and thus, in 1841, was able to direct the finances of the nation. In addition to over a decade of squabbles about renewing the charter of the Bank of the United States, new conflicts arose over the use of the millions of dollars of income received from the sale of federal lands. A thirty? year struggle between "Free
669
Soilers" and those who wanted to buy land cheap for speculation, as well as fights over tariffs, reached many climaxes: "In 1841 the industrial forces had reassembled their strength in the Whig party. . . . To lead them into battle . . . they had chosen . . . Millard Fillmore" [Rayback, Fillmore, 126].
57. Wolverine . . . : Also in 1841,MFtooka statesmanlike stand on the "Caroline" affair: "During the Patriot War in Canada . . . a virtual invasion of the soil of the United States took place. " On Dec 29, 1837, armed Canadians boarded the American steamer Caroline, set it afire, and headed it blazing for Niagara Falls. The British government took responsibility and knighted the instiga? tor. Congress took to incendiary oratory. War seemed to 100m. Knowing we had no naval forces on the Great Lakes, Fillmore pleaded for good sense saying, "The best way to avoid a war with Great Britain is to show that we are prepared to meet her. " And while other Congressmen "vapored and threatened," he said: "Reasonable prepara- tions for defense are better than gasconad- ing" [Fillmore, 17]. "Not content with words, Mr. Fillmore on Feb. 25th, 1841, sought . . . to provide for American duplica- tion of British Naval armaments on the lakes" [ibid. , 18]. Eventually the first iron man? of? war, was built, which people ex? pected to see sink at its launching. Named the Wolverine, it set forth to engage the British; but the British, daunted by such a unsinkable monster, decided peace would be a better option. Says Griffis: "The issue of the Caroline affair [guided by MF] was ere? ditable to both nations. The treaty . . . created a precedent for the future, when war will be deemed barbarism. I t dismantled every fort and dismounted every gun, Ameri- can and British, along a frontier of three thousand miles" [ibid. ].
58. Telegraph bill: In the years of struggle to get his invention patented in England and France, Morse came to Congress in 1842 for an appropriation of $30,000 to test his dis? covery on a forty~mile line between Washing- ton and Baltimore. Sneers and ridicule pre-
proved and he lived to undo T. 's work in 1870. (N. B. : Citizen Talleyrand of the 1st Republic, while serving Napoleon I, had helped confer upon Hortense the titles in the lines. )
47. "a sapphire . . . skeleton: Charlemagne [89:201], during the centuries after his death, grew into a mythic figure of enor? mous proportions. His accomplishments both real and imagined were behind the for? mation of the Holy Roman Empire. He was canonized in 1165 by the Antipope Pas? chal III. In 1215 his tomb was opened and his remains, including all the sacred relics, were transferred to a splendid shrine, where they were exhibited once every 6 years. His image and accomplishments were in Napo- leon 1'8 mind when he made himself emperor
in 1804.
48. Mme de Genlis: [Ill :6]. Felicite Duc? rest de Saint-Augin, marquise de SillefY, comtesse de Genlis, 1746? 1830, married Charles Brulart, a captain in the navy, who was guillotined with the Girondists in 1793. The comtesse became an emigre in 1792 but returned in 1800 to be well received by the consular court. She became famous as the author of a number of novels and books on education. "under the Empire, she wrote every other week in different periodicals, at the request of Napoleon himself' [Memoirs, I, 123]. Broglie says much about the com? tesse but mentions no paintings. He does say: "M. de Celles had married the daughter of General Vallence) who had married a daughter o f Mdme. de GenIis. Mdme de Cel1es' sister was married to Marshal Gerard, who had been made War Minister after the revolution of July. Mdme. de Genlis' other daughter, the Marquise de Laevestine, mar~ ried to a Belgian, had left a son, who had distinguished himself as one of the leaders of the Buonapartist party in France. It will be seen what great inflUence this relationship gave M. de Celles, through Mdme. de Genlis, with the Palais Royale, and through Marshal Gerard with the government. It was by these means that he intrigued and plotted, to se? cure the re-union of Belgium with
. . .
credited with the unification of Germany, an
accomplishment that made him believe he could defeat France. He was right at least in the Franco-Prussian War.
49.
Bismarck
: [ef. 25
above].
He is
50. Ivar Kreuger: 1880? 1932,
gineer and financial tycoon who came to the United States and set up construction com- panies and the firm of Kreuger and Toll. In 1913 he formed a match trust that expanded from steel into forests and mines. After WWI his empire became international and special- ized in fraud, which made him a giant of usurocrats. He was discovered and com- mitted suicide. The investigation showed he had bilked his investors of more than $1/2 billion.
51. Lorrimer's paper: George Horace Lori- mer, 1867? 1937, editor of the Saturday Eve? ning Post, president of Curtis Publishing Co. , and a neighbor of the Pounds at Wyncote. He lived 2 doors away and used to take a shortcut through their backyard. Lorimer would certainly think a crook like Kreuger a titan. Pound said: "Lorimer honestly didn't know that there ever had been a civilization"
[GK,89].
52. Edishu . . . : Pseudonym based on "Ed?
a Swedish
en?
? 670
103/735
103/735
671
vailed in the Congress. Said MF later: "I, however, advocated the bill, and though I could not say that the telegraph would do all its inventor had predicted . . . I thought it waS possible, and even probable that it might . . . and $30,000 was not much for the nation to pay on a contingency of this kind, and the bill was passed and became law on the 3rd of March, 1843" [Griffis, Fillmore, 26J.
59. Griffith: [78/481J.
60. ut delectet: [delectatJ : L, "for amusement. "
61. Mat Quay: Matthew Stanley Q. , 1833- 1904, lawyer, Civil War veteran, Pa. poli- tician; he became chairman of the Republi- can National Committee in 1888. As U. S. senator, 1887-1899, he faced serious charges of financial and political corruption, none of which seemed to go so far as the secret reading of Greek.
62. Mr. Beecher . . . Boston: [40:17J. Be- hind these lines lies the bizarre incident upon which the U. S. approached a state of war with Austria in 1849. Austrian refugees, led by one Louis Kossuth, fled to Turkey because of intolerable oppression. Kossuth mastered English and sent an address to the American people, which created "instant and sympathetic excitement because of its hope for liberty and justice. " In 1849 Presi- dent Taylor sent an envoy "to Austria and Hungary to get the real facts in the case. " An Austrian envoy didn't arrive until after Taylor's death, but as soon as Fillmore was inaugurated, the envoy sent an official pra-
test that accused the U. S. of sending a spy to Austria and, among other things, threatened war. Fillmore's answer was, "the Govern- ment of the United States is willing to take its chances and abide its destiny. " He also said that, if the president's agent of inquiry were treated as a spy, "instant reprisal" would result, "to be waged to the utmost exertion of the Republic military and na- val. " Fillmore sent a ship to Turkey to res- cue the fugitives; but when Kossuth got to the U. S. he turned out to be a flamboyant
can man, rather than one "to touch the m . , d heart of the thinking man . . . [orJ t o ' . e the men worth moving. " That did not include Henry Ward Beecher, for whom rabble-rousing was a favorite sport. He joined in the movement called "Kos- suthism," which Some aspirants to fame and power saw as a way to become the next president. Says Griffis: "When he lectured in Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, Mr. Beecher carried some rusty canon balls, alleged to be from Bunker Hill, into the pulpit. Other ministers went wild" [Fillmore, 77-84J.
63. Nara . . . : First permanant capital of Japan (710-784), Nara is an ancient cultural and religious center with Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Says Griffis: "In 1854, the Japanese saw the first formal display of modern industries and inventions, by the seashore of a region which, in Nara days, was in their uncivilized 'far East. ''' And, "This was a thousand years after that first exhibi- tion in Japan of Greek, Persian, Hindoo, Korean and Chinese arts at Nara-and in a building erected A. D. 784 and still standing, the oldest wooden edifice in the world- which placed their island country at the head of all schools of art in Asia" [Fillmore, 85J.
64. Perry: [88:74J. On July 14, 1853 he presented his papers, induding a letter from President Millard Fillmore, to the emperor. On March 31, 1854 a treaty was concluded between Japan and the United States.
65. Sow-face: In 1944 (90 years after Per- ry's treaty) FDR was finishing his war against Japan: he is prob. intended by this epithet.
. . .
color. . . . It is a common superstition, grow- ing out of the colossal conceit of the average American, that Commodore Perry virtually created the New Japan.
