As if to give us an historical annotation on the
announcement that Victor Emanuel is to reach Berlin on the 22nd inst., General La Marmora has just published a curious volume, of which all we know at present is derived from the letter of the Turin corre- spondent of Thursday's Journal des Ddbats. The publication is called " A Little Light on the Political and Military Events of 1866," and recounts, in fact, the origin of the Prusso-Italian alliance. There are several curious points in this political revela- tion,—one illustrating Cavour's foresight, since it tells us that even in January, 1861, shortly before his death, Cavour had pointed out to Prussia that no power was more likely to make a great use of the fertile " principle of nationalities " than Prussia ; and another, showing that Bismarck courted Italy most eagerly at the time of the differences with Austria, in relation to the conquest of Schleswig-Holstein in August, 1865,—a year before the war actually broke out,—Count Usedom having told General La Marmora in one of his visits that war with Austria was " decided on,"—and this just before the Con- vention of Gastein, which we conjecture to have been the result of the cold reception given by La Marmara to Bismarck's advances.
