The moon was high ere we reached the ship, where I found all the passengers assembled upon deck.  One after another they disappeared below, until I was left alone.  I know no spot so conducive to reflection as the deserted deck of a ship at anchor on a lovely night, and in a genial latitude.  In this instance, however, my thoughts assumed more of a speculative than retrospective character, large as was the field for the indulgence of the latter.  The shades of emperors and doges faded away, giving place to the more terrestrial forms of living sovereigns; and the wild shouts of the Moslem conquerors resolved themselves into the ‘Vive l’Empereur’ of an army doing battle for an idea.  Let Austria look to herself, that, when the hour of struggle shall arrive, as arrive it will, she be not found sleeping.  Should Napoleon once more espouse the Italian cause, should he hurl his armies upon the Quadrilateral, who can doubt but that a diversion of a more or less important character will be attempted in the rear of the empire?  But even though he should let slip the notable occasion presented to him by a rising among the Italian subjects of Austria, the evil day will only be postponed.  I believe that, not content with the humiliation of that power at Villafranca, he will take advantage of any opportunity which disorder in the neighbouring Turkish provinces may offer him to aim a blow at her on her Dalmatian frontier, as a means to the gigantic end of crippling her, and with her ultimately the entire German Confederation.  It is a great scheme, and doubtless one of many in that fertile brain.  If Austria should resolve to defend her Venetian territory, as it may be presumed she will, she should spare no labour to strengthen her fortresses in the Adriatic.  On the Dalmatian coast, Zara, Lissa, Pola, and Cattaro are all capable of making a very respectable defence in the event of their being attacked; while, to quote the words of Rear-Admiral Count Bernhard von Wuellersdorf and Urban, ’An Austrian squadron at Cattaro would be very dangerous to any hostile squadron on the Italian coast, as its cruisers would cut off all transports of coal, provisions, &c. &c.,—­in a word, render the communication of the hostile squadron with the Mediterranean very difficult....  Lissa is the keystone of the Adriatic.  This island, the importance of which in former times was never denied, commands the straits which lead from the southern to the northern half of the Adriatic....  The naval force at Lissa ought to be a local one, consisting of light fast gun-boats to cruise in the narrow waters, to which might be added some plated ships to keep open communications, on the one hand, between Lissa and the mainland, and on the other hand acting with the gun-boats to bar the passage to hostile vessels.’  The publication of the article from which the above is extracted in the ‘Oesterreichische Militar Zeitschrift,’ proves sufficiently that the Austrian government is aware of the necessity which exists for taking precautionary measures; and the lesson which they learnt in 1859 ought to have induced them to adopt a more energetic policy in their military and naval affairs.