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136


1
NAPOLEON THE THIRD:
40437
•
REVIEW
OF HIS
LIFE, CHARACTER, AND POLICY;
WITH
Extracts from his Writings and Speeches,
AND
REFERENCES TO CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS.
BY
A BRITISH OFFICER.
LONDON:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, & ROBERTS.
1857.
:
་

:
LONDON:
Printed by Spottiswoode & Co.,
New-street-Square.
i
•
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T
Jual D. F 5-24~~ 4
To my Wife.
THE INTEREST WHICH YOU HAVE TAKEN IN THE PROGRESS OF THIS WORK,
AND YOUR INNATE LOVE OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE,
ASSURE ME THAT YOU APPRECIATE AN EFFORT INTENDED TO ELUCIDATE
GREAT PRINCIPLES AND MOTIVES,
TO REMOVE MISCONCEPTIONS,
AND TO BRING FORWARD FACTS,
UNDISGUISED BY PREJUDICE OR PARTIALITY.
HAVING APPROVED MY OBJECT, AND SYMPATHISED WITH MY LABOURS,
TO NO ONE COULD
This Volume
BE MORE APPROPRIATELY DEDICATED.
THE AUTHOR.
!
་
PREFACE.
THE object of this volume is plain and direct. It is
to describe, in their true colours, public events and
personal conduct which, in former years, were the
subjects of much misapprehension and prejudice.
Noble deeds, nobly performed, have in great measure
dissipated the prejudice alluded to. Esteem and con-
fidence are taking the place of the opposite sentiments,
both with respect to the Emperor of the French and
to the Nation which he so wisely governs. We can
appreciate honour, courage, consistency. When these
qualities have approved themselves through a career of
unusual vicissitude, we are candid enough to re-
cognise them, whoever be the men by whom they are
displayed. And when it is made evident that friend-
ship for us has been all through, as it still is, one of
his ruling sentiments, we can hold out the hand of
fellowship, and frankly accept that friendship, equally
honourable to both parties.
If, through the influence of the Emperor, the feelings
of England towards France have undergone a salutary
change, those of our neighbours have, with regard to
ourselves, experienced an equally wholesome altera-
tion. It is moderate to affirm that history presents no
example of two great nations passing so speedily, and
.
-
A 3
..
vi
PREFACE.
on grounds so reasonable and intelligible-on grounds,
too, independent of political combinations- from cold-
ness to confidence. The auspicious change is no transi-
tory ebullition of feeling, no offspring of temporary
circumstances: it is founded on the better knowledge
of each other which, in England and France, has been
produced by the policy and labours of Napoleon the
Third.
In accomplishing this, he has conferred substantial
service on mankind. For the effect of his policy
embraces even a wider scope of view than that com-
prised in the thorough reconciliation of the two nations
which are the leaders and representatives of Christian
civilisation. The most prominent passages of his career,
as well as the position which the French Empire now
occupies in Europe, shall be temperately considered in
the following pages.
True though it be, that the character and principles
of the Emperor are better understood than they were a
few years back, it has appeared to the writer desirable
to put forward, in a durable shape, a candid exposition
of sundry points which are still the subjects of con-
troversy, to clear up the obscurity which envelopes
many circumstances, and to bring the whole life of
Napoleon the Third fairly into review. As is elsewhere
explained, it is intended in this work rather to eluci-
date principles by reference to leading events, than to
give a narrative of minute details; and the author trusts
that this plan has been so carried out as to do justice
to the great man who stands so honourably conspicuous
amongst the sovereigns of Europe.
Dec. 1856.
General Remarks
CONTENTS.
SECTION I.
SECTION II.
1808 to 1840.
Page 1
CHAPTER I.
The
Birth, Exile, Childhood.-Education. Life in Switzerland.
Italian War. The Gratitude and Clemency of King Louis
Philippe
28
CHAPTER II.
The second Sojourn in Switzerland. Thoughts, Studies, Occupa-
tions, and Aspirations
39
CHAPTER III.
State of France in 1836. The Adventure of Strasburg. Exposi-
tion of Motives and Principles. The compulsory Voyage. - The
Return. The Calumny. The Refutation. Death of Queen
Hortense.-Vindictive Proceedings of the French Government.
Reminiscences of Residence in England
53
viii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
The Policy of the Empire as expounded by Prince Louis Napoleon.
-Excerpta from "Les Idées Napoléoniennes." - Protest against
Sympathy with Socialist Conspiracies
Page 88
SECTION III.
1840 to 1848.
CHAPTER I.
Objects and Plans. Results, imme-
Declaration of Principles. -
The Trial.
The Enterprise of Boulogne.
diate and deferred.
The Judgment
CHAPTER II.
109
The dying
The Gage of
The Imprisonment. - Faith, Courage, and Endurance.
Parent. Paternal Solicitude and filial Reverence.
Honour: its Rejection. The Temptation: its Repulse
<
129
CHAPTER III.
The Escape.
The Interdict.-Diplomacy warring with Nature.-
Death of the ex-King of Holland
147
CHAPTER IV.
<
The Revolution of 1848. The attempted Ban. The Nation's
Reply. Louis Napoleon in the Assembly.-The Din of Factions.
-The Insurrection of June.-A Specimen of political Foresight.
- Election of the President
161
CONTENTS.
ix
T
SECTION IV.
1848 to 1851.
THE REPUBLICAN EXPERIMENT.
THE PRESIDENCY.
CHAPTER I.
View of the President's Position. His Labours for the Success of
the Experiment of 1848.-The Factions in the Assembly.-Bour-
bonite Intrigues and Socialist Conspiracies. Riotings in the
Chamber.- Ferocious Avowals of the Reds.—Foreign and native
Expressions of Opinion. - Pardons and Amnesties. Clemency
and Prudence. Charities and Beneficences. Louis Napoleon
face to face with the Disaffected.-France and Italy. - The Roman
Expedition. Reflections on its Policy and Morality Page 176
Legislative Elections.
CHAPTER II.
Wise Forbearance of the President. - In-
creasing Impracticability of the Assembly.-Anti-British Intrigues.
-Fidelity of the President to friendly Relations with England..
Provincial Tour. - Enthusiastic Reception. - Position and Pre-
tensions of General Changarnier.-Persistent Slanders against the
Chief of the State
CHAPTER III.
196
Anomalous State of Parties in 1851.. The Changarnier Bubble
exploded. — The "Fusion " Negotiations between the Bourbonites.
-Inefficiency of the Constitution. National Demand for its
Revision; and for the Abolition of the Electoral Disfranchise-
ment Law. Cordial Sympathy between the President and the
People. Audacity of the Anti-Social Faction. Imminence of
Anarchy and Blood
223
Tactics of the Orleanists.
CHAPTER IV.
Attitude of the President.
The "Perfide Albion" Cry.— Dignified
Infatuation of the Royalist Partisans.
-Reactionary Consultations at Wiesbaden and Claremont
237
=
X
CONTENTS.
?
CHAPTER V.
Faction in France compared with Faction in England and America.
The Contrast defined. The Constitution of 1848.- Conduct
of the President analysed by an Englishman. - Duty and Obliga-
tion: the Substance? or the Letter?
Page 247
SECTION V.
THE SECOND PRESIDENCY. THE EMPIRE.
The Second of December.
CHAPTER I.
The Justice, Necessity, and Success of
The Nation's Verdict
258
the Change. The Emeute.
CHAPTER II.
The Constitution of 1852.-Objects and Labours of the Head of the
State.-Vigorous Prosecution of energetic Measures. Pros-
perity reappearing. Trade and Enterprise reviving. Specific
Memorandum on the Orleans Appropriations.-A Fraud defeated.
- 268
-A painful Duty fulfilled-
CHAPTER III.
Public Sentiment in 1852.- Satisfaction with the Present alloyed
by Fear for the Future. Petitions and Memorials for the Con-
solidation of the Executive Power. - The President in the Depart-
ments. The Return to Paris. Universal Call for the Empire.
The National Vote. The Inauguration. The Imperial
Marriage. The Choice of Wisdom and Affection
CHAPTER IV.
282
The War with Russia.- Faith and Loyalty of the Emperor of the
French. The true "Cordial Understanding."- Orleanist Emis-
saries at the Court of St. Petersburg. - The National Loans.
Unparalleled Manifestations of Popular Confidence.-M. Berryer's
amusing Episode. The Vienna Conferences of 1855
-
298
"
CONTENTS,
xi
CHAPTER V.
The Imperial Visit to England. - British Feeling towards the Em-
peror. Source and Basis of our Esteem. The Paris Exhibition
of 1855. — The Triumph of Peace in War. - Our Queen's Visit of
Friendship to the Emperor, the Empress, and the French People.
-The Emir Abd-el-Kader. Strength, Reality, and Durability
of the Anglo-French Alliance. - The Emperor's Address to the
Legislature. —Policy of the Western Powers. - Result of the Con-
ferences of 1856. Peace, just and honourable.
Peace, just and honourable. — British Testi-
mony,-Birth of the Imperial Prince. The Emotions of France
re-echoed by England
CHAPTER VI.
Page 314
1
Reflections on the Past, Meditations on the Future, of Napoleon the
Third. State of France at the Close of the War. The In-
evitable Condition of National Greatness. - Unity of France and
England in the Interests of Mankind
349
SECTION VI.
The Era of Peace.-Opinions in England on the People and Go-
vernment of France.-The Inundations
354
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A.—The Treaty of Peace
APPENDIX B.-The Constitution
..
395
419
NAPOLEON THE THIRD.
SECTION I.
GENERAL REMARKS.
THE task which I propose to myself is one not to be
hastily undertaken, or lightly dealt with. It is that
of setting forth, in the language of truthful fidelity, the
character, as indicated in the career and astonishing
fortunes, of one who has marked himself pre-eminently
as the Man of this Our Age.
Born and cradled in Imperial splendour, his sponsors
the great Emperor, and an Empress, the daughter of
a long line of Cæsars; reared under the tutelage of
a mother gifted, beautiful, and good, in vicissitude,
danger, and exile; educated in the hardy instruc-
tive school of adversity; sojourner by turns in many
different countries; driven hither and thither through
the terror with which dynastic combinations were
filled by the sound of a great name; subject, alike
in youth and manhood, to misconception and mis-
representation, the present Emperor of the French
has maintained, with a constancy and consistency of
which history scarcely furnishes us with a parallel, the
characteristics which distinguish him, and with equal
B
2
GENERAL REMARKS.
:
the dech und principles whi
vz the prarod, feresampl
Silu i-
constancy t
inspired him
when he was peculiarly the diet or hostility and
sult by the power then reigning in France, his inextin-
guishable love of country, his confidence in her destinies,
his self-identification with her honour and her fortunes,
were as entire and as explicitly avowed, as when, free
from all influences save her own sentiments and convic-
tions, she chose him for her foremost man. At a time
when his prospect of revisiting his country seemed ut-
terly extinct to every one save himself, his conduct was
governed by a regard for her as ruling and complete
as if there had not existed edicts, proclamations, and
treaties, declaring his connection with her at an end
for ever.
The instances in which this feeling was exemplified
are almost literally innumerable. One or two may be
here glanced at. His position with respect to France
was discouraging indeed-the very name of Bonaparte
was proscribed from her soil-when, in answer to in-
quiries, proceeding from more quarters than one, as
to his willingness to share the throne of the young
Queen of Portugal*, he at once replied negatively, on
the express ground that his acceptance of that eleva-
tion would interfere with his undivided allegiance to
France. Upon several occasions, whilst residing in
Switzerland, a similar sentiment was elicited. Under
all circumstances the expression of his heart's strongest
wish pointed to residence in France upon any honour-
able terms. That was an object which no pressure, no
temptation, ever succeeded in inducing him to relin-
quish.†
* Queen Doña Maria, lately deceased.
† Perhaps the coldly selfish policy of King Louis Philippe, in
sternly rejecting the entreaty of the young soldier for permission
-
".
GENERAL REMARKS.
3
When, after confinement for years in the gloomy
solitude of Ham, offers were made of immediate libera-
tion on condition that he should give pledges sepa-
rating him from his hopes for France, he resolutely
refused the condition. At that time his situation ap-
peared in all respects that of a prisoner for life. He
had been several years in confinement, one of the chief
solaces of his solitude being the composition of books
still shadowing forth his undying attachment' to France.
And there was a peculiar motive, superadded to the in-
stinctive love of liberty, making release, even for a brief
interval, an object doubly dear to him. It was to visit
the bed of a dying parent. With one in whom filial
reverence has always been a prominent trait, this motive
must have been very powerful. It was so. He went
the length of preferring repeated requests to the King
for permission to perform this sacred duty, and then
return to his prison. He pledged his word of honour,
that, at any moment when called on, he would return, a
resigned if not a willing prisoner. But this was
pledge of the description appreciated only by men of
generosity, and Louis Philippe was scarcely a generous
man. The result was, that, firmly fixed in his resolu-
tion to give no pledge compromising his duty to
France, or hampering his course during that future
into which, taking subsequent events into account,
we now know that he looked with astonishing per-
spicacity, the prisoner remained until released by
means independent of the generosity, or humanity, or
a
to reside in and serve his country, was, after all, a mistaken one. The
harsh tone of his dealing with Queen Hortense and the young
Napoleon was, at all events, the reverse of grateful, considering that
the mother and sister of the "Citizen King" had been under
weighty personal obligations to the generosity of Napoleon the First.
B 2
4
GENERAL REMARKS.
1
gratitude of the King. The release was, in fact, effected
through an instrumentality which vividly illustrated
one of those qualities which the present Emperor shares
with Napoleon the First that of attaching to himself
the devoted affection and regard of all who have any
personal communication with him. The magnanimous
conduct of Dr. Conneau will form a touching page in
history.
Unshaken persistency of political opinion, both as to
the facts, the necessities, and the interests of the future,
has formed another of the prominent characteristics of
Napoleon the Third. Under no circumstances did he
swerve from the assertion of the Imperial souvenirs -
from the belief, from the avowal of the belief, that with
these were bound up the true hopes, the true glory
and welfare of France.
an exile
It is four-and-twenty years ago since the death of
the Duke of Reichstadt, son of Napoleon the First.
Four-and-twenty years ago the present Emperor was a
very young man-an exile - member of a family
lying under sentence of perpetual banishment. King
Louis Philippe was daily rising in power and success.
Some time before the death of the Duke of Reich-
stadt, the young Prince Louis Napoleon wrote and
published a book in which he contrasted the purity of
administration, the social and material improvements,
the encouragement of art, science, and general know-
ledge, the legal reforms (unparalleled in the history
of jurisprudence for extent and completeness), the ad-
vance in every department of useful enterprise and
industry, the colossal public works of utility to the
whole empire, the financial economy even in the midst
of gigantic warfare, and the other marking features
of the Imperial epoch, with the corruption, the stag-
nation, and humiliation of the period succeeding it.
کو مرنا
GENERAL REMARKS.
5
Proceeding with his illustrations, he showed that almost
everything really good, useful, progressive, national,
tolerated after 1815 and not abandoned in 1830, was
a remnant or offshoot from the era of the Empire.
Ìndeed this was a fact that required little argumen-
tative demonstration, but only a spirit bold and candid
enough to proclaim it.
These preliminaries were but the steps to a conclu-
sion in which the Prince laid down the proposition that
a return to the Imperial system was the great thing
needful to the welfare of France; and he avowed his
conviction that the elevation of the son of Napoleon the
Great to the Imperial throne would be a measure
identified with the best interests of France and of
Europe.
As in this introductory section it is my intention to
glance at some passages in the life of Napoleon the
Third which have been subjects of outrageous perver-
sion and misconstruction, I wish to fix the reader's
attention upon points which tend to elucidate truth, and
to dissipate mistakes partly the result of ignorance, but
partly, too, of malice. In the work to which I have just
referred—a work written at a time when every impulse
of mere personal ambition would have dictated a sort
of junction with those parties in France who were op-
posed to monarchy in any shape, and when nothing
appeared less likely to politicians of all schools than
the restoration of the Imperial dynasty,-in a book
written under such circumstances, Prince Napoleon
avowed his conviction, as emphatically as he has ever
since avowed it, that a vigorous government administered
under an Imperial head, under the heir of Napoleon the
Great, was that best adapted to the genius of the French
people. This he did in the face of a thousand tempta-
tions to adopt a contrary tone, when numerous and not
B 3
6
GENERAL REMARKS.
powerless parties were ready to join him in any endea-
vour to excite insurrection in France under a watch-
word recalling the name of Napoleon, and at the same
time excluding the principle of monarchy. An empire
founded on the votes of the people, destined to renew in
its integrity the grand policy of the Imperial system-
this was ever the object of his aspirations; and he
pointed to the descendant of the Great Emperor, as the
individual around whom the sympathies of the nation
would gather most naturally, most fervently and unani-
mously, in order to give reality and success to that
aspiration.
The wonderful consistency of the man, his immov-
able fidelity to a great guiding principle, accompanied
him through every phasis of his chequered life. During
his forced sojourn in America, some years after the
publication of the work just mentioned, he declared that
his object in making the attempt which led to his voyage
to the New World, was to "spare France conflicts and
blood," to spare her the otherwise inevitable ordeal
of another sanguinary revolution. How perfectly was
this view of coming probabilities realised! The dy-
nasty of 1830 lingered on for a while longer-the
future Emperor was transported to a distant country.
Louis Philippe continued surrounding himself with
fancied securities, "strengthening his position," as he
imagined, by family alliances, by courting influences
some of which were notoriously opposed to the honour
and interests of the country which he governed; yet
his government could not stand, because it was based
upon another foundation than the hearts and convic-
tions of the people. The "conflicts and the blood"
came; and the king who had sought to reign by craft,
by bribery, and legerdemain, was driven with ignominy
from the throne.
GENERAL REMARKS.
7
In the several essays of which Napoleon the Third
is author, embracing a great variety of topics, mili-
tary, political, social, scientific, his appreciation of
the importance of works of internal improvement, of
measures for promoting industry, and for ameliorating
the social and domestic condition of the people, is every-
where conspicuous. This latter is a subject of which he
especially loved to treat; and his sincerity has been evi-
denced by the number and extent of the undertakings of
national utility which, notwithstanding the distracting
influence of a great war, have been set on foot since his
accession to power.
It was remarked by persons who knew Paris of old,
and who revisited the renowned capital whilst the
Great Exhibition of 1855 was open, that in five
years it had sprung into a new city. The remark was
not altogether an exaggeration. The fact is, that
from the year 1850 much more has been done to
increase the beauty, the healthfulness, the salubrity
of the city, than during five-and-thirty years from
1815. In truth, not merely more, but incomparably
more, has been effected in the shorter space of time
than in the longer. Besides that works, some con-
templated, some commenced, under the first Imperial
reign, and afterwards suffered to fall into oblivion or
into decay, have been vigorously proceeded with, many
wholly new ones, founded on the present advanced
state of sanitary science, have been undertaken, and
promise to make Paris the most salubrious as well as
the most beautiful of the great capitals of Europe.
And it is not only in Paris that the process of im-
provement has advanced. In remote departments the
existence of an enlightened, vigorous, work-doing,
example-setting administration is felt with salutary
effect; and municipalities, shaking off the lethargy
B 4
8
GENERAL REMARKS.
:*
in which these bodies were immersed during the
régime of bureaucracy, are putting forth their energies,
and redeeming their boundaries from the opprobrium
of uncleanliness, inconvenience, and unhealthfulness.
Marseilles itself is aroused to useful action in this parti-
cular. Those who remember the city and harbour as
they were in 1848, and who may happen to spend a day
or two there in 1856, will recognise the difference, to
their special comfort and safety. As respects the har-
bour, Mr. Dickens, in some future edition of his latest
work, will, I dare say, have much pleasure in sub-
joining a note, containing his testimony that "they
order things better" there now. A similarly desirable
impulse has been imparted to the minds and movements
of the authorities in Lyons, Bordeaux, and, in short, all
the towns and cities throughout France.
In truth, the local authorities, everywhere, have now
something else and something better to think of than
keeping a fragmentary section of electors in order, for
the return of a convenient majority to the Chamber of
Deputies. They have time for the performance of their
proper work, and they perform it to their own credit
and to the unspeakable advantage of the communities
whose local affairs they regulate.
But it is not only with respect to works coming
under the category of material improvements, that the
present Emperor carries out on a noble scale the designs
and principles which were enunciated by him when his
position was that of an unwilling exile. The fine arts
have received from him an amount of enlightened en-
couragement which presents a gratifying contrast to
the coldness, the neglect-the neglect approaching to
humiliating insult-with which they were treated by
successive kings. The painter, the sculptor, the archi-
tect, stand honoured before the Imperial throne, and
GENERAL REMARKS.
9
ན
their claims to respect are recognised as those of men
whose pursuits are calculated to elevate the tastes
and aspirations of the people. Himself, personally, a
generous patron, the Emperor infuses a wise and dis-
criminating liberality into every department of the
administration—a liberality which is so far from being
associated with extravagance, that, as is evident from
the mode of its dispensation, it is founded on a convic-
tion that the appropriation of a moderate portion of
public money to works calculated to promote a taste for
innocent and intellectual, in preference to sensual plea-
sures, is a truly economical and useful expenditure.
Education another leading topic of the writings of
Napoleon the Third - education, of which so grand a
plan was laid down by the councils of the first Na-
poleon, receives a large share of the attention of the
present Imperial government. It is treated, not as a
mere instalment of a given literary routine, but as
something intended to prepare young people for the
honourable fulfilment of their duties in any position to
which Providence may call them. I am here speaking
of popular education in the ordinary acceptation of that
term, the education which is regarded as indispensable
in the training of youth in the most humble station;
and I really believe that in no country in Europe,
Prussia not excepted, is the system of popular teaching
more calculated to develope the capacities of the
young than is that now existing in France. It is not a
mere taxing of the memory; it is a system which natu-
rally leads to the salutary exercise of the faculty of
thinking, of reasoning, of reflecting upon facts and
propositions. It is an education carried so far, that
any one of ordinary intelligence may, upon the foun-
dation of knowledge and intelligence created by it,
attain, by his own exertions, a high degree of pro-
ficiency in various branches of learning.
10
GENERAL REMARKS.
:
This great educational system is, like many of the
noble institutions of France, a legacy of the Empire,
and, as others of these institutions, it languished and
decayed for nearly forty years, under the dynastic in-
cubus which a policy I do not here stop to discuss im-
posed on an indignant people. It is revived, it is being
improved, extended, adapted to the new requirements
and circumstances of our own time. Probably the day
is not distant when an uneducated class will be a thing
non-existent in France.
On the arrangements relating to the inculcation of
the higher departments of knowledge, and the measures
initiated and encouraged for the promotion of scien-
tific progress, I do not deem it necessary to dwell in
detail, inasmuch as these matters, attracting notice
from time to time in the journals of the day, are pro-
bably in some degree familiar to the reader. Suffice it
to say, that they are on a scale commensurate with that
noble scheme of improvement and advance, in all de-
partments of humanising effort, which originated in the
genius of Napoleon the First, and has been worthily
reproduced in the policy of the present Emperor.
In the development of the productive resources of
the country and the industrial capacities of the people,
the existing policy has employed itself not less vigorously,
sagaciously, successfully. The results presented by the
Paris Exhibition of 1855, when compared with those of
our own Exhibition of 1851, showed a progress amongst
our French neighbours, in the useful, mechanical, and
manufacturing arts, which astonished all who had an
opportunity of observing and comparing the two.* That
this progress is in some measure due to the active and
ingenious spirit of the French manufacturers, is un-
questionable; but that it is likewise connected with
* Even more remarkable were the results of the late Agricultural
Exhibition.
GENERAL REMARKS.
11
:
A
the interest taken by the Emperor himself in every-
thing bearing on industrial prosperity, will scarcely be
doubted by any one who knows in what relation the
degree of
progress attained between the two periods
1851-1855, stands to that effected in any former
period of equal length.
Not that great progress had not been made between
1815 and 1850. France, beyond all doubt, had ad-
vanced very much in wealth, in commerce, in agricul-
tural productiveness, and in many of the elements of
national prosperity. But let us consider to what she
was indebted for that advance. In the first place she
had peace, that bounteous parent of wealth- peace,
which she would have had long before 1815, had the
wishes and solicitations of the first Napoleon been at-
tended to by ourselves. Again, look to her commer-
cial code; look to her laws relating to those matters in
which the prosperity, the confidence, the energy of
traders and merchants are most immediately concerned.
How far back can we trace them? To the Empire!
Some two or three years since, a convention or assembly
met at Liverpool, composed chiefly of eminent com-
mercial men, delegates from the Chambers of Commerce
of the principal towns in the United Kingdom. The
object was to consult on measures for the removal of
the confusion and anomalies abounding in our mercan-
tile laws; to abolish the mischievous absurdity of
different sets of laws in different districts of the
same kingdom, each not merely varying from, but
often directly antagonistic to, the others; to introduce
something like intelligibility and consistency into our
mercantile enactments; to put an end to the interminable
prolixities of litigation; to obtain some definition of the
boundaries of right and wrong, and some certainty that
disputed questions should be decided by reference there-
to, and not by quirks, quibbles, and worthless formulæ,
12
GENERAL REMARKS.
puzzling even the practised ingenuity of lawyers; to
put an end to a state of things in which, in the every-
day transactions of business, it has been impossible for a
man to be certain at any time whether he were acting
legally or illegally, and whether the most innocent
action of his might not turn out a violation of some
obscure law or by-law, wholly unknown to him, but
the slightest infraction of which would subject him to
ruinous penalties.
And at this Convention, when remedies were pro-
posed, when a model was looked for, on the plan of
which (making allowances for the different habits
and circumstances of different countries) a rational, in-
telligible, economical code might be composed, the
thoughts of the majority dwelt upon the system
introduced into France under the auspices of Napo-
leon the First. Previously to the Imperial epoch,
the mercantile and every other portion of the laws of
France or rather of the laws in France, for almost
every district had its peculiar system or no-system-
were in a state of chaotic complication, more barbarous,
if possible, than our own. They are now plain, simple,
adapted to the comprehension of every person of average
capacity. Most true and just was the declaration of
Lord Brougham, that if there were nothing else to
render the memory of Napoleon illustrious, he would go
honourably to posterity with his Code in his hand.
There is one feature in the conduct of the present
Emperor, which has not been sufficiently noticed in any
work I have met with, though, when considered in its
bearings on the relations between England and France,
it must be profoundly interesting to the people of both
countries. It relates to the sentiments he has fre-
quently expressed with regard to the British nation,
and to the relations which ought to exist between the
GENERAL REMARKS.
13
two countries. Those sentiments have breathed amity,
esteem, a conviction that mutual friendliness consti-
tutes the interests of both. To him, beyond doubt,
more than to any other man living, is due the downfall
of that baleful prejudice of "natural enmity," which
until recently formed part of the political creed of
millions of good Frenchmen and Englishmen. Friend-
ship, alliance, interchange of good offices, - these are
the relations which he has repeatedly described as the
true national policy for the governments on either
side of the Channel. For years resident amongst us,
he learned to esteem us, without diminution of his
ardent affection for his own country.
Thoughts of England-full of friendship and respect
-seem to have been seldom absent from his mind, what-
ever the circumstances which surrounded him. When
confined in Ham, the memory of England was only
secondary to incessant aspirations for the honour and
happiness of France. In a letter to an English lady,
written in January 1841, he says:—
"With the name I bear, I must either be in the se-
clusion of the dungeon or in the brightness of power.
"If you will deign, madam, to write to me occasion-
ally, and to give me some news of a country in which
I have been too happy not to love it, you will confer on
me a great pleasure."
England, her past, present, and future, and the great
lessons which her history contains for the statesman,
the economist, the philanthropist, the lawgiver, were
favourite contemplations. In his seclusion, the dulness
of solitude was enlivened by meditations upon her
history.
Men are not apt to select for study, reflection, and
investigation, subjects which have no hold on their
hearts. In a letter, dated August 1841, the captive of
Ham writes:-
.
14
GENERAL REMARKS.
"My life passes here in a very monotonous manner.
*** Nevertheless I cannot say that I am dull, for I
have created for myself occupations which interest me.
I am, for instance, writing 'Reflections upon the History
of England;' and I have planted a small garden in the
corner of the yard in which I am located. But all this
fills up the time without filling the heart, and some-
times we find it very void of sentiment.
"I am very much pleased at what you tell me of the
good impression which I have left behind me in England;
but I do not share in your hope as to the possibility of
soon being in that country again; and, indeed, not-
withstanding all the pleasure I should have in again
finding myself there, I do not complain in the least of
the position to which I have brought myself, and to
which I am completely resigned."
And when the expression of hostile sentiments
would have procured hin a certain kind of popularity
with more than one party in France, when a son of
King Louis Philippe was courting such popularity by
propounding bombastic plans of invasion and conquest,
-the exile Louis Napoleon, representative of Imperial
traditions, did not shrink from avowing his belief that
the real glory of France, her greatness, dignity, and
happiness, consisted rather in living in friendship with
us, than in threatening our internal quiet; rather in
promoting amicable intercourse, than in planning, or
affecting to plan, measures of hostile collision.
It has been pretended that the celebrated allusion to
the battle of Waterloo, contained in the Prince's
address to the Chamber of Peers, on his trial for the
Strasburg affair, indicated a desire to wage a deadly
war with England. Now, it might possibly be suffi-
cient, in refutation of this assumption, to appeal to
the whole course of his life, to the whole tenour of his
GENERAL REMARKS.
15
words when out of power, and of his actions when
in power, on all points connected with "England
and the English." But it is not necessary to rely on
inferential argument: the words themselves may,
with reason and probability, convey a meaning quite
different from that which has been imputed to them.
The passage runs to this effect:-
" I
'I represent before you a principle, a cause, and a
defeat. The principle is the sovereignty of the people;
the cause is that of the Empire; the defeat is that of
Waterloo. The principle, you have recognised it; the
cause, you have served in it; the defeat, you would
avenge it."
Looking well into these expressions and their con-
text, it will be evident that the consequences of the
defeat were what the speaker chiefly contemplated.
There are other modes of revenge besides that involved
in bristling bayonets. It was to the consequences of the
battle of Waterloo that the prisoner ascribed the fact,
that France was, as he declared, "enfeebled, and passed
over in silence at the congress of sovereigns." He
might well have indicated that the restoration of the
Imperial system-of its vigour, its dignity, its courage
-would place France in such an attitude as would
enable her, by her moral weight, by the demonstra-
tion of energetic and really national instead of bureau-
cratic councils, to "revenge" the defeat and its con-
sequences to rebuke and humiliate those who had
insulted and virtually degraded her. Every politi-
cian knows that, at the "settlement" of 1815, some
of the negotiators pressed for a harsh and degrading
treatment of France, and that it was England that
stepped in, and, checking the zealotry of these vin-
dictive councils, imposed something like moderation
on the policy of diplomatists, whose maxim was the
1
GENERAL REMARKS.
16
cool one, that France should be crushed into the pro-
portions of a second-rate power. Every politician
is likewise aware that not only since the Revolu-
tion of 1830, but during the fifteen years preced-
ing, certain continental influences had systematically
endeavoured to ignore the voice of France in all
questions of consultation between the great powers,
England alone declining to participate in
in any such
combination. This system, or policy, or whatsoever it
may be called, was carried to greater extremes than
ever after the accession of Louis Philippe, whose
overtures of submissive conciliation were met with
a sort of derisive disdain, by which France was in-
sulted in the person of her temporary ruler. Who
forgets the tour of visits made by the late Czar in
the year 1844, and the ostentatious contemptuous-
ness with which he went out of his way rather than
pass through France, lest the condescension of coun-
tenancing that "dangerous people" should be imputed
to him? That circumstance we all remember. Again,
every reader of history is acquainted with the harsh
behaviour of the Prussians subsequent to the victory
of Waterloo-not only immediately after the battle,
but in their progress through the French territory,
and in Paris itself. I do not think that the meaning
of Napoleon the Third, when a captive addressing the
Chamber of Peers, was that the severities alluded to
should be avenged in blood; but I do maintain that
the words of the passage referred to, and which have
been quoted and re-quoted ad infinitum by partisan
writers as evidences that sanguinary projects against
England were revolving in the mind of the Prince, point
much more probably to the consequences of the battle
of Waterloo, and to the necessity of putting a stop to
the long series of humiliations to which France had
GENERAL REMARKS.
17
been subjected by certain continental powers, than to
any indication of enmity to us. Coupling this reason-
able view of probabilities with the disposition which
Napoleon the Third has at all stages of his career mani-
fested towards this country, the conclusion which I
have suggested can scarcely be disputed.
66
Few rational persons ever believed that Prince Joinville
was sincere in his preposterous scheme of invasion; but
the very mooting of it betrayed a willingness to pander
to bad passions for the sake of attracting factitious
popularity to the Orleanist dynasty. From such mere-
tricious devices to win the good graces of any section of
his countrymen, Prince Louis Napoleon ever held aloof.
And the tone which he formerly held towards England
was the precursor of a policy adopted immediately on
his accession to power, and which, every good man
hopes, is the harbinger of a prolonged era of cordial
peace and good-will" between us and our neigh-
bours. Even when the object of the most virulent,
irritating, unscrupulous, unfounded abuse and calumny
ever poured out against a man in high station,
when he had reason, if man ever had reason, to feel
exasperated at the slanders uttered daily in this coun-
try, he never once deviated from this tone and this
policy. Resisting the secret blandishments and soli-
citations of Russia, he remained true to his motto,
"Friendship and alliance with England;" and his rare
fortitude and constancy are likely to produce im-
mense advantages to the cause of humanity and civili-
sation throughout Europe-throughout the world.
Whilst on this subject it is proper to observe, that
the policy of friendliness towards England is one which
really appears to have been, "in his heart of hearts,"
ever present to the mind of the first Napoleon. Cir-
cumstances which we must all deplore, and which it
C
18
GENERAL REMARKS.
would now be useless to recapitulate, led to demon-
strations and events of a different kind; but it is
certain that Napoleon was anxious to cultivate the
friendship of England. The indications of this do not
rest solely on his own conversations during the latter
years of his life. From these, indeed, we learn, that at
the very period when the two countries were immersed
in the hottest crisis of the great war, when we were
subsidising a multitude of faithless or imbecile allies,
whom, after paying to fight, we ourselves were obliged to
fight for-nay, when our armaments assumed the most
gigantic magnitude, when the sovereigns of the Conti-
nent were prostrate before the fortunes of the Empire,
that even then, with his fortunes at their climax,
peace with Great Britain was an object which he would
willingly have courted and made signal concessions to
attain, if the policy at that time paramount in this
country had admitted the possibility of a basis of nego-
tiation. But it is not only to Napoleon's language in
St. Helena that we can turn for evidences of this dis-
position. The volumes of memoirs, biographies, diplo-
matic revelations, and State papers which have appeared
in such rapid succession during the last thirty years,
contain numerous collateral proofs of this having been
in reality a predominant feeling in the mind of the
Emperor, and that his general impression was that if
peace could be made with England, and really cor-
dial relations established, the two leading nations of
civilisation would be mutually strengthened, enriched,
and benefited. After the lapse of half a century, this
truth has been recognised and accepted in practice.
The career of Napoleon the Third, from the time
when the Revolution of 1848 abolished the law of
banishment against the Imperial family, down to the
day when the enthusiastic assent of millions of French-
GENERAL REMARKS.
19
men called him to the throne, has been frequently
criticised, and scarcely less frequently misrepresented.
A brief and candid outline of it will be in place.
The Provisional Government attempted at first to
make an unfavourable exception in his case, and to
maintain the sentence of banishment against him.
This attempt filled the people with indignation, which
reached such a height that disturbances were ap-
prehended. To preclude all danger of fatal collisions
he twice retired to England, although nominated
representative in several departments. On one occa-
sion he entered a protest, from which the following is
an extract:-
"If the people were to impose duties on me I should
know how to fulfil them. * * * My name is a symbol
of order, of nationality, of glory; and it would be with
the liveliest grief that I should see it made use of to
augment the troubles and dissensions of my country. In
order to avoid such a misfortune, I shall prefer remain-
ing in exile. I am ready to make every sacrifice for
the happiness of France."
The people were resolved that they would impose
duties on him. At the new elections he was chosen in
five departments. He chose to sit for Paris. Nominated
for the Presidency, he was elected by an immense ma-
jority over the aggregate of votes given for all the
other candidates. This circumstance was a manifesta-
tion that he had not been mistaken in the opinion which
in hundreds of instances he had energetically expressed
-that the national will, the national hopes, were
bound up with the glorious name he bore, with the
cause of which he was the representative.
And now came the conflict of faction and passion in
the Assembly. The members soon showed that they
were occupied with any thoughts rather than those
1
c 2
20
GENERAL REMARKS.
relating to the consolidation of order, the restoration
of tranquillity, the promotion of prosperity and con-
fidence in the great industrial operations which had
been inevitably interrupted by the events of the revo-
lution. Amid the discord of factions, and the intrigues
of the several leaders, each bent on furthering his own
objects, it became evident that, unless averted by the
interposition of energetic and sagacious councils, scenes
of anarchy and bloodshed were at hand.
The plain facts are, that in 1851 a revolution of the
most hideous kind-a revolution factious, furious, con-
scienceless, implacable - was impending. I have con-
versed with many of our countrymen who were residing
in Paris at that critical period; and the overwhelming
preponderance of their opinion is to the effect, that but
for the conception and success of the masterly stroke
of statesmanship which received the name of the Coup
d'Etat, order, society, property, would within a few
weeks have been overthrown.*
A vast amount of mystification has arisen with re-
spect to the lawfulness or rightfulness of the change
which was effected in the Constitution as it stood prior
to the 2nd of December. It has been argued by some
writers, in real or affected ignorance of the facts, that
that Constitution was immutable in all its details.
Those who
Nothing could be more contrary to fact.
pretend that the Constitution was thus unchangeable
in any one of its particular parts, would reduce the
* In 1851, the Bourbonite partisans withdrew even the scanty
measure of support which they had occasionally given to the Execu-
tive upon questions involving the existence of any government at
all, and were frequently seen joining the Socialists and Communists
in proceedings of which the object was to thwart and harass the
President. Under the auspices of the majority in the Assembly,
society was hurrying towards anarchy.
GENERAL REMARKS.
21
:
enlightenment of its constructors to a level with that of
the ancient propounders of the immutability of the laws
of the Medes and Persians. No; it was not any one
detail, or any part of its details, that was unchangeable;
it was its principle. That principle was the national
will, which had created it, which had not abandoned its
supremacy to it, but to which it was necessarily and
naturally subject. The Constitution was made for and
by the people, not the people for the Constitution. The
Constitution, in short, meant the national will. The
promise to maintain it, meant allegiance to the national
will. Whoever pretends the reverse, abnegates that
principle of the supremacy of the suffrage of the nation
without which the Constitution could have had neither
meaning nor vitality, but would have been a mere
medley of barbarous impracticability.
The circumstances of the period had convinced the
man to whom the nation had entrusted the high
responsibility of establishing and maintaining good
and secure government for France, that there was an
imperative necessity for calling on the people to ex-
ercise their undoubted right of deciding for or against a
revision of particular details which had been found in-
compatible with secure government, had been found
to work mischievously, and threatened to produce more
mischief still.
But the step of suggesting, or proposing, or initi-
ating the salutary change, was one fraught with peril
and difficulty. one from which the nerves of an ordi-
nary man, however honest and well-meaning, might
have shrunk one which would have appalled any man
not possessing the indomitable resolution, the inexorable
regard for duty, the uncompromising patriotism, which
have distinguished the career of Napoleon the Third,
and to which, even more than to hereditary associations,
c 3
22
GENERAL REMARKS.
*
he owes his position as pre-eminently the man of the
age. The views of Orleanist, Legitimist, Socialist,
diametrically opposite in other respects, met on com-
mon ground when the question was, tranquillity or
disturbance. In the chapter of accidents created by
the latter, the leaders of each faction imagined that
something favourable to their own purposes might
arise. Accordingly, disagreeing in everything else,
they concurred in this, that it was desirable to have
as frequent returns as possible of seasons of discord
and confusion. There were certain features in the
Constitution which presented periodical opportunities
for fomenting riots; and these, it was hoped, might,
by ingenious irritation, be inflamed into insurrection,
in which, amid terror, blood, and confusion, either or
any party would have a chance of grasping power.
It is unnecessary, in this place, to go through the de-
tails of the events which followed the 2nd of December.
The measures taken to ensure success were of a descrip-
tion justified by the extraordinary importance of the
object in view-that of saving society from disso-
lution. It was impossible that they should not be
accompanied by some cases of hardship-some cases
of unmerited suffering. But very many of those who
suffered — I mean of those who suffered innocently-
have confessed that the operation was conducted with
per-
as little harshness, as little intentional invasion of
sonal feelings and comfort, as was consistent with cer-
tainty and completeness of accomplishment.
That it was eminently successful I need not say.
That blood flowed in the streets of Paris, was a calamity
to be profoundly regretted, but one which plainly
proved the inveterate malignity of the factions, and the
magnitude of the danger which was averted. That a
measure which was soon ratified by the votes of
GENERAL REMARKS.
23
7,439,219 Frenchmen, and dissented from by only the
fractional minority of 640,737, should, through un-
scrupulous intrigues, have been made the pretext for
exciting tumults ending in blood, showed how utterly
the instigators of the outbreak disregarded the wishes
of the great body of the people. That, indeed, was
a consideration which never entered into their thoughts.
What they wanted was-disorder; for in disorder lay
their single chance of preventing the settlement of the
government on a secure basis. The blood which they
caused to be spilt the delusions and falsehoods, the
ingenious complications of calumny, by which they suc-
ceeded in inflaming the passions of a section of the
Parisian populace the atrocious misrepresentations
- since detected of fact, purpose, and principle,
by which they got up riots which it was necessary
to repress speedily and resolutely, and which were
repressed as much by the operation of public opi-
nion as by military demonstrations — bear witness
against themselves and their designs. But the good
genius of the nation prevailed. The great idea was
triumphant; the imminent, deadly peril of France -
and, with France, of Europe- was overcome: life, pro-
perty, order, justice, were rescued and saved.
True and memorable, and nobly fulfilled in the future,
were the words in which the President expressed his
appreciation of the signal proof of his country's confi-
dence contained in the electoral returns-" If I con-
gratulate myself on this immense adhesion, it is not
from pride, but because it gives me power to speak and
act as becomes the head of a great nation!"
c 4
24
GENERAL REMARKS.
The national feeling which converted the Presidential
chair into an Imperial throne was the result of salu-
tary facts working on public convictions. The people
of France saw what had been accomplished for them
during the short time that had elapsed since the Presi-
dent had released himself and them from the incubus of
factious obstruction. They saw tranquillity, substi-
tuted for a disorder hastening to anarchy. They saw
industrial prosperity and commercial confidence taking
place of stagnation and nerveless terror. They saw the
spirit of governmental energy instilling itself into the
movements of private enterprise, and, without attempt-
ing to stand in the place of individual efforts, opening
facilities and encouragements for these efforts. They
felt themselves more happy, more comfortable, more
secure. They felt that they had some guarantee of
internal quiet and order, through which honourable
industry of every kind might hope to reap in peace the
fruits of that which it had sown. They knew that
for several years to come they need not fear either a
Reign of Terror on the one hand, or a despotism of cor-
rupt and extortionate bureaucracy on the other. They
already experienced many of the blessings of efficient
government, of a government at once strong and
popular, possessing power to effectuate the measures of
utility which it contemplated, without being constantly
thwarted by factious intrigue; and they felt that what
had been thus early accomplished was but an instalment
of the benefits which they would enjoy when, in the ful-
ness of time, the effects of a wise policy should be matured.
But this was the contingency which excited uneasiness
-Was it certain that that policy would be allowed time
to mature itself to work out its beneficent objects?
Here was a question of deep and solemn import. The
power of the President was, after all, only a temporary
GENERAL REMARKS.
25
power, limited to a term of years. This circumstance
encouraged the factious, no longer able to play their
fantastic tricks in the Legislature, to plot and com-
bine for the purpose of curtailing that term, and pro-
ducing new scenes of confusion tending to bloodshed
and counter-revolution. And this danger it was that
the people had in view, when they demanded that the
authority of the Chief of the Executive should be con-
solidated and made permanent by the revival of the
Empire.
And how worthily and loyally their chosen man has
acquitted himself in his high position; how implicitly,
how unreservedly, he acknowledges the source and
origin of his power; how emphatically he avows that
his title to that power was the national will recog-
nising a great principle! How wisely he spoke
when, in answer to the congratulations addressed to
him on the birth of the heir-apparent - the "Child of
France" he referred all his glory, his honours and
dignity to the People-when, in language elevated by
the simple majesty of truth and sincerity, he ascribed
all that he had attained to the People, entrusting to him
the guardianship of their interests.
The war just closed has cemented and confirmed
the alliance which the Emperor has always regarded
as constituting the state of relations most congenial
to the mutual interests of England and France. The
two countries, actuated by a common object, entered
into a prodigious struggle, in which each bore its part
with equal honour and success. It is not to be
expected that the enthusiastic compliments which we
have been interchanging during the crisis of the con-
test will, in times of peace, and in every detail of
intercourse, continue to be heard. There may, there
probably will, arise differences, discussions, upon many
26
GENERAL REMARKS.
:
..
subjects, as is often the case between the warmest friends.
But fundamental amity between the two nations is
established, and will not easily be disturbed. We have
learned to respect each other, to understand and appre-
ciate each other's better qualities, instead of keeping our
eyes fixed exclusively, as was formerly the fashion of
quasi-patriotism, on faults and weaknesses. The good
which has been planted it will be impossible to root up.
France and England, the foremost nations of civilisa-
tion, will henceforward be, in the main, foremost in the
example of reciprocal good services.
He who has been, under Providence, the instrument
by which these salutary results have been accomplished,
is truly worthy the grateful esteem of France, of
England, of the world. No one has sustained more
slanderous misrepresentation,—no one has more nobly
refuted them by his actions.
The present work is intended to be not so much a
minute chronological narrative, as a review of the leading
features of a great career, and a temperate exposition,
both as respects motives and incidents, of various events
which have been frequently discussed and almost as fre-
quently misdescribed. Some of the very proceedings
for which Napoleon the Third has been most "plenti-
fully abused," which at one time procured him unli-
mited vituperation in England and elsewhere, are those
which, fairly analysed and considered in relation to
surrounding circumstances, illustrate most vividly his
unflinching integrity and fortitude. With a perfect
knowledge that the performance of his duty would sub-
ject him to much passing obloquy, would furnish his
enemies with slanderous pretexts which they would not
fail to turn to account, still resolutely, if sometimes
GENERAL REMARKS.
27
with pain, he adhered to that duty. Those things re-
quire to be explained and cleared up. To this day,
false impressions, created by the calumnies once so
rife, linger in the minds of many persons.
To re-
move these false impressions is one of my principal
objects. I purpose to do so, not by evading any point,
not by glossing over any fact, but by a candid appeal
to truth and reason.
28
SECTION II.
1808 to 1840.
CHAPTER I.
BIRTH, EXILE, CHILDHOOD.-
THE ITALIAN WAR.
LOUIS PHILIPPE.
EDUCATION.
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND.
THE GRATITUDE AND CLEMENCY OF KING
In the year 1808, on the 20th of April, in the Palace
of the Tuileries, was born a child who was hailed
by the people of the French Empire as heir presump-
tive of his uncle, the great Emperor; and who, though
soon afterwards removed from that position by the
birth of his cousin the King of Rome, and, when seven
years old, apparently shut out from all prospect of ever
residing, far less reigning, in his native country, was
destined to fulfil in due time the high expectations
which attended his birth to succeed to the policy
and mission of Napoleon the First; to resuscitate the
Imperial system in the integrity of its vigour and
grandeur; to restore France to that foremost rank,
from which she had temporarily fallen back, amongst
the nations of Europe.
From end to end of the realm of Napoleon, enthu-
siastic acclamations saluted the event. They were
the acclamations of a great people, rejoicing in the
presence of an heir to the Emperor of their choice, and
recognising in him a pledge of the permanence of a
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD.
29
dynasty which they identified with the honour, dignity,
and happiness of the nation.
The present Emperor of the French is the son of
Louis (younger brother of the Emperor Napoleon), by
Hortense, the beautiful, amiable, and accomplished
daughter of the Empress Josephine. When the Imperial
infant was born, his father was King of Holland, but
soon after resigned his throne in consequence of an
impression that, in the circumstances of the period, he
could not hold it consistently with the interests of
Holland and France. The conduct of King Louis in
taking this step may have been erroneous; it is possible
that he may have taken an inaccurate view of his
position and duties. Without discussing that question,
truth and fairness call for the admission that the
motives which swayed him were of a nature indicative
of a pure, high-minded character.
The young
Prince was baptized Charles Louis
Napoleon Bonaparte; his sponsors were the Emperor
and the Empress Marie Louise, whom Napoleon had
married in the interval between the birth and the
baptism of the future Napoleon the Third. The name
"Charles" was a merely formal or honorary prefix,
adopted in compliment to Charles Bonaparte, the
Emperor's father. The Prince scarcely ever subscribed
it in his correspondence: "Louis Napoleon," "Napoleon
Louis," are the signatures which he usually employed
prior to his accession to the Imperial dignity.
In infancy he was an especial favourite with the
Emperor, whose affection was not diminished by the
birth of the King of Rome. An anecdote is on record
which possesses all the marks of authenticity, and which
exhibits in a remarkable manner that semi-prophetic
tone which characterised many of the sayings of Napo-
leon the First. It is related that when the Emperor
-
30
THE FALL OF NAPOLEON.
was preparing to leave Paris for his last campaign,
the little Prince, then only seven years old, one
day entered his cabinet, and climbing his knee, en-
treated him to remain at home, for that, if he did
not do so, the enemy would take him away, and he
should never see him more. The Emperor, it is added,
was affected to an unusual degree, and handing the child
to the mother, Queen Hortense, exclaimed, "There,
embrace your son; look well to him; come what may,
he will have a good heart and a noble mind. Perhaps,
after all, he is the hope of my race." What solemn sig-
nificance these words contained! How
How strangely
they accord with the course of events, then hidden deep
in the womb of an inscrutable future of a future, the
most remote resemblance to the events and vicissitudes
of which, human genius and sagacity could not have
contemplated.
How Napoleon fell before a combination of power
such as the world never before witnessed, and pro-
bably will never witness again, -before a succession of
adverse circumstances as unforeseen as they were in-
- elaborate
superable, — is known too well to require any
recapitulation. That England was the soul, the ani-
mating spirit of the combination, is equally well known.
That the policy which actuated the British govern-
ment in presenting such an implacable front of hostility
to the Emperor was not the wisest, is a proposition
which the people of this country have of late years
shown an increasing disposition to entertain and accept.
But during our war with the Emperor, the struggle
was, doubtless, popular in England. A reverend gen-
tleman *, who in the course of last year delivered and
published some intelligent lectures on the character
*The Rev. Henry Christmas, M.A.
}
THE FALL OF NAPOLEON.
31
of the present Emperor, has made some observations
in reference to the sentiments then existing in Eng-
land, so apposite in many respects, that I shall take
the liberty of quoting a few passages. Adverting to
the strong feeling created in England by some of the
more violent acts committed during the first French Re-
volution, and to the excitement which was got up against
Napoleon as the representative of that revolution, the
reverend lecturer says:-
"There arose a prejudice against the Emperor Napo-
leon, the strength and virulence of which we can
scarcely conceive in the present day. To see some of
the caricatures which were then in vogue, some of the
papers which were then printed and circulated, some
of the language which was then uttered, we should
scarcely believe that we were looking upon a record of
the human race in a state of civilisation. We should
say, Surely these were things that could only be tolerated
when men were as ignorant as they were barbarous.
Under these circumstances it will hardly excite our
wonder that the English government should be strongly
supported in its attempts to overthrow the French
Republic.
"But we must here pause a moment, and show a
slight distinction between the feelings of the nation and
the feelings of the Government. They had, undoubtedly,
different objects in view. The government felt that
as long as the disturbance existed which the French
Revolution had caused, as long as men believed they
had political rights which could not lawfully be taken
away from them, as long as they could see that kings
derived their power from the people, and not from an
assumed divine right, so long no government founded
on the principles previously maintained in Europe
could stand. All the continental powers were despotic
-
32
PREJUDICES OF THE PAST,
-they were constructed on the principle that the will
of the Sovereign, under certain nominal restrictions,
was to be the law of the land; that the Court was to
rule the whole people; that the intrigues of the Court
were to be the sole means whereby power was to be
obtained; that all the traditions of the middle ages
were to be perpetuated under disguise; and that men
were to be ruled just as they were in those darker eras,
and according to those principles which prevailed when
mankind were most ignorant of the reasons why one man
ruled, and another man obeyed. Since 1714, our Court
had been closely connected with some of the smaller
German states; and to preserve these German govern-
ments our rulers willingly exasperated the popular
feeling, and threw its weight into the popular scale, in
order to put a stop, if possible, to the progress of the
French Republic and the French Empire. Looking at
these things in the light which we derive from a greater
knowledge of political philosophy, we can now see that
if the French nation chose to have Napoleon for Emperor,
we had no right to interfere. If the French felt his
authority to be beneficial to the interests of society, we
had no right to object to their choice; for we had our-
selves under similar circumstances changed not only the
dynasty of our rulers, but also the character of our
With such instances before them as
government.
those of Charles the First and James the Second, it
might have been thought that the English people would
have been the last to interfere with the French for
choosing Napoleon the First as their monarch. Never-
theless, however erroneous the principle upon which
we proceeded, this much is certain, that the wars in
which we then engaged were eminently popular."
No doubt there is much truth in these observations.
That Napoleon the First would, at almost any stage
THE IMPERIAL FAMILY IN EXILE.
▾
33
of his career, have willingly and gladly made an
equitable peace with England, is a fact of which there
now exists little doubt: as little doubtful is it that
the inexorable policy - or mispolicy - of the English
government, the factitious and false prosperity created
in England by the war, and the prejudices with which
the minds of our fathers were inoculated, rendered the
attainment of the Emperor's desire an impossibility.
It has been argued that, considering that in the down-
fal of his uncle, the repression of the Imperial system,
and the humiliation of France, the power and persis-
tence of Great Britain were so prominently instru-
mental, the mind of the young Prince Louis Napoleon
must, as soon as he reached the age of reason and
reflection, have conceived sentiments of hostility to-
wards this country. But it is useless to discuss con-
jectural hypotheses of the kind. The facts are before
us: these facts show that, whatever feelings the Prince
might have been considered likely to entertain for
us, those which he did manifest, and with his usual
consistency has adhered to from very early manhood to
the present time, partook not of enmity, but of amity,
the only difference between his recently expressed
sentiments in this respect, and those which were avowed
by him many years ago, being that the amicable views,
then comparatively cold, have since assumed a tone of
thorough and cordial friendship.
To return from this digression. The events of 1815
led to the expulsion from the French territory of the
family and relatives of the Emperor. The ex-king of
Holland had adopted the modest title of Count St.
Leu; and his wife, taking with her the illustrious
subject of these pages, passed into Bavaria. But
political acrimony pursued her thither. Representa-
tions from the ministers of Louis the Eighteenth soon
D
34
THE FUTURE EMPEROR IN YOUTH.
forced her to seek another refuge. It was at that time
not easy to find a spot on the continent of Europe not
overshadowed by the system of intimidation and coer-
cion which constituted the policy of the potentates
who had formed themselves into the league so well
known in history as the Holy Alliance. The court of
Bavaria was compelled to insist on the departure of the
illustrious exiles. Their first place of sojourn was
Switzerland, they then removed to Rome. Finally,
they established themselves permanently in Switzerland,
and resided for several years in the Castle of Arenem-
berg. Here the Prince's education was continued under
the superintendence of his mother. From the simple
people amid whom they dwelt, the admirable qualities
of the ex-Queen, and the masculine, generous, though
somewhat reserved character of the Prince, attracted
warm and affectionate esteem. That his studies were
of a solid and comprehensive kind-of the stamp calcu-
lated to prepare him for the high destiny which lay
in the future is evidenced by the subjects chosen by
him in the several published works which are more
particularly noticed in subsequent chapters. To such
studies, to the contemplation of the science of govern-
ment, of political and military organisation, and in
general to topics connected with the interests and
happiness of nations, the natural bent of his mind dis-
posed him; and on his arrival at manhood, he was
probably more deeply versed in the leading principles
and circumstances of European politics than many
grey-haired statesmen who had passed their lives in the
bureau and the cabinet.
It is not my purpose to overload this volume with
multitudinous anecdotes of a merely personal nature.
There is one, however, which (illustrative as it is of the
intrepidity and presence of mind for which Louis Na-
LABOURS AND STUDIES.
35
poleon has always been distinguished) I think it worth
while to copy verbatim, as I find it in a contemporary
work of reputation:-
"On one occasion he gave proof of a generous
courage, which it would be wrong to omit citing. One
day, as he was taking his usual ride, his attention was
attracted by cries of alarm. Two horses, harnessed
to a carriage, had taken fright, and were galloping
furiously towards a precipice. The coachman was
already thrown down; a lady and two children were
in the vehicle, shrieking with terror. No sooner did
Louis Napoleon perceive their dangerous situation than
he dashed his horse across the fields in order to arrive
before the carriage at the precipice. He reached it
at the very edge, seized one of the horses by the bit,
and turned him so vigorously that the animal fell
down, and the carriage was stopped, amidst the plaudits
and delight of a crowd of frightened villagers, who now,
in the brave and skilful horseman, recognised the
Prince."
Numerous similar anecdotes are related; and it has
been observed with much truth, that "he won the
hearts of the people by his bravery and the simplicity
of his habits." The well-informed writer of the above-
cited passage remarks:-
"He not only studied literature and the sciences at
Arenemberg, but he took advantage of the vicinity of
the camp at Thun to make himself acquainted with
military duties. Every year he carried the knapsack
on his back, ate the soldiers' fare, handled the shovel,
the pickaxe, and the wheelbarrow-would climb up
the mountains, and after having marched many leagues
in the day, return at night to repose under the soldiers'
tent."
D 2
36
THE REVOLUTION OF 1830.
Such were the lessons of self-command, of willing
submission to hardship and discipline, in pursuit of the
practical experience so necessary to complete and ex-
emplify theoretical principles, which the Prince imposed
on himself. Meet preparation for a great destiny.
The Revolution of 1830, inaugurated and commemo-
rated amid such high and futile hopes, hopes the failure
of which was rendered all the more bitter by the confi-
dence with which they had been cherished,― brought
about a change in the peaceful, studious, retired, and
laborious life of the future Emperor. He had sup-
posed that, with the nominal abolition of the anti-
national system of 1815, such accompaniments of that
system as the exile of the family of the great Emperor
might have been removed. He was disappointed. A
meeting of members of the Imperial family took place
at Rome; the spirit of Bourbon intrigue took the
alarm, and the Prince was conducted, under a military
escort, beyond the pale of the Papal territory. Next
came the Italian revolution, in which, regarding it as
a protest against the incubus of despotism which bound
down the soul of Europe, Louis Napoleon and his elder
brother took an active part. The particulars of the
campaign it is unnecessary to describe. I am content
to take the summary of its events from the hand of
a writer somewhat remarkable for hostility to the
Prince :-
"Louis Napoleon and his brother formed moving
columns, and endeavoured to organise the revolutionary
efforts. Aided by General Sercognani, they defeated
the Papal forces in several places. Great rejoicing pre-
vailed in the camp of the insurgents; alarm and
confusion filled the Vatican. Both were of short
duration. The crooked and double-tongued policy of
the French and Austrian rulers gained the upper hand.
THE APPEAL TO LOUIS PHILIPPE.
37
The two princes were deprived of their command, and
banished from the soil of Italy. Meanwhile the elder
brother fell sick at Faenza, with an attack of internal
inflammation, and shortly afterwards died, March
27th, 1831."
The Prince was now in a critical position. Literally in
the territory of his enemies, surrounded by Austrian
soldiers, who exercised the utmost vigilance to capture
him, he was only extricated from his difficulty by
assuming the livery of a servant of his mother, who, on
hearing of his danger, had hastened to offer him succour
and counsel. Mother and son ultimately reached
Cannes-the spot at which the Emperor, on leaving
Elba in 1815, had first set foot on the soil of France,
and the name of which has of late become more
familiar than before to English ears, from being the
chosen retirement of Lord Brougham. Here they were
still involved in danger of arrest; for it will be re-
membered that the proscription of the Imperial family
remained in force under the monarchy of July.
They chose a bold and high-minded course,-to
endeavour to reach Paris, and make an appeal to the
good feeling which they were willing to attribute to the
King. They succeeded in entering the capital, and
put themselves into communication with Louis Philippe.
Setting aside the character of the man whom they had
to deal with, they had good reason for making this
appeal, and for entertaining some confidence as to its
result. But here, as in most instances where any
argument save the cunning suggestions of self-aggran-
disement was submitted to King Louis Philippe, the
application was unsuccessful. This king had peculiar
causes for gratitude to Queen Hortense.
It was
mainly through the intercession of that princess that
the Emperor had been induced to permit the mother
:
41
·
气
​v 3
38
CUNNING V. WISDOM.
and aunt of Louis Philippe to reside in France, at a time
when all the branches of the Bourbons were plotting or
fighting against the Empire. It was her intercession, in
great measure, which had obtained for them, from the
Imperial generosity, the annuities of 400,000 and 200,000
francs respectively. But of Louis Philippe it could not
be said, as it was of the elder branch of his family, that
he had "forgotten nothing." He had a convenient
facility of forgetfulness as to favours received, when the
memory thereof did not harmonise with his immediate
views. Queen Hortense, to whose generous, womanly
humanity he owed so much, appealed to him,-she
desired only to live and die in France. The Prince,
her son, asked permission to serve in the French
armies in any capacity, no matter how humble-that
of a private soldier not being excluded. The reply was
a peremptory order to leave the French territory
immediately. Haply the King blundered here. Had
he been a little more trustful, a little more grateful,
and had he followed up such trustfulness and grati-
tude by the manifestation of a willingness to govern
France for the French instead of for his own family
circle, to maintain her honour and dignity throughout
the world, and to consult and labour for her domestic
interests, her industrial prosperity, her social, intel-
lectual, educational elevation,-he might possibly have
secured a fast friend. For it was not so much the
personnel, it was the principles of government, that
at all times occupied the meditations and aspirations
of the present Emperor.
39
CHAP. II.
THE SECOND SOJOURN IN SWITZERLAND.
THOUGHTS, STUDIES,
OCCUPATIONS, AND ASPIRATIONS.
REPELLED from the land to which their affections
were so inseparably wedded, the exiles, after a short
sojourn in England, returned to their former resi-
dence in Switzerland. In 1832 the Council of the
canton of Thurgovia offered the Prince the rights and
privileges of citizenship, in a letter which well attests
the character of mother and son:-
*
"We, the President of the Petty Council of the Canton
of Thurgovia, declare that the commune of Sallenstein
having offered the right of communal citizenship to his
Highness the Prince Louis Napoleon, out of gratitude
for the numerous favours conferred upon the canton by
the family of the Duchess of St. Leu since her residence
in Arenemberg, and the Grand Council having after-
wards, by its unanimous vote of the 14th of April,
sanctioned this award, and decreed unanimously to his
Highness the right of honorary burgess-ship of the
canton, with the desire of proving how highly it
honours the generous character of his family, and how
* A trait still remembered and spoken of by the old inhabitants
of the district, was the peculiarly generous and charitable disposition
shown by the Prince at a very early age-in fact, from childhood.
Whilst yet a youth, the allowance received from his mother, instead
of being expended in the objects of personal display and indul-
gence, which usually engross the thoughts of young people, was
almost wholly employed in offices of benevolence and good service to
his poor neighbours.
D 4
40
LIFE IN SWITZERLAND.
highly it appreciates the preference they have shown for
the canton, declare that his Highness Prince Louis
Napoleon, son of the Duke and Duchess of St. Leu, is
acknowledged as a citizen of the Canton of Thur-
govia."
In acknowledging and accepting this compliment, the
Prince does not omit referring to his position as an exile
in the cause of the Imperial nationality of France. He
says:-
66
My position, as an exile from my country, makes
me the more sensible of this mark of attention on your
part. Believe me, that under all the circumstances of
my future life, as a Frenchman and a Bonaparte, I shall
be proud of being the citizen of a free nation. My
mother desires me to say how much she is touched by
the interest you have shown towards me."
The circumstance just described took place in the
year 1832. Towards the close of that year the death of
his cousin, the Duke of Reichstadt, son of the Emperor
by the Archduchess Marie Louise, drew the Prince into
closer relationship than before with the rights and
traditions inherited from the Empire.
During 1832 and 1833 he published two remarkable
works. The first was the well-known "Rêvéries Poli-
tiques;" the second-less known in other countries,
though evidencing an extent of practical and theoretical
knowledge extraordinary in a young man of five-and-
twenty-was the "Considérations Politiques et Mili-
taires sur la Suisse."*
As one of my designs is to exhibit the course of
thought which has influenced the Emperor throughout
his life, I shall insert a few extracts from these early
* When still very young, he wrote a work upon artillery, which
obtained warm encomiums from high authorities on the subject.
THE WORK OF RETIREMENT.
41
productions. It will be observed that, whatever the
subject immediately under consideration, his mind ever
reverted to France,--to the memories associated with
that loved name, to the grandeur and beneficence of
the Imperial system. Some of his allusions to repub-
licanism that is to say, the school of republicanism
which repudiates monarchy-are very striking. He does
not conceal his appreciation of those qualities in re-
publican administration, which, abstractedly, are worthy
of all admiration. But neither does he conceal his
sense of the several considerations which might render
that form of government unsuitable in many respects to
France. By such candid acknowledgments of his con-
victions he was decidedly weakening himself, in point
of popularity, with parties in France who would have
been happy to obtain the sanction of his name and
co-operation in measures directed against the govern-
ment of the day. But this was a temptation to which
he rose superior. Steadfast in his belief as to the policy
which would secure the real interests of the nation, and
in his confidence of the ultimate triumph of that policy,
he never deviated from expressions indicative of these
sentiments. He possessed the capacity of looking
beyond the small expediencies of the moment, and
regulated his language, as his actions, by a far-seeing
regard for the contingencies of the future.*
* The framework or outline of a constitution, which he appended
to the
"Rêvéries Politiques," contained some features differing
from those of the present form of government in France, or rather
contained features not included in the latter. But in spirit and
essence they are similar. And as respects divergencies of detail,
it would be well to consider that the system which it might be de-
sirable to adopt in a country untroubled by the plots and intrigues
of conflicting dynastic pretensions, of reckless, bloodthirsty factions,
and conspirators against all orderly government,-against property,
against society itself,-may be, and obviously must be, widely dif
42
PUBLISHED OPINIONS.
In the "Rêvéries Politiques" (published in 1832), I
find the following passages:-
A
government can be a strong one only when its
principles are in harmony with its nature. Thus, the
nature of the government of the Republic consisted in the
desire to establish the reign of equality and liberty; and
the feelings by which it was actuated were a love of
country, and a desire to exterminate her enemies. The
nature of the Empire was to consolidate a throne based
on the principles of the Revolution, to heal the wounds
of France, to regenerate the people. The passions of
that government were love of native country, love of
glory, love of honour. The nature of the [Bourbon]
Restoration consisted in the restriction of liberty, that
men might forget the glory of the past, and its passions
in the re-establishment of the ancient privileges of
classes, and a tendency to arbitrary power. The nature
ferent from that which it would be possible, with prudent regard for
public tranquillity, the interests of industry, and the rights of pro-
perty, to adopt in a country in which these evils abound. To this
day the conduct of many of the leading men of the French factions
(witness the "Fusionist" negotiations, and such manifestations as
the various incendiary "letters" to the Italians) proves the absolute ne-
cessity, in the interests of peace, nay, of society, for energetic and vigi-
lant rule. Moreover, it must be remembered that experience often dis-
proves the practicability of measures or systems which may be good in
theory. Circumstances, after all, must ever govern the course of human
affairs; and true wisdom is shown in deciding on the steps which,
under their controlling pressure, is most accordant with the public
welfare. In the working of the constitutional systems which were
put on their trial after the Revolution of 1848, the President of the
Republic strenuously endeavoured to maintain and carry them out
in their spirit. The factions rendered this impossible: it proved a
physical as well as a moral impracticability. The nation reeled on the
verge of the most sanguinary anarchy recorded in history. It awoke
to a sense of its frightful peril: it emphatically co-operated with
the wise and comprehensive plans by which that peril was averted.
PUBLISHED OPINIONS.
43
of the Royalty of 1830 consisted in a revival of the
glories of France, the sovereignty of the people, and the
reign of merit: but its passions were timidity, selfish-
ness, and cowardice.
"The agitation which prevails in all parts of the world,
the love of liberty which has taken possession of the
minds of all men, the energy which a feeling of confi-
dence and a good cause have begot in all hearts, all these
indications of an imperious will cannot but lead us ulti-
mately to a happy result. Yes; the day will come, and
perhaps is not far off, when fallen virtue will triumph
over intrigue, when merit will be stronger than preju-
dice, when glory will crown liberty. For the attain-
ment of this end, every one in his dreams has devised
various means. For my part, I think we can only
arrive at the desired result by a re-combination of the
two popular causes of the day,-that of Napoleon the
Second, and that of the Republic. The son of the great
man, of the First Napoleon, is the sole representative of
the highest amount of glory, as the Republic is the em-
bodiment of the greatest amount of natural liberty."
The constant, consistent reference to the restoration
of the Empire, as a great national object to which
patriotic Frenchmen should aspire, is remarkable; and it
will be noticed that, in association with these convictions,
the son of the great Napoleon is specially distinguished
as the "sole representative" of the Empire. So far was
personal ambition, in the vulgar sense of the term, from
being a ruling passion with Louis Napoleon. It was only
when death had removed those who stood nearer than
himself as heirs of Napoleon the First, that he as-
serted his own position as the personal representative
of the Empire. That the recklessness of faction should
have made it unavoidable, in view of the paramount
object of preventing the total disruption of society, to
44
PUBLISHED OPINIONS.
:
postpone the fulfilment of the aspirations which as-
sociated republican freedom with Imperial vigour and
grandeur, is the fault of a combination, as profligate in
purpose, as discordant in its elements, as ever dis-
honoured the name and principle of representation.
Proceeding in his exposition of principles, the writer
appeals to the memory of the Emperor :-
"Frenchmen! let us not be unjust; let us be grateful
to him who, coming from amongst the ranks of the
people, did everything for their well-being; who spread
abroad the light of intelligence, and secured the inde-
pendence of the country. If, one of these days, the
people of France should become free, it is to Napoleon
that they will owe it. He it was who habituated men
to virtuous actions, the only sure basis of a republic.
Do not reproach him for his dictatorial power; it was
that which led to freedom, as the iron plough which
breaks the clods prepares the fertility of the soil. It was
he who brought true civilisation to the world, from the
Tagus to the Vistula; it was he who implanted in the
mind of France the principles of the Republic-equality
before the laws, the superior claims of merit, the pros
perity of commerce and industry, the enfranchisement
of all nations; these were the objects with which he led
us onward.
The misfortune of the Emperor
Napoleon was, that he was not able to reap all that he
had sown that, having delivered France, he was
*
*
*
unable to leave her free."
Some of the opinions entertained by the Prince, upon
the practical question at issue between the monarchical
and the purely republican forms of govenment in their
probable bearings upon the welfare of France, may be
gathered from the following passages:—
"In order that the enjoyments of life may be equally
spread amongst all classes, it is necessary not only that
PUBLISHED OPINIONS.
45
taxation should be diminished, but also that the govern-
ment should wear an aspect of stability, calculated to
tranquillise the minds of men, and warrant a dependence
upon the future. The government will be stable when
institutions are not exclusive; that is to say, when,
without favouring any class, they are tolerant of all,
and above all are in harmony with the requirements
and the desires of the majority of the nation. Then will
merit be the only passport to success, and services
rendered to the country the only ground for reward.
"From the opinions which I have advanced, it will
be seen that my principles are republican. And in-
deed what nobler theme can there be than to dream
of the empire of virtue, of the development of the
human faculties, and of the progress of civilisation? If
in my scheme of a constitution I give preference to the
monarchical form of government, it is because I con-
sider that such a government would be best adapted for
France, inasmuch as it would give more guarantees of
tranquillity, greater strength and greater liberty, than
any other.
"If the Rhine were a sea—if virtue were the sole
motive of human actions—if merit alone attained to
authority, then would I have a pure and simple republic.
But, surrounded as we are by formidable enemies, who
have at their disposal millions of soldiers who might re-
enact upon our soil an irruption of barbarians, I ap-
prehend that a republic would not be able to repel
foreign aggression and repress civil troubles, unless by
having recourse to rigorous steps which would be pre-
judicial to liberty. As for public virtue and merit, we
have frequently seen that under a republic they have.
only been able to attain to a certain point; after which
they become corrupted by ambition or destroyed by
jealousies. For this reason men of transcendent genius
46
PUBLISHED OPINIONS.
are often rejected, on account of the distrust which
they inspire; and intrigue then triumphs over merit,
which might have rendered the country illustrious. I
wish to see established a government which should en-
sure all the advantages of a republic, without having
these inconveniences in its train; in a word, which
should be strong without despotism, free without
anarchy, independent without recourse to conquest.
""
The principle that the people alone, in the unsettled
condition of France, had the right of deciding on the
form of government to be permanently adopted — a
principle enunciated and acted on by Napoleon the
First, and faithfully adhered to by the present Em-
peror, whose elevation is emphatically the expression of
the national suffrage-is thus enforced; and on the sup-
position that the corrupt and undignified government
then existing would inevitably fall, an appeal is made.
to the honest and patriotic of all parties to have recourse
to the great ultimate tribunal of decision :
"Although each one forms to himself a beau-ideal of
a government, thinking that such or such a form is
most appropriate for France, the consequence of the
establishment of the principles of liberty is to acknow-
ledge that, presiding over all partial convictions, there is
a supreme judge, which is the people. This is the
point at which all good Frenchmen, of whatever party
they may be, ought to meet; all Frenchmen who would
prefer the well-being of their common country to the
triumph of their particular doctrines. Let those of the
Carlist party who do not make common cause with the
betrayers and enemies of France, but who participate in
the generous sentiments of Chateaubriand let those
amongst the Orleanist party who have not been accom-
plices in the murders committed in Poland, in Italy,
and upon patriot Frenchmen - let all republicans and
PUBLISHED OPINIONS.
47
Napoleonists unite before the altar of the country to
ascertain the will of the people."
An attentive perusal of the above passages will
show how entirely consistent with his proceedings,
when afterwards holding the most important position.
in France, is the rule laid down for basing a per-
manent form of government on the expressed suf-
frages of the people. It was these suffrages that named
Louis Napoleon President of the Republic; these
that pronounced, by an overwhelming majority, in
favour of a revision of the first crude conception of a
constitution; it was these suffrages that enlarged and
prolonged his authority, and that ultimately made that
authority permanent, and decorated it with the Imperial
insignia.
The "Considérations Politiques et Militaires sur la
Suisse" appeared in 1833. In this production the
author analyses the social, political, and industrial posi-
tion of Switzerland, pointing out those portions of
the Helvetic system which, in his opinion, call for
amendment, reform, or abolition, and offering the sug-
gestions which appear to him calculated to increase the
happiness of the people and promote the stability of the
Confederation. He reminds the Swiss of the extent to
which they are indebted, for the improvement that had
already taken place in their position, to the good offices
of the Emperor Napoleon, "whose intentions," he
affirms, "will be viewed with greater and still greater
admiration, the more his actions, his principles, and his
48
PUBLISHED OPINIONS.
.
tendencies are scrutinised with close impartiality." On
the general or abstract principles of political govern-
ment he makes a few observations, and insists that the
system of Napoleon the First was that which most
effectually represented the nation, to the exclusion of
no class:
"In almost all governments power has unfortunately
ever been in the hands of a single class. In a theocracy
it is in the hands of the priests; in a military govern-
ment, in those of the generals; in an aristocratic
monarchy, in those of the nobility; in a monarchy
founded on the aristocracy of money, in those of the
wealthy; lastly, even in a republic, authority is too
frequently in the hands of a few families, such as those
of the Golden Book of Venice, or in those of the lawyers,
as is actually the case in the United States of America.
During our French Revolution the power was by turns.
in the hands of a single section of the nation. We
may then, probably, affirm with justice that the govern-
ment of Napoleon, the Emperor of the people, presents
to us the first instance of a government where all classes
were received, none excluded."
•
This, in truth, was the proposition enforced again and
again, upon every occasion where allusion could be
appropriately made to the system of Napoleon. We
shall see, by and by, how, in very different circum-
stances—indeed, in numerous varieties of circumstance,
-it is brought forward.
The financial affairs of Switzerland are carefully ex-
amined in the "Considérations." The system of Na-
poleon is held up as a model for financiers; and
assuredly the following contrast between the war
budgets of Napoleon and the peace budgets of the
Restoration and of the Government of July is some-
what startling:—
PUBLISHED OPINIONS.
49.
"Under a wise government, and where the leader
takes care that the public revenues are not wasted,
great economy may be effected without obstructing the
various branches of the administration. The budget of
Napoleon, notwithstanding the war, never exceeded six
or seven hundred millions. In 1814 alone, it reached
1,076,800,000 francs; and he met this enormous ex-
pense without borrowing. He said that a budget of
600,000,000 francs ought to be sufficient for France in
time of peace* ;—yet at the present time, notwithstand-
ing peace, the budget is 1,160,053,658 francs, or
400,000,000 more than it was under Napoleon, and
500,000,000 more than it ought to be in time of peace.
"The Emperor is often accused of having introduced
new taxes. He can at most be accused of having shifted
them. He established the droits-réunis, that he might
abolish the vexatious tolls at the barriers, and reduce
the land-tax by several millions. The force of cir-
cumstances, the perpetual wars, obliged him to resort
to extreme measures, which would have been, in great
part, laid aside with the return of peace."
Proceeding from his consideration of the political
condition, necessities, and prospects of Switzerland,
whose interests he regards as closely connected with
those of France, the author goes on to treat of military
organisation, and of the measures best calculated to
create an effectual system of armed national defence
readily available in emergencies. In these sections
he displays an elaborate acquaintance with various
branches of the art of war, bestowing particular atten-
tion upon the artillery arm. This, the military section.
* In connection with the expenditure under Napoleon the Third, it
should be remembered that a large portion of it is occasioned by the
extensive works of improvement, which for a long time had been
almost totally neglected.
E
50
MATRIMONIAL OVERTURES.
of the “Considérations," has been long regarded by pro-
fessional men as a valuable addition to the library of
strategic literature. But its subject renders it unne-
cessary for me either to quote or comment upon it.
In the year 1833 the government of the canton of
Berne, in recognition of the high degree of practical and
theoretical knowledge displayed by the Prince in his
work upon artillery, nominated him a captain in that
department of the army. To this compliment he re-
sponded in modest and becoming terms, still suggest-
ing reflections upon his own position with respect to
France. Indeed he never omitted, on any fitting oppor-
tunity, to recall and enunciate the principle of which
he felt himself to be the representative.
The circumstances connected with the marriage nego-
tiation proposed between the Queen of Portugal and
Prince Louis Napoleon strikingly exemplified the fidelity
with which he adhered to the hope of being one day
able to perform good service for France, and the con-
stancy of purpose that prevented him from taking,
for any consideration, no matter how tempting and
seductive, any step which could possibly trammel him
in his plans for the promotion of the welfare and
prosperity of his country. Doña Maria had just lost
her husband. There were many competitors for the
hand of the fair young queen, and there was a difficulty
in the case a danger that certain alliances which were
proposed might entangle the relations between several
European courts. In this embarrassment the eyes of
many were directed towards a Prince who, whilst
having no engagements which could create any com-
plications of the kind referred to, was closely related
to Imperial honours. The Queen herself was under-
stood to be well disposed towards the union; it is said
that advances were actually made to Prince Louis
MATRIMONIAL OVERTURES.
51
Napoleon, and articles in the public journals went
the length of announcing the affair as "settled." But,
France still uppermost in his thoughts, he put an
end, in the following letter, alike to rumours and
negotiations :-
"Several journals have noticed the news of my de-
parture for Portugal, as though I were pretending to
the hand of the Queen Doña Maria. However flat-
tering to me might be the idea of a union with a
youthful queen, beautiful and virtuous, the widow of a
cousin who was very dear to me, it is incumbent upon
me to refute such a rumour, because there is no
circumstance, of which I am aware, which could give
rise to it.
(6
It is due to myself also to add that, in spite of
the lively interest which attaches to the destinies of a
people who have but recently acquired their rights, I
should refuse the honour of sharing the throne of
Portugal, should it perchance happen that any persons
should direct their eyes to me with that view.
"The noble conduct of my father, who abdicated
a throne in 1810 because he could not unite the in-
terests of France with those of Holland, has not left
my memory.
"My father, by his example, proved to me how far
the claims of one's native land are to be preferred
even to a throne in a foreign land. I feel, in fact, that
habituated since infancy to cherish the thought of my
native land above every other consideration, I should
not be able to hold anything in higher esteem than the
interests of France.
"Persuaded as I am that the great name which I bear
will not always be regarded by my fellow-countrymen
as a ground of exclusion-since that name recalls to
them fifteen years of glory-I wait with composure, in
E 2
52
THE DECISION OF PATRIOTISM.
a hospitable and free country, until the time shall come
when the nation shall recall to its bosom those who in
1815 were expatriated by the will of two hundred
thousand strangers.
"This hope of one day serving France as a citizen
and as a soldier, fortifies my soul, and is worth, in my
estimation, all the thrones in the world."
After the publication of this letter, we hear little more
about a Portuguese marriage. The domestic happiness
of the future Emperor was destined to be secured by a
union which circumstances rendered more glorious than
if the bride had been of the daughters of the oldest
and most powerful of the dynastic houses of Europe.
53
CHAP III.
STATE OF FRANCE IN 1836.. THE ADVENTURE OF STRASBURG.-
EXPOSITION OF MOTIVES AND PRINCIPLES. THE COMPULSORY
VOYAGE. THE RETURN. THE CALUMNY. THE REFUTATION.-
DEATH OF QUEEN HORTENSE. VINDICTIVE PROCEEDINGS OF THE
FRENCH GOVERNMENT.
GOVERNMENT. REMINISCENCES
REMINISCENCES OF RESIDENCE IN ENG-
LAND.
ON the 30th of October, 1836, occurred the unsuc-
cessful enterprise historically known as the "Affair of
Strasburg." The circumstances preceding and accom-
panying this movement must be impartially weighed
before we can arrive at anything like a fair estimate
of the reasons and motives which swayed the principal
actor.
-
The point of time which we have reached is not so
remote, but that many of us can refer to our own me-
mories for a picture of the state of feeling prevalent
in France with respect to the government of Louis
Philippe. It was that of disgust, disappointment,
anger on the part of the bulk of the nation on the
part of all who, either in sentiment or overt action, had
honestly assisted in consummating the Revolution of
July; whilst the small but active section of Legitimists
looked on in expectation that in this disgust, in this
disappointment, they might find some opportunity to
promote the reviving hopes of the expelled branch of
the Bourbons.
Prince Louis Napoleon had been, though a tranquil,
not an inattentive spectator of this state of national
feeling. He had not been unobservant of the indig
в 3
54
STATE OF FRANCE IN 1836.
nation with which the noblest minds of France saw
all their hopes and expectations of "citizen-kingship"
not only disappointed, but systematically warred
against. The suffrage was a mere mockery. About
a quarter of a million, probably less, might have re-
presented the number of electors throughout the whole
kingdom. By the creation of innumerable petty offices
at a profligate waste of public money, and by other de-
vices of craft and intrigue, the Court might have been
said to carry these votes in its pocket. The national
will was an absolute nullity.
The future Emperor knew all this. He knew,
moreover, from personal residence amongst ourselves,
that the errors and prejudices which had excited us
to implacable hostility towards Napoleon the First
no longer existed in their former virulence; whilst
our course with respect to the Revolution of July had
proved that our government had discerned the error of
unnecessary interference in the domestic concerns of
other nations.
His position at the time has been well sketched by a
respectable writer already quoted :-
"He had carefully made his observations upon the
scenes around him, he had studied the history of his
own country, — he had seen the vicissitudes through
which it had passed, and how the popular will had at
last so far prevailed, that a king hostile to the elder
branches of the Bourbons had been placed upon the
throne. But in what light could he have regarded the
throne of Louis Philippe? To have regarded him with
esteem was an impossibility: he could but consider him
as the representative of the bourgeoisie of Paris, who
cared not what became of the honour of France, pro-
vided they themselves remained in the position which
they enjoyed; and the whole government of the Citizen
LOUIS NAPOLEON AND LOUIS PHILIPPE.
55
King, as he was called, was but the reflection of this idea.
The exiled Prince, with the memory of his uncle's glo-
rious reign before him, had perhaps a better idea of the
French king's real character than any of the continental
statesmen. As to ourselves, we possibly felt more re-
spect for him [the king], because we knew less of
the principles on which he had ascended the throne of
France. No sooner had Louis Philippe seated himself
upon that throne than he required to be recognised as
king by the great Powers of Europe. Of those Powers
the English government frankly admitted the right of
the French nation to choose a king for themselves.
They did not thereby express their approbation of the
choice, they did not say that they were pleased to
see the Duke of Orleans raised to the dignity of king
of France, — but they virtually said, 'We waged war
for the purpose of restoring the elder branch of the
Bourbons to power; but finding that they have dis-
appointed the expectation of the nations of Europe, we
will recognise the right of the French people to choose
a sovereign for themselves, and to expel those who
have shown that they are unworthy of the title.' Hence,
a feeling of respect for the French nation, and not a
regard for the new king, made the English government
recognise him as the ruler of France. Nor was this fact
lost upon Louis Napoleon. He perfectly understood
why it was that the English people had recognised Louis
Philippe, though they had formerly refused to recognise
Napoleon the First. He saw the progress which true
political philosophy had made in England; and he saw
that should he himself ever be called upon to fill the
throne of France, he should no longer receive that bitter
hostility from the English nation which had pursued
his uncle, but that he might, if he had a due regard to
}
E 4
56
LOUIS NAPOLEON AND LOUIS PHILIPPE.
•
"
the welfare of humanity, calculate upon the friendship
of England."
The House of Orleans has fallen definitively from its
high estate-fallen beyond all possibility of recovering
the position which the obliquities and delinquencies of
its chief member forfeited. I have no wish to heap op-
probrium upon the memory of the deceased king; I
would willingly forbear allusion to the intrigue of
the "Spanish marriage," which many politicians regard
as the directly moving cause of his fall. Willingly
would I modify the force of the accusations in which
it has been said-
to
“That this nationally-elected king had imposed upon
the people; that he had consulted his own dynastic in-
terests rather than those of his subjects; that his sole
idea was to aggrandise himself and his family
make alliances for them amongst all the nations of
Europe, and to do this at the expense of all that kings
and men are bound to hold inviolable; that his oath
was regarded by him as nothing, if a chance appeared
by which he could elevate his children to a higher de-
gree of power and splendour than that which they
already possessed; that [in connection with the Spanish
intrigue] by his attempt to impose upon the English people
by saying one thing and meaning another, he lost the
small confidence here which he had hitherto possessed,
and rendered himself as contemptible to the English
as Napoleon had been formidable, until he was re-
garded with the most profound indifference, and it
was apparent that he could under no circumstances look
again for the support of this kingdom;" that through
the system introduced by him "there was at length
hardly any office that was not in the patronage of the
sovereign; that corruption rose to such a height that
it could only be exceeded in the Russian empire; that
FRANCE UNDER LOUIS PHILIPPE.
57
with these fraudulent proceedings on the part of the
Crown the French people continued to struggle on in
material prosperity and moral disgrace, until Louis
Philippe was hurled from the throne with as much in-
dignation, and far greater contempt, than that which
attended the expulsion of Charles the Tenth."
Reluctant as we may be to press hardly on his me-
mory - desirous to spare the feelings of surviving re-
latives-common truth and justice compel the admission
that the circumstances attending the expulsion of Louis
Philippe were far more ignominious, more disgraceful to
himself personally, than those which had accompanied
the fall of his predecessor. The latter had promised
nothing had made no conditions with the people.
He was forced on them by the concentrated and mis-
directed power of Europe: to force he owed his throne,
-by force he endeavoured to maintain it, by the
unconcealed repression of the national will. It was
a stand-up fight between him and the people; - he
failed, and fled. With Louis Philippe the case was
different. High hopes, high expectations of national
regeneration, of a government having for its basis the
support and confidence of the people of France-ex-
pectations assented to and encouraged by the new
king-attended the opening of Louis Philippe's reign.
And what was the result? From the first the ma-
chinery of intrigue was put in motion, intriguing,
manoeuvring, with the specific design of performing
as little as possible, of avoiding as much as possible,
of what he had solemnly undertaken; of perpetuating,
under a crafty and specious disguise, the system of
crushing, ignoring, repudiating the sentiments of the
people of France — of maintaining a system even more
hateful than the previous one, because it was more
mean, more tricky, more sordid, more disingenuous,
58
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
..
more impregnated with the leaven of objects of реси-
niary and personal aggrandisement tending to enrich
the king and his family.
It was in this state of affairs,-when the dynasty of
July, strong only in the mercenary support of those
whom corruption had mustered around it, was sunk
in the depths of moral abasement, and was alike the
object of national hatred and European contempt,
that the public were surprised by the attempt made at
Strasburg to rally the voice of France around the
Imperial standard. It may be said that the enterprise
was a rash, an ill-arranged one. Granted that it was so.
Granted that it was but the imprudent manifestation of
impulses and convictions that had long revolved in
the mind of the chief actor, guiding his acts, engross-
ing his thoughts, making themselves heard and known
by all with whom he held correspondence. Well; it
was, after all, a generous and magnanimous experiment
-a proof of sincere and profound convictions-one, the
failure of which could not compromise the safety of
many, whilst success, once initiated, would lead on, by
certain, inevitable procession of cause and effect, to a
bloodless triumph. And success, too, was an issue
which at one crisis of the enterprise seemed far from
improbable. It was lost by the clock, the lapse of
half an hour made all the difference.
His own views and intentions, when setting out from
his peaceful home, are described in the subjoined ex-
tract from a letter to his mother: -
"To give you a detailed recital of my misfortunes
will be to renew your sorrows and mine; but at the
same time it will be a consolation both for you and for
me to put you in possession of all the impressions which
were on my mind, of all the emotions which have agi-
tated me since the close of last October. You know
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
59
what was the pretext which I held out on my departure
from Arenemberg; but what you do not know is that
which was then passing in my heart. Strong in my
conviction, which had long made me look upon the
cause of Napoleonism as the cause of the nation in
France, and as the only civilising cause in Europe
proud of the nobleness and purity of my intentions—I
had firmly resolved to elevate again the Imperial eagle,
or to fall a victim to my political belief.
I
shall be asked what it was that impelled me to abandon
a happy existence, to run all the risks of a hazardous
enterprise. I answer, that a secret voice led me on,
and that for no consideration on earth would I have
postponed to another time an attempt which seemed to
present so many chances of a successful issue.
* * **
"And the most distressing consideration in the
matter is, that now that experience has taken the place
of suppositions, and that instead of merely imagining I
have actually witnessed the circumstances of the case,
and am enabled to form a judgment on the matter,
the result is, that I remain the more convinced in my
belief, that if I could have followed the plan which I
had traced out for myself in the first instance, instead
of now being an exile beyond the equator I should be
in my native country. What care I for the clamour of
the multitude who will call me mad because I have not
succeeded, and who would have exaggerated my merit
if I had triumphed! I take upon myself all the re-
sponsibility of the event, for I have acted upon convic-
tion, and not by inducement of others. Alas! if I had
been the only victim of my act I should have nothing
to regret. I have experienced from my friends a
devotedness without limit, and I have nothing for
which to reproach anyone."
It was on the evening of the 28th of October that
:
60
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
the Prince arrived at Strasburg. On the day following
he met Colonel Vaudrey, his principal supporter in the
enterprise, to whom he communicated his plan of opera-
tions, which was far more practical and matter-of-fact
than that which was actually followed. Unfortunately
enthusiasm entered somewhat too abundantly into the
Colonel's zeal for the Imperial cause. He urged the
Prince merely to present himself at the head of his (the
Colonel's) regiment to General Voirol, the commander
of the garrison, urging that "an old soldier of the
Empire would not be able to resist the sight of the
Emperor's nephew, and of the Imperial eagle." No
doubt this advice was honest, but no doubt it was ill-
judged. The Colonel measured everyone's feelings by
his own. Generous, manly, confiding, devoted, he was
more a soldier than a politician. Perhaps the Prince
did not feel perfectly easy in assenting to Colonel
Vaudrey's proposal; but this much may be said in ex-
tenuation of any imprudence involved in that assent,
that the Colonel, who was in constant communi-
cation with General Voirol, might have been supposed
to be well acquainted with that officer's sentiments.
At this stage of the affair, the Prince observed to his
companion:-
"What confidence, what a profound conviction one
must have of the truth and nobility of a cause, to face,
not the dangers which we are going to meet, but public
opinion, which will load us with reproaches, which will
tear us to pieces if we do not succeed. Nevertheless, I
call God to witness, that it is not to gratify personal
ambition, but because I believe I have a mission to
fulfil, that I risk that which is more dear to me than
life the esteem of my fellow-citizens."
On the morning of the 30th, the Prince, accompanied
by about a dozen officers, proceeded to the quarters of
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
61
the 10th Regiment of Artillery, Colonel Vaudrey's
regiment, and in which Napoleon the First had in
early life served as captain. The men had been drawn
up in order of battle by their colonel, and the Prince's
address was received enthusiastically. The Imperialists
next proceeded to General Voirol's quarters; but here
their reception was very different from that which had
been painted by the sanguine anticipations of Colonel
Vaudrey. The General peremptorily refused taking
part in the enterprise, and was placed under arrest.
On leaving him, the Prince addressed a body of sol-
diers, amongst whom hesitation had manifested itself in
consequence of some doubts having been circulated as
to his own identity. "As" (to use the Prince's own
words) "we were losing time in an unfavourable position,
instead of hastening to the other regiments which were
expecting us, I told the Colonel that we ought to quit
the place. He, however, urged me to remain, and some
minutes afterwards it was too late.”
The decisive moment had, unfortunately for the enter-
prise, been allowed to pass without being taken advantage
of. A tumult ensued. The General had escaped from ar-
rest, and ultimately the Prince, and several of his friends,
were captured. On being conveyed to the guard-house
he met M. Parquin, one of his most zealous followers,
and offered him his hand. "Prince," observed Par-
quin, "we shall be shot, but we will die nobly." "Yes,"
replied the Prince, "we have fallen in a grand and
noble enterprise."
General Voirol now arrived. His first remark was,
"Prince, you have found only one traitor in the
French army." The allusion was to Colonel Vaudrey.
The Prince's reply was prompt and characteristic :
"Say, rather, General, that I have found one Labé-
doyère." Never for a moment did he descend from the
62
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
*
dignity of self-assertion, or from assertion of the cause
which for the time was unsuccessful. His bearing in
defeat filled his followers with as much admiration as
could have been inspired by success. One of them,
M. Querelles, pressed his hand, and, raising his voice
to a high pitch, exclaimed, "Prince, notwithstanding
our defeat, I am still proud of what I have done."
In the course of the examination which took place, a
number of questions and answers similar to the follow-
ing were exchanged
"What was it that impelled you to act as you have
done?"
"My political opinions, and my desire again to set
my country free, which I have been prevented doing by
foreign invaders. In 1830 I demanded to be treated as
a citizen. I was treated as a pretender. Well; I have
since conducted myself as a pretender."
"You intended to establish a military government?"
"I wished to establish a government founded upon
election by the people."
"What would you have done if you had succeeded?"
"I would have called together a national congress."
The following narrative of the events at Strasburg
is contained in a letter addressed by the Prince, when
in America, to a friend in Europe. The material
particulars coincide with those above given, but it
may be desirable to give likewise his own account of
the affair:-
"At five o'clock in the morning of the 30th of Oc-
tober the signal was given in the Austerlitz Barracks.
At the sound of trumpets, the soldiers were aroused, and,
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
63
seizing their muskets and swords, they hurried im-
petuously down into the court-yard. They were drawn
up in double line around it, and Colonel Vaudrey took
his post in the centre. A short pause ensued, awaiting
On my
my arrival, and a dead silence was preserved.
appearance I was immediately presented to the troops
in a few eloquent words from their colonel: 'Soldiers,'
he said, 'a great revolution begins from this moment.
The nephew of the Emperor is before you. He comes
to put himself at your head. He is arrived on the
French soil, to restore to France her glory and her
liberty. He is here to conquer or die in a great cause
the cause of the people. Soldiers of the 4th Regi-
ment of Artillery, may the Emperor's nephew count on
you?' The shout which followed this brief appeal
nearly stunned me. Men and officers alike abandoned
themselves to the wildest enthusiasm. Flourishing their
arms with furious energy, they filled the air with cries
of 'Vive l'Empereur!'
6
"If misgivings had ever crossed me of the fidelity of
the French heart to the memory of Napoleon, they
vanished for ever before the suddenness and fierceness
of that demonstration. The chord was scarcely touched,
and the vibration was terrific. I was deeply moved, and
nearly lost my self-possession. In a few moments I
waved my hand, signifying my desire to speak. Breathless
silence ensued: Soldiers!' I said, 'it was in your regi-
ment the Emperor Napoleon, my uncle, first saw service.
With you he distinguished himself at Toulon. It was
your brave regiment that opened the gates of Grenoble
to him, on his return from the Isle of Elba. Soldiers!
new destinies are reserved to you. Here,' I continued,
taking the standard of the eagle from an officer near
me, 'here is the symbol of French glory;-it must hence-
forth become the symbol of liberty.' The effect of these
64
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
;
simple words was indescribable; but the time for ac-
tion had come. I gave the word to fall into column
the music struck up, and putting myself at their head,
the regiment followed me to a man. Meanwhile my
adherents had been active elsewhere, and uniformly
successful. Lieutenant Laity, on presenting himself,
was immediately joined by the corps of engineers. The
telegraph was seized without a struggle. The can-
noneers, commanded by M. Parquin, had arrested the
prefect. Every moment fresh tidings reached me of
the success of the different movements that had been
concerted. I kept steadily on my way, at the head of
the 4th Regiment, to the Finkmatt Barracks, where I
hoped to find the infantry ready to welcome me.
Passing by the head-quarters where the commander-in-
chief of the department of the Bas Rhin, Lieutenant-
General Voirol, resided, I halted, and was enthusiastically
saluted by his guard with the cry 'Vive l'Empereur!'
I made my way to the apartment of the General, where
a brief interview took place. On leaving, I thought it
necessary to give him notice that he was my prisoner,
and a small detachment was assigned to this duty.
From his quarters I proceeded rapidly to the Finkmatt
Barracks; and although it was early in the morning, the
populace were drawn out by the noise, and, mingling
their acclamations with those of the soldiers, they joined
our cortège in crowds. An unlooked-for error here oc-
curred, and had a most deplorable effect on the whole
enterprise, which had thus far gone on swimmingly.
We had reached the Faubourg de Pierre, when, being
on foot, the head of the column lost sight of me; and in-
stead of following the route agreed on, and proceeding
at once to the ramparts, they entered a narrow lane
which led direct to the barracks. Amid the noise and
confusion it was impossible to retrieve this mischance;
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
65
:
and I took, hurriedly, what measures I could to provide
against its worst consequences. Fearing a possible
attack on my rear, I was compelled to leave one half of
the regiment in the main street we had left, and hasten-
ing forward I entered the court-yard of the infantry with
my officers and some four hundred men. I expected
to find the regiment assembled; but the messenger en-
trusted with the news of my approach was prevented, by
some accident, from arriving in time, and I found
all the soldiers in their rooms, preparing themselves for
the Sunday's inspection. Attracted, however, by the
noise, they ran to the windows, where I harangued
them; and on hearing the name of Napoleon pro-
nounced, they rushed headlong down, thronged around
me, and testified, by a thousand marks of devotion, their
enthusiasm for my cause.
The battalion of the Pon-
tonniers and the 3rd Regiment of Artillery, with MM.
Poggi and Conard and a great number of officers at
their head, were all in movement, and on their way to
join me, and word was brought that they were only a
square off. In another moment I should have found my-
self at the head of five thousand men, with the people of
the town everywhere in my favour; when of a sudden, at
one end of the court-yard, a disturbance arose, without
those at the other extremity being able to divine the
cause. Colonel Taillander had just arrived, and, on
being told that the Emperor's nephew was there with the
4th Regiment, he could not believe such extraordinary
intelligence, and his surprise was so great that he pre-
ferred attributing it to a vulgar ambition on the part of
Colonel Vaudrey, rather than credit this unexpected
resurrection of a great cause. 'Soldiers,' said he, 'you are
deceived. The man who excites your enthusiasm can only
be an adventurer and an impostor.' An officer of his
staff cried out at the same time, 'It is not the Emperor's
F
:
;
"
.
F
"
:
66
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG..
nephew; it is the nephew of Colonel Vaudrey: I know
him.'
"Absurd as was this statement, it flew like light-
ning from mouth to mouth, and began to change the
disposition of the regiment, which a moment before had
been so favourable. Great numbers of the soldiers,
believing themselves to be the dupes of an unworthy
deception, became furious. Colonel Taillander assem-
bled them, caused the gates to be closed, and the drums
to beat; while on the other hand the officers devoted
to me gave orders to have the général beaten, to bring
forward the soldiers who had embraced my cause. The
space we occupied was so confined that the regiments
became, as it were, confounded together, and the
tumult was frightful. From moment to moment the
confusion increased, and the officers of the same cause
no longer recognised each other, as all wore the
same uniform. The cannoneers arrested infantry
officers, and the infantry in their turn laid hold of some
officers of artillery. Muskets were charged, and bayo-
nets and sabres flashed in the air; but no blow was
struck, as each feared to wound a friend. A single word
from myself or Colonel Taillander would have led to a
regular massacre. The officers around me repeatedly
offered to hew me a passage through the infantry,
which could have been easily effected; but I could not
consent to shed French blood in my own cause. Be-
sides, I could not believe that the 46th Regiment, which
a moment previously had manifested so much sympathy,
could have so promptly changed their sentiments.
At
risk I determined to make an effort to recover my
any
influence over it, and I suddenly rushed into the very
midst; but in a minute I was surrounded by a triple row
of bayonets, and forced to draw my sabre to parry off
the blows aimed at me from every side. In another
THE ENTERPRISE OF STRASBURG.
67
instant I should have perished by French hands, when
the cannoneers, perceiving my danger, charged, and,
carrying me off, placed me in their ranks. Unfortu-
nately this movement separated me from my officers,
and threw me amongst soldiers who doubted my identity.
Another struggle ensued, and in a few minutes I was
a prisoner."
The Prince emphatically insisted that "as he alone
had organised the whole affair, and led on and involved
the other prisoners, so he alone ought to endure the whole
responsibility." He wrote to General Voirol, telling him
"that in honour he was bound to interest himself for
Colonel Vaudrey, for that it was probably to the Colonel's
attachment for him *, and the consideration with which
he had treated him, that the non-success of the enterprise
was attributable;" and insisting that the whole rigour
of the law should fall upon himself (the Prince), "the
leader of the attempt, and from whom alone anything
was to be feared."
After the lapse of eight or nine days, the Prince was
informed that he must be separated from his fellow-
prisoners. Against this measure he strenuously pro-
tested. It was then announced to him that he was
to be taken to Paris. His emotions on this occasion
are described in his correspondence with his mother:-
"When I perceived that my departure from Stras-
burg was inevitable, and that my lot was to be sepa-
rated from that of the other accused parties, I expe-
rienced a grief which it would be difficult to describe.
There I was, forced to abandon men who had devoted
themselves to me; I was deprived of the means of
making known, in my defence, my views and intentions;
* In reference to the delay which had occurred whilst parleying
with the General.
F 2
68
MATERNAL SOLICITUDE.
I felt that I was receiving a pretended favour from one
to whom I had wished to do the greatest injury. I
wasted my breath in complaints and regrets; but all I
could do was to protest.
""
Meanwhile Queen Hortense, inspired by maternal
affection and alarm, had made an appeal to Louis
Philippe on behalf of her son. It was one to which
the king was not indisposed to listen; but, as on all
occasions, he desired conditions. He was quite willing
to get rid of a "troublesome" business-of a "trou-
blesome" appellant to the suffrages of France — pro-
vided that the troublesome personage in question would
only pledge himself to absent himself for ever from the
country. He even wished to obtain from him a formal
renunciation, in writing, of his Imperial aspirations. It
would have been a cheap, a most advantageous, mode
of getting credit for an act of clemency. No proposi-
tion of the kind was made directly to the Prince-
probably because it was known that he would have
disdainfully rejected it. Indeed, all through the busi-
ness he demanded, as a matter of justice, that he should
share the destiny of his companions. It is, however, not
improbable that Queen Hortense, inspired by the strong
impulses of maternal affection, had, without his consent
or knowledge, given some kind of implied understand-
ing, not at all binding upon him, but which the go-
vernment, not well knowing "what to do" with the
prisoner, the formal trial and condemnation of whom
might produce an "inconvenient" movement in the
public mind,—was fain to accept, faute de mieux, and of
course to interpret adroitly in the manner most ac-
cordant with its own wishes. Being made aware of
the activity of his mother's intercession, and of its
result in his compulsory transportation to America, he
THE COMPULSORY EXILE.
69
sent her a letter, which, whilst conveying the same
sentiments of affectionate regard that marked all his
correspondence with her, and manifesting his earnest
interest in the fate of his followers in the Strasburg
business, shows how remote was the idea of partici-
pation in any arrangement for his removal without trial
from France :-
"My dear Mother,
"I perceive in the step which you have taken all
the affection which you feel for me. You thought only
of the danger which I incurred, but you did not reflect
that honour obliged me to share the fate of my compa-
nions in misfortune. It has caused me poignant grief
to forsake those men whom I led on to their ruin, when
my presence and my depositions might have influenced
the jury in their favour. I wrote to the king to beg of
him to regard them with lenity; it is the only favour
which can touch my heart.
"I am about to embark for America; but, my dear
mother, I implore you not to follow me if you
would not
add to my grief.
*
*
"I beg of you, dear mother, to watch over the wants
of the prisoners of Strasburg. Take care of the two
sons of Colonel Vaudrey, who are at Paris with their
mother. I could easily reconcile myself to my fate, if
I knew that my companions in misfortune would not
be deprived of their lives*; but to have on one's con-
science the death of brave soldiers is a bitter grief which
cannot be effaced.
* It is pleasant to have to add that the prisoners of Strasburg
were acquitted.
F 3
70
UNAVAILING PROTESTS.
“Adieu, my dear mother. Receive my thanks for all
the proofs of affection which you give me. Return to
Arenemberg; but do not come and join me in America; it
would make me too unhappy. Adieu, receive my affec-
tionate embrace. I love you always with all my heart.
"Your affectionate and respectful son,
"NAPOLEON LOUIS."
In another letter to his mother he writes:
"I told the Prefect that I was in despair at not
being allowed to share the fate of my companions in mis-
fortune; that being thus withdrawn from prison without
having undergone a general examination (the first being
only a summary proceeding), I was deprived of the
opportunity of deposing to several matters which were
in favour of the accused; but my protestations proving
to be of no avail, I took the step of writing a letter to
the king, in which I told him that when I found myself
thrown into prison, after having taken up arms against
his government, there was only one thing of which I
was apprehensive, namely his clemency, since it might
deprive me of the sweetest consolation that could re-
main to me the possibility of sharing the fate of my
companions in misfortune."
To M. Odillon Barrot, whom he had requested to
conduct the defence of Colonel Vaudrey and the
other prisoners, from whom he was forcibly separated,
he wrote as follows:-
"I am deeply affected at leaving my co-accused, as
I have an idea that, if I were present with them at
the bar of the court, my depositions in their favour
might influence the jury, and throw a light upon the
case. Denied the consolation of being of service to men
whom I have led to their destruction, I am obliged to
UNAVAILING PROTESTS.
71
confide to an advocate that which I am not able to state
in person to the jury.
"On the part of my co-accused there has been no
conspiracy. It was nothing but the excitement of the
moment that influenced them. I alone it was who
planned everything, and made all the necessary pre-
parations. I had indeed seen Colonel Vaudrey previous
to the 30th of October, but he did not conspire with me.
Up to the 29th, at eight o'clock at night, no one except
myself was aware that the movement was to take
place the next day. It was later than that hour when
I saw Colonel Vaudrey. M. Parquin had come to
Strasburg on business of his own. It was not till the
night of the 29th that I sent for him. The other
parties were aware of my presence in the French ter-
ritory, but were ignorant of my motives. It was not,
then, until the 29th that I assembled the persons who
are now under accusation, and then for the first time
informed them of my intentions. Colonel Vaudrey
was not at this meeting. The officers of engineers
came amongst us without being aware of what was
going forward. Undoubtedly we are all guilty, in the
eyes of the established government, of having taken
up arms against it; but I am the most guilty."
It was thus in spite of his earnest and indignant
protestations despite of reiterated demands that he
should be tried with those who had co-operated with
him in his endeavour to effect that change which, under
all circumstances, he predicted must occur sooner or
later that the Prince was deported to America. Yet
there have not been wanting persons so replete with
the virus of partisan malignity as to insinuate that
that deportation, against which he exclaimed so ener-
getically, was accompanied by a promise or under-
F 4
72
THE SOJOURN IN AMERICA.
taking on his part not to return to Europe for a period
of ten years. All the facts and circumstances of the
case belie such a supposition. His deportation was a
compulsory one. He demanded, he entreated, to re-
main in France, and to take the chance of life or
death. And it required the very essence of inge-
nious malice to assume that any man, borne, despite
his remonstrances, into a remote place of exile, would
have bound himself down by an extraneous and em-
barrassing pledge as the condition upon which he was
to be transmitted to such exile. There is, in short, little
need for argument on the matter. The facts and pro-
babilities, on all grounds of reason and consistency, are
too clear to require it. It is, however, satisfactory to
insert the following letters, in which the Prince himself
alludes to and disposes of the question. The first was
written in New York, almost immediately on his arrival
there, and is addressed to his faithful supporter, Colonel
Vaudrey. The second was written in London, in the
year 1846, and is addressed to M. Capefigue, who, with
strange inadvertence, had repeated what the Prince
quietly designates "a very old calumny."
"My dear Colonel,
"You cannot imagine how happy it made me,
on my arrival in the United States, to hear of your
acquittal. For four months and a half I was incessantly
harassed by fears as to your fate. From the moment
of my imprisonment up to my departure from France,
I never ceased to do all in my power to soften the
condition of my companions in misfortune, always
taking care, as you will readily believe, whilst making
intercessions in their favour, not to do anything to
compromise the dignity of the name I bear. Before
THE SOJOURN IN AMERICA.
73
embarking, I wrote to you under cover to the Procureur-
General Rossé. He did not deliver the letter to you,
because it might have been useful in your defence: how
shameful! As for me, they took care to send me on
my travels to hinder me from having any communica-
tion with you before your trial was over. But I do
not complain. I was on board a French ship, which is
a kind of fatherland afloat. How unaccountable are
human feelings! During my ill-fated enterprise, my
tears betrayed my grief but twice: first, when, hurried
far away from you, I knew that I was not to be put on
my trial; and the second time, when I was leaving the
frigate, and was about to be set at liberty. The
letter you wrote me gave me great pleasure. I am
happy to think that all your sufferings have not altered
the friendship you bear me, and which I value so highly.
For two months I sailed between the tropics, under the
breeze of St. Helena. Alas! I could not view the his-
toric rock; but it seemed to me as if the breezes wafted
to me those last words of the expiring Emperor to the
companions of his adversity:-'I have sanctioned
all the principles of the Revolution; I have infused
them into the laws into my acts; there is not one
which I have not consecrated: circumstances, un-
happily, were too overwhelming. France judges me
with indulgence; she gives me credit for my intentions;
she cherishes my name, my victories. Imitate her; be
faithful to the opinions which we have supported, to
the glory we have acquired. Without this, all is shame
and confusion."
"These admirable words, Colonel, you have well un-
derstood. Here I am in America, far from all that is
dear to me. I know not yet what I shall do, or how long
I shall stay here. At all events, Colonel, and in what-
ever country I may be, you will always find in me a
74
THE SOJOURN IN AMERICA.
friend on whom you can rely, and who will be proud to
give you proofs of his feelings towards you.*
Adieu, Colonel; continue to serve France. As for
me, nothing remains for me but to pray for her welfare.
Adieu! - Do not forget me.
"Your friend,
"NAPOLEON LOUIS BONAPARTE.
"P.S. I have no occasion to clear myself in your eyes
of the calumnies heaped upon me. They could not make
me sign any engagement, as all I asked was to be left
peaceably in prison; besides, they did not endeavour to
do so. They accuse me of having intrigued. But M.
Thiers will defend me,-he who has said ('L'Histoire de
la Révolution,' vol. ii. p. 119), 'All parties, when com-
pelled to act in the dark, are reduced to expedients
which are called intrigues when unsuccessful.' Some ac-
cuse my enterprise; but M. Thiers will defend me,
he who, speaking of the funeral honours rendered to the
remains of Marat, expresses himself thus: 'And if his-
tory recall such scenes, it is to teach men to reflect on
the effect of casual and fleeting prepossessions; to urge
them to examine themselves closely, when they mourn
for the powerful or curse the departed of the day.'
('L'Histoire de la Révolution,' vol. v. p. 87., 4th edit.)
When the future flies before us, it is in the past we
must seek for consolation. Adieu! Adieu!"
The letter to M. Capefigue ran as follows:
* On his accession to power, Napoleon the Third showed that these
were no empty professions. Colonel Vaudrey has been appointed to a
high and dignified post. Napoleon the Third possesses the faculty
of well remembering friendship and service; and he has signally
proved that he does not possess the faculty of so well remembering
insult and injury.
LETTER TO M. CAPEFIGUE.
75
"Sir,
6
London, Nov. 10. 1846.
"The serious accusation against me contained
in the ninth volume of your History of Europe' compels
me to address you, for the purpose of refuting a very
old calumny, which I did not expect to see again brought
forward by an historian who, in his 'History of Charle-
magne,' had addressed some flattering words to me.
"You believe that, in 1836, when I was suddenly
seized and carried off, in spite of myself, out of France,
I gave my promise to remain in perpetual exile in
America, and that my prompt return to Europe was a
violation of my word of honour. I here renew my
formal denial, so often given, of the truth of this accu-
sation.
"In 1836 the French government did not even seek
to negotiate terms of freedom with me, because it was
well aware that I preferred a solemn trial and sentence to
liberty. It therefore exacted nothing from me, because
it could exact nothing; and I could promise nothing,
because I was asked for nothing. In 1840, M. Frenckarre
himself, procureur-général to the Chamber of Peers, was
obliged to declare that I had been set at liberty without
conditions. Such is his own expression, reported in the
'Moniteur' of September 1840. You will, I hope, place
faith in the words of the man who, whilst expressing
himself thus, read the act of accusation to the Chamber of
Peers. I returned, therefore, to Europe in 1837, be-
cause no moral obligation prevented me from coming to
close my mother's eyes.
"If, engrossed by this pious duty, I had had the weak-
ness to violate a promise given, the French government
would not have required, after the death of my mother,
to assemble an army in order to force me to quit Swit-
zerland: it would only have needed to call upon me to
76
THE SOJOURN IN AMERICA.
¡
keep my word. Had I violated one promise, the French
government would not have placed any reliance on a
second; while, on the contrary, it frequently caused me
to be informed, during my residence in Ham, that im-
mediately on my entering into an engagement with the
reigning dynasty, the doors of my prison should be
opened. And had I, as you seem to believe, trifled
with good faith, I should have subscribed to all the pro-
posals made to me during my captivity; whilst, on the
contrary, I preferred remaining six years a captive. I
preferred running the risks of an escape, to submitting
to conditions which I thought dishonourable.
"Blame, Sir, if you will, my political conduct; distort
my actions; falsify my intentions; - you exercise your
right to judge. But I will never permit any person to
attack my honour, since, thanks be to God, I have pre-
served it untainted during many cruel trials.
"I trust, Sir, that you will give to this just refutation
a publicity as wide as the circulation of the writings
which flow from your pen.
66
Receive, &c.,
"NAPOLEON LOUIS."
Had there been a possibility of impugning a single
word of these declarations, how gladly would the op-
portunity have been embraced!-how eagerly would any
inaccuracy — much more untruth
much more untruth have been seized
and commented on with "indignant eloquence" by
the parties whose occupation it was to "do" that de-
partment of business for the ruling power of the day!
The vessel in which the Prince sailed touched first
at a South American port. He was finally carried to
New York, and, whilst in the United States, employed
himself in studying the constitution, the laws, the
social and domestic condition and general policy of the
THE PRINCE'S EXPLANATION.
77
people amongst whom he was sojourning. He won
good opinions from all classes; and there was probably
no foreign visitor so popular, during his stay amongst
the great republican community, as the intrepid and
uncompromising assertor of the principles of the Em-
pire,
the advocate and champion of the revival of the
Imperial system. There is some reason to believe that
his opinions respecting the general working of pure
republican institutions did not become more favourable
in consequence of the observations made by him during
this visit.
I have already inserted some extracts from the letter
in which he communicated to Queen Hortense his
impelling motives in the enterprise which failed at
Strasburg. But in the circumstances in which the
Prince found himself after the failure of that attempt.
compelled, against his earnest protest, to separate
his lot from that of his followers, and hurried on board
a vessel, not through motives of humanity or gene-
rosity on the part of the government of Louis Philippe,
but for the purpose of ridding it of what was regarded as
a perilous embarras, he deemed it necessary to give a
more public explanation of those motives. In one
of his letters we find the following remarkable ex-
pressions, well worthy of being remembered in con-
nection with subsequent events:
*
"New York, April 30. 1837.
"It is time now that I should give you some ex-
planation of the motives which actuated my conduct.
I had, it is true, two lines of conduct open to me; the
one, which in some sort depended upon myself,—the
other, which depended upon events. In deciding upon
* Addressed to M. Villaud.
78
REFLECTIONS ON THE AFFAIR OF STRASBURG.
the former, I became, as you very truly say, a means;
in waiting for the other, I should only have been a
resource. According to my views and my convictions,
the first part appeared to me much preferable to the
other. The success of my project would offer to me
the following advantages: I should have done in one
day, and by a coup de main, the work of perhaps ten years:
successful, I spared France the conflicts, the troubles, the
disorders attendant upon a state of general confusion,
which must, I think, occur sooner or later. The spirit of
a revolution,' M. Thiers observes, 'consists in an ardent
passion for the object in view, and a hatred for those who
oppose an obstacle to its attainment.' Having led the
people with us, by means of the army, we should have
had all the noble passions, without animosities; for ani-
mosity only results from a conflict between physical force
and moral force. For myself, my position would have
been clear, simple, and easy. Having carried a revolu-
tion with the aid of fifteen persons, if I had arrived in
Paris, I should have owed my success to the people
only not to any party: arriving there victorious, I
should, of my own free will without being compelled
to it-have laid down my sword upon the altar of my
country; and then they might well have confidence in
me, for it was no longer my name alone, but my person,
which became a guarantee for my conduct. In the
other case supposed, I could only have been called upon
by a fraction of the people; I should have had as my
enemies, not only a debilitated government, but a
crowd of other parties themselves, too, perhaps, of a
national character.
"In short, it is easier to prevent anarchy than to
repress it it is easier to direct the masses than to
follow up their passions. If I had come only as a
resource, I should only have been one flag the more
FAITH AND CONFIDENCE IN DESTINY.
79
thrown into the mêlée, the influence of which, immense
though it might be in an act of aggression, would have
been powerless for a rally.
"To conclude: under the first supposition, I became,
as it were, the rudder of a vessel, which had but one
resisting medium to overcome; under the second, on
the contrary, I should have been upon a vessel assailed
by winds from every quarter, and which, in the midst of
the storm, would not have known what route to follow.
It is true, that just as the success of the first plan
promised me advantage, so its non-success devolved
blame on me. But when I entered France, I had not
thought upon the course I should have to take in case
of defeat. I thought, in case of misfortune, on my pro-
clamation as a testament, and on my death as a bless-
ing. Such is my way of thinking."
Was ever language more accurately indicative of
future events! Reconsider these words-"Successful,
I should have spared France the conflicts, the troubles,
the disorders attendant upon a state of general confusion,
which I think must occur sooner or later!
or later!" This
sentence was written eleven years previous to the
Revolution of 1848, and in a foreign country, to which
the Prince had been transported as a trophy of the
ascendant fortunes of King Louis Philippe, who,
notwithstanding the regicidal attempts of Fieschi
and others, and the unconcealed dislike of the
body of the nation, appeared, so far as dynastic
connections were concerned, seated impregnably on
the throne. Indeed, the attempts on his life, so far
from indicating dynastic weakness, or any feeling
on the part of the extreme Republican party that the
power of the House of Orleans was in danger, rather
showed a conviction, in the minds of his enemies,
that nothing but some act of treachery and murder
80
FAITH AND CONFIDENCE IN DESTINY.
could shake its position. It was a token that the Red
Republicans and Socialists, and other enemies of all
regular government, felt that insurrection in the
existing state of affairs was hopeless, and that their
only chance lay in throwing the community into a
state of confusion by the murder of the reigning king.
Yet in this season of Orleanist triumph and supre-
macy, — when the bureaucratic system of Louis
Philippe appeared perfectly consolidated; when any
whisper, even in foreign countries, of the possibility
of disturbing the existing regime was received not
so much with a frown of rebuke as with a smile
of derision, the Imperial exile, never swerving for
an instant from the purpose, the object, and the con-
viction of his life, does not hesitate to express his
confidence that the system was one which could not
stand; that it was one which, if not abolished other-
wise, must give way amid confusion and disorder; and
that he, the heir and representative of the great
Emperor, the impersonation of the Imperial ideas, was
the man who above all others would prove most pro-
minently instrumental in restoring the dignity, the
influence, the power, the prosperity of France, and
imparting to her political institutions the stability
so indispensable to the tranquillity and happiness of
the whole people.
It is probable that the Prince might have prolonged
his stay in America, interested as he was in the process
of investigation and observation upon which he had
entered with his usual energy when in pursuit of prac-
tical information, but that an unforeseen circumstance,
of the nature most calculated to arouse his sympathies,
called him back to Europe. The immediate cause of hist
return was the dangerous, and, as it ultimately proved,
ILLNESS OF QUEEN HORTENSE.
81
fatal illness of his mother, Queen Hortense. The most
tender relations of love and reverence had ever existed
between mother and son, and were not my business.
more with the public than with the private character of
Napoleon the Third, I might refer to many touching
incidents illustrative of these relations. The letter in
which the mother apprises the son of her precarious
state of health, will be read with respectful interest:-
'My dear Son,
66
"I am about to undergo an operation which has
become absolutely necessary. In case it should not ter-
minate successfully, I send you, in this letter, my
blessing. We shall meet again-shall we not ?-in a
better world, where may you come to join me as late
as possible! And you will believe that, in quitting this
world, I regret only leaving yourself, and your fond,
affectionate disposition, which alone has given any
charm to my existence. This will be a consolation
for you, my dear friend- to reflect that, by your
attentions, you have rendered your mother as happy
as circumstances would allow her to be. You will
think also of all my affection for you; and this
will inspire you with courage. Think upon this, that
we shall always have a benevolent and distinct feel-
ing for all that passes in this world below, and that,
assuredly, we shall all meet again. Reflect upon this
consolatory idea; it is one which is too necessary not to
be true. And that good Arese! I send him my blessing
as to a son. I press you to my heart, my dear friend.
I am calm, perfectly resigned; and I would still hope
that we may meet again, even in this world.
"Your affectionate mother,
"3rd April, 1837."
G
"HORTENSE.
7
82
RETURN OF THE PRINCE.
The terms of this letter sufficiently describe the con-
duct of the Prince as a son. They are more eloquent
than a thousand elaborate eulogiums of filial piety.
On receiving it, he sailed for Europe, in the hope of
arriving in time to solace, by his presence and atten-
tions, the closing hours of his mother's life. Happily,
he was not too late for the fulfilment of this pious
wish, and was not on this occasion, as on a subsequent
one, precluded by the interference of a debased diplo-
macy from performing the sacred duty of a child
towards his parent. Queen Hortense died, in October,
1837, amid the regrets not only of her immediate con-
nections, but of the many whom fortune had so placed
as to enable them to form an estimate of the virtues
and graces which adorned her.
After the death of his mother, Prince Louis Napoleon
again took up his residence in Switzerland. In 1838, a
circumstance occurred which unpleasantly evinced the
vindictive jealousy of the French government of the
day. The profusion of calumnious misrepresentations
which had appeared in reference to the Strasburg affair,
had induced Lieutenant Laity, a zealous and single-
hearted adherent of the Imperial cause, to publish, with
the concurrence of Prince Louis Napoleon, a plain state-
ment of the facts and principles at issue a statement,
indeed, too truthful and plain not to be distasteful to
those who thought that their interests were concerned
in perpetuating the slanders which had been directed
against the Prince. It was pronounced seditious, and a
prosecution of the author was undertaken by the govern-
ment. In a letter to Lieutenant Laity, the Prince thus
comments on the proceeding:
"If, as I would fain believe, a spirit of justice ani-
mates the Court of Peers,—if it be independent of the
PRINCIPLES OF NAPOLEONISM.
83
executive powers, as intended by the constitution, it is
impossible that it can condemn you;-for, as I cannot
too often repeat, your brochure does not call for a new
revolt, but is merely a simple and truthful explana-
tion of an event which has been misrepresented. I
have nothing else in the world to depend upon but
public opinion—nothing to support me but the esteem
of my fellow-countrymen. If it be denied to me and
my friends to defend ourselves against iniquitous
calumnies, I should consider my fate the most cruel
that could possibly be conceived. You know my friend-
ship for you well enough to understand how I am dis-
tressed at the idea that you should become the victim
of your devotedness; but I also know that, with your
devotedness, you suffer with resignation in a national
cause. You will be asked, as already some of the news-
papers begin to ask, where is the Napoleonite party ?
Reply to this, the party is nowhere, but the cause
everywhere. The party is nowhere, because my friends
have not mustered; but the cause has partisans every-
where, from the workshop of the artisan to the council-
chamber of the king; from the barrack of the soldier to
the palace of the Marshal of France. Legitimists, re-
publicans, disciples of the 'juste milieu,' all who wish
to see a strong government and constitutional liberty,
an imposing attitude on the part of authority-all these,
I say, are Napoleonists, whether they avow it or not.
For the Imperial system is not a bastard imitation of
the English or American system. It is a hierarchy in
the midst of a democracy, recognising equality in the
law, reward according to merit. It is, in fact, a colossal
pyramid, with a broad base, and a lofty head.
66
Say, then, that in authorising you to issue this
publication, my object was not to disturb the tran-
quillity of France, nor to revive passions scarcely sup-
·
..
•
.
4
.
G 2
...
84
JEALOUSY OF LOUIS PHILIPPE.
pressed, but to show myself to my fellow-countrymen
such as I am, and not such as interested enmity had
represented me. But if one day the movements of
parties should overthrow the existing powers (and the
experience of the past fifty years authorises us in the
belief)—and if, accustomed as they have been for the
last thirty-three years to despise authority, they should
undermine all the foundations of the social empire, then
perhaps the name of Napoleon may prove an anchor of
safety for all that is noble and truly useful in France."
""
The issue of the trial was what might have been ex-
pected, considering the unscrupulousness with which
the constitutional government of July was in the habit
of bringing to bear every kind of sinister influence, for
the purpose of putting "the screw on the tribunals,
whenever it had an object to carry, spite to gratify,
or an opponent to crush. Lieutenant Laity was pro-
nounced guilty of sedition, and sentenced to pecuniary
fine and to imprisonment for five years.
The
The energetic tone in which, on all appropriate oc-
casions, the Prince continued to assert the principles
and objects for which he lived, gave much uneasiness to
a government which was aware that, however seemingly
strong, its foundation was not sound and safe.
ministry of Louis Philippe sent to the Helvetic Con-
federation a pressing demand for the expulsion of the
illustrious exile. The answer was a firm refusal, upon
which an army was sent towards the frontier, with
the avowed object of forcing the republic into com-
pliance. The Swiss, on their part, presented a gallant
and unflinching front, and, disproportionate as were
their means of resistance to the colossal military power
which threatened them, resolutely prepared to meet
force with force. But the subject of this contention
determined that the country which had so long af
FROM SWITZERLAND TO ENGLAND.
85
forded him a hospitable asylum, and the government
of the country which was the object of his love and
hope, should not, on his account, be plunged into an
unequal conflict-desperate and ruinous, though ho-
nourable, on one side, disgraceful, even if successful,
on the other. The armies of France, he was resolved,
should never draw the sword against a Bonaparte. He
decided on retiring to England, and announced his
intention to the Council of the Canton of Thurgovia in
a letter gracefully acknowledging the " generous pro-
tection" offered to him by the canton, and the "marks
of esteem and affection" which he had received from
the Swiss people.
The residence of Prince Louis Napoleon in England
has been adverted to as below, by a writer who evi-
dently possessed means of obtaining authentic informa-
tion. The parenthetical observations in which the
position of the First Napoleon towards Europe, and
towards this country in particular, is considered, are
recommended to the reader's attention:
"During his residence here, he appears to have care-
fully studied the English constitution and the English
people; and it was here that he formed those profound
views of political philosophy which we find elaborated
in his published works.
"We were so long accustomed to regard the First
Napoleon as one who acted solely from the dictates of
his own will, and as one who wisely, but tyrannically,
governed his own dominions by his spontaneous notions,
that we do not even yet give him credit for that pro-
found investigation of political philosophy which really
constituted the greater part of his glory. Knowing the
value of nationality, he declared that those who perpe-
trated the crime of abolishing the Polish independence
..
G 3
86
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN ENGLAND.
had laid themselves open to a fearful retribution in time
to come. He saw that the remaining nationalities of
Sclavonian race could not be safely entrusted to one
hand; he saw that it would be at the cost of an unex-
ampled loss of human life and liberty-that it would be
at the risk of the vastest misery—that the partition of
Poland could be carried out so as to blot the name of
Poland from the map of the nations of Europe. This
proved that his views of political philosophy were far
in advance of his day. * * *
"These are not solitary instances in the career of Na-
poleon I., a man who was understood by few in the age
in which he lived, but whose benefits to France are ac-
knowledged by the universal respect paid to his memory
in that country. We are not surprised, then, to find
the heir of this great man residing in England, a
country which had been so hostile to his uncle, care-
fully studying the history and politics of the kingdom,
in order to ascertain why it acted as it did towards his
predecessor, and also to learn how, in time to come,
when he believed he should fill the throne of France,
he might best treat with those haughty islanders by
whom that predecessor had been overthrown.
"When in England, Louis Napoleon made many
friends, who seem to have been so impressed with the
energy of his character, that they remained his fast
adherents even in his most adverse fortunes. The
English people generally, too, regarded him with a
species of respect and admiration; not merely because
of the name he bore, nor of the purpose which he
cherished for his prospects were then far off and
indistinct; but mainly because they saw in him the
promise of a great man. It is curious now to note
what was said concerning his personal appearance, his
manners, and deportment. He has been differently
1
TASTES AND HABITS OF THE PRINCE.
* *
87
described. By some he has been spoken of as having
a peculiarly expressive countenance.
Others,
however, who have perhaps been better able to de-
scribe him, state that his looks impressed the spec-
tator with an idea both of benevolence and nobility;
but that which was both interesting and remarkable in
him was an indescribable shade of sadness and deep
thought, which might have resulted from the trials of
youth. His tastes and habits were ever grave and
simple; always dressing in the morning at once for the
day; nor even, when quite young, did he ever employ
much of the allowance given him by his mother in dress,
having a great contempt for mere vanities; but, on the
contrary, spent almost the whole of it in acts of charity,
and especially in assisting schools."
This reference to his propensity for "assisting
schools," indicates one of the passions of Napoleon the
Third. The subject of education in all its branches has
always been one of those which engaged a large share
of his attention, and has not lost its interest since he
has attained Imperial authority.
י
G 4
88
CHAP. IV.
THE POLICY OF THE EMPIRE AS EXPOUNDED BY PRINCE LOUIS
NAPOLEON. -EXCERPTA FROM LES IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
66
PROTEST AGAINST SYMPATHY WITH SOCIALIST CONSPIRACIES.
Ir, în preparing this volume, I occupy much space with
in
authentic reproductions of the opinions of Napoleon the
Third at different periods of his career, it is because
its design is rather that of an exposition of principles
than a narrative of dry facts. Explanation, elucida-
tion of objects and motives, will, in such an undertaking,
be more interesting, as well as more informing, than a
minute register of occurrences, unaccompanied by an
examination of their moral. For this reason I think
it desirable to occupy some space with quotations from
the celebrated "Idées Napoléoniennes," which ap-
peared whilst its illustrious author was residing in
England, in 1839. The object of the work was to cor-
rect misconceptions, and furnish truthful information
respecting the actions, the opinions, the projects of the
Great Napoleon, both as respected France in particular,
and Europe in general; to give a correct general idea
of what he had accomplished in the midst of war, and
of what he would further have accomplished had not
the force of circumstances, too powerful for mortal
genius and energy to contend with, precluded him.
Identifying himself, as he has ever done, with the policy
of Napoleon the First, the prince who was destined to
re-establish and develope that policy laboured to impress
the world with accurate opinions as to its tendencies
and objects.
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
89
I
In the short introduction which precedes the "Idées,"
he observes: -
"The Emperor is no more, but his spirit survives.
Deprived of the possibility of defending his tutelary
power with my sword, I can at least defend his memory
with my pen. To enlighten public opinion by develop-
ing the thoughts which presided over his high concep-
tions, to recall the memory of his vast projects
this is
a task which gladdens my heart and consoles me in
exile. The fear of encountering adverse opinions will
not deter me. Ideas which are under the ægis of the
greatest genius of modern times may be proclaimed
without circumlocution; they cannot be subject to the
variations of the political atmosphere."
After preliminary remarks upon forms and prin-
ciples of government, and references to the state in
which, after the revolutionary convulsions, Napoleon
found France, the writer proceeds: —
"Napoleon, advancing upon the stage of the world,
saw that it was his part to be the testamentary executor
of the Revolution. The destructive fire of parties was
extinct; and when the Revolution, dying but not van-
quished, bequeathed to Napoleon the accomplishment of
its last wishes, it might have said to him, 'Concen-
trate upon solid foundations the principal results of my
exertions; reunite the divided people of France; repulse
feudal Europe, leagued against me; heal my wounds ;
enlighten the nations; extend in breadth that which I
have done in depth. Be for Europe what I have been
to France; and even though you water with your blood
the tree of civilisation, though you see your projects
misrepresented, and your family wandering about the
world without a native land to own them, never abandon
the sacred cause of the French people, but lead it to
90
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
N
..
triumph by all the means which genius calls into being,
and which humanity approves.
*
"The Emperor Napoleon contributed more than any
other man to accelerate the reign of liberty by pre-
serving the moral influence of the Revolution, and by
diminishing the fears which it inspired. But for the
Consulate and the Empire, the Revolution would have
been merely a great drama, leaving behind it grand
memories, but few traces. The Revolution would have
been drowned in the counter-revolution; whereas the
precise contrary took place, because Napoleon planted
in France, and spread in Europe, the principal advan-
tages of the grand crisis of '89, and because, to employ
one of his own expressions, he sobered the Revolution,
consolidated the dynasties of kings, and elevated the
people. *
The Emperor may be considered the
Messiah of the new ideas; for it must be borne in mind
that, in the times that immediately follow a social con-
vulsion, the essential work is not to apply principles in
all the subtlety of their theories, but to take possession
of the regenerative genius, to identify oneself with the
sentiments of the people, and boldly direct them towards
the object they desire to obtain. In order to be capable
of accomplishing such a task, it is necessary, in his own
words, 'that your heart should respond to that of the
people;' that you should feel as they feel, and that your
interests should be so intimately intermingled, that you
must conquer or fall together. It was this union of
sentiments, interests, and wills which constituted the
power of the Emperor."
And most truthfully it may be affirmed that in a
similar union of interests and sentiments resides the
secret of the moral power which the present Emperor
possesses in the deep convictions of the people of
France. Like his great predecessor, he founds his rule
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
91
essentially on the will of the nation. In the "Ideés
Napoléoniennes" he quotes the votes by which the Con-
sulate and the Empire were established: -For the Consu-
late, assentient, 3,011,007; dissentient, 1562: for the Con-
sulate for life, assentient, 3,568,888; dissentient, 8374:
for the hereditary Empire, assentient, 3,521,675; dis-
sentient, 2579.-In a future chapter it will be shown
that the present Emperor owes his position to a still
more extensive expression of the national wish; and that
taking into consideration the numerous factions which
lately distracted France (none of the members of
which factions was excluded from voting), even the
proportion of votes was not less satisfactory than in the
case of his uncle.
Vindicating the memory of the Emperor from the
imputation of having accepted power from a mere
impulse of personal vanity or ambition, he argues
that "to obviate the want of fixity and continuity,
the absence of which is the great defect of democratic
republics, it had become necessary to create an here-
ditary family, to be the conservator of the general in-
terests;" and thus apostrophises the illustrious memory:
"Let his soul be comforted! Long since the masses
have rendered him justice; each day that passes, as it
shows some one of the social maladies which he cured,
of the evils which he removed, amply explains his noble
objects; and his great thoughts, glittering all the more
brilliantly amid the wavering obscurity of the present
times, are as a glorious beacon, showing to us, amidst
the darkness and the storm, a beacon of future safety."
The tolerant and comprehensive spirit in which, as
argued by the writer, the First Napoleon exercised his
enormous power, is dwelt upon with affectionate reve-
rence. He represents to us Napoleon, rising superior
to the solicitations of party or personal considerations,
opening the doors of employment and distinction to all,-
92
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
even to those whom he had least reason to regard as
friends whenever he could discern a probability of their
being serviceable to France; forgetting petty jealousies,
removing proscriptions, and governing France for the
benefit of all the French :-
"Let us admire the Napoleonian spirit-never exclu-
sive, never intolerant. Superior to the petty passions of
party, generous as the people he was called to rule, the
Emperor always professed this maxim,—that in politics
we must cure evils, never avenge them.
"The abuse of the Royal power, the tyranny of the
nobility, had produced the immense reaction which was
called the Revolution of 1789. This led to other opposite
and fearful reactions. With Napoleon all reactionary
passions ceased. Strong in the assent of the people, he
rapidly proceeded to abolish all unjust laws; he healed
all wounds, recompensed merit wherever it was found,
adopted all glories, and made the French co-operate
towards one single end the prosperity of France.
"Scarcely invested with power, the First Consul
revoked the laws which excluded the relatives of emi-
grants and the ex-nobles from the exercise of political
rights and public functions. The law of forced loans
was superseded by an extraordinary subvention in
addition to the ordinary contributions of the public.
Napoleon abolished requisitions in kind, and abolished
the law of hostages. He recalled the writers condemned
to transportation by the law of the 19th Fructidor; such
as Carnot, Portalis, Simeon. He recalled the conven-
tionalists, Barrère and Vadis. He opened the gates of
France to more than 100,000 emigrants, amongst whom
were members of the Constituent Assembly. He reinstated
in their employments several Conventionalists whom
it had been purposed to keep out of the public service.
He pacified La Vendée, he organised the administration
THE
93
"IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
of the municipalities of Lyons, Marseilles, and Bordeaux.
He exclaimed one day in the Council of State, 'To
govern by a party is to put oneself, sooner or later, in
its power. I will not be so involved. I am national.
I avail myself of all those who have the capacity and
the will to go with me. It is for this reason I have
composed my Council of State of members who were
called Moderates (or Feuillants?), as Defermon, Ræderer,
Regnier, Regnault; of Royalists, as Devaines and Du-
fresnes; of Jacobins, as Brune, Real, and Berlier. I
love honest men of all parties.' Prompt to honour
great memories as to recompense recent services, Na-
poleon placed in the Hôtel des Invalides, side by side
with the statues of Hoche, Joubert, Marceau, Dugomier,
and Dampierre, that of Condé, and placed also there the
ashes of Turenne and the heart of Vauban. He revived
in Orleans the memory of Jeanne d'Arc, at Beauvais that
of Jeanne Hachette. In 1800 he made the delivery of
a great citizen, La Fayette, the ultimatum of a treaty.
Later, he took for aides-de-camp officers like Drouet,
Lobau, and Bernard, who had been opposed to the Con-
sulate for life. With similar good feeling he treated
the senators who had voted against the establishment of
the Empire. Always faithful to the principles of con-
ciliation, the Emperor in the course of his reign gave a
pension to the mother of Robespierre, as well as to the
mother of the Duke of Orleans. He solaced the misfor-
tunes of the widow of Bailly, President of the Consti-
tuent Assembly, and supported in her old age the last
descendant of Du Guesclin."
The references to parties and persons in favour of
whom the Emperor had relaxed laws which exiled
many of them from France, whilst he advanced num-
bers to positions of trust and influence from which a
less generous and self-reliant genius would have ex-
94
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
$
:
cluded them, may remind us of the courageous magna-
nimity with which the present Napoleon has overlooked
the complicities of innumerable individuals who had
compromised themselves in actual plots, not merely for
the overthrow of his own government, but for the intro-
duction of sheer anarchy, or, the re-imposition upon
France of the hated dynasties which she has expelled
- men whom, in the strict rule of legality, he would
have been justified in shutting up for life, or in per-
petually banishing from the soil of France-men who
had vied in efforts to traduce, to injure, to destroy
him. And of the multitudes whom the absolute
requirements of public security rendered it necessary
to remove for a while from France, but whom, as
soon as the danger caused by their misconduct was
overcome, he permitted to resume the enjoyment of
all the rights of Frenchmen, how many would now have
been so situated, if, under the policy pursued by the
Bourbon family, they had taken similar measures
against the power and supremacy of that family? Most
bravely, most humanely, he has illustrated in practice
the conduct which he had applauded in theory.
The writer compares the state of France and Europe
with that which was contemplated by the Imperial
policy:
66
Having as general, consul, and emperor, done every-
thing for the people, could he fear that he should be
reproached with conquests which had for their sole aim
the prosperity and greatness of France, the peace of the
world? No, it was not a government resplendent with
civil and military laurels that could dread the light of
day.
* * *
"By means of Napoleon, the nation was approxi-
mating, without shock or agitation, to a normal state,
wherein liberty would have been the support of power
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
95
and the guarantee of the general well being, instead of
being a weapon of war, a torch of discord.
"It is with the impression left by an exciting dream,
that one pauses to contemplate the future of happiness
and stability which Europe would have presented if the
great projects of the Emperor had been accomplished.
Each country, circumscribed by its natural limits, united
with its neighbour by the relations of mutual interest
and friendship, would have enjoyed within itself all the
benefits of independence, peace, and liberty. The sove-
reigns, exempt from fear and suspicion, would have
applied themselves solely to the amelioration of their
people's condition, and to the diffusion amongst them
of all the blessings of civilisation.
"Instead of this, what have we now in Europe?
Every man, when he seeks his pillow at night, fears the
morning dawn; for the germ of evil is everywhere;—
and the honest heart almost regrets good, by reason of
the sacrifices necessary to obtain it. Disciples of liberty,
ye who rejoiced in the fall of Napoleon, how lamentable
was your error! How many struggles and sacrifices
must there be before you again reach the point to which
Napoleon brought you! And you, statesmen of the
Congress of Vienna, who have made yourselves masters
of the world on the wreck of the Empire, your part
might have been a noble part, but you did not compre-
hend it! In the name of liberty, and even of license,
you roused the nations against Napoleon. You placed
him under the ban of Europe, as a despot and a tyrant;
you proclaimed that you had delivered the nations and
secured them repose. For a moment they believed
you. But nothing solid can be built upon a lie and
a blunder. Napoleon had closed the gulf of revolu-
tions; that gulf, when you overthrew him, you re-
opened. Take care lest it swallow you up."
96
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
:
When perusing passages of this kind, the English
reader will reflect that they are written by one pro-
foundly, affectionately, reverentially attached to the
memory of the great man to whom they relate. Without
calling upon Englishmen to endorse the minute details
of every opinion set forth, it is desirable to fix their
attention on the consistent tenacity of principle and
conviction manifested in every allusion to the subject,
and the accordance of the writer's sentiments with the
course which he pursued when the changes predicted by
him were brought about. It was under no mistake as
to the objects, the wishes, the convictions, of the nephew
of their great Emperor, that the people of France placed
power in his hands. These objects-these wishes-these
principles-all comprehended in the reconstitution, in
its integrity, of the grand Imperial system, he had ex-
plained, avowed, insisted on, through all changes and
vicissitudes of position. And joyfully the French
nation approved and accepted them!
Vindicating the general wisdom of the Emperor's ad-
ministration, the Prince compares (certainly in a spirit of
no limited admiration of his great relative) the social and
domestic effects produced upon England by a successful
war, with those produced on France by an unsuccessful
war. Bearing in mind that the writer is a Frenchman
and a Bonaparte, inspired by all the prepossessions in-
volved in these predicates, it is interesting to mark the
emphasis with which he adheres to his proposition, that
the war was not a war of France in the initiative against
England, but of England in the initiative against
France:-
"The period of the Empire was a mortal war of
England against France. England triumphed; but,
thanks to the creative genius of Napoleon, France,
though defeated, lost materially less than England.
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
97
The finances of France are still the most prosperous in
Europe; England bends under the weight of her debt.
The impulse given to industry and commerce was not
stayed by our reverses; and now the continent of
Europe supplies itself with most of the productions
which were formerly furnished to it by England. And
let us ask, who are the greatest statesmen — those
who have governed countries which have gained not-
withstanding their defeat, or those who have governed
countries which have lost notwithstanding their
victory?
"The period of the Empire was that of war against
the old European system. The old system triumphed ;
but notwithstanding the fall of Napoleon, Napoleonian
ideas have spread in all directions. The conquerors
themselves have adopted the ideas of the conquered,
and nations are wearying themselves with efforts to
restore that which Napoleon had established among
them.
"In France there is an incessant demand, under
other names or other forms, for the realisation of the
ideas of the Emperor. Whenever a great measure or a
great public work is effected, it is generally a project
of Napoleon that is executed — or merely completed.
Every act of power, every proposition of the Chamber,
is made to refer to Napoleon, in order to obtain popu-
larity. On one word fallen from his lips, men now
construct an entire system."
Enumerating a catalogue of nations which, since
1815, had struggled for a restoration of the systems
introduced amongst them by the Emperor, the writer
proceeds: -
"Again, then, let us ask, who were the greatest states-
men-those who founded a system which is crumbling
H
Jor M
98
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
away on all sides despite their supremacy; or those
who founded a system which survives their defeat, and
springs anew from their ashes?
"The Napoleonian ideas bear the character of ideas
which regulate the movement of societies, since they
advance of their own force, though deprived of their
author, like a mass which, launched into space, arrives
by its own gravity at its destined goal. There is no
need to reconstruct the system of the Emperor-it will
reconstruct itself. Sovereigns and people, all will aid
to re-establish it, because every man will see in it a
guarantee of order, of peace, and of prosperity.
"And where should we now find [a parallel to] that
extraordinary man who dominated the world by the re-
spect due to superiority of conceptions? The genius of
this age requires nothing more than simple reason.
Thirty years ago it was necessary to see and to pre-
pare; now it is necessary only to see and to gather
in.
*
"To conclude, the Napoleonian idea is not an idea of
war, but a social, industrial, commercial idea,—an idea
of humanity. If to some it seems ever surrounded by
contests, the reason is simply, that it was indeed too
long enveloped in the smoke of cannon and the dust of
battles. But the clouds have dispersed, and men dis-
cern, through the effulgent glory of arms, a civil glory,
greater and more enduring.'
""
The political, judicial, financial, educational, and ge-
neral administrative organisation of the Consulate and
Empire; the measures for the encouragement of agri-
cultural, commercial, and manufacturing industry; the
steps taken by the First Napoleon, immediately on find-
ing himself at the head of affairs, to reopen the portals
of France to tens of thousands of exiles and refugees,
are considered in elaborate chapters by the author of
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
י .
99
the "Idées."
He refutes the notion that the rule of
the Empire was a military one: -
(6
Never, in fact," he writes, "was internal power less
military than that of the Emperor. In all his actions
we see the tendency to give civil order predominance
over military order. Under the Imperial rule, no place
in the civil administration was filled by a military man.
He who created civil dignities to equipoise those of the
army; who, by the institution of the Legion of Honour,
sought to recompense in the same manner the services.
of the citizen and the services of the soldier; who,
from his accession to power, applied himself to improve
the condition of civil servants of the State; who always
gave precedence to the latter; who, at home, and even
in conquered countries, caused councillors of State to
be invested with an administrative authority superior
to that of the general,—such is the man whom party
spirit has chosen to describe to us as the patron of
military rule. * * *
"That was a strange military government where
tranquillity was maintained throughout the vast Em-
pire without a soldier*, whilst the Chief of the State and
the army were hundreds of leagues from the capital."
Some of the paragraphs in which the Prince descants
upon the foreign policy of the Emperor are peculiarly
worthy of attention. He denies that that policy was
fundamentally a warlike policy, and asserts that if
Napoleon the First prosecuted war vigorously, it was
with the object of obtaining a solid and permanent
peace:-
"To secure the independence of France, to establish
* Substantially correct. We are informed by Thibaudeau that
when the Emperor Napoleon was at Vienna, the garrison of Paris
consisted of only 1200 men! a force infinitely smaller than is usually
quartered in the environs of tranquil London.
Jor M
··
H 2
100
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
a solid European peace - such was the aim he was so
near attaining, notwithstanding the complication of
events and the continual conflict of opposing interests.
The more the secrets of diplomacy become revealed, the
more will men become convinced of this truth that
Napoleon was led, step by step, and by the force of
circumstances, to that gigantic power which war created
and war destroyed. He was not the aggressor; on the
contrary, he was incessantly compelled to repulse the
coalitions of Europe. If at times he has the appear-
ance of anticipating the projects of his enemies, it is
because in the initiative lies the guarantee of success.
And as Mignot observes, 'The real author of a war is
not he who declares it, but he who renders it neces-
sary."
Englishmen will read the following passages with
painful interest:-
"All our wars came from England. England would
never listen to any propositions of peace. Was it that
she imagined the Emperor sought her ruin? He had
never any such thought. All that he ever did towards
her was in the way of reprisal. The Emperor esteemed
the English people, and he would have made every
sacrifice to obtain peace every sacrifice, all sacrifices,
save such as would have compromised his honour. In
1800 the First Consul thus wrote to the King of Eng-
land'Is the war which has now, for eight years, been
desolating the four quarters of the globe, to be eternal?
Are there no means of coming to an arrangement? How
can the two most enlightened nations in Europe, already
more powerful than their safety and their independence
require-how can they sacrifice, to ideas of futile gran-
deur, the extension of commerce, internal prosperity,
the happiness of families? How is it that they do not
Maou
1
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉON:ENNES."
101
feel that peace is the first of necessities, as it is the first
of glories?'
"In 1808, the Emperor addressed to the same sove-
reign the following words: 'The world is large enough
for both our nations to live in it, and reason has where-
with to furnish the means of conciliation, if on both
sides we provide the will. Peace is the wish of my
heart, though war has never been contrary to my
glory. I conjure your Majesty not to deny yourself
the happiness of yourself granting peace.'
"At Erfurt, Napoleon united with Alexander in an
endeavour to bring over the British Cabinet to ideas of
conciliation.
"Lastly, in 1812, when the Emperor was at the very
apogée of his power, he again made the same propo-
sitions to England. He ever demanded peace after vic-
tory - he never consented to one after a defeat. * * *
"It were too painful to suppose that the war was
kept up merely by the malignant passions or the in-
terests of parties. If so ferocious a struggle was so
long maintained, it is doubtless because the two nations
were unacquainted with each other, and because each
government reciprocally misconceived the state of its
neighbour. England, perhaps, only saw in Napoleon a
despot, oppressing his country, and exhausting all its
resources in the gratification of his warlike ambition: it
did not see that the Emperor was the elected of the
people, and that he represented all those interests,
moral and material, for which France had been fighting
since 1789. It may in the same way be supposed that
the French government, confounding the enlightened
aristocracy of England with the feudal aristocracy that
weighed so heavily on France before the Revolution,
thought it had to do with an oppressive government.
But the English aristocracy is like the Briareus of
H 3
102
THE "IDÉES NAPOLÉONIENNES."
.
fable it is knitted with the people by a hundred
thousand roots; it has obtained from the people as
many sacrifices as Napoleon obtained from the French
nation."
The ultimate policy of the Emperor is thus inter-
preted and described by his representative: -
6
"To substitute amongst the nations of Europe the
social state for the state of nature-such was the
idea of the Emperor. All his political combinations
tended to this great result; but to attain it, it was
necessary that he should bring England and Russia
heartily to second his views. 'So long as there is
fighting in Europe,' said the Emperor, that will be
civil war.
The Holy Alliance is an idea which they
stole from me, that is to say, the Holy Alliance
of peoples by the medium of kings, and not that of
kings against peoples.' Therein lies the vast differ-
ence between his idea and the manner in which it
was realised. Napoleon had displaced sovereigns for
the actual interest of the peoples: in 1815, the peoples
were displaced for the special interest of the sovereigns.
The statesmen of that period, consulting only rancour
and passion, based the balance of power in Europe on
the rivalries of two great powers, instead of basing it
on general interests; and, as a necessary result, their
system has crumbled to pieces.
"The policy of the Emperor, on the contrary, was to
found a solid European association, by resting his
system on nationality completed and general interests
satisfied. If fortune had not abandoned him, he
would have had in his hands all the means of recon-
structing Europe.
To cement the European
association, the Emperor (to quote his own statement)
would have caused the adoption of a European code, and
a European Court of Cassation, correcting the judicial
*
*
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN ENGLAND.
103
errors of universal Europe, as the Court of Cassation
in France corrects the errors of the tribunals of France.
He would have founded a European institute, to ani-
mate, direct, and bring into harmonious co-operation, all
the learned institutions of Europe.* The uniformity
of monies, weights and measures, and the uniformity of
legislation, would have been secured by his intervention.
"The last great change, then, would have been ac-
complished for our continent; as, in the beginning,
communal interests raised themselves above individual
interests, and then civil interests above communal
interests, and then national interests above provincial
interests, so also European interests would have risen
dominant to national interests, and humanity would
have been satisfied; for it cannot be the will of
Providence that one nation alone should be happy at
the expense of the rest, or that there should be in
Europe only conquerors and conquered, instead of the
reconciled members of one and the same great family."
From the close of the year 1838, down to August
1840, when he left England for Boulogne, not for
the purpose of exciting a sanguinary revolution, as
has sometimes been absurdly asserted, but frankly
with the hope and object of obtaining a spontaneous
expression of the national will of France, in reference
firstly to the government of Louis Philippe, and secondly
to the form and principle of government most accordant
with the honour and interests of the country, the Prince
* In exemplification of the comprehensive nature of the Emperor's
views on this subject, the Prince mentions the fact, that "Napoleon
had in reality begun a system of European scientific association, by
giving European prizes for new inventions and discoveries; and that,
despite the existence of war, Davy in London and Hermann in Berlin
gained prizes awarded by the Institute."
H 4
104
THOUGHTS AND STUDIES.
resided in England. Here those amicable sentiments
which, from the first time when he became ac-
quainted with us, had superseded any prejudices that
might possibly (though the fact does not appear) have
been at one time entertained by him respecting a nation
which was the primary and leading cause of the down-
fall of his family, strengthened into feelings of cordial
friendship. He did not live the life of a recluse. True,
he passed much of his time in study, some of it in
literary composition, as is shown by the publication
of the work which has just been quoted; but he did
not confine himself, in his search for practical infor-
mation, to the kind of knowledge which is derived
from books. He studied us through ourselves as well
as through our literature; and by mingling in general
society, observing men, women, thoughts, habits, and
institutions, obtained, in all probability, a more intimate
acquaintance with our real state and condition than is
possessed by some of those who share in making our
laws and giving the tone to our policy, domestic and
external.
When, about this time, he declared that one of the
objects of the policy of Napoleon the First had been
to defeat the Russians and depress the English system,
and that he was himself prepared to justify and defend
that object, it would have been necessary, in order to
obtain a correct understanding of the meaning of the
expression, to take time, place, and circumstance into
account, instead of jumping to a conclusion that it im-
plied any hostile feeling towards England on the part
of the writer. We must consider what had actually
been the nature of the "English system" at the period
when the policy in question was entertained by the
Emperor. Looking back to it, we find that a fore-
most characteristic was an unrelenting resolution to
RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON I.
105
I
drive him from his throne - that resolution which,
after a Titanic struggle, was accomplished, but which
millions of Englishmen now believe to have been as
little conducive to the interests of our own country as
it was to those of France. Well, our policy was one
implacably hostile to Napoleon; incompatible with the
very existence of the sovereignty which he held by the
will of the French people. It was a policy of war to
death against his political existence. We have seen
that whilst he deplored, and of course resented, he
made strenuous endeavours to conciliate, or rather
dissipate, the passionate prejudices on which that policy
rested: we have seen how entirely alien to fundamental
hatred or enmity were his own sentiments towards us;
how ardent was his desire for peace and amity; how
energetic his representations to our own political
authorities - nominally addressed, as they were, to a
king whose unfortunate state of mind, combined with
the obstinacy of a too famous "War Minister," had
been mainly instrumental in keeping alive the flame of
war-how energetic were his representations of the
wisdom, the necessity, of peace-his entreaties to the
statesmen of this country "not to refuse themselves
the happiness of granting peace!" But as peace would
not be granted as nothing less than the annihilation
of the Imperial system would satisfy the policy then
dominant in England — what alternative had the object
of all this uncompromising, and, as most of us now
think, wrong-headed enmity, but to endeavour to
"depress" that policy?
And did such endeavour imply hostility to us as a
people? By no means. It was one mainly of self-
defence of self-preservation; an effort suggested by
the necessity of averting ruin, not only from himself, but
from the system approved and enthusiastically upheld
106
LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE SOCIALISTS.
by his people. When the present Emperor expressed
his concurrence with these views of Napoleon the First,
his observations were retrospective directed to the
circumstances under which such views had been en-
tertained; - they fairly and reasonably set forth what
he, or any man of spirit and energy, must have done,
if surrounded by similar contingencies. He gave a
candid, manly statement of facts, in reference to a subject
which had been grievously misunderstood.
It was whilst he was living, thinking, and observing
amongst us, that the Socialist émeute, or insurrection,
under Barbès, occurred in France. It was impossible
that a man holding the position of Prince Louis Na-
poleon in the eyes of Europe-the heir, the represen-
tative, the vindicator of the Empire, the denouncer
and opponent of the system of corruption by which
France was at that time weakened and degraded, — it
was impossible that a man holding such a position
should not have had enemies, powerful, ingenious and
unscrupulous. And he had enemies, he had many of
them. Every one of those who felt themselves per-
sonally interested in the maintenance of the system
against which his life, words, and actions were standing
protests, was his enemy. There could be no more
effectual mode of injuring him than to depreciate his
"good name," his public and private character. Of
the effectiveness of a dexterous use of slander, none
were more profoundly aware, from experience and in-
defatigable practice, than the dependents of Louis
Philippe's court; and they had exercised their talents
without let or limit, as indeed they continued to do
for a long time afterwards, in propagating every de-
scription of calumny - specious, audacious, and some-
times, through excess of zeal, simply impudent and
ridiculous respecting a personage so obnoxious, and
LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE SOCIALISTS.
107
whom, even in his exile, they felt to be formidable.
The Barbès affair suggested an opportunity not to be
neglected. Up rose a vehement outcry, supported by
a legion of ribaldrous tongues, and unfortunately, it
must be added, by not few mercenary pens, against the
deadly, levelling, Socialist, bloodthirsty objects of a
movement of which the Prince, it was gravely as-
serted, was the head and soul! The accusation was
so opposed to every reasonable inference deducible
from the Prince's antecedents, to the sentiments empha-
tically enunciated by him on all occasions, as to the
paramount importance, to every State and people, of
the preservation of order, and the sacred inviolability
of the rights of property, that really well-informed
persons could scarcely be imposed on by it. But the
slanderers, if not wise, were cunning in their genera-
tion. They knew well that every community contains
a large proportion of individuals too prone to be
persuaded by assertions boldly made and followed up.
The Prince, too, in consideration of this fact, thought
it necessary to make public a formal denial of any con-
nexion with the affair alluded to. This he did in the
following letter, addressed to the editor of a London
newspaper, into the "Paris Correspondence" of which
some sinister influence had contrived, probably by work-
ing on the credulity of the gentleman who conducted
that department, to procure the insertion of a defa-
matory paragraph: -
“ SIR,
"I observe with pain, in your Paris Cor-
respondence, that it is sought to throw upon me the
responsibility of the late insurrection. I count upon
your kindness to refute the insinuation in the most
formal manner. The news of the sanguinary scenes
..
108
THE POLICY OF TRUTH AND CANDOUR.
which have just taken place, equally surprised and
afflicted me. If I were the soul of a conspiracy, I
should be the leader of it in the day of danger, and I
should not deny it after a defeat.
"Receive &c.,
"NAPOLEON LOUIS BONAPARTE."
Perhaps it would have been politic for the Prince
so far as respected temporary expediency to have
caused the denial to be made in a manner less direct
and explicit. Such a course might have been equally
effectual in undeceiving individuals of moderate opinions
opposed to such projects as those of Barbès, and, at
the same time, been less offensive to the extreme
party in France, who were ready to place themselves
at the disposal of any combination directed against
the existing order of things. In short, to use our
English phrase, such a course might have been an
astute way enough of "running with the hare and
holding with the hounds." But devices of this sort he
disdained and cast utterly from him. He ever refused
to give countenance, implied or expressed, to principles
or objects contrary to those which he had laid down
as the rule of his conduct and the goal of his aspira-
tions. The faithful truthfulness and sincerity of the
man manifested themselves in this, as in so many emer-
gencies in which, during his eventful career, they were
put upon trial. And by truthfulness and sincerity he
achieved that grand success which has astonished the
world.
}
109
SECTION THE THIRD.
1840 to 1848.
CHAPTER I.
THE ENTERPRISE OF BOULOGNE.
OBJECTS AND PLANS. RESULTS,
IMMEDIATE AND DEFERRED. THE TRIAL. DECLARATION OF PRIN-
CIPLES. THE JUDGMENT.
THE circumstances under which the Boulogne expedition
was undertaken have been discussed and re-discussed
by writers of all parties and opinions. Long previous
preparation, combination, and secret organisation of
supporters, have been imputed. No imputation could
be less like probability. Had there been conspiracy,
preparation, organisation, it would not have been with
a retinue consisting of about fifty persons, and without
a single individual awaiting him or expecting him, that
he would have landed at Boulogne. Had he chosen, for
the convenience of the moment, to shuffle and equivo-
cate as to the objects of the expedition, and the mea-
sures which he deemed necessary for the regeneration
of his country had he, giving way in the smallest
degree to the policy of dissimulation, entered into
correspondence with the leaders of the Jacobin and
Socialist clubs, and held out to them any hope of coun-
tenance from himself in the event of the enterprise
being successful, he might have had many looking for
110
THE ENTERPRISE OF BOULOGNE.
the raising of his finger as the signal for a popular
revolt. But on this, as on all occasions, he rose superior
to tricky subterfuge.
There was, in fact, no combination, no organisation,
no preparation for him. The attempt at Strasburg has
been described, and the causes of its failure considered,
in a previous chapter. That it was a brave and chi-
valrous, if not a prudent or well-considered experi-
ment, cannot be denied; but the landing at Boulogne
with a few followers, of the principal of whom were
Count Montholon and General Voison, presented an
excess of chivalrous valour. Here he had not a
Colonel Vaudrey to receive him. Nobody expected
him. A few proclamations were scattered, concerning
a change in the Government. The little party marched
through the town towards the guardhouse, shouting
"Vive l'Empéreur!" The troops at the guardhouse
were invited to join them, but the soldiers were taken.
by surprise at so unexpected a summons-perhaps, too,
there arose some doubts as to the Prince's identity, as
had been the case at Strasburg. It was not unnatural
that suspicion, or at least hesitation, should arise, when
they saw not one of their own officers, with the ex-
ception of a young subaltern, Lieutenant Aladenize,
The consequence
appear in support of the movement.
was, that time was again lost. The "National Guard"
at that time the incarnation of the small-office-
seeking bourgeoisie so relied on by Louis Philippe-
began to muster. The numbers of the Napoleonite
party receiving no considerable increase, the Prince
retreated towards the Column of Napoleon, a little
way out of the town, and there planted the Imperial
flag; but it was so early in the morning, that few
persons were about, and the National Guard, with
some of the soldiery, began to surround the Prince
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
111
and his followers. Under these circumstances -find-
ing that the enterprise had failed even more com-
pletely than had that at Strasburg, where, for a while,
there did exist some appreciable chance of success —
the Prince, who acted all through with the imperturb-
able intrepidity that never forsakes him in moments
of danger, reluctantly confessed to himself that the
time for the fulfilment of his long-cherished hopes
had not yet arrived. He therefore ordered a retreat
towards the sea. But it was too late to effect that
operation. A short conflict took place on the beach.
Little blood was shed-in fact, the odds were too over-
whelming to render anything like regular fighting
possible. Though the Prince had, with great gallantry,
made his dispositions for resisting capture, and, by
the exposure of his own person to serious peril, en-
deavoured to make a diversion in order that as many
as possible of his friends might make their escape, the
result was that one or two were shot down, and the
others, including their leader, were taken prisoners. The
Prince himself, Generals Voison, Montholon, and a few
of the more eminent actors in the affair, were in a
short time conveyed to Paris, to be tried, on a charge of
high treason, before the Chamber of Peers.
I have already devoted some space to a considera-
tion of the motives which impelled Prince Louis
Napoleon to the enterprises of Strasburg and Boulogne.
That they were the result of profound convictions
as to the necessity, for the sake of the best interests of
France, of re-establishing the system of the Empire,
no one can doubt who has seen with what fidelity the
future Emperor had clung to these convictions. But
that the measures themselves did not proceed from
any long-prepared arrangements, is equally evident
from all the circumstances. They were the offspring of
112
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
generous, confiding impulses, which would fain have
believed that all who entertained the same opinions
were inspired with the same devotion. The Prince
knew that the hearts of the people of France were with
the cause which he represented; but so utterly strange
to his disposition were the arts of under-handed in-
trigue, that he had omitted the necessary precaution of
forming a nucleus of organised supporters. He felt
(to use one of his own pregnant aphorisms) that his
cause was everywhere, though his party was nowhere
because it had not been organised. Beyond doubt, the
total neglect of organisation was an error, but an error
which at all events evidenced the sincere character of
the convictions which moved him. His object was not
to force upon the community the recognition of the
Empire-a step, I may observe, for which little force
could have been required, seeing that the aspirations of
the vastly preponderating majority had never ceased to
look in that direction. What he intended was, by
the provisional establishment of a machinery through
which the people could clearly express their feelings as
to the government which they preferred, to enable them
to found a system based on the broadest and most
comprehensive principles of nationality. It must be
admitted that little doubt can exist as to what the
result of that decision would have been.
It would be wrong to take for granted, that though
the affairs of Strasburg and Boulogne were unsuccessful
with respect to their immediate objects, they were
without effect in promoting the ultimate triumph of the
principles of their originator. Nothing in the world
is more easy than ex post facto criticism. It is a
task in the performance of which the most obtuse
of mortals can exhibit a prodigious fund of satire
and acuteness, at the smallest possible expenditure of
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
113
reasoning power. What more easy than to say that
a given line of conduct was mad, desperate, chimerical,
because it did not immediately succeed? But how
if it had succeeded? Would it then have been called
mad or chimerical? Would it not have been hailed as
an emanation of genius and wisdom transcending ordi-
nary capacities? How true an appreciation of the falli-
bility of human nature, in this respect, is exhibited in
the quiet allusion made by the Prince to those who
"would call him mad because he had not succeeded, but
would have exaggerated his merit if he had triumphed !"
These few words open up a whole chapter of human
nature, with its sensitiveness to the influence of circum-
stance in preference to the admonitions of principle.
But, after all, were the two enterprises in question
such unmitigated failures, in their ultimate effect, as
they were represented to have been? That question
deserves consideration - deserves to be considered in
connexion with subsequent events. That the cause
of the Empire was one which, in the affections of
the people of France, had survived all shocks and vicis-
situdes, has been proved by practical demonstration
too patent to be seriously disputed: but a cause, how-
ever powerful, however revered in the abstract, can
scarcely possess vital efficacy unless it have a living
representative. And who was the representative, the
acknowledged representative, of the Imperial cause?
Surely the man who, in its assertion, had twice con-
fronted death, and had endured prolonged penalties for
so doing. And now let the reader ask himself, would
the Prince have been so pre-eminently the representative
and embodiment of that cause,—would it have risen to
people's minds so spontaneously and energetically at
the very mention of his name, if he had not been the
"hero," as the phrase goes, of the affairs of Strasburg
I
114
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
and Boulogne? Surely not. Did not these affairs,
however faulty we may admit them to have been in
matters relating to strategy and tactics,-did not these
affairs tend powerfully to keep alive the memories of
the Empire, to remind France that there was a living
heir to its principles? Were they not heartfully remem-
bered when the time came for decision on a permanent
and solid system of government for France? And had
they not an influence in keeping the attention of the
nation fixed on him who, in good report and evil report,
had never despaired of the cause, but had found, even
in circumstances which appeared to others calculated to
strengthen and perpetuate the supremacy of its enemies,
elements of hope, grounds for confidence of its future
triumph?
We must regard these transactions in their effect on
the great events of the future; we must consider them
in their meaning and entirety, before we can be justified
in pronouncing judgment upon them. Granted all the
imputations which have been uttered as to crudeness
and rashness of conception, inadequacy, or rather
absence, of preparation, mismanagement in execution,
who, after all, can deny their immense influence on
the events which followed the Revolution of 1848 ?
Entire as is my persuasion of the good faith with which
Prince Louis Napoleon undertook, in 1848, a task which
it afterwards became evident was an impossible one
-viz., to carry out the system of government then ex-
perimentalised on- I cannot ignore the manifest truth
that it was his writings and his acts, in support of the
Imperial system, that pointed him out to the people of
France as the man most fit to be entrusted with power,
and him on whom it afterwards became right, and
necessary for the salvation of the country, to confer
increase and permanence of power.
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
115
A French writer, who has published an essay on the
genius and fortunes of the present Emperor, has put
the point so strikingly that I will venture to extract
a few passages from his observations. The reader,
making allowance for the dramatic style so popular
amongst our neighbours, will attend to the course
and substance of the argument, which, amid a su-
perfluity of rhetorical ornament, is logically reasoned
out:
"Here is a man who has twice conspired against an
established government, and who, in the space of four
years, has raised the standard of revolt and civil war
both upon the inland frontier and on the coasts of his
country. This man seeks to become Emperor.* He
enters on the continent; he disembarks on the shore as
a pretender: he causes treasons and provokes rebellion.
He engages in a hopeless struggle, and falls at once by
the defenceless state of his own cause. He is insulted,
judged, condemned; almost forgotten in America, and
in the dungeon of Ham.
And yet this
is the very man who, some years later, becomes, first,
the favourite of the people, and then the chosen of the
nation. Scarcely has his name been breathed in public
places before it passes from lip to lip, as a dear remem-
brance, as a hope for the future. A murmur runs along
the streets; passes the gates; spreads over the country.
It is echoed far and wide among the humble villages of the
land. It swells like the waves of the ocean, till it takes the
*
An error, or rather, an exaggeration of terms-a fault which the
writer is apt to fall into, but which does not affect the force and
truth of his main proposition. The Prince did not seek to become
Emperor. He sought to give the French people an opportunity of
deciding on the establishment of a vigorous, permanent, national
government, and of pronouncing whether or not that object ought to
be sought through the re-establishment of the Imperial system.
I 2
116
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
6
form of a great popular opinion, and speaks by the voice
of six millions of votes given without motive, without
calculation, and as if by an irresistible and spontaneous
impulse of the nation. True 'tis strange, strange 'tis
true.' Strasburg and Boulogne were the causes of the
Election of the 10th of December. Had not Louis Napo-
leon Bonaparte put himself forward as a pretender to the
Empire, he would probably never have become Presi-
dent of the French Republic. Is it a matter of doubt?
Then here is a fact which will dissipate all uncertainty on
this head. The Bonaparte family did not await a signal
from the prisoner of Ham to appear in France, on the
stage of the new Republic. The very day after the
Revolution, two young men of the family hastened to
take their part in the victory. One, the son of Lucien,
a republican like his father, uniting the Corsican intre-
pidity to a patriotism almost Roman; the other, the son
of Jérôme, active, young, intelligent, clever, the living
image of that historical countenance which is engraven on
more hearts than medals. But who cared to recognise
these representatives, these heirs of an heroic period, in
the midst of the storms, agitations, and convulsions
of the revolutionary crisis? What recollections
went back to them? What hopes were founded on
their names? What promise was there imprinted on
their brows? They passed by unknown and unnoticed
by the people, from whom nothing escapes, and who see
everything. They mounted guard merely as patriotic
volunteers at the door of the Provisional Government.
They were elected by Corsica, and arrived to take their
seats as representatives, without awakening a single
emotion, or one presentiment. They had not appeared
either at Boulogne or Strasburg. Let Reason humiliate
herself, but let Conscience reserve her empire. For-
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
117
tune, fate, the caprice of the populace, the accident of
events, can complete nothing;- but the designs of
Providence must be accomplished; the mystery which
surrounds the means is the secret of His omnipotence.
That which appears senseless or culpable is often, in
the design of Providence, but means to overrule human
reason by defeating all calculation. The Empire had
on two occasions fallen in a few days, under the assault
of a million of men, headed by the Kings of Europe.
The Emperor, hurled from a power the most uni-
versal and most glorious ever devolved on a man,
seemed to have borne away with him, to a rock in the
midst of the ocean, all the hopes of his race.
One might
have believed that nothing could remain of that epoch
save a sublime epic poem.
"Betrayed by those whom he had raised, humbled
and martyrised by those whom he had vanquished; with-
out country, without family, delivered into the custody
of an agent of the British Government, he died at St.
Helena, without his last agony causing any pang, or
His son,
his last sigh being noticed by the world.
whose cradle was surrounded by so many expectations,
so many hopes, died almost before he began to live.
He died in the palace of Schoenbrun, a soldier of
Austria, after having been the heir of the conqueror of
kings and the dictator of nations. Who would believe
that this double blow could leave a chance for the
Empire? Who could believe that a new shoot was
about to spring up, to quicken again its vital principle
and its force, after the trunk had been uprooted along
with the branch sprung from its bark? Nevertheless
a young man whom no one knows appears. He at-
tempts enterprises the success of which is impossible.
He is scoffed at, tried, sentenced, and imprisoned –
I 3
118
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
then forgotten. And he, the man who had entered
Strasburg and landed at Boulogne, whom we have
beheld sitting between two gendarmes on the bench
of the accused, leaving a prison like a criminal, to
become a fugitive and a wanderer- this man is Louis
Napoleon Bonaparte. Oh Providence! who can deny
that you govern the world, and who can doubt, in
presence of these lessons given by your hand, that
great trials nobly endured are the apprenticeship of
great destinies nobly fulfilled?”
These passages, replete as they are with redundancies
of expression, cannot fail to carry conviction of the
substantial truthfulness of their general tenor. As
to the impulses under which the attempts of Stras-
burg and Boulogne were made, the writer proceeds.
to argue that the object of the Prince was to assert a
principle, not to excite a civil war: he maintains the
impossibility of there having been anything like pre-
arranged plot, either at Strasburg or Boulogne; and he
reminds us of an act of magnanimity performed after the
Prince had obtained power-an act which may take
its place amongst the innumerable instances in which
Napoleon the Third has shown that indulgence in per-
sonal spite or vindictiveness forms no element in his
nature:
"Now what did Louis Napoleon intend by his
enterprises of Strasburg and Boulogne ? Did he
simply come to overturn a government and take its
place?
Did he come like Charles Edward, at the
head of his partisans, to stake his right and his sceptre
on the chances of a battle? Did he come to decide,
hand to hand, a party contest in a final duel on the
banks of the Rhine, and on the sea-shore? No. He
was not a conspirator of an ordinary kind. If you
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
119
will have my frank opinion, I will not hesitate to add
that his character, his habits, his ideas, his education,
his nature, must have profoundly revolted from projects
of conspiracy. What proves the assertion is the rash-
ness of the acts, and the absolute impossibility of
success*, which becomes evident on a simple examination
of the combinations on which the two expeditions of
Strasburg and Boulogne depended. In fact, the hero of
these enterprises did not take the trouble of ascertain-
ing whether he had any partisans in France.† He
prepares nothing-he organises nothing; his plans are
not warranted by strategy. His efforts are connected
with no secret arrangements. He can reckon only on
a few inferior officers, who tender their swords and
their allegiance. It is not on Paris, the centre of the
territory, that he brings his action to bear, to ramify
afterwards through the whole of France.
No; he
appears suddenly, like his uncle, in a corner of the
territory, and he believes that his march will be one
long triumphant and popular procession. A few pro-
clamations, a constitution — such are his implements of
war. His name, his prestige, a dozen friends, who
consent to share his fate, constitute his army. It has
been said, I know, that the enterprise of Strasburg, in
particular, was connected with a formidable organi-
* This condition of impossibility is assumed, without being proved
by the writer. Success was anything but impossible at Strasburg.
It was prevented through a concurrence of some of those ex-
ceptional accidents which, insignificant under ordinary circumstances,
become of supreme importance when a few moments may decide a
great contingency.
†There was no necessity for doing this. The fact was certain
enough. It would have been more correct, though perhaps less
dramatically effective, to have said that he had taken no measures to
prepare or organise his "partisans." These partisans were
the
nation itself.
+
I 4
120
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
sation, which encircled all the eastern frontier towns,
their populations, and their garrisons. It has been said
also, that several general officers only awaited a first
success to pronounce themselves in its favour, and
risk their fortunes in a cause in which they recognised
the remembrance and enthusiasm of their youth. The
judicial proceedings, so searching and complete, which
took place before the magistrates and the Chamber of
Peers, the debates that shed light on all the particulars
and all the intricacies of this 'conspiracy,' have not
produced a single indication of the pretended confe-
deracy. I have seen and read everything relating to
the subject. Time, which has altered the tide of events,
and has converted into a title to govern that which was
then a cause of degradation, has proved none of these
covert treasons which hide themselves in the time of
defeat, and without a blush raise their heads in the
time of triumph to receive or claim their reward. An
old soldier of the Empire, whose heart might have been
moved, but whose conscientiousness could not be
shaken, received overtures from the Prince. He de-
clined them with the inflexibility of duty, but with
grief for the signal defeat he anticipated for a name he
revered. Bonaparte, having become President of the
Republic, has not remembered this refusal; or, speaking
more correctly, he has remembered it, and has given
the baton of Marshal of France to him who, sacrificing
the devotion of his feelings to his oath of allegiance,
nobly refused to surrender to him his honour and his
sword. Thus he did not conspire; for conspiracy
implies action and organisation, and neither seriously
existed at Strasburg or Boulogne.
"It was not the defection of a few officers, or the
devotedness of a few friends, that could secure to him
means sufficiently substantial and powerful to impose
STRASBURG AND BOULOGNE.
121
himself on a nation. In his mind he reckoned only
on moral force on a revolution of opinion,* when
showing himself unexpectedly on the frontier with a
standard and an eagle. This clearly appears from a
conversation, curious and authenticated, which he had,
some days previous to his first attempt, with Colonel
Vaudrey, at a hotel in Baden. 'If the government,'
said he, 'have committed faults enough to render a
revolution desirable to the people-if the cause of
Napoleon have left recollections engraven deeply enough
in French hearts, it will be enough for me to show
myself alone to the soldiers, and to recall to them their
recent wrongs and their past glories, in order to gain
them over to my standard.
Should I succeed in
making one regiment follow me if the soldiers who
do not know me personally take fire at the sight of the
Imperial Eagle, then all the chances are in my favour.
My cause will have triumphed in spite of any accidental
obstacle which may arise to impede it.'
"To obey destiny, to follow his star, to sound
France with the sword of Napoleon, to bring to light
what feelings of affection it contained for the name
of Bonaparte and the Empire; to call upon the people
to declare their will upon the system which, as he
believed, engrossed all their favour and enthusiasm —
this, sincerely and impartially, was what Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte had faith in, and endeavoured to bring
about, in entering Strasburg, sword in hand, on the
30th of October, 1836, and in disembarking at Boulogne
on the 6th of August, 1840."
Or, revolution through public opinion. A demonstration of
opinion would be the correct phrase. No revolution in public
opinion was required: what was wanted was the manifestation of
opinions which already existed.
1
"
·
..
122
THE TRIAL BEFORE THE PEERS.
The trial of the illustrious aspirant and of his prin-
cipal adherents in the Boulogne affair, took place before
the Court of the Chamber of Peers, sitting in Paris.
The details of the proceedings need not be repeated
here. But it would be wrong not to mention the
fact, that the insulting tone in which the prosecution
was conducted by the law officers of the Government,
and the extreme measures to which that Government
resorted in order to ensure a conviction, excited
indignation, not only amongst the Prince's friends, but
amongst many of those who, politically speaking, might
have been reckoned amongst his opponents.
In 1836, King Louis Philippe's power was not,
perhaps, in his own opinion, sufficiently "consolidated"
to render it safe to bring the prisoner to trial. But in
1840, the process of "consolidation" was considered
sufficiently matured to permit of the experiment being
made, and in the most vindictive manner.
The proceedings on the part of the prosecution were
of a character revolting to the spirit of what in England
we call "fair play." Many English periodicals ex-
pressed their feelings in no equivocal terms, and some
of the French publications, restricted as they were by
Ministerial influence or intimidation, were honest
enough to do the same.
In the course of the trial before the Chamber of
Peers, the Prince delivered a speech in which, whilst
repudiating the intention of attempting a restoration of
the Empire by any coercive pressure on the national
will, he enunciated the principle that the time had
arrived when the people should have an opportunity of
deciding whether or not such restoration were required
by the honour and interests of France. I quote some
paragraphs from this memorable address, strikingly con-
THE PRINCE'S VINDICATION.
123
sistent as are the propositions set forth in it with the
course taken by the speaker at a subsequent period:
“For the first time in my life, it is permitted to me
to lift my voice in France, and to speak freely to
Frenchmen. *
"Without pride, but also without weakness, if I
recall the rights deposited by the nation in the hands of
my family, it is solely to explain the duties which those
rights have devolved upon us.
"Since the principle of the sovereignty of the people
was asserted fifty years ago by the most powerful revo-
lution which ever occurred in the history of the world,
never was the national will so solemnly proclaimed,
never was it asserted by suffrages so numerous and so
free, as on the occasion when it adopted the constitution
of the Empire.
'What-
“The nation has never revoked that grand act of its
sovereignty, and the Emperor has declared it
ever is done without its authority is illegal.'
"At the same time, do not allow yourselves to be-
lieve that, led away by the impulses of personal am-
bition, I have wished by these acts to attempt a resto-
ration of the Empire in France.* I was born the son
of a king who descended without regret from a throne
on the day when he had reason to believe that it was
no longer possible to reconcile with the interests of
France those of the people whom he had been called on
to govern.
"The Emperor, my uncle, preferred to abdicate the
Empire rather than accept by treaty curtailed frontiers,
in doing which he must have exposed France to the
insults and menaces in which foreign nations to this
* In the sense of forcing himself on the throne.
..
3
..
124
THE PRINCE'S VINDICATION.
day presume to indulge. I have not been a single day
forgetful of such lessons. The unmerited and cruel act
of proscription under which for twenty-five years I
have endured a lingering existence - beginning at the
steps of the throne, where I was born, and now stop-
ping at the dungeon from which I have just come-
has been alike powerless to irritate as to fatigue my
heart. It has not been able for a single day to estrange
from me the glory, the rights, and the interests of
France. My conduct and my convictions sufficiently
attest the fact.
"In 1830, when the people reconquered the sove-
reignty, I had expected that the policy of the succeeding
period would have been as loyal as the conquest itself,
and that the destinies of France would have been esta-
blished for ever. Instead of this, the country has
undergone the melancholy experiences of the last ten
years. Under such circumstances, I considered that
the vote of four millions of fellow-countrymen, which
had elevated my family to supreme power, imposed
upon me at least the duty of making an appeal to the
nation, and inquiring what was its will. I thought,
also, that if, in the national congress which I in-
tended to convene, certain pretensions should have
made themselves heard, I should have had the right to
revive the glorious memories of the Empire; to speak
of the elder brother of the Emperor; of that virtuous
prince, who, in precedence to me, is his sole heir; and
to contrast face to face France as she now is, enfeebled
and passed over silently in the congress of sovereigns,
with the France of that day when she was so strong
at home, and so powerful and respected abroad. The
nation would then have replied to the question, Re-
public or Monarchy; Empire or Kingdom?" And
upon the free discussion of the nation upon this question
6
THE PRINCE'S VINDICATION.
125
1)
depends the termination of our sorrows and of our
dissensions.
"With respect to my enterprise — I repeat it — I
had no accomplice. It was I alone who determined
everything. Nobody knew beforehand my plans, or
my resources, or my hopes. If I am guilty as
against anybody, it is against my friends only. Never-
theless, I hope that they will not accuse me of having
lightly trifled with courage and devotion such as theirs.
They will understand the motives of honour and of
prudence which prevent me from revealing, even to
themselves, how widely based and how powerful were
my reasons for hoping for a successful result.
"One word more, gentlemen. I represent before you
a principle, a cause, and a defeat. The principle is the
sovereignty of the people; the cause is that of the
Empire; the defeat is that of Waterloo. The principle
you have recognised it; the cause you have served
it; the defeat-you would revenge it. No, then, there
is no discord between you and me. ***
"Representing a political cause, I cannot accept a
political tribunal as the judge of my intentions and of
my acts. Nobody will be imposed on by your forms.
In the struggle which is taking place, there will be
but one conqueror, one vanquished. If you are in the
ranks of the conqueror, I cannot expect justice at your
hands, and I will not accept your generosity."
In the opening section of this work, special reference
has been made to the Prince's allusion to Waterloo,
and to the misconception which led to the assumption
that his mention of that event indicated a feeling
hostile to England. I will not in this place reiterate
the proof that the language used by him might
have been uttered with a meaning very different from
126
M. BERRYER'S APPEAL.
that which was attributed to it by persons whose in-
terest it was to keep up the delusion that the Empire
meant conquest, war, and war against England in
particular. It may be worth the reader's while to refer
to the chapter in which this point is fully treated;
and I do not doubt that the conclusion arrived at by
unprejudiced intelligence will be, that thoughts not
inimical to our country were revolving in the Prince's
mind at the moment when he made use of the words
which have been tortured into a hostile meaning.
The defence of the Prince and of General Montholon
was conducted by M. Berryer, the celebrated Legiti-
mist lawyer, who, notwithstanding his political opinions,
had acted as the advocate of various persons prosecuted
by the Government of the Restoration as well as by
that of Louis Philippe. On this, as indeed on all other
occasions calling for the exercise of forensic talent, M.
Berryer acquitted himself with great ability. Address-
ing the assembled peers -many of whom had been in
the service of Napoleon the First, and were indebted to
that great man for their present prosperity — M.
Berryer made an appeal which must have gone home
to the hearts and consciences of some of those who
listened to it:
"Standing where I do, I do not think that the claims
of the name in which this project was attempted can
possibly fall humiliated by the disdainful expressions of
the Procureur-General. You (turning to that official,)
make remarks upon the weakness of the means employed,
upon the poverty of the whole enterprise, which made
all hopes of success ridiculous. Well, if success be
anything, I will say to you who are men-you who
are the first men in the State you who are members
of a great political body there is an inevitable and
an eternal Arbitrator between every judge and every
JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE.
127
accused who stands before him. And now, before
giving your judgment, being in presence of this Arbi-
trator, and in the face of the country which will hear
your decree, tell me this, without regard to weakness
of means, but with the merits of the case, the laws
and the institutions before your eyes, and with your
hands upon your hearts, as standing before your God,
and in presence of us, who know you,
will you say
this? If he had succeeded if his pretended right
had triumphed, I would have denied him and it; I
would have refused all share in his power,- I would
have denied and rejected him!'- For my part, I accept
the Supreme Arbitration which I have mentioned ; —
and whoever there may be amongst you, who, before
their God and their country, will say, 'If he had suc-
ceeded, I would have rejected him!' such a one will
—
I accept for judge in this case."
After some days' delay, the Court delivered its judg-
ment and sentence. No doubt there had been dif-
ferences and disagreements in the deliberations of that
high tribunal. No doubt, amongst its component
members were men who felt how truthful and magna-
nimous how pregnant with the elements of France's
real honour and dignity-were the principles so candidly
avowed by the prisoner. No doubt, too, there were
amongst them men who felt, in the depths of their con-
sciences, that the test suggested by the eloquent counsel
was one which they would not care to encounter. But
an influence was at work which neutralised their better
emotions, and ensured the requisite majority for the
Crown. On the principle of "the greater the truth, the
greater the libel," it would perhaps be libellous — but
assuredly it would not be false to affirm that, long
before the trial commenced, the nature of its result
was as well known to the Government as forthcoming
128
JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE.
L
.
verdicts in political trials used to be some fifty years ago,
during the days of packed juries and "crammed" wit-
nesses, to the Crown prosecutors in Great Britain and
Ireland. The Prince and his companions were, of course,
convicted, with only three exceptions. The heaviest
sentences were those passed on the Prince, on General
Montholon, and on Aladenize, the young officer who
had endeavoured to excite a movement in favour
of the Prince at Boulogne. The sentence on Aladenize
was transportation; on M. Montholon, imprisonment
for twenty years; and the principal personage in
the affair was sentenced to imprisonment for life in
a French fortress. The first words of the Prince, on
hearing the sentence, are said to have been: "At
least, I shall have the happiness of dying in France!"
·:
129
THE IMPRISONMENT.
CHAP. II.
THE
FAITH, COURAGE, AND ENDURANCE.
DYING PARENT. PATERNAL SOLICITUDE AND FILIAL REVERENCE.
THE GAGE OF HONOUR: ITS REJECTION.—THE TEMPTATION :
ITS REPULSE.
THE Prince's prolonged imprisonment in the fortress
of Ham brought into conspicuous manifestation his
constancy, fortitude, and resolute fidelity to principle.
He entered the fortress in the autumn of 1840. For
a seclusion which threatened to be a life-long one
he prepared himself, if not with content at least with
dignified resignation, declaring that the knowledge
that, though a prisoner, he was living on the soil of
France, would be ample consolation in his solitude.
His active and well-disciplined mind soon found occu-
pation in pursuits worthy of one who was the repre-
sentative of a great cause, and who, even in this
extremity, was far from relinquishing the hopes and
aspirations of that cause. Here he composed the
treatises, Considérations sur la Question des Sucres,
L'Extinction de la Paupérisme, the Fragments His-
toriques, and essays on various subjects of national
and general interest. In a letter to a friend *
gives an interesting account of his studies and occu-
pations, amongst which that of gardening is specially
mentioned. The spirit of his exclamation on his sen-
tence being communicated to him, -"At least, I shall
have the happiness of dying in France!"-upheid him
in his monotonous privacy. In his communications with
* Quoted in Section I.
K
he
130
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN PRISON.
.
friends outside, he did not fail to make frequent allu-
sions to the cause and the principle which he felt to be
in his keeping, and the triumph of which he never
omitted from his expressed anticipations of the future.
Certain annoyances and indignities to which he found
himself subjected, induced him, in May, 1841, to address
a protest to the French Government, from which I
propose to make an extract or two. The tone of this
protest is eminently characteristic. Requiring, as a
matter of right and justice, that the vexations which he
complains of should be removed, he does not omit, even
when engaged on a subject connected directly only with
his personal convenience in prison, to introduce some
remarks of another kind-pertinent and emphatic —
which could not fail to speak to the feelings of any
man retaining sentiments of regard for the honour of
France. The great idea was never absent:-
"In the nine months during which I have now been
in the hands of the French Government, I have sub-
mitted patiently to indignities of every description. I
will, however, be no longer silent, nor authorise oppres-
sion by my silence.
"My position ought to be considered under two
points of view-the one moral and the other legal.
Morally speaking, the Government which has recognised
the legitimacy of the head of my family is bound to
recognise me as a prince, and to treat me as such.
"Policy has rights which I do not dispute. Let
Government act towards me as towards its enemy, and
deprive me of the means of doing it any harm; so far,
it would be justified. But, on the other hand, its
conduct will be dastardly if it treat me, who am the
son of a king, the nephew of an emperor, and allied to
all the sovereigns of Europe, as an ordinary prisoner.
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN PRISON,
131
"In referring to foreign alliances, I am not ignorant
that they have never been serviceable to the conquered,
and that misfortune severs all bonds; but the French
Government ought to recognise the principle which has
made me what I am-for it is through that principle it
exists. The sovereignty of the people made my uncle
an emperor, my father a king, and me a French prince
by birth.
Have I not, then, a right to the respect and
regard of all those in whose eyes the voice of a great
people, glory and misfortune, are everything?
"If, for the first time in my life, I perchance boast of
the accident which has presided over my birth, it is
because pride suits my position."
After touching, in a tone of dignified remonstrance,
upon some of the annoyances to which he had been
exposed, the prisoner continues, never ceasing to call
to mind the proper position of his family in relation
to the French people, and the veneration of that people
for the cause of which his family were the "representa-
tives"
"The simplest civility of look is regarded as a crime;
and all who would wish to soften the rigours of my
position without failing in their duty, are threatened
with being denounced to the authorities, and with
losing their places. In the midst of this France, which
the head of my family rendered so great, I am treated
like an excommunicated person in the thirteenth
century.
***
"The insulting inquisition which pursues me into my
very chamber, which follows my footsteps when I
breathe the fresh air in a retired corner of the fort, is
not limited to my person alone, but is extended even to
my thoughts. My letters to my family, the effusions
of my heart, are submitted to the strictest scrutiny;
K 2
132
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN PRISON.
and if a letter should contain any expressions of too
lively a sympathy, the letter is sequestrated, and its
writer is denounced to the Government.
(6
By an infinity of details too long to enumerate, it
appears that pains are taken, at every moment of the
day, to make me sensible of my captivity, and cry
incessantly in my ears, Vo victis!
"It is important to call to mind that none of the
measures which I have pointed out were put in force
against the ministers of Charles the Tenth, whose
dilapidated chambers I now occupy. And yet these
ministers were not born on the steps of a throne: and,
moreover, they were not condemned to simple im-
prisonment, but their sentence implied a more severe
treatment than has been given to me; and, in fine, they
were not the representatives of a cause which is an object
of veneration in France. The treatment, therefore,
which I experience is neither just, legal, nor humane.
"If it be supposed that such measures will subdue
me, it is a mistake. It is not outrage, but marks of kind-
ness, which subdue the hearts of those who suffer.”
There is reason to believe that this remonstrance was
not quite ineffectual. Perhaps it was policy-perhaps
it was generosity; but the seclusion of the Imperial
captive was rendered less irksome than it had been.
Two years thus passed away. In the year 1843, the
continued imprisonment of the Prince became the subject
of uncomplimentary remarks by many foreign and by
some French journals; and there were public men, not
the least influential, who expressed the opinion that in
this lengthened incarceration of the nephew of the great
Emperor, the Government of King Louis Philippe did
not evince much consciousness of strength or security.
It is possible that the Prince may have been sounded
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN PRISON.
133
on the subject of an amnesty, of liberation "on certain
conditions." However this may have been, he wrote a
letter, from which I reprint the passages in which he
states the conditions on which he would accept an
offer of liberation:-
"If to-morrow the doors of my prison were to be
opened to me, and I were told, 'You are free; come
and seat yourself as a citizen amid the hearths of
your native country-France no longer repudiates her
children' ah! then indeed a lively feeling of joy
would seize my soul. But if, on the contrary, they
were to come to offer me to exchange my present
condition for that of an exile, I should refuse such a
proposition, because it would be, in my view, an
aggravation of punishment. I prefer being a captive
on the soil of France to being a free man in a foreign
land.
*
*
*
"In a word, I should repeat-supposing that the
occasion presented itself to me- that which I declared
before the Court of Peers-'I will not accept of
generosity, because I know how much it costs.'"
Still true to the France of his love! to the objects
of his mission!
Even in those moments of despondency which will
cross the strongest minds, as year after year of pro-
longed captivity rolls by in dreary monotony, he looks
far into the future, and derives hope and consolation
from the vision. In 1845, he writes:-
"Ham, 6th Jan., 1845.
"Years roll on with a discouraging uniformity, and
it is only in the promptings of my conscience and my
heart, that I find strength to stand up against this
K 3
134
THE TEMPTATION. THE RESISTANCE.
:
leaden atmosphere which surrounds and suffocates me.
Nevertheless, the hope of a better future never entirely
abandons me."
But a time was approaching when the captive's
fidelity to the principle on which he had staked fortune,
liberty, and life, was to be put to the sternest trial. It
has already been remarked that intense filial affection
formed a marked feature in his character. His father, who
had been long living in retirement, was rapidly declining.
In the year 1845 he felt that death was approaching, and
caused an appeal to be made to King Louis Philippe
not to withhold from him the consolation of seeing his
son before he died. The request was not complied
with. But from all the circumstances of the negotia-
tions which ensued, it is apparent that the crafty king
and his ministers would have been glad to part
with one whose residence in France, even as a prisoner,
for so long a period, was becoming "a difficulty,"
that they would have been happy to release
him, and, by so doing, obtain credit for an act of
generosity, if they could at the same time entangle
him in such terms as would suit their own views,
and tie him down, by the bonds of honour, from any
future proceedings that could be troublesome to them.
Terms of the kind were certainly proposed. It was a
powerful temptation, a temptation which few men in
the world, so sensitively alive to the emotions of filial
But
tenderness as the captive, could have resisted.
he did resist it. He sunk the individual in the cause.
No inducement—not even this, probably the strongest
that could have presented itself-could cause him
to swerve from the course which he had marked out
for himself, or to commit himself to a pledge which
might compromise him in the fulfilment of the mission
THE GAGE OF HONOUR.
135
which he felt to be his own. He would not make a de-
claration amounting to an acknowledgment of a foregone
offence he would not promise to look on passively at
the proceedings of a dynasty which, he believed, was
betraying the honour and interests of his country: he
would not renounce his high objects and aspirations.
But he took just such a step as would have occurred
naturally to a man of high, honourable, chivalrous
feelings, situated as he was. It is explained in the
following letter to the Minister of the Interior: -
"Sir,
66
My father, whose age and infirmity require the
attention of a son, has requested the Government to
allow me to go to him. His application has not been
attended with a favourable result.
"The Government, as I am informed, required a
formal guarantee from me. Under the circumstances,
my resolve cannot be doubted, and I am prepared to do
everything compatible with my honour, in order to be
allowed to offer to my father those consolations to
which he has so many claims.
"I now therefore declare to you, Sir, that if the
French Government consent to allow me to go to
Florence, to discharge a sacred duty, I will promise,
upon my honour, to return and to place myself at the
disposal of the Government whenever it shall express
a desire that I should do so.
"Accept, Sir, &c. &c.,
"NAPOLEON LOUIS BONAPARTE."
But neither the monarch nor his ministers were men
on whom an appeal of this kind, emanating from the
spontaneous impulses of a generous mind, was likely
K 4
136
LETTER TO THE KING.
.:
.
""
to produce the desired effect. Napoleon the Third
possesses a reputation for the quality of seeing deeply
into character, but he had no close acquaintance
with Louis Philippe. He did not "know his man.'
The object of Government was to drive a hard bargain;
to make what they, we may presume, would have called
a good bargain-to make "a good thing" of the natural
emotions of father and son. They had no idea of
allowing the old chivalric principle of honour to enter
into the transaction. The Prince's proposition was
therefore declined by them; and upon this intimation
being made to him, the prisoner wrote to the King
himself:
66 'Sire,
"It is not without deep emotion that I approach
your Majesty, and ask, as a favour, permission to quit
France, even for a very short time. For five years I
have found, in breathing the air of my country, ample
compensation for the anguish of captivity; but my
father is now aged and infirm, and calls for my atten-
tions and care. He has applied to persons known for
their attachment to your Majesty, in order to obtain
my liberation; and it is my duty to do everything
which depends upon me to meet his desires.
"The Council of Ministers has not felt itself com-
petent to accede to the request which I made, to be
allowed to go to Florence, engaging to return, and
again to become a prisoner as soon as the Government
might desire me to do so. I approach your Majesty
with confidence, to make an appeal to your feelings of
humanity, and to renew my request by submitting to
your high and generous interposition.
"Your Majesty will, I am convinced, appreciate a
step which, beforehand, engages my gratitude, and,
THE TEMPTATION. — THE RESISTANCE.
137
...
affected by the isolated position in a foreign land of a
man who upon a throne gained the esteem of Europe,
will accede to the wishes of my father and myself.
"I beg your Majesty to receive the expressions of
my profound respect.
"NAPOLEON LOUIS BONAPARTE.'
Still the same result. The King wanted his terms,
and these terms the captive was not prepared to
concede.
Many of the most eminent men in France now inter-
ested themselves actively to obtain the liberation of
the Prince on some conditions which he should consider
consistent with his duty. But all was in vain. He
must give quid pro quo. He must bind himself down
in such a manner as to render it impossible for
him ever again to do or say anything disagreeable
to the House of Orleans. The letter in which the
Prince announces his final and entire repudiation of
any such conditions, deserves to be reproduced in
extenso.
"Sir,
"Before replying to the letter which you have
been good enough to address to me, allow me to thank
you, as well as your political friends, for the interest you
have shown, and the spontaneous steps which you have
thought it consistent with your duty to take, in order
to lighten the weight of my misfortunes. Be assured
that my gratitude shall never be wanting to those
generous men who, in such painful circumstances, have
extended towards me a friendly hand.
I now proceed to state to you, that I do not think it
consistent with my duty to attach my name to the
138
THE RESISTANCE.
THE TEMPTATION.
letter of which you have sent me a copy. The brave
man who finds himself alone face to face with an adver-
sary, alone in the presence of enemies interested in
depreciating his character, ought to avoid every kind
of subterfuge, everything equivocal, and take all his mea-
sures with the greatest degree of frankness and decision.
Like Cæsar's wife, he ought not to be suspected. If I
signed the letter which you and many other deputies
have recommended me to sign, I should, in fact,
sue for pardon. Without avowing the fact, I should
take shelter behind the request of my father.
I
consider such a course unworthy of me. If I thought
it consistent with my position and honour merely and
simply to invoke the royal clemency, I would write to
the King, 'Sire, I ask pardon.'
*
"Such, however, is not my intention. For six years
I have endured, without complaining, an imprisonment
which is one of the natural consequences of my attack
upon the Government; and I shall endure it for ten
years longer, if necessary, without accusing either my
destiny or the men who inflict it. I suffer; but I say to
myself every day, 'I am in France.' I have preserved
my honour unstained. I live without enjoyments, but
also without remorse; and every evening I go to repose
in peace. No steps would have been taken by me to
disturb the calm of my conscience and the
repose of my
life, had not my father signified an earnest desire of
having me near him again during his declining years.
My filial duty roused me from a state of resignation,
and I took a step of the gravity of which I was well
aware, and to which I imparted all that frankness and
honesty which I wish to exhibit in all my actions. I
wrote to the head of the State, to him who alone had
the legal power to alter my position; I asked to be
allowed to go and see my father, and spoke to him of
THE TEMPTATION.
139
THE RESISTANCE.
honour, humanity, generosity, because I have no hesita-
tion in calling things by their proper names.
"The King appeared satisfied, and said to the worthy
son of Marshal Ney, who was good enough to place the
letter in his hands, that the guarantee which I offered
was sufficient; but he has as yet given no intimation of
his decision. His Ministers, on the contrary, enclosing
their resolution in a copy of my letter to the King,
which I sent to them with respectful firmness, taking
advantage of my position and their own, caused an
answer to be transmitted to me, which was merely an
insult to misfortune.
"Under the blow of such a refusal, and still unac-
quainted with the King's decision, my duty is to abstain
from taking any step, and above all not to subscribe a
request for pardon under the disguise of filial duty.
"I still maintain all that I said in my letter to the
King, because the sentiments which I expressed were
deeply felt, and were such as appeared suitable to my
position; but I shall not advance a line farther. The
path of honour is narrow and slippery, and there is but
a hair's breadth between the firm ground and the abyss.
"You may, moreover, be well assured, Sir, that, should
I sign the letter in question, more exacting demands
would be made. On the 25th of December, I wrote a
letter to the Minister of the Interior, requesting per-
mission to see my father. On the 14th of January, I
determined on a very serious step: I wrote a letter to
the King, in which I spared no expression which I
thought might conduce to the success of my request.
The answer was an impertinent one.
"My position is clear: I am a captive; but it is a
consolation to me to breathe the air of my country. A
sacred duty summons me to my father's side. I say to
the Government, Circumstances compel me to entreat
(
--
•
140
THE TEMPTATION. -THE RESISTANCE.
from you, as a favour, permission to leave Ham. If
you grant my request, you may depend on my gratitude,
and it will be of the more value, as your decision will
bear the stamp of generosity; for the gratitude of those
who would consent to humiliate themselves in order to
gain an advantage, would be valueless.'
"Finally, I calmly await the decision of the King, a
man who, like me, has lived through thirty years of
misfortune.
"I rely on the support and sympathy of generous
and independent men like you; I commit myself to
destiny, and prepare to resign myself to its decisions.
"Accept, Sir, the assurance of my esteem.
"NAPOLEON LOUIS BONAPARTE."
This letter, having been seen by M. Louis Blanc,
the well-known ultra-Democratic partisan, elicited the
one below, which expresses admiring approval of the
heroic constancy with which the illustrious prisoner re-
jected every overture tending to compromise his position
with respect to France, or to bind him down in any way
as to his future proceedings towards the Government
of that country. I insert it not so much on account
of any intrinsic importance ascribable to the "sym-
pathy" expressed by the writer, and shared by men of all
parties save the immediate dependents of the Bourbonite
interests, but in order to put in its true light the nature
of the correspondence which about this time took
place between the Prince and several of the most active
of the French politicians. It was not unnatural that
of them should visit in his seclusion a man who
many
(whether wisely or unwisely, the future alone could
prove) had rendered himself so remarkable, had made
his name a household word in France, and whom, it was
quite certain, any disturbance of the existing order
of things would bring into an active and prominent
THE TEMPTATION. — THE RESISTANCE.
141
"",
position. Equally natural it was that written commu-
nications should occasionally pass on the subjects which
mainly engrossed his thoughts. In fact, the maintenance
of such correspondence he regarded as at once a duty, a
recreation, an agreeable and necessary task. The tone in
which he is addressed by the vehement Communist parti-
san indicates the groundlessness of the accusations which,
in accordance with the systematized policy of direct and
indirect calumny, have been brought against the Prince,
of having coquetted with extreme opinions, — of having
yielded so far to temporary expediency as to have given
an implied assent to views contrary to those propounded
in his written works, insisted on in his public addresses,
adhered to by him in all his authenticated conversations
with men of whatsoever party, and afterwards carried
out to successful completion. We find Louis Blanc signi-
fying his regret that the Prince could not be persuaded
to surrender his faith and reliance on the traditions
of the Empire; expressing his hope that "those who
loved the Prince without embracing his opinions,"
would one day bring him over to their own. But this
hope, it will be perceived, is but a faint and shadowy
rather a formal than an affirmative expression.
Had any ground for entertaining it been afforded by
anything that had dropped from the Prince during
his intercourse with Louis Blanc, the latter who if
not blessed with much political sagacity or (as was
made but too convincingly evident in 1848, if his ad-
ministrative capacity, even in the execution, with ample
means, of his own projects, be of no very high order), is
scarcely equalled in acuteness as a controversialist, and
not exceeded for the rapidity with which he can per-
ceive an advantage in the conduct of a written or
spoken argument was about the least likely man in
France to omit reference thereto, or to neglect the op-
one
142
THE TEMPTATION.—THE RESISTANCE.
.
portunity of making the most of it. But no such ad-
vantage, no such opportunity, was afforded to him. The
tenor of the Prince's words, thoughts, and writings,
was too consistent, too straightforward, too superior to
subterfuge or equivocation, to leave room for any
question as to what he wished, what he meant, and
what he would do, whensoever time and events should
enable him.
" Prince,
"One of our mutual friends, M. Poggioli, has
handed me a letter which you were good enough to
write to me. It is needless to say how much I am
touched with the expressions of sympathy which it
contains, and which my feelings so completely reci-
procate.
"M. Poggioli, whom we are both fortunate in being
able to call a friend, and whose attachment to your
person is not less enlightened than ardent, has fur-
nished me with a copy of your letter to M. Odilon
Barrot. Although you are, at this moment, a captive
and in misfortune, I should hesitate to express towards
you the sentiments of esteem and compassion which the
perusal of your letter has awakened in my mind, had I
not had previous opportunities of knowing you. You
remember, perhaps, Prince, the visit which I had the
honour of paying to you at Ham, and with how much
frankness I explained to you in what respects my
opinions differed from yours. An independent man
and a republican, guided wholly by conviction, and
without expectations from any quarter, I have little
fear that anything which falls from my mouth or flows
from my pen, however eulogistic, can be suspected of
flattery. I confess, therefore, sincerely, that your
answer to M. Odilon Barrot affected me to the bottom
THE TEMPTATION.—THE RESISTANCE.
143
of my heart. The resolution which it contains was the
only one worthy of you, and you are the very last
person, in my opinion, who ought to have sacrificed
what you owe to your character, as the price of opening
your prison doors. Be assured that by a course of con-
duct so noble you have filled all your true friends with
joy and your enemies with great vexation.
"If you could decide on devoting to the greatness of
your country, to equality, and to the Republic, what you
think you owe to the traditions of the Empire and to a
sort of family veneration for your name, with what eager-
ness would my heart fly towards you. Let us hope—all
of us, who love your person without embracing your
opinions—that in favour of these democratic tendencies
a conviction will one day possess your mind, in com-
bination with the disinterested inspiration which it
already exhibits. Nothing can more fairly justify us in
indulging this hope, than the constancy and dignity
with which
you bear
misfortunes.
"Receive, &c.
your
"LOUIS BLANC."
Further attempts were made to induce the King to
relax the crafty and selfish rigour of his conditions; but
the result was failure. In communicating this issue
of the matter to the captive, M. Odilon Barrot does not
conceal the disgust with which the conduct of the ruling
powers had inspired him. His letter to the Prince runs
as follows:
"Your Highness,
"Our renewed negotiations have proved a
failure; and if I have delayed to inform you of the fact,
it was because, up to yesterday, I still retained some
hope. The Government speak of present difficulties
144
THE TEMPTATION. -THE RESISTANCE.
-the state of Italy, of Switzerland. Those circum-
stances would nevertheless have been overlooked, had a
more comprehensive guarantee been given in your letter,
because then they could have dispensed with the Council
of Ministers; but politics not having been put out of
the question, it was found necessary to yield to the con-
siderations relating to public order which prevailed
in the Council; and for the present, considering the
circumstances, no liberation is to be looked for.
"It is with great pain that I inform you of this re-
sult. I had begged Valmy to say to the King, that,
if we had completely differed, since 1830, in political
opinions, I hoped that at least we agreed in sentiments
of humanity and generosity. I now see that this is
another of my Utopian ideas, which I shall be compelled
to renounce.
"Accept, &c.
"ODILON BARROT."
Even the proverbially cautious Monsieur Thiers-
always nervously bent on the policy of "not committing
himself" ventures the opinion that the request ought,
under all the circumstances, to be conceded on the
honest, manful condition set forth by the Prince. He
writes:-
"Prince,
"I have received the letter which you have done
me the honour to address to me, in order to make me
acquainted with the refusal which has been given to
your request. It seems to me that the desire of seeing
a dying father, accompanied by the promise of return-
ing to prison on the first requisition of the Minister of
the Interior, ought to have been regarded as sufficient.
In my opinion, such a measure might have been adopted
without inconvenience, upon the responsibility of the
THE TEMPTATION. — THE RESISTANCE.
145
►
minister who had sanctioned it. I am sorry, Prince,
not to have it in my power to serve you in these cir-
cumstances. I have no influence with the Government,
and publicity would serve you little. On every occa-
sion on which I can possibly contribute to solace your
misfortune without contravening my duty, I shall be
happy to have it in my power to give fresh proofs of
my sympathy with the glorious name you bear.
"A. THIERS."
The whole course of these correspondences and nego-
tiations, coupled with the dignified reserve with which
the Prince had previously abstained from the faintest
whisper of any complaint that could have been con-
strued into an appeal for release, exhibits at once
the strength of the ties which bound him in love
and reverence to his dying father, and the force of
that engagement into which he had entered with
himself never to swerve from the high purpose of
redeeming, regenerating his country, and replacing
her in that position of influence and regard amongst
the nations, which had been so deplorably compro-
mised as to appear in danger of being irretrievably
forfeited. When the first request was made by the
aged Count St. Leu, through individuals who held
friendly and confidential relations with the court
of Louis Philippe, an excellent opportunity-an oppor-
tunity not to be allowed to pass without being made
full use of an opportunity to obtain certain ends by
working upon filial tenderness, and "turning the
screw" tightly upon honourable misfortune- seemed
to present itself. And no means were left untried to
turn that opportunity to advantage. But the guileful
craftiness of plot, design, and execution were signally
disappointed by the firmness and sagacity of him
L
146
THE RESISTANCE.
THE TEMPTATION.
:
upon whom those "ingenious devices" were played
off. King Louis Philippe would have profited more,
if he could have persuaded himself, for once, to be
generous. We shall presently see that, instead of the
temporary release which was refused to honour and
generosity, the captive obtained a permanent release by
means which exempted him from any obligation to the
King, though that release was, by a proceeding as
mean as it was foolish and unnecessary, rendered inef-
fectual for the pious purpose which had chiefly dictated
the bold proceeding that procured it.
147
CHAP. III.
THE ESCAPE.
NATURE.
THE INTERDICT.
DIPLOMACY WARRING WITH
DEATH OF THE EX-KING OF HOLLAND.
THE tone of Louis Philippe's Ministers had rendered it
evident to the Prince, that no concession reconcilable
with honour-with the high duties which he had un-
dertaken as the object and business of his life-could
obtain for him, in that quarter, permission to attend
his dying parent. There was, then, no alternative but
to endeavour, by some means irrespective of the grace
or power of the Government, to effect compliance with
the reiterated and earnestly expressed desire of the
Count St. Leu. It was May, 1846, after an imprison-
ment of six years, that the Prince's escape took place
-alike to the disgrace and mortification of those who,
if they had been only less meanly jealous, might have
granted temporary instead of permanent liberation, and
in a manner honourable to themselves.
The Prince's escape was graphically described by him-
self in a published letter:-
"My desire to see my father once more in this world
made me attempt the boldest enterprise I ever engaged
in. It required more resolution and courage on my
part than at Strasburg and Boulogne; for I was deter-
mined not to submit to the ridicule which attaches to
those who are arrested escaping under a disguise, and a
failure I could not have endured. The following are
the particulars of my escape :-
-
...
.+
L 2
148
THE ESCAPE FROM HAM.
.
:
"You know that the fort was guarded by four
hundred men, of whom sixty soldiers acted daily as
sentries outside the walls. Moreover, the principal
gate of the prison was guarded by three gaolers, two of
whom were constantly on duty. It was necessary that
I should first elude their vigilance; afterwards traverse
the inside court, before the windows of the commandant's
residence; and, on arriving there, I should still have to
pass by a gate which was guarded by soldiers.
"Not wishing to communicate my design to any
one, it was necessary to disguise myself. As several
rooms in the part of the building which I occupied were
undergoing repair, it was not difficult to assume the
dress of a workman. My good and faithful valet,
Charles Thélier, procured a smock-frock and a pair of
sabots, and, after shaving off my moustaches, I took a
plank on my shoulders.
"On Sunday morning I saw the workmen enter at
half-past eight o'clock. Charles took them some drink,
in order that I should not meet any of them on my way.
He was also to call one of the turnkeys, whilst Dr. Con-
neau conversed with the others. Nevertheless, I had
scarcely got out of my room before I was accosted by a
workman, who took me for one of his comrades; and at
the bottom of the stairs I found myself in front of the
keeper. Fortunately, I placed before my face the
plank which I was carrying, and succeeded in reaching
the yard. Whenever I passed a sentinel or any other
person, I always kept the plank before my face.
"Passing before the first sentinel, I let my pipe fall,
and stopped to pick up the bits. There I met the officer
on duty; but as he was reading a letter he paid no
The soldiers at the guardhouse ap-
attention to me.
peared surprised at my dress, and a chasseur turned
I next met some
round several times to look at me.
THE ESCAPE FROM HAM.
149
I placed
workmen, who looked very attentively at me.
the plank before my face; but they appeared to be so
curious, that I thought I should never escape, until I
heard them say, 'Oh! it is Bertrand!'
"Once outside, I walked quickly towards the road
to St. Quentin. Charles, who had the day before en-
gaged a carriage, shortly overtook me, and we arrived
at St. Quentin. I passed through the town on foot,
after having thrown off iny smock-frock. Charles pro-
cured a post-chaise, under pretext of going to Cambrai.
We arrived, without meeting with any obstacles, at
Valenciennes, where I took the railway. I had pro-
cured a Belgian passport, but I was nowhere asked to
show it.
"During my escape, Dr. Conneau, always so devoted
to me, remained in prison, and caused them to believe
that I was unwell, in order to give me time to reach the
frontier. Before I could be persuaded to quit France,
it was necessary that I should be convinced that the
Government would never set me at liberty, if I would not
consent to dishonour myself. It was also a matter of
duty that I should exert all my efforts, in order to be
enabled to solace my father in his old age."
The affectionate and generous devotion of Dr. Con-
neau, who, by remaining in the prison after his sen-
tence for implication in the Strasburg affair had ex-
pired, was enabled to become a principal instrument
in effecting the Prince's liberation, cannot be too much
admired. It has been truly described as an instance
of "noble disinterestedness" rarely paralleled the
more complete and exalted, too, because, after the
Prince's departure, Dr. Conneau might, without any
question, have himself left the fortress; but, on the
contrary, he chose, in the words of a contemporary
*
L 3
150
THE ESCAPE FROM HAM.
=
:
:
writer, to remain, "in order, by every manoeuvre that
ingenuity could suggest, to conceal, until the latest
possible moment, the fact of the Prince's escape."
By this conduct the Doctor put himself once more
in the power of the authorities; but it is pleasant to
state that his sentence (with what honest pride and
self-respect with what perfect assurance of the esteem
of all true hearts- he must have heard it!) was not
more severe than three months' imprisonment. On the
faithful valet, Thélier, who, it has been seen, accom-
panied his master, and of course did not make his
appearance, the form of a sentence en contumace, of six
months' imprisonment, was passed.
Dr. Conneau's terse, straightforward, and gallantly
self-approving account of the affair, on his examina-
tion before the local tribunal, when interrogated, as is
customary in the French law courts, is interesting.
Zeal and affection furnished ingenuity with pretexts
and devices which otherwise might not have occurred
to it :-
"I tried," replied Dr. Conneau, in answer to the
questions put to him, "to conceal the departure of the
Prince, in order to give him time to escape. I was
anxious to gain, in this way, at least twenty-four hours,
if possible. First of all, I closed the door leading from
the prisoner's chamber into the saloon. I kindled a
strong fire, although the weather was really very hot, to
support the supposition that he was indisposed. About
eight o'clock a packet of violet-plants arrived by the
diligence. I told the keeper to fill some pots with
earth, and prevented him from entering the Prince's
saloon. About half-past eight o'clock the man-of-all-
work came and asked me where we would breakfast. 'In
my room,' I replied. 'I shall fetch the large table,' said
THE ESCAPE FROM HAM.
151
he. 'It is unnecessary,' I answered; 'the General is
unwell, and will not breakfast with us.'
"My intention was, in this manner, to push off further
knowledge till the next day. I said the Prince had
taken medicine. It was absolutely necessary that
it should be taken, accordingly I took it myself. I
then took some coffee, and threw it into a pot of
water, with some crumbs of bread, and added nitric
acid, which produced a very disagreeable smell; so that
the man-of-all-work might be persuaded that the Prince
was really ill.
*
"About half-past twelve I saw the commandant for
the second time, and informed him that the Prince was
somewhat easier.
* * Every time that I came
out of the small saloon, in which the Prince was sup-
posed to be lying on a sofa, I pretended to be speaking
to him. The man-of-all-work did not hear me. If
his ears had been at all delicate, he would have been
quite able to hear me speaking.
"The day passed on very well till a quarter past
seven o'clock. At this moment the commandant en-
tered, with an air somewhat stern. 'The Prince,' said
I, 'is a little better, Commandant.' 'If,' replied he,
'the Prince is still ill, I must speak to him-I must
speak to the Prince.'
"I had prepared a large stuffed figure, and laid it in
the Prince's bed, with the head resting upon the pillow.
I called the Prince, who, naturally enough, made no re-
ply. I retired towards the commandant, and indicated
to him, by a sign, that the Prince was asleep. This
did not satisfy him. He sat down in the saloon, saying,
The Prince will not sleep for ever - I will wait.'
6
"He now remarked to me, that the time for the
arrival of the diligence was passed, and expressed his
- wonder that Thélier was not returned. I stated to
-
+
L 4
152
THE ESCAPE FROM HAM.
him that he had taken a cabriolet. The drum beat,
and the commandant rose, and said, 'The Prince has
moved in the bed - he is waking up.'
"The commandant stretched his ears, but did not
hear him (the supposed Prince) breathe. I did the
same, and said, 'Let him sleep on.' He drew near the
bed, and found a stuffed figure. He immediately turned
towards me, and said 'The Prince is gone! At what
time did he go?'—'At seven in the morning.' "Who
were the persons on guard ?'-'I know nothing!'-These
were the only words which were interchanged between
us. The commandant left the room."
The preparations for the escape of the Prince were
conducted with such secrecy, that even the brave
and devoted De Montholon had not been apprised of
what was about to take place. It was prudent and
necessary that no
no one should know anything re-
specting the business in hand, save those who were to
take part in it. Monsieur de la Guerronnière, in his
essay upon Napoleon the Third, has the following para-
graph:-
"No one except Dr. Conneau and the Prince's valet-
de-chambre was cognizant of the Prince's intention
to escape. The evening before the Prince had visited
De Montholon in his room.
* The Prince had
affectionately embraced both him and the Countess de
Montholon, a noble and generous woman, who reminded
one of another heroine, a former prisoner, the Prin-
cess de Polignac. Such external marks of affection
were not habitual to Louis Napoleon. General de
Montholon and his wife observed it they conceived a
vague suspicion. The next day they learned that the
prisoner of Ham had escaped, passed the French fron-
tier, and embarked for England, viâ Belgium."
THE ESCAPE FROM HAM.
153
.
The character of Dr. Conneau is thus outlined with
vigour and truth:-
"The prisoner had accepted his position with dignity.
Not a complaint escaped him. He seemed to follow his
destiny wherever it led him. The dungeon of Ham, far
from appalling or saddening him, appeared to him as
a destiny in his life, and perhaps as a halting-place in
the march of his fortunes. *** * * Ham was to him a
resting-place on the road to the Elysée. The interior
of the prison, like its exterior, was gloomy and silent.
Prince Louis Napoleon resided within the fortress with
a faithful friend, devoted to his country, who is, at the
present hour, the sincere and disinterested friend of his
prosperity. Dr. Conneau is gifted with one of those
lofty and refined natures which science quickens and
enlarges instead of drying up. He had attached him-
self to this cause without selfish views, without arro-
gant claims. *
*He watched night and day over
the son of Queen Hortense, with all that solicitude
so assiduously tender, which the heart alone can inspire,
and which is rather a feeling than a duty. He was
more than a companion in adversity more than a
medical attendant - he was a friend. He it was who
subsequently prepared, and assisted to execute, the plan
of escape which was crowned with suck signal success.
Summoned to trial for this noble fault, he was ac-
quitted [?] because he was absolved by the conscience
and the hearts of his judges the moment he appeared in
Court."
This complimentary tribute is eminently deserved by
its object. The fortitude and devotion of Dr. Conneau
win our warm admiration - are more emphatically
entitled to it than was the heroism of Madame de
Lavalette, who, it will be borne in mind, incurred no
personal danger at all approaching that which devolved
Uor M
154
THE INTERDICT.
on Dr. Conneau. Madame de Lavalette was a woman
and a wife, she had not been previously compromised
with Government. Dr. Conneau, on the contrary, was
already a "marked man." The responsibility, the
amount of punishment, which he confronted by his part
in the Prince's escape, could not be calculated on. The
most extreme measures might have been brought into
force against him.*
If the circumstances just related have been perused
with interest and pleasure, the next fact to be re-
corded will be read with pain. It will hardly be
believed that the French Government of the day could
have had the meanness to use its influence with
foreign courts for the purpose of preventing the Prince
from carrying into effect the prime object which
had impelled him to escape. Too true, however, it
is. It was certainly in great measure through the
representations of the French Government, that Count
Dietrichstein, Austrian ambassador at the Court of
London, and who likewise represented Tuscany in a
diplomatic capacity, refused to sign the passport neces-
sary to enable the Prince to visit his dying father.
The Austrian embassy would not have perpetrated
* It is obvious that no disrespect to the Count de Montholon was
involved in the fact of his not having been admitted to a knowledge
of the Prince's intention to escape. The essence of the plan was,
that it should be known only to those who had conceived, arranged,
and were to take part in it. General de Montholon would, without
doubt, have cordially co-operated had it been necessary, and would
never have paused to calculate the danger in which such co-opera-
tion might have involved himself. But it was not necessary to ask
him. If the object could not be accomplished by the aid of Dr.
Conneau and Charles Thélier, it could not be facilitated by the intro-
duction of a larger number of co-operators; and this being the case,
it would have been exceedingly wrong-opposed to all the funda-
mental rules of good policy—to have enlarged the circle of con-
fidants.
THE INTERDICT.
155
so obvious a piece of oppression were it not for re-
presentations coming from Paris. The venerable
parent of the future Emperor was, through this in-
trigue, deprived of the consolation of seeing his son
before he died, and the immediate object of the Prince's
escape from Ham was thus frustrated.
This pro-
ceeding on the part of the authorities was the more
wanton and oppressive, inasmuch as, almost imme-
diately on his arrival in London, the Prince had for-
warded to the Count de St. Aulaire, at that time diplo-
matic representative of Louis Philippe at our Court, the
following letter, the promise contained in which he
scrupulously kept, notwithstanding the insolent and
continued provocations which he received the inces-
sant fire of ribaldrous calumny of which he was made
the subject by persons systematically employed and
paid to do so, and acting in the interests of his
enemies: -
"M. le Comte,
"I hasten to declare frankly to one who was the
friend of my mother, that in quitting my prison I have
not been actuated by any design to renew against the
French Government a war which has been disastrous
to me, but that my sole object was to be free to attend
on my aged father.
"Before taking the step in question, I had used
every effort to obtain from the Government permission
to go to Florence, and I offered every guarantee con-
sistent with my honour; but at length finding that
my applications were fruitless, I resolved to have re-
course to the last measures, such as those which, in the
reign of Henry IV., had, in similar circumstances, been
adopted by the Duc de Némours, and the Duc de
Guise.
156
LOUIS NAPOLEON AND LOUIS PHILIPPE.
"I beg you, M. le Comte, to inform the French
Government of my pacific intentions; and I trust that
this spontaneous assurance from me may shorten the
captivity of the friends whom I have left in prison."
A moment's reference to what subsequently oc-
curred, will remind the reader how faithfully and sub-
stantially-like all pledges entered into by the Prince—
this promise was kept by him, even when he had reason
to believe indeed, when he well knew-that the agents
of the existing dynasty, then so near that fall which
he had foreseen and confidently predicted, were putting
into exercise every device of perverted ingenuity to
injure his reputation, to depreciate him in the eyes
of the world, to distort and misrepresent his every act
and word.
Contemplating the respective positions of Louis Na-
poleon in May, 1846, and in February, 1848, a French
writer, remarkable for the vivacity of his style, draws
the following duplicate picture. It cannot fail to re-
mind us of the hard measure dealt out by Louis Philippe,
when at the apex of his fortunes, to the man who was
within a few years to occupy the palace furtively
quitted by the disgraced King:
"On the 26th of May, 1846, a man of marked features,
with a clouded and melancholy brow, with a deep and
thoughtful look, with a stiff gait, and attired like a
labourer, descended the staircase of the fortress, crossed
the prison yard with a steady step, passed through the
ranks of soldiery, went by the sentinels, and in an
instant reached the country adjacent to Saint Quentin.
This man was Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of
the Emperor, the future President [and future Em-
peror].
"On the 24th of February, 1848, another personage
THE PRINCE AGAIN IN ENGLAND.
157
escaped clandestinely, not from a prison but from a
palace, and entered a hackney-coach on the Place de
la Révolution, the spot where Louis XVI. had perished
on the scaffold. He hastened away, a fugitive wanderer,
in a disguise not much unlike that put on by the prisoner
of Ham, to find a small vessel to convey him to Eng-
land. This man was Louis Philippe d'Orleans, King of
the French.
"What a mockery of fortune! What a caprice of
destiny! or, speaking more correctly, what a lesson from
above! Let us bow down our heads, and humble our-
selves in the dust. Let us acknowledge that the acts
of Providence are something more than mere chance!
Can we avoid acknowledging that mysterious and pro-
vidential conjunction of causes and effects which proves
the eternal reign of right and justice, even in the most
unexpected accidents, and in revolutions the least fore-
seen ?”
The Prince, prevented from visiting his dying
parent, continued to reside in England. “In that
country," observes one of his friends, "whose customs
and manners he admired, he awaited with quiet patience
and confident anticipation the advent of his destinies.
Captivity had neither changed himself, nor vitiated the
goodness of his heart or the power of his mind. He
came from his painful trial such as he had been, without
personal enmity, without rancour; neither accusing man,
nor distrusting Providence. This attitude was neither
affected nor strange. In showing himself thus, he
showed himself naturally. Such as he was in England
he had been in the solitudes of Arenemberg, in the perils
of Strasburg, in America, at Boulogne, upon his trial in
the Chamber of Peers, and in the prison of Ham. His
firm trust in his destiny had never deserted him."
The characteristic here alluded to was exemplified on
158
DEATH OF KING LOUIS.
several occasions. Illustrative of it, a curious anec-
dote is related:
"A few days after his arrival in England he went to
see his cousin, Lady Douglas* (a princess of Baden).
'Well,' said the young princess to him, 'at last you
are free. Will you now be quiet? Will you lay aside
those fallacies which have cost you so dear, and the
cruel delusions of those dreams which have brought
such misery on those who love you.' 'My dear
cousin,' replied the late prisoner of Ham, 'I do not
belong to myself-I belong to my name and to my
country. It is because my fortune has twice betrayed
me that my destiny is nearer its accomplishment. I
bide my time.'
"This," continued the relator of the anecdote, "at the
time appeared ludicrous enough. The star of Louis
Napoleon was veiled from all eyes, even from those of
his relations who best loved him. He, alone, saw and
followed it." †
The Count St. Leu, deprived of the consolation of
embracing his son, did not survive long. In his will,
he expressed an earnest desire that his remains, as
well as those of his son Charles, who had died in Italy,
should be conveyed for interment to the village of St.
* This lady is now Duchess of Hamilton.
† From the same quarter I borrow another illustration of the un-
swerving constancy of hope and confidence which never forsook him.
The period referred to is that of the first days of the Revolution
of 1848:-"The name of Bonaparte was never mentioned in that
Revolution, save with taunts, obloquy, and demonstrations of dislike.
'Down with Bonapartism!' cried the Provisional Government, in
one of its proclamations from the Hôtel de Ville. Louis Napoleon
perceived at once the tendency and results of this great agitation.
On learning the dethronement of Louis Philippe, he said to his cousin,
Lady Douglas, 'Before the year is out, I shall direct the government
of France.' On the 10th of December this prediction was fulfilled.”
FUNERAL OF KING LOUIS.
159
Leu, situated near Paris, and the spot from which he
had adopted the title borne by him after abdicating the
throne of Holland. "I have," said he, "borne the name
of that village for forty years, and I liked the place better
than any other in the world." The French Government
could scarcely refuse compliance with this modest and
affecting request; it was accordingly granted, and the
concession was trumpeted by the Orleanist party as a
great act of grace. A guard of honour, consisting of
veteran soldiers of the army of the Empire, attended
the funeral. A large concourse of the public, and
of soldiers old and young, was likewise present, and
testified, by their demeanour, their profound respect
for the memory of a man whose amiable private qua-
lities, not less than the great associations connected
with his name and antecedents, had rendered him an
object at once of affection and esteem. In the fol-
lowing letter to Captain Le Comte, the officer who
acted in command of the guard of honour at the
funeral, the Prince thus expressed his feelings of thank-
fulness, of regret, and filial duty: -
"Sir,
"The testimonies of respect offered to the memory
of
my father on the 29th of September* have deeply
affected me; and I was, above all, touched on learning
that a great number of the ancient warriors of the
Empire had assisted at this pious ceremony.
"Through the medium of their worthy leader, I
thank those glorious veterans of our army, for the
tribute of respect which they have bestowed upon an
old companion in arms.
"It is not the man whom chance and the fortune
of war made king for a brief period, that you have
* The day of the funeral.
1
160
FUNERAL OF KING LOUIS.
honoured with your regrets, but the old soldier of the
Republican armies of Italy and Egypt, a man who
remained but a short time upon the throne, and who
paid for a few years of glory by forty years of exile,
and died in a foreign land. The sympathy which has
attended his obsequies is something more than an act
of homage—it is a reparation for the past.
for
"Permit me, therefore, to thank you for attending;
you have expressed my own sentiments of gratitude
towards the deceased; have mitigated the bitter grief
which I experienced at not having had an opportunity
of kneeling before the tomb of my family; have made
me forget, for a moment, that I am condemned, in ap-
pearance, to remain for ever separated from the men
whom I love best, and from the objects which are most
dear to me.
"Receive, &c.,
"LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE."
161
CHAP. IV.
THE REVOLUTION OF 1848. THE ATTEMPTED BAN. THE NATION'S
REPLY.-LOUIS NAPOLEON IN THE ASSEMBLY. -THE DIN OF FAC-
TIONS. THE INSURRECTION OF JUNE.—A SPECIMEN OF POLITICAL
FORESIGHT.
ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT.
IN February, 1848, the government of Louis Philippe
was overthrown by the indignation of the people whom
it had deceived. Prince Louis Napoleon was in Lon-
don. It will be believed that he was not the man whose
pulses beat least quickly at an explosion which he had
long foreseen. He lost no time in adopting the con-
duct of a good Frenchman. The 24th of February
was the great day of the Revolution, -the Prince
was in Paris on the 28th. The sentence of banishment
against the Emperor's family had not been removed,
there was, in fact, no regular authority in exist-
ence, but it had become suspended and placed in
abeyance by the astounding events of the week. The
Prince proceeded to pay his respects to the Provisional
Government, such as it was. But the Provisional
Government, for reasons best known to two or three
of its members who are yet living, caused it to be inti-
mated to him that they feared his presence might pos-
sibly lead to tumults. Always a friend and supporter
of order, he at once withdrew, and returned to London,
where, in the month of April, he gave a new pledge of
the opposition of his views to those of the friends of
anarchy, by enrolling himself as a special constable on
an occasion when it was apprehended that the publie
M
162
PRINCE LOUIS NAPOLEON AND
.
peace would be disturbed by organised bands of in-
cendiaries.
Meanwhile, however, the secret friends or employés
of the Bourbon dynasties, with the "Red" or Socialist
factionists-all whose wishes were centred, not in the
establishment and maintenance of good government, but
in the attainment of their respective partisan views,—
all these, however discordant on every other point, were
united on this,--that Prince Louis Napoleon, the living
embodiment of a national and therefore powerful go-
vernment—of a government which, founded firmly on
the people, could not be upset by an intrigue or a mere
partisan combination that this man, the man of the
French nation, was dangerous to the success of all
their plots, cabals, and counter-plots; that, however
they might tear each other to pieces, they must make
common cause against him. A proposal was made in
the National Assembly, that the law of banishment
against the Imperial family should be retained against
him alone.
This proposal elicited from the Prince the following
communication to the National Assembly:-
"Citizen Representatives,
"I learn by the newspapers of the 22nd inst., that
it has been proposed in the bureaux of the Assembly to
retain against me alone the law of exile which has been
in force against my family since the year 1816. I now
apply to the representatives of the people, to know how
I have merited this penalty?
"Can it be for having always publicly declared that,
in my opinion, France was not the property either of
an individual, or of a family, or of a party?
"Can it be because, desiring to accomplish the tri-
umph, without anarchy or license, of the principles of
THE REVOLUTION OF 1848.
163
national sovereignty, which alone can put an end to
our dissensions, I have been twice the victim of my
hostility to a government which you have overthrown?
"Can it be for having consented, out of deference
to the wish of the Provisional Government, to return
to a foreign country, after having hastened to Paris
upon the first news of the revolution?
"Can it be because I disinterestedly refused seats in
the Assembly which were proffered to me, resolved not
to return to France until the new constitution should
be agreed upon, and the Republic firmly established?
“The same reasons which have made me take up arms
against the Government of Louis Philippe would lead
me, if my services were required, to devote myself to
the defence of the Assembly, the result of universal
suffrage.
"In the presence of a king elected by two hundred
deputies, I might have recollected that I was heir to an
empire founded by the consent of four millions of
Frenchmen. In the presence of the national sove-
reignty, I cannot and will not claim more than my
rights as a French citizen; but these I will demand
with that energy which an honest heart desires, from
the knowledge of never having done anything to render
it unworthy of its country.'
Some of the phrases in this letter require a brief re-
mark, because, like other expressions which from time
to time have fallen from Napoleon the Third, they
have been the subjects of much misrepresentation.
The Prince's conviction that the system of the Empire,
in all its integrity, was that most accordant with the
interests of France, he never denied; but he was now,
as he had always been, ready to accept and support
any government really founded on the national will, for
M 2
164
PRINCE LOUIS NAPOLEON AND
.
which he claimed the right of pronunciation and deci-
sion. The excessive, rancorous, unappeasable malignity
of factions, making any efficient government absolutely
impossible so long as they remained unrepressed, was
as yet unproved; the raging passions, the mutual
hatreds, the greed, and recklessness, and disregard of
the proper objects of legislation-these evil character-
istics of the leaders of parties, rendering the Assembly
a nullity for good — the impracticability of an orderly
republic, with such passions and such factions let
loose, had not received the damning proofs which sub-
sequent events brought with them. Nor did they
ever reach the height in the National Assembly which
they obtained in its successor, the "Constituent
Assembly." Any government really French, really
national, proceeding from an explicit declaration of
the will of the whole people, and acting accordantly
therewith, the Prince was ready to adopt and sup-
port. But of what elements the Assembly called
"National" was at that time composed-how far it
was disposed to act equitably and fairly-may be
partly judged from the fact, that its members actually
refused to permit the above letter to be read, though,
at the very same sitting, they had listened, some
of them with laudatory demonstrations, to various epis-
tles and protests from the princes of Louis Philippe's
family.
In fact, the work of intriguing for rival dynasties
and factions had already set in, and he whose position
and principles were antagonistic to such manœuvres
was of course the common object of hatred from the
intriguers.
The discord which prevailed in the Assembly itself
rendered it meanwhile the object at once of contempt
and dislike. Scarcely a day passed without some
THE REVOLUTION OF 1848.
165
"scene" between the representatives, not of the people,
but of factions.
The Prince had now been elected by several con-
stituencies as their representative; it was towards
the middle of June, just previous to the dreadful" Red"
Revolution, when the Executive Committee gave a cu-
rious illustration of its capacity for discerning where
lay the real source of danger to public order, by bring-
ing forward an edict which declared that, although
three members of the Imperial family had been allowed
to take their seats as representatives, the law of
exile should still be maintained against Prince Louis
Napoleon.
In order to form a correct judgment of the quality of
the political wisdom by which this edict was inspired,
dates here become important. It was between the
10th and 13th of June that the exceptional decree of
banishment against the Prince was propounded, and on
the 22nd of June took place the sanguinary revolt
which the Prince, had he been in France, would have
been amongst the first to denounce. The Govern-
ment directed all its energies towards repressing
an imaginary danger from "Napoleonism," it could
not see the real, immediate danger-the danger ac-
tually pressing and present from the Socialist, Commu-
nistic, "anti-property" factionists-from the factions.
whose maxim was that the very word "property" meant
robbery.
The Prince, who had already set out for Paris, again
returned to London when this manifesto was made known
to him. He did so in order to preclude any possibility
of being the cause of disorder. But he took care to
address to the President of the Assembly, as well as
to the Departments which had elected him, a forcible
expression of his sentiments on the occasion.
M 3
166
PRINCE LOUIS NAPOLEON AND
.
His letter to the President of the Assembly contained
the following passage:-
"If the people were to impose duties upon me, I
should know how to fulfil them. But I disown all those
who attribute to me intentions which I do not hold.
My name is a symbol of order, of nationality, of glory;
and it would be with the liveliest grief that I should
see it made use of to augment the troubles and dissen-
sions of my country. In order to avoid such a mis-
fortune, I shall prefer remaining in exile. I am ready
to make any sacrifice for the happiness of France."
It is possible-it is probable that, had the an-
—
archic leaders witnessed the presence in Paris of the man
who was really the representative of the cause which
the people had at heart-that, had they witnessed the
cause of order supported, as it would have been, heart
and soul, by the Prince, they would not have ventured,
reckless though they were, on the attempt which led
to such dire bloodshed. The Executive Committee
sought to prevent disorder, and it set about doing so by
excluding the very man, above all others, whose name
and presence, identified as he was with the whole
nation, would have most effectually discouraged the
machinations of the disorderly.
I will here insert, from a contemporary work, the
author of which is anything but friendly to Napoleon
the Third, a short narrative of the Red and Socialist
insurrection of June. It will illustrate the manner
in which the Republican Government of that day
"averted" disorder. Twelve days previously an edict
had passed, exiling a particular individual, lest his pre-
THE INSURRECTION OF JUNE.
167
sence should endanger order. And now came the
movements of the factions in which M. de Lamartine
could see no danger, was it because, above all
others, they were hostile to the principles of Louis
Napoleon?-
"The battle was begun by the National Guards at the
Portes St. Denis and St. Martin, from which the barri-
caders were repulsed after considerable loss on both
sides. The fighting continued all day on both sides of
the river, with great slaughter, but little practical re-
sult, the insurgents being only driven from their more
advanced positions to rally again in other places. About
five o'clock, Cavaignac, accompanied by Lamartine,
Pierre Bonaparte, and other representatives, led an
attack in person against the Faubourg du Temple.
For three hours the barricades withstood the fire of
four pieces of cannon; and two generals and 400 sol-
diers were killed or wounded in the conflict. The
troops behaved with admirable steadiness throughout
the day, and the young soldiers of the Garde Mobile
especially distinguished themselves. At four o'clock on
Saturday morning the battle began again, and raged
with intense violence on both sides of the river. Both
parties had been reinforced during the night. Barri-
cades ten or twelve feet high, and of great strength,
crossed the streets at every dozen paces. The houses,
too, were for the most part in the hands of the insur-
gents, and covered with mattresses, bags of sand, and
other protections against musketry, from behind which
showers of missiles were poured down on the assail-
At eleven o'clock, the National Assembly passed
a resolution declaring Paris in a state of siege, and
appointed General Cavaignac dictator, with unlimited
power, civil and military. The Executive Committee
ants.
-
*
i
M 4
168
THE INSURRECTION OF JUNE.
.
instantly resigned. Orders were then issued that the
National Guard should occupy the streets, prevent the
assembling of crowds, and watch over the safety of pri-
vate property. The rest of the inhabitants were to
remain at home, and keep their windows closed, as a
security to the soldiers in the streets that they should
not be fired on from the houses. Every person out of
uniform, who was found abroad without a written pass,
was searched, and either taken prisoner or led by a
National Guard to his own door. In pursuance of this
plan, many persons were arrested conveying ammuni-
tion and other aid to the insurgents. At noon Cavaig-
nac sent a flag of truce to the insurgents, offering a
general amnesty if they would yield before two o'clock.
The offer was rejected without hesitation, or a moment's
interruption of the firing. During the earlier part of
the day, the fight raged chiefly in the city and on the
southern bank of the river. To obtain possession of the
Hôtel de Ville and the Préfecture of Police was a car-
dinal point with the insurgents. In Parisian warfare,
the loss of the Hôtel de Ville is what the loss of its
colours is to a regiment in the field; it was therefore a
matter of primary importance to the Government to
pierce the enemy's lines at that central point, towards
which all his efforts converged. The church of St.
Gervais was carried after a heavy cannonade; next the
bridges were carried with great slaughter, and thus the
means of communication between the insurgents on the
two banks were completely cut off. Pursuing their
success, the troops possessed themselves of the church of
St. Séverin, the head-quarters of the insurgents on that
side. Their stronghold, the Pantheon, was carried at
one o'clock at the point of the bayonet, after the great
iron doors and railings had been broken by cannon.
By four o'clock the Government was master of the
THE INSURRECTION OF JUNE,
169
whole left bank of the river. For four days, altogether,
the fight continued to rage with furious bravery. The
number of killed and wounded on both sides, as ascer-
tained by actual reckoning, exceeded 8000; but, be-
sides these, many perished of whom no accurate account
could be taken. Multitudes of dead bodies were cast
into the Seine before they were yet cold. The remains
of others were found by the reapers in the fields around
Paris. Nearly 14,000 prisoners were made by the Go-
vernment, and of these more than a thousand died of
jail fever. Of eleven generals who commanded, two-
viz., Generals Negrier and Bréa-were killed, and six
were wounded, five of them mortally; whilst the Arch-
bishop of Paris was also amongst the victims of the
barricades. At the end of four days Cavaignac had
triumphed, and was absolute ruler of the destinies of
Paris and of France."
The last few words contain an exaggerated figure
of speech; but they do really represent, in substance,
the prostrate condition of the country at the time.
It would be a painful and somewhat repulsive task to
portray the anarchy of which the Assembly was the scene,
from the period when the insurrection was thus sup-
pressed until it was decided that new elections should
take place, and another Assembly be convened. Fortu-
nately, the subject does not immediately concern that of
this volume, and I am, therefore, spared the necessity of
dwelling on it.
The day appointed for the elections was the 17th of
September. In reply to a communication from General
Piat, the Prince, who was still in London, wrote the
following letter:-
170
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN THE ASSEMBLY.
"London, August 28, 1848.
"General,
"You ask me if I would accept the post of re-
presentative of the people, if I were to be re-elected.
I unhesitatingly reply, 'Yes.'
"Now that it has been demonstrated beyond contra-
diction, that my election by five Departments simul-
taneously was not the result of intrigue, and that I
have kept myself apart from all demonstrations and
political intrigues, I should consider myself wanting in
my duty, were I not to respond to the call of my fellow-
citizens.
"My name can now no longer be made a pretext
for political commotions. I am anxious, therefore, to
re-enter France, and to take my seat amongst the repre-
sentatives of the people, who desire to organise the Re-
public upon a broad and solid basis. In order to render
impossible the return of the governments which have
passed away, only one thing has to be done-and that is,
to do better than they ;-for you are aware, General,
that we have not really abolished the past until we have
replaced it by something else.
"Accept, &c.,
"LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE."
That the Prince's confidence in the people's attach-
ment to the cause which he represented had been well
founded, was strikingly manifested by the result of
the elections. Five different Departments returned
him, in each case by large majorities over the other
candidates proposed to them. On the 26th of September
he appeared in the Assembly, and delivered a short ad-
dress in conformity with the views which he had pre-
viously indicated in his letters. Very soon, however,
the new Assembly became, like the old one, a scene of
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN THE ASSEMBLY.
171
violent commotions, in which dignity and order were
utterly lost amid the accusations and recriminations
of violent partisans. The future Emperor discerned
the true character of the motley assembly. He saw
that it was wanting in all the more important ele-
ments of that representative character which it af-
fected; he saw it, in fact, converted into an arena
for the conflict of factions. His own name, being that
which alone presented the possibility of annihilating
discord, by reconciling parties and interests, was the
frequent object of impertinent allusion.
His “ pre-
tensions," as they were called, were frequently dwelt
on,—indeed, so loudly and persistently, that if the
memory of the Empire, and the presence of the Im-
perial heir, had not been already firmly fixed in the
mind of the nation, these reclamations would have
been enough to recall them. Only once he con-
descended to allude to these outbursts of ribaldry,-
it was on the 12th of October, a day following an
explosion of unusual violence. This, with the excep-
tion of his short opening address, was, I believe, the
only occasion on which he addressed the Assembly;
and it has been observed, that his silence was more
eloquent than any language could have been. A
passage or two from this address will be read with in-
terest. It should be remarked that such was the chaotic
disorder of the state of things caused by the June insur-
rection, and the unnatural governmental machinery
existing, that it had been determined to elect a Pre-
sident of the Republic; Cavaignac, who had laid down
his dictatorship, having in the interim acted under
the title of President of the Council, with power
Council, with
to choose his own ministers. The 12th of October
was the day fixed for the election of a
for the election of a President
172
LOUIS NAPOLEON IN THE ASSEMBLY.
1
of the Republic. The name of Louis Napoleon was
that which at once occurred to the majority of the.
nation as that of the man most fitted for the highest
office in the State; he had, naturally enough, been pro-
posed as one of the candidates, and M. Clement Thomas
had risen in the Assembly, and delivered a violent invec-
tive against the Imperial family in general, but against
Prince Louis Napoleon in particular, inquiring why he
assumed to present himself as a candidate for the Presi-
dency of the Republic, as if the Prince, who had not
presented himself, but been nominated by others to
the candidature, were not as free in the matter as any
other man in the country!
Amongst the observations made by the Prince, in re-
ference to these indecent scenes, occur the following:-
"I deplore being obliged to speak again of myself,
because it is painful to me to see the Assembly con-
stantly engaged with questions of a personal nature,
when we have not a moment to lose for the discussion
of the great interests of the country.
"I will not speak of my sentiments, or of my
opinions; I have already manifested them to you; and
nobody has ever yet doubted my word.
"As to my parliamentary conduct, in the same way
that I would never pretend to call to account any of my
colleagues for what they may have thought proper to
do, so I will recognise the right of no man to bring me
to account. This is an account which I owe to no man
constituents.
but to my
"Of what am I accused? Of having accepted, with-
out having sought it, a candidature for the Presidency?
Well, yes! I accept that candidature, by which I am
honoured, I accept it, because the result of these
numerous elections, and the unanimous decree of the
THE ASSEMBLY. THE PRESIDENCY.
173
Assembly reversing the decree of proscription against
my family, authorise me to believe that France re-
gards the name which I bear as one which may conduce
to the consolidation of society, which has been shaken
to its foundation, and to the stability and prosperity of
the Republic! * *
"Is there no other way [besides words] of serving
one's country? What it is in want of, above all things,
is deeds. What it wants is a government-firm, intelli-
gent and wise-which will think more of healing the
wounds of society than of avenging them-a government
which shall put itself boldly in the van of sound ideas,
in order to repel, with a thousand times more efficacy
than could be done by means of bayonets, theories
which are not founded upon experience and reason.
"I know there are some who wish to beset my path
with snares and ambushes; but I shall not fall into
them. I shall always follow the line of conduct which
I have traced out for myself, without troubling myself
with anxieties, and without halting. Nothing will de-
prive me of my calmness,-nothing will make me forget
my duties. * *
I declare, therefore, to those who
would wish to organise against me a system of provo-
cation, that henceforward I shall not reply to any
attacks, or to anything which may be done to excite
me to speak when I choose to remain silent. Strong
in the approval of my conscience, I shall remain un-
shaken amidst all attacks, impassible and unmoved by
calumny."
The voice of the chosen of the French nation was
heard no more in that assemblage of clashing fac-
tions.
On the 10th of December, 1848, took place the elec-
.
174
ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY.
:
¿
tion of President of the French Republic. General
Cavaignac might be described as the official candi-
date. He brought a respectable name, the recollection
of public services, the powerful influence attached to
his position at the head of the existing Government.
Prince Louis Napoleon brought with him a prin-
ciple the principle for which he had lived and suf-
fered; the principle of which his name was a symbol,
and which was planted deep in the affections of the
nation. The issue, stated in numerical order, was as
follows:-
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
General Cavaignac
M. Ledru Rollin
M. Raspail
M. de Lamartine
General Changarnier
5,434,226
1,448,107
370,119
36,900
17,910
4,790
Now here was a decision sufficiently convincing in
itself as to the sentiments of France upon the prin-
ciples avowed by the Prince. In order fully to appre-
ciate the force and meaning of this decision, it is
necessary to bear in mind all the circumstances under
which it was given. We have seen how rancorous
was the conduct of the factions in the Assembly, with
respect to the motives and character of the illustrious
elect. Pains were not spared to propagate unfavour-
able prejudices; and without disparagement of so re-
spectable a man as General Cavaignac, it may be taken
for granted that numerous individuals, connected, di-
rectly or indirectly, with the actual Government,
consulted their private interest by voting in such a
way as to disfavour any change in the personnel of the
Executive. That there were many honourable excep-
tions many persons who voted against the imme-
ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY.
175
diate suggestions of private interest, rather than com-
promise their duty to their country-I am happy to have
reason to believe. But there still remains the self-
evident fact, that General Cavaignac "went to the
country" with numerous incidental circumstances in
his favour. Still how pre-eminently triumphant proved
the principle, the hope, the conviction, represented by
the heir of Napoleon!
176
SECTION IV.
1848-1851.
THE REPUBLICAN EXPERIMENT. THE PRESIDENCY.
CHAP. I.
VIEW OF THE PRESIDENT'S POSITION. HIS LABOURS FOR THE
SUCCESS OF THE EXPERIMENT OF 1848.
THE FACTIONS IN THE
ASSEMBLY.- · BOURBONITE INTRIGUES AND SOCIALIST CONSPIRACIES.
-RIOTINGS IN THE CHAMBER.-FEROCIOUS AVOWALS OF THE REDS.
FOREIGN AND NATIVE EXPRESSIONS OF OPINION.—PARDONS AND
AMNESTIES. CLEMENCY AND PRUDENCE. CHARITIES AND BENE-
FICENCES. LOUIS NAPOLEON FACE TO FACE WITH THE DIS-
AFFECTED. FRANCE AND ITALY. THE ROMAN EXPEDITION.
REFLECTIONS ON ITS POLICY AND MORALITY.
Ir, in the foregoing chapters, I have dwelt at much
length upon sundry passages in the earlier life of
Napoleon the Third, which appear unimportant when
compared with the grand events of his matured career,
it is because they indicate, eloquently and significantly,
the object and principle which actuated him from the
first, and to which he has adhered with unexampled
constancy. They may be briefly described. The
object was the greatness, happiness, dignity of France,
which he saw degraded in the eyes of all Europe
beneath the incubus of dynasties effete or perfidious:
the principle was the national will, the will of the
OPINIONS OF THE PRINCE.
177
whole French people, expressed freely and universally—
as the fulcrum through motion of which the object was
to be accomplished.
These aspirations are everywhere recognisable. With
respect to his views on GOVERNMENT, the system of
the Empire, the system founded by Napoleon the
Great--that which was the parent of so many beneficial
institutions, which not even the corruption and imbe-
cility of a subsequent epoch could wholly neutralise-
was that towards which, he frankly avowed, his own
convictions tended. Intimately conversant with the
history of his country, he could trace back to the days
of the Empire the germs of all those branches of
peaceful, ameliorative, elevating progress which, despite
after difficulties, have fructified so abundantly. His
long-cherished opinion-an opinion set forth frankly,
when two stood between himself and the heirship to
the rights of the Emperor-was, that the Imperial
system, with the heir of the great Napoleon at its
head, would constitute, executively and administra-
tively, the government most accordant with the genius
of the French, and beyond comparison most conducive
to the happiness of the people.
These were Prince Louis Napoleon's opinions. They
were not concealed from the world. He had made
them well known. Never for a moment, upon any
occasion in his life, in the greatest emergencies, when
subjected to the most pressing temptations in view of
temporary convenience, expediency, or popularity, had
he ceased to avow them. There was not a man in the
National Assembly who was not aware of his senti-
ments in this respect. There was not a man in that
Assembly-unless we suppose, which is not improbable,
that pre-eminent stupidity was a characteristic of some
N
178
POSITION OF THE PRINCE PRESIDENT.
..
of its members- who did not well understand the
simple, honest, substantial sense in which the Prince
gave his adhesion and promised his support to any
system founded on the universal suffrage of French-
men. His previously expressed opinions he never
compromised by act, word, or insinuation. His opinion
was as complete as ever, that the Imperial system, with
an imperial head, was the government best suited to
France. But he found a republican form existing ; and
his desire was that that form should be administered in
its reality and integrity, independent of factions, irre-
spective of persons. This it was that he bore in mind,
when he protested against the time of the Assembly
being wasted in personal altercations. This it was
that he had in view, when he expressed his hope that
he should be able to "assist in the consolidation of
society, which had been shaken to its foundation."
This it was that he pointed to, when he called on all
Frenchmen to prefer national interests to party in-
terests, and to unite in endeavouring to promote "the
stability and prosperity of the Republic."
But it was not to be expected that these great objects
could be effected, unless by the union of influential
men, unless he who was charged with the chief
executive authority should be honestly supported by
the leading men in the Assembly. It was vain to
expect it if he were to be thwarted, hampered, defied,
conspired against,-by Orleanists on one hand, who,
whilst claiming a share in the councils of the State,
were flitting backwards and forwards between France
and England, concerting measures with Louis Philippe
and his family for the restoration of one branch of the
Bourbons; by Legitimists on the other, passing into
Germany to consult with their master, the Comte de
Chambord, in relation to his prospects of ruling over a
FACTIONS IN THE ASSEMBLY.
179
resurrection of the ancien régime; by ultra-levellers
from another side, desirous of nothing so much as to
throw all things-property, laws, institutions-into the
boiling cauldron of anarchy. The possibility of main-
taining a republic practically realising its name im-
plied an abandonment of hostile plots and combinations
against it, a willingness to co-operate with the head of
the Executive, at least, the absence of any systematic
plan of obstruction and hostility.
Without such conditions a republic was impossible in
France. It was on the supposition that they might
be fulfilled, that, unconnected as he was with party,
and acting without reference to it, his own example
might arouse the more generous emotions of those
around him, might assuage angry passions, and impart
union, strength, and cohesion to the governmental
power, that Louis Napoleon promised, in good faith
and sincerity, adhesion to the republican experiment.
Were these conditions fulfilled?
They were not.
There was not a man in France who worked so hard
as the President to procure the fulfilment of the condi-
tions, not a man in France who so strenuously
exerted himself to procure success for the experiment,
to maintain the integrity of the Republic, so long as
there existed the shadow of a chance of preserving it.
And when his exertions failed, when the malignity of
factious conspiracy had shown that it would not rest,
that it would not be pacified whilst it possessed the
power of disturbance, then there remained but one
course for any man having at heart the welfare of
society, and endowed with courage to give effect to his
desires. That course was to deprive faction of its
sting by depriving it of its power, and appealing to
the nation for its decision as to the mode of government
N 2
180
FACTIONS, TUMULTS, AND PLOTS
which would give peace and security to society, and
act for the benefit of the universal people.
The
years 1849 and 1850 were years of trial of the
system introduced in the haste, confusion, and terror
caused by the insurrection of June. They were years
of experiment as to the possibility of composing the
furious passions of factions, of maintaining order and
security by the exercise of the powers given to the
President under the terms of the Constitution of 1848.
From the first, sinister omens attended this experiment.
We find the President entreating the Assembly to co-
operate with him in measures of practical improve-
ment for the success of which cordiality and unity of
action were indispensable, we find the Assembly re-
plying, through its most prominent speakers, with
taunts, upbraiding, ridicule, accusation. One of the
leading party politicians, instead of applying his
energies to the service of the country, occupied himself
in writing a work purporting to demonstrate the im-
possibility of good government for France on any
principle not involving a restoration of the Bourbons.
The Assembly was the scene of disgraceful tumults,
of "disgusting brutalities," to use the too accurate
phrase of a spectator. "Liar," "perjurer," "coward,"
were epithets commonly interchanged between its
members; even the President of the body was himself
denounced as a liar by some of the gentlemen amongst
whom he vainly strove to keep order. And these
violences were not confined to words.
In the very
Chamber blows were exchanged, the effect of which
at least attested the pugilistic prowess of debaters.
But whilst the war raged fiercely between contending
parties, and even in the councils of these respec-
tive parties, they were often seen uniting when a ne-
IN THE ASSEMBLY.
181
gative had to be pronounced upon any practical pro-
posal emanating from the head of the Executive. Then
they could all agree that the proposition, whatsoever its
nature, was a dangerous one, an ambitious one, one
prompted by his desire to court popularity, to establish
himself in the affections of the people. And no doubt
one of his objects was to deserve and retain the national
affection by a course calculated to promote general
happiness through the encouragement of industry. The
inconsistency of the Assembly, and of its partisans in
the press, would have been amusing if its consequences
were not so seriously mischievous. Whilst presenting
vexatious obstructions to all measures of improve-
ment, they continually reproached the President for not
accomplishing improvements of all kinds, for not doing
that which he was most anxious to do, but which they
themselves, abusing the power entrusted to them, ob-
stinately prevented him from doing.
The "Red" or Socialist party was active in the
Chamber, in the press, and in the clubs. The motto
that "property is robbery" was openly promulgated by
many of its members; programmes of policy were con-
sidered, including such rules as "refusal to pay taxes;
disobedience to all decrees and ordinances emanating
from the Government; disobedience to all citations of
courts of justice," and so on. On the walls of Paris, and
of several of the provincial towns, placards were posted,
invoking "Blood, blood! extermination of the rich, and
of all government officials; houses to the flames, the
rich to the guillotine or the gibbet!" In some of the
clubs, doctrines substantially affirming these views were
avowed amid loud applause, and sympathisers in the
Assembly adopted language scarcely more moderate.
These distractions and menaces, threatening not only
E
·
N 3
182
THE PRINCE PRESIDENT
..
the tranquillity of France but of all Europe, could not
fail to attract attention in England:
* * *
"Whilst (it was observed) sedition and conspiracy
are allowed to muster in their recognised strongholds,
the clubs of Paris, government of a stable and per-
manent nature, no matter what its form, is impossible
in France. It is a patent fact, which no one denies,
that the clubs of the French capital are not mere peace-
ful assemblies from which resolutions embodying the
sentiments of the meeting, or petitions addressed to the
Legislature, emanate in a manner suitable to the mo-
desty that ought to characterise memorials. *
It is not resolutions, but revolutions; it is not petitions,
but insurrections; it is not addresses, but barricades,
which have systematically and notoriously emanated from
these clubs ever since their appearance. They are sinks
and pestholes from which an intermittent evil of in-
curable and fatal malignity has at frequent intervals, and
with frightful precision, arisen and seized the body politic
and the body social. This is a fact recorded in very
legible characters of blood and devastation, and scarred
and seared into the condition of France-scarred indeed,
and seared so deeply, that through the sides of that
tortured country all Europe has been marked and im-
pressed with the signs thereof.
Louis Napoleon
has practically experienced that he cannot carry on his
government while these clubs are suffered to exist; he
probably sees also that NO GOVERNMENT could be carried
on which sanctioned obstructions so systematic and so
formidable in its own path."
*
*
That there is no exaggeration in this description, that
the clubs and their connections were not merely hostile
to a particular government, but to any government
which recognised the sacredness of family ties and of
property as a national institution-had been fearfully
IN THE ASSEMBLY.
183
exemplified by the insurrection of June against the
democratic government of Lamartine and Cavaignac.
The anarchic faction, even in Paris, where it was
strongest, was numerically insignificant when compared
with the vastly preponderating majority of honest and
well-disposed persons. On a national poll, its leaders
were aware, it had not the shadow of a chance: in
sudden acts of violence lay the only possibility of its
acquiring an ascendancy; but it had already been
proved that it possessed regular organisation, and on a
scale so extensive as to be always dangerous. The
infatuation of the Legitimists and Orleanists in the
Chamber, bent solely on damaging and annoying the
President, and too frequently playing into the hands of
the enemies of all order, rendered that body absolutely
unmanageable. Even in this country it was already
prophesied that Louis Napoleon would be ultimately
compelled--not only for objects personal to himself, but
by his duty to France-to take energetic measures for
putting an end to the incongruous state of things
existing. Commenting on the position in which the
President was placed, an English writer remarked:
"On the question of moral and public right, this
point may be considered - Would not Louis Napo-
leon be justified (we say nothing of expediency and
policy, which in this case are seemingly more deter-
minably legible and simple to understand), — would he
not be justified in forcibly dissolving the National As-
sembly? We put this question on the hypothesis of
the continuance, stability, and consistency of repub-
licanism itself in France. There are two incorporations
of power-the President on the one hand, and the Legis-
lature on the other they are equally expressions of
-
..
.
L
N 4
184
THE PRINCE PRESIDENT
.
universal suffrage, except that the President represents
a more concentrated and more enthusiastic sentiment
than the Assembly. Each is now in fixed opposition
to the other. The Government cannot proceed with
such an entanglement unresolved. It is a deadlock.
** Neither power can effect what is desired by either;
neither can do anything. Were they created to do
nothing? Has universal suffrage stultified itself, and
stultified itself in the hands of Frenchmen? Surely
this is what no Frenchman would allow. Well, Louis
Napoleon might fairly say, 'Let us appeal to universal
suffrage again: go before the country with my disap-
proval on your heads. If a different legislature be re-
turned, I remain in power; if you be again returned, I
will at once resign. Only let us appeal to our common
parent and common arbiter in this matter, since we
cannot settle it between ourselves. I was chosen last;
I may fairly conclude that I am the expression of more
recent, more mature, and now actually prevalent, senti-
ments. If you doubt this, or dislike my conclusion,
falsify and refute it by appealing yourselves to that
criterion on the authority of which I stand.'
"What reasonable answer could be given to this
language? Can an assembly which professes to be the
impersonation of the national sentiment, betray, without
ruining its own credit, any dread or hesitation respect-
ing an appeal to the power on which its credit
depends?"
The President was, however, unwilling to proceed to
extremities. He desired that in his hands the experiment
of 1848 should have a full and fair trial. He laboured
with patience and fortitude to secure it such a trial.
And when, after the lapse of two years more, the effort
AND THE FACTIONS.
185
became evidently hopeless, it was his own policy and
motives that he submitted to the ordeal of approval or
disapproval by the country. Holding firmly to the
course which he had chosen-that of independence of all
party influences - he found himself necessarily in oppo-
sition to many of those who had been engaged in the
overthrow of Louis Philippe. A judicious remark was
made on some of the reproaches uttered against him
on this score:
Autho-
"Of course he does, and of course he must.
rity, at all times and under all forms, if it wish to exist
and to last, must accept the conditions of authority, one
of which is stern and uncompromising resistance to
anarchy."
Whilst thus maintaining a resolute — fortunately, in
the long run, a successful-struggle to preserve France
from the horrors into which the reckless violence of
some, and the flagitious dishonesty and infatuation of
others, would have plunged her, he could not resist those
impulses of clemency, his indulgence in which has more
than once elicited remonstrance. A considerable num-
ber of the "prisoners of June" were liberated by his
order. These men, on obtaining freedom, did not
evince much gratitude for the leniency with which they
had been treated, or inclination to behave honestly and
peaceably for the future. The curses and imprecations,
the vows of deadly vengeance on the rich, uttered by
them on their route to Paris, were described as some-
thing hideous. The republican general, Cavaignac,
under whom the insurrection had been repressed, and
by whom thousands of the insurgents had been im-
prisoned and transported, was the especial object of
their maledictions. Amongst those who protested that
in giving freedom to such persons the President was
186
THE PRINCE PRESIDENT
acting too boldly, was General Lamoricière, who declared
that the insurgents were treated far too gently, that it
was a hazardous thing to let them loose upon the
society which they had attempted to upset, and to
which their enmity was implacable. In these objections
there may have been much truth. Certainly the
President, on this as on other occasions, carried mercy,
forgiveness of offence, to the utter verge of prudence.
If he erred in so doing, the only defence which need be
set up for him is, that the error was of the kind to
which generous and noble natures are prone.
Not content with riotings in the Assembly, invectives
in the press, and plottings in the clubs, the "Reds"
exhibited a disposition to try the patience of the public
and the Executive by demonstrations in the streets. In
the early part of 1849, they got up an émeute on a
somewhat extensive scale; the result of which, how-
ever, tended to prove how little they represented the
sentiments of the general body of the people. Whilst
the movement was at its most critical stage, and great
alarm pervaded the minds of the Ministers, the Presi-
dent took a step, which, if a bold and perilous one,
tended effectually, by its very boldness, to discomfit
the plans of the disturbers. This gallant proceeding
was thus described: -
"Louis Napoleon told them (the Council of Ministers)
that he should put on his uniform and take a canter up
the Boulevards and along the quays. Vain were the
efforts to dissuade him from his resolve, and accord-
ingly at half-past ten, the Prince, accompanied by
Edgar Ney and another aide-de camp, his fortemque
Gyan fortemque Cloanthum, and with an escort of twelve
cuirassiers, left his palace, and trotted up the Boule-
vards. His reception was most enthusiastic, and this
display of personal bravery, which in no country is more
AND THE INSURGENTS.
187
highly esteemed than here, will secure him more popu-
larity than all the millions which were scattered by
Louis Philippe in bribery and corruption. Along the
whole route the Prince was accompanied by a 'running
accompaniment' of the mob, who greeted him with
the deafening cheers of devotion and affection which
were heard by Bolingbroke as he rode into London.
* Whether he will or no, you may rest assured that
greatness will be thrust upon him.” *
*
This was far from being the only instance in which,
by the display of that unflinching personal courage,
*There is much point in the subjoined remarks, made by a periodi-
cal print, in reference to the coolness and resoluteness displayed by
the President during crises which would have unnerved a man not
possessing consummate courage and fortitude. The brave respect the
brave. The French people would despise and spurn a man who
shrunk aghast from them. They could respect and admire one who
would reason with them-who would confront them-who would
withstand that which he considered wrong, and hold to his conviction
of the right, even though the former should seem, for the moment,
the stronger and more popular cause. It so happened, however, that
the policy of Louis Napoleon was always the popular one-the one
approved by the nation, as contradistinguished from factions, which,
numerically, were weak in the aggregate, and insignificant indivi-
dually, though capable, by organisation and intrigue, of causing
serious and mischievous disturbance of the public peace:
"We may safely say, that any ruler who wishes the French to love
him must not fear the French. Nor does this arise from a spaniel-
like or abject character, but perhaps from the very opposite disposi-
tion in the people. They would feel it a sort of insult to ask them
to bow to a timid or faltering authority. They could not obey a
power which they saw trembling before them. They must admire
their ruler, and they never could admire faint-heartedness. The man
of their affections-the man who will enthral their loyalty perma-
nently,― must have a gallant bearing, a prompt spirit, and a fearless
heart. If a man were to approve himself such, theories and abstrac-
tions and artificial minutiæ, and mechanical, self-working forms
of constitution and government, would pale before him as artificial
lights pale before the sun."
:
188
THE PRINCE PRESIDENT:
•
which is amongst the most eloquent passports to the
respect of a Frenchman, the President threw a complete
damp upon projects of disorder, and nipped in the bud
quite a promising émeute. Frequently, almost un-
attended, he has mounted his horse, penetrated the
very depths of the recesses which were looked on as the
head-quarters of disaffection; and whilst timid spirits
prophesied his death, he has ridden back, not only
unharmed, but accompanied by the cheers of many of
those who, a little while previously, had imagined that
nothing could have given them more pleasure than to
shoot him down incontinently. The calm, immovable
intrepidity of the man disarmed them; practically illus-
trating the rustic philosophy, that if you look a raging
bull in the face he will not harm you, but that
symptoms of fear will make him rush upon you.
And whilst clemency and courage thus signally exhi-
bited themselves in the more public proceedings of the
President - whilst he
whilst he was occupied by a multi-
plicity of important duties, and by the onerous task of
steering "the vessel of the State" safely through the
innumerable dangers which surrounded her-he con-
trived to find time for the exercise of a virtue, less
demonstrative in its character, but not less entitled to
esteem. Those who have best and longest known
Napoleon the Third, concur in describing him as one of
those men whose hands are "open as day to melting
charity." From his earliest youth this has been
one of his passions; and in circumstances when such
a disposition could not be indulged without incon-
venience, he has frequently chosen the latter alterna-
tive, rather than see want unrelieved, or distress un-
solaced. His accession to power, and the cares, labours,
and responsibilities which his position imposed upon
him, so far from diminishing the force of this natural
HIS CONDUCT AND BEARING.
189
tendency, probably rather added to it. The man whose
endeavours to secure happiness for a nation were so
constantly and systematically obstructed, would be apt
to take more than ordinary pleasure in doing that
which was in his power-giving happiness to indi-
viduals. Notwithstanding the private and unostenta-
tious manner in which his acts of kindness were
performed, they were so frequent, and brought him
inevitably into contact with so many - for he loved to
be himself the messenger of good tidings to the bereaved
and afflicted, that they would sometimes become
publicly known. Alluding to instances of the kind,
and to the happy and kindly grace with which, by his
manner of bestowing, he enhanced the value of his
gifts, an English literary man paid him the following
well-merited tribute: -
"We call that a great destiny which largely in-
fluences the position of fellow creatures, and which
is bound up with the destiny of millions of human
beings. Of such a destiny, therefore, that man shows an
intrinsic presentiment, whose mind is, even in the most
distracting personal misfortunes, incessantly directed
to the condition of others, to the condition of a whole
people in its largest and most suffering classes. This is
not only a gentle feeling, in that sense of the word
'gentle' which probably originated the word 'gentle-
man,' but it is a feeling even princely. Nations want
not and need not, for governing the State, those who are
absorbed in themselves;-nations need those who care
for nations, and those who so care are not inappro-
priately placed, when they are raised to the most
exalted stations.
"We are glad that the fine qualities which Louis
Napoleon exhibited in adversity have stood the far
harder test of dazzling success. We are glad that, even
190
BEARING OF THE PRINCE PRESIDENT.
in the smallest and most unpremeditated acts, he has
evinced an unparalleled consistency. We are glad
that he displayed such fortitude and bravery in mis-
fortune; we are still more glad that he shows such
moderation, firmness, and gentleness in power. We are
glad of this for the sake of France, and indeed for the
sake of the world.
"We now feel confident, that whatever future betides
him, he will act a dignified, a true, and an honourable
part. He has been tried by the two great ordeals, and
has passed them both unscathed. Had he been cowardly,
we should have seen it long ago; were he insolent, we
should see it now."
Without question, the personal qualities of courage,
gentleness, and generosity, greatly contributed to con-
vert into affection for himself the feeling of approval
of the principles which he represented, and of vene-
ration for the name he bore. For example, it
may be admitted it can hardly be disputed that
the attempts of Strasburg and Boulogne were not
merely daring, but extremely rash. He has himself,
standing near the scene of his lengthened imprison-
ment, acknowledged that they were so, and has not
hesitated to accept that measure of blame which, to
some extent, attaches to all who, even with the most
virtuous motives, attack any established government,
and incur the danger of civil war. Yet it is undeniable
that the very rashness, the supererogative bravery
displayed in these enterprises, contributed essentially to
strengthen him in the good-will of the French.
correspondence with his own relatives, during his resi-
dence at Ham, he remarked that one of his impelling
motives was the conviction, that even if he should
perish, his proceedings would keep the cause alive,
In
THE ITALIAN EXPEDITION.
191
would awaken glorious memories, and recall the contem-
plations of France to the beneficent features of the
Imperial system. Is it to be supposed that this total
merging of self was lost upon the people of France?
Is it to be supposed that they did not remember it on
the 10th of December? It is quite reasonable to argue
that the attempts of 1836 and 1840 would not have
been made by an older man; but it would be ignor-
ing historical facts to infer that these affairs were, in
the long run, unaccompanied by an effect favourable to
the objects of their promoter.
Few public acts excited more comment, or led to
greater differences of opinion amongst the friends as
well as the foes of the President, than the interven-
tion in the affairs of Italy. The policy and motives of
the expedition to Rome have been discussed and re-
discussed in all the moods and tenses of political pre-
judice and predilection. Perhaps the most accurate
mode of estimating it would be, to consider whether
there were anything in the relations between Paris and
Rome which caused events transpiring in the latter
place to have a peculiarly active influence in the former.
Now, the parties who at the time had the ascendant in
Rome were avowed propagandists of their extreme
doctrines. They never ceased from exciting the
passions of European populations, and they were espe-
cially energetic in their efforts to arouse the ultra-
Democratic and Socialist sections in France to demon-
strations of sympathy with them demonstrations
which, beyond all doubt, would have been tantamount to
open insurrection. They wished and expected to
entangle France in their quarrel. It is scarcely unjust
to them to say, that they set up the trade of general
192
QUESTION OF JUSTICE AND POLICY
incendiaries—of agitators against neighbouring govern-
ments; and already their disturbing influence was
seriously felt in France.* The point is, whether, with
due regard to the interests of France, the President
could any longer have abstained from interference.
His position was thus described: -
66
* *
Now, France is but one of the great human family of
nations, interested in maintaining the internal forms of
order subsisting in each of her kindred states, whatever
species of constitution they may have assumed. She
no longer seeks to pull down the authorities established
in other countries, that she may set up new powers
after her own model.
She holds that there may
be in other countries good and honourable institutions,
though different in character from those at which she
sprang frantically through blood and ruin in the last
century, and which in the present she accepts at the
hand of the chapter of accidents. *** If we cast away
the merely external associations of past history, there is
every reason that the French republic should enlist
itself in the cause of European order. No other Euro-
pean government is so much interested in asserting the
principle of the visible presentation of a national autho-
rity. This being the case, we can readily conceive and
* It has been remarked that, in addition to the attitude assumed
by the Roman incendiaries, "the nature of the connexion existing
between the Pope and Roman Catholic powers gives, to all govern-
ments recognising that religious persuasion, a special interest in the
temporal as well as spiritual affairs of the Pontiff, conferring on them
certain rights, and imposing on them certain duties, of interference
for the protection of his authority." Into this argument I will not
enter: the consideration of it would lead to a digression foreign to
the subject of this book; and I confine myself to the fact of
justification on the ground of necessity, in view of the actual position
of affairs, and of the efforts made by the Roman dictators to obtain
support through means gravely menacing the internal peace of
France.
OF THE ITALIAN EXPEDITION.
193
acknowledge the reasonableness of the proposed or
supposed intervention, on the part of France, in the
restoration of the violated rights of Italy, that France
may at once interpose a gap between her own agitators
and those of foreign countries, and prevent the hands
of the former from being strengthened by the identifi-
cation of the national cause with the trading disaffection
of the latter. As a republic, France is compelled to
assume a most decided position, in order to spurn
the solicitations of demagogues like Mazzini and his
compeers, who, fabricating wrongs which they would
not dare to redress if they existed, endeavour to
advance their private ends by involving her in their
quarrel. * * *
****
"France has already incurred the indignation of
the extreme parties, by unequivocally showing that she
prizes order more than any particular form of govern-
ment. The vast majority of the French people have
declared that their aim is to construct, and not to
destroy, and their present Government has shown itself
fully prepared to carry out this policy, both in its
domestic and foreign relations. Such being the case,
neither the Government nor the people of France can do
otherwise than repel with scorn any attempt to link
them with the imbecile and butcherly knaves, whom
the chances of disturbance, as if in mockery of revo-
lutions, have made tyrants over the fair cities of Italy."*
* Monsieur Emile Girardin, the celebrated editor of "La Presse,"
stated confidently that the British Foreign Minister, Lord Palnierston,
regarded the Italian revolutionary party with distrust and dislike;
that he had instructed his agents to declare that "England would
consider the Italian Constituent Assembly as an inexhaustible source
of political troubles and disasters to Italy, and that he should con-
tend against it with all his moral influence; that Great Britain would
never acknowledge, in international relations, the legality of the
:
194
QUESTION OF JUSTICE AND POLICY
Italian Constituent Assembly, not being able to admit the principle of
a league between the different peoples of Italy without the spontaneous
concurrence of their respective governments." It also appeared that his
Lordship had instructed our diplomatic representatives in Italy to exert
themselves strenuously to prevent the Italian governments from sending
agents to the Roman Constituent Assembly. Now, if the minister of a
country so little in danger of disturbance from Italian disorders
found himself called on to take so decided a course as this, it may
reasonably be presumed that the chief magistrate of a state situated as
France was—the constant object of incendiary appeals and intrigues
emanating from the most active members of the demagogue party,-
would have considered himself bound to adopt still more energetic
measures. Mazzini's utter recklessness as to the consequences which
his proceedings might entail on Europe, has, since 1850, been but too
abundantly proved by the proclamations in which that incendiary has
endeavoured to renew the horrors of bloodshed and civil war, to sow
sedition, and stir up populaces against governments. There may
come a time when a pains-taking and truth-telling historian, looking
back at all the circumstances preceding and accompanying the French
occupation of Rome, will recognise in it a proceeding which averted
a terrible train of disasters. The stabbers, the assassins, the atheists,
who constituted so large a portion of the "vitality" of what was
miscalled the liberating party in Italy, will, doubtless, never forgive
the French Government for stepping forward so actively-taking
upon itself the responsibility and unpopularity of interference. But
this resoluteness in pursuing the course which he believed to be that
of duty, without being turned aside by calculations of popularity or
unpopularity, has been frequently manifested by Napoleon the Third;
and time has generally vindicated his conduct and motives. Amongst
these motives, besides the necessity of protecting France from the
contagion with which the frantic declamations and bloodthirsty in-
trigues of persons of the Mazzini class would have infected her, might
be mentioned the wish to preserve Italy herself from being, through-
out her whole length and breadth, laid utterly prostrate at the feet of
Austria. If a French army had not been sent to Rome, the Austrians
would have advanced, and settled matters exactly in accordance with
their own views of expediency. The movement of the French was,
in reality, a counter-check upon Austria: it rendered impossible the
execution of such designs as those which, a few months previously,
had, justly or not, been attributed to the Court of Vienna by the same
persons who turned round and abused the French Government for the
very measure which removed the danger of Italy being, in their own
OF THE ITALIAN EXPEDITION.
195
phrase, "absorbed" by Austria. The French occupation was, of all
things which could have occurred, that most disagreeable to Austria;
and what added to her dislike of it was the declaration, soon after-
wards made by Louis Napoleon, that, on his part, there was no
idea of stifling Italian liberty, and that no parties need look to him
for abetting abuses or tyrannical exercise of power. It is quite in the
chapter of possibilities that, but for the policy pursued by France,
Italian nationality would, by this time, have almost disappeared under
the pressure of Austrian concentration.
.
0 2
:
196
CHAP. II.
LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS. WISE FORBEARANCE OF THE PRESIDENT.
-INCREASING IMPRACTICABILITY OF THE ASSEMBLY.-ANTI-BRITISH
INTRIGUES. FIDELITY OF THE PRESIDENT TO FRIENDLY RELATIONS
WITH ENGLAND. PROVINCIAL TOUR. ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION.
POSITION AND PRETENSIONS OF GENERAL CHANGARNIER.
SISTENT SLANDERS AGAINST THE CHIEF OF THE STATE.
PER-
IN 1849, after innumerable memorials calling for the
dissolution of the Assembly, the election of a new
Chamber was impending. The Socialists were on the
alert; a committee consisting of the most prominent
members of that faction drew up certain articles, the
acceptance of which was to be a test of the eligibility of
candidates. The spirit of these articles may be judged
from the following:-"The most severe of tyrannies is
that of capital. The national representation can and
ought to pursue the abolition of that tyranny." Mon-
sieur Prudhon's maxim, that property is robbery, was
enunciated in its substance, only with somewhat more
ambiguity of phraseology. On the other hand, the
President received requisitions from the people, ex-
pressing entire confidence in him, and asking him to
indicate persons whom he regarded as likely to be
useful members of the new Assembly. To these
requests he replied, in an official paragraph:
President of the Republic daily receives from different
parts of France, and particularly from the Departments
of the Meurth and the Vosges, letters requesting him
to indicate candidates for the Legislative Assembly, or
committees with whom the electors may correspond.
"The
!
LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS.
197
Thanking for their confidence the several parties who
have addressed themselves to him, the President de-
clares that he is a perfect stranger to all electoral com-
mittees, and that he cannot designate any candidate
for the suffrages of the electors. Penetrated with a
sense of his duties, he cannot, as President of the
Republic, exercise any influence, direct or indirect, over
the electors."
It would, perhaps, have been conducive to the
election of an Assembly really disposed to aid in carry-
ing on the business of the country, if the President had
not so rigidly observed the principle here laid down.
But, in the ultimate result, his policy was, doubtless,
the most beneficial one, inasmuch as it left no pretext
for saying that the Constitution of 1848 had been
tampered with, or impeded in carrying out the objects
of its constructors. Hitherto he had himself been
constantly thwarted and obstructed by the different
factions in the Assembly. He had disappointed them
all, for he had coalesced with none. Holding his power
from France, he recognised no interest save hers, and
denied the right of any particular clique to set
itself up as exclusively representing the country.
"His firmness and consistency," it was remarked,
"have belied the predictions of his enemies, open and
disguised. He has carried out in every part the
principles on which he accepted power, despite the
alternate threats and cajolery of those who had ima-
gined that in the Chief Magistrate they would find
but a puppet and a tool." If France were not yet
prosperous and contented, if she had not a sense of
security, if she did not yet venture to put trust in the
future, it was because she saw no end of strifes, in-
trigues, conspiracies, seeking to make the executive power
a nullity, and to re-open that "era of revolutions"
-
03
:
...
:
:
198
STRUGGLES OF FACTION.
which the President declared it was his object to close.
The effect of the feeling of insecurity thus created was
well described by himself:-"The want of security at
present, and of faith in the future, destroys credit, puts
a stop to public works, diminishes public and private
incomes, renders loans impossible, and dries up the
sources of wealth." He did not disguise the state of
the case.
He said plainly that the conduct of the
factions in the Assembly indefinitely postponed the
accomplishment of many plans of public utility, and
that until a different course was adopted the elements
of national prosperity could not be developed. Never-
theless, the country had recovered, or was recovering
from, the industrial paralysis of 1848. This partial re-
covery was owing to the general feeling that there was
at the head of affairs a mind capable of appreciating all
the difficulties of the situation, and of initiating the
measures necessary to meet them. The operation of
the recuperative energies of the country on one hand,
and the antagonistic effect of factious obstructiveness on
the other, were alluded to in a Paris journal:-" On
one side we behold the whole country recovering that
vitality which springs from confidence, industry, and
prosperity; in one word, from order. On the other
side we see a faction, feeble in numbers, in virtue, and
in enlightenment, exhausting itself, struggling against
the tendencies and hopes of society." The writer might
have added that there were more factions than one.
There was on one side a source of confidence, tending
to prosperity; on the other side were sources of fear
and mistrust, opposing that tendency and operating for
confusion and alarm.
On the eve of the elections, a relative of the Presi-
dent had made observations imputing to the Chief of
the State a policy of manoeuvring, which the latter felt
DECLARATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT.
199
X
called on to repudiate. He did so in the following
letter, addressed to the personage in question:-
"It is pretended that in passing through Bordeaux
you held language of a nature to sow division among
the best intentioned persons. You are reputed to have
said, 'that hampered by the chiefs of the reactionary
movement, I did not freely act upon my inspirations;
that impatient of the yoke, I was ready to throw it off;
but that in order to assist me to do it, it was necessary,
at the approaching elections, to send to the Chamber
men hostile to my government, rather than men of the
moderate party.' Such an imputation from you may
well astonish me. You know me sufficiently to be sure
that I will never submit to any ascendancy on the part
of any body, and that I will constantly endeavour to
govern in the interest of the masses, and not in that of
a party. I honour the men who, by their capacity and
experience, can give me good counsel. I daily receive
advice of an opposite nature, but I
obey only the im-
It was for
pulses of my reason and
reason and my heart.
heart. It was for you less
than any other person to blame in me a moderate
policy; you who disapproved of my manifesto because
it had not the entire sanction of the chiefs of the mode-
rate party. * * *To bring closer together all the
old parties, to unite, to reconcile them, is the object
of my efforts. This is the mission attached to the
great name which we bear. It would fail if it were to
tend to divide instead of rallying together the sup-
porters of the government. ** In future I hope that
you will exert yourself to enlighten, as to my real sen-
timents, the persons who may be in relation with you,
and take care not to accredit, by inconsiderate language,
the absurd calumnies which state that my policy is in-
fluenced by sordid interests. Nothing, repeat this aloud,
nothing will disturb the calmness of my judgment or
04
200
DECLARATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT.
:
shake my resolutions. Free from control, I will pursue
the path of honour, with my conscience for my guide ;
and when I shall relinquish power, if I may be re-
proached with faults which were inevitable, I shall have
at least performed what I sincerely believed to be my
duty."
To the people he said, when the periodical recurrence
of attempts at disturbance made it necessary to take
stringent and vigilant measures for the repression of
rioting in Paris:
"Elected by the nation, the cause which I defend is
yours, is that of your families and your property, and
that of the poor as well as the rich,—that of all civilisa-
tion. I shall not shrink from anything that may cause
its triumph."
At Amiens, responding to the toast, "To the elect of
six millions, who has taken for his motto 'God, family,
and property':
"I do not know how to express to you the gratitude
which is inspired in my mind at the reception which I
have met with from the town of Amiens. Up to this
time I have done too little not to attribute this recep-
tion to the name that I bear. The inhabitants of this
Department desire order and peace. It is to that object
that my conduct has been, and ever will be, directed.
My efforts will constantly tend to give you order and
peace. Gentlemen, it was the desire of the Emperor
Napoleon to establish a durable peace. It was in this
very hall, the name of which has become historical, that
was signed the peace of Amiens; that treaty by which
he wished to establish a lasting peace between the two
greatest powers of Europe - England and France.
These views of peace are also mine. But understand
well, gentlemen, it is an honourable peace that I desire;
a peace which, by rendering security certain abroad,
DECLARATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT.
·
201
shall be in no one point of a nature to compromise the
dignity of France."
On few subjects did the President dwell more fre-
quently, when in presence of large bodies of French-
men, than on the necessity-for the sake of both nations
of maintaining a good understanding with Great
Britain. The importance of a friendly international
policy he took every opportunity of impressing on the
minds of his countrymen. It is right that this should
be remembered, in correction of the idea that his friend-
ship for us is merely one of temporary expediency, and
referable to circumstances connected with the late war.
Long before the contingency of a collision between the
Western Powers and Russia was thought of, his opinions.
upon this point were as explicitly declared as they have
since been. They were as energetically set forth when
he formed a stock-subject of vehement abuse to many
in England, as when he was welcomed by us as "our
true and faithful ally." The calm, moderate, conci-
liatory, but resolute tone of his replies to public ad-
dresses, elicited such expressions as the following:
"The feeling of every man of calmn good sense, after
reading the addresses, must doubtless be, that France
is very fortunate in having fallen into hands so prudent,
so careful, so moderate, so anxious to make the best of
untoward circumstances, and to restore order and se-
curity to their position as the guardian principles of
society."
The tours of visits which the President made through
many of the provincial districts, brought out strongly
those exhibitions of popular sentiment with regard to
him, which marked him as the true representative of
the nation. Nor were they idle visits-mere visits of
pageantry. The "inauguration" (to use the French
:
202
THE FACTIONS IN THE ASSEMBLY.
}
phrase) of railroads and other works of public utility
was an office eminently congenial to his own views of
the interests of France, and he never appeared more
pleased than when performing the principal part in
these celebrations. Whilst the country resounded with
the acclamations which met him everywhere, Europe
witnessed with amusement, perhaps not quite without
disgust, sundry attempts of the factions to concoct
counter-demonstrations. The Comte de Chambord,
the Legitimist pretender, received deputations purport-
ing to come from the "working men of France," and
made speeches which, no doubt, were worthy of "the
mission" of his auditors, and perfectly adapted to their
capacities. It afterwards turned out that these "depu-
tations "
were got-up affairs, bought and paid for with
the money of the party whose objects they were in-
tended to promote-peradventure with the money of
the Comte himself. One of their effects was, to expose
the ridiculous numerical weakness of the faction,
but at the same time to prove, if proof had been want-
ing, the existence in France of elements of trouble, con-
fusion, and danger, which it would require vigorous
and judicious councils to deal with. The Chambord
deputations were doubtless as absurd as they were im-
pudent and deceptive; but they showed the restlessness
of the spirit of perfidious intrigue. Members of the
Republican Assembly were the concoctors of these
"hommages" from a few boors and cast-off artisans,
pretending to represent "the working men of France."
The Socialists and Orleanists were, of course, not
idle. The latter were occupied in constant communi-
cations with Claremont: the former were detected in
attempts to organise armed bodies, under the pretext of
engaging labourers for the cultivation of unreclaimed
lands. The more decided the national expression of
ATTITUDE OF THE PRESIDENT.
203
confidence in the President, the more persistent were
the intrigues to bring about a state of things in which
the will of France might haply be set aside by subtle
tactics. The intriguers knew that a regular appeal to
the people would effectually baffle their schemes, and
they left no device untried to preclude the possibility
of any such appeal being made. For already the
necessity of resorting to it, and thus putting an end to
the anomalous relations between the Executive and
the Legislature, was presenting itself to the minds
of reasonable persons in France, and, indeed, out of
France, as the only mode of solving the riddle
of pernicious perplexity created by the impracti-
cability of the Constitution of 1848. The President
was pressed by innumerable petitions to make use of
the power imparted to him by the support of the
people, without fastidious observance of forms in an
emergency when plots and conspiracies formed the oc-
cupation of persons taking a prominent part in the
political arena. Forbearance, however, forbearance
until forbearance threatened to degenerate from self-
abnegation into culpable tardiness, marked the conduct
of Louis Napoleon. On suitable occasions he expounded
his own views of a government beneficial to France,―a
government strong and energetic in the discharge of its
proper functions, but not undertaking "to do every-
thing," or to become a substitute for private energy and
enterprise. Addressing the holders of prizes awarded
at the Paris Exhibition of 1849, he said:-
"It belongs to the Government to establish and to
propagate new principles of economy, to encourage, to
protect, and to honour national labour. Its office
should be to investigate all that tends to elevate the
condition of man. But the greatest benefit which it
can give, and that from which all others flow, is to
204
ATTITUDE OF THE PRESIDENT.
establish a good administration, which creates confi-
dence and secures the future. The greatest danger of
modern times arises from the false notion that a govern-
ment can do everything, and that the essence of any
system whatever is to meet all exigencies and to remedy
all evils. Improvements are not accomplished in a
moment; they are produced by those which have pre-
ceded them. *** Let us not, therefore, give birth to
vain hopes, but endeavour to accomplish all that it
is reasonable to expect. Manifesting a constant so-
licitude for the interests of the people, let us realise, for
the benefit of those who labour, the philanthropic wish
of a better share in the profits, and a more prosperous
future."
He desired his hearers to tell their workmen, that
the foundation of his policy was that of "love of every-
thing good,-antagonism to error and falsehood;" and
thus concluded: -
"Regardless alike of calumnies and seductions, with-
out weakness as without boasting, I will watch over your
interests, which are my own, and will maintain my
rights, which are also yours.'
At a banquet at the Hôtel de Ville, in commemoration
of the election of the 10th of December, he said:—
"What gives irresistible vigour even to the most
humble of mortals is to have before him a great cause to
attain, and behind him a great cause to defend. For us,
this cause is that of universal civilisation."
And amongst the objects comprehended in that cause,
he indicated the maintenance of order and national
credit, the encouragement of industry, the welfare of
the labouring classes, the protection of morality and
religion. He called on Paris and all France to assist.
him in his labours for the attainment of these objects.
It was time to do so, for the agents and emissaries of
THE PERILS OF SOCIETY.
205
the anarchists were actively engaged in the dissemi-
nation of sedition, in attempting to excite popular
passions against all who possessed property—all who
did not say "aye" to the doctrines of the Fourriers and
the Prudhons. Pardons had been again granted to a
large number of the culprits of June. Even Liberal
journalists thus remonstrated against "too often re-
newed" acts of clemency: -
***
"The amnestied prisoners have scarcely quitted their
pontoons, when they seem to desire to justify the oppo-
sition made to their being set at liberty. Their gra-
titude is shown in a manifesto written in the most violent
terms. If the head of the State reckoned for a moment
on better sentiments, he ought now to be undeceived.
He sowed benefits, and reaps insult and ingratitude.
**If he is aware of the sentiments which they have ex-
pressed relative to him, he must now be edified as to the
result of the measures which his generosity led to. The
hearts and projects of these men remain the same; there
is merely more irritation and thirst of vengeance.
It is true that these experiments, too often renewed,
should serve as lessons for the time to come.
One may
well fall into an error once in a way; but when the
public tranquillity is compromised, it would be to play
the part of a dupe to listen further to the counsels of
clemency. When society is in presence of irreconcilable
enemies, it is a duty to combat them sternly. Gene-
rosity may be thought of when only oneself is con-
cerned; but when the fate of thirty-five millions of
individuals is at stake, all vain hesitation must be put
aside, and the end steadily proceeded to. * * There
are two principles in a state of open opposition; and so
long as the struggle lasts, it is at least useless for the
Government to furnish arms and means of action to the
parties leagued against society."
**
:
206
THE PERILS OF SOCIETY.
1
་
An eloquent French statesman, after describing the
leaders of the Socialist plots as a set of "wretched,
petty haranguers," powerful, however, for mischief,
gave the subjoined outline of their objects. It is to be
regretted that, instead of coquetting with impossible
dynastic pretensions, he did not himself give a more
hearty and consistent support to the Government
which was defending society against the projects he so
vigorously denounced:
"Is it merely some refinement in civilisation which
they aim at? No; it is the very A B C of social life
which they attack. It is property and family ties
which France has seen herself obliged to defend for the
last two years. The Academy of Moral and Political
Sciences has been actually called on to reply to these
men, who dare to call in question principles which are
acknowledged even by savages.
""
The English correspondence from France described
the activity of Socialist propagandists in the provinces.
The working population of Paris had become disgusted
with their schemes, and a plan was accordingly formed
to act in the provinces. The plan failed, not through
want of diligence on the part of the emissaries of
its concoctors and agents. The lower class of rural
and village schoolmasters were the individuals to
whom they specially addressed themselves, as likely,
in consideration of petty bribes, to become zealous
auxiliaries :
"The clubs have disappeared in the towns; but be-
lieve me that such is not the case in the country.
The rural club is installed at the wine-shop. It is there
that the agitators of the Red Republic, taking advantage
of the numerous meetings which take place on the
Sunday, open a class of anarchical policy. They there
read aloud papers and pamphlets, with which the
DISCORDS AND SCANDALS IN THE ASSEMBLY. 207
Socialist propagandists inundate the country.
Declamations against the bourgeoisie and the rich, dia-
tribes against the Government and against social order,
calumnies about reaction, apologies for the acts and
tenets of the heroes of the demagoguical party,-such is
the usual theme of Peter the Hermit of the Socialist
crusade. This work of proselytism is renewed every
Sunday and every fête day. Is it astonishing, then,
that such mischievous doctrines, with which the working
classes in the towns are becoming disgusted, should
now begin to affect the labouring population of the
country?"
Meantime, the newly elected Assembly had become the
scene of excesses more frantic, declamation more fierce,
obtruction more obstinate, than its predecessors. One
day the members would amuse themselves with dis-
cussions about the "impeachment" of the President, -
for what cause did not appear, unless it were that he had
adhered to the duties of his position, whilst they hourly
violated theirs. Another day, the "Mountain," or So-
cialist leaders, would give an exposition of their plans,
one of the most notable being that, on the day after their
triumph, they would set about the pleasant work of
confiscating property; "they would examine into the
origin of the fortunes and capital existing." Staggering
to and fro amid the din of contradictory doctrines, the
Assembly unfitted itself for the discharge of the most
ordinary functions of legislation, and sealed, by its own
language and conduct, the condemnation of the par-
liamentary system in France. The motion brought for-
ward by M. Larochejaquelin may convey an idea of the
unsettlement of men's minds:
"That on the first Sunday in the coming month of
June, the nation should be called upon to pronounce de-
finitively on the form of government which it should
..
.
-
208 DISCORDS AND SCANDALS IN THE ASSEMBLY.
choose to select; that every elector should be called
upon to inscribe upon his bulletin, "Monarchy," or
"Republic;" that if the Republic should acquire the
majority, it should be proclaimed in the Chamber by the
President of the Republic; and if the Monarchy obtained
the majority, it should be proclaimed by the President
of the Assembly."
The Chamber continued to occupy itself with every
subject save those connected with the practical objects
of government. The hybrid Constitution of 1848 had so
confounded executive and legislative functions, as to
render efficient administration an impossibility. Memo-
rials were forwarded in hundreds to the President,
beseeching him to interpose with a strong hand and
strong will, and exercise the plenary authority which
he had proved himself so capable of worthily wielding.
English writers commented in this tone:-
"Louis Napoleon is bound to elaborate, if possible,
from the elements placed in his hands, such a principle
of government as shall be adapted to the times, com-
patible with the powers allotted to him, and with the
prestige he may rightfully claim, and, above all, suited
* We cannot
to the necessities of the French people. *
but admire the judgment and firmness which he has
hitherto displayed, and by which he has, we think,
entitled himself to the good wishes and assistance of all
Frenchmen under present circumstances."
A favourite project with some of the Orleanist leaders
(perhaps suggested by the discussion which arose upon
the affairs of Greece) was that of embroiling France and
England - fomenting discord and war notions, in the
expectation, peradventure, that "something would turn
" advantageous to their purposes. Possibly they
imagined that, by pandering to national prejudices,
they would obtain a modicum of the popularity of which
up
THE PRESIDENT AT CHERBURG.
209
their cause was so sadly in need. It was a species of
popularity which the President despised and disowned.
Replying to a toast at the Cherburg banquet, in which
the mayor associated his name with a hint that Go-
vernment aid, in completing unfinished public works,
would be acceptable in that locality, he took notice
of the presence of the numerous English guests:
"The further I travel in France, the more do I see
how much is expected from the Government. I do not
traverse a single town, department, or even a village,
without being asked by the mayor, municipal authori-
ties, or representives, for means of communication,
canals, railroads, or the completion of public works and
enterprises in short, measures which might rescue
suffering agriculture or lend spirit to drooping com-
merce. Nothing can be more natural than the expression
of these desires, nor do they fall, believe me, upon an
inattentive ear; but at the same time I should tell
you that these results are not to be attained unless
you give me the means of accomplishing them, and it
is in your power, by your assistance, to give me the
means of strengthening the existing power, and ward-
ing off danger for the future.
"How was it that, in spite of war, the Emperor was
enabled to cover France with those imperishable works
which one meets at every step, but nowhere in such
wonderful force as here? It is because, independently
of his genius, he lived in an age when the nation,
harassed by revolutions, gave him the necessary power
to crush anarchy, put down factions, and enable him
to triumph abroad by means of peace and tranquillity
at home, and by the vigorous impulse given to the
national interests. *
Is not this port, created
by such gigantic efforts, a striking testimony of
French unity, fostered in the teeth of revolutions-
Р
.
210
THE PRESIDENT AT ST: QUENTIN.
*
..
unity which has made us a great nation? But we
must not forget that a great nation maintains its
position only so long as its institutions are in accord
with the exigencies of its internal condition and its
national interests.
The presence of our numerous
English guests here to-day shows that, if we desire peace,
it is not from motives of weakness, but from a feeling
of that community of interests and mutual esteem which
keeps the two most civilised nations closely bound to each
other."
When opening a line of railway at St. Quentin, he
explained his policy, opinions, and convictions, and
referred to the source from which he had derived
them :
"Had I been free to carry out my will, I would have
come among you without pomp or circumstance. I would
have liked to have mingled among you, unknown and
unnoticed, in your factories as well as your fêtes, in
order that I might have been able to form a correct
opinion of your real feelings and sentiments. But it
seems that fate has raised up a barrier between us, and
I deeply regret that I never had the opportunity of
being a simple citizen of my country. You know that
I passed six dreary years of my life within a few
leagues of this town; but moats and walls separated me
from you, and even now the duties of my official posi-
tion again separate me from you. Thus it is that I am
scarcely known to you, and there are those who seek
to misrepresent to you all my words and actions; but
the name which I bear is happily a sufficient guarantee
to you, and
you know the source from which I derive
my opinions and convictions.
the First Consul came here to
mission is now similar.
-my
rate your railroad. He then
Forty-eight years ago
inaugurate your canal,
I come here to inaugu-
said to you, 'Remain
THE PRESIDENT AT ST. QUENTIN.
211
quiet. The storm has swept onwards. I will cause the
triumph of the great battle of the Revolution, but I
will repel with a strong hand ancient prejudices as well
as new-fangled errors, by re-establishing security and
encouraging useful enterprises. I would improve the
condition of the people by the cultivation of your fields
and the formation of new branches of industry.' Such
were the words of the First Consul, and I have only to
look around me to see that he has kept his word—his
duties as well as prophecies have been fulfilled. And
my task is the same. I must avail myself of the good
instincts of the Revolution, and boldly combat those
which are bad. The people must be benefited by
means of institutions which good sense and reason
would approve, and they must be convinced that order
is the source of all prosperity. But order is not to me
a mere empty word, which any one may interpret after
his own fashion. It is the maintenance of that which
has been chosen and consented to by the people - it is
the national will triumphing over all factions. Courage,
then, inhabitants of St. Quentin; continue in your pre-
sent course, and assist the government in its efforts to
protect your enterprises and improve the condition of the
poor."
Addressing the workmen, he said:-
"I am happy to find myself in the midst of
you, and
I seek with pleasure those opportunities which place me
in contact with the great and generous people who
elected me; for my most sincere and devoted friends
are not in palaces: they are under the thatched roof.
They are not in gilded halls, but in the workshops,
in public places, in the country. I feel, as the Em-
peror said, that the fibres of my heart respond to yours,
and that we have the same instincts and the same
interests. Persevere in the honest and industrious path
P 2
212
TOURS AND SPEECHES
which leads to content, and let these livrets, which I am
glad to offer you as a feeble mark of my sympathy,
remind you of the too short sojourn which I made
amongst you."
At Dijon:-
"The acclamations of which I have been the object
tend to prove to me that the revolutionary torrent is
returning to its bed, and that the population of this
district, a short time ago so agitated, appreciates the
efforts of us all to re-establish order. The governments
which come after revolution have an ungrateful task
before them—namely, that of repressing at first, in order
to ameliorate afterwards; of dissipating deceptive illu-
sions, and of substituting the language of cool reason
for the wild, disorderly accents of passion. Accordingly,
many a government has worn out its popularity in this
great and difficult undertaking; and when I find that
my name still preserves its influence over the masses-
an influence due to the glorious chief of my family—
I congratulate myself on the fact, not for myself, but
you,
for France, for Europe."
for
The inauguration of the "Mutual Aid Society Pen-
sion Fund" at Lyons gave the President an opportunity
to express his views upon one of the objects which had
always profoundly interested him that of elevating
the condition of the workman by bringing him into
friendly communication with the more wealthy classes.
How different these plans from the sanguinary dreams.
and impracticable theories of Socialism!
"The institution which you have invited me to in-
augurate is one of those which ought to produce the
most salutary effects on the position of the labouring
classes. For I cannot believe that there are men so
...
IN THE DEPARTMENTS.
213
perverse as to preach up evil, knowing that they do so.
But when men's minds become excited by social convul-
sion, pernicious ideas are disseminated amongst the
people, and lead to wretchedness. The cause of vision-
ary schemes is ignorance, and systems the most attrac-
tive in appearance are often quite inapplicable in prac-
tice. The exercise of reason is sufficient to overcome
false doctrines, and it is by the application of practical
ameliorations that they are most effectually put down.
Mutual aid societies, as I understand them, have the
advantage of uniting together the different classes of
society, of putting an end to any jealousies which
may exist amongst them; of neutralising in a great
measure the effects of want, by causing the rich man to
co-operate from the superfluity of his fortune, and the
working man from the produce of his economy, in an
institution where the industrious workman will find
counsel and support. In this way an object of emula-
tion is given to the different communities; classes are
reconciled and individuals rendered moral. It is, con-
sequently, my intention to make every effort to esta-
blish throughout France mutual aid societies; for, in
my opinion, these institutions, once established every-
where, would be amongst the best means, not of solving
problems which are unsolvable, but of succouring real
sufferings by stimulating alike probity in the working
man and charity in the wealthy one."
Talking to the people of Strasburg about advice
which he had received not to visit their district, in con-
sequence of rumours of disaffection, he tells them :-
"I said that it was my duty to go wherever there
were dangerous illusions to dispel, or honest men to
reassure."
P 3
Cand
214
TOURS AND SPEECHES
•
Acknowledging, at Rheims, the enthusiastic welcome
given to him on his visit, he dwells on the infinite
numerical preponderance of the friends of order and
peace :-
"The reception which I have met with confirms that
which I have myself seen during my journey through
France, and which I have never for a moment doubted.
Our country wishes for order, religion, and rational
liberty. During my journey I have been convinced of
this fact, that the number of agitators is infinitely small,
whilst the number of good citizens is infinitely great.
God grant that they do not disagree amongst them-
selves!"
Several of the passages just quoted are taken from
speeches delivered by the President during an autumnal
visit to the Departments, in the course of which he re-
ceived convincing proofs that the Socialist propagandists
had made but little way in corrupting the minds of the
people at large. Gratitude, esteem, and affection spoke
in the addresses which poured in from all classes, and
effectually rebuked the ebullitions of factious malignity.
But whilst the people were thus pronouncing, gen-
tlemen calling themselves Legitimists were flocking to
Wiesbaden, where the Comte de Chambord was holding
a little court, and there they enacted quite a "demon-
stration" of re-actionary predilections. The excursions
to Wiesbaden by one section of Bourbonite intriguers,
the trips to Claremont by the other section, were not
without object. And the President took care to make
known that his journeys through France, and face-to-
face communications with the people, had likewise an
object:-
"My object, said he, "in these journeys, is to become
acquainted with the populations, to place myself in
direct communication with their real organs, and to
IN THE DEPARTMENTS.
215
learn thoroughly their wishes and their interests. Reli-
gion and family are, with authority and order, the bases
of all durable society. The constant object of my
efforts is to consolidate these essential elements of the
happiness and prosperity of the country."
In fact, these meetings, and the interchanges of senti-
ment to which they led, caused the President and the
people of France to "understand each other better"
than they had previously done. The name which he
bore, the principles which he had enunciated in his pub-
lished writings, the trials which he had gone through in
vindicating them, had created a prestige which was
elevated and strengthened by these personal meetings.
The nation began to value him more than ever for
himself. The more they knew and saw of him, the
more this feeling grew and spread, as was afterwards
well manifested by the successively augmenting ma-
jorities giving increase and durability to his power.
In connexion with the active and scarcely disguised
intrigues of the Bourbonite partisans, the following
observations were made on the course which might
probably become the duty of the President :-
"The menacing attitude assumed during the last few
months by the monarchical party has excited much
feeling both in Paris and in the Departments. The
country has a right to know what are the projects of
Louis Napoleon, in the event of the Royalists, united
or disunited, of the two branches, seeking to prevent
the necessary prolongation of the Presidential power.
"We think we are acquainted with these projects, and
will state them in a few words. * *
His object is the
re-establishment of order, confidence, and credit — in a
word, to close the era of revolution. But to accomplish
the mission of peace, which has been reserved for him
by Providence, it is necessary that the power of the
P 4
·
?
:
216 LABOURS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT.
President should have stability and duration. Louis
Napoleon would not be carrying out the wishes of
the 6,000,000 of his fellow-citizens, who chose him
as the symbol of the ideas of order and progress in-
augurated in 1789, if he were to bow his head humbly
to the Royalist coalition which now impudently agi-
tates the country. Louis Napoleon hopes, then, that
when the moment shall arrive for the discussion of the
future condition of France-that is to say, to consolidate
power definitively or to decree anarchy-the National
Assembly will comprehend the duty imposed on it by
circumstances, that vast responsibility which would be
laid upon it in the pages of history, if it were to hesi-
tate to vote the immediate revision of the Constitu-
tion. If the National Assembly forgets that France
requires, above all things, to be tranquillised, and refuses
to adopt a measure imperatively required by the public
safety, Louis Napoleon should not hesitate to make an
appeal to the entire people, from whom he has received
his mission, and that appeal would decide whether the
President should adopt for his motto, Abnegation or
Preservation."
The good which had already been effected by the
President, notwithstanding the obstructions, insults,
and vexatious opposition which met him at every step,
was thus referred to :
not;
"Whether there exist Bonapartists or not, we know
but we do know that there are men who wish for
peace, for security, and for order, and who accept these
blessings with gratitude, from whatever government or
whatever man will assure them;—we do know that in
eighteen months the government of the President has
stifled faction [?] at home and raised the name and
honour of France abroad. We do know that whatever
demand for labour, whatever confidence, whatever pros-
THE POLICY OF AMELIORATION.
217
perity exist at present, are due to him; we do know
that in France there are millions of men in whom,
especially since the last eighteen months, the name of
Napoleon inspires ideas of liberty, of public order, of
religion, of property, of family. Such men will repeat
that name in every one's hearing. Let one be found
more deserving, more popular, and more glorious."
To some words in the above passage, an exception
might have been taken. No doubt the courage and
honesty of Louis Napoleon had already conferred im-
portant services on the country. But on one point the
writer was too sanguine. The President had not stifled
faction, though by his energy and fortitude he had suc-
ceeded so far in keeping it in check. How long he could
maintain that check remained to be seen. He had
hitherto preserved order; but the fearful contemplation
of what would happen should the reins of government
either be wrenched violently from him, or drop passively
from his hands, disturbed the minds of those who recog-
nised in a stable and pacific government-a government
cultivating substantial interests to the exclusion of
chimeras—the only hope for the salvation of France. A
conviction of the absolute necessity, for the sake of the
vital interests of society, of prolonging a power which
had been so nobly and beneficially exercised, was esta-
blishing itself in the minds of the people. The fol-
lowing passage was merely the echo of the national
sentiment upon this subject
“The marvellous prestige which has already, on one
occasion, produced in the country districts miracles of
enthusiasm, can belong only to the heir of the name of
Napoleon. All other candidateship would inevitably fall
to pieces before the indifference of the rural populations.
That prestige is so powerful that, in 1852, as in 1848,
the President of the Republic, whether eligible or not,
218
THE POLICY OF OBSTRUCTION.
.
:
will be re-elected. The interests of the country ought
consequently to induce all prudent men to rally round
him. That conviction, deciding our conduct and in-
spiring our policy, naturally induces us to look for the
revision of the Constitution and the prolongation of
the President's power as the only means of ensuring to
France years of calm and stability, leaving the chances
of the future to each of 'the great parties of order. If
the parties opposed to the President had another com-
bination, of a practical character, to offer us, we would
examine its chances of success. But these parties only
hold out to us the prospect of a revolution more fright-
ful than those which have been seen for the last sixty
years, they can only lead to the triumph of the de-
magogical principles, to public ruin, pillage, and incen-
diarism, the scaffold, proscription, and universal misery
-in fine, to the reign of the Communists. We love
our country too well ever to consent to play that
terrible and sanguinary game."
In fact, the impracticable conduct of the Legislature
was bringing public business of every kind to a stand-
still, neutralising the ameliorative plans of the President,
paralysing government, rendering improvement impos-
sible. The year 1851 was destined to witness an aggra-
vation of these symptoms of "something rotten " in the
theoretical system which had been patched up with little
regard for the interests of France, with little consider-
ation for the real wants and disposition of her people.
It has been seen with what difficulty order was main-
tained in 1849-50. In May of the last-named year,
a new electoral law-drawn up by a committee, many
of whose members were the leaders of the re-actionary
The Government
Royalist party-had been passed.
hoped that this law would baffle the Socialist tactics of
triple and quadruple voting. The chief clause in it
1
IMPRACTICABILITY OF THE ASSEMBLY.
219
enacted that settled residence for three years, instead of
only six months, as before, should be required to qualify
for voting. The intention of the Government was chiefly
to defeat a fraud which, it had been ascertained, was
contemplated by the Socialist " managers - viz.,
causing one individual to vote three or four times
over in different electoral districts. But the reactionary
gentlemen on the committee, versed as they were in
the mysteries of electioneering manoeuvres, foresaw an
effect which was about the very last thing that the
President would knowingly assent to. Three years'
fixed residence is a far longer average than is main-
tained by a large proportion of the population of France;
and it was soon discovered that the substantial opera-
tion of the change would be to strangle the principle
of universal suffrage- to disfranchise about three
millions of electors. That was an effect quite agree-
able to the Bourbonites restriction of the franchise
was what they earnestly desired; but nothing could
be more contrary to the wish of the President, who
based his authority on the widest possible expression
of the national will. No sooner, therefore, had he
become acquainted with the tendency of the new law
than he demanded its abolition, on the ground that it
deprived so large a number of Frenchmen of their
electoral rights. But the "majority" in the Assembly
- the coalition of Legitimists and Orleanists-rejected
this demand. They would doubtless have been glad
to confine the electoral area within a much narrower
circle than that ordained by the law of May; nothing, at
all events, was farther from their intention than to extend
it to its original proportions. They had failed to brow-
beat the President, they had failed to intimidate him,
though on all possible opportunities, of course includ-
ing the debates on the requisition for the expenses of re-
220
ENERGY OF THE PRESIDENT.
.
presentation *, they had diligently exerted themselves
with that object. Insults and calumnies were equally
powerless to subdue or unnerve that brave heart,
sustained by the consciousness of right, and by confi-
dence that the right would ultimately prevail. The
most frivolous pretexts were seized on as grounds of
accusation against the President. Thus, the distribu-
tion of refreshments, by his orders, to troops who had
gone through the fatiguing manœuvres of a length-
ened review, was represented as a subtle process of
bribery and corruption of the army, the veracious
*In reference to these pecuniary requisitions, it ought to be ex-
plained that, independently of the dignified hospitality maintained
by the President, of his munificent personal encouragement of art,
science, and useful industrial enterprises, and of the continual stream
of charity which flowed from his palace, he had incurred numerous
expenditures of a purely public character, and which ought to have
been defrayed by the State treasury. For instance, during the
troubles of 1848, a formidable body of brigands spread terror and
desolation through some of the districts contiguous to Paris. Mur-
der and rapine accompanied their movements. They had burnt
one of the national palaces, and threatened to destroy others. A
considerable body of the National Guard mustered, and the con-
fusion of public affairs being such as to preclude any effectual
assistance from Government, they scoured the country, took up their
quarters, at their own expense, in the neighbourhoods most exposed to
danger, and rooted out the malefactors. In this operation they
incurred much sacrifice of money as well as of time; but when they
applied for compensation, various difficulties were raised. The
President, resolved that they should not be losers by their spirited
conduct, paid them out of his own income. Calls of an analogous
kind, properly belonging to the account of the State, but which, in
the chaotic condition of the Assembly, it was vain to submit for
liquidation in that quarter, frequently presented themselves, and were
met in a liberal spirit by Louis Napoleon. Such magnanimous gene-
rosity more than once sheltered the Assembly from the opprobrium
which its own conduct would have drawn upon it; - but of these
matters, when the day of reckoning came, that patriotic body.
usually found itself oblivious.
PRETENSIONS OF CHANGARNIER.
221
individuals who propounded this notion not remember-
ing, or not caring to remember, that in most countries
such indulgences are usually granted on similar oc-
casions. When he expressed an interest in subjects
bearing practically, irrespective of politics, on the wel-
fare of the country,—when he dwelt on the necessity of
preserving national and private credit, of encouraging
agriculture, manufactures, and commerce,-when he
spoke of matters connected with the interests of the
working classes, of savings banks, mutual benefit
societies, caisses de rétraite, when he recommended
steps for increasing the comfort and healthfulness
of the dwellings of operatives, and invited the As-
sembly to suspend vain brawling and co-operate with
him in ameliorative measures, it was forthwith pro-
claimed that he wanted to "seduce "
"seduce" the people.
Things were really coming to that "deadlock" alluded
to in one of the above-quoted passages. And it could
not be said that the attitude of General Changarnier,
the commander of the Army of Paris, tended to lessen
the difficulty. That officer had rendered some service
by the judiciousness of his arrangements for thwarting
incipient émeutes, and he had received from the head of
the State marks of distinction quite equivalent to his
merits. Unfortunately for his own reputation, he did not
bear his honours modestly. He assumed a position
much overstepping the line of his duties, and indicating
a sort of imperium in imperio-an authority separate
from, indeed preponderant to, the power of the Civil
Executive. In this conduct he was countenanced by
the factions, each of which, perhaps, hoped to see him,
at some crisis, drawing his sword in support of its par-
ticular views. The general impression was, however, that
his leanings were towards the restoration of the line of
Charles the Tenth. The partisans of that dynasty began
222
PRETENSIONS OF CHANGARNIER.
:
to hail him as their champion. He had contrived to per-
suade a large proportion of the public and quite pro-
bably had persuaded himself—that the Army of Paris
was entirely devoted to him. The forbearance of the
President might have contributed to confirm him in this
idea, the fallacy of which was to be demonstrated as
soon as the General had carried things so far as to be-
come seriously mischievous, and to render his peremp-
tory dismissal expedient. The General conceived himself
to be the "man of the situation," a little time yet,
and, to his profound mortification, he was to figure in
the character of a man out of a situation.
.
223
CHAP. III.
ANOMALOUS STATE OF PARTIES IN
BUBBLE EXPLODED.-THE
1851. THE CHANGARNIER
"
FUSION NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE
BOURBONITES. INEFFICIENCY OF THE CONSTITUTION. NATIONAL
DEMAND FOR ITS REVISION; AND FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE
ELECTORAL DISFRANCHISEMENT LAW. CORDIAL SYMPATHY BE-
TWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND THE PEOPLE. – AUDACITY OF THE
ANTI-SOCIAL FACTION. IMMINENCE OF ANARCHY AND BLOOD.
EARLY in 1851 the systematic opposition to every move-
ment of the Executive, whether such movement took the
shape of a proposal for carrying on or facilitating public
works, for improvements in the practical administration
of the law, or what not, became more open and insulting
than ever. The business of the country was brought
almost to a stand-still, in order that factions in the Legis-
lature might have time to fight out their particular
quarrels, and in the intervals to concert with each other
plans for annoying and undermining him who was
the object of dislike to all and each of them. The
"attitude" of General Changarnier became more de-
monstrative than ever. At the head of a powerful
army, he was regarded by many, and he appeared to
regard himself, as paramount to every other person in
the State. He did not conceal his antagonism to the
President. Ministerial crises occurred. The President
endeavoured, by selections independent of party, to con-
stitute a Ministry through which public business could
be carried on. In vain. The Assembly appeared bent
on one line of policy, and no other; and that was, to
prevent anything being done to put a stop to every
project of improvement,-its one policy, in short, was
224
PRETENSIONS OF CHANGARNIER.
that of impracticability; and it was to the power and
influence of Changarnier that it looked for support in
carrying out this reckless game. In fact, the object
of the majority in that body was to effect the restoration
of one or the other of the fated Bourbon race, and
Changarnier imagined that he was to figure in the
operation as the Monk of English history.
But there was a master mind-a resolute heart-
which remained unperplexed and unappalled by these
intrigues. At several interviews which the President
had with members of the various parties, he declared
himself prepared to forego every minor consideration, in
order to create a good understanding with the As-
sembly, but that on one point he was determined-viz.,
the dismissal of General Changarnier, a man who had
shown himself willing to play into the hands of faction
"I am,"
against the interests of the public service.
""
said the President, " prepared to form a Ministry in the
sense of the majority; I will do everything but one,
and that is, to sacrifice the right which I possess to
revoke (dismiss) a subordinate." On this point he
remained inflexible. How the
How the public pulse beat in
reference to this attitude is indicated by the cir-
cumstance that "When the determination to dismiss
General Changarnier was rumoured about, the funds
immediately rose. The intelligence of this fact was
communicated in the Chamber to Changarnier ;—and
the countenance of the General, who had previously
been in high spirits, began to fall."
Bold as the General was, he found that he had to
deal with one as bold as himself, and more wisely so.
Folks had talked about the President not daring to take
so resolute a measure as that of dismissing the redoubt-
able General, the General himself held up a standing
challenge. Well, the President took up the challenge,-
་་
PRETENSIONS AND FALL OF CHANGARNIER.
225
he went the whole length of what he was dared to. The
calm, silent, modest man, proved more than a match
for perfidy, intrigue, and insolence combined; and the
General, who was to have done as he pleased with the
Government of France, was fain to take his dismissal
with a quietude which astonished those who had
expected such wondrous things from him.
Before resorting to this step, the President had given
proof that it was not for his own purposes that he
insisted on the displacement of this dangerous person.
He had declared his willingness that the command
of the Army of Paris should be divided amongst
several generals, or even that it should be entrusted
to General Cavaignac, but that under no circumstances,
come what could, would he consent that an officer
should retain the command who made use of that
command to carry on a warfare against the Exe-
cutive.
An observer of these events, by no means friendly
to the President, was candid enough on this occasion
to acknowledge that
"All right-thinking people must admit that the Pre-
sident was quite right to dismiss an officer who was
set up as a rival, and as a greater man than himself."
As a greater man, indeed! Changarnier had, in truth,
accepted the position of a medium through the instru-
mentality of which France was to be brought back
to the point from which she had started in 1830. I
have no desire to impugn the General's motives,-I
have nothing to do with them. What I affirm is,
that the Legitimists, and to some extent the Orleanists,
-forming a majority in the Assembly, and always
plotting the restoration of the Bourbons,-looked to the
retention by Changarnier of the chief military com-
mand at Paris as a tower of hope and strength,-as
Q
226
LEGITIMIST INTRIGUING.
a pledge that when the "opportunity" should come,
which they were determined to create-when, by ob.
structing, maligning, opposing, and every other sinister
artifice, they should have rendered the President's go-
vernment as inefficient, unfortunate, and unpopular as
possible they would have at hand a support so powerful
as to ensure the success of any attempt they might set
on foot.
It must be remembered that negotiations were all this
-time going on for the "fusion" of the interests of the two
Bourbon branches. The communications between them
and their adherents were notorious. So long as Chan-
garnier retained his post, the policy of the two Royalist
parties had been to support the Executive, so far as to
keep the "Reds" and Levellers in check,-to harass,
annoy, humiliate, and degrade it, but still to give it
so much support as to preclude an explosion until a
convenient season.
The sagacious foresight of the President postponed
that convenient season sine die. It discomfited the
tactics of intrigue. The wrath of the party of "order,"
as the two Royalist factions presumed to call themselves,
knew no bounds. It has been affirmed that that of the
Legitimists-the adherents of the Count de Chambord-
was fiercest.
"It is evident (observes a contemporary writer, every
one of whose opinions I by no means subscribe) that
Changarnier was all along the general of the Legi-
timists. The speech of M. Berryer avows as much, and
is considered, both by Bonapartists and Republicans, as a
declaration of war. For three years, since the Revolu-
tion of February, the Legitimist party had disappeared
as a political party. It had veiled its altar, folded up its
colours; postponed to other times the vindication of
its old right: confounded in the ranks of the reaction,
LEGITIMIST INTRIGUING.
227
it had co-operated, by its votes in the Assembly, in that
work of resistance which, by ruse or force, has taken
back from the democracy all the advantages which the
latter had wrested from the monarchy. It is the com-
mon thought of self-preservation which has been the
cementing bond of the majority. Born from fear, the
majority necessarily ended in violence. The Orleanists
and the Legitimists, terrified at the same danger, fought
together against the Republic, which appeared to them
to be the forerunner of Socialism. ** The Legitimists
and Orleanists formed together what is called the party
of order—that is, a party without principles, without
character, without object which could not propose
anything, found anything, organise anything. The
presence of the Count de Chambord near the frontiers of
France, the Legitimists at Wiesbaden, the Orleanists at
Claremont, have proved that this neutral situation of
the majority reached its term, and that a new situation
was about to commence. M. Berryer's speech was only
the parliamentary declaration of a political act already
executed. After that speech, no illusion is possible.
The white flag has been raised from the dust in which
it had fallen: it now floats in the ranks of the majority.
In a word, the Legitimist party has ceased to be one
of the divisions of what is called the party of order.
It is a hostile camp. La Vendeé has risen in the
parliament."
Looking back at what then occurred, and at the
transactions of the two years preceding, it is diffi-
cult to suggest a reasonable doubt that there was a
specific design to overthrow the President before the
completion of his appointed time of office. The oppor-
tunity, the convenient season, for plunging all things
into confusion, and crushing national opinion through
the power wielded by Changarnier-this seems, accord-
+
.:
.:
Q 2
228
LEGITIMIST INTRIGUING.
..
ing to the most logical interpretation of the events of
the period, to have formed the hope of the Royalists.
In the speech of M. Berryer, alluded to in the passage
just quoted, that gentleman had boldly avowed his visit
to Wiesbaden to consult with his master the Count de
Chambord, declared that he was a Legitimist, as he had
been for fifty-eight years, and should continue while
he lived; and made marked allusions to the existence of
a person whose presence on the soil of France would
soon put down popular manifestations. For these ex-
pressions he was brought to task by General Cavaignac.
On the occasion in question-which was one of the eter-
nally recurring motions for defeating every Ministry
formed by the President, and, to use the words of an
English journalist, "utterly stopping all the wheels of
government,"
M. de Lamartine made some creditable
observations in deprecation of the factious proceedings
which-rendering public confidence, industrial develop-
ment, and social tranquillity and progress impossible-
66
were driving the country to ruin." But the workings
of faction did not cease. Repeatedly the President en-
deavoured to conciliate the obstructives, calling around
him men whose position gave him some hope that they
might be able to aid him in carrying on at least
the ordinary business of administration. But nothing
could conciliate men pre-resolved not to be conciliated—
whose policy was that of discord and confusion, not of
progress and peace. Every description of insulting de-
monstration was resorted to. "Committees of Safety "
were got up by parties whose own conduct was the
greatest enemy to public safety; laws were proposed
for vesting the Assembly with extraordinary military
powers, and constituting sundry hypothetical acts
"treason" on the part of the President.
"We cannot," observes an English journalist, (whom
THE PRESIDENT AND THE ASSEMBLY.
229
I purposely quote as being anything rather than friendly
to the President,) "we cannot be blind to the facts
which are passing before our eyes, and which prove to
us most clearly that the various opponents of his govern-
ment are putting themselves most egregiously in the
wrong at every turn, and that by contrast the forbear-
ance and moderation of the majority shine out most
conspicuously."
It was not merely on such questions as that of pecuniary
supplies, partly personal to the President, that the system
of chronic annoyance was maintained. The most ob-
vious and necessary measures of public business were
furiously opposed, and no pretext was neglected on
which insult and calumny could be founded.
founded. This
system proceeded so far that attempts were actually
made, and were more than once near succeeding, to break
faith with railway companies and other establishments
engaged in works of public utility, and to which the
State had entered into solemn pledges with respect to
pecuniary advances.
Having alluded to the subject of pecuniary requisi-
tions proceeding personally from the head of the Exe-
cutive, it may be expedient to mention an incident
illustrative of the real tone of public feeling in France.
The bill referred to having been rejected, a national sub-
scription to make up the sum required was proposed.
The public, indignant and disgusted with the conduct of
the factions in the Assembly, were willing to mark
their sentiments, and, if the plan had been carried out,
the money subscribed would have far exceeded the sum
mentioned in the bill. The President, however, de-
clined this demonstration of national sympathy, stating
his reasons in the following letter, which appeared in
the "Moniteur":-
"The President of the Republic is deeply touched by
:
Q 3
230
AVOWALS AND EXPLANATIONS
•
.
..
the efforts made to organise a national subscription in
respect of the rejection of the bill on the expenses of
representation, which has just taken place, and he thanks
all those who have entertained this thought, which is an
imposing manifestation of sympathy and approbation for
the conduct of the President. But he deems it his duty
to sacrifice any personal consideration to the repose of
the country. He knows that the people render him
justice, and that is sufficient for him. The President,
therefore, declines any subscription, however sponta-
neous and national its character may be."
So profoundly concerned was he to avoid all occasions
of disturbance or collision, and to preclude the excitement
of passionate emotions, that whilst faction was raging with
most blatant demonstration, he would not, for any object
directly or indirectly personal to himself, permit the
incurral of even so much of "ferment" as might be
elicited by the organising of a subscription. He was, in
short, as has been before observed, working harder than
any man in France to procure a fair trial for the Re-
public -to render it a possibility to save it from
premature fall. With this object in view, he adopted
every step of conciliation which honour and self-respect
permitted, whilst, on the other hand, the Assembly,
affecting to represent the people, acted in diametrical
opposition to this policy.
It was in view of this perilous state of affairs, that
the President delivered, in Dijon, in the month of June,
an address, of which the following is the purport. The
occasion was the opening of a new line of railway-
one of that class of "celebrations" which, identified as
they were with the practical interest of the country, he
most loved to honour:
"Gentlemen, I wish that those persons who have
doubts as to the future could have accompanied me in
C
}
BY THE PRESIDENT.
231
my journey through the populations of the Yonne and
the Côte d'Or; they would have been able to have judged
for themselves as to the true state of public opinion.
They would have seen that neither the intrigues, nor
the attacks, nor the passionate discussions of parties
are in harmony with the sentiments and condition of
the country. France neither desires the return of the
ancien régime, under whatever form it may disguise
itself, nor the trial of impracticable and Utopian schemes.
It is because I am the most natural enemy of both one
and the other, that France has placed confidence in me.
If this were not the case, how could we explain the
affecting sympathy of the people towards me, which
resists the most adverse assertions, and which acquits
me of being the cause of their sufferings. If my go-
vernment has not been able to realise all the amelio-
rations which it had in view, we must attribute the
failure to the manœuvres of the factions who paralyse
the good intentions of assemblies as well as of govern-
ments most devoted to the public welfare. It is because
you have thus comprehended the state of the question,
that I have met, in patriotic Burgundy, a reception which
is for me an approbation and an encouragement. I take
advantage of this banquet, as of a tribune, to lay my
heart before my fellow-citizens. A new phasis has
commenced in our political life. From one end of the
country to the other, petitions are being signed for the
revision of the Constitution. I await, with confidence,
the manifestations of the country."
These words indicate the strong desire of the speaker
to encourage, by language of respect and courtesy, any
lingering feeling of magnanimity and love of coun-
try which, he could yet hope, existed amongst the
members of the body of which he was speaking. They
were the expressions of hope against hope, proceeding
Q 4
232
AVOWALS BY THE PRESIDENT.
1
to the utter limits of candour. But such hope as did
remain was soon to be dissipated.
There was a particular passage in this speech which
was, at the time, the subject of much dispute. It was
variously reported and construed. It may be satisfac-
tory to the reader to give the two versions most widely
circulated. The first is taken from the report published
in the "Moniteur: "-
"Since I have been in power, I have proved, I think,
how much, in presence of the great interests of society,
I have made an abstraction of all that affects myself
personally. Neither the most unmerited attacks, nor
the excitements of the impatient, have made me desist
from my duty. But if, one day, France, thinking that
no one has a right to dispose of her destiny without
consultation, should make an appeal to my patriotism to
protect her against factions, then will I place at her
service my energy and my courage, as I have hitherto
given my calm and my patience. Believe me, gentle-
men, France shall never perish in my hands."
The passage, as rendered in other quarters, differed
materially from this, though the tendency and principle
in both interpretations are identical. The President is
represented as pointing directly to the factions by which
he was thwarted and prevented from effecting many
useful objects which he contemplated.
The strong probability is, that the above is the cor-
rect rendering; nevertheless, I will likewise give an-
other, which was circulated largely in journals whose
vocation was that of opposition, and opposition at that
time meant conspiracy, vituperation, and slander. Sup-
posing that it was fabricated and published for the
purpose of injuring the President, it will serve to
indicate the course taken by his enemies: it will serve
to indicate the tone which, in their opinion, he might
THE PRESIDENT AND THE ASSEMBLY.
233
have adopted when alluding to their conduct. That
conduct, so far as the "majority" was concerned, was
regulated by the determination of bringing the govern-
ment of the Republic into disgrace, by destroying
its working efficiency, by thwarting every measure
which, in producing public benefit, could do credit
to the Executive :-
"For three years I have been able to prevent mischief,
but I have met with insurmountable obstacles in my
desire to do good. If repression and punishment were
in question, I received a salutary support; but if, on the
contrary, it was attempted to found anything durable,
to fortify authority, to develope the institutions of credit
and benevolence, to recompense the old remains of our
glorious armies, to finish promptly our great lines of
railway, and finally, to give to that democracy which is
overflowing a check and an object, I found only inert-
ness and resistance. The greater number of the pro-
jects announced in my manifestoes have, in spite of me,
remained without result."
Whether or not these words were ever uttered by the
Prince President, certain it is that he might have used
them without violating truth. They describe an actual
state of things; they describe the course that had been
pursued towards him by persons who, endowed with
certain privileges as representatives of the nation, used
those privileges as means for effecting sinister designs.
On his accession to the Presidency he had at once ap-
plied himself to objects which had always been present
to his mind, and which form prominent topics in his
writings-the institution and completion of useful public
works; the development of the natural resources of
France, by giving facilities to industrial enterprise; the
encouragement of arts, manufactures, and all branches of
wealth-creating productiveness. He had hoped, notwith-
234
THE PRESIDENT AND THE ASSEMBLY.
standing the indecent scenes which had taken place in the
National Assembly, that its successor, the "Constituent
Assembly," would have exhibited more grace and con-
siderateness; that he should have succeeded in obtain-
ing some degree of honest co-operation in plans which,
whatever might be the ruling power in France, must tend
to the welfare of the community at large. He had not
yet sounded the profound depths of recklessness which
may be reached by a body composed of numerous hostile
factions, each warring for a different purpose from all the
others, but all alike warring against one purpose,—that
which would be fatal to them-viz., the consolidation of
society, the restoration of public confidence, the existence
of a vigorous and efficient Executive, possessing strength
sufficient to carry out salutary plans, and so to govern
as to produce contentment, satisfaction, and prosperity.
He had yet to learn that the production of a state of
affairs the very contrary of this was what substantially
constituted the policy of those with whom he had to
deal. It took him three years to learn this, but he did
learn it at last. He had in the interval exhausted every
resource of honest ingenuity, of conciliation, of energetic
remonstrance, of appeal and entreaty, to prevail upon
the leading party-men, not to give up their party biases
that was hopeless -but to work with him in a
national spirit upon matters having nothing to do with
party. Futile efforts! Every practical measure of
good accomplished, everything furnishing cause for
tranquillity and satisfaction, was considered by them as
a card turned against themselves. What they sought
was to excite such a revulsion of popular feeling as
might facilitate a counter-revolution in favour of the
Bourbon family.
It took some time to ascertain the full extent of this
political turpitude. Pending the interval of test and
THE PRESIDENT AND THE FACTIONS.
235
experiment, the Prince President's demeanour had been
marked by a respectful moderation which his enemies,
and the enemies of France, did not understand. Clever
people! They mistook for stolidity, or timidity, that
which was the result of conscientious forbearance, and
of a wise observance of time and circumstance. It may
be regarded as certain, that many months had not
elapsed before he became aware, from experience, of the
utter inadequacy of the "Constitution" of 1848 to
enable an Executive inspired by wishes for the public
good to deal with the elements of which the Assembly
was composed. It was, in fact, impossible that he should
not discover this; the painful fact was forced upon his
notice at every turn, on every occasion when he sought
to carry out the higher functions of his position. Nor
could he fail to discern, and step by step to experi-
ence, that his hopes of working in harmony with the
Assembly were doomed to disappointment: that that
body was not to be conciliated, because the object of its
preponderating component was discord, not peace; con-
fusion, not stability or permanency; weakness and ig-
nominy, not strength and dignity, in the Executive
machinery. Still he felt it to be his duty to persist,
whilst there lingered any vestige of hope, in the en-
deavour to reconcile conflicting elements, and to ad-
minister the government according to the theories of
the Constitution as he found it.
Men of sharpness and smartness, clever men, crafty
men, but men who were his inferiors in length of fore-
sight, in humanity, in courage, in sagacity-factious
men of all shades, imagined all the while that they
were terrifying or imposing on him; that his modera-
tion was the effect of their clever tactics, of their com-
binations, their concert with Changarnier, their power,
their audacity. Profound was their mistake. Not a
1
236
THE PRESIDENT AND THE FACTIONS.
:
:
-1
1
:
move did they make but his eye was upon it; not
a device did they weave that his perspicacity did not
penetrate. This was especially the case during the
year 1851, when, having, as they imagined, completed
the web of difficulties which they had woven for him,
they began to organise measures for hastening the
consummation of their object.
One of the "demonstrations" on the part of the
Bourbon partisans in 1851 was setting up the name of
the Prince de Joinville as candidate for the Presidency.
According to the law then in operation, the election
was to take place in 1852, but it was considered ad-
visable to "air" the subject betimes, haply to beget
such a feeling as might enable the partisans to dispense
with an election altogether, and leave the Legitimists
and Orleanists to settle between themselves, without re-
gard for the people, which branch of the family should
occupy the throne vacated by Louis Philippe. The
year 1852 was, in short, to be a year in which several
mines, all directed against the President, were to be
exploded. The Bourbonists, in both their sections, were
to be "fused;" many gentlemen of the Assembly were
continually on the road on business relating to this
touching reconciliation of family interests; and the
whole power of the family forces was to be brought
into play, to follow out any advantage which the tur-
moil of agitation might cast up. The Socialists and
Levellers, or "Red" party, had pretty plainly inti-
mated that their intention was neither more nor less
than the disruption of all the bonds of society: that,
as they could hope for nothing by taking the voice of
the nation at large, they would try to plunge every-
thing into blood and anarchy, and effectuate the
meaning of their long-avowed principle that property
meant robbery.
237
CHAP. IV.
}
TACTICS OF THE
ORLEANISTS. THE "PERFIDE ALBION" CRY.
DIGNIFIED ATTITUDE OF THE PRESIDENT. - INFATUATION OF THE
ROYALIST PARTISANS. REACTIONARY CONSULTATIONS AT WIES-
BADEN AND CLAREMONT.
SUCH was the situation of things in 1851. As one of
the ingredients calculated to influence popular passions,
and distract the public mind from the perception of the
actual exigencies at issue, the name of the Prince de
Joinville was at this time brought forward as a can-
didate for the Presidency. It is, at least, not unlikely
that this measure was resorted to rather as 66 a feather
thrown up" than with any actual design of presenting
to the nation a prince whose father had shortly before
been so ignominiously expelled. True, the law of the
31st May -drawn up by a "committee" consisting
chiefly of Bourbonites, and which (by a craftily-worded
clause, the practical meaning of which was only after-
wards discovered) swept away from the electoral lists
more than 3,000,000 of Frenchmen-gave De Joinville
something more nearly approaching the "shadow of a
shade" of a chance than if the result were to be decided
by the universal suffrage of the nation. Still, even
under this modification, or rather destruction, of the
only principle which could give the Constitution any
binding validity, the chance would have been only "the
shadow of a shade;" not even that, if the election were
to be carried through in an orderly manner.
But whether or not it were ever seriously contem-
plated to wait until 1852, and then bring forward the
238
TACTICS OF THE ORLEANISTS.
Prince de Joinville, the mention of his name was in-
tended to effect an end. Here a trait again presents
itself which illustrates, in a pleasing manner, the con-
scientious magnanimity of Napoleon the Third. One
of the stratagems resorted to by his enemies was
to represent him as fanatically attached to England,
as ready to sacrifice the interests of France to the
gratification of his partiality for this country. Be-
cause he had ever held aloof from the vulgar cry
which denounced the English as hateful, perfidious, de-
testable in every sense-the natural enemies of France
and Frenchmen; because "Perfide Albion " did not form
the constant subject of his objurgation; because he was
not, instead of propounding plans of moral, material,
peaceful refinement, eternally broaching projects for the
invasion of Great Britain and the capture of London, he
was held up, not merely as friendly to our country, but
as being, in virtue of such friendliness, necessarily hostile
to his own.
Now, it will always be remembered as a highly
honourable trait in the character of Napoleon the Third,
that he did not resort to what might be termed the
counter-irritative process in answer to these ribaldries;
that, feeling that the true interests of France and
England consisted in maintaining terms of mutual
friendliness and respect, he did not conceal or disown
these sentiments in deference to a vulgar clamour;
that he did not descend to the base and loathsome arti-
fices which fan delusions and evil passions, for the imme-
diate objects of sordid ambition.
And observe: whilst the President was thus described
as the enemy of France, because he was not incessantly
raising the watchword of "War to the knife with
England," the Prince de Joinville was brought forward
-on what "cry"?-why, on that of hatred to England;
TACTICS OF THE ORLEANISTS.
239
war with Perfide Albion! "Mort aux Anglais!" was
the cry, not ostentatiously set up by the leading sup-
porters of the house of Louis Philippe, but initiated and
encouraged, with their cognizance and approval, by
the lower class of agents moving about amongst the
populace.
Prince de Joinville had antecedents to give coun-
tenance to this cry; and it was on the strength of these
antecedents that his name was put forward in prefer-
ence to those of the other sons of Louis Philippe. And
of what nature were these antecedents? What was the
nature of the preferential claim set up for de Joinville-
rather, for instance, than for his elder brother? Why,
a something which meant neither more nor less than
hostility to England - willingness and eagerness to
invade our soil. It was his pamphleteering plans
and proposals in reference to that subject, that first
brought the Prince's name prominently before the
public; it was the recollection of these that was re-
called, in order to captivate the fancy of all the
restless spirits in France, and to bring them over to
measures favouring the views of the Orleanists. The
agents of that party were not scrupulous as to the
quality of their appeals. They were aware that amongst
the Parisian populace there was a section with which
hatred to England was a sort of political creed - a
section of persons still strongly imbued with the
prejudices of old times. These were industriously re-
minded of the bellicose "demonstrations" made by Prince
de Joinville towards the close of his father's reign.
What mattered it that the plans of the Orleanist Prince
were mere fantaisies, drawn up on paper, and never
meant to be realised? Under the circumstances, they
were thought likely to create "an effect;"- and this
effect, it was supposed, might be added to by contrast-
240
FAITH AND CANDOUR OF THE PRESIDENT.
ing the anti-British impulses of Prince de Joinville with
the quite different tone which had been generally
adopted by the Prince President with the amicable
feelings indicated by him with his refusal to indulge
restless, angry, and vindictive passions in prospects
and promises of war, invasion, plunder of London,
and so forth.* But, perfect as was his knowledge of
the tendency of these tactics, the President was not
tempted to descend from his high moral position,
or enter into a base competition for popularity, by
pandering to the passions of the least intelligent and
respectable orders of the populace. Whilst the pos-
sibility of the Prince de Joinville coming forward as
a candidate for the office of President was seriously
canvassed as a thing not wholly out of the general
chapter of contingencies, innumerable conjectures, on
the consequences that would result from his success,
appeared in the continental and English newspapers.
A well-known French journalist, after intimating that,
as far as the writer was personally concerned, he had no
particular reason to feel grateful to the President, put
the case as follows:
"None of my labours have ever gained me [from
Louis Napoleon] one of those affable and obliging
expressions which the calculated gratitude of princes
knows how to find, and which satisfy disinterested-
ness. But, in truth, is it allowable to think of com-
plaints, of sympathies, and of personal preferences in
face of the dangers of 1852? The revision [of the
Constitution] will certainly not be voted by three-
* It is worth while to observe, that General Changarnier, whose
displacement, by a resolute and courageous act of the President,
caused such anger and dismay in the Royalist ranks, is the officer of
whom it has been said, that "his favourite idea is, that he could win
immortality by invading England and destroying London."
THE APPROACHING CRISIS.
241
fourths of the National Assembly. The Montagnards
and Socialists give us notice that, in 1852, the question
will no longer be to overthrow a government, but
society and civilisation, and to set the whole of Euro-
pean society in a blaze. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte,
in power for nearly three years, has conducted himself
as a clever, sensible, and modest prince, and as an
honest man; and, be it well known, it is before this
firm and honourable attitude that the Demagogues and
Socialists have thought it prudent to decree a truce
for society until 1852; that is to say, until the power
of the present President shall expire. It is a great
honour for Prince Louis Bonaparte that the impatient
have not dared to give him battle. He has frequently
been reproached for not having gained the battles of
Marengo, Austerlitz, and Wagram, but the factions
have feared and respected him as though he had been
the conqueror on those glorious days."
The Socialists did, in fact, look forward to the approach
of the Presidential election in 1852, as the signal for a
general outburst against the indispensable institutions
of society, as a declaration of war against property and
capital as the commencement of scenes of massacre
and destruction in which, as is truly observed by the
writer, the "question would no longer be to over-
throw a government, but society and civilisation, and
set the whole of European society in a blaze.” With
funereal infatuation, the Bourbonists in the Assembly-
shutting their eyes to this peril, intent only on their
narrow and selfish schemes-persisted in the policy of
obstruction and annoyance; and it was fast becoming
evident that either the President must take some step
to rescue society from its jeopardy, or surrender his
country to horrors more fearful, because more deliberately
planned, than those through which she had passed in
R
.:
242
THE NATIONAL DEMANDS.
the worst period of the Reign of Terror. The Legi-
timists and Orleanists in the Chamber the boasted
"majority" - used their power for purposes tending to
consequences which they themselves did not understand,
and which it was fortunate that there was a mind-
bold, wise, honest, and energetic- capable of with-
standing.
The Constitution of 1848 had been tried and found
wanting it possessed no solidity, no compactness: it
so confounded the legislative, deliberative, and executive
powers, as to impair the efficiency of all and each. By
subjecting Government to the caprices of factions it ren-
dered utterly impossible that consistency and harmony
of action without which it was vain to expect that, in a
country violently agitated as France had been, the
work of peaceful improvement - always dependent on
security and confidence - could progress. Everything
was unsettled-everything was precarious; no one knew
what the morrow would bring about; and looming
darkly and ominously, casting into still darker shadow
this doubt, and fear, and gloom, loured the cloud of
murderous Socialism, awaiting the advent of 1852, to
throw all things into anarchy.
From all parts of the country, petitions from hundreds
of thousands, rather from millions of people-for they
expressed the voice of the whole nation - poured in for
the alteration of this flimsy, perilous, unreliable Con-
stitution; —the universal people protested against it, and
demanded the removal of the restrictions which rendered
impossible a government powerful to carry out salutary
objects. The President was desirous that these national
demands should be complied with: in such compliance
he recognised the most certain means of saving France
from the enemies whom she harboured in her bosom;
and he was equally anxious that the law of May, 1850,
BOURBONIST PLANS AND POLICY.
243
a law which had cut away more than one-third of the
whole electoral constituency of the country, and which
he had himself been induced to assent to under miscon-
ception of the tendency of its working-should be re-
pealed, and the suffrage placed upon the broad basis of
national universality. But vain were all endeavours to
bring the Assembly to think and act in accordance with
the dictates of reason. It was enough that the President
of the Republic was known to be friendly to a given
course: it was enough that he was known to desire
that certain measures should be adopted. That know-
ledge probably sufficed to give the cue to the pro-
ceedings of a too numerous section in the Assembly.
The majority requisite for affirming the question of
revision could not be obtained; the national voice, ex-
pressed in countless petitions, was disregarded; law,
order, and property, the whole framework of social
cohesion, tottered on the verge of a precipice.
And it was in this state of affairs that councils were
being holden with the Comte de Chambord by his
Legitimist adherents- men taking an active part in
the internal politics of France-and with the represen-
tative of the Comte de Paris by Orleanist delegates, in
order to take measures having in view the restoration
-that is to say, the compulsory re-imposition on
France-of one or the other branch of the expelled family.
Who can forget the celebrated "receptions" at Clare-
mont, in the month of August, 1851 — the comings and
goings of "old friends and new friends" of the House of
Orleans, with the ex-Queen mother, surrounded by the
Duchess of Orleans, the Duchess of Némours, and the
Duke of Némours as spokesman of the royal intentions,
receiving the homage of partisans? Read the following
pregnant paragraph from a journal published at the
time:
•
:
R 2
244
THE BOURBON PARTISANS.
"One who is not the least eminent or the least reso-
lute among them [the friends of the House of Orleans]
determined on not allowing the occasion to rest without
an explanation. It arrived on Wednesday, the 27th.
The Queen [Amélie] had previously named that day
for the reception of many persons who wished to pay
their respects.
'M. Guizot, addressing himself to the Duc de
Némours, requested to know if the Prince had any in-
structions to give him, for his friends or for himself,
with reference to the occurrences that might soon take
place in France perhaps even before he should have
the honour of again seeing him."
not.
Can there be any mistake as to the meaning of
such transactions as these? Can any sane human being
entertain a doubt as to what they meant? I opine
What did these gentlemen at Claremont, if they
did not go there to plot that which, under the circum-
stances, was treason to France? No other business
could they have there, making such demonstrations
and putting such questions. To be sure, there was,
a show of interrogatory, as to whether the Prince
de Joinville, or his family in his behalf, would sanction
the exhibition of his name as candidate for the Presi-
dency; but this was a form, or "make-believe," too
transparent to deceive any one. The name of that
Prince could be used for no other purpose than to
"stir up" such lingering embers of Orleanism as might
have still survived amongst some portions of the French
bourgeoisie, and to create an "opportunity" for the
Comte de Paris, or for his cousin of the elder branch.
To the interrogatories humbly set forth by their
adherents on this occasion, the reply of the House of
Orleans was, that their policy, for the present, was that
of "abstentation"; to which the adherents replied
THE BOURBON PARTISANS.
245
•
that there had already been too much of that; that a
more active policy - a more demonstrative attitude-
a more decisive pushing of their interests
was what
was required, in consideration of the events that
might occur. Then there was much talk about fusion
of the family interests; and the Duke of Némours
declared his belief that "the thing" for France would be
the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, but that the
"fusion" which would so greatly promote that object
seemed, he was sorry to say, to make but very slow pro-
gress to which the reply was a respectful opinion that
he was in error in thinking so; that never were the
prospects of "fusion," never were the hopes of "the
family," more promising, as was testified by the increasing
cordiality of Legitimists and Orleanists in the Assembly.
And in truth there was room for this opinion.
"One morning" (says M. de Guerronnière) "in the
month of August, if I remember well, Count Molé
came triumphantly to announce, at a solemn meeting
of the Council of State, that the fusion of the two
royalist families was accomplished; and M. Molé was
one of the privy councillors of Louis Napoleon! And
those who received the communication were the ad-
visers of his government! - Thus Louis Napoleon was
already, in the eyes of the majority, a mere sentinel,
whose duty it was to guard his post until fresh ones.
came to take it from him. This was the part, the noble
part, that was intended for the elect of the 10th of
December for the heir of the Emperor Napoleon." *
* The course pursued' towards M. Molé has exemplified the for-
bearing and forgiving disposition of the present Emperor. M. Molé
was (in the words of a biographer) "recognised as the leader of the
monarchical party, which sought to fuse the interests of the elder and
younger branches of the House of Bourbon, and unite all the friends of
kingly government for a counter-revolution." But it never occurred
R 3
246
LOUIS NAPOLEON AND COUNT MOLÉ.
to the present Emperor, either when President or since he has at-
tained the Imperial dignity, to keep M. Molé in imprisonment or
exile. He resided in France in tranquil freedom, and died at his
country seat a few months back. Would this mode of dealing have
been experienced by M. Molé if the Bourbons in either of their
branches being in power-he had held the same sentiments and pur-
sued the same course towards them that he did towards Napoleon the
Third ? Would not Ham or London have been his abiding place
until his death? No question of it! The extent to which the Emperor
has carried this policy of forbearance and forgiveness is really in-
credible in fact, transgresses all the ordinary rules of political
caution and prudence. Hundreds on hundreds of individuals whose
proceedings, if ventured on under any other government, would have
condemned them to perpetual imprisonment or exile, are now in the
enjoyment of all the privileges of French citizenship. The most.
virulent personal and political enemies of the present Emperor have
experienced his generosity in this respect. This may seem rash on
his part; it may seem to indicate, on the part of Napoleon the Third,
an overweening confidence in his hold on the affectionate respect of the
nation. But the more magnaminous policy is often the safest
as well as the boldest. It is an authenticated fact, that the Imperial
generosity has converted many furious enemies into warm and
admiring friends.
----.-
247
CHAP. V.
FACTION IN FRANCE COMPARED WITH FACTION IN ENGLAND AND
AMERICA.-THE CONTRAST DEFINED. -THE CONSTITUTION OF 1848.
CONDUCT OF THE PRESIDENT ANALYSED BY AN ENGLISHMAN.
DUTY AND OBLIGATION : THE SUBSTANCE? OR THE LETTER?
ALLUSION has been so frequently made to the "factions"
in the Assembly, and that term has been interpreted
so variously and so inaccurately, that a few words,
defining the meaning of "faction" as it existed in
France in 1851, will be in place. When, in vindication
of the decisive measures taken by the President on the
2nd of December, the unmanageable violence of the
factions has been mentioned, it has sometimes been
answered, "Oh! there are factions in every legislative
body! There are factions in the British Parliament,—
there are factions in the American Congress! True;
but take the most extreme of the factions in either of these
bodies, and we shall find that their designs go no farther
than the effectuation of changes in details. In order
to realise the position of the President, we must look
a little into history. If, immediately after the American
Revolution, there had appeared a numerous party in Con-
gress, plotting and agitating against the national wish,
and for the re-imposition of the yoke which had been
shaken off; if leading members of this party were con-
tinually going backward and forward between Washing-
ton and London, concerting, in the latter country, with
the Ministers of George the Third, the measures to
be adopted for bringing about a counter-revolution ; —
again if, in the year 1746, an active and numerous
*
R 4
248
FACTIONS IN FRANCE.
party in the British Legislature were enacting the same
part, going over to France, taking instructions from
Prince Charles Edward, and then coming back to their
places in Parliament to carry out these instructions,
and plot for the Stuarts; - in either of these cases,
would the American or the British Executive of the day
have been held to very fastidiously literal account
as to the steps which it might have found it necessary, in
order to avert so great a danger, and deprive the mis-
chief brewers of the power of working out their purposed
mischief? Would not the Executives of England and
America have been guilty of a flagrant betrayal of duty
if, in such respective circumstances, they had sacrificed
the living spirit to the formal letter of codes and systems,
and allowed the treason and the perfidy to take their
course, and work out their ends ?
Of course they would. No one doubts that they would.
And the position of the present Emperor was in 1851
strictly analogous with what would have been that of
the English or American Government in the cases sup-
posed. He had to deal not with factions, such as they
are now-a-days seen in England, or even in America,
but with factions whose notorious object was that of
counter-revolution, of reaction or retrogression to a
yoke detested by the nation; and he had moreover
to struggle with the enemies of all orderly govern-
ment.
On the point of duty, as affecting the President's posi-
tion at this crisis, and on the relations between the
substance and the letter of his obligations, an English
clergyman has made some observations which, with a
few mistakes in matters of detail, contain a well-defined
suggestive outline of the principle at issue:-
"It has been said that as he had taken an oath of
ENGLISH COMMENTARIES.
249
allegiance to this Constitution, so was he bound to abide
by it just as it was; and that, when he was instrumental
in modifying it, and a new Constitution was substituted
in its place, he was at all events bound in like manner
to abide by that second.
There
"And this must be the subject of our next considera-
tion. No one can have any doubt as to the sanctity of
an oath as to the necessity of adhering strictly to
those obligations which are thereby contracted.
can be no question, in the mind of any straightforward
man, concerning this obligation. But, at the same time,
we must carefully distinguish between the letter and
the spirit of a Constitution; between the cause for
which any person is raised to a particular position, and
the absolute letter of the directions according to which
he is to act. Now, in such circumstances, it frequently
happens that a man is placed between two difficulties,—
he may either adhere to the letter of that which he has
promised, and thereby violate the spirit; or adhere to
the spirit, and thereby violate the letter.
66
History furnishes us with examples in which this
choice of difficulties was presented to those in authority;
and we apprehend we shall find this to have been
precisely the case with Napoleon the Third. If we
regard his conduct as a member of the Constituent
Assembly, we shall find that his usual stern silence in
the Assembly was far more eloquent than, and quite as
characteristic as, the noisy harangues which were fre-
quently heard there, and the disgraceful confusion which
so often prevailed in this senate of the nation. During
the time that he occupied this position, it was easy for
him to perceive that a Republic, such as was then esta-
blished in France, would be neither beneficial to the
country at home, nor honourable to the nation abroad.
France was placed in a false position-the people were
:
250
ENGLISH COMMENTARIES
imposed upon. There had been a sovereign cast out
from among them, but no real and tangible government
had been established to replace that sovereign. There
was a great deal of talk about government—many
intrigues, many attempts from time to time to raise,
first one and then another, into a position of power;
but of the actual and potential government whereby a
nation is united at home and becomes respected abroad
—of this, there was nothing whatever."
""
The Republic alluded to by the writer as that "then
established in France" was the discordant medley exist-
ing before the election of a President during the period,
in short, following the insurrection of June - when
General Cavaignac, under the title of President of the
Council, exercised a sort of military dictatorship, under
which nothing was free save the scandalous conten-
tions of the factions. The very act of proceeding to the
election of a President of a Republic expressed the uni-
versal acknowledgment that the former counterfeit of a
Republic could not stand. In its reconstruction under
a Presidency, it might supposing that honesty and
prudence had prevailed sufficiently to put an end to
desperate conspiracies against it in time have been
moulded into something like cohesive strength. This it
was that the President endeavoured, faithfully and
loyally, to effect.
This it was that the virulent
passions of the period rendered it humanly impossible
to accomplish.
To proceed with the quotation:
"And even during the time that he held the office of
President of the Republic he could not fail to perceive
that the whole Republic itself was, to use the expressive
words of one of our own writers, a mere sham;' that
there was nothing belonging to it that had the elements
of permanency.
The unworthiness of the intrigues
"
ON PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES.
251
perpetually brought before his eyes; the determination
on the part of the exiles to whom we have already
alluded, - who had constituted themselves exiles, as
they would have the world believe, for liberty's sake
to throw themselves, so far as it was possible for
them to do so, into the stream of events in France, in
order that they might, by pampering the lowest pas-
sions of the populace, obtain temporary power, and
make use of that power to enrich and aggrandise them-
selves, knowing that if there were such a thing as a
democratic and social Republic they alone could be its
representatives,—we repeat that, seeing all these things,
Louis Napoleon could hardly have failed to perceive,
and did not fail to perceive, that the Republic contained
no elements of permanency; that it was as contrary
to the genius of the French people as it was in contra-
riety to their wishes. He felt, moreover, that even if
this Republic were to have a fair chance, if it were de-
sirable to let the world see whether pure Republicanism
could fairly be tried in that country, at all events it
must be tried upon a much more substantial basis than
that upon which it was at present raised.
"Here, then, it is that we approach a period in his
life on account of which the greatest possible obloquy
has been thrown upon him,-we approach the considera-
tion of what has been called the Coup-d'Etat. It began
to be clear to him that his own power as President was
far from being sufficient to restrain the many discor-
dant elements of which the then Government was com-
posed: he felt that it would be actually impossible
for him to reach peaceably the end of his Presidency;
whilst so great was the disunion in the Assembly, and so
many were the interests represented in it, that when-
ever that period approached, there would inevitably be
another émeute, or another revolution, and one, probably,
*
ENGLISH COMMENTARIES
252
.
more destructive than that which had already occurred.
Thus, then, Louis Napoleon felt himself obliged,
obliged by the interests of France, obliged by the oath
which he had taken to secure those interests, and to
adapt his conduct to the benefit of the country,—we say
he was thus compelled to take some steps whereby the
permanency of the government should be established.
"Now the question is, whether in so doing he was
adhering to duty or not? It is one thing to say that
he had taken an oath of allegiance to a certain form of
government * ; but if, on the other hand, he felt that by
adhering to that form he should be the means of bring-
ing an inconceivable amount of discord, confusion, and
bloodshed on the country that he governed, then, we
allege, he was, as governor of that country, enjoined, by
every consideration of duty, in the face of all dangers,
to exercise his power, to take the weapons out of the
hands which would make so destructive a use of them,
and to put down, so far as he possibly could, the elements
* The fact is, the oath was taken substantially to the govern-
ment willed by the nation. The form of the Constitution was alto-
gether subservient to the national will. The only thing that could
give or continue to give it solidity was the universal suffrage of the
people. It was the Assembly itself that did all that in it lay to destroy
every particle of vitality and binding force in that Constitution, by
persisting in adherence to a law sweeping away half the constituencies
of France, after the effect of that enactment had been made clear,
and thus violating the very principle on which the members of that
body had been returned. That law cut away the whole foundation
on which the Constitution rested. If another Presidential election
had taken place pending its existence, it would have been in
reality an unconstitutional election. The President himself having
discovered the effect of the law, had, long before the Coup-d'Etat,
sought that it should be repealed, so that any future election
should take place in accordance with the principle, that the people of
France, not merely a portion of the people, should decide the result,
The Assembly refused compliance. It shrank from putting the
issue upon the people of France. The President did not.
ON PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES.
253
It
of disturbance, the rousing of which would bring such
misfortunes and such destruction on the country. * *
Louis Napoleon appears to have taken into his consi-
deration the cause for which he had been elected to
supreme power. He did not so much consider what
were the terms on which he had promised to rule, as
what was the spirit in which he was obliged to govern.
Actuated, then, by this principle, he decided that the
line of conduct which was most beneficial to France,
that which would tend to secure quiet at home and
respect abroad, which would check bloodshed, and pro-
mote the harmony of a good and sound government,-
that this would become his duty. And accordingly he
decided that the movers of sedition, the disturbers of
the Republic, should, at whatever cost, have the arms
taken out of their hands, and the power of doing
mischief withdrawn from them. For this purpose, then,
it was necessary for him to take strong measures.
would not do for him simply to make a declaration that
he intended to keep the rule in his own hands; nor
would it be sufficient for him merely to say that he con-
ceived it necessary that those principles on which the
Government had been established required some modifi-
cation; but it was needful for him at once to act in so
vigorous and unmistakable a way as to prevent strong
men, with strong intentions, from carrying those inten-
tions into effect. For that purpose it became essential
that he should act upon the army. Now, when we re-
collect that the army in Paris was a great army, com-
manded by men of great military experience, not merely
generals who had been occupied with reviews and
parades, but who had seen battles, and gained their
laurels in the hard-fought fields of Africa-such as
Changarnier, Leflo, Lamoricière, and others; that these
men were all known to be opposed to the President; that
.
-
254
PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES.
:
they were determined men, and many of them very un-
scrupulous; that they had made up their minds what to
do, and how to do it,—then it evidently became necessary
that the man who was determined to repress elements
like these should do so with a strong hand."*
* M. Guerronnière gives, in his quaint, dramatic manner, a sketch
of the President, hemmed in between the factions :
"Previous to beginning the contest with Louis Napoleon Bona-
parte, it was necessary to deprive him of his vital force, that in which
he might one day refresh himself for the combat, by identifying him-
self with the people,-in a word, to abolish universal suffrage. We
know how the law of the 31st of May had been got up. I desire
neither to extenuate, nor to ascribe to the wrong party, the respon-
sibility of this act. Was the law of the 31st of May conceived in the
councils of the Executive, or in the consultations of the legislative
power? Was it this or that man who proposed it, or drew it up?
A puerile question indeed, and one I never could find an answer to.
It is certain that this law was made against the President; for not
only did it suppress one-half of those electors who had voted for him
once, and would again have done the same, but it shut the door
against the revision of the Constitution, and consequently against the
constitutional re-election of the President. Whether Louis Napoleon
was a free agent, or was forced, the result in this case is the same.
This result was, to make the President the prisoner of the majority.
** Behold
M. Thiers, whose sagacity none can deny, understood it so.
how the attitude of parties changed from the hour this fatal act was
decreed. They believed that Samson was no longer to be feared;
Delilah had cut off his hair; and the careless man did not even sleep,
for he himself had put the scissors into the hands of the perfidious
enchantress. Parties then began to stir, and intrigues to be woven;
hopes to revive. Private claims are put in. The modest subsidy
required by the President had all but sustained the insulting refusal
it met with the year after. The intervention of General Changarnier
became necessary to prevent the insult of a refusal, by making the
grant still more insulting. A few days after, the Assembly pro-
rogued itself. A permanent commission was nominated; it was pur-
posely composed of names the most avowedly hostile. The friends of
the Comte de Chambord, and the partisans of the Comte de Paris,
are commissioned to watch over the Republic and the Constitution.
These gentlemen set out quietly for Wiesbaden and Claremont, to do
honour to the Royalties they sympathise with."
.
THE PRESIDENT AND THE PEOPLE.
255
Anticipating the general current of this review, I
will here quote a few apposite remarks, respecting the
feeling with which the President's conduct was re-
garded by the people of France—as that feeling was
indicated a year afterwards by the result of the refer-
ence to the nation on the question of restoring the
Empire:
"Now if there had been anything contrary to the de-
sire of the French people in this [the measure of the 2nd
of December]—if they had felt as a nation that they had
been unfairly treated, a time soon came when they had
an opportunity of expressing their opinion. A republic,
after all, was a republic; and every day convinced
Europe, as well as it convinced both France and the
President, that a republic, under any form, was not that
under which France could arrive at the greatest height
of prosperity; and, accordingly, instead of continuing
President of the Republic, and allowing the ten allotted
years to elapse in the enjoyment of his power, he threw
himself again upon the people. Now, it would be
absurd if a President who merely represented a party,
were to say to the American people, I feel that I am not
satisfied; I feel that I am not fairly dealt by; I am
determined therefore to come to you and appeal to you
to give me your votes again; I will throw myself once
more upon popular suffrage;'-he would know that
popular feeling was against him, and that he would
certainly be rejected; whereas a popular President
might do so with perfect success, and with the certainty
of being re-elected by the same people.
"Thus, then, the idea of a republic being that the
President is the representative of the people at large,
nothing can be more constitutional, according to that de-
finition of it, than that the President should say to them,
'I am dissatisfied with the state of affairs, and I believe
256
THE PRESIDENT AND THE PEOPLE.
·
..
that you are so too. I desire to govern but through your
will, and according to your desires. Elect me, if you
choose; and, if you do so, then let me have such power
as you shall determine beforehand. This is not an
intrigue confined within a Chamber of Representatives,
nor has it anything to do with a party government, but
it is an appeal to a great people:-I am dissatisfied; I
believe you are the same. Let us commune, as it were,
face to face. I will tell you what are my wishes,
tell me if those desires are in accordance with yours?'
Acting thus, then, according to those principles which
are the root and foundation of all republican govern-
ments, Louis Napoleon said to the French nation, 'I
am dissatisfied. I thought that I could rule France
satisfactorily, if I had such a government as was esta-
blished at the early period of the Republic. I thought
that, in the limited period of four years, I could produce
beneficial results to France, and do good to the French
people. I found that I was mistaken. I then obtained
an extension of that power; but I find now that that
form is contrary to that which I believe to be your will,
and contrary to that which can enable me to achieve
the results I had anticipated. I therefore again throw
myself upon you, and ask you to restore France to the
condition it was in under the first Empire. I believe
the policy of that Empire to have been that by which
alone France can reach the highest degree of pro-
sperity. If it be your will, let it be restored. I desire
not to be the ruler of a Chamber; I do not wish to
represent only either the crowd of Paris, or any section
of Parisian politicians; but I wish to be the representa-
tive of France. I put my hopes, my intentions, my
desires, in your hands, and if it be your will that the
Empire should be restored, and in my person, then my
own expectation is, that France will rise to a greater
THE PRESIDENT AND THE PEOPLE.
257
height of prosperity than she has ever yet attained, and
that we shall find the whole of the nations of Europe
willing to acquiesce in your decision, and much more
willing to acquiesce in it than when it was supposed to
be your desire that there should be a Republic in your
land.'-This was, virtually, the appeal which Louis
Napoleon made to the French people, and the result
was that, by an almost unanimous voice, he was raised
to the Empire; and if there be one man who represents
the whole of the nation, Louis Napoleon may be said to
be that man. As such, he assumed the reins of the
State; and having the power which belonged to his
great predecessor, he has since pursued that policy
which in his hands had proved so successful."
S
•
258
SECTION V.
THE SECOND PRESIDENCY.
THE EMPIRE.
CHAPTER I.
THE SECOND OF DECEMBER. THE JUSTICE, NECESSITY, AND SUCCESS
OF THE CHANGE. THE ÉMEUTE. THE NATION's verdict.
It is unnecessary to detail the scenes of turbulent
conflict of which the Chamber was the scene in the
period immediately preceding December, 1851. I have
sketched some of the proceedings of that body
enough to indicate the general tone of its demeanour,
—I have referred to the transactions between the
rejected Bourbon families and leaders of parties who
were actively engaged in plans for the subversion of
the Government, I have unveiled the desperate de-
signs of the Levelling party. By this time, in addition
to the intrigues of the Legitimists and Orleanists, the
Jacobin Clubs were at their work,- plot and conspiracy
existed everywhere, the Executive possessed no
power to take measures for the public safety. There
was only one course by which it could obtain that
necessary power. Fortunately, the chief of the Exe-
cutive was honest and courageous enough to adopt
it. The resolution once formed, the measures neces-
sary to give it effect were framed with a completeness
and precision which ensured success.
f
THE SECOND OF DECEMBER.
259
On the night of the 1st of December the President
of the Republic had held a grand reception at the
Elysée. On the morning of the 2nd, when the citizens
awoke, they found a Presidential decree posted on the
walls, announcing the step which had been taken,
and proclamations addressed to the people, calling on
them to affirm or negative that proceeding. The As-
sembly was declared dissolved, and universal suffrage
re-established. In his address to the nation, the Presi-
dent said:
"Persuaded that the instability of the Government and
the preponderance of a single Assembly are permanent
causes of trouble and disorder, I submit to your wills
the following basis of a Constitution: -1. A responsible
head, named for two years. 2. Ministers dependent on
the Executive Power alone. 3. A Council of State,
formed of the most eminent men, preparing the laws,
and supporting the discussion of them before the Legis-
lative Body. 4. A Legislative Body discussing and
voting laws, and to be nominated by universal suffrage,
without scrutin de liste, which falsifies the election. 5.
A second Assembly, formed of all the eminent men in
the country, a preponderating power, guardian of the
fundamental compact and of public liberties.
"The system founded by the First Consul at the
commencement of the century has already given to
France repose and prosperity; and it would again
guarantee them to it. Such is my profound conviction.
If you share in it, declare it by your suffrages. If, on
the contrary, you prefer a Government without strength,
monarchical or republican, borrowed from I know not
what past, or from some chimerical future, reply nega-
tively. Thus, then, for the first time since 1801, you
will vote with a knowledge of what you are doing,
knowing well for whom and what. If I do not obtain
s 2
260
THE SECOND OF DECEMBER.
the majority of your suffrages, I will then call for the
meeting of a new Assembly, and I will give up the
charge which I have received from you. But if you
believe that the cause of which my name is the symbol
that is to say, France regenerated by the Revolution of
'89, and organised by the Emperor is still your own,
proclaim it by consecrating the powers which I ask
from you. Then will France and Europe be preserved
from anarchy, obstacles will be removed, rivalries will
have disappeared, for all will respect, in the decision of
the people, the decree of Providence.”
Such was the Coup-d'État — a measure as wise, just,
and salutary in conception, as masterly in execution, as
any recorded in history.
One of the first steps accomplished at a very early
hour in the morning -was the arrest of a number of
military officers, deputies, and other individuals, who,
there was reason to think, might present obstruc-
tions to the object in view. These gentlemen were
for the most part arrested in their beds. The Chamber
of Assembly having been occupied by troops, a number
of the members met at the Mairie of the 10th Arron-
dissement. There they went through various vain
forms of impeachment and deposition. But their
power for mischief as for good had departed from them.
A military force, accompanied by police authorities,
called on them to disperse; they refused to do so, and
were arrested. After being imprisoned for as short
terms as, in their respective cases, was consistent with
public safety, nearly all were released.
No doubt many of these gentlemen, who were
arrested, were put to much inconvenience. No
doubt many respectable and eminent individuals sus-
tained harsh and disagreeable treatment a circum-
.
THE ÉMEUTE.
261
stance much to be regretted. But it is evident that
measures so delicate, so important, and so critical,
on which such momentous issues depended, could
not be carried out without involving some amount of
personal inconvenience. Far more lamentable than
the vastly exaggerated sufferings of the deputies, were
the scenes of bloodshed which took place on the 3rd
and 4th of December. The obstinacy of the insur-
rection gave practical proof of the truth of the in-
formation which had reached Government, that pre-
parations for a Socialist, or rather anti-social, rising
had been going on for some time. The obvious
probability is that, had it not been for the timely
and decisive course which had been taken by the
President if he had deferred his great operation for a
few days longer, it would have been too late, the
plans of the "Reds would have been so completely
organised that they could not have been put down
without an infinitely greater effusion of blood than
actually took place.
""
Very deplorable it is to have to add that, beyond
doubt, many innocent lives were lost, that many
were killed or wounded who had no share in the dis-
turbances. Indeed, the insurrection by no means
partook of a popular character. The people stood
aloof.
The rioters consisted almost exclusively of
the scum and refuse of the faubourgs, led and mar-
shalled by a considerable number of well-dressed per-
sons, the bodies of some of whom are said to have
been afterwards recognised as those of adherents
of the Orleanist and Legitimist factions. It was also
stated that some of these persons had been seen
busily engaged distributing money to the mob. With
respect to the innocent blood that was shed, it
S 3
..
•
262
THE ÉMEUTE.
need only be said that when once a collision occurs
between a military force and any congregation of
armed persons capable of offering resistance, more
especially when the collision takes place in the heart
of a populous city, and where anything like house-
fighting or street-fighting is resorted to, it is im-
possible to fix a line at which disasters and misfortunes
will cease.*
* An English writer, alluding to the scenes of the 4th of December,
observes:
"It has been said that a great deal of bloodshed took place which
might have been avoided. This may have been the case, nor do we
now take upon ourselves to say that it was not so. But this we do
say, that the persons who were to blame for this were not those who
gave general commands, but those who executed the commands. We
are inclined to believe that there was a greater degree of severity em-
ployed in executing these orders than was necessary. It may have
been, and probably was the case, that the military had themselves
overrated the extent of the revolt. They had reason to believe that
there would be as great an émeute as there was in the Three Days of
July; and if it were so, they felt themselves obliged to take measures
whereby any such attempt might be overthrown. Their object, it
appears, was to strike terror into the hearts of those engaged in this
revolt; and for this purpose, although the measures they adopted may
have been too severe, and too rigidly carried out, yet it must be
remembered that, in a case of this kind, military men can have but
one rule, which is that their preparations must be absolutely suf
ficient for the exigencies of the time, so as not to leave any movement
of the enemy only partially repressed.
“The President was deeply concerned when he found how great
had been the mischief done during this period of civil warfare; no
man regretted more than he did the necessity, in the first place,
or the severity with which his orders had been carried out, in the
second. But it is perfectly clear that as he took no share in it
himself, but entrusted the whole execution of the measures to other
hands, so, however much we may regret what occurred, we are not
to blame him for the harshness and severity with which these mea-
sures were executed. It appears that, as far as the interests of the
country and of Paris in particular were concerned, Louis Napoleon
?.
JUSTICE AND NECESSITY OF THE CHANGE. 263
I have thought it desirable to quote some remarks, as
indicating the impressions of candid and intelligent
observers respecting the events of December, 1851.
But, in truth, the tone apologetic or vindicatory is not
necessary. There was a rising, an émeute partial,
certainly, and confined to the lowest section of the
canaille, bribed and led by a few factious emissaries ;
still these insurgents or rioters, as the case might be,
were armed they had erected barricades, they were
spreading abroad the contagion of bad example, they
had fired upon the military. The officers of the latter,
ordered to put down disturbances, had no alternative
but to take the most resolute steps for instantly
crushing the seeds of mischief, wherever they exhibited
themselves. That, through incaution in not attend-
ing to the instructions and warnings of the authori-
ties, and through non-expectation of any serious cata-
strophe, many innocent persons suffered, is certain.
We must all deplore the calamity; but the blame of
that calamity is imputable alone to the authors of the
disturbances.
The general justification of the great change effected
by the measure of the 2nd of December has been
rendered sufficiently clear, to impartial readers, by the
facts which I have described with the intention of
giving a fair and faithful picture of what occurred.
I need not refer back to the passionate outcries
raised by ignorant and interested persons in England,
was bound to act as he did, both with regard to the Coup-d'État and
with regard to the street warfare in Paris. Therefore, much as we
may regret the bloodshed, and much as it was lamented in France,
still Louis Napoleon is by no means to be blamed for it; and it is
clear that he regretted it himself as much as any other person could
possibly have done.”
s 4
264
JUSTICE AND NECESSITY OF THE CHANGE.
and unfortunately supported by some of the public
journals. The dignity, temper, and forbearance-partak-
ing, however, we may well believe, of contempt with
which the President regarded these effusions, were above
all praise. They were scarcely noticed; and when
noticed by the French Government, it was in a manner
which administered a more severe rebuke to the slan-
derers than could have been comprised in the waging
of a "newspaper war."
These recollections, so humiliating and painful, I
will not dwell on ;-but, in illustration of the feelings en-
tertained by the more sober class of thinkers, respecting
the system or no-system to which the Coup-d'Etat put
an end, I introduce a few sentences from a journal
published at the time, which, in its general tone, was
not partial to the President. The elements with which
the Prince had to deal are, in this paragraph, pretty
accurately stated:-
"All parties were notoriously plotting to substitute
something of their own-some declared and defined
policy for a compromise that no one respected — for
a constitution that was not worth a straw.
It was as
provisional a no-constitution as the provisional no-go-
vernment which it set aside. Composed of hetero-
geneous and conflicting materials, without respect,
without cohesion, without proportions, it was looked
upon as temporary by all. The Assembly became, not
a field for argument, but a confined and circumscribed
arena, in which the angry passions of the several dis-
cordant factions in the country were penned in, not for
discussion, but for conflict, not for useful legislation,
but for treacherous intrigue. There were the Legiti-
mists, the Orleanists, the Napoleonists, the Republicans,
the Socialists, each of whom had their shades and dif
JUSTICE AND NECESSITY OF THE CHANGE.
265
ferences, their honest enthusiasts and their treacherous
plotters. It was all one plot from beginning to end.
And we are sorry to say that the worst plotters
the most dangerous as well as dishonest intriguers in
the Assembly. were men from whom better things
might have been expected - men who had always the
word of order on their lips, and incitements to discord
and disorder in their selfish and factious intrigues.
In the midst of struggles, of debates and di-
visions, it was certain that the Executive Power ought
to be strong and decisive. But even this, the so-called
chiefs of the majority in the Chamber sought to divide
and distract. * * * They had the unspeakable
folly to weaken that which did exist, and upon which
the very bonds of society depended. Friends of order
as they called themselves, they seized every occasion,
made every opportunity, to sow the seeds of discord
broadcast in the land. It would almost seem as if
they sought to promote the cause of disorder, in order
that they might have the merit of putting it down.
The great crime of the President in their eyes is, no
doubt, that he has taken the game out of their hands,
and played the very cards upon which they chiefly
relied, not only against him, but against the people of
France."
This is the testimony, not of a friend, but of a jour-
nalist who, to say the least, was by no means disposed to
be the advocate of the Prince President,-of one, how-
ever, who possessed much general knowledge of the
state of affairs in France. It deserves to be re-
corded in contrast with the stream of scurrility which
for some time overflowed in the columns of some
newspapers, and which almost seemed to be specially
intended to provoke the head of the French Govern-
266
THE NATIONAL VERDICT.
..
ment into demonstrations of hostility towards this
country.
The next step was to ascertain the sentiment of the
nation with respect to the important measures which
the President had deemed it his duty to take for the
benefit of France. Universal suffrage was restored on the
broadest basis, including all Frenchmen aged twenty-
one years, and not disqualified by crime or otherwise.
On the 20th and 21st of December the national vote
was taken by ballot through the whole territory of
France. The result was 7,439,219 affirmative votes,
and 640,737 negative ones. In addressing the Con-
sultative Commission which made the official announce-
ment of the result, the President expressed his pride at
the ratification, by so overwhelming a majority of the
nation, of a proceeding which he had undertaken in
order to save France and Europe from anarchy. He
further declared that, "If he congratulated himself on
this immense national adhesion, it was because it gave
him power to speak and act as became the head of a
great nation."
It would fill a long chapter to give even an outline
of the manifestations of satisfaction, of the expres
sions of affection, confidence, and gratitude, which
poured in from every part of France, in acknowledg-
ment of the inestimable service conferred on her by
the honesty, courage, and faithful wisdom of one great
man. It was not only the vote it was the demon-
strations which followed the announcement of the
result--that further manifested the feeling of the whole
people. How just, and honourable, and well founded
THE NATIONAL VERDICT.
267
the pride with which they must have been regarded by
him who, under Providence, was the author of the bless-
ings which they celebrated-the blessings of concord,
security, mutual confidence, reviving prosperity in trade,
commerce, manufactures, in every department of in-
dustry and enterprise on the activity of which the
mutual welfare of nations far advanced in civilisation
essentially depends.
268
CHAP. II.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1852.-OBJECTS AND LABOURS OF THE HEAD
OF THE STATE. VIGOROUS PROSECUTION OF ENERGETIC MEA-
SURES. - PROSPERITY
TRADE AND ENTERPRISE
REVIVING.-SPECIFIC MEMORANDUM ON THE ORLEANS APPROPRIA-
TIONS. A FRAUD DEFEATED.-A PAINFUL DUTY FULFILLED.
REAPPEARING.
In
A GREAT event thus happily consummated, and France
rescued from the appalling dangers which had menaced
her, the attention of the President was immediately
directed to the accomplishment of those objects of prac-
tical improvement which he had hitherto been precluded
from carrying out indeed, from attempting.
order to impart regularity to the proceedings of Govern-
ment, the first necessity was to promulgate the new
Constitution. On the 16th of January the Government
official journal contained a proclamation in which, after
an introductory explanation of the principles on which
it is founded, the President lays down the heads of the
Constitution, which are in substance identical with those
indicated in the proclamation of the 2nd of December.
The system inaugurated is that of the Empire, and the
grand principle of the Constitution is the responsibility
of the head of the State-his direct responsibility to
the people of France. The fiction of irresponsibility, so
utterly alien to the temper, disposition, and habits of
thought of the French-a fiction borrowed from our-
selves, which has worked well in England, where it has
been consecrated and strengthened by the lapse of ages,
but a mere uncongenial exotic in France a mon-
ADDRESS TO THE NATION.
269
strosity, incomprehensible, impracticable, utterly inca-
pable of taking root on the soil of that country-was cast
aside; and the principle, intelligible and acceptable to
the French, of the direct responsibility of the head of
the State, was solemnly established. The introductory
explanation contained the following passages:-
"In my proclamation of the 2nd of December, when
I loyally explained to you what, according to my ideas,
were the vital conditions of government in France, I
had not the pretension, so common in these days, of
substituting a personal theory for the experience of
ages. On the contrary, I sought in the past the ex-
amples that might best be followed, what men had given
them, and what benefits had resulted.
"I have thought it reasonable to prefer the precepts
of genius to the specious doctrines of men of abstract
ideas. I have taken as models the political institutions
which already, at the commencement of the century,
under analogous circumstances, have strengthened tot-
tering society, and raised France to a lofty degree of
prosperity and grandeur.
"I have taken as models those institutions, which, in-
stead of vanishing at the first breath of popular agita-
tion, were only overturned by the might of all Europe
coalesced against us.
"In one word, I said to myself, since France makes
progress during the last fifty years, in virtue alone of
the administrative, military, judicial, religious, and
financial organisation of the Consulate and the Empire,
why should we not also adopt the political institutions
of that epoch? Created by the same thought, they must
bear the same character of nationality and practical
utility.
"In effect, as I recalled to mind in my proclamation,
it is essential to aver that our present state of society
270
ADDRESS TO THE NATION.
is nought else than France regenerate by the Revolution
of '89, and organised by the Emperor. Nothing re-
mains of the old régime but great souvenirs and great
benefits; all that was organised under it was destroyed
by the Revolution, and all that since the Revolution has
been organised, and that still exists, has been the work
of Napoleon.
"We no longer possess provinces, or states, or parlia-
ments, or intendants, or farmers-general, or various
customs, or feudal rights, or privileged classes holding
exclusive possession of civil and military employments,
or different religious jurisdictions.
"To all these things, so incompatible with its spirit,
the Revolution applied a thorough reform; but it founded
nothing definite. The First Consul, alone, re-established
unity, hierarchy, and the true principles of government.
They are still in vigour.
"Thus the administration of France, intrusted to
prefects, sub-prefects, and mayors, who substitute unity
in the place of directing commissions (the decision of
affairs, on the contrary, being confided to councils—from
that of the commune to that of the department); thus
the magistracy, rendered firm by the immovability of
the judges, and by the hierarchy of the tribunals-
justice rendered more easy by the clear definition of
attributes, from those of the justice of the peace up
to those of the Court of Cassation-all this is still
standing.
"In the same manner our admirable financial system,
the Bank of France, the establishment of the Budget,
the Court of Accounts, the organization of the police
and our military statutes, date from the above-men-
tioned epoch.
"For the last fifty years it is the Code Napoléon that
has adjusted the reciprocal interests of citizens; it is
ADDRESS TO THE NATION.
271
still the concordat that regulates the relations of the
State with the Church.
"Lastly, the greater portion of the measures which
concern the progress of industry, of commerce, of lite-
rature, of science, and of the arts-from the statutes of
the Théâtre Français to those of the Institute of France,
from the institution of "prud'hommes" to the creation
of the Legion of Honour-have been fixed by the
decrees of that time.
"It may, then, be affirmed that the frame of our
social edifice is the work of the Emperor-which has
stood firm resisting his fall and the shocks of three
revolutions.
"Wherefore, since they have the same origin, should
not his political institutions have the same chance of
duration?
"My own conviction has been formed for a long time ;
and therefore it was that I submitted to your judg
ment the principal basis of a Constitution borrowed from
that of the year VIII. Approved of by you, they are
to become the foundation of our political Constitution.
"Let us now examine its spirit.
“* * * * In this country of centralisation, public
opinion has invariably referred everything, good and
evil, to the chief of the Government; so that, to write
at the head of a charter that the chief is irresponsible
is to lie (mentir) to public feeling. It is to endeavour
to establish a fiction which has three times disappeared
at the sound of revolution.
"The present Constitution, on the contrary, proclaims
that the chief whom you have elected is responsible to
you; that he has the right of appeal to your sovereign
judgment, in order that in grave (solennelles) circum-
stances you may always be able to continue your
confidence in him or to withdraw it.
:
272
ADDRESS TO THE NATION.
"Being responsible, his actions must be free, and
without hindrance. Hence arises the obligation of his
having ministers who may be the honoured and power-
ful auxiliaries of his thoughts, but who no longer form
a responsible council composed of jointly responsible
members, a daily obstacle to the special influence of
the chief of the State-a council, the expression of a
policy emanating from the Chambers, and for that very
reason exposed to frequent changes, which render im-
possible a continuous policy, or the application of a
regular system.
*
*
*
*
"The present Constitution has only settled that which
it was impossible to leave uncertain. It has not shut
up within insurmountable barriers the destinies of a
great people. For change it has left a margin suffi-
ciently large to allow, in great crises, other means of
safety than the calamitous expedient of revolution.
"The Senate can, in concert with the Government,
modify all that is not fundamental in the Constitution;
but as to any modifications of the fundamental bases
sanctioned by your suffrages, they can only become
definitive after having received your ratification.
"Thus the people remain master of their destiny.
Nothing fundamental is effected without their will.
"Such are, the ideas, such the principles, which
you have authorised me to apply. May this Constitu-
tion give to our country calm and prosperous days! —
may it prevent the return of those intestine struggles in
which victory, however legitimate, is always dearly
bought! May the sanction which you have given to
my efforts be blessed by Heaven! Then peace will be
assured at home and abroad - my ardent hopes will be
fulfilled - my mission will be accomplished." *
* See Appendix.
VIGOUR OF THE GOVERNMENT.
273
There was no delay in commencing those measures
for the encouragement of industry, of beneficial public
works, of enterprises of national utility, which have
always formed a conspicuous feature in the policy of
Napoleon the Third, and which, hitherto, he had been
precluded from proceeding with. We have seen the
Assembly occupying itself with cabals and intrigues,
and refusing to assist in measures of political good.
We have seen the difficulty with which the members
were prevailed on to carry out even the terms of a
solemn guarantee given by the State to the constructors
of lines of railway and other works. We have seen
them constantly refusing requests for co-operation in
matters unconnected with politics, but tending imme-
diately and practically to public health, wealth, and
convenience. Indeed, as has been shown, they rather
set their faces against real improvements, and created
obstructions instead of facilities, lest the results of his
administration should, in any department or through
any concurrence of accident, increase the reputation
of the head of the Executive. The general course
pursued by the members of the Assembly
to stop at a few exceptional instances in which they
were shamed into compliance with beneficial measures
instituted by the President their general course had
been that of opposition to improvement, discountenance
of any plans conducive to public satisfaction and content,
and to the comfort and welfare of the industrious classes.
not
The scene now changed. Vigour, energy, consis-
tency of action, took the place of inertness, distraction,
and discord. Amongst the earliest steps taken by Go-
vernment were those relating to the progress of works
of improvement. We have, for example, frequent
memoranda such as the following :—
"Letters of credit granted to the Minister of Finance,
T

274
VIGOUR OF THE GOVERNMENT.
!
་
for the Department of Public Works:-2,800,000 francs
for improving the navigation of a portion of the river
Seine; 1,500,000 francs for similar objects on the
course of the river Rhone, lying between Arles and
the sea; 300,000 francs for improvements in the port
of Boulogne; a similar grant for Selles, in the district
of La Vendée; 500,000 francs towards the works of
defence on the Point La Grâce; 470,000 francs for
building and other public works."
This memorandum is but an example of the spirit
in which the Government proceeded in the work of
improvement—a spirit which has never wearied, but,
gathering strength from progress, has proceeded with
auspicious energy down to the present moment.
For some
The lamentable effect of the late inundations recals an
instance of the vigour with which the Imperial Govern-
ment addresses itself to efforts of this description.
During three-and-thirty years of peace, under both
branches of the Bourbons, no attempt worthy of men-
tion had been made to remove the physical causes of
disasters which had so often devastated some of the
fairest districts in France. The dreadful experience of
1840 had not impelled the Governments of Louis
There was
Philippe to take the necessary measures.
some little patching up-scarcely more.
years following the Revolution of 1848, the disturb-
ance of the finances, and the general disorders of
society, discouraged such works. Then came the ex-
tensive and absorbing demands of the Russian war.
But no sooner was the Emperor freed from these—
no sooner was he at liberty to concentrate his atten-
tion on internal improvements, than the work of
providing against the calamities arising from the over-
flowing of the alluvial waters presented itself as a duty
of the first importance. He did not wait for the arrival
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT.
275
of disaster. Some time previous to the devastations, à
liberal appropriation had been made for the purpose of
effecting such changes as would preclude them. Unhap-
pily the visitation came before there was time to carry
out the beneficent design. The fact, however, that
before the misfortune occurred measures had been
taken for permanently averting it, is a consolatory
assurance that the subject will no longer be neglected
as of old, when the retirement of the waters was the
signal for forgetfulness on the part of the authorities;
and no doubt need be entertained that the operations
necessary to protect the population from afflictions
which have been recurrent for centuries will be ad-
vanced with all the expedition which science can impart
to energy.
The sanitary, social, and domestic condition of the
working classes formed a special object of the Presi-
dent's care. In the distribution of those portions of the
property formerly belonging to King Louis Philippe
which were appropriated, and, as will be presently seen,
most justly and properly appropriated, by the State,
we find an allocation of funds "for the amelioration
of the dwellings of workmen in the great manufac-
turing towns," and for other purposes immediately
subservient to the interests of the operative classes.
The health and comfort of the people in the provinces
as well as in Paris were consulted by the initiation
of those magnificent improvements which, in the course
of a few years, have not only changed the appear.
ance, but the very atmosphere, of some of the great
French towns. Utility was not made secondary tu
ornament, but went hand in hand with it. The In..
perial system-striking at the great wants of society,
taking note of public requirements, embracing every
branch and phasis of civilising progress was felt to
T 2
276
""
THE ORLEANS PROPERTY."
be once more at work-revived and enlarged, and ad-
ministered under a directing mind capable of appre-
ciating and realising the noble ideas of its founder.
The edict by which the Orleans family were compelled
to sell, within the term of a year, their possessions
within the French territory, and still more so that by
which a portion of the property formerly belonging to
Louis Philippe was appropriated by the State, furnished
at the time a favourite subject of objurgation to persons
whose occupation it was to attack every act or move-
ment of the Prince President; and the exaggerated
representations circulated respecting these transactions
created a misapprehension which, to this day, is not
entirely removed. Now the substantial facts of the
case are these:- In the changes of government and
dynasty which France has undergone, the rule of
compulsory sale of the estates of the family ceasing
to reign had, as a point of imperative policy, been
always acted on. On the fall of the Emperor Na-
poleon, the elder Bourbons had compelled his family to
sell their property within six months; Louis Philippe
himself, on his accession to the throne, had adopted
a similar course towards his own cousins. If on for-
mer occasions this course had been considered necessary,
undoubtedly was it more than ever so now, when the
Orleans family and their adherents were notoriously
engaged in operations-not to say conspiracies-having
for their object to place the young Comte de Paris
upon a throne which his grandfather had forfeited, and
to which plots, or conspiracies, or whatever they may
be called, the possession of enormous territorial pro-
perty within the limits of France would of course have
brought a vast access of influence. The grant of a
term of one entire year, and of an extension of time for
THE ORLEANS
277
"PROPERTY.”
property not actually in the possession of the family,
was, in fact, an act of grace, inasmuch as it afforded an
opportunity of obtaining higher prices than if the sales
had been forced on hastily.
The measure of compulsory sale, then, was no hard-
ship, and the circumstances by which it was accom-
panied were liberal and gracious. The constant de-
spatches of parcels of valuable goods, from the Tui-
leries to Claremont, by special order of the Prince
President, evinced the generous spirit in which he
was disposed to deal, and, in fact, did deal, with the
descendants of Louis Philippe. The reader will re-
member that the newspapers, some few years back,
frequently recorded these arrivals, which were admitted
free of duty. It was in such acts of courtesy, atten-
tion, and generosity, that Napoleon the Third retali-
ated the stringent measure of rigour which King Louis
Philippe, forgetful of obligations, had dealt out to him.
The appropriation, by the State, of a portion of the
Orleanist domains, excited a still more furious tem-
pest of abuse than the edict of compulsory sale.
Let us
see, then, how the matter stands. One of the ancient
and fundamental laws of France was, that "all the pro-
perty which belonged to the princes on their accession
to the throne was of full right, and at the very instant,
united to the domain of the nation, the effect of this
union being perpetual and irrevocable." As observed
in the edict announcing the appropriation in question,
"The consecration of this principle ascends to very dis-
tant times; amongst other examples may be cited that
of Henry the Fourth. That prince having desired, by
letters patent of 16th of April, 1590, to prevent the
union of his properties with the domain of the Crown,
the Parliament of Paris refused, by a judgment of the
15th July, 1591, to enregister those letters patent, and
T 3
278
PROPERTY."
THE ORLEANS
Henry the Fourth, subsequently applauding this firm-
ness, issued, in the month of July, 1607, a decree
revoking his first letters patent." The law was a funda-
mental and unquestioned one, invariably acted on and
never revoked.
In the case of Louis Philippe, an attempt-and one
which, when it became known, had excited public in-
dignation to a high degree-had been made to evade the
law. On the 7th of August, 1830, he was offered the
throne, and the two Chambers declared him King of the
French. His acceptance of the crown was promulgated
on the 9th of the same month; but as such acceptance
was merely a formal recognition of the act of the 7th,
he was, to all substantial intents and purposes, King of
the French on the 7th, the only further ceremonies being
those of acceptance and of taking the prescribed oath.
Now it was on this very day, namely the 7th, that Louis
Philippe made, or attempted to make, certain "dona-
tions" of property to his younger children, to the ex-
clusion of his eldest son; and in these donations, as
is fairly set forth by the edict of appropriation, his
object was clearly to evade the law, and " prevent
the union to the Crown of the large estates possessed
by the prince called to the throne." But this decree
failed in validity, as the "donation" was not made
until the donor was de facto King, and had, conse-
quently, no power to alienate anything. It is there-
fore evident that the subterfuge resorted to by Louis
Philippe could have no available weight. That it had
not any weight, and that King Louis Philippe was con-
scious thereof, is indicated by the very fact of the in-
troduction of certain clauses, pretending to be confirm-
atory, into a law passed in 1832, and having reference
to the transaction in question. And (argues the edict)
"it would be contrary to all principle to cause the
THE ORLEANS "PROPERTY."
279
latter law, ascribing a retroactive effect to it, to render
valid an act radically null according to the legislation
existing at the time at which the act was consum-
mated;" besides which, it is remarked, the law of 1832,
"dictated by private interest, under the influence of
political circumstances, cannot prevail against the per-
manent right of the State and the immutable rules of
public law." On the whole, it is perfectly clear that the
"donation" of the 7th of August was a mere subter-
fuge, surreptitiously resorted to by the king elect, who
was willing enough to accept the crown, but desirous,
if possible, to avoid compliance with the conditions in-
separable from his accession. On no grounds of equity
could it be maintained. It was unquestionably a
manœuvre, adopted by Louis Philippe for the purpose
of retaining, on his accession to the sovereignty, advan-
tages legally incompatible with his new position; and,
as is observed by the edict, "an act otherwise un-
lawful becomes a fraud on public order when it is con-
certed in view of a certain fact which is about to be
immediately accomplished."
On the whole, the effect of the edict of appropriation
was merely to preclude that which would have
amounted virtually to a fraud upon the State. The
original act was clearly invalid; the ex post facto law
of 1832 was invalid, not only on account of the objec-
tionable principle involved in all ex post facto enactments,
and which, to a certain extent, diminishes the binding
force of every law of the kind, but because it had
been notoriously obtained by the pressure of private in-
fluence marshalled against the interests of the public.
The duty of defeating that scheme-of hindering it
from effecting its object-was a painful one; but it was
a duty for all that—an imperative duty-one which the
head of the Executive owed to his country, and from
T +
280
PROPERTY."
THE ORLEANS
which it would have been weak and even criminal to
have shrunk. True, there are many men who, similarly
placed, would have avoided it: for its performance, no
matter how leniently and considerately, formed the in-
evitable pretext of a world of clamour, directed against
himself personally. There were many considerations
suggestive of feelings of compassion for the Orleans
family, so suddenly cast down from the highest position
to one of grief and mortification. All this was felt by
the President. Personally, doubtless, he entered into
these emotions of compassion: personally, too, it would
have been convenient as well as agreeable to him to
permit Louis Philippe's wrongful act to proceed un-
checked to its consequences. But his plain duty was
before him. Could he conscientiously evade it? Could
he evade it, and say sincerely that he was acting as, by
his position, he was bound to act? He could not-
he felt that he could not, and, though beset with
obloquy, slander, and solicitation, he manfully followed
the dictates of his convictions.
It is scarcely necessary to enter into a categorical
refutation of the charges of personal greed brought
against Napoleon the Third, in reference to this trans-
action. They are, in fact, amply answered by the dis-
position adopted with respect to the proceeds arising
from the domains reclaimed by the State, and which
were applied to public and national purposes of lasting
interest. More than this; the President, in the same
edict whereby the domains are reclaimed, "abandons
all demand relative to the confiscations pronounced
in 1814 and 1815 against the Bonaparte family," thereby
presenting a marked contrast to the avidity with which
the two Bourbon branches had, in similar circumstances,
sought out and seized everything they could lay their
hands on, without very
much consideration for the con-
"l
THE ORLEANS PROPERTY."
281
sequences to the existing occupiers. The conduct of the
President in this respect was a noble instance of self-de-
nial on the part of himself and relatives, who, had they
pushed their claims so rigorously, and on the same
principles, as the Bourbons, might have recovered enor-
mous property. It will further be remembered that,
whether as President or Emperor, Napoleon the Third
has not been in the habit, as was King Louis Philippe, of
pestering the public with demands of "dotations" for
this or that member of his family. He has chiefly pro-
vided, out of his own civil list, for those of his relations
who have had need of assistance. Generous without
prodigality, munificent without extravagance, he has
likewise found himself able to afford a large amount of
personal patronage to industrial ingenuity, to art, science,
and every object deserving of honourable solicitude.
Such, briefly and substantially, are the facts con-
nected with an act of public duty which at one time
elicited, on this side of the Channel, a cry of ill-informed
reprehension, but the performance of which will be
regarded by posterity as one of the prominent proofs of
the rectitude and fortitude of the Prince President,
whilst his considerate courtesy and liberality towards
the House of Orleans are not less creditable to the
kindly emotions of his heart. The State reclamation
was confined to the property included in the illegal
"donation" made by the late King, a vast fortune
being still left in the hands of that personage's family.*
* The recent edicts, granting liberal annuities to the Princesses
of the House of Orleans, are amongst the many circumstances which
evince the spirit wherein the Emperor is disposed to deal with the
exiled family. The family have not increased their respectability
by the tone of their response to the generosity of the Imperial
Government; nor have they added thereby to the sympathy with
which their position might have been regarded.
-
282
PUBLIC
CHAP. III.
SENTIMENT IN 1852. — SATISFACTION WITH THE PRESENT
ALLOYED BY FEAR FOR THE FUTURE. PETITIONS AND MEMO-
RIALS FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER.
THE PRESIDENT IN THE DEPARTMENTS. THE RETURN TO PARIS.
UNIVERSAL CALL FOR THE EMPIRE. THE NATIONAL VOTE.
THE INAUGURATION. THE IMPERIAL MARRIAGE. THE CHOICE OF
WISDOM AND AFFECTION.
THE year 1852 was pre-eminently one of revival and
progress in France, instead of one of confusion, distrac-
tion, and horror, as had been contemplated by some
parties. The nation awoke as it were from a long
lethargy. The head of the Government gave proof
most ample of the practicability of those projects of
improvement which he had so long contemplated and
avowed. The result of the election of members of the
Legislative body renewed the signal marks of appro-
bation and confidence which he had already received
from the people. The Senate and Legislative body en-
gaged, not in brawling, obstructing, and conspiring, but
in consulting and working for the interest of the public.
Scarcely a day elapsed that the Prince President did not
perform acts of clemency and forgiveness towards those
who had been, and haply still were, his bitterest enemies,
and this, though the existence of combinations and
plots directed against the Government was on more than
one occasion brought to light by the police authorities.
Some persons refused to recognise the new order of
things; but far from being persecuted, they were not even
deprived of the emoluments which they had been in the
ABD-EL-KADER AND THE PRESIDENT.
283
habit of deriving from the State. The names of several
military officers might be mentioned, who, though they
refused the oath, in the fortunately mistaken expectation
of new commotions and complications, had their profes-
sional incomes continued to them-a singular example
of generous forbearance, and of the confidence enter-
tained by Napoleon the Third in the intrinsic strength
imparted to him by his entire identity with the feelings
and interests of the nation.
Louis Philippe had forgotten the promise of libera-
tion, in virtue of which the celebrated Emir Abd-el-
Kader had surrendered to the Duke d'Aumale. All
through the closing years of the reign of that king
the renowned Emir remained pining in prison. But
the President remembered the promise, and fulfilled
it. He had himself, in answer to an appeal from the
late Marquis of Londonderry, declared that, sooner
or later, he would cause the liberation of the gallant
prisoner; and that act of grace he performed in the
most complimentary manner, at the earliest moment
when the unsettled state of affairs arising from the
Revolution of 1848, and the plottings and counter-
plottings by which it was followed, allowed him, consist-
ently with prudence, to do so. "You have," said the
Prince, on his visit to the prisoner, "been the enemy
of France; but I am not the less willing to do
justice to your courage, your character, and to
your resignation in misfortune. This is the reason
why I consider it a point of honour to put an end
to your captivity, having full confidence in your
word."
And the Emir, the redoubtable captive of Louis
Philippe, is the devoted friend of Napoleon the Third.
By acts similar to these, and by his gracious and con-
ciliating mode of performing them, the Emperor has

284
NATIONAL ANXIETIES AND ASPIRATIONS.
..
surrounded himself with friends where a sordid and
suspicious policy would have created enemies.
Signal as was the spread of prosperity and content-
ment in France, it could not be concealed that there still
lingered causes of uneasiness; that the very circum-
stance that the power from which the benefits flowed
was not permanent, held out some hope to those who
would willingly interrupt the progress of improvement,
and undo the mighty good accomplished by the events
of the 2nd of December. The nation rejoiced in what
it had obtained, and in the prospects opening daily of
greater things still to be effected for it.
But it was
uneasy. It felt that it was entitled to some security
that these advantages, present and prospective, should
not be swept away by the consequences of some plot
arising from the fact that, after all, the authority of
the ruling hand and guiding head was not a perma.
nent one. The nation was fast arriving at the convic-
tion that that power ought to be made permanent and
complete ought to be freed from every extrinsic con-
tingency tending to hamper its efficiency or endanger
its security. In a word, the minds of men reverted
to the Empire, and from that retrospection, applying
inferences to the existing state of things, looked for-
ward to its re-establishment, in completeness and inte-
grity, as the best guarantee of the peace, prosperity,
dignity, and happiness of France.
And now, from every Department and district, poured
in petitions and memorials for the restoration of
the Empire, in the person of its illustrious represen-
tative. The demands of the municipal bodies were
seconded by the enthusiastic acclamations of the people,

THE CALL FOR THE EMPIRE.
285
on every occasion when the President appeared in public;
and similar acclamations and requisitions met him when-
ever he visited any of the provincial districts.
A communication addressed by the Sous-Préfet of
Valenciennes to the Minister of the Interior, may be
given as a specimen of the tone in which the provinces
expressed their feelings, previous to the period when
the national sentiment broke out into open and un-
reserved specification of the object which it had at
heart:
"The following is the first act of the Conseil d'Arron-
dissement of Valenciennes :-
"The members of the Conseil d'Arrondissement, pene-
trated with gratitude for the services that the Prince
President has rendered and every day renders the
country; being convinced, too, that France owes to
him her safety, and will owe to him, with the stability
of his power (avec la stabilité de son constitution) an era
of prosperity and happiness, feel it a duty, before
commencing their labours, to express their wish that
Heaven may preserve and protect the elect of eight
millions, and are happy to offer to his Highness the
homage of their entire devotedness, and the tribute of
their profound respect."
Similar expressions, some of them, however, much
more bold and explicit in tone, proceeded from the
municipal bodies all over the country. Memorials
from the people, praying for the consolidation and per-
manence of the power of the head of the State, were for-
warded in vast numbers. There could no longer be
any doubt as to what was the desire and determination
of the nation.
In autumn, the Prince President visited the southern
Departments. The records of popular enthusiasm
286
THE CALL FOR THE EMPIRE.
scarcely present a parallel to the manifestations which
greeted him throughout his progress. It was a con-
tinuous ovation, not a "got-up" demonstration-it was
too exuberantly enthusiastic, too universal, too earnest
and unceremonious, to be mistaken for the latter. By
all classes, by all sexes, by all ages, he was hailed as the
deliverer of his country from her perils, her woes, her
humiliation, as the guide and guardian of her future
fortunes.
It was during this memorable journey that, in an-
swer to one of the addresses which insisted on his accept-
ing the Imperial dignity as a condition indispensable
to the security of good and salutary government for
France, he laid down the memorable maxim, "The
Empire is peace;" thus reiterating the proposition
which he had asserted from his youth, that the Imperial
policy, in its substantial meaning, was that of peaceful,
improving progress, friendly concert with all the powers
of civilisation, not war and vainglorious conquest.
The rejoicings which hailed his return to Paris were
of a character not less cordial than the provincial
demonstrations. And there was this characteristic in
them-that, substantially speaking, they were universal,
they were spontaneous, they were participated in by the
classes which had at one time been regarded as con-
taining the smallest number of adherents to the Imperial
cause. Napoleon the Third possessess in an eminent
degree the power of "winning hearts." This he had
proved on many occasions,-he had done so on the most
extensive scale during the previous year, when he had
been in some degree relieved from the pressure of fac-
tious influences. The spontaneousness of the demon-
stration struck even English observers whose ordinary
biases were all unfavourable to its object. I find, for
example, in the "correspondence" of journals which,
THE CALL FOR THE EMPIRE.
287
to use a homely English phrase, "could hardly spare
him a good word," such passages as the following:
"There is nothing like a semblance of bowing to the
powers that be in all this zealousness to honour the
entrée of the Prince; for not only is the hardier sex
identifying itself with the labours now going on to turn
Paris into one great scene of enchantment, but even
ladies, while I write, are descending from their carriages
to bear their part in what may, beyond all doubt,
be accepted as a heart and soul manifestation for the
Empire in the person of Louis Napoleon. Not a person
in Paris, I believe, but would, were it possible of achieve-
ment, have to say in days to come, 'I assisted in erect-
ing such and such a triumphal arch in welcome of the
Emperor.' It is not only in the streets that I behold
joyous thousands, but in the shops at present open
for business the faces of all are radiant, and the only
words applied to the next hour's arrival are, 'Vive
l'Empereur !
199
Deputations, addresses, memorials, reached Paris from
the municipal bodies, the public associations, from all
the provincial districts, demanding with pressing una-
nimity the formal restoration of the Empire. The na-
tional voice became loud and importunate. The Senate
undertook to represent to the President the necessity of
complying with the desire thus energetically expressed.
Some of the remarks made by the President, in his
communications with the Senate upon the subject, are
worthy of commemoration. Referring all to the people,
he does not affect to conceal his perception of that which
is self-evident: -
"Senators,
your
The nation has clearly manifested its
wish for the restoration of the Empire. Confident in
patriotism and your intelligence, I have convoked you
for the purpose of legally deliberating on that grave
288
THE CALL FOR THE EMPIRE.
question, and of entrusting you with the regulation of
the new order of things. If you should adopt it, you
will think no doubt, as I do, that the Constitution of
1852 ought to be maintained, and then the modifica-
tions recognised as indispensable will in no way injure
its fundamental basis.
"The change which is in preparation will bear chiefly
on forms, and yet the resumption of the Imperial
system is for France of immense significance."
The paragraph subjoined, in which allusion is made
to the manner in which former reverses might be most
honourably "revenged," illustrates and confirms the
arguments which have been adduced in refutation of
the idea that the reference to "Waterloo," in the speech
delivered before the Chamber of Peers during the trial
which followed the affair of Boulogne, meant war with
England or any other power. The closing words are
especially noticeable:-
"Indeed, in the re-establishment of the Empire, the
people finds a guarantee for its rights, and a satisfaction
for its just pride. That re-establishment guarantees
the interest of the people by securing the future,
closing, as it does, the era of revolutions, and conse-
crating the conquests of 1789. It satisfies its just pride,
because, raising again, freely and deliberately, that
which Europe thirty-seven years ago overturned by
force of arms amidst the disasters of the country, the
nation nobly avenges its reverses without making any
victim, without threatening any independence, and
without disturbing the peace of the world."
Dwelling on the onerous nature of the responsibilities
undertaken by him, he says:-
"I do not dissemble, nevertheless, all that is redoubt-
able in now placing on my head the crown of Napoleon;
but my apprehensions diminish with the idea that, re-
presenting, as I do, by so many titles, the cause of the
THE NATIONAL DECLARATION.
289
J
people and the national will, it will be the nation which,
in elevating me to the throne, will itself crown me.”
On Thursday the 25th November, the Chief of the
State communicated with the members of the Legislative
body, convened from their several Departments, to hear
the official declaration of the result of the elections, and
to take part in the inauguration of the Empire:-
"I have recalled you from your Departments, that
you may be associated with the great act which is
about to be accomplished. Although the Senate and
the people alone had the right to modify the Constitu-
tion, I have wished that a political body which has
issued, like myself, from universal suffrage, should come
to attest to the world the spontaneousness of the na-
tional movement which bears me to the Empire. I
desire expressly that it should be you who, in certifying
the liberty of the vote and the numerical amount of the
suffrage, should prove by your declarations the com-
plete lawfulness of my power. To declare, in fact, to-
day, that authority rests on incontestable right, is to
give it the necessary force for founding something durable,
and to insure the prosperity of the country. The Govern-
ment, as you know, will only change its form. Devoted
to the great interests which intelligence brings forth
and which peace developes, it will restrain itself, as it has
hitherto done, within the limits of moderation; for
success never swells with pride the hearts of those who
see in their elevation a greater duty imposed by the
people, and a more elevated mission confided by Provi-
dence."
The return of votes on the question of restoring the
Empire was: -
Affirmative
Negative -
Null
7,864,180
0,253,145
0,063,326
U
J
290
INAUGURATION OF THE EMPIRE.
History presents no example approaching to such
a manifestation of national feeling as that by which
Napoleon the Third was called to the throne. Deeply
impressed as he was with a sense of the mighty responsi-
bilities which had devolved upon him, he was cheered
by assurances of cordial support from France in the
fulfilment of his great task.
"In order to aid you in it," (said the President of the
Legislative body,) "she surrounds you with all her
sympathies; she commits herself freely to you. Take,
then, Sire, take from the hands of France, that glorious
crown which she offers you. Never has a royal brow
worn one more legitimate or more popular."
The Emperor addressed the Senate and the Legisla-
tive body:
"The new reign which you this day inaugurate has not
its origin, as so many others which history records, in
violence, conquest, or intrigue. It is, as you have just
declared, the legal result of the will of an entire people,
consolidating, whilst in a state of repose, what it had
founded in the midst of agitation.
"I am deeply grateful to the nation which three
times in four years has supported me by its suffrages ;
and which each time has only augmented its majority
in order to increase my power. But the more this
power gains in extent and in vital force, the more need
it has of enlightened men like those who surround
me, of independent men like those whom I address, to
guide me by their counsels, and to reduce my authority
within just limits, if ever it should transgress them.
"From this day I take with the oath the name of
Napoleon the Third, because the opinion of the people
has already bestowed it upon me in their acclamations ;
because the Senate has legally proposed it, and because
the whole nation has ratified it.
INAUGURATION OF THE EMPIRE:
291
"Does this, however, signify that, in taking this title,
I fall into the error imputed to the prince who, return-
ing from exile, declared all that had been done in his
absence null and void?
"So erroneous a notion is far from me. Not only do
I recognise the governments which have preceded me,
but I inherit in some sort what they have accomplished
of good and evil; for successive governments, notwith-
standing their different origins, are severally bound by
the acts of their predecessors.
"But the more I accept that which for the last fifty
years history hands down to us with its inflexible au-
thority, the less is it allowed me to pass over in silence
the glorious reign of the chief of my family, and the
title- regular, though ephemeral of his son, which
the Chambers proclaimed with the last burst of con-
quered patriotism.
"Thus, then, the title of Napoleon the Third is not
one of those dynastic and obsolete pretences which seem
an insult alike to truth and common sense; it is the
homage paid to a government which was legitimate,
and to which we are indebted for the noblest pages of
our modern history. My reign does not date from
1815;-it dates from the instant when you communi-
cated to me the suffrages of the nation.
"Receive, then, Messieurs les Députés, my acknow-
ledgments for the distinction you have given to the
manifestation of the national will, rendering it more
apparent by your supervision, and more imposing by
your declaration.
"I thank you also, Messieurs les Sénateurs, for
having been the first to congratulate me, as you were
also the first to express the national wish.
"Assist me, all of you, to establish in this land,
harassed by so many revolutions, a stable government,
2
U 2
292
INAUGURATION OF THE EMPIRE.
based on religion, justice, probity, and the love of the
humble classes.
"And here receive the oath, that I will use every
exertion to assure the prosperity of the country; and
that whilst maintaining peace, I will yield nothing
which affects the honour and the dignity of France."
More interesting than the ceremonial pageantries
which celebrated the accession of Napoleon the Third,
were the comprehensive acts of amnesty and for-
A
giveness with which he inaugurated that event.
host of individuals, whom a suspicious disposition -
a mind not full of trust in its own integrity, and in the
strength imparted by the support of the people-would
have regarded as dangerous, were readmitted to free
residence in France. The disposition of the Emperor
to overlook past offences, even in the persons of
those who had most grossly committed themselves, has
led him more than once into measures of singular
boldness in this respect. I do not here allude to the
recent and complete declaration of amnesty, enabling
Frenchmen, no matter how grievous their past po-
litical offences, to return home to free citizenship on the
simple condition of conforming to the state of things
which the nation has established. This last declaration,
proclaimed on the joyful occasion of the birth of the
heir to the throne, is at present a perfectly safe one, for
the Imperial power is so consolidated as to render
But such measures were
disturbances impotent.
For instance,
not quite so safe a few years back.
at the very time when the arrangements incidental
to the re-establishment of the Empire were in progress,
it became known that consultations were going on
between certain leaders of the Bourbon and Socialist
parties, as to the adoption of some means for the crea-
THE IMPERIAL NUPTIALS.
293
tion of disorder and the defeat of the national wish.
But the feelings of the Emperor led him so powerfully
in the direction of "forgiving," if not of "forgetting,"
as to cause him to overlook what many men would
regard as insuperable obstacles to acts of clemency.
Indeed, the invitation to all Frenchmen, however deeply
they had involved themselves, to return and act the
part of good citizens, was but a repetition of the terms
of former measures of a similar character.
THE IMPERIAL NUPTIALS.
That is true philosophy which declares that the most
important act of a man's life is the choice of a wife.
And the aphorism gains in force when the happiness
of a whole people is in many respects bound up with the
conduct of an individual. It is a fortunate circum-
stance for France that the choice made by the Em-
peror was one which, whilst it has secured the hopes of
the nation, precludes the danger of those complications
which marriages between personages of exalted sta-
tion sometimes occasion. It is well that the Emperor
has left himself at liberty, in all his proceedings relative
to matters of European policy, to consider only his own
duty and the welfare of his people, without the possi-
bility of being hampered by any extraneous influence
whatever. True, the character of the man renders it
certain, that under any circumstances his course would
be shaped only by a conviction of what was prudent
and right; still the basis on which he has placed his
domestic relations must be regarded as pre-eminently
fortunate, for it saves him the otherwise possible an-
noyance of solicitation to steps inconsistent with his
own sense of what is wise and right. He has esta-
blished a perfect separation from that train of in-
294
THE IMPERIAL NUPTIALS.
trigue and collusion, which sometimes accompanies to
her future home the bride of a great personage.
The lady whom he chose is one adorned with all the
mental gifts which befit a high position: the un-
affected goodness of her nature has endeared her to the
people of France. Wisely did the Emperor choose.
Happy the direction which his affection took — happy
for himself, and happy for his subjects!
On the personal graces and beauty of the Empress,
I will not enlarge. Compliments of the kind are too
hacknied to be valuable in themselves, or acceptable
to women of good sense.
of good sense. Suffice it to record the
universal opinion, that the Empress Eugénie is as beau-
tiful as she is good.
It was on the 22nd of January, 1853, that the
Emperor announced to the Senate his intention and
his choice:-
"In announcing to you my marriage, I yield to the
wish so often manifested by the country.
"The alliance which I contract is not in accordance
with the traditions of ancient policy, and therein is its
advantage. France, by its successive revolutions, has
separated from the rest of Europe. Every wise Govern-
ment ought to wish it to re-enter the pale of the old
monarchies. But this result will be more surely at-
tained by a straightforward and frank policy, by loyalty
in conduct, than by royal alliances, which often create
a false security, and substitute family interests for those
of the nation. Moreover, the example of the past has
left in the minds of the people certain superstitious
feelings. They have not forgotten that for seventy
years foreign princesses have mounted the throne only
to behold their race dispossessed or proscribed by war
or revolution. One woman alone seemed to bring
happiness, and to live more than the others in the
Z.
THE IMPERIAL NUPTIALS.
295
memory of the people. That woman, the modest and
good wife of General Bonaparte, was not the issue of
royal blood. It must, however, be admitted that, in
1810, the marriage of Napoleon the First with Marie
Louise was a great event. It was a pledge for the
future, a real satisfaction, as the ancient and illustrious
House of Austria, which had been so long at war with
us, was seen to intrigue for the alliance of the elected
chief of a new empire. Under the late reign, on the
contrary, the patriotism of the nation suffered when the
heir to the Crown solicited fruitlessly, during several
years, a princely alliance, to obtain it only in a second-
ary rank and a different religion.
"When in the presence of Europe a man is borne
on by the force of a principle to the level of ancient
dynasties, it is not by giving an ancient character to his
escutcheon, and by seeking to introduce himself, at any
cost, into a family, that he is accepted. It is rather,
ever remembering his origin, by preserving his own
character, and by adopting frankly in presence of Europe
the position of parvenu, a glorious title when one
obtains it by the voluntary suffrages of a great people.
Thus departing from the precedents followed up to this
time, my marriage became a private affair, and there
remained only the choice of the person.
"She who has been the object of my preference is of
princely descent. French in heart, by education, and the
recollection of the blood shed by her father in the cause
of the Empire, she has, as a Spaniard, the advantage of
not having in France a family to whom it might be
necessary to give honours and fortune. Endowed with
all the qualities of the mind, she will be the ornament
of the throne. In the day of danger she would be one
of its courageous supporters. A Catholic, she will
address to Heaven the same prayers with me for the
--
་
U 4
296
THE IMPERIAL NUPTIALS.
..
happiness of France.
In fine, by her grace and her
goodness, she will, I firmly hope, endeavour to revive
in the same position the virtues of the Empress Jose-
phine.
"I come then, gentlemen, to announce that I have
preferred the woman whom I love and whom I respect,
to one who is unknown, and whose alliance would have
had advantages mingled with sacrifices. Without
despising any one, I yet yield to my inclinations, after
having taken counsel with my reason and my con-
victions. In fine, by placing independence, the qualities
of the heart, domestic happiness, above dynastic pre-
judices and the calculations of ambition, I shall not be
less strong because I shall be more free.
"Proceeding immediately to Nôtre Dame, I shall
present the Empress to the people and to the army.
The confidence which they have in me assures me of
their sympathy; and you, gentlemen, on better knowing
her whom I have chosen, will agree that on this oc-
casion, as on some others, I have been inspired by
Providence."
Rejoicings on such occasions as the marriages of
crowned heads are matters of course. But the re-
joicings in the present case had a peculiar import.
They were essentially national, they were of the kind
which has been described as "ultra-demonstrative" on
the part of the people. They were the emanation
of heart-felt joy at the accomplishment of a wish long
entertained, and energetically expressed even before
the man of the people's choice had accepted the Impe-
rial diadem. The heart of all France was stirred, and
gave vent to its emotions in that variety of manifes-
tation characteristic of her people, for they felt that a
great thing had been effected for them. They recog-
nised in these auspicious nuptials a pledge of the per-
THE IMPERIAL NUPTIALS.
297
petuation of the system which they felt to be identified
with their own happiness and that of posterity. They
felt a joyful satisfaction, a sensation of security, of
relief from a cause of uneasiness as to the future.
The marriage of the Emperor gave opportunity for
another extensive exercise of grace and amnesty, in-
cluding individuals who, according to the rules of
political "caution," would have been regarded as having
committed themselves beyond all hope of pardon, im-
plicated as they had been in plots against the person of
the head of the State, as well as against the system
which he was called on to administer.
-298
CHAP. IV.
THE WAR WITH RUSSIA. -FAITH AND LOYALTY OF THE EMPEROR OF
THE FRENCH. -THE TRUE "CORDIAL UNDERSTANDING." ORLEANIST
EMISSARIES AT THE COURT OF ST. PETERSBURG. -THE NATIONAL
LOANS.
UNPARALLELED MANIFESTATIONS OF POPULAR CONFIDENCE.
M. BERRYER'S AMUSING EPISODE. THE VIENNA CONFERENCES
OF 1855.
THE circumstances preceding the war with Russia
may be referred, in their origin, to a period long ante-
cedent to that in which the symptoms of an approaching
struggle made themselves manifest. The discussion
of these would involve the recapitulation of events
going farther back than the reign of Catherine.
It was in the year 1853, however, that the "cloud
not larger than a man's hand" began to assume
dimensions tending to create immediate alarm. In
that year Europe was first disturbed by rumours of an
impending collision between Austria and the Porte-so
far at sea were politicians as to the question where lay
the real danger. These rumours subsided; the diffi-
culties, such as they were, were arranged. Then came
some diplomatic discussions between France and the
Sultan's Government in reference to the "Holy Places;"
but the French Government took care that these dis-
cussions should not transgress the limits of amity,-
indeed the moment they assumed a serious tone, it
made every concession in order to keep on friendly
terms with the weaker power. But then came Russia,
with a tone and a policy very different; the tone that
THE WAR WITH RUSSIA.
299
of menace, the policy that of aggression. And here
was the fons et origo malorum.
Never did the determined honesty of principle and
purpose which distinguishes Napoleon the Third appear
to greater advantage than throughout the whole course
of the Russian difficulty. Everyone remembers the
tenor of the overtures made by the Emperor Nicholas
to England, to "settle" Turkey comfortably between
himself and ourselves. After failing with us, he
made overtures of a similar kind to France. England
was to be thrown overboard - perfectly ignored in
the whole transaction, and Turkey was to be "settled "
by France and Russia, instead of by England and
Russia.
The offers made were tempting, to pride as well
as to ambition. And the temptation was all the
greater, inasmuch as at the very time the sovereign
of France was made the object, by a section of
the press of this country, of the most intempe-
rate abuse ever uttered against character, private
or public. Amongst the assertions boldly made
and actually believed by many persons with such
hardihood of protestation were these assertions sup-
ported was, that one of his proximate projects was
the invasion of England. That story having grown
stale, the next invention was that he was entering into
an unholy league with the autocrat Nicholas for the
express purpose of humbling our power in the East
and elsewhere. This was asserted over and over,
in a thousand varying modulations, all tending to
the same conclusion viz., that the sovereigns of
Russia and France were concerting an anti-British
alliance, which was not only to embrace the Turkish
question, but all other matters affecting our relations
with foreign powers, or with our own possessions in
300 LOYALTY AND FIDELITY OF OUR ALLY.
the East. Upon these imaginary premises were
founded a series of personal attacks, of a violence suffi-
cient to arouse the anger of any human being, and
calculated to awaken feelings, not merely of anger
but of hostility, in the mind of any one accustomed
to permit personal emotions to interfere with his
allegiance to duty and wisdom. But, fortunately for
England, and fortunately for France, and fortunately
for Europe, not for an instant had they power to cause
the great man against whom they were directed to
halt, to pause, far less turn aside from his straight-
forward course. Alliance with England, in a cause
which he felt to be a just one, was the policy to which
he adhered. The overtures made by the Russian
autocrat fell on his ears as vainly as they had done on
those of the British Government. As unhesitatingly as
energetically he spurned these temptations.
Whilst
so many of us were crying him down as an accessory
to Russian designs, whilst so many of us were loading
him with epithets of vituperation on that score, he
was acting the part of our true and faithful ally. It
was truly said, soon after this, that Napoleon the
Third had held in his hands, for good or for evil,
the balance of European destinies. No doubt of it.
The lifting of his finger would have turned the scales
against England, and given certain success to a policy
hostile to her. But his influence was thrown in
to give effect to our councils, coinciding as they did
with his own convictions. And thus it was that the
crisis was brought to so happy an issue, thus it was
that was laid the foundation of a real "cordial under-
standing," — of an alliance not merely on paper, but
one of hearts and principles of a
of a friendship which,
it may be cordially hoped, will endure to a period
when the "war in the Crimea " will be regarded by pos-
BOURBONITE INTRIGUES.
301
terity as amongst the most remarkable episodes of the
far distant past.
A remarkable circumstance, related on reputable
authority, places the conduct of other parties in curious
contrast with that which had been pursued by Napoleon
the Third when himself an exile. The statement is,
that during the crisis of the negotiations which ended in
hostilities, individuals belonging to the Orleanist faction
appeared at the Court of St. Petersburg, with repre-
sentations encouraging the Autocrat to push matters to
extremities to render war inevitable. These indi-
viduals were not sparing of protestations as to the
advantages which would accrue to Russian objects from
some of the "ulterior events" which might possibly
be caused by war eventuating in the restoration of
the expelled dynasty. The tone of their representations
was, that Russia should push on the war; that this
would probably create disarrangements in France
which, amongst other vicissitudes, would produce a
chance of the return of the House of Orleans; and that
consummation once effected, why France and Russia
could do exactly as they pleased with the Turkish
question, and with Turkey herself, defying England
and Europe, and placing territorial, religious, and other
arrangements on the footing most agreeable to the two
"high contracting parties," but especially, and in pre-
cedence, to his Majesty of All the Russias.
That such communications passed between the Court
of St. Petersburg and well-known representatives of the
House of Orleans was stated at the time, and has, I
believe, never been denied. It is not likely that the
parties engaged in the deputation, or mission, or what-
ever it ought to be called, were specially and formally
delegated by the princes of that House; but that they
would have acted without having obtained some signs
302
THE IMPERIAL POLICY.
:
of assent or recognition is amongst the least probable
things in the world. And if indeed such a correspon-
dence took place-as, in the absence of denial, there
seems no cause for doubting-how are we to regard
the patriotism of those who, for wholly selfish objects,
would raise up enemies for France, in the hope of
plunging her into a sea of troubles, the commotions of
which might cast up something profitable to themselves?
How different from the course taken by the exile Louis
Napoleon, whenever circumstances occurred casting
on him the alternative between possible objects of
personal aggrandisement, and the preservation of order
and tranquillity in France!
Well, the war did come, and right manfully and
nobly the Emperor bore his part in its prosecution.
And yet there arose no disturbance, no discontent.
Enthusiastic support of the Emperor's policy was
witnessed, instead of that "confusion worse confounded"
which had been hoped for by his and the country's
enemies. And the prophets and plotters of evil were
baulked.
It has been remarked of the conduct of Napoleon the
Third, previous and subsequent to the outbreak of the
late war, that in all its phases it was undeviatingly
"loyal." And the word, borrowed in this sense from the
vocabulary of our neighbours, is peculiarly applicable
to the thing indicated by it. The Emperor's proceed-
ings have indeed been frank, true, faithful in every
detail. In former wars in which we have been engaged,
we have had generally to complain of the imbecility,
the cowardice, the apathy, the treachery of our allies.
But in the late contest our ally was ever by our side,
-never behind us in endeavours to bring it to an
66
THE TRUE CORDIAL UNDERSTANDING."
303
"honourable conclusion;" shrinking from no sacrifice,
appalled by no difficulty, always preserving the same
tone of firmness, hopefulness, and encouraging cor-
diality. Indeed, the friendship established between
England and France was a circumstance contemplated
by him as being itself, in its ultimate results, infallibly
productive of advantages sufficient to compensate any
present sacrifice. The union of councils and objects
with those of England are constantly alluded to by
him.
"To-day," said he, addressing the troops about to
embark on the Baltic Expedition, "to-day our fleets
and armies, united in the same cause, dominate in the
Baltic as well as in the Black Sea. English vessels will
convey you there, a fact unique (unprecedented) in
history, and which proves the intimate alliance of the
two great nations, and the firm resolution of the two
governments not to abstain from any sacrifice to defend
the right of the weak, the liberty of Europe, and the
national honour."
The fact which the Emperor so truly designates as
unique is one, in truth, the anticipation of which by any
person would, even within the last ten years, have
subjected him to grave suspicions as to the state of his
intellect. Such a thing would have been set down
amongst the "impossibilities" of political contemplations.
That we have seen it come to pass that we have
witnessed the production of such a condition of inter-
national feeling—is owing, under Providence, to the
wisdom, honesty, courage, and, it must be added, to the
good temper of the Emperor. Had he acted as, a few
years ago, some English writers and speakers were pre-
dicting that he must and would, how immensely different
would have been the feelings and relations between the two
countries, how immensely different the prospects of Europe
304
THE IMPERIAL POLICY.
:
•
:
:
at this time! The sentiments which he has evinced for us
since his authority has been completed are those which
he avowed when he possessed no authority at all. He
only witnessed that state of relations, which he had long
declared to be the one consistent with our mutual
national interests, when, in September, 1854, the consort
of our own Sovereign paid him a friendly visit upon
the spot from which, half a century before, the English
coasts were supposed to be menaced by the legions of
the First Napoleon. The world may well admire the
astonishing consistency with which he has maintained
and acted on his opinions through every change of
fortune.
It was with just pride that, at the opening of
the Legislative session in the winter of 1854, the
Emperor alluded to the progressive prosperity which
existed in his dominions, notwithstanding the pressure
of an expensive war. That prosperity was the result
of a policy inherited from the first Empire, and followed
up with untiring energy by himself - the policy of
developing, by every effort fairly within the compass
of governmental action, the natural riches and resources
of the country, of encouraging industry by removing
unnecessary restrictions, and facilitating healthful enter-
prise as contra-distinguished from speculativeness:—
"Strangers cannot fail to be struck by the remarkable
spectacle of a country which, relying upon Divine
Providence, maintains with energy a war 600 leagues
from its frontiers, and which at the same time, with
equal zeal, developes its internal riches, - a country
where war does not prevent agriculture and industry
from prospering, the arts from flourishing, and where
16
THE TRUE
CORDIAL UNDERSTANDING.”
305
the genius of the nation reveals itself in everything
which tends to the glory of France.
"You will see with pleasure that our revenues have
not diminished. Commercial activity is maintained;
all the great works of public utility are continued, and
Providence has deigned to grant us a harvest which will
satisfy all our wants.
The
"Government, nevertheless, does not shut its eyes
to the distress occasioned by the high price of provisions,
and has taken every measure in its power to provide
against the distress, and to relieve it. New sources of
labour have been created in many districts.
struggle which is going on, circumscribed by modera-
tion and justice, whilst it makes the heart beat, never-
theless alarms so little the general interests, that an
assembly will be held here shortly*, from all parts of the
globe, with the promise of peace.
"A striking testimony† has proved the intimacy of
our relations with England. * * The alliance with
England is not the result of a passing interest, and of
a policy of mere circumstance: it is the union of two
powerful nations, associated together for the triumph of
a cause in which the greatness, the interests of civilisa-
tion, and, at the same time, the liberties of Europe, are
concerned. Unite with me, then, on this solemn occasion,
to thank here, in the name of France, the British Par-
liament for its warm and cordial demonstration, and the
English army and its worthy commander for their
valiant co-operation."
Official compliments and congratulations are worthy
of attention only when, by unmistakable national de-
monstrations, they are proved to represent the feelings
*The Paris Exhibition of 1855.
† The vote of thanks passed in the English Parliament to the
French army.
X
306
CORDIAL UNDERSTANDING.'
THE TRUE
66
of a community.
The congratulatory address presented
by the Senate to the Emperor on New Year's day, 1855,
would not call for any notice, were it not confirmed
by popular manifestations of a kind unknown under
the system which had fallen in the convulsions of
1848. There is one feature in this address, however,
which is peculiarly interesting to Englishmen. We
have had allies in former times. We have subsidised
them, we have fed and clothed them, and we have had
ridicule, abuse, and ingratitude for our return. We
did not subsidise our French allies: we did not feed
and clothe their armies. France bore at least her full
share of the burthens and expenses of the war. But
when, from any of the Powers with which we have, on
former occasions, been leagued, when have there
proceeded such tributes of esteem and good-will,
such spontaneous testimonies of regard, as we find
constantly uttered by the public authorities of Imperial
France ?
"The Senate" (observes the spokesman)" comes to
offer your Majesty its homage and good wishes. Last
year, Sire, appears to have added to the grandeur of your
reign. That which has just ended has given, under
your auspices, a new character to the policy of Europe.
Even in the midst of war you have obtained an alliance
which strengthened the country, and striking proofs
of friendship which do it honour. Since your Majesty
will, by an exception with which it is deeply affected,
authorise the Senate to depart for a moment from the
ordinary ceremonial of this day, allow me to express to
your Majesty our confidence in your government, our
gratitude for the heroic co-operation of England, and
our patriotic solicitude for our brave armies, who so
gloriously support in the East the intentions of your
Majesty and the honour of the French name."
NATIONAL CONFIDENCE.
307
Such testimonies and acknowledgments as these are
worthy of being put on record: they signalise a union
of sentiment for the permanence of which all honest
men must pray. On how many occasions, when we
have poured out our blood and treasure in defence of
the most wretched states in Europe, have we received,
if not actual abuse, at least insolence, obstinacy, and
denial of any obligation! But here the Senate of the
foremost of continental States expresses its gratitude for
our heroic co-operation - for "an alliance which
strengthens," and "a friendship which does honour" to
France. Such expressions, re-echoed by the municipal
bodies, by the people, in their resolutions and addresses,
are amongst the things which cement the amity of nations.
(6
In no way has the Government of the Emperor more
strongly proved its confidence of the good-will and
esteem of the people of France, and in no way have
the people given better evidence of the justice of that
confidence, than in the operations by which large loans
have been raised for the extraordinary expenses of the
war. The routine course would have been to have in-
voked the aid of a few great capitalists, who would have
arranged the biddings amongst themselves, taken up the
loan speculatively, and pocketed any difference arising
from the terms on which they had taken it up and
those on which they handed over the scrip to other
capitalists and speculators. The course taken by the
Emperor was altogether the reverse of this,
it was a
course as novel as it was sagacious -one eminently cal
culated to create, amongst the masses of the people, an
increased interest in the conservation of order. Early
in 1855, a loan of 500,000,000 francs was authorised.
Instead of "communicating" with capitalists, the
Government put itself into immediate correspondence
:
X 2
308
NATIONAL CONFIDENCE IN
::
.
with the people, notifying that everyone who chose
should have the right of subscribing, and preference
was given to subscribers for small amounts thus
admitting the humblest, literally the "million," into
participation in the privilege of becoming creditors of
Government.
was
The result signally confirmed at once the wisdom of
the policy adopted, and the correctness of the Emperor's
calculations on the feeling of the nation towards him.
The sum required being 500,000,000 francs, the subscrip-
tions reached in a few days the prodigious amount
of ten milliards two hundred millions; or, simplifying
the matter to the English reader, the amount required
being 20,000,000l. sterling, that subscribed
87,000,000l. Large subscriptions were tendered from
England and the continent, but the "supply " being so
enormously in excess of the "demand," all the larger
subscriptions were declined, and, in accordance with
the conditions announced in the first place, the scrip
issued was confined to the subscribers of sums below
500 francs. So eminently
So eminently "popular" was the loan,
that the small subscriptions amounted to nearly
900,000,000 francs, so that even the humbler sub-
scribers could not obtain the full shares subscribed by
them. Some pleasant anecdotes are told illustrative
of the confidence of the people. "At Orleans," it is
related, a countryman presented himself to the
receiver, with a bag containing 1000 francs, and,
throwing it on the table, said, 'That is for the Emperor.'
'Not
'You mean for the loan?' said the receiver.
66
"
at all,' replied the countryman; it is for the Emperor.
I lend him my money, and I am sure he will return it
to me safely.' 'Will you have three per cents. ?'
was the next question; to which the answer was, 'I
know nothing about per cents.; I tell you it is for the
NAPOLEON THE THIRD.
309
Emperor. Take my 1000 francs, give me a receipt,
and that is enough!""
A previous loan for 250,000,000, based on the same
principle of popular support and participation, had been
raised with equal readiness by the contributions of the
people; and within a few months after the demand of
500,000,000 francs had been responded to in the
manner above described, a still larger one — amounting
to 750,000,000 francs-was rendered necessary by the
enormous expenses of the war. The subscriptions on
this occasion amounted to three milliards six hundred
millions francs, or, to reduce the figures into English
money, the Government having asked for 30,000,0007.
sterling, the public offered 104,000,000. From the
spirit manifested by the people of France, it is
quite certain that had larger sums been required
by the Emperor's government, they would have been
forthcoming. When the first loan of 250,000,000
francs was announced, and when the terms of its distri-
bution became known in the money markets of Europe,
abundance of satire was indulged in, respecting so rash
an innovation on the ancient usage of leaving such
transactions to be managed by colossal capitalists. The
thing was absurd - perfectly visionary- the people
would not subscribe- the French were a nation of
hoarders, not of lenders, and the owners of a few hun-
dreds of francs would adhere to their predilection for
the well-concealed money-bag, or the proverbial old
stocking. But when the result was ascertained, surprise
took the place of satire. It was felt by the professional
money jobbers that a precedent had been established,
ominously threatening their monopoly of those sources
of profit which they had been accustomed to regard as
It would be a fortunate circumstance for
their own.
x 3
I
į
310
NATIONAL CONFIDENCE IN
governments and for nations if that precedent were
universally followed.
Commenting on the success of these national loans,
in which it might be said, with literal truth, the people
lent money at the same time to the Government and to
themselves, a French writer observes:-
"It is not only a financial operation happily accom-
plished, but a political event of great importance with-
out precedent in the history of nations. This great
fact will be considered in France and abroad as a mag-
nificent expression of the material and moral power of
national patriotism. Europe will understand that no-
thing is impossible to a people who respond with such
energy to the appeal of their Government, or to a
government which relies on such a people.
The loyal
and honest policy which defends in Europe the
great principles of morality and of right, and of which
our country has had the honour to have been the vigilant
sentinel and the intrepid champion, will derive from it
a new force and a new prestige. The Emperor will have
the happiness to find in it a new pledge of the devotedness
and sympathy of France, which he has rescued from an
abyss, and replaced in the elevated rank which belongs to
her amongst modern nations. ** It is a new tribute of
approval to the authority which eight millions confided
to the Emperor."
It was remembered how, shortly before the first Revo-
lution assumed violent aspects, the unfortunate Louis
the Sixteenth had appealed to the patriotism of the titled
and opulent classes of his kingdom, for a loan of only
forty millions of francs, and had been refused, through
the influence of the same selfishness which precipitated
the Revolution; whilst, in the present instance, a govern-
ment really based on the national sentiment asked for
NAPOLEON THE THIRD.
311
twelve times forty millions, and was offered many times
more than it demanded. With much terseness it was
said that such a fact was indicative of a "new France"
confiding in the auspices which ushered in the future,
and prepared to make every effort to secure the benefits
of that future.*
The Government official journal made some observa-
tions in which the attitude of France was sketched so
correctly, as to impart to them a weight not usually
attached to expressions of opinion proceeding from an
official source:
"It may be said that the conflict in which France has
engaged so righteously, has already exhibited, in her
* About this time an incident occurred which placed Monsieur
Berryer in a somewhat ludicrous position, and elicited a wholesome
rebuke to what (without disrespect for the eminent advocate) had
really the appearance of an irresistible desire to excite a sensation
about nothing. M. Berryer, on being elected a member of the
Academy, had, as was usual on such occasions, delivered himself of
an oration. It is customary for the authors of these Academical
orations to present a copy at Court. But Monsieur Berryer begged
to be excused. He felt a profound reluctance to go through the
ceremony; and he sent a letter to "his old confrère " M. Mocquard,
suggesting that the "circumstance which had taken place fifteen
years ago" might be considered to give him a title to exemption.
The "circumstance" alluded to was M. Berryer's defence of the
Emperor, after the Strasburg affair. In his reply, conveyed through
M. Mocquard, the Emperor shows that he neither forgets the particular
"circumstance," nor regards the presentation or non-presentation
of the redoubtable oration as a matter of the slightest importance:
"The Emperor regrets that in M. Berryer the thoughts of the
politician have got the better of the duties of the Academician.
presence at the Tuileries would not have caused the embarrassment
which he seems to have feared. From the height at which the
Emperor is placed, his Majesty would only have seen, in the elected
of the Academy, the orator and the writer; in the adversary of to-
day, only the defender of former times. M. Berryer is perfectly free
to act either as usage prescribes, or as his repugnance may dictate to
him."
His
"4
..
x 4
312
THE IMPERIAL POLICY.
armies, in her government, in her diplomacy, in her
public spirit, in her civilisation, those conditions of
order, strength, dignity, internal security, material
prosperity, and manly patriotism, which enable a great
state to undertake all that is good, and accomplish all
that is useful, and to advance towards its object with-
out rashness or feebleness. This is for France a new
position in her history."
*
*
After an allusion to the unity and concentration of
strength exhibited by England under the ministry of
Pitt, the writer proceeds:-
"What England was at that time, what she was with
all that energy and enthusiasm brought into action by
an implacable war, France is now, but with tranquillity,
steadily confiding in and standing upon the regular and
permanent force of those institutions which she has
sanctioned on two great occasions by eight millions of
the votes of her people. She does not exhibit merely
the unity of a crisis for public safety, by the inspiration
of patriotism and the necessity of self-defence ;—she
exhibits the unity of a constitution adapted to her
manners, to her wants—a constitution always improve-
able, after the wise principle proclaimed by the First
Consul before the Council of State, and which the
Emperor Napoleon referred to in his preamble to the
great constitutional act of 1852-'A constitution is
the work of time, we cannot leave too large a margin
for amelioration.' This constitution, still so young,
had no reason to expect that it should receive a conse-
cration so glorious, and so decisive of its wisdom and
power, as that which has taken place, and amidst the
The Government, no longer
very crisis of the war.
protected by the fictions of irresponsibility, nor shackled
by rival ambitions, nor compromised by the indiscre
tions of Parliament, nor overruled by the caprices and
THE UNION OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
313
1
revolts of majorities, feels itself free in action, and
responsible to public intelligence and to history."
The conferences which took place at Vienna during
the spring of 1855 gave a new proof of the unanimity
of sentiment which the courage and integrity of the
Emperor had established between England and France.
There was no under-current of negotiations carried on
irrespective of the Power with which he was allied. In
concert with England certain conditions of peace were
laid down. In concert with England they were argued.
In concert with England he withdrew from the nego-
tiations as soon as these conditions were rejected by
Russia; and, supported by the approbation of his
people, he prepared for new sacrifices and new efforts
in a cause on which, in its ultimate issue, such mighty
interests depended.
314
CHAP. V.
THE IMPERIAL VISIT TO ENGLAND. — BRITISH FEELING TOWARDS THE
EMPEROR.- SOURCE AND BASIS OF OUR ESTEEM.- THE PARIS EX-
HIBITION OF 1855.. THE TRIUMPH OF PEACE IN WAR. OUR
QUEEN'S VISIT OF FRIENDSHIP TO THE EMPEROR, THE EMPRESS,
AND THE FRENCH PEOPLE.—THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.—STRENGTH,
REALITY, AND DURABILITY OF THE ANGLO-FRENCH ALLIANCE.
THE EMPEROR'S ADDRESS TO THE LEGISLATURE. POLICY OF THE
WESTERN POWERS. RESULT OF THE CONFERENCES OF 1856.
PEACE, JUST AND HONOURABLE. BRITISH TESTIMONY. BIRTH
OF THE IMPERIAL PRINCE.-THE EMOTIONS OF FRANCE RE-ECHOED
BY ENGLAND.
.
..
BETWEEN 1852 and 1855 a great change had taken place
in the public feeling of this country with respect to the
character, conduct, motives, and principles of Napoleon
the Third. The former period was one of misrepre-
sentation, prolific of misconception, and no doubt the
violent and unfounded abuse of which he was the
object had generated a large amount of prejudice
amongst the English people generally. Now that these
matters are "gone and past," it would be useless to
recall their humiliating details: suffice it to say, that
the wisdom, courage, and temper of the injured party
prevented the folly from working the dire mischief
which might otherwise have been produced by it. The
extremes to which scurrility proceeded led, in the winter
of 1852, to a deputation from many of the principal
citizens of London, who waited on the Prince President,
and repudiated, on the part of the British public, any
countenance of the calumny and ribaldry in which too
THE VISIT TO ENGLAND.
315
...
many of our "leading article" writers indulged. Yet
it is by no means doubtful that the public opinion in
England was, to some degree, deceived and misled by
these productions. By 1855 things had in great mea-.
sure changed in this respect. Much error and mystifi-
cation had been cleared up, and the use made by the
Emperor of the power which he had acquired was such
as to secure the approval of reasonable and intelligent
persons. His visit to England was a festivity; not a
mere display of the pageantries of courtly hospitality,
but truly and intrinsically a popular festivity. The
people felt the presence amongst them of one to whom
they, as well as their French neighbours, owed a debt of
gratitude as the founder of a state of relations conducive
to the interests of all. They entered heartily into the
spirit of the address presented to his Majesty by the
Corporation of Windsor:
“We are sensible, Sire, that to the wisdom and vigour
of your Imperial Majesty's councils, and to your un-
ceasing endeavours to promote the true interests of the
powerful and generous nation which Providence has
committed to your care, may be attributed that pros-
perity and happiness which your country now so freely
enjoys ; - and we venture to augur that, by en-
couraging a friendly and personal intercourse between
your Imperial Majesty and the sovereign of Great
Britain, your Majesty adopts the surest means, not
only of strengthening a happy and stable alliance
between the two countries, but of maintaining the
liberties and civilization of Europe.
66
May your Imperial Majesty and your illustrious
Consort long live to enjoy every domestic and personal
blessing, and the loyalty and attachment of an admiring
and grateful people."
The merchants, bankers, and traders of London took
316
THE VISIT TO ENGLAND.
2.
the opportunity of expressing, as men of business,
their sense of the benefits which had arisen from the
Imperial policy, and their earnest hope for the con-
tinuance of those benefits:-
"We fervently rejoice in the advancing prosperity of
France, in the consolidation of order, in the establishment
of confidence, so eminently manifested under your
Majesty's reign.
"We desire that these blessings may continue;
that a growing and mutually advantageous commercial
intercourse may be maintained between the two
countries, and, above all, that the inhabitants of both
may be so connected by the ties of reciprocal esteem
and good-will, that their present amicable position may
endure for this and succeeding generations, to their
common welfare, and the advancement of civilisation
throughout the world."
In his replies to the several deputations which
waited on him, the Emperor ever kept in view his
cherished principle of friendship between England and
France under all circumstances, amity independent
of any exceptional necessities created by war or
other extraordinary occurrences. Looking far beyond
the existing emergency, he reminds his visitors that
the friendship between the two countries should not
be merely a temporary one, evoked by the exigencies
of the moment, but enduring through all time — in
peace as in war.
"I am grateful" (he says) "that your Queen has
allowed me such an opportunity to pay my respects to
her, and to show my sentiments of sympathy and esteem
for the English people. I hope that the two nations will
always continue united, in peace as in war, for I am
convinced it will be for the welfare of the whole world
and for their own prosperity. I am exceedingly
THE VISIT TO ENGLAND.
317
grateful to you for the sentiments you have expressed
towards myself and the Empress, and I hope you will
be the interpreter of my sentiments and hers to your
countrymen.
""
Whilst the Emperor was still amongst us, an English
journal made the following appropriate comments upon
his position and career, and on the sentiments enter-
tained for him by the British people:-
"It was the associations connected with Napoleon
the Third the remembrance of his deeds, and the
knowledge of his worth, which pressed along his progress
the millions who this week have given to the world an
imperishable testimony of their appreciation, their amply
founded appreciation, of fortitude in troubles, energy in
action, courage amidst dangers, and clemency amid
triumphs. They honoured the wisdom and probity
which occupied a mighty throne, and honoured the
thousand princely qualities which had won it: they
honoured the great man who had retrieved the prosperity
and the power of France: they honoured the good
sovereign, whose chief care is the welfare of his people;
and in the greeting offered to Napoleon, we may truly
add, there was love for the nation which he had re-
stored to its legitimate place amongst the powers of the
earth at a moment most critical to its destinies, and
given back, with the suddenness of enchantment, all its
internal prosperity, after convulsions which made the
most sanguine despair of its future. Given back! He has
opened for it a new career of unprecedented success!
""
And these were really the sentiments of the people of
this country. The storms of calumny had assailed
their Imperial visitor with a fierceness which is abso-
lutely without precedent. No doubt they had moved.
him; he would have been more or less than human if
they had not. But they had not unnerved him, they
318
THE ASSASSIN.
THE RETURN.
had not appalled him, they had never caused him to
deviate from the path which he felt to be that of
wisdom and rectitude. The foul hurricane exhausted
itself, and left him unscathed, all the stronger and
nobler for the trial. And when, soon after his return,
his life was endangered by one of the pestilent crew
whom Italy has vomited forth, to carry their evil
passions and hateful doctrines into the bosoms of the
societies which give them shelter, it would have been
difficult to say whether the indignation which moved the
mind of France was greater than that which prevailed
in this country, at the intelligence of an attempt which
might have produced consequences so disastrous to
Europe. We felt that that life, that faithful and noble
life, was valuable not to France only- that it was valu-
able to ourselves, to humanity and civilisation; and we
shuddered at the contemplation of the calamities which
might have been caused by the recklessness of a single
miscreant.
Perhaps no man in either country was less disturbed
on this occasion than was the object of the assassin's
fire. For a moment he regarded his assailant with a
glance of quiet, almost pitying contempt, then rode
slowly forward, and was himself the first to apprise
the Empress of what had occurred. His answers to the
congratulations on the failure of the attempt were
characteristic: -
"There are lives," said he, "which the assassin
cannot touch, which are but the instruments of the
decrees of Providence. So long as I have not fully
accomplished my mission, I can incur no danger."*
* In numerous instances the Emperor has given manifestations of
a calmness resembling total disregard of danger of any descrip-
tion, even of that most deadly kind of danger hatched by mur-
It was
derous conspiracy. A remarkable example occurs to me.
THE NOBLE ALLIANCE.
319
One of the noblest achievements of the magnanimous
policy of Napoleon the Third, is the establishment of
those terms of really sincere friendship, founded on
mutual esteem, which have so happily superseded
national antipathies of long standing. Had those better
sentiments been merely the ephemeral product of
the war excitement, they would not be so worthy of
notice and congratulation. But it is not so. The
auspicious revolution of feeling has no doubt been
hastened and facilitated by events arising out of the
war; it has brought us more together, and produced
an intimacy which it would otherwise have taken a far
longer time to bring about. But the strong foundation
on which they rest lies deeper than the incidental
effects of the recent contest. That strong foundation
consists in the policy of which the Emperor has
throughout all his adult life been the advocate, and
which, under every vicissitude of fortune, he has re-
commended and pursued. On both sides of the water
the great truth is recognised and established, that friend-
ship and good service must henceforth constitute
the relations between the two countries. The words of
when a rumour had reached his friends respecting a contemplated
attempt on his life, whilst re-entering the capital from a visit to the
provincial Departments. He was entreated to surround himself
with his guards, to take care to be closely encircled by them up
to the door of the palace. He listened to this advice with his usual
calm gravity, but, on approaching the city, directed that no one should
attend him within a distance of 200 or 300 yards. And thus he rode
forward by himself, "encircled" only by the multitudes, whose
greetings he returned with the courteous placidity of bearing peculiar
to him.
"Well!" exclaimed a red-hot Socialist who had witnessed
the scene, and who had been informed of the circumstances under
which it occurred, "after all, he is a true Frenchman; and if any
one ought to govern France as king or as emperor, he and no one
else is the man to do it!"
320
THE NOBLE ALLIANCE—–
:
the Queen of England, on closing the Parliamentary
session of 1855, will not be soon forgotten, speaking, as
they do, her Majesty's heartfelt personal sentiments, as
well as those of the Government:
"Her Majesty is convinced that you will share her
satisfaction, at finding that the progress of events has
tended to cement more firmly that union which has so
happily been established between our Government and
that of our ally, the Emperor of the French; and her
Majesty trusts that the alliance, founded on a sense of
the general interests of Europe, consolidated by good
faith, will long survive the events which have given
rise to it, and will contribute to the permanent well-
being and prosperity of the two great nations, whom
it has linked together in the bond of honourable
friendship."
On the Emperor's visit to England, a Parisian
journalist observes: —
"No more signal testimony could be given of the
cordial friendship which now unites France and Eng-
land. In this point of view, the visit of their Imperial
Majesties is an event of high significance, and the satis-
faction which public opinion will derive from it cannot
but be increased, if, as it is permitted to hope, her
gracious Majesty, the Queen of England, shall come in
her turn to visit France, where she will be received
with the most lively sentiments of respectful esteem and
sympathy.'
These pleasing anticipations were soon realised. The
Queen did return the visit of her august ally, and
during her sojourn in France experienced a hospitality
as cordial as it was splendid — a hospitality, however,
which would have lost much of its value had not the
people-the populace-demonstrated their feeling, that
whilst she was the Emperor's guest she was theirs.
ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
321
One of the most eminent of the Parisian political com-
mentators made the following reflections at the close of
her Majesty's visit, coupling them with the maxim that
peace was the only condition healthful and necessary
for nations, and that the alliance between France and
England must preserve the peace of the world:-
"France and England are at the head of the civilisa-
tion of the world. They concur equally, although
with qualities diverse, in the encouragement of human
intelligence in the path of progress. They are by
agreement to accomplish together that mission of peace
which they have received from Providence, and from
which they do not allow themselves to be led astray by
the complaints and the irritations of envious and ego-
tistical rivalries. When two nations intermingle and
become identified in a perpetual exchange of ideas and
things, how can they be otherwise than allies? ** More
than once it has been attempted to disunite the two
nations on the most frivolous and ridiculous pretexts.
Scarcely two years ago, were we not witnesses to the
strangest spectacle? Have we not seen England a prey
to illusions somewhat puerile, in a state of alarm about
our designs, and arming herself to resist a chimerical
invasion from France? What suspicion and defiance!
What violence and insult! Confidence is now happily
re-established. The alliance which for a moment one
might have conceived to be menaced has recovered
from that shock, and even those who repelled it with
the greatest wrath and indignation proclaim it for
evermore unshakable, and necessary for the prosperity,
the glory, the honour of the country."
Such are the opinions which gain ground every day
in France; they are opinions to which the British nation
heartily responds, attesting its sincerity, and its con-
Y
322
THE EXHIBITION OF 1855.
:
fidence in the sincerity of its neighbours, by the large
amount of capital which it has of late invested in a
permanent form on the soil of France, and which, now
that we are relieved from the exhausting drain of war,
will, doubtless, be greatly increased. The World's
Industry Exhibition of 1855, carried out to such
successful issue amid the din and alarm of war, was
itself a noble offering at the shrine of peace.* The
Emperor's speech, on the closing day, dwelt emphatically
on the blessings of peace, whilst pointing out to other
nations the policy best calculated to restore it :-
"In the present state of civilisation at which we have
arrived, the successes of armies, however brilliant they
may be, are only transitory. It is public opinion which
always carries the last victory.
"You all, then, who believe that the progress of
agriculture, industry, and the commerce of a nation
contributes to the welfare of every other nation, and
that the more reciprocal interchanges are multiplied,
the more national prejudices must be effaced,
say to
your fellow-citizens, on returning to your homes, that
France has no hatred of any people; that she has sym-
* It was during the holding of the Exhibition of 1855 that the
Emir Abd-el-Kader uttered those memorable expressions of grateful
respect which excited so much public attention, and which again re-
minded the world of the difference in the treatment which he had
received from Napoleon the Third and from the king who abdicated
in 1848. Abd-el-Kader had been invited by the Emperor to visit
Paris during the Exhibition. Adverting to this mark of attention in
connexion with the generous kindness which he had experienced
from the Emperor, he says:
"I have prayed for it, and I feel sure that God will not condemn
me to die before having expressed to the Emperor of the French the
respect, the thanks, the admiration with which he inspires me.”
Than such a tribute, from such a man, magnanimity could not
aspire to a more worthy reward.
THE NOBLE ALLIANCE.
323
pathy for all who desire, like herself, the triumph of
right and justice.
“Tell them that, if they wish for peace, they must, at
least, openly make vows (decisions) for or against it;
for in the midst of a grave European conflict, indif
ference is a false calculation and silence an error.
"As for us, nations allied for the triumph of a great
cause, let us forge arms without suspending our manu-
factures, without paralysing trade. Let us be strong
in union, and let us put our trust in God, in order to
triumph over the difficulties of the moment and the
chances of the future."
The
It has been said that no other sovereign could "talk
to the people" in the suggestive, reasoning, informing
tone adopted by the Emperor. And so it is.
peculiarity of his addresses, their singular force and sig-
nificance, arise partly from that constitution of mind
which enables him to compress into a few words more
meaning than most men could embody in a lengthy
oration. He belongs to the nation, to the people whom
he addresses. Alluding to the passages just quoted,
a contemporary writer remarks:
"Devoid of all calculations of narrow self-interest,
of all ambitious projects, Napoleon the Third is the
only sovereign who can thus express himself without
alarming governments and existing notions; for it is in
the very name of civilisation and humanity that he
addresses himself to Europe. At all events France must
congratulate herself more and more on being governed
by a prince who, in so few years, has succeeded in
placing her once more so high in the esteem of the
world, that an immense interest and importance are
attached not only to the acts, but also to the words, of
her sovereign."
:
·
Y 2
324
THE NOBLE ALLIANCE
"
The war declared by the Allied Powers against the
pretensions of Russia was a war which, more than any
on record, was undertaken for the purpose of establish-
ing true and solid peace. The alliance between France
and England, always the object of the Emperor's solici-
tude, was greatly strengthened and consolidated by
that war; and, as has been well observed, the good un-
derstanding between these two nations ensures the
peace of the world. It is evident, on reflection, that
the alliance now existing is not one of an ordinary kind
-not one depending solely on the real or imaginary
political expediencies of the moment. Governments
may yet differ; there may, in the course of time, arise
discussions on many points of international policy; but
that statesman would be endowed with an inconceivable
amount of sinister ingenuity, who could again bring the
people of the two countries to such a state of mind and
feeling as to render serious disagreement possible.
Wonderful as is the moral influence of the Emperor
upon the minds and feelings of the people of France, it
is more than doubtful whether even he supposing for
an instant the possibility of his wishing to do so-could
undo the good he has effected in this respect; could
eradicate the sentiments of regard for England which
his own policy and example have created in the minds
of Frenchmen. The visits of our Corporation to Paris,
the visit of the Prefect of the Seine to England, the ré-
unions of the two peoples on the common ground of
mutual esteem, of reciprocity of interests, will not be
soon forgotten. The distribution of English medals to
thousands of the gallant soldiers of France, the inter-
change of honours conferred by the respective sovereigns
upon the subjects of their ally, and the expressions which
accompanied these testimonies of amity, were not mere
ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
325
..
matters of form. They marked the new and auspicious
relations which had sprung up between the two great
nations of civilisation.
Prodigious were the efforts made by France and
England during the struggle which, in 1855, was vir-
tually brought to a conclusion. Yet neither country
exhibited symptoms of exhaustion, far less of fatigue.
The loan of 750,000,000 francs, following that of
500,000,000, had been taken up with equal eagerness.
The Emperor, addressing the troops who had returned
from the Crimea, reminded them that they might be
again called on to serve their country before the con-
test closed, and exhorted them to maintain their
warlike habits and aptitude. When absurd rumours
of a growing "coldness" on the part of the French
monarch were circulated in England, Lord Clarendon,
speaking with ministerial responsibility, energetically
testified to the generous cordiality with which that
illustrious personage co-operated with us in council as
well as in action; and his language was responded to
by assurances from our ally, that "if ever an entire
union of sentiment existed between two great powers,
it was between France and England." The Exposé des
Motifs presented to the Legislative body pointed to the
gratifying facts of prosperous industry, active trade,
commerce invigorated by sound and successful enter-
prise, in spite of three successive unfavourable harvests,
of the drain caused by a distant war, and of the effects
still remaining from the state of internal disturbance-
approaching anarchy-from which the country had been
rescued by the beneficent genius of the Emperor. Pros-
perity, progress, tranquillity, and content, might de-
scribe the state of France, notwithstanding the several
exceptional drawbacks which she had encountered.
.
Y 3
326
THE NOBLE ALLIANCE-
:
•
"Calm at home," exclaimed an observer of her actual
condition, "glorious abroad, henceforth assured of her
alliances after being so long isolated in Europe, and
confiding in the wisdom of the sovereign, she even now
gathers the fruit of a feeling at once firm and loyal,
generous and prudent." And the voice of a grateful
people returned an enthusiastic affirmative to the in-
terrogation -"Consider France now at home and
abroad, and consider what she was eight years ago.
'Look on this picture and on this,' and then say, heart
and head,
- has Napoleon the Third, or has he not,
been a good, great, and beneficial gift from Providence
to his country, to Europe, and to human society?"
Looking calmly at facts, without prejudice for or
against persons or systems, who can doubt that this
describes his position and mission?
The result of the Conference, or Congress, of Paris,
is before the world. That result is admitted, by
moderate persons, to embrace the accomplishment of
the objects for which the war was undertaken. The
difference between the united policy of the Western
Powers in the conduct of these negotiations, and
that which influenced the continental diplomatists at
the Congress of Vienna-where the object of each,
instead of consulting the general interest of Europe,
was to grasp some territorial prize for the aggrandise-
ment of the sovereign whom he represented-has been
thus vigorously portrayed:
"In the Congress of Paris nothing of the kind is to
be seen. There is no division of spoils between the
victorious nations no private ambitions to satisfy -
no egotistical interest to consult, nothing, in fact, to
despoil from the vanquished people. France and
England, satisfied with the glory of having fought for
ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
327
Europe and triumphed for civilisation, stipulate for
nothing in their own peculiar interests. They stipulate
for nothing beyond the independence and security of
all,-for nothing beyond humanity, progress, and right;
so much so, that Russia, in conceding what they
demand, concedes, in fact, to reason and equity. The
war in the East has thus created a precedent which
will bear fruits for Europe. It will henceforth be
known that, between the strong and the feeble, the
West will ever be ready to cast in its sword in order to
separate them. This perspective of force sustaining
right will restrain more than one ambition, prevent
more than one struggle, anticipate more than one act of
violence. The peace of the world will be more certain,
for it will not enter into the mind of a sovereign to
abuse his strength, and crush the weak in despair of
justice, now that France and England are united to
maintain right.
""
This identity and union of policy may be regarded as
the true "material guarantee" for the conservation of
peace, and the observance of justice in Europe. Having
successfully finished the great task which they had
undertaken, England and France afford, in their alli-
ance, an assurance to the world that the fruit of that
result shall not be lost. Had not England and France
felt satisfied that the measures assented to by Russia
as the conditions of peace fully accomplished the
objects contemplated at the commencement of the war,
that war would be still going on, having still for its
ultimate design the establishment of a real peace — a
solid peace a peace in which the rights, the security,
and independence of all the nations of Europe should be
equally regarded. But no peace could have been solid
or trustworthy which would have imposed on a power
Y 4
328
POLICY OF THE WAR.
...
:
possessing the gigantic resources of Russia, terms of a
nature actually degrading to her, - terms subjecting
her to contempt and ridicule on the score of utter
abasement in the rank of nations. Any such peace
would have been regarded by her only as a truce-a
breathing time—an interval of recovery and of prepara-
tion for a conflict more bloody and obstinate than that
which it had suspended. In the speech with which the
Emperor opened the Legislative session, in March 1856,
he equally indicated readiness for the continuance of
the war, if that course should prove necessary, or for
the ratification of peace on terms equitable to all
parties, and ignominious to none: -
"The last time that I summoned you to meet, grave
anxieties weighed upon us. The Allied armies were
exhausting themselves in a siege, in which the
stubbornness of the defenders made success doubtful.
Europe, uncertain, seemed to await the issue of the
struggle before declaring herself.
"To sustain the war, I asked a loan which, although
it might appear excessive, you voted unanimously.
The high price of provisions menaced the labouring
classes with general discomfort, and a disturbance in
the monetary system gave ground to fear the slacken-
ing of business and the diminution of employment.
Well! thanks to your aid, and to the energy displayed
in France and in England thanks, above all, to the
support of Providence-these dangers, if they have not
entirely disappeared, are for the most part dissipated.
"A great deed of arms has since decided a desperate
struggle, unparalleled in history, in favour of the
Allies. The opinion of Europe from that moment has
been more openly shown. In every direction our
POLICY OF THE WAR.
329
alliances have extended, or have become more firm.
The third loan has been supplied without difficulty.
The country has again proved to me its confidence by
subscribing a sum five times larger than I required
from it. It has undergone, with admirable resignation,
the sufferings inseparable from dearness of provisions—
sufferings which, nevertheless, have been mitigated by
private charity, by the zeal of the corporations, and by
the millions of francs distributed in the Departinents.
An arrival of foreign corn has now produced a con-
siderable fall in the price of food; the fears arising
from the disappearance of gold have faded; and never
has labour been more active, never have the revenues
been so large. The chances of war have reawakened
the military spirit of the nation. Never were there so
many voluntary enlistments, nor so great an ardour
among the conscripts.
"To this short statement of our situation I may add
a fact of high political significance. The Queen of
Great Britain, wishing to give a proof of her confidence
in, and esteem for, our country, and to render our
relations still more intimate, visited France. The
enthusiastic reception which her Majesty received must
have proved to her how deep were the sentiments
inspired by her presence, and how much of a character
tending to strengthen the alliance of the two peoples.
"The King of Piedmont, who had unhesitatingly
embraced our cause with that courageous ardour of
which he had previously afforded proof on the field of
battle, also came to France to consecrate a union already
cemented by the valour of his soldiers. These sove-
reigns beheld a country, some time so disturbed and
fallen from her rank in the councils of Europe, now
prosperous, peaceable, and respected, making war, not
1
330
POLICY OF THE WAR.
with the hurried delirium of passion, but with that
calm which belongs to justice and with all the energy of
duty. They have seen France, which had sent 200,000
men across the sea, at the same time convoke at Paris
all the Arts of Peace, as if she meant to say to Europe
The present war is but an episode for me, and my
strength is always in great measure directed towards
peaceful occupations. Let us neglect no opportunity of
coming to an understanding, and do not force me to
throw into the battle-field the whole resources and
power of a great nation.'
"This appeal seems to have been heard, and winter,
by suspending hostilities, favoured the intervention of
diplomacy. Austria resolved upon a decisive step,
which brought into the deliberations all the influence
of the Sovereign of a vast empire. Sweden bound her-
self more closely to England and to France by a treaty
which guaranteed the integrity of her territory.
Finally, from all the Cabinets, advice, or requests, were
sent to St. Petersburg. The Emperor of Russia, in-
heritor of a position which he had not brought about,
seemed animated by a sincere desire to put an end to
the causes which had led to this sanguinary conflict.
He accepted cordially the propositions transmitted by
Austria. The honour of arms once satisfied, to defer
to the distinctly expressed wish of Europe was to do
himself honour.
"At this moment the Plenipotentiaries of the belli-
gerent and allied Powers are assembled at Paris to decide
on the conditions of Peace. The spirit of moderation and
equity which animates them all must make us hope
for a favourable result. Nevertheless, let us, with
dignity, wait for the end of the conferences; and let us
be equally ready to unsheath the sword again, if it prove
RESULTS OF THE WAR.
331
necessary, or to offer the hand of friendship to those
whom we have honourably fought.
"Whatever happen, let us busy ourselves with all
matters which tend to augment the power and the
wealth of France. Let us draw still closer, if that be
possible, the alliance which has been formed by a common
participation in glory and in sacrifices, and of which
peace will make the mutual advantages appear even more
conspicuous. Let us, lastly, at this moment, so solemn
for the destinies of the world, put our trust in God, so
that He may guide our efforts in a way the most advan-
tageous to the interests of humanity and of civilisation."
Though the specific contingency which formed the
principal subject of this speech has now been resolved
in a manner satisfactory to Europe, the noble, dignified,
and loyal expressions contained in it ought to be pre-
served as a testimony to the spirit in which the Im-
perial speaker regarded his alliance with England, and
the purposes for which the Western Powers co-operated
in opposition to an aggressive policy. The perfect
identity of objects between the two nations is, next to
the "support of Providence" and the guidance of God-
that support and guidance which are ever the subject of
his acknowledgments and aspirations-the cause to
which he attributes the successes of the past and his
hopes for the future. The Allied Powers he represents
as equally ready to unsheath the sword again, if it
prove necessary, or to offer the hand of friendship to
those whom they had honourably fought." This is the
language of reason and wisdom. It is idle to
66
talk about subjecting to "ignominious punishment" a
power possessing such defensive resources as those of
Russia. She has learned a wholesome lesson, a lesson
332
RELATIONS OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
which she is not likely to forget. She has paid dearly
for the fatal mistake committed by her on the day
when Prince Gortschakoff led his armies across the
Pruth. To have attempted to exact more from her
would have led us into hostile extremities, carried so
far as to incur some danger that right and wrong might
change sides-for war, protracted longer than is neces-
sary, places fearfully in the wrong those who, having
entered into it with a good cause, persist in it with
undue obstinacy; or if a treaty of peace had been
signed upon terms involving Russia in the shameful
humiliation contemplated by certain enthusiasts, the
treaty would have been a hollow one, a mere sus-
pension, which would have rendered more fierce and
destructive the recurrence of war.
*
"The speech," observed an English writer, "concen-
trated in its phraseology, distinct in its aim, and dis-
tinct in its purpose, cannot but exercise a most remark-
able, and probably a permanent, influence upon the
public mind of every country in Europe.
* One
of the most remarkable parts of it, and the most inte-
resting and striking to Englishmen, is that which
immediately touches ourselves, and which speaks of
the relations between Great Britain and France. It is
the more important at this critical stage of affairs,
because there have been circulated, not only in this
country, not only through continental Europe, but
throughout America, studiously concocted reports that
the ideas and wishes of the Governments of France and
England were not entirely in unison upon the great
question connected with the establishment of peace.
It was said that the Emperor Napoleon was not pre-
pared to go to the full length desired by the Cabinet of
Lord Palmerston in pressing conditions upon the
RELATIONS OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
333
Emperor of the Russias. To this assertion the speech
to which we are alluding exhibits the most absolute
contradiction. That speech, so far as it relates to
matters common to both countries, might have been
made by Lord Palmerston himself. There cannot, in
fact, be found in history so complete an example of
strict and intimate alliance between two great nations,
or so striking an instance of two Cabinets marching
onwards to the accomplishment of a common object
with a step so equal, so true, and so unfaltering."
The "concocted reports" alluded to by the writer
are only a repetition, in a new form, of the devices
through which certain parties have for years been
engaged in endeavours to sow dissension between
England and France, to excite in the minds of English-
men feelings of hatred and hostility towards the Em-
peror. And it cannot be denied that such devices did,
at one time, partly attain their object,-it is undeniable
that they created, some few years ago, a great amount
of prejudice in this country. That in the long run.
they have been utterly foiled and defeated; that the
sentiments with which Englishmen regard the Emperor
are diametrically the reverse of those contemplated by
the weavers of discord and the systematic dealers in
calumny, is a circumstance which, whilst we rejoice at
it, we must attribute to his patience, his forbearance,
which caused him to abide the course of events, and
the proofs which time was to bring of his good
faith and integrity; and with heartfelt cordiality
Englishmen respond to the sentiments contained in
the subjoined paragraphs: -
"We rejoice most heartily in the prosperity of France,
in her continually progressing development and ever
renewed strength. Her stability is scarcely of less im-
--
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334
ATTITUDE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE.
portance to us than our own; and our most earnest
hope is, that of this struggle between the Western
Powers and their great northern adversary there may
be begotten permanent relations between France and
England, which, by the influence they may exercise
upon the future organisation and social progress of the
civilised world, shall make compensation to humanity
for the woe and misery which the fierce and prolonged
war in which we have been engaged has inflicted
upon it."
"The appeal of the Emperor is to all France, and all
France responds to that appeal. He calls her to be true
to her dignity in the hour of her probation, and she
sustains his confidence. Without hesitation, therefore,
he sends two hundred thousand of his best soldiers to
the seat of war, relying for the maintenance of order
and the security of the Throne, not upon the multitude
of his troops, but the suffrages of his people. The
whole tendency of his Government has been to fix the
prosperity of his Empire upon the basis of peace, resting
it rather upon the development of her internal sources
of greatness than upon the more brilliant, but in the
end less abiding, glory of military conquest. France
repaid his wise rule, and, in the part she played at the
Grand Exposition, proved how thoroughly and success-
fully she had applied herself to the same lofty ends.
Peaceful at home, victorious abroad, successful in com-
merce, triumphant in war; upholding an Empire
founded upon liberty, while resisting an Empire ex-
tended by oppression; maintaining at the same mo-
ment the great and the good: allying herself with her
traditionary enemies in the cause of right, and breaking
from her traditionary friends in resistance to wrong;
asserting her ancient strength, as though suffering
THE CHILD OF FRANCE.
335
from no recent weakness; putting forth the proud
claims of a united Empire, as though she had not been,
three years before, a torn Republic; and, gathering up,
by the potency of an inherent recuperative power, all
her long dormant elements of strength and majesty,
asserting her resumption of her ancient place amongst
the Powers of Europe, and claiming to be one of the
arbiters of its destinies. In that position she could
speak of war as a mere episode in a career of peace, an
exercise of might which she could make without diffi-
culty when need required, and abandon, when that need
ceased, without reluctance. In that proud attitude she
offered to the world the best credentials of a prosperous
people, a beneficent ruler, and an Empire growing daily
to higher moral stature and reaching forth to nobler
ends of being."
The birth of the Prince Imperial realised national
hopes long deferred — deferred for years. And never
was title more perfectly representative of truth and
fact, than that of "Fils de France," which, following
prescription, the Emperor adopted as the baptismal
description of this child of illustrious destiny. The
son of France-the son of the nation-the gift of
Providence to the people of France. It was in this
sense that the title was bestowed, in this sense that it
is interpreted by the great country in which, after the
lapse of many years, the welcome stranger, we most
earnestly hope, may commence a reign in which France
will enjoy the matured and perfected results of the
glorious policy of his sire.
On this joyful occasion, the municipal authorities and
public bodies of all kinds throughout France came
336
THE CHILD OF FRANCE.
forward with affectionate eagerness, to manifest their
sympathy with the happiness of their sovereign:-
"France" (said the President of the Paris Court of
Cassation) "owes to your Majesty internal order, the
development of all the national resources, the rank
which she has resumed in the world, the success of a
just and necessary war, and the hope of a durable and
fruitful peace. Providence, which does nothing in an
incomplete manner, has willed that a son, brought up
under your direction, instructed by your example, and
formed by his august mother to all the delights of
charity, shall one day continue the work of government
and of civilisation which you pursue in the midst of
the most evident marks of Divine protection, and of the
gratitude of the people.
""
This allusion to the Divine protection is consistent
with the religious and reverential tone in which the
Emperor so frequently takes an opportunity of referring
all things his destiny, his fortune, his success-to
the Higher Power which overrules earthly councils and
energies. No one can read the public language of
Napoleon the Third without being reminded that the
speaker is a Christian as well as a statesman. When
his glory and prosperity are most conspicuous, his
addresses are couched in a tone of humble reverence
which shows that with him earthly successes have no
power to produce forgetfulness of the Source from
which they spring ;- and in this his official speeches
present a marked and acceptable departure from what
had become a sort of fashion in France-the habit of
ignoring the existence of a Supreme and Omnipotent
Tribunal of omitting every phrase and allusion which
could indicate that the speaker was a Christian ruler
addressing a Christian people.
THE CHILD OF FRANCE.
337
The congratulations presented by the Civil Tribunal
of Avignon, may be read as a fair specimen, in tone
and substance, of those emanating from the provincial
bodies generally:
66
Sire, France, scarcely recovered from so many
storms, and involuntarily disturbed by the remem-
brances of the past, only enjoyed with a feeling of
vague uneasiness the previous benefits of your reign.
She dared not inquire into the future. You
You yourself,
Sire, after having again strengthened the principles of
authority, of morality, and of religion, which alone can
secure the duration of empires; after having brought
back victory to our standard, re-achieved the high
influence which belongs to us in the councils of Europe,
and rendered possible, by good faith and energy, an
unhoped-for peace; -you, Sire, felt the want of a
direct heir to your glorious name, to continue your
wise and courageous traditions, and perpetuate the
truly providential work in which you are engaged.
Your wishes and ours have just been granted, and
henceforth we shall only have to invoke the blessings of
Heaven on your Majesty, on the Empress, and on the
cradle of the child on whom the destinies of a great
people now rest."
By Englishmen, who have learned from experience
and observation the character of the French Emperor,
and who, in the stability of his rule, recognise that of a
system congenial to their own interests as well as to
those of France, the event was hailed with manly
satisfaction. An extract or two from the journals of
the day will not be unacceptable, as marking the senti-
ments of late entertained in this country for Napo-
leon the Third: -
"The birth of a prince, as heir to the throne of the
French Empire, is an event not to be looked on with
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THE CHILD OF FRANCE.
the indifference with which the British nation is wont
to regard the failure or the success of the hereditary
lines of other foreign States. France stands out as a
momentous exception in the history of the world. She
has rejected as signal failures the Orleans and the
Bourbon dynasties. She has tried and has found
grievously wanting the system of a mock Republic.
She has chosen with the cry of a great nation the
Napoleon who now rules her, and since the hour of
that choice every act of the Emperor has justified the
belief that, in so doing, the instinct of the people put
the right man in the right place that the judgment of
the nation fell, not like a chance glory on the first head
that presented itself, but, like a true robe of honour,
was placed on the figure that best claimed and deserved
it. The French people may well be proud of the
qualities may well exult in the sagacity, the courage,
the sterling honesty-which Napoleon the Third has
shown in vindication of the choice that ended a terrible
struggle. The English nation cannot but rejoice that
the man who has established a firm, prosperous, intelli-
gible dominion in that France which was fast becoming
a source of doubt and mistrust to all the world, now
sees that dominion strengthened and cemented by its
settlement in a new dynasty, bidding fair to guide the
French people as a support to all that is weak as a
strength to all that seeks freedom. They cannot but
feel it as a subject for sincere congratulation, not less
for themselves than for their neighbours, that the last
shadow of uncertainty is now removed from the throne
of their Ally-that the last faint chance of a renewal of
the intrigues and the strife of other days is gone for
that the Emperor, certainly the first man in
France, by his own energy and power, no less than by
the popular acclamation, now owns a Son of France to
ever
FEELING IN ENGLAND.
339
whom he can leave the care of the Empire that he has
consolidated. England owes much of her firm position,
much of her ability to protect the Right, to the steady
unswerving friendship of France, and everything that
tends to strengthen the existing state of things in that
country to keep that great nation as our cordial
friend, instead of perverting it to a doubtful enemy or
a jealous neighbour is of the greatest importance
to us.
*
of
"What the future of the Imperial child will be is in
the hands of God alone; but the present is lighted not
only by Imperial splendour, but by that which is worth
far more by the promise of the past by the hope
that arises from what has been done by the aspect of
France redeemed from her shattered condition
France, full of energy and hope at home, powerful and
respected abroad, the firm friend and the lasting ally of
England - of France holding a stronger and firmer
position under the Imperial rule than she has ever held
before. May the young prince succeed worthily to all
that the strong mind and steadfast honesty of his father
prepare for him, and may he inherit, as a tradition of
the Empire, the friendship of the English people who
now rejoice at his birth!"
The policy and objects amidst the accomplishment of
which the young prince was born, are thus reflected on.
The definition of the Emperor's idea of "
peace" is
logical, and corroborated by the tone maintained and
the course pursued by him :-
"Strange is the situation, momentous the epoch,
which mark the dawning moments of the child. The
father's Empire 'meant peace,' meant respect for the
rights of surrounding nations, security for their inde-
pendence; an assertion, at all costs and at all hazards,
z 2
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THE CHILD OF FRANCE.
..
of their inviolable claim to pursue their lawful business
and their useful industry, untrammelled, unthwarted,
and unmolested. He said so; he said so ere he took, he
said so in the act of taking, the powers entrusted to
him by the unanimous accord of an enthusiastic nation.
The thought of his Empire and the thought of peace—
peace within it and peace with his neighbours pre-
sented themselves to his mind at one and the same
moment. He so felt as to deem the two ideas indis-
soluble he so acted as to make the two things iden-
tical. But what peace? The strong mind and the
strong will were incapable of vague conceptions or of
inert and frigid aspirations, such as those dreamy
Potsdam preferences which amount to but an impotent,
valueless wish, not to a vigorous, fruitful, acting policy.
No; it was not in this manner that the Third Napo-
leon understood peace-it was not in this sense that
he valued it, sought it, and defended it. If
If peace be
good to have, it is good to keep, and good to recover.
When he proclaimed his love for it, he intended
right and justice allowed him to enjoy it under no
aggressor's mere sufferance, but to maintain and hold it
by force, and by every extremity of force, should this
be necessary. Peace with him signified the rights of
Europe in peace, not wrong and oppression in un-
resisted ascendancy. He was not likely to permit to
others what he had forbidden to himself.
as
"Having strictly observed every international obli-
gation having retrieved all the resources of his own
country, re-established society, revived industry, and
forced the most mistrustful of foreign States to confide
in his loyal and upright designs, he has since, in con-
junction with England, vindicated the outraged dignity
of public law, and repelled an assailant who menaced
Europe itself. In effecting this last great achievement,
FEELING IN ENGLAND.
341
.
he has incidentally revived all that fame in arms for
which France need fear few rivals in either ancient or
modern history. This he accomplished, we say, inci-
dentally; for as he himself truly and happily remarked,
so strong has been that movement towards industrial
prosperity and moral regeneration impressed by his
policy upon the affairs of the Empire, that the war has
been but an episode for France, and the splendid re-
covery and even augmentation of her martial glory but
an incident.
"The peace for which he has striven, the peace of
which he proclaimed his Empire to be the symbol, is
just in the dawn of its return, when the heir of his
fortunes comes into the world, by another of those
strange coincidences which seem to mark the destiny of
the present Emperor, and to make it in some respects
the complement, in some the compensation, and, in all
that is best, only the delayed fulfilment of the attempts
and hopes connected with the great founder's reign.
Divine Providence never destined the progeny of the
marriage with Maria Louisa to sway the sceptre which
was to pass for a while from the great race of Napoleon.
The stormy and warlike Empire of the first monarch
was not suffered to build at once the durable edifice of
regenerated order in France, and the dynasty which
had scared mankind with the blaze of its sudden glory
sank and almost disappeared under immense calamities;
but these were only the tribulations which attend
almost every great and permanent transfer of authority
and trust among mankind. The blow was struck
which had demolished the past; the tree was planted
which should overshadow the future."
In his replies to the addresses presented by the Pleni-
potentiaries of the Congress and by the Legislative body,
the Emperor adverted as well to the general circum-
z 3
342
THE CHILD OF FRANCE.
stances of Europe, as to the principle which had raised
himself to the Imperial dignity. To the Plenipotentiaries
he said:
"I thank the Congress for the wishes and congratu-
lations which it addresses to me through you. I am
happy that Providence has sent me a son at the moment
when an era of general reconciliation is announcing
itself to Europe. I shall bring him up with the feeling
that nations must not be egotistical, and that the repose
of Europe depends on the prosperity of each nation."
The allusion to the proper policy of nations is not so
much a rebuke as an admonition. It is not to be
doubted that it had reference to the events of the last
three years, and to the causes which led to the disturb-
ance of the peace of Europe; but it applies as much to
the future as to the past. The Plenipotentiaries, repre-
senting all the great European powers, had declared
that the birth of the Imperial infant, "by securing and
consolidating the Napoleon dynasty, was for the whole
world a fresh pledge of security and of confidence;"
and the Emperor did not forget to remind them of the
principle which it should be his object to establish as
the guiding star of that dynasty, the principle of
equity, “fair play," reciprocal and independent friend-
ship and good offices between nations, strong and weak.
Replying to the Senate, he explained his own view of
the meaning of the denomination "Child of France:"—
"The Senate has participated in my joy on hearing
that Heaven has given me a son, and you have hailed
as a happy event the birth of a Child of France. I in-
tentionally make use of that expression. In fact the
Emperor Napoleon, my uncle, who had applied to the
new system created by the Revolution all that was great
and elevated in the old régime, had resumed that ancient
denomination of the children of France. The reason is,
CONGRATULATIONS AND REPLIES.
343
gentlemen, that when an heir is born who is destined
to perpetuate a national system, that child is not only
the scion of a family, but also in truth the son of the
whole country, and that appellation points out to him
his duties. If this were true under the old monarchy,
which represented exclusively the privileged classes,
how much more so is it now, when the sovereign is
the elect of the nation, the first citizen of the country,
and the representative of the interests of all? I thank
you for the kind wishes which you have expressed for
this child of France and for the Empress.
The reply to the address of the Corps Législatif con-
tains an affecting reference to the precariousness of
human fortunes, accompanied by the expression of a
confiding hope in the Providential protection under
which France had become the theatre of a change so
wonderful and so beneficial, and by a recollection of
the origin and duties of the existing dynasty:
"I have been much affected at the manifestation of
your feelings at the birth of a son whom Providence
has given me. You have hailed in him the hope, so
eagerly entertained by the nation, of the perpetuity of a
system which is regarded as the surest guarantee of the
general interests of the country; but the unanimous
acclamations which surround his cradle do not prevent
me from reflecting on the destiny of those who have
been born in the same place and under similar circum-
stances. If I feel hopes that his fate may be more
fortunate, it is in the first place because I confide in
Providence, because I cannot doubt its protection when
seeing it raise up, by a concurrence of extraordinary
circumstances, all that it was pleased to level forty
years ago, as though it wished to give strength, by
martyrdom and misfortune, to a new dynasty, springing
from the ranks of the people. History besides contains
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THE CHILD OF FRANCE.
instruction which I shall not forget. It tells me, on
the one hand, that the favours of fortune should never
be abused; and on the other, that a dynasty has no
chance of stability unless it remains faithful to its origin
and occupies itself solely with the popular interests for
which it has been created. This child, who is conse-
crated in his cradle by the peace which is being pre-
pared, by the benediction of the holy father, brought
by the aid of electricity an hour after his birth, and
lastly, by the acclamations of the French people,
whom the Emperor so much loved - this child will, I
hope, be worthy of the destinies which await him."
The sentiments expressed on these and other occasions
by the Emperor, confirmed, as they have been, by those
best of all proofs of sincerity-consistent actions — have
gained him praise and admiration, even amongst those
political sections in England whose members were for-
merly most bitterly hostile to him. A leading "radical"
journal observes, on his Majesty's replies to the con-
gratulatory addresses: -
He sees
"It is the avowal of this great text of political civilisa-
tion that accords exactly with the conduct which has
won the Emperor cordial esteem and regard among our-
selves. We believe that he perceives the interests of
the human race as our best and wisest perceive them,
in the development of the arts of mutual help.
that the greatness of empires must reside in themselves,
in the full use of all the advantages which God has
bestowed upon them, and their peace and security in
the interchange of benefits with others. He has faith
in right and good. As a statesman of this first order of
greatness, we honour him. As a reformer of the old
insane feud between the two realms, we give a natural
and unbounded preference to himself, and to the dynasty
he may educate in his views, over the legitimate and
CONGRATULATIONS AND REPLIES.
345
quasi-legitimate races that have kept their subjects from
turning on themselves by hounding them on to worry
others. He is a king of men, not a dog-fighter. And
as to a citizen who has lived among us and joined in our
national feelings, as to a man whose most genial hopes
are thus far fulfilled, we tender him all good wishes,
even to the realisation of every honest, fatherly, and
patriotic aspiration the event may prompt him to
frame."
It was a judicious observation that the complimentary
language of official bodies in France would, by itself,
have been disentitled to recognition as necessarily
marking the sense of the nation. True, the terms em-
ployed by those who represented these bodies were
more pointed, more practical, more definite, than those
usually addressed to a crowned head. There was no
vagueness in them. Specific facts were mentioned,
specific assertions made, capable of being refuted or
controverted, had there been anything false or exagge-
rated in them. There was no attempt to shelter the
hollowness of compliment behind a cloud of mystifica-
tion. Still, the true test of popular feeling is the spon-
taneous expression of the millions having no connexion
with the Executive Power save that of nationality and
their sense of identity of interests. There was much
truth in the remark that the demonstrations of the
dames des halles, of the artisans, of the provincial
populations, of the faubourgs inhabited by the opera-
tive classes, and formerly the strongholds of disaffec-
tion, were more worthy of note, more important as
testimonies of what France thought and felt, than
anything emanating from parties holding official rank
could be. And this species of demonstration-popular,
universal- the exceptions being so insignificant as to
illustrate the more forcibly, by contrast, the feelings
346
THE CHILD OF FRANCE.
..
which actuated the masses-was that which saluted the
birth of the heir to the throne.
Here in England, too, unaccustomed as we are to
much external manifestation of emotion, we united our
acclamations to those of our friends and neighbours
across the Channel. The Lord Mayor of London was
overwhelmed with communications from the heads
of the provincial municipal bodies, suggesting the
propriety of the lead being taken by the Corporation of
the metropolis, in offering the tribute of our English
congratulations, and expressing the satisfaction of En-
glish hearts at an event so pleasing to "our good,
true, and faithful ally." And at the meeting of the
Common Council of the City of London, resolutions.
in accordance with those suggestions were voted amid
unanimous acclamations. One of the Aldermen took
the opportunity of saying a few words to his fellow-
citizens, in reference to the mutual position of England
and France: -
"There is not a man in the Court who does not feel
from his heart the importance of the alliance between
England and France, and that the prosperity of this
country mainly depends upon a good understanding
with our nearest neighbour and ally, and not, as hitherto
considered, our natural enemy. I look upon the
birth of an Imperial prince as a blessing from a super-
intending Providence. When I read the answers
which the illustrious Sovereign of France has returned
to the addresses of his people congratulating him on
the event, I see a great, generous, and strong mind,
and an expression of gratitude for the favour which
Providence has bestowed."
The resolution following was voted by the Court,
after a remark from the Lord Mayor, that if it were an
English habit to offer congratulations on such occasions,
FEELING IN ENGLAND.
347
in the ordinary intercourse between acquaintances and
fellow-citizens, still more appropriate was such a course
in the present instance, in relation to "our firm friend,
our courteous neighbour, our august ally, the Emperor
of the French:"-
"That this Court tenders to their Imperial Majesties
the Emperor and the Empress of the French, its hearty
congratulations on the auspicious birth of a prince,-an
event of importance to the general interests of France,
and conducive to the domestic happiness of their Im-
perial Majesties. That this Court recalls with pleasure
the gracious visit of their Imperial Majesties to the
Guildhall of this ancient city, and it now renews the
hopes and aspirations then expressed by the Corpora-
tion of London, for the long life and happiness of their
Imperial Majesties, and that France may continue pros-
perous, in intimate alliance with this country, and in
amity with all the nations of the world."
The language of the Common Councillors of London
represents in substance the declarations which proceeded
from municipal authorities, from associations and insti-
tutions in all parts of this country. In many towns the
public buildings were decorated with the united flags;
the church bells rang out joyous peals one of our
English modes of evincing particular satisfaction and
sympathy with the happiness of persons who possess
our esteem and good wishes. With more than wonted
alacrity-with an alacrity wholly unparalleled in connec-
tion with such matters as the domestic felicity of
foreign potentates, we responded to we re-echoed -
the rejoicings of our neighbours. Never before was
there witnessed in England so general a sympathy —
so emphatic an expression of concurrence with the
emotions moving the heart of another people. Look-
ing at the scenes presented in many parts of England,
348
FEELING IN ENGLAND.
:
upon the receipt of the intelligence communicated by
the booming of "the twenty-second gun," any one not
acquainted with the actual cause of the celebration
might have supposed that it was in honour of some
event of happy import to our own well-loved Sovereign.
349
CHAP. VI.
REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST, MEDITATIONS ON THE FUTURE, OF NA-
POLEON THE THIRD. STATE OF FRANCE AT THE CLOSE OF THE
WAR. THE INEVITABLE CONDITION OF NATIONAL GREATNESS.
UNITY OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN THE INTERESTS OF MANKIND.
THE birth of the young Prince crowns the transcendent
fortunes of a career which, in its vicissitudes, in its
difficulties and trials, in the persistence, equanimity,
and unswerving reliance of a single man on the ulti-
mate triumph of a great principle, is absolutely without
parallel in the history of the world. We have seen
Napoleon the Third descending, in his infancy, "from
the steps of the throne" to the position of a proscribed
exile. We have seen him, when a youth, with the
sentence of perpetual banishment fixed on himself
and all his race, directing his thoughts incessantly to
France, foreseeing the day when the ban would be
removed, when all France would recognise the great
name of Napoleon as one to be honoured not pro-
scribed. We have seen him adhering to this faith and
persuasion in times when the avowal of belief in the
possibility of such a change was regarded, by men who
considered themselves astute politicians, as the mere
manifestation of a restless fancy. When the prospects
of the Napoleonite principle were at the lowest ebb,
when the power of an ascendant dynasty seemed most
firmly established, his convictions respecting the
future were as complete, as boldly expressed, as they
were after events had proved that his calculations were
·
350
POLICY OF NAPOLEON THE THIRD.
:
:
.:
not merely visionary. So entire was his belief— so
perfect his faith that, when the Orleans dynasty was
at the climax of its temporary success, he was engaged
in drawing up a plan of the system which he regarded
as best adapted to the wants and interests of France,
and which ought to replace that introduced, amid
national indignation, by King Louis Philippe. The
nature and probable workings of that contemplated by
himself, he argued and investigated with as much
earnestness, as if its adoption were a measure under
present discussion by statesmen and legislators, instead
of being the dream of a young man, without influence
beyond that of his name, living in retirement on the
quiet borders of a Swiss lake. And if it were dis-
similar, in many details, to that which he found, on
experience, to be required by the actual position of the
country, it will be seen, on examination of its leading
features, that the fundamental, guiding principle of
both was the same modified only by the exigencies
involved in the fluctuation of principles and crash of
factions of which France was so long the victim.
We have in England a maxim, which has passed into
a toast, and is repeated with unlimited unction by
orators at public festivities. It is, "The people
This maxim,
the only source of legitimate power."
or principle, so popular amongst us, is what has been
enunciated all through his life, in every alternation of
fortune, by Napoleon the Third, and been practi-
cally exemplified by him in his public acts. On this
principle he bases his power, -to the people he refers
unreservedly his title to the exalted position which he
holds; and never has he done so more emphatically
than in replying to the congratulatory addresses pre-
sented to him by the Legislative body on the birth
of his heir. Never, in his mountain dwelling in Swit-
POLICY OF NAPOLEON THE THIRD.
351
zerland, in the seclusion of Ham, in his English exile,
when so many inducements existed to court popularity
by exaggerated professions,-never did he more implicitly
hail the national will the universal people of France
— as the only source from which power could lawfully
emanate, than when speaking to the world with the
weight of Imperial authority. And if, at the present
moment, in France, there be less scope for political
discussions and controversies than may agree with
the prepossessions of Englishmen, whose liberty is an
edifice which it has taken centuries to erect, calm
reflection upon the state of affairs in the neighbouring
country will lead to the conclusion that the stringency
alluded to is, and must for some time continue to
be, conducive to the true interests of France. It
should be remembered, that though faction, perfidy,
and reactionary conspiracies have been vanquished,
they are not yet dead; that though the infinitely pre-
ponderating majority of Frenchmen are heart and hand
with the Emperor, the fractional minority of disaffected
persons who would willingly plunge the country into
a murderous anarchy-are restless, impatient; that they
have shown how great is the power for mischief of a
small number of active and pertinacious disturbers of
the public quiet. Society must be consolidated, order
must be secured, the embers of intrigue and anti-
national plotting must die out, before the Emperor, in
view of his duties to the people of France, can be
justified in relaxing that vigilance of supervision—that
entirety of executive administration which he has
established with the approval of the nation.
As when surrounded, in 1846, by extraordinary
inducements to compromise his own relations with
France, he chose unhesitatingly the course of con-
sistency and honour, and remained faithful to the
352
POLICY OF NAPOLEON THE THIRD.
principle which was the guiding star of his life; so, in
1856, he plainly avows that his hope of the prosperous
perpetuity of his dynasty is bound up with the obser-
vance of that principle. And, as in all the struggles of
his life, he has advised England and France that the
relinquishment of inveterate prejudice and hostility,
and the frank adoption of sentiments of esteem and
friendship, constitute the policy of true patriotism for
the people of both countries; so one of the uses which
he has made of his power has been to give effect to that
advice with what eminent success the present happy
union of sympathies testifies. Many steps which he
has found it incumbent to take have been from time
to time subjects of misapprehension in England, and
he has himself, in consequence of such misapprehension,
been assailed by vituperation as intemperate as unde-
served. However pained and annoyed he may have
felt at this injustice — proceeding from a country
which he esteemed, and by which he desired to be
esteemed in turn-he never suffered his annoyance to
degenerate into petulant resentment, or to interfere
with the object which he has at length happily accom-
plished, in the annihilation of those prejudices of " here-
ditary” and “natural” enmity, that too long described
the feelings of Englishmen and Frenchmen.
Glorious and beneficial as his rule has already been
to France, the seeds of still greater benefits have been
planted, to develope goodly fruit in due time. In
truth, and courage, and faithful perseverance, he has
In
worked to a great end, and nobly attained it.
the midst of an expensive and onerous war, France
has enjoyed under him a social tranquillity and
material prosperity the more remarkable that they
followed so soon a long interval of distress, disturbance,
and confusion. It is quite true, that great sacrifices
POSITION OF THE EMPEROR.
353
were made, in order to carry on the mighty contest
with as little pressure as possible on the comforts of the
population — as true as that England and France were
prepared to encounter still greater sacrifices, had they
been necessary to the effectuation of their honest and laud-
able purpose; and it is possible that now, on the return
of peace, there may be experienced, for a while, some
disturbing effects from the extraordinary efforts put
forth during 1854-55. But such contingencies are
only what nations of the first rank must accept as
conditions of their greatness and dignity. It is by the
power and the readiness to make extensive sacrifices
and costly efforts for commensurate objects, that
nations become and remain great and respected; and if
some of the consequences of these efforts be momen-
tarily unpleasant, this forms no argument against the
policy which dictated them.
Firmly established in the grateful attachment of the
country which he has served and saved; possessing the
cordial good-will of Englishmen, whose unfavourable
prejudices his honesty, faith, and fortitude have con-
verted into friendly esteem; holding a high, perhaps
unequalled, influence in the councils of Europe-Napo-
leon the Third gives incessant proofs of his fitness for
his pre-eminent position; of his will and ability to use
it in the interests not only of France, but in those of
justice, humanity, civilisation throughout the world. ——
In the solidity of his power, in the prospect, vouchsafed
by Providence, of the permanence of the beneficial
system, and the regeneration of the just policy, inaugu-
rated by him, the wise and good of all countries
recognise the opening of a new and better era in the
intercourse between governments and nations.
A A
354
SECTION VI.
THE ERA OF PEACE · - OPINIONS IN ENGLAND ON THE PEOPLE AND
GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE.-THE INUNDATIONS.
THE return of peace brings thoughts and objects differ-
ing widely from those which for three years engrossed
the interest of Europe. Short as the time is that has
elapsed since the outbreak of hostilities, it is profoundly
true, in the words of an eminent peer, that "in that
brief space we have lived through the events of an age."
Without reiterating those speculations upon the projects
and designs of Russia, which have so long furnished a
text for political controversy, it may be asserted that
the relations of that great power towards the rest of
Europe are placed on a footing more satisfactory to her
neighbours, and more conducive to the true prosperity
and happiness of the Russian people themselves, than
she has occupied since the period of her recognition in the
first rank of European nations. If it be true that the
policy of Russia was one of systematic aggression,
maintained under all circumstances, and carried for-
ward without cessation during a century and a half, that
policy has at length, for the first time, received a de-
cided check — such a check as has not only brought its
practical operations to a stand-still, but has actually
driven it back upon itself. The continuous territorial
THE ERA OF PEACE.
355
extension of the dominions of the Czar was a thing
of which we had been so accustomed to hear, that their
curtailment appears more like a dream than a realised
fact; encroachment was a word so long identified with
the name of St. Petersburg, that concession, retrogres-
sion, are terms which we can scarcely accept in their
full meaning.
But the facts are there before us. The incubus, as
some have termed it, the bugbear, as it has been termed
by others, of Russian predominance is dissipated, and
all fear of her resuming a position obnoxious to other
powers is postponed to indefinite, at least to dis-
tant futurity. It is a positive fact that many nations
breathe more freely, and all, even the greatest, more
easily, than they did three years ago; but it would be
idle to say that Russia is disabled. The powerful armies
which, in the heat and crisis of the war, she continued
to maintain in regions remote from the chief scene of
conflict-in the North, in Asia Minor, along the line of
her interminable frontier-refute that idea. Her re-
sources for further campaigning remained powerful
at the centre, though weakened at one extremity. But,
if not disabled, she has been admonished, she has
received a lesson, wholesome if stern, that there are
boundaries which the prestige of countless legions and
limitless territory will not be permitted to transgress;
that whilst beyond all question she is entitled to a place
amongst the foremost powers of the earth, whilst her
strength is gigantic, her courage and enterprise redoubt-
able, these qualities constitute no charter to infringe-
ment on the rights of others, even though in vigour,
virtue, enterprise, and every quality commanding respect
and esteem, they may be infinitely her inferiors. And
such is Turkey. No one supposes that the course
of the Western Powers, in resenting the crossing of
AA 2
356
THE ERA OF PEACE.
the Pruth by the army of Gortschakoff, was dictated
by respect for the religious and political system of
Turkey. But it was felt by England and France that
that proceeding was one of the steps in a career tend-
ing generally to the subversion of the rights and inde-
pendence of nations. The defence of Turkey became a
European necessity. The two leading peoples of civili-
sation undertook the onerous duty of fulfilling the dic-
tates of that necessity, and right gloriously they have per-
formed their task. Some of the results of the Two Years'
Work were thus summed up in the House of Peers by a
veteran peer, unconnected with Ministerial office :-
"What was the condition of Europe two years ago ?
What were the evils which France and England meant
to redress or to avert? Looking at Europe at that time,
I may say that Russia was in possession, either per-
sonally or by the influence of her diplomacy, of a great
portion of Europe. Russia, with her armies and her
naval power-though that had been greatly exaggerated
with her diplomatic skill and great wealth, at that
time exercised a sort of indefinite influence over a
great portion of Europe. Germany felt the weight
of that mesmeric influence a sort of awe and dread
which even extended to our distant empire in India.
Germany sat cowering under the influence of Russia.
Sweden was becoming gradually absorbed within her
The Principalities were within her grasp; the
waters of the Danube were under her seal; the Black
Sea was commanded by her fortresses and crowded with
her navies; and Turkey had contracted that mortal
disease which her powerful neighbour had imparted to
her. But what is now the state of Europe? The
spell is broken. Germany has awoke from the
trance, and begins to show some signs of conscious-
snares.
'ness;
Sweden is reassured, the Principalities are re-
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
357
stored, the waters of the Danube are open, and the Ot-
toman empire is free. One auspicious characteristic of
this Treaty is the moderation which the plenipotentiaries
have manifested throughout the negotiations. The two
belligerents, England and France, were influenced by no
sordid desire of aggrandisement, by no vulgar ambi-
tion, and they sought to gain no exclusive advantages
for themselves. The advantages which have been
gained are all public-are all European-and they be-
long, I may say, to all the nations of the world. When
France and England entered into this war, they solemnly
announced that it should not be followed by any per-
sonal aggrandisement. There are some who are disposed
to regard with suspicion this declaration, and there have
been times when such a declaration was made merely a
pretext for spoliation and robbery: but in this case
the pledge has been fully and honestly redeemed, and
I say that this is one of the most satisfactory character-
istics of the Treaty."
That article in the Treaty which secures, so far as any
promise of the Turkish government can be regarded as
security, the release of the Christian subjects of the
Sultan from the atrocious oppressions by which, for cen-
turies, they have been trodden under foot, is another
valuable result of the Two Years' Work. It is not to be
hoped that the execution of this article will or can be
enforced so faithfully as if the party pledged had been
a civilised government. The inveterate corruption of
the Turkish administration, the sanguinary fanaticism
of the Mussulman population, render it improbable
that for a long time the emancipatory measure can be
carried out in the provinces remote from Constanti-
nople. But a great beginning of good has been made.
The first really effectual step in the reform of some of
the worst features of Turkish barbarism has been taken;
::
A A 3
358
THE ERA OF PEACE.
..
and this fact may be accounted one of the fruits of
the union of France and England - a union mainly
owing to the constancy and firmness of the man who, as
was well remarked by a British peer, "has made 'the
Great Napoleon' no longer a distinctive epithet."
Undoubtedly, then, a lesson, severe and stern, has
been administered to Russia. She has for the moment
been weakened. A statesman, who, beyond most of his
contemporaries, is independent of party ties, looking
into the future, thus meditates on the probable attitude
of that country, when, by cultivating the arts of
peace, she shall have developed her enormous dormant
resources, and rendered herself more powerful than
ever :-
"I am well aware that Russia may make herself more
formidable by developing her internal resources; but it
is impossible for nations to act on the principle that such
development is to be regarded as an object of jealousy.
I entertain the opinion, which was proved in the recent
struggle, that a single line of railway would have been
more serviceable to Russia, as a means of defence, than
the vast accumulation of cannon and military stores.
But if we were to look with jealousy on other countries
developing their resources, the world, with all its imper-
fections, would be less fit for us to live in than it is. The
time has been when the nations of Europe—and I cannot
exclude England from the catalogue-acted on the other
view of the case, that the wealth of one nation was the
poverty of another. That is a doctrine as detestable as
it is unsound."
This is sensible language; but the speaker might
have gone farther. Russia, attending to arts and in-
dustry, instead of devoting herself so exclusively to the
drilling of troops and the preparation of munitions of war,
will doubtless become in time more powerful than she
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
359
..
was when many nations quailed at her name. But this
wiser occupation of her energies will, in the natural
sequence of cause and effect, render her more reluctant
to endanger the blessings she will thus have ac-
quired. It must be remembered that the "hereditary
policy," as it was termed, never until now met with
an actual repulse never until now was not only in-
terrupted but turned back. The most authentic in-
telligence received from St. Petersburg represents the
Czar and his advisers as engaged in any contem-
plations rather than those connected with the promo-
tion of that policy. Internal improvements of all kinds
agriculture, commerce, manufactures, roads, bridges,
public works-are stated to be the objects of their soli-
citude. It will be an extraordinary eccentricity in
human nature, if such occupations, followed by their
natural fruits, do not bring the sovereign and states-
men of Russia to views more moderate, more peaceable,
more consonant with the principles of civilised progress,
than those long attributed to the successors of Peter the
Great. Indeed the character and disposition of the
present Czar predispose him to a course of proceeding
the reverse of that which has so often given cause for
uneasiness.
"He has," it was observed in the course of the de-
bates on the Peace Address, "already won the esteem.
and regard of Europe; he has shown great moral
courage and humanity, and a just estimate of the in-
terests of his people. A great career of usefulness is
before him, and it may be trusted that he will pursue
that course which it is evident he is inclined to take;
and if he do, he will reap a glorious reward in the
improvement and happiness of his people, and be beloved
and respected by all Europe."
The admittance of Turkey "to the comity of nations'
"?
A A 4
360
THE ERA OF PEACE.
has been dwelt on as one of the beneficial consequences
of the war. Granted that it is so.
There are many
who think that the position of Turkey is not worthy
of consideration beyond the extent to which her in-
ternal abuses may be rectified, and to which her
government may be rendered somewhat less of a stand-
ing obstruction to civilisation. Whether these depre-
ciatory views of the nature of the Ottoman system be
correct or not, it must be confessed that so long as that
government exists nominally, it is desirable that it
should be amenable to general international law, rather
than remain in isolation. But, perhaps, it might be
added, that far more important, far more advantageous,
is the adhesion, in sincerity and good faith, to the "comity
of nations," of the mighty, energetic empire of Russia.
That is a consummation pregnant with beneficial effects
to the world. That is a result, the value of which
cannot be over-estimated. And that it has now been
attained there is every reason to hope. Even whilst
the war lasted it was generally understood that the
state of things to which he had succeeded was not con-
genial to the feelings of Alexander the Second. Well,
that state of things is terminated. The career of
peaceful improvement on which he appears to have
entered, the increase of friendly intercourse between
Russia and the West, the cordiality with which her
late antagonists have expressed their desire that friend-
ship should take the place of enmity; all things con-
spire to afford the young Emperor a noble opportunity
of confirming the favourable prepossessions of Europe.
On the whole it may be presumed, that by the arrival
of the time when Russia shall have recovered the ex-
hausting effects of the late struggle, she will be dis-
posed to employ her recruited strength more wisely
than in the resuscitation of projects of which, supposing
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
361
them to have been rightly attributed to the Emperor
Nicholas, the impracticability has been so signally de-
monstrated.
And in what position does the close of the contest
leave the relations between England and France? It
was prophesied by some of those who regarded that
alliance with jealousy,-who would willingly have intro-
duced dissension,-who would have excited in the minds
of the English people feelings of jealousy and distrust of
the Emperor of the French,—that the war would be
brought to a close, not through the firmness but
through the crumbling and disruption of the alliance.
What are the facts? Never was a great enterprise
begun, carried on, and consummated with so perfect an
accord between two powerful allies. Never was there,
in circumstances so trying and delicate, an example of
such unshaken cordiality, such undeviating loyalty and
good faith.
Sacrifices, sufferings, perils, and glories
shared in common, have confirmed and cemented those
good feelings which it has been the life-labour of
Napoleon the Third to promote between his own gal-
lant people and the people of that land which stands
second only to his own in his esteem and affection.
How high, and pure, and generous was the object with
which the two great nations encountered the costs and
sacrifices of war,-how bravely and honestly they
worked together towards that object! It was well
described by the venerable peer who seconded the Ad-
dress in the House of Lords :-
"I will first refer to France, with whom we have
unfortunately in former times been in a state of
discord, but I trust will now remain in perpetual
peace. Nothing could be more noble than the manner
in which England and France united together for the
attainment of common objects. They have been brothers
362
THE ERA OF PEACE.
in arms, brothers in military labours, and in the victories
of war; and I trust they will now continue brothers
in the more glorious victories of peace. The confede-
racy between England and France will be memorable
in history. Confederacies generally are proverbially
frail. When one mighty power coalesces with an in-
ferior power, there is then the acknowledged supremacy
of the former, which prevents the evils of divided com-
mand. In the present instance, however, two nations,
equal in power, had joined their forces together for
the accomplishment of a great purpose. Their armies
were under separate generals, and under the direction of
independent sovereigns, and they had to act against the
absolute will of one individual of great capacity, who
was the absolute master of millions of brave, intelligent,
and disciplined soldiers. These were the odds against
which the confederacy had to contend, all calculated to
multiply the difficulties and bring out the weakness of
that confederacy, if any weakness existed. What was
the secret of their success? First and foremost, the
purity of their motive. That motive was so high
as to raise them above all petty discord and little ani-
mosities. The next was the undoubted loyalty and
good faith of the two confederate Powers; but besides
that firm loyalty there was required that single, and
wise, and judging head whose duty it was to find out
and select one great and paramount object, the import-
ance of which should be such that its acquisition should
be final and decisive of the struggle. That principle
pervaded their actions, and bound the wills of the na-
tions into one common bond. They were thus bound
together by united councils in one glorious enterprise,
giving them compactness and force which enabled them
to triumph against that supreme will with which they
had to contend. * * * Look," continued the speaker,
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
363
"at the union between France and England, and the im-
portance which that union will have on arts, sciences,
and civilisation. Who can tell the possible consequences
of that union, which I trust will continue unbroken, and
which, if it continue unbroken, will from day to day
acquire new strength and solidity!"
In the Commons, the value of the alliance, or rather
of the cordial esteem and friendship, between ourselves
and our gallant neighbours, was likewise the subject of
congratulatory allusion:-
"England carried on the war with energy, at least
the latter part of it, and she has formed a real alliance
with France, by which additional security is given for
the continuance of peace, and which will enable her
to pursue the arts of peace and promote the cause of
civilisation at home and abroad."
Nor did honourable members forget the chief indi-
vidual influence to which, under Providence, the two
countries are indebted for the alliance: -
"The alliance of this country with France has been
proved by severe trials, by some reverses, and by great
successes. It is the first time in history that the two
countries have learnt to trust each other; and the at-
tainment of great objects has been the result of a con-
fidence which I believe to have been mainly due to the
scrupulous honour and fidelity with which the Emperor
of the French discharged every obligation he entered
into with reference to England."
Most true it is that never before were France and
England upon terms which could be described as those
of sincere and trustful amity. Before now there has
been peace, there has been nominal alliance, there has
been occasional co-operation in diplomatic negotiations,
and once or twice, as in the "untoward event" of
Navarino, in more active measures; but who can deny
364
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:
that, century after century, the feeling between them
has been the contrary of trustfulness—that the hearts
of Frenchmen and Englishmen never beat really in
unison? It was reserved for the present Emperor, it
has been his glorious privilege, his chosen labour, to
promote a new and better sentiment to substitute
confidence, friendship, good-will, for the old rankling
jealousies which had never been extirpated; which
had lingered on, amid all changes of governments and
dynasties, making peace always precarious and hostility
ever imminent. Those who remember-and who does
not? the provocations which, whether as President
or Emperor, he received from some of our orators and
journalists -those who seriously call to mind the abuse
and invective of which he was so long the object, will
appreciate the constancy and firmness with which, in
the face of all discouragements and annoyances, he
pursued his object of drawing closer together the senti-
ments of the two nations, and founding mutual esteem
on mutual intelligence. Generous and noble was the
effort complete is the success. Before the war began
he had sown the seeds of the happy change, and that
very event of war, which it was hoped by his enemies,
and by the enemies of England and France, would have
frustrated his labour, has crowned it with honourable
triumph.
The debate on the Address gave the Earl of Clarendon,
Her Majesty's Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and in virtue
of his position as our principal representative at the
Paris Conferences, an opportunity to bear testimony to
the conduct of the Emperor. The noble Earl referred
in the first place to "the great position which the Em-
peror had made for himself, and which he preserved,
because it was founded in confidence on him, and above
all on his perfect good faith." Certain it is that the
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
365
Imperial power of Napoleon the Third, founded on the
well-won confidence of the people of France, and on
the faith and truth with which, through every phasis of
his proceedings as Chief of the State, he has acquitted
himself of the great duties entrusted to him by numerous
expressions of the national will, is maintained in in-
creasing splendour and dignity, amid the enhanced
respect of the civilised world, by the qualities which first
created it. The entire passage is worth quoting, not
the least interesting portion of it being that in which
Lord Clarendon describes the Emperor's repudiation of
those suspicions of England's good faith and sincerity
which certain influences are, on all possible occasions,
exerted to disseminate amongst foreigners. The Em-
peror's entire confidence in our truth and candour, at a
juncture when we were doubted by many, is consistent
with his whole character- with the respect he has
always manifested not less for our national honesty than
for our national might with his utter disdain of the
"Perfide Albion" fanaticism which parties whom we
have protected are at this moment, as many times.
before, endeavouring to excite in France. Lord Claren-
don said:-
"I feel that I have another duty to perform-
namely, that I should in justice and gratitude bear
unfeigned testimony to the honourable conduct, perfect
good faith, and straightforward proceedings of the
Emperor of the French. The Emperor of the French
occupies a great position, which he has made for him-
self, and which he preserves, because it was founded
in confidence on him, and above all on his perfect good
faith; and I believe that this confidence will go on in-
creasing, because the great position which he occu-
pies, and the great power which he wields, have never
disturbed his clear and honest judgment. It was
י
366
THE ERA OF PEACE.
a striking coincidence, as showing the result of the
Emperor's policy, that on the 30th of March last
he received from the plenipotentiaries a Treaty of Paris
in the Tuileries in that very palace in which, on
another 30th of March, a Treaty of Paris against France
was signed by the representatives of the respective go-
vernments of Europe. My noble friend has alluded to
certain difficulties which attended my position. I felt
the difficulties arising out of a general belief of the in-
sincerity of England-that England was inflamed by a
thirst for military glory-and arising out of the warlike
spirit which was exhibited in parliament and the press.
I became deeply sensible of the existence of that feeling,
and of the impression that we did not mean to make
peace, and that we proposed to drag France on in the
war, although she believed that every object had been at-
tained. I must say that the Emperor of the French did
not share in that impression. He had full confidence
that what we had undertaken we would perform. He
believed in the honour of England; and he believed also
that no British representative would negotiate, wishing
those negotiations to be unsuccessful."
In fact, the Emperor knew as well as any one that of
all the powers which were parties in the negotiations,
England was that which could best afford to carry on a
long war; but he also knew that English statesmen had
declared that they did not make war for the sake of war
but for the sake of peace, and that they were willing
and desirous that hostilities should cease as soon as the
objects which had induced England to engage in these
hostilities should be obtained. The Emperor knows us
well. Himself a man of honour and sincerity, he has
learned from experience to give us credit for similar
qualities. And when the English government declared
itself open to the acceptance of an "honourable peace,"
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
367
he believed that its declaration expressed its meaning
and intention. He did not believe that Lord Claren-
don's mission was a mission of lies and fraud. He
believed that if the intention of England had been to
carry on the war in any event, without regarding the
feelings of Europe, the conditions on which peace could
be made, or the original causes of the rupture, she would
never have despatched her plenipotentiaries to Paris;
that if she had pre-resolved that, come what could, there
should not be peace, she would not have gone through
the hypocritical farce of conferring on the subject. In
short, knowing us and trusting us, he discountenanced
the rumours and assertions which had gone abroad, as
to Lord Clarendon's part in the consultations being
merely that of a fraudulent sham. It was not the first
occasion on which he had borne witness against a con-
tinental prejudice which was apt to impute disingenuous-
ness-not to say perfidy-to British policy. With good
reason the Earl of Ellesmere ascribed the happy termi-
nation of a season of trial, suffering, and sacrifice, to the
cordial co-operation and generous confidence of "our
faithful ally."
But it is not in parliament only, emphatic and una-
nimous as, amongst statesmen of various parties, were
the tributes paid to his loyal and magnanimous conduct,
-it is not in parliament only that we find Englishmen
recording their sentiments of reverence for himself,
and friendship for the great people on whom his wisdom,
fortitude, and honesty have conferred such important
service. Wherever, in public or private, his name is
mentioned, the same sentiment is manifested. The ex-
ceptions are just sufficiently noticeable to prove the
virtual universality of the rule. With respect, too, to
the tone of the press, the utter failure of the attempt of
one or two newspapers to get up a "cry" against the
A
THE ERA OF PEACE.
368
Emperor in the year 1856, stands in pleasing contrast
to the intemperate effusions into which too many Eng-
lish journalists allowed themselves to be betrayed a few
years since. It is my conviction that the more respect-
able and by far the larger portion of the writers who took
part in the indecorous exhibitions of 1851–53, sin-
cerely regret their error; that, even if public opinion did
not forbid it, they would not be found repeating the folly
of the period alluded to. The disapproval with which
isolated attempts at a renewal of the campaign of
calumny have been received, proves that the people of
this country heartily concur, in this instance, with the
language used by the members of both Houses of Par-
liament.
*
In the month of May, the Lord Mayor of London en-
tertained the Queen's ministers and many persons of
distinction. The banquet was disposed on the grand
scale for which the hospitalities of the City of London
are renowned, and which was worthily maintained by
the late Lord Mayor, who, to the practical know-
ledge and sound common sense of a first-rate man of
business, unites true gentlemanly courtesy and the ac-
quirements of an accomplished scholar. Amongst the
"merchant princes" of London it would be impossible
to point to one who from character and position could
be better qualified to perform the duties of host on an
occasion which was no ordinary Mansion-House festi-
vity, but when transactions of the deepest interest
were to be treated by some of the principal actors in
them.
The guests included many of the eminent men of
various countries, including the French ambassador,
*The Right Hon. David Salomons.
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
369
and other members of the corps diplomatique, the prime
minister of England, and several of his colleagues,
peers, judges, members of parliament, and divines.
Amongst the toasts proposed was one which, the Lord
Mayor observed, "could not fail to sink deeply into
the hearts of Englishmen, affirming as it did the neces-
sity of the cultivation of those intimate relationships
which had sprung up between England and France."
His lordship proceeded to dwell on the importance to
the whole world, as well as to England and France, of
preserving those relationships, and drawing still closer
the bonds of union and friendship:-
"The world has beheld the two most powerful nations
on the face of the earth bound to each other in arms
for the accomplishment of a great object-no less an
object than the security of Europe, and the interests of
the world at large. That great object they pursued
with determination, but at the same time with modera-
tion. Those two great nations have now retired from
the contest in which they had been engaged, and I
trust that the intimate alliance which subsisted in war
will continue during the times of peace. The Emperor
has been blessed in his domestic relations, and England
most cordially rejoices in his felicity. We have in the
City of London some interesting recollections of their
Majesties the Emperor and Empress of the French, and
I am sure the citizens of London will feel with me that
no toast could be more honourable to the City, or more
acceptable to themselves, than that which I am now
about to propose that of the Emperor and Empress
of the French." (The toast was received with un-
bounded applause.)
The speech of the French ambassador, acknowledging
the compliment paid to his Sovereign, described suc-
BB
370
THE ERA OF PEACE.
•
cinctly and impressively the sentiments of the Emperor
with respect to the people of England; on the inter-
national alliance, and its present and prospective con-
sequences:—
"The sentiments which the Lord Mayor has just ex-
pressed correspond faithfully with those of the Em-
peror of France towards England. After the war,
which, in the short space of two years, has solved one
of the greatest problems of our age; after the war,
which stands nobly amongst all wars for the objects
it had in view, for the principles of humanity it has
brought into practice, and for the moderation which
has characterised its close; after a war, which, in
a word, will rank in history as one of the most glo-
rious episodes of civilisation, that which France de-
sires above all is to preserve in peace the alliance
which in war has been productive of such great results.
That wish of France, which I am convinced is also the
wish of England, will be accomplished; for, gentlemen,
at the point of history at which we have arrived, there
Our
no longer exists anything that can divide us.
ancient animosities we have extinguished in the fra-
ternity of the field of battle; but we have, perhaps,
done still more for our union by mutually repudiating
those bygone doctrines of false economy which based
the prosperity of a country on the ruin of its neigh-
bours. Thank God, we now know that the principle of
national wealth is industry; that commerce establishes
itself only between producers and producers; and that,
consequently, the activity of our neighbours is as essen-
tial as our own to our prosperity. Let none, then, seek to
divide us, for none will succeed in doing so.
But, may
the fraternal union of England and France continue in
the general union of Europe, and may it serve as a solid
and impregnable basis for all alliances which really
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
371
have in view the increase of international relations, and
the happiness and honour of the people!"
The applause which greeted this address was but the
echo of the feeling pervading the mind of the people
of England. The rank and talent and wealth of the
empire were well represented by the numerous and dis-
tinguished company whom the private, not less than
the public, position of the Lord Mayor had gathered
around him; but the plaudits which arose from these
expressions were the expressions not merely of their own
emotions, and of those of the wealthy and privileged
classes, but of all the people of the United King-
dom; of the enlightened middle classes, of the honest,
industrious millions, whose robust good sense so often
enables them to discriminate the substantial merits of
public questions without pausing upon subtleties and
refinements.
The Queen's Ministers, departing from the reserve
in which it is usual to enshroud official references to na-
tional policy, dwelt emphatically on the advantages of
the Western alliance, and on the importance of per-
petuating it. The First Lord of the Admiralty said:-
"I cordially reciprocate, and I am sure that every one
in this room does the same, the noble and generous
sentiments which have been enunciated by the ambas-
sador of France; namely, that the alliance which has
taken place between the two countries will be produc-
tive of the best consequences as regards the happiness
and welfare of mankind. Long may the union of
England and France continue, in peace, sincere and
firm as it has been during the war! May their rivalry
be a rivalry of friendship, resulting in the extension
of commerce and the arts of civilisation, contributing
still further to cement their alliance, and to promote the
welfare and happiness of the entire human race!"
:
BB 2
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THE ERA OF PEACE.
The Lord Mayor having proposed the toast of "Her
Majesty's Ministers," in a speech which manifested a
thorough acquaintance with the various bearings of the
considerations involved in the Treaty of Peace, Lord
Palmerston replied. After vindicating the general
principles on which the Treaty had been concluded, his
Lordship alluded to the part taken by England and
France, and to the prospective effect of their union upon
the general interests of Europe:—
“The more,” said his lordship, "the people of this
country compare the state of things two years ago with
the condition in which Europe is placed by the Treaty
which has been concluded by my noble friend who sits
near me,—that treaty, I say, which, with such distin-
guished ability, with such foresight, with such anxious
care to guard every interest which came under consi-
deration, has been concluded, the more that comparison
is made, the more the people of this country will have
reason to think that their sacrifices have not been made
in vain; that the efforts which they made have not been
without adequate result; and while they may look back
to the war with pride and satisfaction on the one hand,
on the other hand they may look to the peace with
confidence as regards the future. You have heard, gen-
tlemen, the noble and enlightened sentiments expressed
by the ambassador of France, sentiments worthy of
that great nation, and above all of that great Sovereign,
whom he so worthily represents in this country. The
knowledge that those are the principles of our great
ally, and the principles that will guide his conduct, must
inspire you still more with confidence in the results of
the peace. It is a gratifying circumstance-a circum-
stance most reassuring to Europe-that those two great
nations, the nations of England and France, are allied
in common bonds; that after having often stood side by
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
373
side in the field of battle, after having sat together
in conference at the same table at which peace was
made, they are sure to be bound for the future by ties
doubly sacred, ties cemented by common danger, by
community of interests, which, I trust, will perpetuate
an alliance not only honourable and advantageous to
the countries whom it binds, but one that will lay a
foundation upon which the peace and prosperity of
Europe will rest."
I have felt it due to the cause of truth to reproduce
these passages from speeches delivered by some of our
leading public men. At a time when, both here and in
France, attempts to neutralise the beneficent effect
of the Imperial labours are renewed,—when designs are
concerted, and deliberately organised, to rend asunder
our alliance, to revive jealousy, distrust, ill-will be-
tween Englishmen and Frenchmen, to render our mutual
relations as precarious, as full of doubt and suspicion, as
they had been for centuries during the prevalence of
the doctrine, now so energetically reprobated alike in
England and France, that the interest of each country
consisted in enfeebling and impoverishing the other,-
such sentiments, so expressed, possess a cheering signi-
ficance.
The language of British statesmen, in alluding to
the conduct and position of Napoleon the Third, af-
fords a signal example of the triumph of courage and
integrity over great difficulties. It would be idle to
deny that so lately as four or five years ago, language
of compliment - nay, language of common-place re-
spectfulness would have been so contrary to the
unreasoning prejudice " got up against him, that
it would have required unusual nerve and fortitude to
utter it either in parliament or in any public place.
Every word of his was misinterpreted, every motive
""
BB 3
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THE ERA OF PEACE.
"
distorted, every action misrepresented. Even some of
our leading men were fain to court a cheer by pandering
to that prejudice; and amongst them were more than
one of those who have since recorded their conviction
of the honour, the wisdom, and beneficence of one who
was erstwhile the object of such unmeasured obloquy.
Now it required no common order of mind, no
common measure of patience, forbearance, self-reliance,
to maintain good temper and equanimity amid pre-
judices so obstinate and so general. And it required,
too, a high degree of sagacity, and of fundamental
friendliness towards ourselves, to cause the French
ruler to keep his thoughts directed so steadfastly to-
wards us, to persevere in his aspiration of founding a
real alliance with England, instead of turning from us,
and entering the continental combinations into which
he would have been gladly admitted-combina-
tions not too favourable to the interests and dig-
nity of Great Britain. But he did persevere. He
perceived that the public mind in this country had
been abused; that, in ignorance of the motives and cir-
cumstances of his proceedings, actions justifiable and
praiseworthy had been held up as criminal. He was
further aware that there was a machinery constantly at
work expressly for the manufacture of slander. He
judged that the lapse of time and the development of ac-
curate information would be required for the removal of
the misapprehensions thus created; and strong in the
consciousness of purity of purpose, he adhered to a policy,
the results of which will probably be felt for ages with
advantage by England and France-a
a policy which,
like his power, was, in the words of the Earl of Claren-
don, "founded on good faith," but which, considering
the amount of provocation he received to depart from
it, may likewise be said to have been founded on his indo-
:
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
375
mitable preference of duty to all other considerations; on
his discernment of the direction in which that duty lay
in the interest and honour of France; and it may fairly
be added, on his attachment to this country, as that
with which, above all others, for the sake of the lasting
welfare of both, it was desirable to cultivate amicable
relations.
Had a different spirit governed the councils of France
in 1853-4, when the quarrel with Russia was verging
to the crisis had the ruling man in France been one
less firm in conviction, less steadfast in purpose
had
he been a man of wavering, fickle temper, apt to be
seduced by momentary glitter or temptation, or cajoled
by plausible appeals to his vanity or cupidity-how
different, now, might be the aspect of Europe, and of
England especially! If, in 1853, the Emperor of the
French had been of a temper to listen to the blandish-
ments with which it was attempted to separate France
from England on the Eastern question, what would
have been the position of England, isolated in Europe?
Would the statesinen, the merchants, the manufacturers,
the intelligent men of all classes, interested in English
honour and prosperity, would they now be congratulating
themselves, as, with a few eccentric exceptions, they are
doing, on the removal — " through the co-operation of
our faithful ally" of that chronic cause of uneasiness
that "standing menace" to the peace of Europe –
embodied in the policy which has been at once rebuked
and defeated?
Truly fortunate it was that such a juncture found
a man equal to it,-that a crisis at once so delicate and
momentous found a spirit and sagacity equal to its
exigencies.
To this providential circumstance we owe the fact
that the events preceding the war, and the events of
.
BB 4
376
THE ERA OF PEACE.
:
:
the war itself, so far from weakening the bonds of amity
which it had been the effort of the Emperor to estab-
lish, have strengthened and confirmed them. This it
was that enabled the Earl of Clarendon, following up his
address to the House of Peers, to tell the guests of the
Lord Mayor that "the events incidental to war, which
occurred in connection with the alliance between this
country and France, served the better to strengthen
that union between them, and to exhibit the unswerving
fidelity of our great ally." Such union, such fidelity,
the Czar Nicholas had regarded as impossible. He
was not ignorant of the exasperating tone which had
been adopted by a portion of the British press, in its
allusions to Napoleon the Third. He was not igno-
rant of the notions of "natural enmity" existing in
England and France, and which made numbers regard
cordial alliance as a thing that could not be. He was
not unaware of the temptations that might have sug-
gested themselves to the mind of the French Emperor
to woo popularity amongst certain sections of his sub-
jects by taking an attitude adverse to England. And
the inducements to such a course were beyond doubt
powerful-would, beyond doubt, have had great weight
with an ordinary man. But the man to whom they
were presented showed himself in this emergency, as in
many others, of no ordinary stamp. Rising above the
personal and narrow views which would have prevailed
with an inferior mind, he steered consistently by the
lights of justice and duty; and one of the results is that
high moral position which, more effectually than the vast
material force at his command, gives him such influence
in the councils of Europe, and impels English statesmen
to declare, with confidence, that his is a power which
must go on increasing, because its foundations are laid
in honour and truth.
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
377
It is scarcely possible to grasp an adequate concep-
tion of the difficulties wherewith the Emperor had to
contend in consummating the policy which he has laid
down as the rule of his government, including, as one of
its prominent features, the interchange of good will and
good offices between England and France.
In pre-
ceding sections the reader has seen how pertinaciously
the former prejudices of the Parisian populace have been
fanned by the leaders and organs of a party which styles
itself the supporter of order, but which has not scrupled
to lend itself to the excitement of disorder-to every in-
cendiary device by which it was imagined that the position
of the President, and afterwards that of the Emperor,
could be shaken to every stratagem that held out
the possibility of damaging him in the regards of the
people of France. Amongst these devices the appeal
to anti-British passions has been a favourite card, and
been played through all the moods and tenses of un-
scrupulous dexterity; but vigilance and firmness, sup-
ported by public approbation, made the game a losing
one; and each move of the ingenious agitators left
them in a worse position.
But these gentlemen are not deterred by repeated
discomfitures from persisting in a course so unprofitable
and discreditable to them. When the Emperor said that
the war and the peace had cemented the union of France
and England, he expressed the common feeling of both
countries; but that declaration was one out of which
his enemies did not fail to essay the manufacture of
what in England we term political capital. One would
imagine that the Anglo-French alliance is a thing so
obviously beneficial, so plainly conducive to the com-
mon weal, that no rational being, wishing to preserve a
reputation for good sense and honesty, would impugn
it. But not so. There is a party, or, more accurately
378
THE ERA OF PEACE.
speaking, a discordant combination of political cliques,
which, hating each other intensely, have for the
nonce effected a species of junction, the present object
of which is to damage the Imperial policy, without the
slightest regard to any consideration save that it is
the Imperial policy, and as such, must, if possible,
be brought into disrepute. The intrigues of one of
these cliques were partly instrumental in producing
that conglomeration of delusion and error already
alluded to as having exhibited itself a few years since,
and which now appears so astounding to us. It was
then thought a capital stroke to excite passions in
England against the Emperor; the cue now is to excite
passions in France against England, and through Eng-
land against the Emperor. Then the experiment was
enacted on the liberalism of this country; now the lists
are entered in the interests of despotism, and simply
because England having credit for liberalism, and the
good understanding between ourselves and the Em-
peror being too firmly grounded to be shaken, it is
deemed necessary, for the latter reason, to excite preju-
dice against us. The facts of the case are these. Had
the Emperor manifested a cold or unfriendly disposition
towards England, there would have been no end of ar-
guments in proof of the necessity of actually fraternising
with us; but as his disposition is the reverse of coldness,
far less unfriendliness, the rôle of intrigue is to get
up jealousy of the English alliance. Thus we find a
newspaper representative* of this party, or combination
*The toleration, in Paris, of the newspaper alluded to, whose
editorial contents consist in great part of effusions systematically
aimed against the policy, indeed against the character of the Em-
peror, stands in curious relation to the statements so frequently
made, as to the utter annihilation of freedom of expression in
France.
·
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
379
>
of cliques, descanting on the peace in the following
terms, the predicates suggested being taken as matters
of fact, and the alliance of England being identified
with them. It is a bold, but rather too transparent,
specimen of the suggestio falsi :—
"If the alliance of England obliges us to tolerate a
permanent state of revolution and anarchy in Spain, we
are not for the English alliance. If France will be com-
pelled, in order to remain the ally of England, to permit
revolution to introduce itself into Italy, to overthrow
the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, to plant itself in
Palermo, to menace the Sovereign Pontiff in Rome, then
are we not in favour of the English alliance. If, in
Switzerland, the oppression of honest folks, the des-
potism of the multitude, anarchy in the seat of power,
are the conditions of the English alliance, we think that
at that price it is too dear."
It would be difficult to put together a more dis-
honestly distorted concatenation of hypotheses than is
contained in the above. England is arraigned, by infer-
ence, as the incendiary of Europe, as the active fomenter
of anarchy and convulsion. Herself pre-eminently the
seat of order, she is represented as the indefatigable
instigator of disorder elsewhere; and this proposition
being modestly assumed as fact, the argument passes
on to the supposititious predicament of France dragged
by her ally into all manner of outrage against her
neighbours.
The conclusion to which the writer invites his readers
is worthy of the quality of his premises. This con-
scientious gentleman, so anxious for the honour and
glory of France, would fain get up a sectarian war
between French and English influences in Turkey.
Amongst the advantageous results to which wise and
380
THE ERA OF PEACE.
good men look forward from the late hostilities, is the
mitigation of religious feuds in the East. But the jour-
nalist of the Bourbon "fusionists" cannot concur with
that hope. On the contrary, he insists that one of the
first steps of France, in connection with her Eastern
policy, should be to commence a system of intrigue,
such as must inevitably bring her into collision with
England. And then he proceeds to pronounce on the
nature of the alliance which France ought to seek for
the purpose of facilitating the laudable purposes in-
dicated by him:-
"What is the destiny of that empire which Europe
wishes to endow with a new regeneration? Which
belief, which influence, will prevail there? This will
remain, we trust, for a long time the subject of the con-
templation of our government, which could not desire that
our treasures should be wasted and our blood be spilt for
a regeneration of the Ottoman Empire that should not
have a permanent result on our influence. The best alli-
ance for us is, therefore, that which appears to have the
same interests as ourselves at Constantinople; namely,
the alliance of Austria. France has a great task to ac-
complish in the regions still subject to the authority
of the son of Mahmoud, which is, to establish, by the
influence of her civilisation, the ascendancy of Catho-
licism. Her part is to place herself at the head of the
Catholic interests in the East. United to Austria,
she can perform great actions, and acquire at the same
time immense advantages and much glory."
The attempt to curry favour with the most sordidly
selfish passions and vanities is here palpable enough.
How different from the pure, the nobly generous object,
which united England and France in the late war!
"Immense advantages," "much glory," "French influ-
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
381
ence,
"the ascendancy of Catholicism!" such are the
views propounded by the Bourbon journal as those
which should actuate the course of the French govern-
ment. They are set up as antagonistic to English
influences as leading to inevitable quarrels with the
policy of England. And for the anticipated conflict
of sects, and for selfish schemes of aggrandisement,
the aid of Austria is invoked to effect the utter pros-
tration of English influence, the exclusion of England
from any share in the councils which it may be neces-
sary to adopt in order to secure for Europe, for Turkey,
and for the world, the fruit of the efforts which we
have made in common with our magnanimous ally.
It is worth while to take note of these indications
of the animus of the persons who, as adherents of
the family which has been driven from the throne
of France amid the contemptuous indignation of her
people, are even now engaged in plots for a revolu-
tion of reaction. We may smile at the absurdity of
their projects, but we cannot but revolt from the want
of principle that characterises them. Meanwhile it is
pleasant to know that their manoeuvring is not likely
to disturb the harmony of sentiment which reigns be-
tween the two governments on all important points of
policy, and that, in the words of the chief magistrate
of the British capital, heartily responded to by sove-
reigns, statesmen, and people on both sides of the
Channel, the union and accord, so faithfully maintained
in war, promise to be further strengthened and per-
petuated in peace.
It is right that the people of England and France should
know the parties who have been striving to promote jea-
lousy, to sow discord, to neutralise the benefits of the
friendly relations established between the two coun-
tries which stand at the head of Christian civilisa-
382
THE ERA OF PEACE.
tion. Desperate, in the view of all unprejudiced ob-
servers, as are the schemes for restoring to the throne
of France any branch of the family which the national
verdict has repeatedly condemned, there are partisans
who cling with tenacity to those schemes, seeing in
them their only chance of a return of that system
of governing through corruption and "patronage,"
which degraded France, but aggrandised a host of
political place-hunters. Every habitual reader of the
newspapers observes, from time to time, mysterious
paragraphs relative to negotiations for the "fusion" of
the pretensions and interests of the Bourbon branches.
A considerable proportion of the Orleanist and Legi-
timist partisans are supporters of the "fusion;" but
there is a difficulty as to its conditions. The ground-
work understood to have been adopted by the major-
ity recognised the Comte de Chambord, grandson of
Charles the Tenth, as "head of the family," making
over to him whatever chance of royal power might be
alleged for the Comte de Paris, son of Louis Phi-
lippe, by the adherents of that young prince. But this
concession was objected to by friends of the latter, who
say that the first thing to be done is to undermine
the position of the Emperor, and that it will then be
time enough to settle the question of precedence of
regal pretensions. It may safely be predicated that the
rival expectants will have to expend a large amount
of patience, before they are called on to fix the terms of
any "settlement" suggested by such a catastrophe as
they contemplate; and there is something sufficiently
ridiculous in the solemn tone of the controversies which
arise on such questions as whether the fleur-de-lis or
the tricolor is to be the "emblem" of the dynasty in ex-
pectancy. Pending, however, the discussion of these
momentous topics, the two "interests" are perfectly in
OPINION IN ENGLAND.
383
accord respecting the necessity of concentrating their
energies in defaming whatever may be the policy of the
Imperial government. It is certainly a somewhat auda-
cious use of the privileges of "opposition," to raise
an outcry against an alliance which, whilst beneficial
to England, is not less so to France. But these gen-
tlemen do not lack audacity. Accordingly, because
the alliance with England is known to be agreeable to
the Emperor, they lay themselves out for diminishing,
as much as they can, its popularity in France. Hence
the tone of the prints which are maintained by them.
Planted firmly in the gratitude and confiding af-
fection of France, in the respect of the civilised world,
the Imperial power may well despise the trumpery in-
trigues in question, which chiefly serve to display the
weakness of the parties concerned in them; though it
must be confessed that few rulers are endowed with the
forbearance and magnanimity requisite for the tolera-
tion of such manifestations, on the part of the members
of dynastic cliques, in the metropolis of the empire.
In this course the Emperor overrules the representa-
tions, which have been made more than once, that such
persons deserve no leniency, and that the nuisance
ought to be summarily suppressed. But it is perhaps
better, on the whole, that they should be allowed to
play their game out; that they should be permitted
full scope for demonstrating, as they are effectually
doing, their mendacity, their malignity, and their im-
potence.
Meanwhile the rule of Napoleon the Third, pro-
ceeding from, and exercised for, the people, gathers
increased energy, rises in dignity and strength, with
every occasion which tests its efficacy, its useful-
ness, its adaptation to the wants and interests of
384
THE INUNDATIONS.
France. Identified with the happiness, the prosperity,
the moral and material elevation of the great nation
which called it into existence, it proceeds in its high
purposes, unbiassed by passion or personal asperities;
unencumbered by traditionary entanglements, moderate
but vigorous, generous but vigilant; dispersing by
noble maxims, developed in noble deeds, the prejudices
which in foreign countries attended its inauguration;
and, in cordial sympathy with the ally whom the
Emperor most respects and values, affording, through
the union of the two greatest forces and intelligences
on earth, a pledge of a new and better era for Europe
and the world.
THE INUNDATIONS. — BRITISH EXPRESSIONS.
As the circumstances attending the war practically
demonstrated the effect of the efforts incessantly made
by Napoleon the Third to substitute friendship for
jealousy and misgiving in the relations between the two
countries, the strength and sincerity of the better
feeling were rendered equally evident by a visitation
which recently befel our neighbours. When the full
extent of the calamity became known in England,
the manifestations of sympathy were not partial,
were not ceremonious they were spontaneous and
universal. Doubtless, under any circumstances, sym-
pathy would have been exhibited for misfortunes so
fearful; but it is not until lately that it would have
taken so fraternal, so affectionate a tone. The meeting
of the citizens of London may be referred to as a fair
example of the spirit which actuated all classes. The
Lord Mayor occupied the chair, and acquitted himself
BRITISH EXPRESSIONS.
385
with his usual tact and ability. Introducing the sub-
ject of the meeting, he alluded to a communication
which he had addressed to Baron Haussman, Prefect of
the Seine, "in order to learn how far such an expression
of sympathy as he was sure would come from English-
men would be acceptable to the citizens of Paris and
the inhabitants of France, with whom they were united
in ties of, he trusted, the most enduring nature.
""
The reply showed how entirely this sentiment was
reciprocated:
"I am deeply affected, my Lord (wrote Baron Hauss-
man), at learning that in this occurrence the people of
London, faithful to the sentiments of fraternity by which
they are now for ever united with the people of Paris,
are desirous to associate their efforts with ours for the
misfortunes of our countrymen.
"If I may judge by my own impressions, this circum-
stance cannot fail to produce a lively feeling in France,
and to contribute to draw more closely together the
links of the cordial alliance now cemented between the
two nations."
The speeches delivered in the course of the pro-
ceedings, in which men of the most varying shades
of political opinion took part, evinced a singular
degree of unanimity as to the spirit in which we
held out the hand of sympathy to our allies. The
Governor of the Bank of England drew a sensible dis-
tinction between the mere pecuniary value of the sub-
scriptions and their higher value as manifestations of
good-will:
"The meeting would feel with him that the French
people could support themselves, and that there was no
misfortune which could befal France which they could
not themselves meet. If, therefore, he asked them to
C C
386
THE INUNDATIONS.¨
contribute to a subscription for the sufferers by the late
inundation, it was only that they might show their
sympathy with those sufferers in a tangible and sub-
stantial manner. There was nothing to wound the
feelings of their neighbours in this English offering, for
we were only evincing the sincere good feeling which
actuated the people of both countries. The meeting
which was then assembled would show the world
that the alliance of the two countries did not depend
upon the accident of political associations-did not
depend upon mere alliance in time of war; but that
the inhabitants of the two countries were, either in
prosperity or in disaster, prepared to rely upon each
other for aid and support.
""
In seconding the first resolution, the head of one of
the most celebrated commercial establishments in the
world "hoped and prayed that the feeling now engen-
dered between the people of the two countries might
lead to their mutual interest and prosperity;" and took
the opportunity of paying a tribute to the conduct of
the Emperor in the emergency which was the immediate
cause of the meeting:-
"The Governor of the Bank had truly said that there
was no want of money in France, and that it was the
sympathy, rather than the money, of this country which
they were called on to offer to their neighbours. Those
who knew the resources of that country, and had
watched the development and progress of public works
in France, must feel that in the hour of trouble she had
no need to look to other countries for support; and
those who had read with interest, as every man must
have done, of the promptitude with which not only that
energetic and wonderful man who now ruled over the
destinies of France, but the people of that country,
had exerted themselves to relieve the distress of those
BRITISH EXPRESSIONS.
387
who had suffered by the inundations, felt that there
was no want of charity amongst the French people."
A
Other speakers expressed themselves in a similar
strain: "Englishmen wished to show the people of
France that they participated alike in their joys and
sorrows--that we entertained feelings in common."
well-known country gentleman, one of those who repre-
sented this country at the great Agricultural Exhibition
of Paris, whilst bearing testimony to the noble conduct
of the Emperor, and dwelling on the prosperous and
progressive state of France when the dreadful calamity
occurred, claimed honour for English farmers, for the
part which they had taken when the disastrous news
reached them:-
"He must say, to the honour of a class of men for
whom he entertained the highest respect, that the idea
was promptly carried out by the tenant farmers of this
country, men who had their stocks to look to, and had
other business to attend to. They took subscription-
papers, which they caused to be passed amongst their
neighbours and friends, and they collected subscriptions
in aid of the sufferers. Their subscriptions were
tendered in a simple unaffected manner, and they were
received by the French authorities in the same good
spirit in which they were offered. The subscriptions
were offered and received in a kindred spirit."
One of our leading "City men" dwelt upon the
motives and meaning of the English subscriptions:-
"He wished it to be clearly understood by the
French people, that they had not met there merely to
contribute to the alleviation of their present difficulties,
or to express sympathy for the misfortunes which
had lately overcome them. They had a nobler and
higher object in view-they sought, by this expres-
sion of sympathy, to cement the alliance between the
c c 2
388
THE INUNDATIONS.
two countries. They had been at war, and as they had
been formerly taught perhaps to fear and hate each
other, so now let them love each other. In the cha-
racter of the French nation there was much for the
English to admire, and there were things in the institu-
tions of England which the French might imitate with
advantage. He would fain hope that there would be a
cordial union between the people of both countries, so
that when nations as well as monarchs met together,
there would be a true Field of the Cloth of Gold, which
would tend to promote the prosperity of all."
An eminent London banker spoke to the following
effect:
"He might be allowed to allude to the peculiar cha-
racter of the people upon whom this terrible visitation
had fallen-the peasantry of France,—than whom a more
frugal, temperate, or contented body of men did not
exist, and who, through all the changes which had
occurred in that country, had preserved, in a remark-
able degree, those elements of character of which they
were delighted to read in the pages of Sterne or of
Goldsmith.
“*** However much they regretted the cause, they
would be glad to show their sympathy with their gallant
allies, who in the hour of danger had struggled side by
side with them, and assisted by whom they had been
enabled to gain what, twelve months since, the most
sanguine would have despaired of a peace the more
satisfactory because it was just and honourable to all
parties. He looked upon the meeting of that day as a
fitting crown to the alliance, which, through good
report and evil report, through much suffering and
difficulty, had been most honourably maintained by the
Governments of the two countries. They had now an
opportunity of showing their estimation of that glorious
BRITISH EXPRESSIONS.
389
people whom they now so well estimated, and who, he
believed, were daily progressing in their knowledge and
esteem of the people of this country.
"**If the two nations stood together, they had it in
their power to promote to the utmost the commerce and
civilisation of the world, and the best interests of the
human race.
France and England could afford to be
magnanimous, as they had historical recollections on
which to repose. They had a god-like work before them
- to maintain the peace of the world; and he trusted
God would give them power to carry out that mission.
If they stood firmly together, opposed to all aggressive
war, they would be enabled to stay it, whether arising
from the delusions of despotic power or the restlessness
of republican ambition. God grant that they might so
stand, and he was sure that every day would tend to
promote the peace and happiness of the two countries.”
A noble lord, who moved one of the resolutions, made
some judicious observations in allusion to rumours of
lingering animosities between England and France:-
"He did not believe it possible that animosities could
again arise between the two countries, which were
bound together by the common interests of humanity
and commerce, which acknowledged the same God, and
which could have no better bond of interest than that of
promoting each other's welfare. He did not believe that
hatred was natural to the people of the two nations, or
could be perpetuated; but he looked forward to the day
when the friendship of these countries would become as
lasting as their enmity had hitherto been supposed to
be, and when the banners which he saw united upon
the walls of that noble hall would remain durably united
for the true interests and prosperity of mankind."
The tone pervading the proceedings of the London
་
"
cc3
390
THE INUNDATIONS.
meeting was not more cordial than that of the pro-
vincial meetings assembled for the same object. To
make further extracts would be but a recapitulation of
the same sentiments expressed in different language.
Everywhere was manifested the result of the long-con-
tinued endeavours of Napoleon the Third to bring the
minds of the people of England and France into har-
mony — or, in the words of an eminent British writer,
to "make them understand each other." In sight of
these results, and of the characteristic consistency with
which the Emperor adheres to the policy that produced
them, the people of England and France despise partisan
rumours respecting combinations adverse to the interests
of this country. We well know the meaning of such
canards. There was a time when they might have
created alarm, they are now objects of contempt and
derision.
The personal exertions of the Emperor during the
crisis of the calamity have been elaborately described in
the public journals, and have formed a theme of admi-
ration throughout Europe. They need not be detailed
here. But a brief outline which has appeared in the
newspapers will be read with interest:
"The Emperor has returned from his last visit to
the Loire, and everything leads us to indulge to-day in
the hope that his Majesty will be now enabled to obtain
the repose which he requires after so many fatigues.
It is certainly not a novel thing in France to see princes
take part in the public sufferings, and associate with the
calamities which oppress the country. We nevertheless
are of opinion that the past contains no event of so strik-
ing a nature as that of which France has been lately the
witness. Scarcely had the ravages of the Rhone be-
EFFORTS OF THE EMPEROR.
391
;
come known in Paris than the Emperor left in the night
for Lyons. He suddenly arrived in the stricken town
almost alone: this prompt appearance at such a moment
was a great act of kindness; the inhabitants, stupified
by events, took courage, and the most oppressed hearts
breathed afresh. The Emperor caused himself to be
transported in boats wherever the raging waters had
invaded; he appeared amongst dangerous currents on
the inundated high roads, amidst the crumbling houses,
conveying with him his courageous compassion and his
succours. Surrounded on all sides, blocked up by a
grateful population, he did not fear to confide himself
alone, without police or escort, to the workmen of
Lyons, taxed so strongly with demagogism; and all had
for the Emperor nothing but proofs of admiration and
love. But the Rhone carried its devastations into Pro-
vence, and the august traveller determined on following
to the end this terrible enemy. It was necessary to pass
a roaring sea in order to enter Avignon; the Emperor
penetrated into the town in a boat, over the fallen ram-
parts. At Tarascon, at Arles, the Emperor visited in a
miserable boat the town and the vast inundated plain; he
encountered dangers of all kinds, and passed over the tops
of trees and the roofs of houses. We will extract on this
subject a single passage from a letter written by a known
republican to a political friend. "You know my prin-
ciples, and you are also aware that I shall never change
them; but I confess to you that I admire that man (cet
homme là). I have seen him at Tarascon in a nutshell
in which I would not have trusted myself to save my
house.' In fact, such acts, accomplished with simplicity
and sincerity, have everywhere the same effect on men
of character. Scarcely had the Emperor returned, than
disastrous news from the Loire reached his ears.
He left at once for Orleans, Blois, and Tours, bearing
Z
392
THE INUNDATIONS.
with him the same initiative, the same intrepid sympathy
for all suffering. Other calamities, the rupture of the
dykes and, the inundation of the quarries of Angers,
recalled the Emperor a second time to the Loire. No
obstacles or interrupted communications caused him to
hesitate. A great enterprise is cruelly damaged; 10,000
workmen to whom it gave bread are without shelter or
food. Amongst these workmen, whom a recent trial
proved to be agitated by secret societies, the Emperor
placed himself, and he met the same reception, the same
sentiments of gratitude, as he had encountered on the
part of the workmen of Lyons. The ardent wish of the
Emperor, it will be remembered, was to share the
dangers and glory of the army of the East. To oppose
this project, it was necessary for the public sentiment,
for the voice of France and Europe, to manifest itself.
The Emperor has now taken his revenge on other
battle-fields, by associating with the labours, the perils,
and sufferings of the population, and by deriving on the
spot a knowledge of the measures necessary to triumph
over another enemy. Science, which in the end over-
comes the most redoubtable fortresses, will doubtless
be enabled to solve the new problems placed before it."
APPENDIX.
395
APPENDIX A.
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
A PAMPHLET which appeared some time since in
Paris, under the comprehensive title "Le Traité de
Paix," and purporting to emanate from "Un Ancien
Diplomate," excited much interest amongst European
politicians. There is a rumour-a rather generally
accepted one-that the source of its inspiration ascends
to a very high quarter. But, irrespective of the de-
gree of credibility which may be attached to that report,
the contents of the pamphlet deserve attention, illus-
trating, as they do, with a perspicuity which could
only be imparted by a particular acquaintance with
antecedents, the origin and progress of the negotiations,
and some of the most important effects of the Treaty
which consummated them. Having avoided, as much
as the nature of my subject would permit, reference to
political discussions, I shall not here enter into them 00
but the remarks of "An Old Diplomatist" place in so
clear a light several points of universal interest relative
to the causes, objects, and results of the war, and the
new position of international relations which it has
created in Europe, that I am induced to transcribe some
of the more prominent passages,
The writer alludes to the preliminary communications
between the Western Powers and Austria, and to the
circumstances which had rendered it advisable for Russia
·
:
396
APPENDIX A.
·
to submit to conditions which she had refused even to
discuss at the Conferences of Vienna :-
"The conditions of any negotiation whatever were in-
dicated by the Four Points, which formed the substance
of the notes exchanged at Vienna on the 8th of August,
1854, and the realisation of which formed the object of
the Treaty of the 2nd of December. One of the ad-
vantages of the four guarantees was their faculty of
being restricted or extended according to the course of
events. The resultless negotiations opened at Vienna
in March, 1855, had sufficiently proved this; and in
keeping within the Four Points, which responded so well
to the interests engaged in the war, it was indispensable
to interpret them in a sense which should have regard
to the successes obtained within three months in the
Baltic and the Sea of Azoff, as well as in the Crimea.
"The ideas of the French Government in this respect
were perfectly settled, and it did not await the fall of
Sebastopol to fix them. One of the first cares of Count
Walewski, in taking the portfolio of Foreign Affairs, had
been to make known at Vienna the sentiments of his
Court on this important matter. The Cabinet of Paris
wished to remain faithful to the principles which, forming
the basis of the Treaty of the 2nd of December, con-
stituted the natural bond of the three subscribing
Powers; it desired by no means to weaken that bond;
but, at the same time, it maintained a right of reserving
the benefit of military events, and of extending its claims,
if necessary, according to the measure of its sacrifices.
It found the Cabinet of London in a similar disposition;
and, after a complete agreement between the two great
Western Powers, it was declared at Vienna that they
regarded the Four Points as the minimum conditions of
peace.
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
397
"France and England, victorious, could not be con-
tent with the interpretation given to the four guarantees
in December, 1854, in the celebrated and unfortunate
memorandum alternately accepted and repudiated by
Prince Gortschakoff. Here was the difficulty; and it was
upon this that the Cabinet of Vienna wished to sound
the French Government through the medium of Baron
de Bourqueney."
Some remarks are made upon the difficulty which
politicians had in bringing themselves to believe that a
power whose prestige had mounted so high, which had
established such a character for pertinacity, and whose
defensive resources were regarded as inexhaustible and
invincible, could accept the terms which it was known
the two Western Powers, acting in cordial consent, were
resolved to insist upon as indispensable conditions of
negotiation. After the peremptory manner in which
Prince Gortschakoff had rejected, at the Vienna Confer-
ences, any stipulation going to the limitation of the Rus-
sian naval force in the Black Sea, and after the emphatic
recognition of the Prince's language by his Government,
how could it be believed that the Cabinet of St. Peters-
burg would consent, not merely to the restriction of the
number of ships of war, but to the entire suppression of
its navy in the Black Sea ?" How believe, until on this
point it had deceived all calculations, that it would
accept a further limitation, which, whilst depriving it of
the mouths of the Danube and of Ismail, still full of the
souvenirs of Suvaroff, caused it likewise to lose the
frontier of the Pruth, rendered famous by the defiances.
which from thence it had so often held out to Europe?"
But the change of temper was accounted for by the
military successes of the Allies, by the perfect harmony
of the councils of France and England, by the attitude
398
APPENDIX A.
-
:
of Austria, which, had the "bases" been rejected by
Russia, could not have much longer deferred taking an
active part with the Western Powers-by the close
entente formed with Sweden, and by various circumstances,
which could not fail to have weight with a Government
otherwise not indisposed to councils more moderate than
those of the Emperor Nicholas. The writer frankly
admits that the feeling of England with respect to peace
was far from fervid, and alludes to the coldness with
which we regarded the mediation of Austria:-
"It remained to come to an understanding with
England as to the mode of dealing with the proceedings
of Austria.
"In the dispositions which existed between the two
countries, no serious difference could arise upon this
subject. We wish to misrepresent nothing; and we
readily admit that England was less prepared than
France for the idea of an early peace. The English
Government had commenced the war without being
prepared for it. After having made gigantic prepara-
tions to continue it, it naturally felt some difficulty in
reconciling itself to propositions for peace, whatever
might be their nature. It is known, moreover, through
the language of leading men in Parliament, that Eng-
land was not without prejudices with respect to Austria.
These prejudices existed anterior to the crisis. * * *
Let us hasten, however, to say, that though they re-
vealed themselves clearly, they never interfered with
more important considerations, or with the interests of
the Anglo-French alliance. Doubtless the Cabinet of
London showed less alacrity than France to conclude
a treaty with Austria; it signified less confidence than
the French Government had done in the value of that
Treaty; but ultimately it agreed to it, and, whilst
not concealing that it expected only secondary results
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
399
therefrom, it never pretended that the advantages which
the Treaty offered should be despised.
"But if the prejudices of Her Britannic Majesty's
Government re-appeared in presence of the propositions
of Austria, they soon gave place to a more just appre-
ciation of the general situation of affairs. The reasons
which it thought it had for desiring the continuation
of hostilities yielded before an attentive study of
the bases which the Austrian proposals established as
the conditions of peace. The resolution once taken, the
English Cabinet laid aside all hesitation, and entered
without arrière-pensée the path which now opened.
"France wished no more than England for any peace
that should not be completely satisfactory; and the
Cabinet of Paris, whilst expediting the agreement as
much as possible, in order not to give Russia time to
penetrate and upset it, concurred with the English
Government as to introducing into the Austrian ulti-
matum modifications of such a nature as to clearly
define it, and to give greater extension to some of the
clauses.
"The Cabinet of Vienna, by acceding to this, gave
proof of sentiments which could leave no doubt of the
perfect sincerity of its intentions. It was therefore
agreed that Austria should be the bearer to St. Peters-
burg of the propositions thus modified, and that she
should present them to the Russian Cabinet as from her
own initiative. The two Western Powers undertook to
give them their adhesion, in case they should obtain
that of Russia. It was understood that the acceptance
of Russia was to be entire and unreserved, and should
embrace at the same time both the whole of the details
of the Austrian proposals, under penalty of their with-
drawal on the lapse of three weeks from the period of
being placed in the hands of Count Nesselrode. No room
400
APPENDIX A.
was left for counter-proposals or subterfuges, and care
was taken that whatever the result might be it should
be clear."
The writer acknowledges the compliment paid to
France and to the generous policy of the Emperor, by
the nomination of Paris as the seat of the negotiations.
That suggestion came from England, and was "con-
sistent with that rivalry in good offices of which the
alliance has produced so many proofs." The complete-
ness with which the Porte adhered to the terms on
which the Cabinets of London and Paris had deter-
mined to take their stand, marked her appreciation of
the advantages which they secured for her, and of the
care taken of her interests:-
"These conditions, indeed, agreed so well with her
interests that she could not but applaud them. They
even gave her an advantage which she had not hoped
for. Not only did they disarm Russia in the Black Sea,
but they gave the Ottoman Empire a warınly-contested
territory. They gave her the mouths of the Danube and
the citadel of Ismail, formerly the bulwark of the Otto-
man power on the Danube, and a spot rendered in a
manner sacred in the eyes of the Turks by the heroism
which they had so often displayed there in their last
struggles with the Russians. The Porte was therefore
necessarily in accord with its allies as to the results which
they contemplated giving to the bases of negotiation.
"Thus the Russian plenipotentiaries, when presenting
themselves at the Congress of Paris, found the Allied
Powers united upon the general principles of the nego-
tiation."
The considerations involved in the neutralisation of
the Black Sea, and the relative positions created by neu-
tralisation, are reviewed by the writer, who afterwards
proceeds to weigh the effect of the measures taken for
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
401
abolishing the preponderating or exclusive influence of
Russia over the Christians of Turkey :—
"On the proposition of the President, Count Walew-
ski, the Congress resolved to grapple at once with the
difficulty, by arranging, before any other point, the
neutralisation of the Black Sea.
"It will be remembered that if, at the period of the
Conferences of Vienna, the idea of the neutralisation of
that sea were approved in London, it was repelled in
Vienna. It was not that the import of the condition
was not understood in Vienna as well as in London, but
because opinions in the former place were not yet pre-
pared to accept the decisive and fundamental means.
which it presented of putting an end to the preponder-
ance of Russia in the East. And when the Cabinet of
Vienna was not prepared to admit any other limitation
of the Russian navy in the Black Sea than that of its
force previous to the war, how could it relish a con-
dition which, under the appearance of reciprocity be-
tween the two States occupying the coasts, involved in
reality the disappearance of the Russian flag of war
from the waters on which it was formerly supreme?
“The acceptance by Austria of the principle of the
neutralisation of the Black Sea, as one of the conditions
stipulated in the ultimatum, shows how much circum-
stances had changed to our advantage.
"For the rest, Russia herself, which in 1855 had
refused even to examine this condition, made now
not the least objection. When in the month of De-
cember last the ultimatum of Austria was conveyed to
St. Petersburg, and the Russian Cabinet thought at first
to reply by counter-propositions, these counter-proposi-
tions implied important changes relative to the rectifica-
tions of the Bessarabian frontiers, and disowned all idea
of any particular conditions irrespective of the Four
D D
402
APPENDIX A.
.
:
Points; they confined themselves, as regarded neutral-
isation, to some verbal modifications intended to limit
the application of that principle. As to the principle
itself, they admitted it without reserve. The Russian
Government would have wished that, in the stipulation
respecting the light vessels which it was to be authorised
to keep in the Euxine, account should be taken not only
of the necessities of service, but of the defence of the
coast. Anxious, moreover, to exclude the arsenal of
Nicolaieff from the places affected by the prohibition to
maintain or create maritime arsenals of war, it wished
that this prohibition should be specifically confined to
the coast, strictly so called, of the Black Sea. By re-
fusing, conformably to the engagement which she had
made with France and England, to accept these counter-
propositions, Austria showed the Cabinet of St. Peters-
burg that there could be no discussion upon these
essential points, and by definitively giving adhesion to
the system of neutralisation, Russia admitted it in all
its extent and with all its consequences.
"The Allied Powers were thus fully prepared for in-
sisting that neutralisation meant the cessation at Nico-
laieff of constructions of any kind for the Russian war
marine. They could not consent that Russia should
reserve the right of maintaining a fleet on the Bug, a
tributary of the Black Sea, when she renounced that of
keeping in that sea any ships of war save the small vessels
On the other
required for the service of the coasts.
hand, it would have been to 'force the situation,' and
to render the conclusion of peace more difficult, to exact,
by a positive stipulation in the Treaty, that Russia
should bind herself to destroy, with her own hands, an
arsenal which was removed from the theatre of war.
But the more difficult the Allies felt it to insist on the
destruction of Nicolaieff, the more incumbent was it on
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
403
Russia to furnish proof, in this regard, of her good-will
and disinterestedness. By refusing any concession re-
specting Nicolaieff, she would have excited distrust, and
given ground to her adversaries to question the sin-
cerity of her intentions. They would have been justified
in showing themselves more exacting, and in redoubling
their precautions. But, not being required to contract
literal obligations, she could undertake moral ones; not
being harshly required to bind herself down, she could
promise, and, by giving the Allied Powers a satisfaction
with which they were content, she saved her dignity.
This was the object and effect of the declaration of Count
Orloff, inserted in the protocols, and which is not less.
obligatory than the stipulations of the Treaty without
possessing their solemn [formal?] character. It will be
observed, too, that this declaration applied also to the
Sea of Azoff, and to all the affluents of the Black Sea.
"To form an exact idea of the situation created for
the contracting parties by the neutralisation of the
Black Sea, it is important to bear in mind that Turkey
maintains in that sea a number of light vessels equal to
that allowed to Russia, and that the Sultan remains at
liberty to keep, not only in the Mediterranean, but in
the Sea of Marmora and the Bosphorus, as many ships
of war as he pleases. Again, in virtue of the article
which authorises [each of] the subscribing Powers to
keep two light vessels at the mouth of the Danube, in
order to secure the free navigation of the river, we
possess an effective fleet at least equal in number, and
superior in force, to the squadron permitted to Russia ;
and in case of need our fleets, issuing from Toulon,
Malta, Trieste, and Genoa, can in a few days introduce
into the Euxine such a force of ships and guns, that this
contingency alone forbids the Russian Government any
idea of infringing in the East the obligations to which
DD 2
404
APPENDIX A.
.
she has assented. Not only, in fact, can she no longer
dream either of surprising Constantinople by a coup
de main, or of seconding, by the co-operation of the fleet,
the march of her armies in Bulgaria, but on the first
difficulty which she might attempt to excite, she is
liable to see herself attacked by the forces of all the
maritime powers, without possessing the means of con-
tending at sea with any of them.
"The moral guarantees obtained from Russia would
have been insufficient without the material guarantees
just explained. It would have been useless to deprive the
Cabinet of St. Petersburg of the influence which it ex-
ercised in the bosom of the Ottoman Empire, if means of
oppression had been left it which would have per-
mitted it to seize this influence again on the first
favourable opportunity; the sacrifices of France and
England would likewise have produced only imperfect re-
sults, if, when disarming Russia upon her coast, she
were not likewise obliged to renounce the advantages
which treaties had given her, or permitted her to claim,
in the heart of that empire; and it was so much the
more important to put an end for ever to this question,
which had been the immediate cause of the war.
"The nature of the evil indicated the remedy. The
influence of Russia over the Greek subjects of the
Sultan was of long standing. The first efforts and
first successes of that policy go back to Peter the Great.
The simultaneous decay of the Ottoman administration,
its vices, the excess of fanaticism, which, no longer find-
ing the means of satisfying itself by conquests, recoiled
against the non-Mussulman populations of the Empire,
only too powerfully seconded this growing influence.
France, too, which, without exercising a legal protec-
torate of any class of the Sultan's subjects, had, under
her ancient kings, been long regarded as a tutelary
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
405
support of the Christians without distinction of com-
munion, had finally wholly neglected the schismatics
for the benefit of the Catholics. Russia, therefore, had no
difficulty in persuading her co-religionists that they had
no dependence but herself. It was thus that she suc-
ceeded in inspiring these populations with a high idea
of her sentiments. The success of her arms having
enabled her to introduce into the treaty of Kainardji a
stipulation which authorised her, to a certain extent, to
make representations to the Sultan in favour of the
Christian churches, she had thus acquired, in the very
heart of the Ottoman Empire, a position which assured
her an action obviously incompatible with the rights of
sovereignty.
"To remedy this, it was necessary not only to de-
prive the Russian Cabinet of all right of interference,
but to dissipate the prejudices through whose aid Russia
had succeeded in persuading her co-religionists that she
alone took interest in their fate. It was especially requi-
site to induce the Porte to make reforms sufficiently ju-
dicious and complete to put an end to grievances which
which were only too real. Even before the propositions
of Austria were arranged, it had been agreed between
the Cabinets of London and Paris on one side, and
the Porte on the other, not to wait for the conclusion
of peace before coming to an understanding as to the
lot of the Christians."
The import of the Hatti-Schérif is considered in
its effect on the condition of the Sultan's Christian
subjects:-
"In order duly to appreciate its import, it would be
necessary to take into account the importance and un-
expected novelty of the improvements which it intro-
duces into the condition of the Christians. This would
be an immense task, involving no less than an exposition
DD 3
406
APPENDIX A,
of the administrative, political, and social organisation
of the Ottoman Empire. Let us confine ourselves to
showing how remote were our conditions from the sened
which Prince Menschikoff had proposed to the Porte,
and how greatly superior were the advantages comprised
in the act emanating from the sovereignty of Abdul-
Medjid to those which Russia assumed to force from
him. There is besides, on this subject, an important
remark to be made, which was too much lost sight of
in the crisis created by the pretensions of the Russian
Cabinet. When that Cabinet demanded that the Porte
should engage to maintain the privileges granted ab
antiquo to the Christian patriarchs and communities, it
demanded in reality only the maintenance of most
crying abuses. Far from contributing to protect or
ameliorate the position of the Christians, it really set
up an obstacle to all reform. These ancient privileges,
accorded to the Greek clergy by the Sultans of former
times, may be regarded as the true cause of the oppres-
sion and sufferings of the rayas. It was by means of
these privileges that the patriarchs and bishops, uniting
temporal power to their spiritual attributes, and being
magistrates and administrators as well as priests, have
for ages inflicted on the rayas constant vexations not
less intolerable than the acts of fanaticism, which
day by day became more rare. Russia found her
account in maintaining these secular abuses. She se-
cured the good graces of a powerful clergy, and if the
sufferings of the people continued, the responsibility
for the evil, cast upon the Turks, rendered the foreign
protectorate more useful in appearance. The new Hatti-
Schérif has applied a remedy to this state of things, and
if it had no other advantages, would deserve the thanks
of the Christians and the approbation of Europe.
"This Hatti-Schérif being promulgated, there still
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
407
remained an important question-Was it to be men-
tioned in the Treaty, and in what terms? The wish
of the Porte would have been that the great Powers
should hold her absolved towards them, in this
matter, by the communication which she had made to
them. The wish of Russia would have been, on the
contrary, that it should be annexed to the Treaty, or
at least that it should be formally declared that it
should be enforced. This last arrangement would have
been in effect to involve the independence of the Sultan.
France and England agreed to take a middle course,
which, whilst marking the interest which they and
their allies felt for the non-Mussulman population of
the Ottoman Empire, respected the sovereignty of the
Sultan. The two Powers could not have taken any
other course without exposing themselves to a charge
of inconsistency. Having made war against Russia,
to prohibit her from interference in the religious
affairs of Turkey, they have acted conformably with the
wise and salutary principle that caused them to take
arms, by stipulating that the mention made, in the
Treaty, of the Hatti-Schérif of the 18th of February,
shall not constitute for any party a right of inter-
meddling incompatible with the independence and so-
vereignty of the Sultan. It would be difficult to
reconcile better with the rights of the Porte the legi-
timate interest felt by the Powers for the Christians
of Turkey. It was impossible, especially, to prove
more fully to these populations that their true support
was in Paris and London, not in St. Petersburg, or
to deal a more heavy blow to Russian influence in the
Ottoman Empire."
The consultations respecting the Danubian Prin-
cipalities are next referred to. No difficulty occurred
as to Servia, but the arrangements for the "future" of
.
.
•
-
DD 4
408
APPENDIX A.
Wallachia and Moldavia presented greater complication,
and formed the subject of much discussion. The plan
suggested by France was objected to by some of the
plenipotentiaries. "Un Ancien Diplomate" is naturally
partial to the views of his own government, and advo-
cates them with energy:-
"This [Russian] influence was to be restricted upon
another arena-the Principalities of the Danube. And
here an important distinction should be made in the
first place. Though Servia is included under this de-
signation [Danubian Principalities], and though its
position is analogous to that of Moldavia and Wallachia,
it still differs from them in several respects, geogra-
phically and politically. Servia, situated on the right
bank of the Danube, clings so closely to the territory
of the Ottoman Empire, that it could not be separated
from it without danger, and the mere relaxing of the
ties which unite it to the Porte would involve grave
inconveniences. Like the other two Principalities, that
of the right bank possesses a national administration,
guaranteed not long since by treaties between Russia
and the Porte, and this exclusive guarantee could no
more be maintained on one side of the Danube than on
the other. Servia could not be replaced in the condition of
a simple province of the Ottoman Empire, and committed
without any guarantee to the chances of the future. But
the guarantee once established, Europe had no longer
anything to desire, save the reform of some of the
national institutions, and on this point there was no
room for disagreement between the Powers.
"It was less easy to come to an understanding re-
specting the changes to be introduced into the con-
titution of Moldavia and Wallachia. Their geographical
position, isolating them from the rest of Turkey in
Europe, properly so termed, is not on that account less
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
409
important for the defence of the empire, which they
can, according to circumstances, either open to, or
close against, an enemy. For nearly a century they
have served as provisioning ground for the Russian
armies on the road towards Constantinople, and the
evident interest of Europe would be that they should
form a bulwark against new aggressions. Such was the
intent of the first point, and as to this object there could
be but one wish amongst the Allied Powers.
"In order to attain it, France did not consider that
it would suffice to substitute a joint guarantee for the
exclusive guarantee of Russia. Already, at the Confer-
ences of Vienna, the French Cabinet had intimated its
views on this subject in a memorandum presented by
Baron de Bourqueney, and which was annexed to
the protocols of the Conferences. It asked for the
union of the two Principalities under a hereditary
government, which, without weakening the bonds that
connect them with the Porte, might be entrusted to a
prince chosen from the reigning families of Europe.
The French Government did not change its tone re-
specting the advantages of an arrangement which ap-
peared to it calculated to reconcile the wishes of the
people with the interests of the Porte and of Europe.
The union of the Principalities, it argued, is natural,
because the two provinces are of the same race, speak
the same language, belong to the same communion,
possess the same institutions. It is requisite to give the
country the elements of force of which it has need, if
it be desired that it should serve in any degree as a
barrier against an aggressive return of Russian influ-
ence. Hereditary power is indispensable, if supreme
authority is to cease to be the object of perpetual in-
trigues, the bait of so many unscrupulous ambitions
which have heretofore been the chief instruments of
..
410
APPENDIX A.
:
Russia in the provinces. The principle of hereditary
power contains nothing abnormal, for it is in force in
another province of the Ottoman Empire, namely Egypt,
and was likewise established in Servia in favour of the
dynasty of Milosch. In fine, the difficulty of finding
in the country the elements of a national dynasty might
sufficiently explain the choice of a foreign prince.
"Was it really to be feared, as the Porte and some
of its allies imagined, that a principality founded on
these bases would soon, and almost necessarily, find
itself in conflict with the sovereign power, and become
to it, like Greece, a source of embarrassment formidable
to the enemies of the Ottoman Empire? The position
of the Moldo-Wallachians, with regard to the Porte,
would be very different from that of the Greeks. Mol-
davia and Wallachia are separated from Turkey by a
natural frontier, the Danube; they have not, as Greece
has, numerous populations of their race in all parts of
the Ottoman Empire, and are not in contact even with the
Sclaves of Bulgaria and Servia, except through material
interests, which touch each other, so to say, without
mingling. The new principality would have nothing to
hope from the enfeeblement of the Turkish Empire-not
a frontier to extend, not a village to conquer, at the ex-
pense of that Empire. It is, besides, not to be supposed
that it would seek to break a bond of vassalage con-
firmed by European treaties, and to obtain an inde-
pendence which would expose it to all the dangers of
the formidable contiguity of its ancient protectors. It
would study to continue in its lawful relations with
the Porte, because these would constitute, in the first
place, a guarantee of the identity of its interest with
those of the Ottoman Empire, and through these with
the interests of Europe itself.
"The arrangement proposed by the French Govern-
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
411
ment was therefore perfectly logical, and the objections
made to it were more specious than solid.
"It had, however, been previously arranged between
the Allied Powers, and with good reason, that the re-
organisation, properly so called, of the Principalities,
should not be directly determined by the Congress. It
was indispensable to pronounce, without delay, the de-
finitive suppression of the Russian protectorate, to lay
down the principle of the joint guarantee as well as the
basis of the system of defence which the Principalities
might adopt in concert with the Sultan; but it was im-
possible to regulate questions of detail immediately, for
this would have greatly complicated the deliberations.
Besides, there was wanting one of the essential elements
of discussion, viz. the will* of the country, which had
been not less carefully regarded than the interest of the
Powers and that of the Porte. Prudence, expediency,
and even the necessity of consulting opinion in the
Principalities, rendered it proper, therefore, to adjourn
the deductions from the principles which were laid down,
and to postpone for further examination the defini-
tive organisation of the two provinces. Guided by these
considerations, Count Walewski confined himself to
intimating the views of his Government, proposing to
refer to a commission, which should proceed to the
spot, the study and preliminary settlement of questions
with which the Congress could not grapple without
indefinitely retarding the conclusion of
peace.
"Is it to be presumed, as Aali Pasha and Count Buol
asserted at the Conferences, that the Principalities will
reject the idea of union? Is there any appearance that
there would be less liking at Jassy than at Bucharest
for an arrangement which would diminish the import-
*The expression of the will?
412
APPENDIX A.
ance of one of these two capitals to the advantage of
the other? Õught diversity of local interests to prevail
over community of political interests? Doubtless,
regarding matters from this narrow point of view,
Wallachia has more to gain by fusion than Moldavia,
because Bucharest occupies a position more central, and
nearer the Danube. But what signifies this advan-
tage, if, in losing the privilege of being the chief city of
a petty province, without power and without import-
ance, Jassy obtains that of being the second city of a
great principality-containing a population of more
than four millions, and occupying a place in the poli-
tical system of the East? There is not, we believe, in
Moldavia, a single man of intelligence and of devotion
to his country, who could hesitate as to the alternative;
and we have no doubt that opinions, sincerely consulted,
will be unanimous, as Count Walewski said at the
Congress, in demanding the union of the two Princi-
palities.
'In short, the Treaty of Paris has on this point esta-
blished all essential principles. If questions of detail
remain to be settled, it depends much on the Princi-
palities themselves that they be settled advantageously
for them. The French Government has fully done
its duty with regard to them, and there is reason to
believe that on this point, as on all others, the ultimate
result will give full satisfaction to the interests which it
has been our object to guard.
"We will not dwell upon the measures taken for
securing the free navigation of the Danube. The neu-
tralisation of the Black Sea; the presence, at the mouths
of the river, of ships belonging to the Powers which
signed the Treaty of Paris; the appointment of commis-
sions, charged to make necessary regulations for naviga-
tion, and to superintend the execution thereof; above all,
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
413
the rectification of the frontiers, which throws back
those of Russia many leagues to the north, are so many
guarantees which can leave no uneasiness respecting the
freedom of a channel of communication so important
to all Germany.
"Thus, the Treaty of Paris protects from new
chances of war countries which have not ceased, from
time immemorial, to be a prey to all its horrors.
Those countries, blessed by Heaven, whither the earliest
navigators went to seek the golden fleece, and towards
which we ourselves turn when the harvests of our
less favoured fields do not suffice for our wants-those
fertile regions are at length about to experience the
effects of a durable peace. The basin of the Black Sea
ceases to be a closed field where two champions unequal
in strength were incessantly disputing, the weakest at
the mercy of the strongest, a constant source of in-
quietude to the world. They are now both disarmed
upon the perpetual theatre of their contests, and the
independence of the one whom we have had an interest
in defending, having become a principle of public law,
rests henceforth on such guarantees that the other
can no longer dream of attacking it, unless in the
event of a complete disturbance of the existing relations
between the Powers, and of changes in their intentions
too contrary to their interests to be probable."
In his conclusions, " An Old Diplomatist "calls atten-
tion to the jealousy and dislike with which France had
been long regarded by the continental powers-feelings
aggravated by the revolutions of 1830 and 1848, one
effect of which had been to give Russia a greater degree
of ascendancy than ever "by binding tighter the bonds
of moral dependence on her, in which, since 1815, the
German governments had involved themselves. He
refers to the comparative estrangement which the con-
414
APPENDIX A.
J.
duct of Louis Philippe had produced between Eng-
land and France, towards the close of that king's reign,
and to the isolation of France in the councils of Eu-
rope, contrasting it with the happier relations which
now exist:
"Such a position had quite deprived our foreign
policy of all freedom and effective influence. If there
were in Europe less actual hatred for us than in
1815, there was not less ill-will. If our armies were
no longer redoubted, our revolutions were more feared.
Our thirty years of efforts wasted in the sterile disputes
of party were regarded abroad as a sign of incur-
able impotence. We had almost arrived at the predica-
ment of despairing of ourselves. The severe judgments
which we ourselves passed upon the ulcers of our in-
ternal civilization, and upon the precarious condition of
our relations abroad, are yet remembered. It seemed as
if there were no longer in Europe more than two great
governments-those of England and Russia. The whole
world seemed to gravitate fatefully around these. In
the opinion of many, even England herself was no longer
in the path of progress, and universal dominion was
reserved by Providence for Russia.
"The war has profoundly changed that state of
things. France comes out of the crisis with alliances
which replace the great Powers respectively in their
natural positions, and form the elements of a political
system really conformable to the essential interests of
Europe.
"The idea of an alliance with England is not new in
France. Mutual esteem, founded on a due appreciation
of their respective merits, a mutual conviction that they
could not recommence their ancient contests without
inflicting on each other most frightful calamities, alike
contribute to reconcile them. The identity of their
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
415
interests, in presence of the development which the power
of Russia has received since 1815, is likewise evident,
and would alone suffice to associate their proceedings
closely. Nevertheless, despite so many motives for
good understanding, there did not, until the beginning
of the crisis which is now terminated, exist between
France and England an alliance truly so called; and
even in the East, where so many considerations invited
the two Governments to act in concert, they had been
at one time on the point of appealing to arms for the
settlement of their differences. Doubtless deceived by
the souvenirs of 1840, Russia hoped to divide the two
Powers again by offering England the temptation of
an important share in the partition of the Ottoman
Empire. Not only has that calculation been baulked,
but a concord, of which, perhaps, history furnishes
no example, has been established between the two
countries. Lord Clarendon merely expressed without
exaggeration an incontestable truth, when he declared,
two years ago, before the English Parliament, that there
was more concord between Paris and London than
often existed between members of the same Cabinet.
Since then, the understanding has become a regular
alliance, the armies and fleets of both countries have in
concert conducted a formidable enterprise to a happy
issue, and peace has finally confirmed the work of war.
The alliance has survived, complete and entire, the
circumstances which created it; and it may well be
believed that, having passed through so many trials
without a single difficulty really serious having
arisen between the two countries, it now unites in
itself all the conditions of permanence."
One of the effects of the late contest, the writer ob-
serves, has been "to consummate the dissolution of the
Holy Alliance." The proceedings of Austria, and even
416
APPENDIX A
of Russia, have, he argues, contributed to that result,
and the firm and sincere friendship of England and
France afford security against the revival of combina-
tions obnoxious to the rights of nations and peoples.
Russia herself has learnt a salutary lesson:
"There is reason to believe that the events, of
which the effect has been thus to modify the general
situation of the Powers and their respective position
as regards ourselves, have not been without influence
on the sentiments of Russia. As to the East, she has
seen her long-cherished designs excite a resistance too
serious to permit the possibility of their accomplishment.
She could not bring them to a successful consummation
save by dividing Europe, and the independence of Con-
stantinople is a point upon which there will be but one
opinion in Paris, London, and Vienna, so long as there
shall exist enlightened Governments in these places.
The extension of the frontiers of the Russian Em-
pire to the Bosphorus would produce such a disturb-
ance in international relations, that as long as political
vitality is not extinct in France, England, and Austria,
fleets and armies will be found to defend the keystone
of the territorial system of Europe. The events in
which we have taken part for the last three years have
given signal demonstration of this. It would evince
neither ability nor wisdom on the part of Russia to
place herself in opposition to the unanimous resolution
of Europe, even were not that resolution confirmed as it
now is by solemn stipulations; and Russia has given in
the past too many proofs of consummate prudence not
to profit by the lessons of experience.
"It may cost her feelings something to renounce
traditional designs, to break through the illusions with
which her most illustrious sovereigns flattered them-
selves, to reconcile herself to the idea that the road to
THE TREATY OF PEACE.
417
Byzantium is closed against her. But what great nations
have not had their chimeras and their delusions? It
has been the lot of all those that have played a great
part in the world to aspire in their turn to universal
dominion, and to wound themselves against the irre-
sistible league of general interests which community of
danger never fails to arouse. Russia has just made the
essay, and even had she been better prepared for such
vast projects than she really was, she would assuredly
have failed. We do not doubt for a moment that she
has made this confession to herself, and that she is re-
solved to keep loyally to the observance of her obliga-
tions to Europe. We believe likewise that her dis-
positions towards France, impressed since 1815, and
especially since 1830, with so much jealousy, have been
happily modified by a struggle which has taught her
to know us better. We believe that she has renounced,
like her ancient allies-now ours-the spirit of the old
coalitions, which, after having combated us on the field
of battle, made war with us for years in the coun-
cils of Europe.
"Whether we regard the clauses of the Treaty of Paris,
or examine the relations which the crisis has enabled us
to establish with the great Powers, the present peace
appears to us to present all possible chances of duration,
and to assure, for a long time, the repose of the world."
Congratulations on a result which the writer con-
siders so beneficial to Europe, and the attainment of
which is due, in great measure, to the wisdom of the
Imperial councils, through which France has become
more highly esteemed by the European Cabinets than
she ever was before *, close a paper which, it cannot be
* "She has at other times been more feared, caused greater com-
EE
:
·
-
418
APPENDIX A.
:
denied, is marked by decided prepossessions, but which
is rendered highly interesting by the writer's familiarity
with European politics.
motions in the world, and scattered more éclat around her, but has
never been more truly respected."
419
APPENDIX B.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1852.
THE text of the Constitution of 1852 ran to the follow-
ing purport. It is, in its fundamental features, si-
milar to that now existing. No alteration in essentials
was made when the nation called the Chief Magistrate
to the Imperial dignity. There was a change of form
-no change of principles :-
"The President of the Republic, considering that
the French people has been called to pronounce on the
following resolution, viz.,-'The people wills the main-
tenance of the authority of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte,
and gives him the necessary powers to make a Consti-
tution on the basis established in his proclamation of
the 2nd December;'- Considering that the bases pro-
posed for the acceptance of the people were
"1. A responsible chief appointed for ten years,—
"2. Ministers dependent on the Executive power
alone,
"3. A Council of State, formed of the most distin-
guished men, preparing the laws and maintaining the
discussion of them in the Legislative body,-
"4. A Legislative body, discussing and voting the
laws, -nominated by universal suffrage, without the
scrutin de liste, which falsifies the election, -
"5. A second Assembly, formed of all the distin-
guished men of the country, a balancing power, guar.
EF 2
420
APPENDIX B.
..
dian of the fundamental pact and of the public in-
terests,-
"And considering that the people have answered
affirmatively by 7,500,000 suffrages-he promulgates
the Constitution, the tenor of which is as follows:
SECTION I.
"Art. 1. The Constitution recognises, confirms, and
guarantees the great principles proclaimed in 1789, and
which form the bases of the public rights of the French
people.
SECTION II. - FORM OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
REPUBLIC.
"Art. 2. The Government of the French Republic is
entrusted to Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, actual
President of the Republic, for ten years.
"Art. 3. The President of the Republic governs by
means of the Ministers, the Council of State, the Senate,
and the Legislative body.
"Art. 4. The Legislative power is exercised col-
lectively by the President of the Republic, the Senate,
and the Legislative body.
SECTION III. – OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC.
"Art 5. The President of the Republic is responsible
to the French people, to whom he has always a right to
appeal.
"Art. 6. The President of the Republic is the Chief
of the State. He commands the land and sea forces,
declares war, concludes treaties of peace, political and
commercial alliances, and makes the rules and decrees
for the execution of the laws.
"Art. 7. Justice is rendered in his name.
"Art. 8. He alone has the initiative of the laws.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1852.
421
"Art. 9. He has the right of pardoning.
"Art. 10. He sanctions and promulgates the laws
and the Senatus-Consultes.
"Art. 11. He presents the state of the Republic
every year to the Senate and Legislative body by a
message.
"Art. 12. He has a right to declare the state of
siege in one or several departments, on condition of
referring to the Senate with the shortest delay. The
consequences of the state of siege are regulated by the
law.
"Art. 13. The Ministers depend solely on the Chief
of the State. Each is responsible only as far as the
acts of the Government regard him. There is no
solidarity between them. They can only be impeached
by the Senate.
"Art. 14. The Ministers, members of the Senate, the
Legislative body, and the Council of State, the officers
of the land and sea forces, the magistrates, and the
public functionaries, take the following oath :
"I swear obedience to the Constitution, and fidelity
to the President.'
"Art. 15. A Senatus-Consulte fixes the sum allowed
annually to the President of the Republic for the entire
duration of his functions.
"Art. 16. Should the President of the Republic die
before the expiration of his power, the Senate convokes
the nation to proceed to a new election.
"Art. 17. The Chief of the State has a right, by a
secret act deposited in the archives of the State, to point
out to the people the name of the citizen he recom-
mends, in the interest of France, to the confidence of
the people and to its suffrages.
"Art. 18. Until the election of the new President
of the Republic, the President of the Senate governs
422
APPENDIX B.
:
with the concurrence of the Ministers in office, who
form themselves into a Government Council, and deli-
berate by a majority of votes.
SECTION IV. — OF THE SENATE.
"Art. 19. The number of Senators cannot exceed
150. It is fixed at 80 for the first year.
"Art. 20. The Senate is composed, 1st, of the Car-
dinals, Marshals, Admirals; 2nd, of the citizens whom
the President of the Republic deems fit to elevate to the
dignity of Senator.
"Art. 21. The Senators are not removable, and are
for life.
"Art. 22. The functions of Senator are gratuitous;
nevertheless, the President of the Republic may accord
the Senators, by reason of the services rendered, and
of their position as respects fortune, a personal dota-
tion, which shall not exceed 30,000f. yearly.
"Art. 23. The President and Vice-Presidents of the
Senate are named by the President of the Republic, and
chosen amongst the Senators. They are appointed for
one year. The salary of the President of the Senate is
fixed by a decree.
"Art. 24. The President of the Republic convokes
and prorogues the Senate. He fixes the duration of
its session by a decree. The sittings of the Senate are
not public.
"Art. 25. The Senate is the guardian of the funda-
mental pact, and of the public liberties. No law can
be promulgated before being submitted to it.
"Art. 26. The Senate opposes the promulgation
1st, of laws which may be contrary to or impair the
Constitution, religion, morals, liberty of worship, liberty
of persons, equality of the citizens before the laws,
inviolability of property, and the principle of the im-
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1852.
423
mobility of the magistracy; 2nd, of those which may
endanger the safety of the territory.
"Art. 27. The Senate regulates by a Senatus-Con-
sulte 1. The Constitution of the colonies and of
Algeria; 2. All that has not been provided for by the
Constitution, and which is necessary to its maintenance;
3. The signification of articles of the Constitution
which may give rise to various interpretations.
"Art. 28. These Senatus-Consultes shall be submitted
to the sanction of the President of the Republic, and
promulgated by him.
"Art. 29. The Senate maintains or annuls acts
which may be submitted to it as unconstitutional by
the Government, or denounced for the same cause in
petitions from the citizens.
"Art. 30. The Senate may, in a report addressed to
the President of the Republic, fix the bases of projects
of law of great national interest.
"Art. 31. It may also propose modifications in the
Constitution. If the proposition be adopted by the
Executive Power, this is stated by a Senatus-Consulte.
"Art. 32. But all modifications of the fundamental
bases of the Constitution shall be submitted to universal
suffrage, as these have been enunciated in the procla-
mation of the 2nd of December, and adopted by the
French people.
"Art. 33. In case of the dissolution of the Legisla
tive body, and till another convocation, the Senate, on
the proposition of the President of the Republic, pro-
vides by measures of urgency for all that is necessary
for carrying on the Government.
SECTION V. —OF THE LEGISLATIVE BODY.
"Art. 34. The election has the population for basis.
424
APPENDIX B.
....
:
X
"Art. 35. There will be one deputy to the Legisla-
tive body for every 35,000 electors.
“Art. 36. The deputies are elected by universal suf-
frage, without the scrutin de liste.
"Art. 37. They do not receive any salary.
"Art. 38. They are appointed for six years.
"Art. 39. The Legislative body discusses and votes
projects of law and imposts.
"Art. 40. Every amendment adopted by the com-
mission charged with the examination of a project of
law shall be sent, without discussion, to the Council of
State by the President of the Legislative body. If the
amendment be not adopted by the Council of State, it
cannot be submitted to the consideration of the Legis-
lative body.
"Art. 41. The ordinary sitting of the Legislative
body lasts three months; its sittings are public, but the
demand of five members is sufficient for its resolving
itself into a secret committee.
"Art. 42. The account of the proceedings of the
sittings of the Legislative body given by the journals,
or any other channel of publication, shall consist only
of the reproduction of the minutes drawn up at the
close of each sitting by care of the President of the
Legislative body.
"Art. 43. The President and Vice-Presidents of the
Legislative body are named by the President of the
Republic for one year; they are chosen from amongst
the deputies. The salary of the President of the Le-
gislative body is fixed by a decree.
"Art. 44. The Ministers cannot be members of the
Legislative body.
"Art. 45. The right of petition is to be exercised as
regards the Senate. No petition is to be addressed to
the Legislative body.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1852.
425
"Art. 46. The President of the Republic convokes,
adjourns, prorogues, and dissolves the Legislative body.
In case of dissolution, the President of the Republic is
bound to convoke a new one within the term of six
months.
SECTION VI.—OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE.
"Art. 47. The number of the Councillors of State in
ordinary service is from 40 to 50.
"Art. 43. The Councillors of State are named by
the President of the Republic, and are liable to removal
by him.
"Art. 49. The Council of State is presided over by
the President of the Republic, and in his absence by the
person whom he indicates as vice-president of the
Council of State.
"Art. 50. The Council of State is charged, under the
direction of the President of the Republic, to draw up
projects of law and regulations of public administration,
and to obviate the difficulties that may arise in matters
of administration.
"Art. 51. It maintains, in the name of the Govern-
ment, the discussion of the projects of law before the
Senate and the Legislative body. The Councillors of
State charged to speak in the name of the Government
are appointed by the President of the Republic.
"Art. 52. The salary of each Councillor of State is
25,000f.
"Art. 53. The Ministers have rank, right of sitting,
and a deliberative voice in the Council of State.
SECTION VII.—OF THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE.
"Art. 54. A High Court of Justice judges, without
appeal or recourse to cassation, all persons who shall
be sent before it as accused of crimes, attempts, or plots
FF
426
APPENDIX B.
:
against the President of the Republic, and against the
internal and external safety of the State. It cannot be
convened but in virtue of a decree of the President of
the Republic.
"Art. 55. A Senatus-Consulte shall determine the
organisation of this High Court.
SECTION VIII.-GENERAL AND TRANSITORY PROVISIONS.
"Art. 56. The provisions of the codes, rules, and
regulations now existing, which are not opposed to the
present Constitution, remain in force until they be
legally abrogated.
"Art. 57. A law shall determine the municipal or-
ganisation. The
The mayor shall be named by the Execu-
tive Power, and need not be a member of the Municipal
Council.
"Art. 58. The present Constitution shall be in force
from the day when the great powers of the State
organised by it shall be constituted. The decrees
issued by the President of the Republic, from the
2nd of December to the present period, shall have
all the force of law.
"Done at the Palace of the Tuileries the 14th of
January, 1852.
"LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.”
THE END.
LONDON:
Printed by Spottiswoode & Co.,
New-street-Square.

Short Whist
Thomson's Interest Tables
Webster's Domestic Economy
West on Children's Diseases
Willich's Popular Tables
Wilmot's Blackstone
LIST of WORKS in GENERAL LITERATURE,
PUBLISHED BY
Messrs. LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, and ROBERTS,
39, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
CLASSIFIED INDEX.
Maunder's Treasury of History
46
Natural History
Piesse's Art of Perfumery
Pages.
-
4
Piscator's Cookery of Fish
6
Pocket and the Stud
6
13
13
-
15
15
17
9
18
18
LC
18
19
-
19
20
20
Agriculture and Rural
Affairs.
Bayldon on Valuing Rents, &c.
Caird's Letters on Agriculture
Cecil's Stud Farm
Loudon's Agriculture
Low's Elements of Agriculture
Arts, Manufactures, and
Architecture.
Arnott on Ventilation -
Bourne on the Screw Propeller
Brande's Dictionary of Science,&c.
Organic Chemistry-
Chevreul on Colour
Cresy's Civil Engineering
-
Pycroft's English Reading
Reece's Medical Guide
17
Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary 18
Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 18
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries
Roget's English Thesaurus
Rowton's Debater
Roget's English Thesaurus
·
Russell's Life of Lord W. Russell
Schmitz's History of Greece
Smith's Sacred Annals
Southey's Doctor -
-
Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 21
Lectures on French History 21
Sydney Smith's Works.
(C
Taylor's Loyola
-
Select Works
Lectures
Memoirs
Wesley
Thirlwall's History of Greece
20
23
20
20
21
21
21
Thornbury's Shakspeare's England 21
Townsend's State Trials
Turkey and Christendom
Turner's Anglo-Saxons
18
18
18
20
"
21
22
24
24
Fairbairn's Informa. for Engineers
Middle Ages
Gwilt's Encyclo. of Architecture
Botany and Gardening.
CC
Harford's Engravings after Michael
Angelo
Hooker's British Flora
-
8
CC
Herring on Paper-Making
9
Co
40
Humphreys's Parables Illuminated 10
"
Jameson's Sacred & Legendary Art
Commonplace-Book
11
11
König's Picto:ial Life of Luther
8
C
Guide to Kew Gardens
66 Kew Museum
Lindley's Introduction to Botany
Theory of Horticulture -
"
Loudon's Hortus Britannicus
Amateur Gardener
9
Sacred Hist. of the World
Tehse's Austrian Court -
Wade's England's Greatness
9
Whitelocke's Swedish Embassy
24
13
-
12
Woods's Crimean Campaign -
Young's Christ of History
24
-
13
13
Geography and Atlases.
London's Rural Architecture
13
Trees and Shrubs
13
MacDougall's Theory of War
14
Arrowsmith's Geogr. Dict. of Bible
Brewer's Historical Atlas
3
-
4
"
Gardening
13
Malan's Aphorisms on Drawing
14
Plants
13
Moseley's Engineering
16
Butler's Geography and Atlases
Cabinet Gazetteer
+
Self Instruction for Gar-
Piesse's Art of Perfumery
17
Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 18
Scrivenor on the Iron Trade -
deners, &c.
13
Cornwall: Its Mines, &c.
Pereira's Materia Medica
Durrieu's Morocco
17
19
Stark's Printing
-
23
Steam-Engine, by the Artisan Club
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c.
Young on Præ-Raffaellitism
Biography.
24
***2*
Rivera's Rose-Amateur's Guide
•
18
Hughes's Australian Colonies
Johnston's General Gazetteer
11
Wilson's British Mosses
21
4
Maunder's Treasury of Geography 15
22
Chronology.
M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 14
Russia and Turkey 23
Blair's Chronological Tables
Brewer's Historical Atlas
44
Bunsen's Ancient Egypt
Arago's Autobiography
23
Haydn's Beatson's Index
<< Lives of Scientific Men
Bodenstedt and Wagner's Schamyl 23
Buckingham's (J. S.) Memoirs
-
Jaquemet's Chronology
Bunsen's Hippolytus
Cockayne's Marshal Turenne
Clinton's (Fynes) Autobiography
Johns & Nicolas'sCalendar of Victory 11
Nicolas's Chronology of Iistory - 12
Commerce and Mercantile
Milner's Baltic Sea
Murray's Encyclo. of Geography
Sharp's British Gazetteer
Wheeler's Geography of Herodotus 24
Juvenile Books.
Amy Herbert -
15
Crimea
"
Russia
9
11
15
15
-
16
19
23
Cleve Hall
Dennistoun's Strange & Lumisden
Affairs.
Earl's Daughter (The)
Forster's De Foe and Churchill
-
23
Gilbart's Treatise on Banking
8
Experience of Life
Fulcher's Life of Gainsborough
Gertrude
-
Harford's Life of Michael Angelo -
Lorimer's Young Master Mariner
Macleod's Banking
→
11
Gilbart's Logic for the Young
Haydon's Autobiography,by Taylor
9
M'Culloch'sCommerce & Navigation 14
Howitt's Boy's Country Book
Hayward's hesterfield and Selwyn 23
Holcroft's Memoirs
Scrivenor on Iron Trade
19
(Mary) Children's Year
23
Ivors
Thomson's Interest Tablet
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia
12
Katharine Ashton
Tooke's History of Prices
Maunder's Biographical Treasury -
14
Tuson's British Consul's Manual -
I.aneton Parsonage
19
19
19
19
19
8
10
10
19
19
19
-
Memoir of the Duke of Wellington 23
Margaret Percival -
19
Memoirs of James Montgomery
Merivale's Memoirs of Cicero
15
Criticism,
History, and
15
Memoirs.
Rogers's Life and Genius of Fuller
Russell's Memoirs of Moore
23
-
"
Wesley
-
Life of Lord Wm. Russell
St. John's Audubon
Southey's Life of Wesley
Life and Correspondence 20
Select Correspondence - 20
Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 21
Sydney Smith's Memoirs
Taylor's Loyola
Waterton's Autobiography & Essays 22
Wheeler's Life of Herodotus
16
19
Blair's Chron. and Histor. Tables
Brewer's Historical Atlas
-
19
<
20
Bunsen's Ancient Egypt
Hippolytus
Burton's History of Scotland
Holland's Mental Physiology
Chapman's Gustavus Adolphus
Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul
6
Medicine and Surgery.
Brodie's Psychological Inquiries
Bull's Hints to Mothers -
"" Management of Children
Copland's Dictionary of Medicine -
Cust's Invalid's Own Book
M
" Medical Notes and Reflect. 9
How to Nurse Sick Children -
45561-5
-
20
Erskine's History of India
7
21
Gleig's Leipsic Campaign
23
Kesteven's Domestic Medicine
Pereira's Materia Medica
-
21
Gurney's Historical Sketches
8
24
Haydon's Autobiography, by Taylor 9
Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions
11
Books of General Utility.
Johns & Nicolas'sCalendar of Victory 11
Kemble's Anglo-Saxons
-
11
Acton's Bread-Book
3
Cookery
66
Black's Treatise on Brewing
Cabinet Gazetteer
Lawyer
Cust's Invalid's Own Book
Gilbart's Logic for the Million
Hints on Etiquette
9
How to Nurse Sick Children
10
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia
Macaulay's Crit. and Hist. Essays
History of England
Speeches
Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works 14
History of England - 14
M'Culloch'sGeographical Dictionary 14
Maunder's Treasury of History 15
Memoir of the Duke of Wellington 23
Merivale's History of Rome
-
13
Reece's Medical Guide -
West on Diseases of Infancy-
Wilson's Dissector's Manual
Miscellaneous and General
Literature.
10
11
17
18
22
24
13
-
13
Carlisle's Lectures and Addresses
Defence of Eclipse of Faith
23
13
Digby's Lover's Seat
Eclipse of Faith
Greg's Political and Social Essays
Gurney's Evening Recreations
Hassall on Adulteration of Fcoi
Haydn's Book of Dignities
-
15
Hudson's Executor's Guide
10
Roman Republic -
Holland's Mental Physiology
15
Hooker's Kew Guides
"" on Making Wills
10
Milner's Church History
15
Kesteven's Domestic Medicine
11
Moore's (Thomas) Memoirs, &c.
Howitt's Rural Life of England
16
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia
10
Visitsto Remarkable Places 10
-
12
Mure's Greek Literature
16
London's Lady's Country Compa-
Normanby's Year of Revolution
17
nion
13
Raikes's Journal
18
Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge 15
เ
Biographical Treasury
Geographical Treasury 15
Scientific Treasury
14
Ranke's Ferdinand & Maximilian 23
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries
Jameson's Commonplace Book
Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions
Last of the Old Squires
18
Roberts's Southern Counties
18
-
15
Rogers's Essays from Edinb. Review 18
Macaulay's Crit. and Hist. Essays
Speeches
Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works
Memoirs of a Maître-d'Armes
-
11
11
-
17
13
13
14
-
23
B

2
Maitland's Church in the Catacombs 14
Martineau's Miscellanies
14
Pascal's Works, by Pearce
17
Pillans's Contributions to Education17
Pinney on Duration of Human Life 17
Printing: Its Origin, &c.
23
Pycroft's English Reading
18
Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary 18
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries
-
18
Rowton's Debater
18
Seaward's Narrative of his Shipwreck19
Sir Roger de Coverley -
20
Smith's (Rev. Sydney) Works
20
Southey's Common place Books
20
"
The Doctor &c.
20
Souvestre's Attic Philosopher
23
CLASSIFIED INDEX.
Martineau's Christian Life -
Hymns
"C
Milner's Church of Christ
Montgomery's Original Hymns
Moore on the Use of the Body
<< Soul and Body
"6
's Man and his Motives
Mormonism
Neale's Closing Scene
Newman's (J. H.) Discourses
(6 on Universities
Ranke's Ferdinand & Maximilian
Readings for Lent
""
Confirmation
Robinson's Lexicon to the Greek
Testament -
14
14
Moseley'sEngineering&Architecture 17
Nomos
17
15
15
-
16
16
16
23
16
"
Guide to Geology
Our Coal-Fields and our Coal-Pits 23
Owen's Lectures on Comp. Anatomy 17
Pereira on Polarised Light
Peschel's Elements of Physics
Phillips's Fossils of Cornwall, &c.
66 Mineralogy
17
-
17
17
17
-
18
-
17
Portlock's Geology of Londonderry 18
16
Powell's Unity of Worlds
18
23
-
19
-
19
-
18
"Confessions of a Working Man
23
Saints our Example
19
Spencer's Psychology
21
Sermon in the Mount
19
Stephen's Essays
21
Sinclair's Journey of Life
20
.'
Stow's Training System
21
Smith's (Sydney) Moral Philosophy 20
Strachey's Hebrew Politics
21
"C (G.) Sacred Annals
Thomson's Laws of Thought
21
Harmony of Divine Dis-
Townsend's State Trials
22
pensations -
Willich's Popular Tables
24
Yonge's English-Greek Lexicon
(J.) Voyage and Shipwreck
24
of St. Paul
The Horse
Latin Gradus
Zumpt's Latin Grammar
Natural History in general.
Catlow's Popular Conchology
Ephemera and Young on the Salmon 7
Gosse's Natural History of Jamaica 8
Kemp's Natural History of Creation 23
Kirby and Spence's Entomology - 11
Lee's Elements of Natural History 12
Mann on Reproduction
Maunder's Natural History
Turton's Shells ofthe British Islands
Van der Hoeven's
Zoology
Von Tschudi's Sketches in the Alps 23
Waterton's Essays on Natural Hist. 22
Youatt's The Dog
1-Volume
Encyclopædias
and Dictionaries.
Arrowsmith's Geogr. Dict. of Bible 3
Blaine's Rural Sports
-
24
Southey's Life of Wesley
*** ***282 2 22
Smee's Electro-Metallurgy
20
Steam Engine (The)
4
Wilson's Electric Telegraph -
23
Rural Sports.
Baker's Rifle and Hound in Ceylon
Blaine's Dictionary of Sports
8
Cecil's Stable Practice
"C Stud Farm
20
20
Davy's Piscatorial Colloquies
20
20
-
24
Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 21
The Hunting-Field
Tayler's (J. J.) Discourses
21
Taylor's Loyola
21
"
6
Wesley
21
Practical Horsemanship
Theologia Germanica
5
Thomson on the Atonement
21
Thumb Bible (The)
21
logy
The Cricket Field
Ephemera on Angling
Book of the Salmon
Hawker's Young Sportsman
Idle's Hints on Shooting
Pocket and the Stud
Richardson's Horsemanship
Ronalds's Fly-Fisher's Entomo-
-
7
7
9
9
10
9
9
18
J
18
Tomline's Introduction to the Bible 22
Turner's Sacred History -
Stable Talk and Table Talk
9
22
Stainton's June
21
15
Handbook of
142 2222
Twining's Bible Types -
22
Stonehenge on the Greyhound
21
22
Wheeler's Popular Bible Harmony
Young's Christ of History
24
Thacker's Courser's Guide
21
24
The Stud, for Practical Purposes -
9
CC
Mystery
24
Veterinary Medicine, &c.
Poetry and the Drama.
Aikin's (Dr.) British Poets
24
Arnold's Poems
24
Baillie's (Joanna) Poetical Works
Bode's Ballads from Herodotus
♡♡♡
3
Cecil's Stable Practice
Stud Farm
6
6
3
Hunting Field (The)
9
3
Miles's Horse-Shoeing -
15
4
on the Horse's Foot
15
Calvert's Wife's Manual
6
Pocket and the Stud
9
Pneuma
6
Practical Horsemanship
9
Flowers and their Kindred Thoughts 11
Richardson's Horsemanship
18
-
4
Goldsmith's Poems, illustrated
8
Brande's Science, Literature, and Art 4
Copland's Dictionary of Medicine - 6
Cresy's Civil Engineering
Gwilt's Architecture
L. E. L.'s Poetical Works
12
Stable Talk and Table Talk
Stud (The)
9
9
Linwood's Anthologia Oxoniensis - 13
Lynch's Rivulet
Youatt's The Dog
24
13
The Horse
24
8
Lyra Germanica
5
Johnston's Geographical Dictionary 11
Loudon's Agriculture
·
13
""
Rural Architecture
·
13
Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome
Mac Donald's Within and Without
Montgomery's Poetical Works
13
14
-
15
""
Gardening
13
Original Hymns
-
15
"
Plants
13
Moore's Poetical Works
16.
"C
"
Trees and Shrubs
13
Epicurean -
16
M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 14
Dictionary of Commerce 14
"
"
Lalla Rookh
16
Burton's East Africa
Irish Melodies
16
-
"C
Murray's Encyclo. of Geography
·
16
Sharp's British Gazetteer
19
Reade's Man in Paradise
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. -
Webster's Domestic Economy
22
Songs and Ballads
Shakspeare, by Bowdler
16
18
-
19
Eothen
22
Southey's Poetical Works
20
Voyages and Travels.
Auldjo's Ascent of Mont Blanc
Baines's Vaudois of Piedmont
Baker's Wanderings in Ceylon
Barrow's Continental Tour
Barth's African Travels
Medina and Mecca
Carlisle's Turkey and Greece
De Custinc's Russia
Ferguson's Swiss Travels
-
23
23
3
5
<<
Religious & Moral Works.
Amy Herbert
19
Arrowsmith's Geogr. Dict. of Bible
3
Bloomfield's Greek Testament
British Poets -
Thomson's Scasons, illustrated
Political Economy and
Statistics.
►
20
Flemish Interiors
-
21
Forester's Rambles in Norway
"
Sardinia and Corsica
Gironière's Philippines -
Gregorovius's Corsica
23
8
23
23
Calvert's Wife's Manual
6
Caird's Letters on Agriculture
Halloran's Japan
Cleve Hall
19
Dodd's Food of London
7
Hill's Travels in Siberia
Conybeare's Essays
6
Greg's Political and Social Essays
8
Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul
6
Jennings's Social Delusions -
-
11
Cotton's Instructions in Christianity 7
Laing's Notes of a Traveller-
23
Dale's Domestic Liturgy
7
Defence of Eclipse of Faith
7
Discipline
7
Earl's Daughter (The)
19
Eclipse of Faith
7
23
-
21
24
Englishman's Greek Concordance
7
Heb. &Chald.Concord.
7
Etheride's Jerusalem
7
Experience (The) of Life
19
Gertrude
19
Arago's
Harrison's Light of the Forge
8
Hook's Lectures on Passion Week
Horne's Introduction to Scriptures 10
A bridgment of ditto
9
o's Meteorological Essays
Popular Astronomy
Bourne on the Screw Propeller
333
3
's Catechism of the Steam-
10
Engine
"
M'Culloch's Geog. Statist. &c. Dict. 14
Dictionary of Commerce 14
London
Tegoborski's Russian Statistics
Willich's Popular Tables
The Sciences in general
and Mathematics.
Hope's Brittany and the Bible
" Chase in Brittany
Howitt's Art-Student in Munich
(W.) Victoria -
Huc's Chinese Empire
Huc and Gabet's Tartary & Thịbet 23
Hudson and Kennedy's Mont
Blanc
-
Hughes's Australian Colonies
Humboldt's Aspects of Nature
Hurlbut's Pictures from Cuba
Hutchinson's African Exploration 23
Jameson's Canada -
Jerrmann's St. Petersburg
Laing's Norway
"C Notes of a Traveller
<<
23
-
10
10
10
Kennard's Eastern Tour
-
Humphreys's Parables Illuminated 10
Ivors
19
Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c.
"Lectures on Organic Chemistry
M'Clure's North-West Passage
Mason's Zulus of Natal
Jameson's Sacred Legends
11
"(
Monastic Legends -
11
Brougham and Routh's Principia
Butler's Rolls Sermons
Mayne's Arctic Discoveries
Miles's Rambles in Iceland
****200* 0*2****=:?=22:

10
23
10
23
23
23
11
23
23
14
23
23
23
-
"
Legends of the Madonna
Lectures on Female Em-
11
Cresy's Civil Engineering
6
Pfeiffer's Voyage round the World 23
ployment
•
11
Dela Beche'sGeology of Cornwall,&c. 7
De la Rive's Electricity
" Second ditto
17
7
Scott's Danes and Swedes
19
Jeremy Taylor's Works -
-
11
Faraday's Non Metallic Elements
8
Seaward's Narrative
19
Kalisch's Commentary on Exodus - 11
Grove's Correla. of Physical Forces.
8
Katharine Ashton
-
19
Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy
9.
Weld's United States and Canada - 22
Werne's African Wanderings
König's Pictorial Life of Luther
-
8
Holland's Mental Physiology
9
Laneton Parsonage
Letters to my Unknown Friends
19
Humboldt's Aspects of Nature
10
Wheeler's Travels of Herodotus
Wilberforce's Brazil & Slave-Trade 23
-
2223
23
24
-
12
Cosmos
10
on Happiness
-
12
Hunt on Light
10
Works of Fiction.
Lynch's Rivulet
13
Kemp's Phasis of Matter
11
Arnold's Oakfield
3
Lyra Germanica
5
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia
12
Macdonald's Villa Verocchio
14
Macnaught on Inspiration
14
Mann on Reproduction
-
14
Sir Roger de Coverley
20
Maitland's Church in Catacombs
-
14
Marcet's (Mrs.) Conversations
15
Southey's The Doctor &c.
20
-
Morell's Elements of Psychology
-
16
Trollope's Warden
22
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