^' 
 

 t 4 ^ 
 
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THE BOURBON RESTORATION 
 
L®WIIg S^riHS 
 
THE BOURBON 
 RESTORATION 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR JOHN R. HALL 
 
 LONDON : ALSTON RIVERS, LTD. 
 
 BROOKE STREET, HOLBORN BARS, E.G. 
 
 1909 
 
u'^TORT I 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAOK 
 
 Louis le Desire . . ... 1 
 
 CHAFPER II 
 
 Paternal Anarchy , . ... 36 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Napoleon Again . . ... 72 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 A Second Chance . . . . . 100 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 The Bourbon Terror . . . . . 132 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 The Royalist Victory . . . . . 147 
 
 V^'y 
 
 CHAPITER VII y 
 
 La Chambrb Introuvable . . . . 158 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 General Donnadieu . . . . . 181 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Favourite Minister . . ... 196 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 The Liberation of the Territory . . . . 211 
 
 398411 
 
vi CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 Cabinet Crises and a Tragedy 
 
 CHAPTER Xn 
 
 The Triumph of Reaction 
 
 CHAPTER Xni 
 
 The Secret Societies 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 Chateaubriand's War 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 La Chambre RsTROuviiE . 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 An Interlude 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 Sowing the Wind 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Reaping the Whirlwind . 
 
 Index . 
 
THE BOURBON RESTORATION 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 LOUIS LE DESIRE 
 
 ON March 30th, 1814, the campaign of France terminated 
 with the Battle of Paris. The last fractions of the Imperial 
 army which interposed between the capital and the Allies were 
 hurled back on the city. Joseph Bonaparte, the ex-King of Spain, 
 the Emperor's Lieutenant- General, witnessed the scene from the 
 heights of Montmartre. When he saw that Marmont and Mortier's 
 attenuated battalions were enveloped and overborne, he sent 
 word to the Marshals to make the best terms they could with the 
 enemy, and himself fled to rejoin the Empress Marie Louise at 
 Blois. After continuing the struggle for about three hours longer, 
 Marmont asked for and obtained a suspension of hostilities.^ 
 In the evening a convention was drawn up, under the terms of 
 which the Russian and Prussian armies, the next day, made 
 their entry into Paris.^ 
 
 Napoleon himself was at Fontainebleau gathering round him 
 the remnants of his army. Though he was a factor, which in all 
 military calculations could never be overlooked, the situation 
 seemed beyond the power even of his genius to retrieve.^ In 
 Paris all eyes were turned towards the Tsar, whom circumstances 
 had made the arbiter of the destinies of France. But Alexander 
 had not yet decided, to his own satisfaction, the form which the 
 future government was to assume. If he was determined to de- 
 pose Napoleon, he had not yet settled the question as to who 
 should be his successor. The plan of enthroning the Due d' Orleans 
 or Bemadotte had much to commend it. In some quarters he was 
 
 1 H. Houssaye, 1814, pp. 496-505. 
 Marmont, Memoir es, VI. pp. 244-247. 
 
 2 H. Houssaye, 1814, p. 637. 
 
 3 Madame de Stael, Considerations sur la Revolution (Vol. III. 2me 
 edition), Chapitre VI. 
 
 Pasquier, Memoires, II. pp. 240-269. 
 B 
 
2 THTi BOURBON RESTORATION [isu 
 
 urged to allow the infant King of Rome to be proclaimed Em- 
 peror, witih Marie Lonise or Eugene de Beauharnais as Regent. 
 In others, it was suggested that the establishment of a Republic 
 might prove to be the best solution of the problem. A Bourbon 
 Restoration presented the drawback that it would entail the 
 return to France of a crowd of emigres thirsting for revenge. 
 During the campaign in the eastern provinces the Tsar had seen 
 nothing to make him believe that the exiled House counted 
 \ many adherents. In the south, onthe other hand, Bordeaux had 
 \ hoisted the white fllLg7'an(niad received'llie'TJiic'^d'Sngouleme 
 \ with open arms. Vitrolles and the Royalist agents, moreover, 
 1 assured him that in Paris public opinion was favourable to the 
 'Bourbons. But, as he rode along at the head of his troops, it 
 was not till the Boulevard des Italiens was reached, that Alex- 
 ander perceived anything to confirm their statements. At this 
 point, in contrast to the silence which had been hitherto ob- 
 served, a crowd of young nobles wearing the white cockade, 
 greeted the invaders with loud cries of " Long live the Allies ! " 
 " Long live the Bourbons ! "'^ 
 
 During his stay in Paris the Tsar was the guest of Talleyrand 
 in the Rue Saint-Florentin. In these days he still attached great 
 weight to his host's opinions. " The Bourbons," Talleyrand now 
 impressed upon him, "represented a principle, the principle of 
 Legitimate Sovereignty." Alexander had grave doubts whether 
 this doctrine would find much favour with the French people.* 
 Both Talle3rrand and Dalberg, however, assured him that, if the 
 Powers were to pledge themselves not to treat with Napoleon or 
 any of his family, the Legislative Assembly would itself call in 
 the Bourbons.^ After consulting with the King of Prussia and 
 with Schwarzenberg, Alexander issued a proclamation in the 
 desired terms. A Provisional Government was, thereupon, 
 appointed, and the next day, April 2nd, the Senate formally 
 decreed the deposition of the Emperor. 
 
 In the meantime Napoleon was preparing to assume the of- 
 fensive. Marmont and Mortier had rejoined him, and his army 
 numbered between fifty and sixty thousand men.* The conduct 
 of the Senate only became known at Fontainebleau on April 4th. 
 On receipt of the news the Marshals, whose allegiance to the 
 Emperor was already sorely shaken, determined to intervene 
 
 » Pasquier, II. pp. 256-256. 
 Beiignot, Memoires, II. pp. 88-92. 
 Mme. de Stael, Considerations, III. (2me edition), p. 43. 
 Houssaye, 1814, pp. 365, 366. 
 
 2 Pasquier, II. p. 259. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 270, 278. 
 < Ibid., pp. 285-295. 
 
1314] LOUIS LE DESIEE 3 
 
 at once. Eed by Ney, they sought his presence, and insisted on 
 his abdication. 1 Finding that arguments were of no avail, and 
 that the confidence, which he expressed in victory, left them un- 
 moved, Napoleon personally drew up the Act by which he abdi- 
 cated in favour of his son. Ney, Caulaincourt, and Macdonald, 
 whom he himself selected for the mission, carried the document 
 to the Tsar, and, as they passed through Essonnes, where his 
 corps lay, they induced Marmont to go with them. 
 
 In spite of his official announcement that he would never 
 treat with any member of the Bonaparte family, Alexander 
 still clung to the idea that a Regency might prove to be the 
 only alternative which the army would be prepared to accept. 
 In order, thoroughly, to disabuse his mind of this notion, Talley- 
 rand had been scheming to bring about the defection of a large 
 body of troops. 2 Marmont, Due de Raguse, owed everything 
 to the Emperor. Nevertheless, as he confessed to Ney and his 
 colleagues, he was, already, in secret communication with 
 Schwarzenberg and the Provisional Government. During the 
 negotiations which had taken place, after the cessation of hos- 
 tilities on March 30th, Tallejrrand had had a long conversation 
 with him at his house in the Rue Paradis. He had seen the 
 Marshal, " smoke begrimed and mudstained, the very incarna- 
 tion of the battle,'* surrounded and eagerly listened to by all 
 the men of light and leading in Paris. He had read his cha- 
 racter like a book, and had realized how thoroughly the situa- 
 tion was to his taste. ^ He felt certain that he would grasp any 
 opportunity of again acting the chief part in a great event. An 
 emissary was, accordingly, despatched to him, to insinuate that, 
 were he to disassociate himself openly from the fortunes of the 
 deposed Emperor, he would deserve the eternal gratitude of 
 his countrymen. At the same time, the tempting prospect of 
 playing the role of a second General Monk was adroitly dangled 
 before his eyes. Marmont jdelded, and undertook to march his 
 corps d'armee to Versailles, within the Austrian lines, and to 
 place his troops at the disposal of the Provisional Government. 
 Before the unexpected arrival of Ney and the other envoys he 
 had confidentially communicated this plan to the Divisional 
 Generals under his command, and had apprised Schwarzenberg 
 
 1 Pasquier, H. pp. 298-301. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VI. pp. 260, 261. 
 H. Houssaye, 1814. 
 
 2 Pasquier, II. pp. 289-292. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VI. pp. 249-250. 
 
 3 Marmont, Memoires, VI. pp. 269-286. 
 H. Houssaye, 1814, pp. 632-636. 
 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 99-107. • 
 
4 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [18U 
 
 that his intended movement would take place during the night 
 of April 4th-5th.i 
 
 The terms of Napoleon's abdication, and the representative 
 character of the envoys who laid them before him, confirmed 
 Alexander in the opinion that the French army would never 
 consent to see the Imperial dynasty placed on one side. To 
 the dismay of the Provisional Government he was visibly in- 
 clining to the idea of a Regency. The deliberations at Talley- 
 rand's house were prolonged far into the night. At about 2 a.m. 
 the Tsar retired to rest mthout having arrived at any definite 
 conclusion. But when he rose again, a few hours later, his 
 mind was made up.^ The situation had in the meantime under- 
 gone a complete change. General Souham, commanding the 
 6th Corps, in Marmont's absence, had marched his troops into 
 the Allied lines, at Versailles. To Alexander, the mystic, the 
 event appeared in the light of a direct interposition of Provi- 
 dence to guide him through his difficulties. The army itself 
 was declaring against Napoleon. His doubts and hesitations 
 vanished. Ney and his companions were informed that the 
 Emperor's abdication must include his whole family. ^ 
 
 Anxious as Talleyrand and his fellow-members of the Pro- 
 visional Government were to recall the Bourbons, they proposed 
 to set up^ajimi ted, not an absolute and unconditlohafMoSarchy 
 of-fEe old type. TheyTiaH, in consequence, drawn up a docu- 
 ment which was adopted by the Senate on April 6th. Talley- 
 rand named it the Constitutional Charter. By its terms " Louis- 
 Stanislas- Xavier of France, brother to the late King, was sum- 
 moned to the throne," but it was also provided that the Charter 
 itself was to be submitted to a plebiscite, and Louis was only to 
 be proclaimed King after he had sworn to adhere to its 
 articles.* 
 
 Louis was in EnglajadxjyUL:^^ the gout ; but Vitrolles in- 
 duced the Provisional GovernmenFlo allow the Comte d'Artois^ 
 to enter Paris as his brother's representative. The ceremony, 
 which took place on April 12th, proved a brilliant success. 
 Dressed in the . uijif orm of the National Qu.ard, Monsieur (the 
 Comte^^Af^ois) rod^4tetnigh the streets, amidst a scene of 
 general enthtisiasm. His charming manners, which retained all 
 the grace of the old Court, won the hearts of the Parisians. 
 The saying, invented for him by Beugnot the next day, that 
 
 1 Marmont, Memoires, VI. pp. 265-260. 
 
 2 Pasquier, II. 303-809. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 311. * Ibid., p. 319. 
 fi Ibid., pp. 340-347. 
 
 Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 107, 108. 
 
1814] LOUIS LE DESIEE 5 
 
 " nothing is changed save that there is one Frenchman the 
 more/' was repeated from mouth to mouth.* 
 
 France had now definitely passed under the Bourbon rule. 
 The white flag became the national colour and, with the cockade, 
 was imposed upon the army without encountering much resist- 
 ance. Napoleon on April 6th, yielding a second time to the 
 pressure of the Marshals, abdicated unconditionally. No 
 sooner was it known that he had affixed his signature to the 
 Act than the Palace was deserted. On some pretext or another 
 the Marshals, Generals, and other great dignitaries of the Empire 
 hastened away to Paris, to tender their services to the Pro- 
 visional Government. 2 For the next week the Moniteur was 
 full of the declarations of Berthier, Lefebvre, Kellermann, 
 Oudinot, and many others. Even Hulin, so long the Military 
 Governor of Paris and the President of the Prince d'Enghien's 
 Court Martial, publicly announced his adhesion to the new 
 order of affairs. ^ QnAprilJ[3th, after many hesitations, the ex- 
 Emperor ratified the Treatyof Fontainebleau, which banished 
 him to the Island of Elba. A week later he took leave of his 
 Guards, embraced the eagle, and set out on the road to 
 exile. 
 
 Neither promises nor conditions had been exacted from Mon- 
 sieur, prior to his public entry into the capital.* The negotia- 
 tions, which ensued to define his constitutional position, dis- 
 closed the real aims of the Royalists and the interested motives 
 which actuated some of the members of the Senate and the 
 Provisional Government. On the one side, the Comte d'Artois 
 was urged by his followers to assume the title oiTEaeutenant- 
 Generai^ of the Kingdom ; on the other, Talleyrand and his 
 c*olleagues contended that, inasmuch as Eouis had not yet sub- 
 scribed to the conditions of the Charter, he had no power to 
 delegate authority to anyone. The argument was unanswerable, 
 and had it been persisted in. Monsieur would probably have 
 acceded to whatever terms they might have seen fit to impose. 
 But it was not the intention of Talleyrand, and still less of 
 Fouche, who, since his arrival in Paris, on April 8th, had taken 
 a prominent part in the negotiations, to drive too hard a bar- 
 gain. As a regicide, Fouche's position under a Bourbon Mon- 
 archy must always be a delicate one. He had no desire to 
 aggravate it by the display of an irreconcilable hostility to the 
 
 1 Beugnot, Memoire8,ll. pp. 110-114. 
 
 2 Pasquier, II. p. 329. 
 
 3 Ihid., 379. 
 
 H. Houssaye, 1814, p. 641. 
 * Vitrolles, MemoireSj I. p. 296-299. 
 
6 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [18U 
 
 wishes of a Prince of the restored dynasty.^ If at the conference 
 held at the Pavilion de Marsan on April 14th his shrill voice 
 had been raised in opposition to the Baron de Vitrolles, it was 
 only that Monsieur's agent should be compelled to realize the 
 importance of gaining the support of a man who could com- 
 mand a large following in the Senate. But having given proof 
 of his strength, he was prepared with a solution to the difficulty. 
 He undertook to arrange that Monsieur's claim to be recognized 
 as Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom should be admitted, 
 provided he would subscribe to the agreement which he forth- 
 with wrote out. Monsieur was to declare that he was acquainted 
 with the constitutional act which recalled his brother, and that, 
 knowing his views and sentiments, he was prepared to accept, 
 in his name, the fundamental conditions which it contained. 
 On this basis a compromise was arrived at. 
 
 If in this result the conditional theory had been upheld at 
 the expense of the legitimist principle, the gain was more ap- 
 parent than real. The greed of the Senators in the matter of 
 their endowments, the intrigues with Fouche, had revealed to 
 Vitrolles the true state of the situation. Henceforward he had 
 no hesitation in advising his Royal masters that the pretensions 
 of the Senate to confer a crown, and to impose conditions on 
 its wearer could be safely ignored. A fortnight later the ex- 
 periment was tried with success. ^ On Ma;^ 2iid, Lpiiis XVIII, 
 to give him the title by which he was now universally acknow- 
 ledged, having arrived at^SajjitjQuen, outside the walls of Paris, 
 issued his declaration in which he, merely, signified his general 
 approval of the Charter, and announced that it would require 
 to be modified in some particulars. His Majesty at the same 
 time convened the Chambers for June 14th, when he promised 
 that a I^iberal Constitution should be submitted to them. 
 
 The next day, May^Sxd,. T<nuis^XVIII made his formal entry 
 into Paris. The weather was as fine as it had been on the day 
 of Monsieur's reception, but the attitude of the people had 
 undergone a marked change. The enthusiastic welcome which 
 they had given to the Comtsjd!Actois they did not extend to 
 the King. Already a sen'se of disillusion seeme3To have come 
 over tFem.^ His Majesty was seated in an open carriage, drawn 
 by eight white horses, with his niece the Duchesse d'Angouleme 
 
 1 Pasquier, II. pp. 360-359. 
 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 302-306. 
 
 2 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. pp. 1-6. 
 Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 126-130. 
 
 3 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 256, 257- 
 Beugnot, II. pp. 134, 135. 
 Marmontj Memoires, VII. pp. 35-40. 
 
1814] LOUIS LE DESIRE 7 
 
 (Madame) by his side, and with the old Prince de Conde and 
 his son, the Due de Bourbon, opposite to him. Monsieur was 
 on horseback,^urroundecl ' by Marshals and Generals. Of ^ all 
 the members of the Royal Family, he alone appeared to be 
 happy, genial, and perfectly at his ease. Madame, on the other 
 hand, saw no reason, on this occasion, to relax the stern and 
 unbending demeanour which was habitual to her. The Prince 
 de Conde was almost in his dotage : neither he nor his son 
 appeared to take much interest in what was going on. Of the 
 occupants of the Royal carriage only the King displayed either 
 graciousness or animation.^ But the smiles and gestures, with 
 which he pointed out objects of interest to his niece, seemed 
 forced and theatrical and failed tq win the approbation of the 
 people. The general impression of gloom and constraint was 
 heightened by the appearance of the ex-Imperial Guard. The 
 stem, set faces of the veterans, who formed the Guard of Honour, 
 froze the cheers on the lips of the spectators. In some places 
 there were shouts of " Long live the old Guard ! "" but in others 
 the silence was so complete that the measured tramp of the 
 soldiers was the only sound which could be heard. To many 
 present the scene conveyed the illusion that they were assisting 
 at the funeral procession of the Emperor, not at the joyful 
 entry of the restored King into his capital. 
 
 The news of Napoleon's downfall had reached Louis at Hart- 
 well, the country house near Aylesbury, which he had hired 
 from Sir George Lee, and where, under the title of the Comte^ 
 de Lille, he had been living since 1809. In his Buckinghamshire 
 liomeron the allowance of £6000 a year made him by the English 
 Government and a Russian subsidy, he had always contrived 
 to keep up a certain state and to shelter about a hundred of his 
 adherents. 2 At the time of his restoration he was a widower, 
 his wife Marie Josephine de Savoie having died at Hartwell in 
 1810. Their^orty-one years of married life had been childless 
 and not particularly happy. Louis had commanding features 
 and an agreeable voice, but though only fifty-nine years of age 
 was already an infirm old man. His unwieldy bulk, and the 
 frequent attacks of gout from which he suffered, rendered him 
 almost incapable of moving without assistance. Yet in spite 
 of these defects there was a stateliness in his bearing, which 
 never failed to impress all those who were brought into contact 
 
 1 Mme. de Boigne, MemoireSj I. pp. 888-390. ^ ^ 
 
 2 Lipscomb, History of Buckingham, II. pp. 808, 326. \ 
 E. Daudet, Histoire de I' emigration, III. pp. 481^ 482. ^ 
 
 C. Greville^s Journals, Reigns of George IV and William /F 1st 
 edition, II. pp. 345, 846. 
 
8 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [18U 
 
 with him. Mentally, he was a man of superior intelligence, with 
 a prodigious memory and with scholarly tastes, which he had 
 cultivated through long days of exile, amidst the snows of 
 Russia and Poland, and in the dull but peaceful years in Eng- 
 land. From the time when the death of his nephew in the 
 Temple had made him in his own eyes and in those of his fol- 
 lowers King of France, he had never ceased to believe in the 
 ultimate triumph of his cause. But before these hopes had 
 come to be realized he had gone through days of direst poverty 
 and had drunk the cup of humihation to the dregs. The 
 correspondence which M. Ernest Daudet has, recently, published 
 bears witness to his imperturbable confidence and to his serene 
 cheerfulness under misfortune. Some of his letters were written 
 at the gloomiest period of his exile, when Western Europe was 
 prostrate under the heel of Napoleon, and when no continental 
 Sovereign dare consent to his remaining within his kingdom. 
 Yet into the humblest of the appeals, which he was often com- 
 pelled to make, he, invariably, contrived to infuse that sense of 
 personal dignity which, under the most trying circumstances, 
 never deserted him.^ 
 
 A constitutional indolence and an inability to do without an 
 intimate friend and adviser, whom he could consult on all mat- 
 ters of daily life, were the two great defects of Louis' character. 
 At the old Court, and during the first few years of exile, the 
 post of favourite had been filled by a lady-in-waiting to his 
 wife, the Comtesse de Balbi, by birth a Caumont La Force. 
 Louis, who had himself a caustic tongue and a cynical turn of 
 mind, delighted in her quick intelligence and pungent wit. For 
 several years her influence over him was unbounded, and, 
 though there was nothing in her character to make the sugges- 
 tion probable, it seems to have been the general opinion of 
 contemporaries that their connection was platonic. After 
 Louis* quarrel with Madame de Balbi, the Comte d'Avaray, 
 with whom he had made his escape from Paris in 1791, became 
 his guide and the recipient of his most intimate thoughts. Their 
 friendship remained unbroken till 1811, when d'Avaray died of 
 consumption at Madeira. ^ His place in Louis' affections was 
 then taken by the Comte de Blacas, whom d'Avaray, when he 
 felt that his health was failing, had selected and trained for the 
 duties of confidential friend to his beloved master. ^ 
 
 Few Sovereigns have been confronted with greater difficulties 
 
 * E. Daudet, Histoire de f emigration, 3 vols., Hachette et Cie. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 48-52. 
 
 2 Daudet, Histoire de V emigration, I. p. 107. 
 
 3 Ibid., III. pp. 453-466. 
 
1814] LOUIS LE DESIRE 9 
 
 than Louis XVIII, at his restoration.^ The spectacle of a gouty, 
 elderly gentleman, weighing some eighteen stone, arriving at 
 his capital in the wake of foreign armies and laboriously ascend- 
 ing the throne of the great Emperor, necessarily savoured of 
 the ridiculous. Besides this inartistic opening to his reign, 
 Louis suffered from the disadvantage of being completely un- 
 known to the great mass of his new subjects. ^ It had been 
 Napoleon's wish to surround the existence of the exiled Royal 
 Family with silence. Occasionally, a sneering reference to the 
 " King of Hartwell,'' or some allusion to Louis' unwieldy figure, 
 migfi^"appear in the public press, but, generally speaking, it 
 was the Emperor's policy to allow them to sink into oblivion. 
 The very mention of the word " Royalist " aroused his wrath. 
 Any agents of the Bourbons who fell into the hands of the 
 police, under the Empire, were summarily dealt with, as spies 
 or brigands, by a Military Commission. A line in the Moniteur 
 would announce their fate, the next morning, to the public.^ 
 The obscurity, however, which had surrounded Louis' name, 
 his ignorance of the new men, and new institutions which had 
 arisen in France during his absence, were only drawbacks 
 which might soon have been overcome. Th^ great majority of 
 peo^^wereJiearyiy.gick of war, and were prepared to welcome 
 any change which put an end to invasion and gave them peace. 
 It was to be foreseen, however, that misgivings would arise 
 when the first feeling of relief at the cessation of hostilities 
 should have passed away. In the eyes of the peasant the white 
 ^^^flag was associated with the old regimey tithes, seigniorial rights, 
 and everything which he most detested. The purchaser of 
 national property, as he looked up at the Royal Standard, was 
 uncomfortably reminded that the noble whose forfeited estate 
 he had bought belonged to the winning side, and was beginning 
 to talk of restitution and compensation. It was a condition, 
 essential to the stability of the restored Monarchy, that it 
 should rest on a basis of national institutions, which owed their 
 origin to the Revolution and which must be allowed to develop 
 unchecked. As a first step in this direction Louis would have 
 to forget many of the cherished traditions of his House, and 
 set himself to allay the fears of those whose interests his 
 restoration might appear to threaten. And in order that all 
 classes of his subjects should be brought together to work for 
 the common good, a reconciliation would have to be effected 
 
 * Cf. Beugnot, MSmoires, II. pp. 134, 135. 
 
 2 E. Daudet, Histoire de V emigration ^ III. pp. 460-462. 
 Madeli^, Fouche, I. p. 437 
 
 3 Cf. G. Lenotre, T<mrnebuty pp. 290-293. 
 
10 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1789 
 
 between the old aristocracy, which had lost, and the new nobility 
 and the bourgeoisie which had gained, by the Revolution. The 
 happy solution of these problems would require patience and 
 statesmanlike qualities. The difficulty of Louis' task was fur- 
 ther enhanced by the fact that the majority of his chief sup- 
 porters belonged to the class which had suffered most, and that 
 he, himself, was identified with the policy of the emigration 
 which had, deservedly, brought down upon the Bourbon Princes 
 and the nobility the obloquy of their fellow-countrymen. 
 
 Taine has estimated that the noblesse, in the latter half of 
 the eighteenth century, numbered about 140,000 members.^ In 
 pursuance of their absolutist system of government, the Bour- 
 bons had steadily set themselves to undermine the power of 
 the nobility. Absenteeism on the part of the great nobles had 
 been deliberately encouraged, and they had been taught to look 
 to the King's favour as the object of their highest ambition. 
 The conditions which reduced them to political nulHty pro- 
 duced, in the course of years, an aristocracy which had lost all 
 instinct of government. At the time of the Revolution the 
 nobles were still a privileged, but they had long ceased to be a 
 governing class. ^ In addition to loss of power, the noblesse 
 during the eighteenth century had gradually been growing 
 poorer. Marriages with heiresses outside their own class were 
 expedients little in favour with the nobles of those days. The 
 prejudices of their order debarred even the cadets of an aristo- 
 cratic family from embarking on a lucrative calling. Under 
 pain of loss of caste they had no option but to enter the Army, 
 the Navy, or the Diplomatic service. The disunion which 
 existed among them was a further source of weakness to their 
 class. The " nobility of the Court *' despised the provincial 
 aristocracy, the " nobiUty of the sword " looked down upon 
 the " nobility of the robe," as those families were termed of which 
 the members, from father to son, filled the high places in the 
 judicature. With the rest of their fellow-countrymen the nobles 
 were highly unpopular. ^ The middle classes were jealous of 
 their privileges, and smarted under their insolence and pride of 
 birth. ^ The peasants had no liking for them. From the cir- 
 cumstances and habits of their lives they were, generally, in- 
 
 ^ H. Taine, Origines de la France Contemporaine, I. pp. 16, 17. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 42-66. 
 
 Tocqueville, Vancien Regime, pp. 40-42. 
 
 Mme. de Stael, Considerations sur la Revolution, III. (2me edition), 
 p. 16. 
 
 3 H. Taine, Origines, I. pp. 68-76. 
 
 * Tocqueville, L'ancien Regime, pp. 43-45. 
 H. Taine, Origines, I. pp. 69-67. 
 
1789] LOUIS LE DESIRE 11 
 
 different landlords. The majority of the great nobles had no 
 thoughts beyond extracting as much money as they could from 
 their estates, which they seldom visited except when in disgrace 
 at Court. The members of the lesser aristocracy, who usually 
 lived on their properties, were, as a rule, poor and aarrow- 
 minded men who did little either to ameliorate the conditions 
 of the peasants or to improve the land.^ Many, moreover, of 
 the seigniorial rights, from which they chiefly derived their 
 incomes, were serious obstacles in the way of a more enlightened 
 system of agriculture. 
 
 In 1789 the nobility had become one of the institutions in 
 an antiquated system which France was determined to abolish. 
 Most of the members of the higher aristocracy themselves were, 
 no doubt, dimly aware that changes had become necessary. 
 But though some of them were strongly imbued with the philo- 
 sophic spirit and had devoted attention to the study of social 
 questions, the great crisis in their country's history was to find 
 them singularly lacking in political intelligence and in con- 
 structive ability. That strange feature of the Revolution, 
 known as the emigration, ^ began with the flight of the Comte 
 d'Artois, the Prince de Conde, and the Polignac clique after the 
 fall of the Bastille. This step was dictated far less by fear than 
 by a desire for revenge. At the small Courts in Germany and 
 in the other countries which they visited, the emigres presented 
 themselves, not as fugitives asking for shelter, but as a political 
 party seeking allies. After the departure of these forerunners 
 of the emigration the movement slackened.^ The march of the 
 women to Versailles and the events of October 6th, 1789, gave 
 it a fresh impulse. Henceforward the stream of voluntary 
 exiles flowed, without interruption, across the northern and 
 eastern frontiers. In the army the rapid spread of the revolu- 
 tionary spirit had made the position of the officers difficult and, 
 in some cases, dangerous. Under these circumstances they were 
 ready to follow the example set them by the Princes and great 
 nobles who had fled from their country.* By August, 1791, so 
 large a number of officers had deserted from their regiments, 
 that the reorganization became necessary, which may be said to 
 have converted the old Royal into the new revolutionary army.^ 
 
 1 H. Taiiie, Origines, I. 429-456. 
 
 2 Tocqueville, L'ancien Regime , pp. 311-323. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 6-9. 
 
 3 Daudet, Histoire de ('emigration, I. p. 20. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 5. 
 
 ■* Daudetj Histoire de Vemigration, I. pp. 6, 7. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 166, 167. 
 ^ Thiers, Revolution, II. p. 147. 
 
12 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1790 
 
 The Comte d'Artois was one of those men of limited intelli- 
 gence naturally disposed to look with approval on small men 
 and small measures. He had, to quote M. Sorel,^ " all the 
 qualities required for gaily losing a battle or for gracefully 
 ruining a dynasty " and none of those needed for " managing 
 a party or for reconquering a Kingdom/* In M. de Calonne 
 he found a congenial adviser. Seven years before Charles 
 Alexandre de Calonne had been appointed Controller- General on 
 account of his supposed financial abihty. Even now, after dis- 
 sipating with a supreme elegance his own fortune and terribly 
 increasing the pecuniary embarrassments of France, he was still 
 able to impress his friends with a belief in his profound know- 
 ledge of high politics. 2 The Comte d'Artois' plan for com- 
 bating the Revolution was based on the supposition that it 
 must be to the interests of all the Monarchical Powers to restore 
 absolutism in France. Ludicrous as it sounds, he and M. de 
 Calonne seriously imagined that they could use for the attain- 
 ment of their own ends Marie Antoinette's brother, Leopold II, 
 Emperor of Austria, the student of Machiavelli, diplomatist 
 and statesman, Frederick William II, King of Prussia, the great 
 Tsarina Catherine II, and William Pitt.^ 
 
 At the beginning of 1790 a war, which threatened to involve 
 all Europe, seemed on the point of breaking out.* The alliance 
 which the Tsarina had concluded with Joseph II, Emperor of 
 Austria, in 1781, had been followed, two years later, by her 
 annexation of the Crimea. In 1787 the Porte declared war on 
 Russia, and Austria mobilized her Army to support her ally. 
 The opening of hostilities with Turkey brought Gustavus III, 
 King of Sweden, into the field with a view to recovering Fin- 
 land. The second year of the war, however, proved infinitely 
 more critical. Though the Allies obtained some notable suc- 
 cesses over the Turks, which compensated for their reverses in 
 the previous campaign, serious difficulties arose in other direc- 
 tions. In the autumn of 1789 a rebelHon broke out in the 
 Austrian Netherlands, and in Hungary the discontented Mag- 
 yars seemed disposed to cast off their allegiance to the Emperor. 
 The attitude of Prussia, which had for some time past been dis- 
 quieting, now became openly hostile. On January 30th, 1790, 
 Frederick William allied himself with the Porte, and a Prussian 
 army was concentrated on the frontier of Bohemia. The great 
 
 * A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 173. 
 
 2 Daudetj Hutoire de V emigration, I. pp. 17, 43, 81. 
 
 3 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 176, 176, 246-258. 
 
 4 lUd. , pp. 59-61. 
 
 Cambridge Modern History, VIII. : The Eastern Question. 
 
1790] LOUIS LE DESIEE 13 
 
 conflagration which these events appeared to portend was only 
 averted by the death of one man. On February 20th, 1790, 
 Joseph died and was succeeded by Leopold II, his brother. 
 
 During the next ten months the European situation under- 
 went a profound modification. Leopold lost no time in detach- 
 ing himself from the Russian alliance as a necessary preliminary 
 to the improved relations which he was determined to re- 
 establish with Prussia. After negotiations which he conducted 
 with consummate skill all fears of a general war were set at 
 rest by the signature, on July 27th, 1790, of the Convention of 
 Reichenbach. Formal peace between Austria and Turkey was 
 not, however, concluded till August 30th of the following year, 
 at Sistova.^ But this was not the sum total of Leopold's achieve- 
 ments. The rebellion of his subjects in the Netherlands was 
 completely suppressed before the end of the first year of his 
 reign ; while his Coronation as Bang of Hungary at Pressburg 
 in November, 1790, and other prudent concessions to national 
 susceptibilities, delighted the Magyars and removed the causes 
 of their discontent. 
 
 So long as the Eastern Question was passing through its 
 acute stage there was no disposition on the part of the Sove- 
 reigns to meddle with the affairs of France. The impotence to 
 which the Revolution seemed to have condemned her, merely 
 caused her to be eUminated from all potential combinations of 
 the Powers. 2 To the solicitations of the emigre party Leopold 
 turned a deaf ear, nor could the secret emissaries of Louis XVI 
 and Marie Antoinette extract from him more than polite ex- 
 pressions of condolence and sympathy. If as a brother he was 
 not insensible to his sister's peril, as a statesman he could see 
 the affairs of a powerful neighbour fall into anarchy without 
 compunction. His determination to stand aloof was strength- 
 ened by the fact that, in his opinion, no danger was to be appre- 
 hended from the spread of revolutionary doctrines among his 
 own subjects. He could, besides, always reply with perfect 
 reason that, so long as the King and Queen remained in Paris, 
 armed intervention on their behalf must certainly bring on the 
 very evils which he was now implored to interpose to avert. 
 To his old Chancellor, Kaunitz, he accordingly expressed his 
 fixed intention not to embark on any adventure against France, 
 unless all the Powers were prepared to act in concert with him.* 
 
 ^ A. Sorel, Europe et Revolviion, II. pp. 62-75. 
 2 Daudet, Histoire de I'emigration, I. p. 42. 
 
 A Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. 154-164, 175-178, 222-226. 
 * Daudet, Histoire de I' emigration, 1. p. 55. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 72-75. 
 
14 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1791 
 
 A question had, however, arisen between Austria and France 
 wliich, though small in itself, involved treaty obligations and 
 might, therefore, at any moment assume serious proportions. 
 The action of the Constituent Assembly in aboUshing feudalism 
 throughout France had been extended to Alsace. The Princes 
 and Knights of the Holy Roman Empire whom this decree 
 threatened to deprive of their privileges had, in consequence, 
 sent a protest to the French Government in February, 1790. 
 The reply which they received took the form of an offer of 
 pecuniary indemnity. As compensation of this kind was not 
 to the taste of the majority of the Princes, they forthwith took 
 steps to bring their cases before the Imperial Diet. However 
 anxious Leopold may have been to avoid complications wdth 
 France, this was a matter which he could not afford to ignore. 
 He had, accordingly, in December, 1790, propounded his views, 
 on the subject of the dispossessed Princes, in a despatch to the 
 King of France. 
 
 But if the action of the Constituent Assembly in Alsace gave 
 Leopold a good cause of complaint against France, the attitude 
 of the emigres, assembled on German territory, created a situa- 
 tion which the French Government was justified in resenting. 
 At the time of the attempted flight of the King and Queen 
 (June 20th, 1791) Monsieur, the Comte de Provence, afterwards 
 Louis XVIII, more fortunate than the other members of his 
 family, succeeded in escaping and in reaching Brussels.^ When 
 he heard that the King had been slopped al'lTarennes, Monsieur 
 proceeded to arrogate to himself the title of Regent, on the plea 
 that his brother had ceased to be a free agent. He was encou- 
 raged to adopt this course by Gustavus III, who, impelled by 
 Catherine, had taken up the cause of the emigres with enthu- 
 siasm. On July 5th, a Council of War was held, under the 
 auspices of the King of Sweden at Aix-la-Chapelle, to concert 
 measures for the coming campaign. In imagination Gustavus 
 already saw an Austrian, a Swiss, a Sardinian, and a Spanish 
 army marching on Paris ; whilst he himself, at the head of 
 16,000 of his own men and a Russian contingent, was to land 
 in Normandy and move on the French capital by the valley of 
 the Seine. From Aix-la-Chapelle the King returned to Sweden 
 to hurry on his military preparations, whilst Monsieur pro- 
 ceeded leisurely to Coblentz. 
 The defection of Austria had been a death-blow to Catherine's 
 
 * Daudet, Histoire de I' emigration, II. pp. 75, 77, 78. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, 11. 246, 247. 
 
 Cf. Correspondence between Gustave III et le Comte de Fersen, public 
 par Klinckowstrom. 
 
1791] LOUIS LE DESIRE 15 
 
 schemes for driving the Turks out of Europe and for establish- 
 ing a Greek Empire at Constantinople. The events in France 
 however, and the solicitations made to her for assistance by the 
 emigres suggested the idea that compensation for her disap- 
 pointment might be obtained in another direction. Notwith- 
 standing her friendship for the philosophers, the Tsarina had 
 not the smallest sympathy with the practical development of 
 their principles which was in progress across the Rhine. From 
 the position of her Empire and from the half-civilized condition 
 of her subjects she knew that she had nothing to fear from the 
 democratic propaganda. The Revolution, accordingly, appeared 
 to her simply in the light of a fortunate occurrence by means 
 of which Austria and Prussia might be entangled in a war 
 with France^ ; whilst she was left free to seek at the expense 
 of Poland the territorial aggrandizement which Leopold's deser- 
 tion had made impossible in the south. In pursuance of this 
 new policy she had, on August 15th, 1790, made peace with 
 Gustavus III at Werela, taking care, at the same time, to im- 
 press upon him that all the Monarchical Powers must join in a 
 crusade to rescue the King of France from the humiliating 
 thraldom in which he was held by his revolted subjects. Ever 
 since the Convention of Reichenbach both England and Prussia 
 had been bringing pressure to bear upon her to induce her to 
 follow Leopold's example and come to terms with the Porte. 
 The idea of yielding to anything in the nature of a mandate 
 was singularly distasteful to her. The successful storming of 
 Ismail, however, by Suwarov at the close of 1790 gave her the 
 opportunity of bringing hostilities to an end in a blaze of triumph. 
 After negotiations by which she obtained the cession of Ockza- 
 koff on the Dniester, the preliminaries of peace between Russia 
 and Turkey were signed at Galatz on August 11th, 1791. 
 
 The news that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had failed 
 in their attempted escape reached Leopold at Padua. He at 
 once despatched a circular note to the Powers proposing that 
 they should confer with a view to adopting measures for the 
 delivery of the King and Queen of France. He had small hopes, 
 however, that the suggestion would lead to any practical re- 
 sults.2 England, he knew, would refuse to intervene, and 
 Russia might make promises which she would almost certainly 
 fail to perform. With Prussia his relations had been steadily 
 growing closer. Under the influence, accordingly, of the flight 
 to Varennes and of their joiut distrust of Russia, the prelimi- 
 
 * A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 74, 76, 216-221, 
 2 Daudet, Histoire de V emigration, I. pp. 72, 73. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 226-230. 
 
16 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1791 
 
 naries of a defensive and offensive alliance between Austria and 
 Prussia were signed on July 25th, 1791. A month later Leopold 
 and Frederick William met at Pillnitz, a country seat of the 
 King of Saxony, near Dresden.^ A few days before his de- 
 parture from Vienna, Leopold had granted an interview to the 
 Comte d'Artois and M. de Calonne. For the emigres he felt 
 nothing but dislike and contempt, and it was with the greatest 
 reluctance that he consented to receive them. Permission was 
 nevertheless accorded to the Comte d'Artois to attend the 
 conference at Pillnitz, but he was given clearly to understand 
 that his presence would under no circumstances make the 
 Emperor modify his resolution not to intervene in French 
 affairs, except in concert with all the Great Powers. 
 
 The result of the conference was seen in the famous declara- 
 tion of Pillnitz, wherein the two potentates announced that, 
 inasmuch as the re-establishment of the monarchical power in 
 France was a matter of universal interest, they would under- 
 take to mobilize their armies to attain this object, provided 
 the other Powers would give it their support. ^ Under the con- 
 ditions which then prevailed in Europe, this circular was no 
 more than a diplomatic ^ comedy by which it was hoped to 
 impose on the leaders of the extreme party in France and to 
 afford them food for reflection. In the meanwhile Leopold con- 
 tinued to advise his sister, through her secret agents, that the 
 wisest course for the King was to accept the Constitution, 
 and, at the same time, he steadfastly refused to listen to 
 the proposals of the emigres, or to recognize Monsieur's assump- 
 tion of the Regency, which, as he sensibly pointed out, must 
 still further degrade Louis XVI in the eyes of his subjects. 
 
 At the Courts of the ecclesiastical Princes in the Rhine coun- 
 try the emigres had met with a cordial welcome. Frederick von 
 Erthal, Elector of Mainz, and Clement Wenceslas, Elector of 
 Trier, vied with each other in extending a lavish hospitality to 
 their noble guests.* Ever since the summer of 1790 it had be- 
 come very much the fashion in poHte society to " emigrate." 
 In the course of the next year many thousands of French nobles 
 left their country and assembled chiefly on German territory, 
 to await the moment when the Sovereigns should set in motion 
 
 * Daudet, Histoire de F emigration, I. p. 80. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 251, 252. 
 
 Comte de Fersen a Gustave III., 20 Aout, 1791, public par 
 Klinckowstrom. 
 
 2 Daudet, Histoire de ^emigration, I. pp. 89-90, 91. 
 
 3 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 261, 262. 
 
 4 Ibid., p. 167. 
 
 Daudet, Histoire de V emigration, I. p. 69. 
 
1790-91] LOUIS LE DESIEE 17 
 
 the armies which were to sweep away the Revolution and to 
 give them back their privileges. In the meantime they amused 
 themselves as best they could, laughing immoderately at the 
 dull Germans and the petty Princes whose dominions they 
 honoured with their presence. ^ For Louis XVI, his weakness 
 and concessions they expressed the most unbounded contempt, ^ 
 and freely circulated the vilest calumnies about the unfortunate 
 Marie Antoinette. To those of their order who remained behind 
 in France they sent distaffs in derision ; whilst as for a Con- 
 stitutionalist noble, or a " Monarchien/' as he was called, they 
 considered him to be even more deserving of their hatred than 
 a Jacobin. 3 The German towspeople were, in the first instance, 
 much pleased with the noisy brilliant throng of Frenchmen 
 who suddenly descended upon them. The newcomers* spent 
 their money freely, so long as they had any. Few of them, 
 unfortunately, had brought more than would last them for 
 three months, by which time they calculated that they would 
 be home again in triumph. Suppljdng fine gentlemen on credit, 
 who only laughed in their faces when they presented their bills, 
 was not at all to the German taste. Before long the tradesmen 
 and innkeepers in the Rhine country began to think that per- 
 haps, after all, the French people were not so much mistaken 
 in deciding to make political changes. The insolence which they 
 had to put up with, and the scenes which they daily saw enacted 
 in their own towns during the emigration, brought home to 
 them the real causes of the Revolution more forcibly than the 
 most violent propagandism could ever have succeeded in doing. ^ 
 At the time of the meeting at„Pillnitz and during the autumn 
 which followed, Coblentz was one of the gayest towns in EJurope.® 
 At the Palace of the"!ElectOT, Clement Wenceslas, the future 
 Louis XVIII held his Court and transacted the business of his 
 Regency, tempered by an exchange of witty epigrams with 
 Madame de Balbi.'' M. de Calonne was Prime Minister, with 
 charge of the departments of finance and of the police ; Conzie, 
 the free-thinking Bishop of Arras, filled the office of Chancellor ; 
 and Vaudreuil was Minister of War. Monsieur's government 
 was represented at the chief European capitals by ambassadors 
 
 * Daudet, Histoire de Vemigratiorij I. pp. 37, 68. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 15, 76, 83, 105. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 201-207. 
 
 3 E. Daudet, Histoire de V emigration, I. pp. 28, 105, 150, 208. 
 
 Cf. Madame de Stael, Considerations sur la Beix)ltUion, Manifests de 
 Brunswick, II. p. 55. 
 
 * Daudet, Histoire de I' emigration, I. pp. 5, 8. 
 ^ A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 168. 
 ® Daudet, Histoire de Vemigration, I. p. 97. 
 7 Ihid., II., p. 109. 
 
18 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1791 
 
 whose numerous secretaries were not remarkable for diplomatic 
 experience. 1 At Worms the mihtary commander, the Prince 
 de Conde, accompanied by Madame de Monaco, was lodged at 
 the episcopal palace. In and about the town were collected 
 some twelve thousand emigres, who were to form the French 
 contingent in the army of invasion. Though all were eager to 
 begin the campaign, few had any notions of discipline. There 
 was a plentiful supply of officers and a great deficiency of the 
 rank and file. The majority had offered their services expect- 
 ing to command, not to obey. The magazines were empty, 
 stores, money, arms, everything was wanting. ^ In default of 
 muskets, squads of noble recruits might be seen performing 
 their exercises with walking-sticks, under the eyes of their 
 Swedish drill-instructors. 
 
 The vague and contingent character of the Declaration of 
 August 27th was a serious check to the warlike plans of the 
 emigres. They determined, however, to put a bold face on their 
 disappointment. The Comte d'Artois and the brilhant suite 
 which had been enjoying the King of Saxony's hospitality re- 
 ceived, on their return to Coblentz, an enthusiastic welcome. 
 Nothing was talked of but the assurance of treaties, alliances, 
 and loans wliich had been given at Pillnitz. Unfortunately for 
 the Royal cause they did not confine themselves to harmless 
 rhodomontade of this description. ^ The next step of the Princes 
 was to publish in the French papers the declaration of Pillnitz, 
 together with a manifesto from themselves, in the shape of a 
 letter to the King, which completely distorted the character of 
 the document which it accompanied. They announced that, 
 in answer to their application for assistance, the Emperor and 
 the King of Prussia had formally bound themselves to use their 
 armed forces for the purpose. Similar views and intentions 
 were entertained by all the Powers. Should the King, they 
 went on to say, be constrained to give his assent to the Con- 
 stitution, they would know that it had been wrung from him 
 by force, and would consider it as null and void.* Even were 
 His Majesty to declare that he had accepted it freely, and were 
 he to order them to respect it, they would still disregard his 
 commands, well knowing that they could not possibly be the 
 expression of his real sentiments. Such was the substance of 
 
 ^ Daudet, Histoire de Vemigration, I. p. 98. 
 
 2 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 285. 
 Daudet, Histoire de Vemigration, I. pp. 102, 103. 
 
 3 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 258. 
 * Daudet, Histoire de Vemigration, I. p. 93. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 262. 
 
1791] LOUIS LE DESIRE 19 
 
 the proclamation which appeared in the Moniteur of September 
 23rd, 1791. 
 
 Nothing could be more untrue than this statement that the 
 Powers were contemplating an armed intervention in French 
 affairs. 1 Both in London and at Vienna the Regent's diploma- 
 tic representatives were coldly repulsed. Though in Berlin they 
 were treated with more ceremony, the interviews between the 
 Baron de Roll, a Swiss by birth and a Ma] or- General in the 
 French army, and Bischoffswerder, Frederick William's confi- 
 dant, seem to have been chiefly concerned with the delicate 
 question of an arrangement, whereby Prussia might gain some 
 accession of territory towards the Rhine, at the expense of 
 France. Gustavus III gave the cause of the French Monarchy 
 his enthusiastic support, but he was in no position to embark 
 on distant military operations unaided, and Catherine proved 
 singularly elusive when pressed to conclude the alliance, which 
 she had been dangling before his eyes for the past twelve months. ^ 
 The Tsarina meanwhile recognized Monsieur's Regency and re- 
 ceived Esterhazy, his envoy, at her Court. She even sent an 
 ambassador to him at Coblentz with a present of two million 
 roubles and the advice to read the Henriade^ and to steep himself 
 in the genius of his ancestor of glorious memory. But further 
 than this, neither persuation nor all the flattery of which Mon- 
 sieur was unsparing could induce her to go. 
 
 Though all the attempts of the emigres to interest the Powers 
 on their behalf proved ineffectual, their openly avowed designs 
 against the liberties and national independence of the French 
 people was to rouse a storm the strength of which their philo- 
 sophy was incapable of estimating. There existed, moreover, 
 in the Legislative Assembly, which had begun its sittings on 
 October 1st, two parties which considered that their different ends 
 could be best served by a foreign war and the interest of which it, 
 therefore, became to play upon the feeling of indignation which 
 the conduct of the Princes had excited throughout the country.* 
 
 Louis, Comte de Narbonne, the Minister of War, was a soldier 
 thirty- six years of age. He had studied his profession and had 
 
 ^ E. Daudet, Histoire de V emigration, I. p. 164. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 290. 
 
 Papiers de Fersen, public par Klinckowstrom. 
 2 Gustave III. a Fersen, 23 Aout, 1791, public par Klinckowstrom. 
 ^ Daudet, Histoire de I' emigration, I. pp. 94, 115. 
 
 Gustave III. a Fersen, Sept. 8, 1791, public par Klinckowstrom. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 303, 304. 
 * A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 262. 
 
 Baron de Taule a Fersen, 9 Septembre, 1791, public par Klinckow- 
 strom. 
 
20 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1791-2 
 
 received a diplomatic training. In private life he passed for a 
 witty and agreeable man, the accompUshed type of the Liberal 
 noble of his time, and a friend of Madame de Stael. Narbonne, 
 like the other members of the Government, belonged to the 
 Constitutional Monarchist, or Feuillant party, so called after 
 the Club founded in July, 1790. The dissolution of the existing 
 assembly, a revision of the Constitution, and the strengthening 
 of the Royal Prerogative figured among the aims of Ministers. 
 With regard, however, to the means which should be adopted 
 to rehabilitate the Monarchy, Narbonne differed from the 
 majority of his colleagues. Whilst they wished to avoid war, 
 he hoped, by a briUiant campaign, to restore the discipline of 
 the army and the prestige of the Crown. The presence of bands 
 of emigres within his dominions could be always used as a pre- 
 text for an attack on Clement Wenceslas, Elector of Trier. 
 This would, doubtless, involve war with Austria, but Narbonne 
 and his friends counted on diplomacy for restraining Prussia 
 from participating in the struggle. In view of the poUtical role 
 which it was proposed to impose on the army, when it should 
 have emerged regenerated from a successful campaign, the 
 selection of the commanding general was a matter of more than 
 usual importance. 1 It is a curious illustration of the ideas of 
 the time that, after mature reflection, they should have decided 
 to invite Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, to place himself at the 
 head of the French army of operations. Monstrous as such a 
 plan would appear in the present day, it was nevertheless one 
 which equally commended itself to the Constitutional Royalists 
 and to the firebrands of the Revolution. Ferdinand was a Prince 
 who had displayed a leaning to Liberal doctrines, which did not, 
 however, prevent him from holding the ignorant masses in the 
 most profound contempt. Whilst admiring the principles of the 
 Revolution he deplored its excesses. In his opinion the destruc- 
 tion of the nobility was a subject for regret. " It was a preju- 
 dice," he admitted, " but it was one which was entertained 
 throughout Europe." In Narbonne's eyes the great merit of 
 his scheme was that, by securing Ferdinand, Prussia would be 
 deprived of her best General, which must go a long w^ay to- 
 wards ensuring her neutrality. In the early days of January, 
 1792, Fran9ois de Custine, a promising young man of twenty- 
 three well known in Berlin society, was sent with a letter from 
 Louis XVI to the Duke, to sound him on the subject. Custine 
 carried out his mission with tact and discretion, but to Ferdinand 
 the enterprise appeared altogether too complicated and too 
 
 ^ A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 323, 324. 
 Marie Antoinette a Fersen, Nov. 7, 1791, public par Klinckowstrom. 
 
1791-2] LOUIS LE DESIRE 21 
 
 hazardous. Wrapping up his refusal, accordingly, in the most 
 complimentary language he declined the honour of command- 
 ing the French armies of the new regime. A different fate was 
 in reserve for him.^ 
 
 Whilst Narbonne and his followers were planning a campaign 
 which was to regenerate the army and make it the arbiter of 
 the destinies of France, another, and an infinitely more for- 
 midable group, was striving to bring about an outbreak of 
 hostilities with a widely different object in view. The Brissotins, 
 a section of the Jacobin party led by Brissot, and soon to be- 
 come famous under their better-known appellation of the 
 Girondins, saw in a foreign war the surest way of overturning 
 the Monarchy. Once fighting had begun, it would be a simple 
 matter, they considered, to implicate the King in the anti- 
 national policy of the Princes, the emigres, and all enemies of 
 the Revolution. The suspicion, which it would be their business 
 to foster, that he was in league with the Monarchs whose armies 
 were threatening the frontiers, must rouse the people to fury 
 and seal the fate of the dynasty. ^ 
 
 By their ill-advised conduct Eouis XVI and Marie Antoinette 
 were making the game of these implacable opponents only too 
 easy. Mirabeau had said once that " the Queen was the one 
 man whom the King had about him.'* It was not a happy de- 
 scription of her. It may have been her charm, it was certainly 
 her misfortune that, excepting courage, she had no virile quali- 
 ties in her composition.^ The impulse was a feminine one 
 which made her turn from the coarse and vulgar Mirabeau, the 
 man who, perhaps, might have saved her, to Fersen, the Swedish 
 noble, the friend of happier days. With his assistance she had 
 embarked on a system of clandestine correspondence with her 
 brother, the Emperor Leopold, through the intermediary of 
 Mercy Argenteau, who was watching events from Brussels, and 
 who had been, for many years, her adviser whilst ambassador 
 in Paris.* It was under the mistaken conviction that their best 
 hope of safety lay in foreign intervention that Louis had ap- 
 pointed the Baron de Breteuil to act as the exponent of his 
 real views and sentiments at Vienna and at the great European 
 Courts. He was instructed to explain that no significance was 
 to be attached to the King's public utterances or doings, nor 
 was any heed to be paid to the communications of his official 
 
 * E. Daudet, Histoire de I'emigratioji, I. 178. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 350, 351, 352. 
 
 2 Ibid,, pp. 300-304. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 130-134. 
 
 * Le Comte de Fersen et la Cour de France, public par Kliackowstrom. 
 
22 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1791-2 
 
 ambassadors.^ Thus, when Louis on September 13th, 1791, 
 accepted the Constitution he privately disavowed his act through 
 Breteuil and his agents at the different capitals. But whilst 
 the King and Queen were pursuing the equivocal policy of re- 
 pudiating in secret what had been solemnly agreed to in public, 
 they were perfectly sincere, both through their official and their 
 private agents, in condemning the conduct of the emigres. 
 Monsieur's assumption of the Regency had deeply offended 
 Louis and had evoked from him a strong and dignified protest. 
 He had on several occasions remonstrated with his brothers, 
 and had warned them of the grave dangers to which their pro- 
 vocative attitude was exposing both the Queen and himself. ^ 
 
 Though Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette believed foreign 
 intervention to be the only solution to their difficulties, the 
 form, which they suggested it should take, differed from the 
 kind of action which the emigres wished to see adopted. ^ Noth- 
 ing, perhaps, better illustrates the Queen's complete inability 
 to grasp the national character of the Revolution than that she 
 should have imagined that a European congress and a military 
 demonstration would suffice to bring about its collapse. She 
 would have the Powers mobilize their armies and, at the same 
 time, proclaim to the people that they had no intention of in- 
 terfering with the internal affairs of France. They must declare, 
 however, that they could recognize no one but the King and 
 would treat with no one but him. The announcement should be 
 accompanied by threats of terrible reprisals against the rebel 
 leaders. Language of this kind must, in the Queen's opinion, 
 have such a terrif3dng effect on the people that they would turn 
 to the King and implore him to save them from the horrors of 
 war and of invasion.* 
 
 Whilst the Queen was deluding herself with vain hopes of 
 this description, events in the Assembly ^ were moving to their 
 logical conclusion. The decree of November 9th, 1791, sum- 
 moning the emigres to return to France before January 1st, 
 under pain of death and confiscation of property, was followed, 
 on December 14th, by the despatch of an ultimatum to Clement 
 
 ^ Daudet, Histoire de I'emigration, I. pp. 51, 156. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 108, 109, 124, 131. 
 
 2 Marie Antoinette a Fersen, 26 Sept., 1791, public par Klinckowstrom. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 135-143, 270-277. 
 
 3 Daudet, Histoire de i'emigration, I. p. 113. 
 ^ Marie Antoinette a Fersen, July 8, 1791. 
 
 Fersen et la Cour de France, pp. 147, 148. 
 
 Marie Antoinette a Fersen, Oct. 31, 1791, public par Klinckowstrom. 
 Marie Antoinette a Fersen and Memoire du roi, Nov, 25, 1791, public 
 par Klinckowstrom. 
 
 ^ E. Daudet, Histoire de remigration, II. pp. 119, 124, 125. 
 
1791-2] LOUIS LE DESIRE 23 
 
 Wenceslas, in which he was given until January 15th to disperse 
 the armed bands assembled within his dominions. Thus threat- 
 ened, the Elector of Trier appealed to both Austria and Prussia 
 for protection. Frederick WilUam at once promised support, 
 and Eeopold, more reluctantly, agreed to go to his assistance if 
 attacked, on condition, however, that he should first take steps 
 to expel the emigres from his territory. Clement Wenceslas 
 obeyed forthwith, and the Elector of Mainz deemed it prudent 
 to follow his example. Within a few days Monsieur and the 
 Comte d'Artois were the only Frenchmen remaining at Coblentz. 
 The winter was at its height, many of the emigres were penni- 
 less ; the frontiers of Hesse, of Wurtemburg, and even of Prussia 
 were closed agaiost them. The populations they had been 
 living among saw them depart without regret and, in many 
 cases, pursued them with jeers and execrations. In the miser- 
 able plight to which they were suddenly reduced they tasted the 
 first of the many humiUations which were to follow.^ 
 
 On December 21st Clement Wenceslas informed the French 
 Government that its demands had been complied with, and 
 Kaunitz wrote from Vienna to the same effect.^ His despatch 
 concluded with a reference to the European concert formed to 
 maintain public peace and to watch over the safety of Crowned 
 Heads. Nothing of the kind, in point of fact, existed, and the 
 allusion made to it was merely an attempt on the Emperor's 
 part to intimidate the firebrands of the Revolution in accord- 
 ance with his sister's wishes. 
 
 Though the demands of the French Government had been 
 complied with, too many forces were making for war to render 
 it possible for peace to be preserved. On January 1st, 
 1792, the Princes and Calonne were decreed accused of High 
 Treason, and on the 25th of the same month a peremptory 
 note was sent to Vienna asking for an explanation of the Em- 
 peror's attitude.^ Leopold was in a difficult position. He knew 
 that Catherine was anxious to see him embroiled in a quarrel 
 with France, and he had little doubt that, with the armies 
 which the conclusion of peace with Turkey had released, she 
 contemplated the subjugation of Poland. The threatening tone 
 of the French despatch, however, the violent speeches in the 
 Assembly, the movements of troops towards the frontiers, were 
 signs of imminent danger too ominous to be overlooked. As a 
 first step he decided to conclude with Prussia the offensive and 
 
 * A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 344. 
 E. Daudet, Histoire de I' emigration , I. p. 122, 123. 
 
 2 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. 346. 
 
 3 E. Daudet, Histoire de I'emigration, I. pp. 141, 142. 
 
24 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1792 
 
 defensive alliance,^ the preliminaries of which had been drawn 
 up on July 25th of the previous year. The treaty was accord- 
 ingly signed at Berlin, on February 7th, 1792, and certain mili- 
 tary measures were, at the same time, concerted between th§ 
 Allies. By a strange irony of fate Ferdinand of Brunswick, 
 whom public opinion both in Austria and in Prussia had desig- 
 nated for the post, was appointed Generalissimo, in the event 
 of an outbreak of hostilities. Only three weeks later^, on March 
 1st, 1792, Leopold died suddenly, and the hopes of the miUtary 
 party at Vienna rose high. His son Francis II was twenty-four 
 years of age, and was supposed to have disapproved of his 
 father's temporiziug policy.^ The Austrian communications to 
 the French Government henceforward assumed a more warlike 
 tone.* 
 
 As the excitement in Paris increased, the situation of Louis 
 XVI and Marie Antoinette became daily more perilous. Fersen 
 urged them to fly before it should be too late.^ A plan by 
 which they were to escape concealed in Madame de Stael's 
 carriage was suggested, but the Queen would not consent to 
 attempt it.® On March 9th the King dismissed Narbonne, and 
 the next day the Feuillants succumbed to the attacks of Verg- 
 niaud and the Brissotins. Louis appointed their successors 
 from the ranks of the victorious Girondins, and Charles Frangois 
 Dumouriez thus became Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the 
 most important member of the new government. Dumouriez 
 was fifty-three years of age. As a youth he had served in the 
 Seven Years' War and had, later on, been employed in Louis 
 XV's secret service. He had in this way acquired a vast know- 
 ledge of the lower channels of diplomacy, and, at the same time, 
 had seriously studied strategical questions. A political intrigue 
 in Poland had been the cause of his spending two years of his 
 life in the Bastille. He was, in short, a clever adventurer who 
 saw in the outbreak of the Revolution the opportunity for 
 making a career for himself.'' 
 
 Dumouriez took up office with his plans already matured. 
 The idea of uniting Belgium to France was a scheme which he 
 
 * Journal de Fersen, 9 Fevrier, 1791. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. 360-871. 
 2 E. Daudet, Eistoire de ^emigration, I. p. 179. 
 ^ Journal de Fersen, 8 Mars, 1792 ; 10 Mars, 1792. 
 ^ A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 375. 
 
 Fersen a Marie Antoinette, 9 Mars, 1792. 
 ^ Journal de Fersen, Feb. 14, 1792, public par Klinckowstrom. 
 
 Fersen et Marie Antoinette, 6 Fevrier, 1792. 
 ^ Journal de Fersen, 13 Mars, 1792. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 398. 
 ^ A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 403-408. 
 
1792] LOUIS LE DESIRE 25 
 
 had for some time past been studying. Hitherto the question 
 of the dispossessed Princes in Alsace and the gatherings of the 
 emigres on the Rhine had been the points in dispute. He de- 
 cided to ignore them. Kaunitz had threatened France with a 
 concert of the Powers ; an attack on the Austrians in the 
 Netherlands, Dumouriez resolved, should be his reply. The 
 assassination of Gustavus III, March 16th, 1792, had removed 
 one enemy from his path^ ; he proposed to neutralize another 
 by inciting the Turks to resume hostilities with Russia. It 
 would not even, he conceived, prove to be beyond the resources 
 of his diplomacy to bring over England and Prussia to the side 
 of France and thus isolate the Empire. 
 
 Having decided to take the offensive in Belgium, and con- 
 sidering that from a military point of view nothing was to be 
 gained by delay, Dumouriez, on March 27th, despatched his 
 ultimatum to Vienna. A complete satisfaction to be given be- 
 fore April 15th on all the points raised in previous communica- 
 tions was now demanded, and, in the meanwhile, any further 
 armaments on the part of Austria were to be considered as 
 amounting to a declaration of war. Kaunitz would have at once 
 broken off diplomatic relations had his military preparations 
 been in a more forward condition. Little opportunity was, how- 
 ever, accorded the Austrians of completing them. On April 
 20th the members of the Assembly, with the words of Merlin of 
 Thionville, " war with the Kings, peace with the nations," 
 ringing in their ears, voted, amidst a scene of tremendous en- 
 thusiasm, an appeal to arms.^ 
 
 The Queen received the news that war had been declared 
 with a feeling of relief. This crowning act of insolence on the 
 part of the Assembly must open the eyes of the Monarchical 
 Powers and rouse them to action.^ In her hatred for Ministers 
 and for the popular leaders, generally, she had no scruples about 
 betraying to Mercy Dumouriez's plan of operations and of sug- 
 gesting means whereby his diplomatic combinations might be 
 thwarted. But now that war had been declared both she and 
 the King were as anxious as ever to disassociate themselves 
 from the policy of the emigres. Her secret correspondence with 
 Vienna in the days which followed the rupture with Austria 
 always kept this object in view. The inability of the Allies to 
 begin the campaign at once was a disappointing and an alarm- 
 
 1 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 409-424. 
 
 2 E. Daudet, Histoire de temigration, I. p. 183. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 425-436. 
 
 3 Marie Antoinette a Fersen, 30 Mars, 1792 ; 19 Avril, 1792. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 436, 437. 
 
 Marie Antoinette a Fersen, 23 Juin, 1792. 
 
26 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1791-2 
 
 ing circumstance. It materially added, they both felt, to the 
 dangers of their situation. It was under these conditions that, 
 on May 21st, the able Genevese publicist. Mallet du Pan, was 
 secretly despatched to Germany to try and bring about a clear 
 understanding between the King of France and the Allied Sove- 
 reigns who were about to invade his Kingdom. He was to im- 
 press upon them the necessity of preventing the emigres from 
 taking a prominent part in the coming operations, and, at the 
 same time, to suggest the advisability of drawing up a Proc- 
 lamation in terms calculated to reassure the French nation as 
 a whole, whilst it threatened with the severest penalties the 
 Jacobin leaders.^ 
 
 Directly France issued her Declaration of War on Austria, 
 Prussia took steps to support her ally. The backward state, 
 however, of the mobilization of both armies and other reasons 
 imposed delay. The invasion of the Low Countries, which 
 Dumouriez had planned, had ignominiously collapsed. At the 
 first contact with the trained troops of Austria the new French 
 armies gave way and fled in the wildest disorder. It was, in 
 consequence, erroneously concluded in the councils of the 
 Allies that there was no need for hurry, and that the march on 
 Paris could be carried out, at any time, with the greatest pos- 
 sible ease. Moreover, the situation had become curiously 
 complicated. At the moment when the combined armies of 
 Austria and Prussia were about to invade France, with the 
 avowed object of restoring the Monarchical Power, 100,000 
 Russian troops had crossed into Poland (May 19th, 1792) to 
 wrest from King Stanislas the greater part of his dominions and, 
 as events were to prove, to drive him from the throne. This 
 development led to an interchange of views between Austria, 
 Prussia, and Russia, the feature of which was a cynical disregard 
 for national rights, pledges, treaties, and all those things which 
 civilised countries are supposed to hold sacred. Prussia, having 
 as a preliminary repudiated her treaty of March 29th, 1790, with 
 Poland, proceeded to come to an agreement with Russia to 
 share in the spoils of the ally she had solemnly bound herself 
 to protect from aggression. This settlement, which satisfied 
 Prussia, left Austria unprovided for. It was, however, suggested 
 that she should exchange her possessions in the Low Countries 
 for Bavaria, or, if she preferred it, she might indemnify herself 
 at the expense of France in Alsace and Lorraine. ^ 
 
 ^ A Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. 476, 477. 
 
 Cf. Journal de Fersen, 9 Juillet, 1792 ; 23 Juillet, 1792. 
 
 Marie Antoinette a Fersen, 24 Juillet, 1792. 
 2 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 467-469. 
 
1792] LOUIS LE DESIRE 27 
 
 In the midst of these negotiations the perils of Louis XVI 
 and Marie Antoinette were almost forgotten. On July 5th 
 Francis II was elected Emperor, and, on the 8th, made his state 
 entry into Frankfort. Frederick William and the new Emperor 
 met at Mainz, on July 19th, as the guests of the Elector, who 
 entertained them with a sumptuous hospitality. Whilst the 
 Sovereigns were exchanging compliments, attending banquets, 
 and holding reviews, their Ministers were engaged on the more 
 serious business of dividing the plunder which they expected to 
 gather in the coming campaign.^ Under these circumstances 
 the arrival of Louis' envoy, Mallet du Pan, excited little atten- 
 tion. He was not admitted to an interview with the Emperor, 
 but had several conversations with the statesmen of the coali- 
 tion. Cobenzl and Haugwitz both assured him that the views 
 of their respective Sovereigns were in complete accordance with 
 those of the King of France. They promised him that the 
 emigres should be kept in the background, and declared that 
 the war had been entered upon without a thought of territorial 
 aggrandisement or of personal interests. ^ 
 
 The Declaration of War had brought back the emigres into 
 the ecclesiastical dominions,^ where they again established their 
 camps and boasted and talked with the same confidence as be- 
 fore their expulsion. At Coblentz, Mallet was coldly received. 
 As a " Monarchien " and as a man who was supposed to favour 
 a bicameral constitution he excited suspicion. The King's views 
 on the situation, and the attitude of inaction which he wished 
 them to adopt, were most distasteful to the Princes and the 
 emigres. The idea of a proclamation was, however, more accept- 
 able. Though they held it to be quite superfluous to reassure 
 the French people, they thoroughly enjoyed the notion of 
 terrifying the revolutionary leaders. Brunswick's manifesto 
 was to be the only result of Mallet's mission. The document 
 was drawn up in the councils of the Princes ; it was submitted 
 to and approved of by the Allied Sovereigns and signed by 
 Ferdinand of Brunswick, who, however, is said to have done so 
 with reluctance and to have regretted it ever afterwards.* 
 
 The celebrated manifesto bears the date of July 25th, 1792. 
 
 1 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. 492-500. 
 
 2 E. Daudetj Histoire de femigration, I. pp. 194, 195, 198. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. p. 509. 
 
 Journal de Fersen, 31 Juillet, 1792. 
 
 3 E. Daudet, Histoire de F emigration, I. pp. 184, 187. 
 * E. Daudet, Histoire de Canigration, I. p. 199. 
 
 Journal de Fersen, 28 Juillet, 1792. 
 
 Fersen d Marie Antoinette, 26 Juillet, 1792 ; 28 Juillet, 1792. 
 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. 503-516. 
 
28 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1792 
 
 After stating the reasons which had induced the Allied Powers 
 to invade France and exposing the disinterested character of 
 their action, any inhabitants who dared to defend themselves 
 were warned that they would be punished according to the 
 usages of war. The National Guards, if they presumed to ojffer 
 any resistance, would be treated as rebels. The inhabitants of 
 Paris were enjoined to make their submission to the King. The 
 members of the Assembly and all civil authorities were to be 
 held responsible, in their lives and properties, for any outrages 
 committed. If the Tuileries should be invaded, or if any insults 
 should be offered to the Royal Family, the town of Paris would 
 be handed over to the vengeance of the troops, and all rebels 
 would be summarily executed. The Allied Sovereigns could only 
 treat with the King, who was recommended to proceed to a 
 frontier fortress for the purpose. 
 
 The terms of the Brunswick manifesto were known in Paris 
 on July 28th. The threats which it breathed effectually dis- 
 pelled any illusions which the revolutionary leaders may have 
 entertained as to the fate which awaited them should the Allies 
 and the emigres enter the capital. It seemed to these men that 
 their only chance of safety lay in seizing the King and in hold- 
 ing him as a hostage. The excitement in the town was already 
 intense. Under the influence of Danton the sections, on August 
 3rd, voted the deposition of the King, and on the 10th the 
 popular rising, which had been dehberately organized, broke 
 out. The mob forced its way into the Tuileries, and the Royal 
 Family fled for safety to the Assembly. The Deputies thereupon 
 decreed the King's suspension and confinement. They, in addition, 
 passed a resolution for the election of a National Convention.^ 
 
 Whilst in Paris the Monarchy was in its death throes, an 
 army of 4500 emigres^ commanded by the Prince de Conde and 
 officered by the flower of the French nobility, was entering 
 France in the wake of the invading hosts of Austria and Prussia. 
 The allied advance was slow. A month was consumed in tra- 
 versing the country between the Rhine and the Meuse. The 
 forward movement came to an end at Saint-Menehould. In the 
 neighbourhood of that town, on September 20th, Dumouriez, 
 who had been appointed to command the Army of the North, 
 checked the Allies at Valmy, and Brunswick ordered a general 
 retreat. By the middle of October the frontier had been re- 
 crossed, and Prussia and Austria had abandoned all idea of 
 restoring the Monarchy in France. ^ 
 
 ^ A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, II. pp. 613-514. 
 
 Journal de Fersen, 11 Octobre, 1792. 
 2 A. Sorely Europe et Revolution, III. p. 130. 
 
1792] LOUIS LE DESIRE 29 
 
 The emigres had to bear the brunt of the displeasure which 
 this unexpected result provoked among the Allies. All the 
 reverses were ascribed to their misleading statements and to 
 their ridiculous stories that revolutionary France would be in- 
 capable of putting an army into the field. During the two 
 months' campaign they had not won the respect of their German 
 brothers-in-arms. Its brief duration had afforded few oppor- 
 tunities for the display of their one military virtue, courage.^ 
 But on many occasions their lack of discipline, their boasting, 
 and their ignorance had been unfavourably commented upon. 
 All pretence of prosecuting the campaign in order to rescue 
 Louis XVI having been given up, Austria only continued the 
 war in order to protect her possessions in the Low Countries ; 
 whilst Prussia turned her attention to the more congenial task 
 of despoiling Poland.^ Under these conditions the belligerent 
 Powers had no desire to be at the expense of maintaining a con- 
 tingent of which the military value was rated very low. Though 
 the army of Conde continued its inglorious existence for several 
 years longer, and was only finally disbanded on the eve of the 
 Peace of Amiens, most of the emigres were unceremoniously sent 
 about their business. A few made their way back to France, 
 some even took service in the national armies, but for the 
 majority a period of extreme misery set in. Outlawed in their 
 own country, they found themselves, as the years went by and 
 as the tide of Republican victories rolled on, expelled from State 
 after State. ^ Whilst they wandered over Europe soliciting em- 
 ployment in the armies of their country's enemies they saw 
 " a warlike and a conquering generation arise from their native 
 soil, to take up, and to adapt to modern conditions, the glorious 
 traditions of their ancestors.'' They lost, indeed, more than 
 their privileges. The reasons which had been the only justifica- 
 tion for them ceased to have any existence. Those duties, which 
 it had been once their exclusive right to perform, were assumed 
 and splendidly carried out by men sprung from a class which 
 they despised.* 
 
 The war which began in 1792 and which was to last, with 
 little intermission, for twenty-three years was precipitated but 
 not caused by the emigres. Under any circumstances the strong 
 
 ^ Daudet, Histoire de F emigration, I. pp. 191, 206, 210. 
 A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, III. pp. 95-97. 
 
 2 Journal de Fersen, 27 Septemhre, 1792 ; 13 Octobre, 1792 ; 14 Octobre, 
 1792 ; 18 Octobre, 1792. 
 
 3 E. Daudet, Histoire de Temigration, I. pp. 136, 202, 210, 211, 212. 
 Fersen a Baron de Taule, 19 Novembre, 1792. 
 
 * A. Sorel, Europe et Revolution, III. p. 132. 
 Mme. de Stael, Considerations Temigration, II. pp. 6, 6, 7, 8. 
 
30 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1792 
 
 national spirit and the new ideas which the Revolution gave 
 birth to, antagonistic as they were to the principles which ob- 
 tained among the Monarchical Powers of the Continent, must 
 have led, eventually, to war. But on the course of the Revolu- 
 tion and on the fate of the Monarchy the influence of the emigra- 
 tion was decisive. It has been shown that that policy was 
 based on a total misconception both of the views of the Powers 
 and of the feelings of their own countrymen. An intense hatred 
 of the old regime and a determination never to submit to its 
 revival was the spirit which animated the majority of French- 
 men. This the Royal Family and the emigres completely failed 
 to realize. The nobles as a class had been unpopular before the 
 Revolution ; they became odious during the course of it. They 
 had shown plainly that they were determined to set up again 
 conditions which were detestable to the great mass of the 
 people, and that, to attain their ends, they were prepared to 
 subject their country to invasion and to the risk of dismember- 
 ment. Under the influence of the indignation which this con- 
 duct evoked terrible atrocities were committed. The nobles as 
 a class were proscribed and, as was inevitable, many innocent 
 persons suffered for the guilty. ^ The emigres themselves should 
 be divided into two classes : those who had voluntarily left 
 their country to return in the ranks of the foreign invaders, 
 and a not inconsiderable minority of harmless individuals who 
 had been driven abroad on account of the persecutions which 
 they had been subjected to at home.^ The attitude of the aris- 
 tocracy, moreover, must be judged by the standards and the 
 ideas of the time. There was little in the conditions under 
 which continental nobles lived to develop their instinct of 
 nationality. Whilst it would be unjust to say that they had no 
 love of country, their attachment may be fairly described as 
 d3mastic rather than patriotic. French was the almost universal 
 language of polite society in the eighteenth century. It was a 
 common practice for young men to wander over Europe attach- 
 ing themselves to any Court or taking service in any army 
 which appeared to offer prospects of advancement. It had not 
 detracted from the glory of Fontenoy that, on that occasion, the 
 French Army had been commanded by Marshal Saxe and that 
 Loevendal had been his chief lieutenant. It has been related 
 how, in 1791, even the popular party proposed to bestow the 
 leadership of the national armies on Ferdinand of Brunswick. 
 This idea, however, of seeking the assistance of a foreign general 
 would have been wholly unacceptable if suggested a little later. 
 
 ^ A. Sorelj Europe et Revolution, III. pp. 184-186. 
 
 2 Mme de Stael, Considerations I' emigration , II. pp. 1, 2. 
 
1792-18U] LOUIS LE DESIRE 31 
 
 Among the French aristocracy there, undoubtedly, appears to 
 have existed a feeling that, when the interests of their class 
 were in question, the nobles of all countries must stand together 
 irrespective of frontiers.^ 
 
 The victories of the Republican Armies and the consequent 
 dissolution of the coalition caused the decrees against the 
 emigres to be enforced with less vigour. It was the policy 
 of Bonaparte to consolidate the nation by uniting all classes. 
 After Brumaire those who applied to have their names 
 removed from the list of proscribed persons, that is asked 
 for their " radiation^" to quote the official term, found that 
 in most cases their request was complied with. In the 
 course of the next few years a large proportion of the emigres 
 found their way back to France. If their forfeited properties 
 had not been sold, they were restored to them after they had 
 taken the oath of fidelity and fulfilled the prescribed formaHties. 
 The owners of houses in the Faubourg-Saint-Germain returned 
 to them, and society soon resumed its accustomed course. 
 Under the Consulate, and still more so under the Empire, many 
 yoxmg men from among the returned emigres entered the army. 
 At the time of the shooting of the Prince d'Enghien they were 
 few, who had accepted employment of any kind, who followed 
 Chateaubriand^s example and resigned tHeir appointments. The 
 cause of the Bourbons was generally looked upon as hopelessly 
 lost. 2 Owing to the war, communication with England was 
 difficult and dangerous. Gradually all interest in the fallen 
 dynasty faded away. Painful as was the deprivation to men 
 who for generations had been courtiers, the noble Faubourg 
 generally avoided the Imperial Court.^ But when Napoleon's 
 marriage with a Hapsburg was announced, it was universally 
 agreed that the circumstances no longer required the exercise 
 of further self-denial. Applications poured in for posts at Court. 
 Napoleon was only too delighted to grant demands coming from 
 such a quarter. It flattered his vanity to see the duties of his 
 Court fulfilled by the bearers of historic names. It was de- 
 cidedly, he once remarked, the best field for the exercise of their 
 abilities. In the latter days of the Empire he was even begin- 
 
 1 Madame de Stael, Considerations rSmigration, II. p. 4 ; III. p. 120 
 (2me edition) ; and Mme. de Boigne, I. p. 344. 
 
 E. Daudet, Histoire de remigration, I. 29, 30. 
 
 2 Madame de Stael, Considerations sur la Revolution. III. (2me edition), 
 pp. 18-21. 
 
 Madelin, Fouche, I. pp. 399, 392, 400. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 432 ; II. pp. 151, 152. 
 
 F. Masson, Imptrice, Marie Louise, pp. 132-136. 
 
 B, Constant, Memoires sur les cent Jours, II. p. 113. 
 
32 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1805-1814 
 
 ning to put into prgictice a favourite scheme, a fusion of the old 
 and new nobility by means of carefully selected marriages, the 
 " Conscription of the daughters," as it was humorously called.^ 
 
 The provincial aristocracy proved infinitely more irrecon- 
 cilable. In country society the " heretofore nobles " kept to 
 themselves as much as possible, and, so far as they dared, de- 
 clined all advances from the Imperial authorities. This attitude 
 on their part not unfrequently brought down the vials of Napo- 
 leon's wrath upon them.^ He was always very ready to resent 
 any disrespect shown to his officials. It was not until the 
 autumn of 1813, when the Empire was tottering to its fall, that 
 the inhabitants of the Faubourg-Saint-Germain remembered 
 that they were Royalists and began to conspire. But, as in 
 revolutionary times, they had been unable to save the Mon- 
 archy, had, in fact, by their folly largely contributed to its 
 downfall, so in 1814 they achieved nothing for its restoration. 
 Before the entry of the Allies into Paris their conduct was 
 puerile ; it became offensive afterwards. Sosthenes de La Roche- 
 foucauld has left on record the part played by himself and his 
 friends. He relates how a noble lady of his acquaintance would 
 thrust, in the dead of night. Royalist proclamations under 
 doors or into the shutters of shop windows. He describes how 
 he and his followers boldly assumed the white cockade on the 
 morning of the entry of the Russians and the Prussians into 
 the capital, and of the tremendous welcome which they gave 
 to the victorious foreign troops. He gives the story of how 
 Madame Edmond de Perigord, in order to obtain a better view, 
 sat on a Cossack pony clasping the rider round the waist, and 
 how he himself headed a band of young enthusiasts who at- 
 tempted to pull Napoleon's statue from off its column in the 
 Place Vendome.^ 
 
 A considerable number of the emigres had constantly re- 
 mained in exile. Many of the nobles of the highest rank followed 
 in their wanderings the Comte d'Artois and Monsieur, Louis 
 XVm, as he claimed to be after the death of his nephew on 
 June 10th, 1795. Others besides for various reasons did not 
 return to France. The majority of these persons, from the 
 Princes downwards, eventually found their way to England. 
 Here, as in the other countries which they had visited, many 
 were compelled to adopt menial occupations in order to obtain 
 
 1 Madelin, Fouche, I. p. 438. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 421. 
 
 Cf. on this subject Napoleon to Fouchd, 7 September, 1807 ; Collection 
 Lecestrc, 1. p. 109. 
 
 3 Mvmoirefi du Vicomte de. La Rochefoucauld, 1. pp. 25-28 ; I*aris, 1837. 
 H. Houssaye, 1814, pp. 16-26, 664-564. 
 
18U] LOUIS LE DESIRE 33 
 
 a livelihood. The guerilla bands which, from time to time, dis- 
 turbed Normandy and Brittany by exploits, closely resembling 
 those of common brigands, were chiefly recruited and subsidized 
 from England. It was from London that Greorges Cadoudal and 
 Armand and Jules de Pohgnac started on their expedition, in 
 1804, against the First Consul which was to bring the intrepid 
 Chouan leader to the scaffold and to cause the two brothers to 
 be detained as State prisoners for the whole duration of the 
 Empire. England, also, found employment of a less question- 
 able character for the emigres in the many foreign corps which 
 she was compelled to raise in the course of the long war.^ 
 
 The well-known saying that " the Bourbons had learnt nothing \ 
 and forgotten nothing" applied with infinitely more force to\\ 
 the Comte d' Artois and the emigres than to Louis XVIII him- i \ 
 self. Notwithstanding the vicissitudes and the hardships which 
 they had gone through, the nobles who came back to France 
 with the Royal Family, or who welcomed them on their arrival, 
 were men whose political ideas had not progressed since the 
 days of the first emigration. The joy at the cessation of hostili- 
 ties was, no doubt, universal, but the majority of people sin- 
 cerely deplored the national humiliation which had given them 
 peace. The emigres made it clear they had Uttle share in these 
 patriotic regrets. It was an inevitable consequence of the 
 emigration that the participators in such a poUcy should stand 
 apart from the rest of their countrymen. Those of their number 
 who had returned to France, and those especially who had 
 accepted employment under the Empire, had not been insen- 
 sible to the military glory and the proud position which their 
 country had achieved. This feeling had, however, little in 
 common with the impulse which, in revolutionary days, had 
 driven the nation to take up arms to defend its liberties and to 
 resist the imposition of a hateful regime. In 1814 this spirit 
 was not dead. As men saw the former emigres fraternizing with 
 the invader and talking loudly of the privileges which the King's 
 Restoration was to give them back, they remembered Coblentz. 
 
 The Louis XVIII who landed from an EngUsh frigate at 
 Calais on April 25th, 1814, had changed in many ways since 
 the days when as Monsieur he had trifled with Calonne and 
 Madame de Balbi in the episcopal palace of the Elector Clement 
 Wenceslas. Under the influence of disappointment and mis- 
 fortune his judgment had ripened. Verona, Blankenburg, 
 Warsaw, Mittau had been humiliating stages in the weary 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Histoire de t emigration, I. pp. 131, 132, 133. 
 Napoleon^ by Holland Rose (new edition), I. pp. 460-455. 
 Army Lists, 1804-1814. 
 
34 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1814 
 
 wanderings which were to end in 1807 at Great Yarmouth.^ 
 At Gosfield first, and then at Hartwell, he could feel secure from 
 a peremptory order to move on ; but he was to find the English 
 Government as coldly indifferent to the interests of his d5niasty 
 as the Sovereigns and statesmen of continental Europe. 
 
 On his journey from Calais to Paris Louis made a short stay 
 at Compiegne, where he received deputations from various 
 political bodies. 2 The Marshals also were introduced into his 
 presence by Berthier. The King's reception of these officers 
 passed off extremely well. He spoke to them individually and 
 showed that he was intimately acquainted with the feats of 
 arms which each of them had performed. At Compiegne he 
 was the host of the Tsar, who drove o^t from Paris to visit him. 
 Louis* extraordinary memory, which had served him to such 
 good purpose in his interview with the Marshals, was less hap- 
 pily employed in his reception of Alexander. Following a pre- 
 cedent, which under the circumstances might have been for- 
 gotten with advantage, Louis walked into dinner in front of 
 the astonished guest who had been so largely instrumental in 
 effecting his restoration. 
 
 Both at Compiegne and at Saint- Ouen the declaration which 
 was to herald the King's entry into Paris was anxiously dis- 
 cussed.^ It was characteristic of Louis that, though he could 
 without much difficulty be brought to see that a Constitution 
 was a necessity to which he must submit, he was greatly con- 
 cerned with the form in which his acceptation of it was to be 
 expressed. The conditional theory of Kingship, to which the 
 constitutional Royahsts attached so much importance, was 
 intensely repugnant to him as a Bourbon. Provided the legiti- 
 mist principle were upheld, that is to say, if he were called 
 " King of France and Navarre," and if his reign were allowed 
 to reckon from the date of his nephew's death, then he would 
 be prepared to promise a Constitution drawn up in a very 
 liberal spirit. But he insisted, and from this position nothing 
 could move him, that it must be clearly laid down that he 
 granted it to his subjects. The pretension of the Senate to drive 
 a bargain with him was quite inadmissible. Not without diffi- 
 culty Louis carried his point. In the Declaration of Saint- Ouen 
 all those stipulations with which the Senate had surrounded the 
 recall of " Louis Stanislas Xavier " were completely ignored. 
 
 ^ E, Daudet, Histoire de r emigration, III. pp. 434-441. 
 2 Rovigo, VII. p. 256. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 26. 
 ^ Mme. de Boigne, Memoires, I. 
 
 Cf. Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 47:, 48, 49. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, II. pp. 50-68. 
 
1814] LOUIS LE DESIKE 35 
 
 Inasmuch as he thereby faile^d to comply with the conditions 
 which the Comte d'Artois had agreed to in his name, the King 
 may be justly accused of having inaugurated his reign by a 
 breach of faith. Nevertheless, from the moment when he signed 
 his Declaration, he set himself loyally to carry out the promises 
 which it contained. Once it was promulgated, Louis' connection 
 with the emigre party terminated, and his struggle with the re- 
 actionary tendencies of his brother and of the old companions 
 of his exile began. ^ 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Histoire de femigrationy I. p. 220. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 PATERNAL ANARCHY 
 
 AVAST amount of important business awaited Louis at 
 the Tuileries. In the first place, the terms of peace had 
 to be drawn up. The treaty was signed on May 30th, by which 
 France ceded nearly all her conquests and returned to her fron- 
 tiers of 1792. The general readjustment of the map of Europe, 
 which the fall of the Empire necessitated, was, however, only 
 to be settled two months later at a Congress of the Powers, 
 which was to assemble at Vienna. It was an unavoidable mis- 
 fortune that Louis must thus begin his reign by submitting to 
 an enormous loss of territory.^ The formation of his first 
 government was a more agreeable, but a very difficult task. It 
 was not till May 15th that the names of Ministers were pub- 
 lished. Talleyrand, to whose skilful diplomacy Louis was so 
 much indebted, remained at the Foreign Office. General Dupont 
 had been Minister of War under the Provisional Government 
 of which the Abbe Montesquiou had been a member. He was 
 now formally confirmed in his appointment, and to Montesquiou 
 was assigned the Home Office. Dambray was Chancellor ; 
 Malouet, Minister of Marine ; Baron Louis, Finance Minister ; 
 Ferrand, Postmaster ; Beugnot was Director of Police ; and 
 Berenger of the Customs. ^ Almost every shade of opinion was 
 represented in this list. Tallejrrand, Beugnot, Dupont, and the 
 Baron Louis were constitutional Royalists. Dupont, and to 
 some extent Beugnot, however, tempered their views by a 
 strong desire to propitiate the emigres and the Court party. 
 Dambray, the Chancellor, was a lawyer of the old Parlement, 
 who prided himseK on knowing nothing about the Revolution, 
 " which so far as he was concerned might never have taken 
 place." He, Ferrand, and Malouet represented the old regime 
 and had no confidence in a constitutional form of government, 
 merely regarding it as a stepping-stone to absolute Monarchy. 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, DeiU! RestaurationSy II. p. 62. 
 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. pp. 244, 245, 258-263. 
 
 2 VitroUes, Memoires, II. 227-230. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, Premiere Restauration, pp. 41, 42. 
 
 36 
 
18U] PATERNAL ANARCHY 37 
 
 Berenger, on the other hand, was practically a Republican whe 
 owed his place in the Ministry to his well-known hatred of 
 Bonaparte. No Prime Minister had been appointed, but Talley- 
 rand was the man to whom the King might have been expected 
 to turn for advice. Though not officially nominated to the post, 
 it might have been supposed that he would have been called 
 upon to fill the position of President of the Council. Such was, 
 unfortunately, not the case.^ It is true that among Talleyrand's 
 great gifts debating power was not included. He was, however, 
 well acquainted with the leading men and the institutions of 
 the day, and though he had no practical experience of consti- 
 tutional government, in theoretical knowledge he certainly 
 equalled, if he did not surpass, Beugnot and the Baron Louis, 
 the only two of his colleagues who had given the subject their 
 attention. But the King had an inconquerable aversion to him 
 and placed his confidence in the Comte de Blacas, who had 
 succeeded d'Avaray in his affections. Blacas had been ap- 
 pointed Minister of the King's Household, and, inasmuch as he 
 was the only member of the Council who could, on all occasions, 
 obtain access to the King, his became the preponderating 
 influence. 
 
 In most countries, and in France especially, the acknow- 
 ledged favourite of the Sovereign has seldom been a popular 
 person. By his many enemies Blacas has been accused of venal- 
 ity. No trustworthy evidence appears to support the charge. 
 Owing, however, to his ignorance of men and of affairs, due to 
 his long absence from the country, he was necessarily a danger- 
 ous adviser to Louis, who suffered from the same disadvantages. 
 Moreover, in his intense anxiety to spare the King all trouble, 
 he did much to encourage his natural indolence. This seems to 
 have been his chief fault. Blacas and Montesquiou to some 
 extent represented the emigre party in the Council. But both 
 of them were sensible enough to see that large concessions must 
 be made to the new ideas. ^ Though in politics they had much 
 in common, there was little friendship between them. Montes- 
 quiou disapproved of the other's exceptional position with the 
 
 ^ Pasquier, Memoires, II. pp. 416, 417. 
 
 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. p, 253. 
 
 Guizot, Memoires, 1. pp. 36-42. 
 2 Pasquier, III. p. 13. 
 
 Vaulabelle, II. pp. 130, 131. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 71. 
 
 Jaucourt a Talleyrand, 27 Mars, 1815. 
 
 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. pp. 353-^55. 
 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 87. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. p. 174. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire de la Restaur ation, I. pp. 470-472. 
 
38 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1814 
 
 King, and had gone so far as to warn Louis that " his people 
 could forgive a mistress, but that they had never tolerated a 
 favourite/' 
 
 " There were Ministers, but no Ministry," as Wellington wrote 
 to Castlereagh. In effect a Cabinet Council, in the ordinary 
 sense of the word, was rarely, if ever, held. Ministers might 
 meet, from time to time in Blacas' apartments, waiting till he 
 could usher them into the King's presence, but, generally speak- 
 ing, every one carried on the business of his department as he 
 thought fit.i A collective responsibility of the Cabinet had, in 
 short, no existence. In their public utterances men like Ferrand 
 and Dambray were fond of alluding to the King's paternal 
 affection for his subjects. " Paternal anarchy " became a term 
 which the wits were soon to apply to the Government. ^ 
 
 When the news of his recall was brought to Hartwell, Louis 
 is reported to have said to the Due de Duras that the future of 
 the Monarchy would now depend on whether he survived his 
 brother. 3 If he used these words, they are but another instance 
 of the remarkable prescience which he often displayed. Mon- 
 sieur, the Comte d'Artois, was at this time fifty- seven years of 
 age, and was still a good-looking man with agreeable manners 
 and a courtly grace for which he had always been celebrated. 
 To questions of etiquette he attached an overwhelming import- 
 ance. In this peculiarity he closely resembled his brother, 
 without, however, sharing in his learning, his sagacity, or his 
 intellectual advantages. In politics Monsieur was, and was 
 destined always to remain, an emigre. In one respect he had 
 changed greatly. The roue of the old days at Versailles and 
 Bagatelle was now a religious bigot. At Brompton Grove, in 
 1804, he had left the bedside of the d3dng Comtesse de Polastron 
 to fall under the influence of the priest who had attended her. 
 The ascendancy, which from that day the Abbe de Latil ob- 
 tained over him, was never lost. Monsieur had spent nearly 
 the whole period of his exile in England surrounded, both at 
 Holyrood and in London, by a select circle of followers.* Be- 
 tween the members of his coterie and the emigres who had 
 
 ^ Pasquier, III. pp. 14, 15. 
 
 Vaulabelle, II. p. 134. 
 
 Beugiiot, Memoires, II. pp. 138-142. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 13 Jiiin, 1814 ; 6 Juillet, 1814. 
 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. pp. 215-216. 
 2 Jaucourt a Talleyrand, 20 Septembre, 1814 ; 10 Decembre, 1814. 
 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 220. 
 ^ Daudet, Emigration, III. p. 334. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire de la Restauration, I. pp. 378-381. 
 * Mme. de Gontaut, Memoires, pp. 98, 99. 
 
 Comtesse de Polastron, par le Vicomte de Reiset, pp. 280-281. 
 
1814] PATEENAL ANARCHY 39 
 
 attached themselves to Louis there had been a great deal of 
 jealousy. These intrigues continued after their return to Paris, 
 and were certainly not discouraged by Monsieur. It was well 
 known that he had no sympathy with the King's more liberal 
 views, and that he was no friend to constitutional government.^ 
 By the pure Royalists, who wished to see the old regime restored, 
 he was in consequence worshipped, ^ and the Pavilion de Marsan, 
 his lodgings in the Tuileries, became the centre of an organized 
 opposition which contributed materially to the embarrassments 
 of Eouis' Government. 
 
 The Due d'Angouleme, Monsieur's eldest son, was thirty-nine 
 years of age. He had neither his father's handsome exterior 
 nor his charm of manner. On the contrary, he was shy and 
 awkward, and was in the habit of indulging in certain facial 
 tricks and peculiarities of gait which gave him a grotesque 
 appearance. Like Monsieur he was religious, but, unlike him, 
 he was not priest-ridden. He had no intellectual gifts and his 
 education had been neglected. On the whole, he was a well- 
 meaning, honourable man, subject, however, to fits of un- 
 governable passion. 3 On June 10th, 1799, he had married at 
 Mitau his first cousin, Madame Therese, the daughter of Louis 
 XVI and Marie Antoinette. The terrible tragedy of her child- 
 hood has invested the Duchesse d'Angouleme with a halo of 
 romance. Stripped, however, of the sentiment which sym- 
 pathy for her misfortunes must inspire, there was little which 
 was attractive about her. She had inherited her father's un- 
 couth manners and her mother's pride, unredeemed by her 
 powers of fascination and feminine charm.* Though she was 
 good and charitable, the sternness of her nature deprived these 
 qualities of all grace. In her married life she had been happy, 
 but no children had been born to her. 
 
 The Due de Berri was three years his brother's junior and 
 was as yet immarried. He was short of stature and of some- 
 what vulgar appearance. He had served in the army of Conde, 
 and was supposed by his family and the emigres to possess 
 military talents. Be this as it may, a sincere liking for the pro- 
 fession of arms was the only serious taste with which he can 
 be credited. Roughness of manner and a violent temper were 
 natural to him. To support, however, the character of the 
 practical soldier to which he aspired, he thought it necessary 
 
 ^ E. Daudet, Histoire de F emigration, III. p. 445. 
 
 2 Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 101, 102, 144, 145. 
 
 ^ Viel Castel, Histoire de la Restauration, I. pp. 381, 384. 
 
 Mme. de Boigne, Memoires, I. p. 397 ; II. p. 276. 
 * Ibid., I. pp. 390-392. 
 
40 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [isu 
 
 to accentuate these failings by an habitual use of coarse and 
 brutal language. At inspections a paternal familiarity which he 
 adopted towards the men engendered the suspicion that he was 
 imitating Napoleon. This circumstance caused him to be looked 
 upon with much contemptuous amusement, and certainly did 
 not add to his popularity. In other relations of life he was 
 simply a man of pleasure, about whom some stories of good- 
 natured actions are recorded.^ 
 
 The Due d' Orleans, who, sixteen years later, was to be en- 
 throned as " Louis Philippe, King of the French," had been 
 born in 1772.^ He was a son of Egalite and had himself 
 commanded with distinction a brigade in the National Army. 
 Though he had deserted with Dumouriez, he had taken no part 
 in the policy of the emigration, and had never borne arms 
 against his own country. After a residence of some years in 
 America he had settled quietly in England, and had made his 
 peace with Louis XVIII. The Due d' Orleans was a man of the 
 world, of excellent abilities, whom a large section of Frenchmen 
 would have been well pleased to have seen called to the throne 
 in preference to Louis XVIII. This fact, which was within the 
 King's knowledge, revived his slumbering distrust of him, and 
 caused the Palais-Royal to become the object of a minute obser- 
 vation by the secret police. In so far as plotting or actively 
 intriguing was concerned the suspicion was undeserved. The 
 Duke was an astute and very prudent person, whose chief care 
 at this time was to regain possession of his vast estates. With- 
 out doubt, however, he was quite alive to the opportunities 
 which the future might have in store for him, and realized the 
 full value of such assets as Valmy and Jemmappes. 
 
 The Prince de Conde and his son the Due de Bourbon counted 
 for very little. Old Conde was in his dotage, and the Duke 
 devoted his attention entirely to sport and the formation of 
 low and undesirable connections. ^ From a family circle thus 
 composed Louis could expect little assistance. He knew that 
 his nearest relation, his brother, was intriguing against him, and 
 for the Due d'Orleans, the only intelligent member of it, he felt 
 nothing but the greatest distrust. 
 
 Louis had been in no hurry to begin the work of framing 
 the Constitution, which he had promised in his Declaration of 
 Saint- Ouen. The Tsar, however, intimated in language, which 
 
 * Houssaye, 1815^ Premiere Restauration, pp. 34, 35, 36. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. pp. 135-136. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire de la Restauration, I. p. 385. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 38, 39. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire de la Restauration, I. pp. 385-387. 
 
 3 Mme. de Boigne, I. pp. 147, 148. 
 
18U] PATERNAL ANARCHY 41 
 
 could not be misunderstood, that he wished to leave Paris at 
 the end of May, by which time he hoped that the Charter would 
 have been drawn up. The framing of it was accordingly en- 
 trusted to a committee of eighteen members. Their work was 
 necessarily hurried, but it was completed to Alexander's satis- 
 faction.^ The new Constitution was bi-cameral, an Upper 
 Chamber, consisting of 154 Peers chosen by the King and 
 nominated for life, and a Lower Chamber, composed of 258 
 Deputies, to be selected by the Electoral Colleges. The right 
 of initiative and of legislation was given to the King, but the 
 Chambers were to have the power to suggest the principles and 
 the details of bills. Freedom of worship, the retention of the 
 jury, and the independence of the judicial bench were among its 
 chief provisions. Liberty was granted to the press, but it 
 was laid down that laws would be introduced to correct its 
 abuses. An article, specially intended to allay the fears of 
 the purchasers of national property, guaranteed the revolu- 
 tionary land settlement. 2 The King was empowered to make 
 ordinances for the " execution of the laws and the safety of 
 the State.'' 
 
 In the composition of his Upper Chamber Louis had exercised 
 impartiality. According, indeed, to Lord Liverpool, the eleva- 
 tion to the Peerage of so many persons of obscure origin and of 
 revolutionary antecedents constituted a danger. Eighty-four 
 Senators of the Empire were now created Peers of France. In 
 point of fact, only thirty members of the Imperial Senate were, 
 by the King's act, excluded from his Upper Chamber. Those 
 who were so debarred were, with few exceptions, regicides, and 
 among them were comprised Fouche, Cambaceres, and Sieyes. 
 Ten Marshals who had not been Senators were, however, raised 
 to the Peerage, an honour which was also conferred on six 
 Generals of the Empire, and six of the old regime. The remain- 
 ing seats were assigned to the Dukes, and to those members of 
 the old nobility, in whose families peerages were hereditary. It 
 had been decided not to dissolve the existing Legislative As- 
 sembly, which was to continue its functions and to be known 
 as the Chamber of Deputies.^ On June 2nd and 3rd the evacua- 
 tion of Paris by the Allied Armies was carried out, and on the 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, JDeux Restaurations, II. pp. 66-72. 
 Pasquier, II. pp. 414, 439, 440. 
 
 2 Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 147-228. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. pp. 245-270. 
 Cambridge Modem History , X. chap, xviii. 
 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSj II. 84, 85. 
 
42 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [18U 
 
 4th Louis opened Parliament with all solemnity.^ The cere- 
 mony took place at the Palais Bourbon, where the members of 
 both Chambers were assembled to receive him. The King's 
 speech, which he had himself composed, was well delivered. Its 
 tone was dignified, and the allusions to past events were be- 
 comingly expressed. The reading of the Constitutional Charter 
 followed the Speech from the Throne. It was listened to with 
 general satisfaction and approval. Only the concluding words, 
 which described the Act as " given in the 19th year of our 
 reign,*' struck a discordant note.^ 
 
 The session, which began on June 4th, 1814, and which lasted 
 till December 30th, was a busy one. Far-reaching measures of 
 administrative and financial reforms were successfully dealt 
 with. The arrears of debt, which Napoleon's last campaigns 
 had accumulated, gave to the framing of the budget an in- 
 creased importance. Public interest was, however, centred 
 round the debates in connection with two bills, the first to re- 
 strict the liberty of the press, and the second to restore to the 
 emigres such of their estates as had not been sold. The Govern- 
 ment proposals for dealing with the press were introduced by 
 the Abbe de Montesquiou.^ In drawing them up he had been 
 assisted by his secretary, Fran9ois Guizot, a young Protestant 
 lawyer, and by Royer-Collard,* who, under the name of Aubert 
 during the Consulate, had been a trusted agent of the exiled 
 King. The bill, which was of a stringent character, imposed a 
 censorship on all newspapers and periodicals. It met with great 
 opposition and was only passed with difficulty, after occupying 
 the attention of the Chambers for a period of three months.^ 
 The Government bill, however, for the restoration to their for- 
 mer owners of all forfeited estates which had not been sold, 
 created still more excitement. The justice of the proposed step 
 could not be questioned, and the measure would not have been 
 opposed but for Ferrand's injudicious words in introducing it. 
 He, unfortunately, thought the occasion a suitable one for de- 
 livering a speech, which was nothing less than an impassioned 
 defence of the emigres and the emigration. " They alone," he 
 said, " have followed the right line." Not content, however, 
 with laying down this formula which evoked indignant protests, 
 
 ^ Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 231-234. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. pp. 275-278. 
 Vaulabelle, Deuoo Restaur ations, II. pp. 81-83. 
 
 2 J, C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. p. 69. 
 
 3 Pasquier, III. p. 24. 
 
 * E. Daudet, Emigration, II. p. 373. 
 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 45, 46. 
 6 Pasquier, III. pp. 28, 29. 
 
1814] PATERNAL ANARCHY 43 
 
 Ferrand proceeded to insinuate that the King hoped, before long, 
 to repair more effectually the losses which his faithful followers 
 had sustained. The alarm caused by these words spread through- 
 out the country.^ They were construed as an intimation that 
 purchasers of confiscated estates would, in the future, be no 
 longer secure from eviction. The elevation of Ferrand to the 
 rank of count, a few days later, increased the agitation. A 
 severe depreciation in the value of all property which bore the 
 stigma of having been once " national '' set in, and Bonaparte 
 is said to have ascribed his unopposed march to Paris, six 
 months later, to the alarm which Ferrand's utterances had en- 
 gendered. ^ After eight stormy sittings the bill was, however, 
 passed by a large majority. 
 
 Almost from the day of the King's return the existence of a 
 general feeling of unrest and of discontent had become apparent. ^ 
 Clubs, in the English sense of the word, had not yet been estab- 
 lished. Their place in the political and social life of the country 
 was, to some extent, filled by the salon. The chief Bonapartist 
 hostesses of the day were Madame de Souza, Madame Hamelin, 
 and the Duchesse de Saint Leu, to give Hortense de Beauhamais, 
 the ex-Queen of Holland and the mother of Napoleon III, the 
 title which the King had conferred upon her, and by which she 
 was now invariably addressed. In the drawing-rooms which 
 these ladies presided over the discontented generals and the 
 partisans of the Empire would meet nightly, to heap ridicule 
 on the pretensions of the emigres and to deplore the fallen great- 
 ness of France.* At her house at Clichy, Madame de Stael was 
 in the habit of entertaining at supper, three times a week, the 
 leaders of the so-called Liberal party. At these gatherings 
 Comte, the editor of the Censeur, Benjamin Constant, Lafayette, 
 and Madame de Stael herself would dogmatize on constitutional 
 questions and inveigh against the reactionary tendencies which 
 they accused the Government of harbouring. The sudden 
 change from a despotism, under which the press had been 
 muzzled and the freedom of speech restrained to the benignant 
 
 1 Pasquier, III. pp. 32-84. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deujc Restaur ations, II. pp. 100-110. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 71-73. 
 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, 1. pp. 41-44. 
 
 B. Constant, Memoir es sur les cent jours, part i. p. 30. 
 
 Lavalette, Memoires, II. p. 118. 
 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p, 55. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 94-95. 
 ^ B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, I. p. 126. 
 ^ Bourrienne, Memoires, X. p. 245. 
 * Houssaye, 1815, 1. p. 67. 
 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 208. 
 
44 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [18U 
 
 rule of a limited Monarchy, brought political discussions into 
 fashion. The liberty of writing and of talking freely, from which 
 men had been debarred for so long, was greatly abused. People 
 who are unaccustomed to hear the actions of the Government 
 called into question are inclined to attach an undue importance 
 to political criticisms. The Liberals and constitutional Royalists 
 professed to be truer friends to the restored Monarchy than the 
 emigres. Nevertheless, by mercilessly exposing every mistake 
 of Ministers and by circulating suspicions of their motives, they 
 contrived to unsettle the public mind, and to prepare it for a 
 change quite as effectually as the extreme Royalists by their 
 reactionary views. ^ 
 
 The newspapers of every shade of opinion contributed to the 
 prevailing disquiet. The Censeur, the leading organ of the 
 Liberal party, was a serious periodical chiefly read by politicians 
 and lawyers. The Nain Jaune, a satirical and spiteful produc- 
 tion, was more popular and had a more general circulation. It 
 was inspired by the Due de Bassano and belonged to a group of 
 Bonapartists, who skilfully contrived to conceal their identity 
 under the watchword of the King and the Charter. They were 
 thus enabled to prosecute a vigorous campaign against Ministers, 
 emigres, and clergy, all of whom they contended were seeking 
 to deprive the people of the liberties which the Charter had con- 
 ceded to them. The doings and sayings of M. de La Jobardiere, 
 a fanciful character and an exquisitely satirical picture of an 
 old emigre, were eagerly awaited by a large circle of readers. ^ 
 Louis himself is supposed to have derived amusement from 
 these trenchant attacks on the extreme Royalists. " It has 
 taught me many things which a King is all the better for know- 
 ing," he said to his courtiers when they asked for the suppres- 
 sion of the paper. 3 Among the numerous pamphlets which 
 appeared during the autumn of 1814, notwithstanding the Press 
 Laws, two especially attracted much attention.^ The first, by 
 Carnot,^ though protesting its author's loyalty to the King, 
 
 * Jaucourt a Tallyrand, 1 Octobre, 1814. 
 Mme. de Stael, Considerations, III. pp. 95-100. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. p. 322. 
 
 2 Pasquier, III. p. 69. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 58. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 166-167- 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire de la Restauration, II. pp. 106-108. 
 
 3 Jaucourt a Tallyrand, 21 Janvier, 1815. 
 
 * Supplementary Despatches, IX. ; VVellington to Batliurst, 2 October, 
 1814 ; Wellington to Castlereagh, 4 October, 1814. 
 
 ^ Memoire au roi en Juillet, 1814. 
 Bruxelles, 1814. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 21. 
 
1814] PATERNAL ANARCHY 45 
 
 painted the state of feeling public in the gloomiest colours, and 
 threw all the blame for the excesses of the Revolution on the 
 emigres. The other one, by Mehee,^ an organizer of the Sep- 
 tember massacres, recalled the questionable part which the 
 King, as Comte de Provence, was supposed to have played in 
 the affair of the Marquis de Favras. 
 
 More real injury was, however, done to the cause of the 
 Monarchy by the Royalist press. The denunciations of the 
 men and the institutions of the Revolution, coupled with the 
 contempt expressed for the Charter, and with the hints of re- 
 taliatory measures which were to be read in the columns of 
 La Quotidienne and Le Journal Royal, created a profound feel- 
 ing of alarm. 2 Whilst the Government was blamed by the 
 Liberal papers for the reactionary schemes it was accused of 
 entertaining, and by the Royalist papers for its revolutionary 
 sympathies, the tone of fulsome adulation adopted by the 
 official Monitev/Ty whenever the name of a Royal personage was 
 mentioned, brought the whole regime into ridicule.^ A field-day 
 having taken place on the outskirts of Paris, in which the two 
 opposing forces were commanded by the Due d'Angouleme 
 and the Due de Berri respectively, victory was adjudged 
 to have rested with the elder brother. " But," so ran 
 the report in the Monitettr, " the skilful dispositions of the 
 Due de Berri covered his retreat with glory." It is easy 
 to imagine with what contempt such nonsense would be 
 treated by a people accustomed to read the bulletins of the 
 Grand Army. 
 
 The talk of the salons, the political pamphlets, and the in- 
 discretions of the press were circumstances which only affected 
 the educated classes. The working men and the shopkeepers 
 had, however, grievances of their own. During their residence 
 in England both the Kong and Monsieur were supposed to have 
 been favourably impressed with the advantages to be derived 
 from the strict observation of the Sabbath. It was due, no 
 doubt, to this fact that in June, 1814, a police regulation had 
 appeared which prohibited work of all description and public 
 amusements on Sundays. The closing of taverns during the 
 hours of divine worship was decreed at the same time. This 
 order was supplemented, a week later, by another which pre- 
 scribed the manner in which certain Holy Days were to be 
 
 ^ Denonciation au roi des precedes par lesquelles les ministres ont 
 viole la constitution. Paris, 1814. 
 
 ^ B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, part i. pp. 30, 31. 
 ^ Viel Castel, Histoire de la Restauration, II. pp. 91, 92. 
 
46 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [18U 
 
 observed.^ These ordinances were deeply resented by the lower 
 classes especially, and formed the subject of numerous petitions 
 to the Chamber. Beugnot, the director of the pohce, having 
 unwisely quoted, in defence of his enactments, some laws passed 
 in 1702 and 1720, the affair was looked upon as a further proof 
 of the Government's intention to reimpose the old regime in its 
 " pristine purity."^ So violent was the opposition to these regu- 
 lations that all attempts to enforce them were soon abandoned. 
 The States which Napoleon had annexed had been adminis- 
 tered by French officials. Their retrocession to their rightful 
 owners necessarily deprived these persons of their employment, 
 and sent them to swell the numbers of those who regretted the 
 Imperial regime.^ But it was in the army that lay the elements 
 of the most serious danger. In 1814 the French army was a 
 national and a democratic institution. Its history had begun 
 at Valmy. All its victories had been won under the tricolour, 
 and it had no traditions to connect it with the old Royal army. 
 Though welcomed by the Marshals and the senior Generals 
 whose ambitions were satisfied, the junior officers and the rank 
 and file had resentfully submitted to the restoration of the 
 monarchy. 3 The wholesale desertion after Napoleon's abdica- 
 tion, which writers with Bonapartist sympathies have trium- 
 phantly adduced as a proof of the soldiers' hatred of the Bour- 
 bons, furnish, perhaps, better evidence of their utter weariness 
 of mihtary service and of a relaxed state of discipline. The 
 police notes and the reports from the Generals commanding 
 districts, which M. Houssaye has collected, point, however, to 
 the existence of a certain amount of disaffection.* They place 
 it beyond dispute that the soldier assumed the white cockade 
 with reluctance, whilst he secretly cherished the tricolour as a 
 precious relic. The regret at relinquishing the colours which 
 had been associated with so much glory was shared by all ranks 
 of the army.^ The commissioned and the non-commissioned 
 officers had, in addition, serious grievances of a more personal 
 
 1 Pasquier, II. pp. 7, 8. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 13 Juin, 1814. 
 
 Guizot, Mcmoires, I. p. 55. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 78, 79. 
 
 2 Lavalette, Memoires, II. pp. 115, 116. 
 
 3 B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, I. pp. 76-78. 
 Supplementary Despatches, IX. ; Wellington to Castlereagh, 10 October, 
 
 1814. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 3. 
 
 4 Ibid., pp. 46, 60. 
 
 Hauterive a Tallyrand, 14 Novembre, 1814. 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. p. 52. 
 
 5 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. 32-35. 
 
1814] PATERNAL ANAECHY 47 
 
 character. The arrears of debt created by the last campaigns 
 committed Louis to a policy of strict economy, making a large 
 reduction of military establishments a matter of necessity. 
 Hundreds of officers with brilliant records of service found them- 
 selves, in consequence, placed on a miserably insufficient half- 
 pay. Such a state of affairs could hardly be avoided. But the 
 choice of the Minister who was to carry out this policy was un- 
 fortunate. General Dupont, who at one time had been con- 
 sidered a good officer, had been responsible for the first serious 
 reverse which the Imperial arms had sustained. A Court Martial 
 had adjudged him guilty of having, without sufficient reason, 
 concluded the capitulation of Baylen. He had been degraded 
 from his rank, deprived of his honours, and imprisoned in a 
 fortress, where he had remained till Napoleon's fall gave him 
 his liberty. The appointment of this man to be Minister of War 
 was looked upon as an insult to the whole army.^ Dupont had 
 been employed under the Provisional Government, and it was 
 to this fact, principally, that he owed his position in the Minis- 
 try. It is probable, besides, that Louis and his advisers con- 
 sidered that an officer, who had been treated with such severity 
 under the Empire, and who owed so much to the Restoration, 
 would prove a willing instrument for the execution of the 
 changes which they proposed to carry out. 
 
 The creation of a body of Household Troops, constituted on 
 the same lines as in the most brilliant days of the old Monarchy, 
 was a scheme which Louis had much at heart. The emigres 
 were fond of asserting that the Revolution could never have 
 taken place had Louis XVI not disbanded his Mousquetaires and 
 Chevau-Legers. It would be unjust to Louis XVIII to suppose 
 that he could subscribe to so ridiculous a notion. He was, how- 
 ever, fond of ceremony and was jealous of preserving old cus- 
 toms. ^ The formation of privileged corps was, moreover, a 
 simple method of providing employment for a large number of 
 Royalists, many of whom had returned to France in almost 
 destitute circumstances. The old Maison du Roi consisted of 
 the Gardes du Corps, which had been preserved till the Revolu- 
 tion, Chevau-Legers, grey and black Mousquetaires, and the 
 Gensdarmes. These four last were termed the red com- 
 panies. They furnished the Royal escorts and did duty inside 
 the Royal apartments, differing in that respect from the Gardes 
 Suisses and the Gardes Fran9aises who guarded the exterior of 
 the Palaces. The troopers in these select corps were either 
 
 1 VitroUes, M^moires, II. pp. 205-206. 
 
 2 Ihid., pp. 185-187. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire de la Restauration, I. pp. 394-402. 
 
48 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [18U 
 
 poor nobles or the members of bourgeois families who " lived 
 nobly/' and all had the rank of officers. The red companies 
 were each commanded by a Captain, who was either a General 
 or a Marshal of France. The appointment was a purely hono- 
 rary one, and partook rather of a court than a military duty. 
 
 By the King's desire Dupont at once set about forming the 
 " maison militaire " strictly on the old model. No difficulty 
 was experienced in finding the 6000 recruits required and the 
 work was soon completed. The appearance of some of the 
 middle-aged emigres who had been incorporated, and the way 
 in which they handled their arms, afforded a splendid field for 
 satirical comment. The whole force was, indeed, an anachron- 
 ism quite unsuited to modern military conditions.^ The pecu- 
 liar hardship which the creation of these corps constituted lay 
 in the introduction of a large body of men with the position of 
 officers into the army. Promotion from the non-commissioned 
 to the commissioned ranks had been freely resorted to in the 
 Republican and Imperial armies. The practice, which was in 
 harmony with its democratic traditions, was popular and had 
 stood the test of war. But this sudden creation of over 5000 
 sub-lieutenants, the more energetic of whom would expect to 
 be transferred, before long, to regiments of the line, was a death- 
 blow to the prospects of the non-commissioned officers of the 
 regular army. Under any circumstances the raising of these 
 privileged corps would have excited ridicule ; taking place, 
 however, at a time when wholesale reductions were being ruth- 
 lessly carried out, it engendered an intense resentment. ^ It is 
 true that as a consolation to the army two additional red 
 companies were formed, and the command of them was con- 
 ferred on Berthier, Prince de Wagram, and on Marmont, Due 
 de Raguse, respectively. This was an honour which was, doubt- 
 less, much appreciated by the two Marshals^concerned, but was 
 cold comfort to a half-pay officer starving on a pittance of less 
 than a pound a week. These two commands were officially 
 known as the company of Wagram and the company of Raguse. 
 Outside Court circles, however, the company of Peter and the 
 company of Judas were the names which were invented for 
 them. 
 
 The treatment of the old Imperial Guard was injudicious. 
 One of two courses should have been adopted towards these 
 fine troops. They should either have been disbanded, with the 
 grant of generous bounties or pensions, or they should have been 
 trusted unreservedly and converted into Royal Guards. Neither 
 
 1 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. p. 85. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 60. 
 
1814] PATEENAL ANARCHY 49 
 
 of these plans was resorted to. The regiments of the Guard 
 were preserved intact, but they were sent into garrisons as far 
 distant as possible from Paris. ^ 
 
 Unlike the other great dignitaries of the Empire, the Marshals 
 had been unfeignedly glad of a change of regime. All of them 
 longed for the enjoyment of a few years of peace. They were 
 mostly men of bourgeois origin, who had married in the class 
 from which they had sprung. They were no strangers to the 
 Tuileries, but they felt as they revisited the Palace, after Louis' 
 restoration, that, at last, they were at a real Court. ^ There 
 had been a feeling of unreality about the Imperial one. This 
 enthusiasm of the Marshals for the new order of affairs was not 
 destined to continue very long.^ Though the most ordinary 
 prudence should have dictated the humouring and flattering of 
 these ofl&cers, whose influence at a crisis might prove all im- 
 portant, such a policy did not always commend itself to the 
 Royalists. The men were not the worst offenders. 
 
 The ladies of the Faubourg Saint- Germain were invariably 
 polite towards their sisters of the new nobility ; they, neverthe- 
 less, contrived to make them feel profoundly uncomfortable. In 
 this respect the Duchesse d'Angouleme set an unfortunate ex- 
 ample. It was part of her system to ignore new titles as much 
 as possible. To her the Princesse de La Moskowa was simply 
 Madame Ney. Yet the wife of Marshal Ney was peculiarly 
 deserving of her consideration. She was a Mile. Auguie, the 
 daughter of an old maid of Marie Antoinette who was said to 
 have gone mad from grief at hearing of the Queen's execution. 
 Madame had not forgotten this. Her conduct towards the 
 Princesse de La Moskowa was, however, of a kind which might 
 have been adopted with propriety towards the daughter of an 
 old servant, but was not the treatment which the wife of a 
 distinguished Marshal was entitled to expect.* Madame Ney 
 never came away from the Tuileries, where formerly she had 
 held so exalted a position, without a burning sense of shame 
 and of mortification. Ney, who was very fond of his wife, was 
 proportionately indignant. It is said that six months later, 
 when he was pacing the room at the inn at Lons-le-Saulnier in 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire de la Bestauration, I. pp. 400-401. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 101, 102. 
 
 3 Supplementary Despatches, IX., Wellington to Castlereagh, 17 October, 
 1814. 
 
 * Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 11. 
 Benjamin Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, part i. p. 39. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 103, 104. 
 Lavalette, II. pp. 131-133. 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 175-176. 
 
50 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [18H 
 
 an agony of doubt and indecision, the recollection of the slights 
 which his wife had endured at Court came back to him, and 
 finally dissolved the remaining shreds of his loyalty to the 
 Bourbons. 
 
 The feelings which the Royal Family and the emigre party 
 entertained, or were supposed to entertain, towards the Legion 
 of Honour was another source of irritation to the soldiers. 
 Under the Empire the Legion of Honour had been a highly 
 prized distinction, rarely accorded to civilians. The King had 
 been warned that, however repugnant this revolutionary decora- 
 tion might be to his personal feelings, it would be highly 
 impolitic to abolish it. It had been retained accordingly 
 with certain modifications, such as the substitution of 
 Henry IV's effigy for Napoleon's and the abolition of the 
 eagles. But the profuse way in which it was now dispensed 
 was justly felt to be an attempt to lower its value and to 
 change its character.^ 
 
 The feeling of uneasiness^ which was very apparent in the 
 autumn of 1814 was augmented by the presence in Paris of a 
 great number of half-pay officers. Driven to desperation by 
 their poverty and the utter hopelessness of their prospects, they 
 had become dangerous enemies to the Government. On Novem- 
 ber 30th Marmont, whose company was on duty at the 
 Tuileries, excitedly informed the King of a plot, the existence 
 of which had been brought to his knowledge. Louis that even- 
 ing was to attend a gala performance at the Odeon, but Marmont 
 now informed him that 150 half-pay officers intended to attack 
 the Royal carriages at the Pont Neuf and to throw all their 
 occupants into the river. He advised the King to postpone his 
 visit to the theatre. " Not so,'' said Louis, who was quite un- 
 moved ; "it will be your business to protect me, my dear 
 Marshal, whilst I go to the play to amuse myself." Marmont 
 sent for the Governor of Paris, extraordinary precautions were 
 taken, thousands of troops were placed on duty in the streets, 
 Marmont himself rode by the King's carriage, and nothing 
 happened. The affair, however, which caused a great sensation, 
 was used as a pretext for dismissing Dupont from the War 
 
 1 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. pp. 245-246^ 249-252. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 28-31. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 44. 
 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 8-9. 
 
 J. C. HobhousCj Letters, I. p. 86. 
 
 2 Supplementary Despatches, IX., Wellington to Castlereagh, 3 Novem- 
 ber, 1814 ; Wellington to Liverpool, 9 November, 1814 ; Wellington to 
 Castlereagh, 21 November, 1814. 
 
 Jaucourt a Talleyrand, 18 October, 1814 ; 29 November, 1814. 
 
18U] PATERNAL ANARCHY 51 
 
 Office and for depriving Beugnot of the direction of the police.^ 
 Eouis had no fault to find with Dupont, who had always been 
 ready to comply with all his wishes. ^ But his advisers im- 
 pressed upon him that an officer of more firmness must be 
 appointed in order to stamp out the growing spirit of disaffec- 
 tion in the army. The portfolio of War was accordingly passed 
 to Marshal Soult, Due de Dalmatie. Though in the first in- 
 stance treated with suspicion and left without employment, 
 Soult soon won golden opinions by the ardour with which he 
 expressed his Royalist convictions. He had not had long to 
 wait for his reward. In June, 1814, he was appointed to the 
 command of the 13th military district with headquarters at 
 Rennes, where he charmed the Royalists of the West by raising 
 a subscription for the erection of a chapel to the memory of the 
 emigres who had fallen at Quiberon.^ 
 
 No sooner was Soult installed at the War Office than he 
 took up the question of the half -pay officers with an uncom- 
 promising vigour. He decreed that in future they must live at 
 their native towns or villages. Those of them who had not 
 been born in Paris would be required to leave for their birth- 
 places without delay.* Soult, furthermore, decided to initiate 
 this reform by making a striking example. A few weeks before 
 he had taken up office the police had arrested a doctor who was 
 travelling through France to Naples, where he held a post at 
 Murat's Court. Among the papers found in this man's posses- 
 sion were two letters written by General Exelmans, the In- 
 spector-General of Cavalry. One was addressed to King Joachim 
 himself, and in it Exelmans, who had been Murat's Aide-de- 
 Camp, congratulated him on the fact that the Powers at Vienna 
 had decided to leave him in undisturbed possession of his king- 
 dom. " Had they not done so,"' added the General, " a thou- 
 sand French officers trained in Your Majesty's school would 
 have flown to your assistance." Exelmans' other letter was 
 directed to Murat's Aide-de-Camp, and contained a reminder 
 that there were certain arrears of pay owing to him. Dupont, 
 after consulting with Louis, had sent for General Exelmans 
 and had cautioned him to be more guarded in his language for 
 
 1 Marmontj Memoires, VII. pp. 76, 77. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 77-78. 
 AVellingion to Castlereagh, 5 December, 1814. 
 
 2 Louis XVIII. a Talleyrand, 4 December, 1814. 
 
 3 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. pp. 34, Q6. 
 Houssaye, 1815, pp. 81-92. 
 
 4 Ihid., pp. 83-87. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 57, 58. 
 Lavalette, Memoires, II. pp. 136-138. 
 
52 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [18U-15 
 
 the future. The matter had, in short, been treated as nothing 
 more than an indiscretion. Soult, however, though the case 
 had been dealt with and settled by his predecessor, determined 
 to reopen it in a very different spirit. Exelmans was deprived 
 of his appointment and placed on half-pay. This brought him 
 within the provisions of Soult's recent regulation on the subject 
 of officers so circumstanced. He was accordingly directed to 
 leave Paris and to take up his residence at Bar-sur-Ornain, his 
 native town. The General was a cavalry officer with a splendid 
 record of service, but somewhat of a swashbuckler, and with a 
 strong theatrical vein in his character. He was the last man 
 to submit tamely to treatment of this kind. He protested that 
 he had not been to Bar-sur-Ornain for twenty years, that Paris 
 was his home except when away on duty, and that, moreover, 
 his wife was in an interesting condition and could not travel. 
 As he persisted in refusing to obey the Minister's order he was 
 placed under arrest in his own house. The affair became the 
 talk of the town, the Liberals, especially, espousing his cause 
 warmly. Lafayette and Lanjuinais visited him, Madame de 
 Stael wTote to congratulate him on his firm attitude. Soon all 
 Paris heard that, when the police had entered the General's 
 house, he had bared his breast and told them to kill him, that 
 every cupboard and drawer had been ransacked, that Madame 
 Exelmans had fainted, and that her husband had made his 
 escape over the wall at the back of the house, leaving behind 
 him a letter addressed to the President of the Chamber, in which 
 he entrusted his family to the protection of the Assembly and 
 protested against the treatment to which he had been subjected. 
 A few days, however, after his sensational flight. General Exel- 
 mans surrendered himself to the military authorities and was 
 sent to Lille to be tried. On January 23rd, 1815, he duly ap- 
 peared before a Court Martial. In addition to the charge of 
 refusing to obey an order of the Minister of War four other 
 offences were alleged against liim. The letter which he had 
 wTitten to Murat was described as an act of espionage, and he 
 was, further, charged with speaking in a disrespectful manner 
 about the King. The trial was soon over. Exelmans was unani- 
 mously acquitted on all counts. Soult had only succeeded in 
 making him a popular hero. 
 
 The failure of the Government to obtain a verdict caused 
 great excitement.^ The immediate effect was to render nuga- 
 tory Soult's regulation with regard to the half-pay officers. The 
 
 * Benjamin Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, part i. pp. 89-90. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, J. 69-70. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 99-100. 
 
1815] PATEENAL ANARCHY 53 
 
 month of January, 1815, proved a disturbed one in Paris. On 
 the 15th the refusal of the Cure of Saint-Roch to allow the body 
 of the actress Mile. Raucourt, an excommunicate, to be brought 
 into his church led to a serious disturbance, which could only 
 be quelled by an order from the King that the doors were to 
 be opened, and that the service was to proceed.^ The events 
 of January 21st, the anniversary of Louis XVT's execution, in- 
 creased the general ferment. When he considered that his own 
 or his family's dignity was at stake, ^ Louis was no believer in 
 the wisdom of letting a dead past bury its dead. But, had 
 memorial services been held only in honour of those members 
 of the Royal Family who had suffered during the Revolution, 
 the matter would have excited no unfavourable comments. 
 The affair was regarded in a very different light when it was 
 decreed that these tokens of respect were to be paid to the 
 memory of a man like General Pichegru, who had entered into 
 treasonable correspondence with the enemy, or to Cadoudal, who 
 by everybody except the emigres was regarded as an assassin, 
 or to Moreau, who had been killed by a French shell at Dresden 
 when attached to the Headquarter Staff of the Russian army.^ 
 
 It was the King's desire that January 21st should be observed 
 with peculiar solemnity. Previous to this the remains of Marie 
 Antoinette and of Louis XVI had been exhumed from the dis- 
 used cemetery of La Madeleine in the Rue d'Anjou. The search 
 for the bodies of these illustrious victims had been conducted at 
 night, with great secrecy, in the presence only of M. de Blacas, 
 the Bishop of Nancy, and two or three other persons of high 
 position. The report which they drew up and signed of the 
 discovery of the bones of the King and Queen was not generally 
 looked upon as conclusive. The absence of the Prefect, the 
 Mayor, and all representatives of the local authorities did not 
 escape the notice of the enemies of the Government.* It had 
 been decided that the remains were to be transported in state 
 to Saint-Denis, the burial place of the Royal Family. 
 
 On January 21st the procession took place. The crowd 
 assembled along the line of route displayed a great lack of 
 reverence. The defective arrangements made by the authori- 
 ties for the ceremony contributed not a little to deprive it of 
 
 ^ D'Hauterive a Talleyrand, 14 Fevrier, 1815. 
 Jaucourt a Talleyrand, 20 Janvier, 1815 ; 23 Janvier, 1815. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 46-48. 
 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 332-333. 
 Lavalette, Memoires, II. p. 112. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 12-13. 
 
 3 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. 27-28. 
 * Pasquier, III. pp. 61, 62. 
 
54 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [18U 
 
 solemnity. The funeral car was so high that its top came con- 
 stantly into contact with the chains to which the street lamps 
 were suspended. Its extrication caused delays which called 
 forth derisive shouts of " a Za lanterne " from the mob.^ As an 
 impressive spectacle the affair was a failure, the unfortunate 
 effect of which was increased by the intemperate language of 
 the Bishop of Troyes in the funeral sermon. More harmful 
 still were the rumours which the day gave rise to. It was said 
 that brigands and villainous Chouans had been brought into 
 Paris by the Royalists during the past month. As soon as it 
 was dark these cut-throats were to enter the houses of the 
 regicides and slaughter them to a man. The night passed off 
 without incident, but so general had been the credence attached 
 to these wild stories, that a man of the stamp of Carnot deemed 
 it necessary to sit up all night with loaded pistols by his side.^ 
 
 Already, in the autumn of 1814, the threatening state of 
 affairs in France was attracting the attention of foreign Govern- 
 ments. From the reports which reached the Cabinet, Lord 
 Liverpool decided that it would be wise to recall the Duke of 
 Wellington.^ Some of the discontented generals were alleged 
 to have declared that his presence in Paris as British Ambas- 
 sador constituted a national insult. Wellington himself, whose 
 social relations brought him chiefly into contact with the ex- 
 treme Royalists, was inclined to take an unduly favourable 
 view of the situation. It is true that he had advised the English 
 Government of the existence of a certain amount of discontent 
 which he ascribed to the number of officers and civil officials 
 thrown out of employment. But not for a moment does he 
 appear to have entertained the notion that the Monarchy might 
 be in serious danger. Lord Liverpool Avas urgent. " We shan't 
 feel easy till we hear of your having landed at Dover,*' he wrote 
 on November 13th. The Duke, on receipt of this letter, de- 
 murred no longer, and forthwith began his preparations for 
 departure. He was still unconvinced, though he admitted that 
 
 1 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 333, 334. 
 
 2 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 68. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 96-99. 
 
 3 Supplementary Despatches, IX., Liverpool to Castlereagh, 4 November, 
 1814 ; Liverpool to WelHngton, 4 November, 1814 ; Liverpool to 
 Wellington, 13 November, 1814 ; Wellington to Liverpool, 16 November, 
 1814 ; Wellington to Liverpool, 18 November, 1814 ; Liverpool to 
 Wellington, 16 November, 1814 ; Wellington to Liverpool, 24 November, 
 1814 ; " Loyal Subject to Liverpool," 28 eleventh month : Castlereagh to 
 Wellington, December, 1814; Liverpool to Castlereagh, 1 December, 
 1814. 
 
 Correspondance de Talleyrand, Jaucourt a, Talleyrand, 2 October, 
 1814 ; 19 November, 1814. 
 
 Sir H. Maxwell, Life of Wellington, pp. 384-386. 
 
1814] PATERNAL ANARCHY 55 
 
 " no man could be a judge of his own case." The necessity 
 under which Lord Castlereagh found himself of returning to 
 England for the opening of Parliament, and the desire of the 
 Government to see Wellington replace him at the Congress of 
 Vienna, had been the reason officially given for the Duke's re- 
 call. It was a fortunate decision, as he afterwards himself 
 admitted. Had he remained another two months in Paris, he 
 would probably have been seized, on the news of Napoleon's 
 landing becoming known, and prevented from joining the army 
 in Flanders. 
 
 Lord Liverpool was not the only statesman who viewed the 
 situation in France with apprehension. At Vienna the Tsar 
 talked to Tallejrrand on the subject, and Mettemich wrote about 
 it to Fouche.^ In initiating this correspondence, the Austrian 
 Chancellor was actuated solely by a desire to obtain the best 
 opinion about the condition of affairs in France. Metternich 
 asked for information on three points : (1) What would happen 
 if Napoleon were to return to France ? (2) If the King of Rome 
 were to appear on the frontier supported by an Austrian army 
 corps ? (3) If neither of these contingencies were to take place, 
 but were a revolution to break out of itself ? To these ques- 
 tions Fouche replied that everything would depend on the 
 behaviour of the first regiment ; should it go over to Bona- 
 parte, the whole army would follow its example. In the second 
 case, that France would declare for the King of Rome ; and 
 in the third, that the Revolution would be made in favour of 
 the Due d'Orleans. Fouche's excellent judgment is well ex- 
 emplified by these answers. 
 
 Joseph Fouche, Due d'Otrante, was fifty -five years of age 
 and was one of the richest men in France. M. Madelin, his 
 recent biographer, has estimated his fortune at between twelve 
 and fifteen millions of francs. Though it is impossible that the 
 whole of this wealth, accumulated in the course of a compara- 
 tively short political career, can have been acquired honestly, 
 it is, no doubt, untrue to assert that it was the result of vulgar 
 peculations. When the Empire was at its zenith Fouche had 
 participated in the rewards which Napoleon was in the habit 
 of lavishing on his Generals and Ministers at the expense of 
 foreign countries. He had supplemented these laAvful gains by 
 fortunate speculations. To a man whose whole career had con- 
 sisted in an intelligent anticipation of events, and who had no 
 scruples about using for his own ends the exclusive informa- 
 tion which as a Minister he had at his disposal, Stock Exchange 
 
 1 Talleyrand a Louis XVIH, 26 Novembre, 1814. 
 Due de Rovigo, MemoireSy VII. p. 328. 
 
56 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1814 
 
 operations furnished the almost certain means of amassing a 
 fortune. Titles and decorations had little attraction for him, 
 but he worshipped money for the influence and the independence 
 which its possession gave him. The desire for power, an intense 
 interest in the business of government, and a love of intrigue 
 were his ruling passions. Circumstances had prevented him 
 from plajdng as prominent a part as he could have wished in 
 the events of the Restoration, and, to his chagrin, he had found 
 himself among those Senators whom the King had not elevated 
 to the Peerage. Most men would have considered their careers 
 as finished. Fouche had overcome too many obstacles in his 
 eventful life, had experienced too many turns of fortune's wheel, 
 to look upon his case as hopeless. He realized the difficulties 
 with which the restored Monarchy would have to deal, he could 
 estimate the men whom the King had about him at their just 
 worth, and he thought it not impossible that in their perplexity 
 they might be compelled to turn to him for advice. 
 
 It reads like a piece of monstrous impudence that Fouche, 
 the oratorian who had abjured his vows, the regicide and terror- 
 ist of the Convention, the bloodthirsty Proconsul of Lyons, 
 the Minister of the Empire whose sinister office had been the 
 talk of Europe, should aspire to enter the Council of The Most 
 Christian King, yet this presumption was not so unwarrant- 
 able as, at first sight, it would appear to be.^ All through his 
 life it had been his rule to prepare for every contingency and to 
 avoid making unnecessary enemies. Under the Empire he had 
 contrived to maintain friendly relations with men of every 
 shade of opinion, and, strange to relate, had been a welcome 
 guest in the most exclusive circles of the noble Faubourg. The 
 gaunt, slovenly man with the pale, unhealthy face, the white 
 lips, and the bloodshot, shifty eyes was not an attractive figure, 
 nevertheless he had always been popular with women, and 
 could number among his intimate friends great ladies like the 
 Princesse de Vaudemont- Lorraine and the Marquise de Custine.^ 
 When, in 1810, disgrace had overtaken him the Faubourg Saint- 
 Germain deplored his fall.^ At the Restoration there were many 
 men, high in favour at Court and at the Pavilion de Marsan, 
 who had not forgotten the numerous services rendered by the 
 all-powerful Minister of former days. 
 
 Fouche, who had served every regime which had come into 
 existence since the Revolution, had always been true to one 
 
 1 MadeHn, Fouche, I. pp. 383-385, 390-396 ; 400-412. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 379-880. 
 
 ^ B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, part i. p. 96. 
 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 306-307. 
 
1814] PATERNAL ANARCHY 57 
 
 great political principle. He believed that no Government 
 could endure which did not conform to the ideas and the insti- 
 tutions of the Revolution. Perhaps also the instinct of self- 
 preservation warned him that his own well-being was irrevo- 
 cably bound up in the maintenance of that system.^ He had 
 looked upon the Empire as the natural heir to the Revolution. 
 Napoleon's war policy had been the obstacle to this evolution. 
 He saw no reason, however, why the King should not, success- 
 fully, carry out the development which Bonaparte's over- 
 weening ambition had retarded. It was on these lines that, 
 in June, 1814, he had submitted a paper to Blacas for Louis' 
 perusal. In this remarkable document the mistakes already 
 committed were fearlessly pointed out. The difficulties of the 
 King's position were freely discussed, and remedies were pro- 
 posed for the grievances of all classes, the emigres included. 
 As a substitute for the military glory, of which, during the last 
 twenty years, France had drunk so deeply, Louis was urged 
 to encourage education, arts, industry, and commerce, and to 
 find a healthy outlet for the long-repressed political energies of 
 the people in a sound parliamentary system. There was much 
 in what Fouche wrote which was little to Louis* taste as a 
 Bourbon, but he could not fail to be impressed with the states- 
 manlike sagacity of the advice tendered. The result neverthe- 
 less fell far short of Fouche's hopes. To his disappointment no 
 offer of employment was made to him. As he ascribed this 
 neglect to utilize his services to the influence of Monsieur and 
 of the Duchesse d'Angouleme, he tried the effect of writing to 
 the Comte d'Artois. This letter he soon afterwards published. 
 In tone it was almost menacing.^ The fate of the Stuarts was 
 referred to as a warning, and the folly was pointed out of those 
 Royalists, more dangerous than traitors, " who wished to drive 
 the King along the path of re- action." 
 
 Finding that his advances met with no response, Fouche, as 
 was his wont, began to intrigue against a Government which 
 refused to employ him. His secret hostility, of which there 
 are numerous proofs, ought not, however, to be ascribed solely 
 to annoyance at the indifference with which he was treated. 
 His many sources of information, his keen perception, and his 
 experience in gauging public opinion convinced him that the 
 Bourbons were becoming, daily, more unpopular. Having no 
 faith in the stability of the restored Monarchy, he instinctively 
 set himself to prepare for its approaching downfall. ^ Between 
 
 1 Madelin, Fouche, I. pp. 277-282, 407-408. 
 
 2 Ihid,, II. pp. 810-315. 
 
58 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1814 
 
 Talleyrand and himself there was no personal friendship and a 
 great deal of distrust. Both could see, however, that the Govern- 
 ment was following a wrong course, and that a revolution in the 
 near future must be the result of the universal suspicion with 
 which it was viewed. They had, moreover, at this juncture 
 other bonds of union. It was plain to Talleyrand that even 
 the great services which he had rendered to the cause of the 
 Restoration could not overcome the aversion with which the 
 King and his family regarded his revolutionary past.^ But, if 
 both of them had reasons for displeasure with the Bourbons of 
 the elder branch, both had been in disgrace in the latter days 
 of the Empire, and had good cause to fear Bonaparte's return 
 to power. To most men who had played a prominent part in 
 the Revolution, and even under the Empire, the enthronement 
 of the Due d'Orleans, a regicide's son, would have been more 
 welcome than the restoration of legitimate Monarchy. 
 
 In the case of the Duke, infinitely better guarantees for 
 constitutional government could have been exacted, and the 
 tricolour might have been retained as the national flag. As 
 early as July, 1814,^ Talleyrand discreetly sounded him as to 
 his views. His attitude was not encouraging, and he made it 
 very clear that he would not associate himself with any sub- 
 versive movement. " A Prince without energy or character,'' 
 was Talleyrand's comment on his conduct. " Nothing to be 
 done with a Bourbon who has neither a mistress nor a con- 
 fessor," said Fouche.3 But, though the Duke's want of enter- 
 prise thwarted their schemes, so far as he was concerned, they 
 were not at the end of their resources. The idea of proclaiming 
 Emperor the King of Rome, under the title of Napoleon II, had 
 much to commend it. Were this to be effected a council of 
 Regency would have to be set up, which might be composed of 
 Marie Eouise, Eugene de Beauharnais, Marshal Davout, and 
 themselves. This plan possessed the merit that it would enlist 
 the support of the army, and the disadvantage that the child 
 on whom they built their hopes was in the guardianship of 
 Austria.^ The consent of that Power would therefore be a 
 necessary preliminary to the carrying out of their plot. But, 
 whether they proposed to proclaim his son or to enthrone the 
 Due d'Orleans, or, indeed, to bring about any change of Govern- 
 ment, the close proximity of Napoleon himself to the coast of 
 
 ^ Due de Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 313-316. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. p. 61. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 116. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 39. 
 
 4 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 316-321. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 115, 117- 
 
1814] PATERNAL ANARCHY 59 
 
 France must always prove an obstacle to the successful con- 
 summation of their plans. Talleyrand, however, who was on 
 the point of starting to represent his country at the Congress of 
 Vienna, undertook to efiFect, if possible, the fallen Emperor's 
 removal to some more distant spot, by working on the fears of 
 the assembled Sovereigns and Plenipotentiaries. 
 
 Fouche in this autumn of 1814 retired to Ferrieres, his country 
 seat near Paris, giving out that in future he intended to occupy 
 himself solely with domestic matters. Nothing was further 
 from the truth. He was in correspondence with Tallejrrand 
 and Mettemich at Vienna, and with Miu-at at Naples. Accord- 
 ing to the police reports he was in relations with Real and with 
 Garat the RepubUcan, whilst on his visits to Paris he frequented 
 the Bonapartist salons of Cambaceres and the Duchesse de 
 Saint-Eeu. To Gaillard, his old comrade of the oratory, he 
 sent notes on current events which were passed to the Grand 
 Almoner, who laid them before the King. Eouis was much 
 struck by the perspicacity of these reports, which, as he in- 
 formed the director of the police, contained more useful infor- 
 mation than did those of his official agents.^ Through the 
 intermediary of a magistrate, M. Reverdin, Fouche entered into 
 correspondence with Monsieur, and at the same time warned 
 Dambray, the Chancellor, of the dangers which threatened the 
 dynasty. But most important of all, he held in his hands the 
 threads of the different plots which were hatching against the 
 Government. Davout, Drouet d'Erlon, and the brothers Lalle- 
 mand, the leaders of the military malcontents, confided in him, 
 the Emperor's " mamelukes," as Talleyrand called them, Maret, 
 Due de Bassano, Savary, Due de Rovigo, and the Comte de 
 Eavalette consulted him. Notwithstanding that Savary, his 
 successor as Imperial Police Minister, was jealous of him on 
 professional grounds, and that Eavalette was very suspicious 
 of him. 2 There were, indeed, good reasons for distrusting 
 Fouche. With an unrivalled perfidy, after sympathizing with 
 and encouraging their schemes, he would write to his friend 
 d* Andre, the director of the police, to tell him of the danger 
 which he saw in Napoleon's propinquity to France. " Eet him 
 be removed further away, or watch the coasts carefully, other- 
 wise we shall have him back, in the spring, with the swallows 
 and the violets," were words of warning he was never tired of 
 conveying to the authorities. ^ 
 
 1 Madelin, Fouche^ II. pp. 318-320. 
 
 2 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 329-330, 339-340. 
 Lavalette, II. pp. 138-141. 
 
 3 Madelin, Fouche, II. p. 321. 
 
60 THE BOIJRBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 To the excitement caused by the Exelmans affair and the 
 events of January 21st were added rumours of war. Talleyrand 
 had advised the King from Vienna that a show of force would 
 strengthen his hand in negotiating, and would constitute a suit- 
 able reply to Murat's armaments in Italy. Sixty thousand men 
 had, accordingly, been recalled to the colours, and a concentra- 
 tion on the line Chamb6ry- Grenoble had been begun. ^ The 
 idea of going to war to preserve the territories of the King of 
 Saxony, or in order to restore Naples to Ferdinand IV, evoked 
 no enthusiasm whatever. The prospect that his reign would 
 prove a peaceful one had been Louis' chief attraction. If, how- 
 ever, hostiUties were to be embarked upon, many people began 
 to think that it might be well to have Napoleon to conduct 
 them. 2 Fouche, coolly watching events from Ferrieres, came 
 to the conclusion, early in February, 1815, that the time for 
 action had come. His return to Paris was quickened, moreover, 
 by a suspicion that the disaffected generals were on the point 
 of striking a blow.^ As a fact, their preparations were already 
 far advanced, and under Fouche's experienced direction they 
 were rapidly completed. But when everything was ready, 
 Davout, whether moved by distrust of Fouche or for some other 
 reason, suddenly declined to have anything to do mth the 
 affair. Though his withdrawal was a great disappointment to 
 the conspirators, they decided that matters should proceed 
 without him. It was arranged that Drouet d'Erlon, who com- 
 manded the 16th Military District with headquarters at Lille, 
 should set his troops in motion, on receiving the signal from 
 Fouche, march on Paris and occupy the Tuileries, the two 
 Lallemands with their brigades joining him on the road. Fouche 
 himself undertook to prevent the National Guards from acting. 
 The peculiar feature about the plot was that the conspirators 
 were divided as to the object which it was to effect. Though the 
 m£(.jority may, perhaps, have favoured the recall of Napoleon, 
 others merely hoped to intimidate the King and to force him to 
 redress their grievances, whilst some were for expelling Louis alto- 
 gether, and for obliging the Due d' Orleans to accept the Crown. 
 All were agreed, however, that in order to kindle any enthusiasm 
 among the troops they must invoke the name of the Emperor. 
 
 » Talleyrand a Louis XVIII., 17 Octobre, 1814. 
 Louis XVIII. a Talleyrand, 27 Octobre, 1814. 
 Talleyrand a Louis XVIII. , 4 Janvier, 1816. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 106-107. 
 
 3 Rovigo, M^moires, VII. pp. 330-832. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 118-121. 
 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 323-324. 
 Lavalette, Memoir es, II. p. 142. 
 
1815] PATEENAL ANARCHY 61 
 
 On the night of March 5th, 1815, Fouche went to the house 
 of the Princesse de Vaudemont. Men of different shades of 
 opinion frequented her salon. On this occasion several Ministers 
 were present.^ During the course of the evening he either con- 
 trived to overhear a conversation, or received a message from 
 one of his numerous agents, which caused him to return home 
 in haste, and to send a summons to General Lallemand to Join 
 him at once. The news which had so disturbed him was an 
 unpleasant confirmation of his worst fears. Bonaparte had left 
 the Island of Elba, had landed near Cannes, and was said to be 
 advancing into the interior. This was, however, a piece of in- 
 formation which Fouche proposed to keep to himself, for the 
 present. When Lallemand appeared, he told him that the 
 police had discovered their plot and that he must start at once 
 for Lille, warn Drouet d'Erlon of what had happened, and bid 
 him strike without loss of time. Fouche's statement that the 
 authorities had information of their plans was not altogether 
 untrue. The Government had, in fact, despatched Marshal 
 Mortier to Lille. His unexpected arrival disconcerted Drouet, 
 who, pretexting an order from the Minister of War, had already 
 marched off his troops. He now sent messages to recall them, 
 and was placed under arrest by Mortier. In the meantime 
 General Lefebvre-Desnoettes, who was in the conspiracy, had 
 reached Compiegne with his brigade, where he received word 
 from Drouet that everything was discovered. Together with 
 the Lallemands he thereupon fled in disguise. All three of them 
 were, however, captured in the course of the next few days.^ 
 
 Fouche's motives for hurrying on this affair are easy to 
 fathom.3 In his opinion vigorous action on the part of the 
 generals was all that was required to overthrow the Bourbons. 
 Once the military revolution accomplished, he intended to 
 place himself at the head of the Provisional Government which 
 would then be formed. In the meantime one of two things 
 would have happened. Either Napoleon would have been de- 
 feated, or he would be triumphantly advancing on Paris. In 
 the first case, as the leading member of the Provisional Govern- 
 ment, he would be practically master of the situation, and in a 
 position to decide what should happen. Whether Louis should 
 be set up again, or the Crown be given to the Due d' Orleans, 
 
 1 MadeHu, Fouche, II. pp. 825-326. 
 Rovigo, Memoires, III. pp. 361-362. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 286-292. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 130-154. 
 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 362-364. 
 
 ^ Supplementary Despatches of Wellington, IX., edited by his son (certi- 
 fied copy of paper by Savary), pp. 633-635. 
 
62 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 or a Regency proclaimed. In the second, and more probable 
 eventuality of the Emperor's success, matters would not be so 
 favourable for him. But he would still have to be taken into 
 account, and the military insurrection, which had been largely 
 his work, could be made to appear in the light of a useful diver- 
 sion on Napoleon's behalf, giving him a strong claim on his 
 gratitude. The affair, however, had turned out a failure. 
 Fouche, accordingly, put the matter on one side, and turned all 
 his attention to the important events which were taking place 
 in the south. ^ 
 
 Though strange rumours were current all through the 6th, 
 which disturbed the Bourse and depressed the Rente, nothing 
 definite was allowed to transpire till the morning of March 7th. ^ 
 Two Royal proclamations then appeared in the Moniteur, one 
 convened the Chambers which had been prorogued till May 1st, 
 the other called upon all loyal subjects to lay hands on Bona- 
 parte wherever he should appear. At the Tuileries the news of 
 his landing had been received very calmly, and, at first, with 
 little apprehension. There were sufficient troops in the south- 
 eastern provinces to rout the invader's followers, owing to the 
 concentration which Murat's attitude had occasioned.^ It was 
 decided that the Comte d'Artois should proceed forthwith to 
 Lyons, and that the Due d'Orleans should accompany him. 
 They were to have the benefit of Marshal Macdonald's advice, 
 to whom the necessary orders were transmitted. It was also 
 resolved at the Council, which had been hastily called together, 
 to give commands to the Due d'Angouleme and the Due de 
 Berri, and to employ Marshals Ney and Gouvion Saint-Cyr. 
 The occasion was looked upon as nothing more than an excellent 
 opportunity for effectually disposing of Bonaparte, and for the 
 Royal Princes to win military distinction.* 
 
 In Paris the sentiments of the well-to-do and the educated 
 classes were hostile to Bonaparte. The Marshals, Generals, and 
 other officials of the Empire, who had accepted employment 
 under the restored Monarchy, were furious at the dilemma in 
 which their old master's reappearance placed them.^ The 
 middle classes, who saw looming behind Bonaparte the dreaded 
 
 1 Napoleon's opinion on the subject. M^moires de Napoleon^ nouvelle 
 edition, IV. p. 340. 
 
 2 Houssave, 1815, I. pp. 269-270. 
 
 3 Louis XVIII. a Talleyrand, 7 Mars, 1815. 
 Jaucourt a Talleyrand, 8 Mars, 1815. 
 
 ^ VitroUes, Memoires, II. pp. 292-297. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, II. pp. 199-203. 
 ^ B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours y I. pp. 83-84. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 270-276. 
 
1815] PATERNAL ANARCHY 63 
 
 spectre of civil and foreign war, discovered that the Monarchy, 
 which they had been criticizing and reviling for the past six 
 months, was the Government which suited them the best. The 
 working men, on the other hand, evinced from the moment that 
 the news was made public strong Bonapartist sympathies. The 
 attitude* of the troops of the garrison was, on the whole, satis- 
 factory. The half -pay officers, however, testified to their joy 
 by noisy demonstrations, and made no secret of the delight 
 which Napoleon's return afforded them. 
 
 In the country districts, though Provence, the South gene- 
 rally, and large portions of the West were Royalist, opinion was 
 much more favourable to Bonaparte than in Paris. This differ- 
 ence of sentiment may be ascribed to two reasons. The pro- 
 vincial middle classes had experienced the insolence of the 
 nobles and the interference of the clergy to an extent quite 
 unknown in the capital. More important still, however, the 
 rumours affecting purchases of national property, which had 
 been current ever since the Restoration, obtained a much wider 
 credence in the provinces than in Paris. The fears on this 
 score, which the clause in the Charter had been drawn up to 
 allay, had been intensified by the threats of the returned emigres 
 and the utterances of the priests. ^ This dread of seeing the old 
 regime re-established, which was shared by the bourgeoisie and 
 the peasantry alike, was to convert Napoleon^s march into a 
 triumphal progress. 
 
 The contemptuous indifference with which, at first, " Bona- 
 parte's mad enterprise " had been treated at the Tuileries gave 
 way to a feeliug of intense alarm on receipt of the news of his 
 entry into Lyons, which the return of Monsieur and the Due 
 d' Orleans confirmed. Soult was, in the first instance, made the 
 scapegoat. His loudly expressed Royalist sentiments, for which 
 he had been so much applauded, were now declared to have 
 been a blind. In Court circles it was freely asserted that the 
 Exelmans affair had been part of a plot which he had dehbe- 
 rately engineered in order to incense the army.^ He was, 
 moreover, accused of purposely placing the most disaffected 
 regiments across Napoleon's path. Louis, though he acquitted 
 the Marshal of treasonable intent, probably considered that he 
 
 ^ Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 45-46. 
 
 B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent Jours, part i. pp. 36-38, 85-86. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 279-284. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 97-102. 
 2 Vitrolles, Memoires, 11. pp. 288-292, 308-310. 
 
 Jaucourt a Talleyrand, 14 Mars, 1815. 
 
 B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, part i. p. 90. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Bestaurations, II. pp. 217-219. 
 
64 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 might have exercised a wiser discrimination in this last respect.^ 
 In any case, when, on March 11th, Soult tendered his resigna- 
 tion, he did not hesitate to accept it. General Clarke, Due de 
 Feltre, " the soldier who owed everything to his pen,'" was 
 appointed Minister of War in his place. ^ Royalist writers for 
 the past year had been busily engaged in proving that Bona- 
 parte was no general, and that he owed his victories to the 
 brains of his subordinates. To oppose him with the man who 
 had been for seven years his Minister of War appeared to the 
 Court and the Faubourg Saint- Germain a move of almost dia- 
 bolical astuteness. 
 
 On March 10th the Chambers met. Both the Peers and the 
 Deputies presented an address to the King in which they pro- 
 tested their loyalty. The sentiments expressed on this occasion 
 no doubt honestly reflected the feelings of the large majority. 
 The Liberals, who by their constant opposition to Ministerial 
 measures had incurred the hatred of the extreme Royalists, 
 were now the firmest supporters of the Throne.^ They felt, 
 and they did their utmost to impress their views upon their 
 countrymen, that the only hope for the Constitution lay in the 
 preservation of the Monarchy. It is significant of their small 
 influence that, though at least two-thirds of the so-called repre- 
 sentatives of the people were bitterly hostile to Napoleon's 
 return to power, he could nevertheless march to Paiis and take 
 possession of the Government without firing a shot. 
 
 In their despair Ministers turned to Fouche.* Though he 
 was strongly suspected of having been concerned in the Drouet 
 d*Erlon plot, Dambray, Blacas, d' Andre sought his advice. It 
 appears certain that, between the 12th and 14th March, more 
 than one attempt was made to induce him to enter the Ministry. 
 Fouche declined these offers, which would have enchanted him 
 had they been made a few weeks earlier. He was careful, how- 
 ever, to wrap up his refusal in profuse expressions of loyalty. 
 He pointed out that Bonaparte, to judge by his proclamations, 
 wished to enlist the support of the Republican party. Under 
 these circumstances, he thought that it would be impolitic for 
 the King to bring a man like himself, with pronounced revolu- 
 tionary antecedents, into the Government. He had no doubt 
 that he could serve His Majesty more usefully by remaining in 
 the background. Under these plausible arguments he concealed 
 
 1 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. pp. 812-820. 
 
 Memoires de Napoleon, nouvelle edition^ 1905^ IV. p. 7. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 294. 
 
 3 B. Constant, M4moires sur les cent jours, part i. pp. G3-72, 91. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 1-12. 
 
 4 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 329-832. 
 
1815] PATEENAL ANARCHY 65 
 
 his real opinion, which was, that the cause of the Monarchy was 
 hopelessly compromised. But, on the other hand, he had no 
 faith in the duration of the new Imperial regime^ and proceeded 
 to lay his plans accordingly. Whilst he sent an emissary to 
 meet Napoleon in Burgundy with congratulations and offers of 
 service, he, at the same time, did all in his power to win the 
 confidence of the Royalists. On March 15th it was conveyed 
 to him that Monsieur himself wished to consult him. An inter- 
 view was arranged and took place the same evening at the house 
 of Madame de Vaudemont. It lasted two hours. Unfortu- 
 nately, what passed between them has never transpired. It is 
 related, however, that when Fouche parted from the'Comte 
 d'Artois he made use of these words ^ : " Let your Royal High- 
 ness look after the King, I shall look after the Monarchy." 
 Some writers have seen in this expression the proof of a com- 
 pact, entered into with Monsieur, by which Fouche undertook 
 to betray Napoleon in the interests of Royalty. Be this as it 
 may, the Comte d'Artois, undoubtedly, went away well satisfied 
 with the friendly intentions of the man he had come to see. 
 
 On the following morning, nevertheless, as Fouche was turn- 
 ing the corner on to the Boulevard, his carriage was stopped 
 and a police officer handed him a warrant for his arrest. It was 
 a most unpleasant surprise. The idea of spending the next few 
 days, which promised to be so full of incident, in the Conciergerie 
 was intolerable. He expostulated, swore the warrant was ir- 
 regular, vowed that, in any case, a former Minister and Senator 
 should not be taken up like a common malefactor in the streets, 
 and bade his coachman drive home. On arriving at his house 
 in the Rue Cerutti, now number 19 of the Rue Laffitte, whither 
 the police followed him, he insisted that messengers must be 
 sent to the King and to the Comte d'Artois to obtain confirma- 
 tion of the action of Bourrienne, the newly appointed Prefect. 
 Monsieur was surprised, and said, what was probably true, that 
 he knew nothing about the matter. The King, on the other 
 hand, expressed approval and directed that the affair should 
 proceed. 2 The Prefect, Bourrienne, in point of fact, selected 
 for his hostility to Napoleon, had acted under his instructions. 
 Louis was, no doubt, of opinion that, in the present crisis, a 
 man of Fouche's talents must be either in the Ministry or in the 
 Conciergerie. But when the messenger returned it was only to 
 
 ^ Rovigo, M^moires, VII. pp. 364. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 341. 
 
 Madelin, FoucM, II. pp. 332, 333. 
 2 Ibid., pp. 334, 337. 
 
 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. pp. 266, 276-^79, 
 
 Pas(juier, III. p. 147, 
 
66 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 find that Fouche had flown. According to one account, he had 
 invited the officers into his Ubrary, where he had pressed a 
 button on the wall and disappeared behind a sliding panel. A 
 more prosaic and a more probable version of his escape is that, 
 having contrived on some pretext to be left alone, he let him- 
 self down from a back window and, climbing over the wall into 
 the Duchesse de Saint-Leu's garden, for which purpose a ladder 
 was always ready, gained the Rue Taitbout and secreted him- 
 self in the house of his friend Lombard on the Boulevard close 
 by. A languid pursuit proved fruitless. It may be surmised 
 that a policeman of the time entertained for Fouche something 
 of the feelings of an old Grenadier of the Guard for Napoleon. 
 An interesting sequel to the story is furnished by Fouche's 
 conduct on becoming, a few days later, Imperial Minister of 
 PoUce. One of his first acts on taking office was to promote 
 Foudras, the police inspector, who, so short a time before, had 
 been commissioned to apprehend him. 
 
 The King had announced his intention of visiting the Cham- 
 bers on March 16th. ^ On the afternoon of that day accordingly 
 Louis, wearing for the first time in his life the Legion of Honour, 
 proceeded, amidst the thunder of a Royal Salute, to the Palais- 
 Bourbon, where the members of both Chambers awaited him. 
 The large crowd assembled along the line of route gave him a 
 fairly good reception. But the soldiers, though they had re- 
 ceived a money bounty, and had been primed with an extra 
 ration of spirits, looked extremely sulky. The Peers and Depu- 
 ties made up, however, for any lack of enthusiasm on the part 
 of the troops or the people by the warmth of their welcome. 
 After the cheers which greeted his arrival had subsided, the 
 King deUvered his speech which he had learnt by heart. " He 
 could not," he said, " end his career more fittingly than by dying 
 for his country. He had no fears for himself, very many for 
 France. . . . The man who had come to disturb the public 
 peace, bringing in his train civil and foreign war, had also come 
 to destroy that Constitution, which he was proud to think he 
 had granted to his country. . . . Let us rally round the Charter 
 and fight for its preservation to the death." As Louis con- 
 cluded the whole assembly rose with loud shouts of " Long live 
 the King, we will die for the King, the King for ever ! " Then 
 Monsieur walked towards his brother, with the evident inten- 
 
 1 Vitrolles, M^moires, II. pp. 332-333. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 192, 193. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 335-337. 
 Vaulabelle, Deiuv Restaur ations, II. pp. 223-226. 
 Chateaubriand^ M^moires, VI. pp. 366-369. 
 
1815] PATERNAL ANARCHY 67 
 
 tion of speaking, and silence once more fell upon the House. 
 *' Sir," said he, "I hope your Majesty will allow me to express 
 how entirely I, and all the members of my family, share those 
 sentiments which you have expressed so nobly/' Then, turn- 
 ing towards the assembled Peers and Deputies, he shouted : 
 " We swear to live and to die true to the King and the Charter 
 which assures the happiness of our fellow-countrymen." It was 
 the first pubHc occasion on which he had ever mentioned the 
 Charter by name. Louis held out his hand to him, the two 
 brothers fell into each other's arms, and many of the spectators 
 wept. Louder applause than ever followed and continued, 
 without intermission, till the Kjng had left the building. 
 
 A great deal has been said about dying for the good cause, 
 but it was the weakest point in the situation that nobody had 
 any serious intention of putting these words into practice. The 
 call for volunteers had met with a very poor response. The 
 ordinance recalling all half -pay officers to the colours had been 
 promptly obeyed.^ The majority of them, however, had re- 
 turned with the openly expressed desire of serving, not the King, 
 but the Emperor, and their presence with their regiments, 
 unquestionably, did much more harm than good. The National 
 Guards, though always ready to cheer for the King, came 
 forward, with the greatest reluctance, when asked to volunteer 
 for the regular army.^ The students, however, most of whom 
 professed liberal politics, and who were, in consequence, the 
 enemies of a military despotism, enrolled themselves ia large 
 numbers and were formed into battalions. Clad in a uniform 
 of the time of Henry IV, and with colours embroidered and 
 presented by the ladies of the Faubourg-Saint-Germain, they 
 were, on several occasions, marched through the streets of 
 Paris. 3 As a means of arousing public enthusiasm and of 
 obtaining recruits the experiment proved a failure. The 
 Parisians were excellent judges of military matters, and were 
 quite unimpressed with the ability of these young men to cope 
 on equal terms with regular troops, feathered hats and colours 
 worked by noble fingers notwithstanding. Though in the 
 newspapers all rumours of desertions to Bonaparte were denied, 
 and though he was always described as a fugitive flyiag before 
 the Royal troops, these statements deceived nobody. If the 
 
 1 Vitrolles, Me'moires, II. pp. 348, 349. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 196. 
 Lavalette, M^moires, II. pp. 148, 149. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 331-332. 
 
 3 VitroUes, Memoires, II. p. 304. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 329-330. 
 Vaulabelle, Deuoc Restauratims, II. p. 220. 
 
68 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 garrisons of Grenoble and Lyons had not gone over to 
 Napoleon, what had become of them ? It was a natural 
 question which everybody was asking, and which the official 
 communiques to the press did not explain.^ 
 
 The truth was that, by the end of the second week in March, 
 the days of the Monarchy were, generally, looked upon as num- 
 bered. In Court circles, the ladies declared that they would 
 not receive at their houses any young man who had not en- 
 listed, and threatened to inflict corporal punishment on the 
 Duchesse de Duras who had left Paris, but most of them were 
 secretly preparing to follow her example. Even some of the 
 Gardes du Corps cancelled their orders for new uniforms, it 
 looked so very unlikely that they ever would be, required. ^ 
 The head- master of the College Henri IV discouraged his boys 
 from shouting ''Vive le Roi ! " and quietly withdrew Napoleon's 
 bust from the lavatory to which it had been consigned at the 
 Restoration.^ Meanwhile the troops from the different garri- 
 sons in the North were being moved towards the threatened 
 districts. The reports, however, from the commanding Generals 
 as to the behaviour and spirit of their men on the march were 
 most disquieting. It was proposed to form an entrenched camp, 
 under the Due de Berri, in the neighbourhood of Melun, in the 
 hope that behind its earthworks the half -trained Maison du Roi 
 and the volunteers might be able to resist successfully the dis- 
 loyal regular regiments. To the objection that this position 
 could easily be turned and that it could not, in consequence, 
 be considered an effectual protection to Paris from the South, 
 the Due de Berri replied, with the assurance of an experienced 
 strategist, that Bonaparte was too good a soldier to think of 
 leaving a hostile force on his flank. But his words carried con- 
 viction to very few.* By most people capable of forming an 
 opinion, and who knew of his dispositions. Marshal Ney*s army 
 corps was looked upon as the last bulwark of the Monarchy.^ 
 He had been on leave at the time of Bonaparte's landing, and 
 had only reached his headquarters at Besan9on on March 10th, 
 after an interview with Louis at the Tuileries, in which he had 
 expressed his loyalty in the strongest language. When he had 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 349-350. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 145, 146. 
 Vaulabelle, Deuoc Restaurations, II. p. 227. 
 
 2 B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, part i. pp. 110-118. 
 Houssaye, 1816, I. p. 339. 
 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, II. pp. 376-379, 
 
 3 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. p. 349. 
 Houssaye, 1815, P. pp. 350-362. 
 
 * Ibid., p. 346. 
 
 5 Pacquier, III. p. 127. 
 
1815] PATERNAL ANARCHY 69 
 
 collected every man he could at Besan9on he had moved his 
 force, about 8000 strong, to Lons-le-Saulnier, whence he could 
 threaten the right flank of Bonaparte's advance on Paris, But 
 in the evening of March 17th the King received certain intelli- 
 gence that Ney, with all his men, had gone over to the Usurper. 
 Almost at the same time came the news that the old Guard, 
 which was marching South under Marshal Oudinot, had as- 
 sumed the tricolour at Troyes, and that the fidelity of the regular 
 regiments in the camp at Melun was not to be depended upon.^ 
 
 Though Louis' resolution to leave Paris was practically ar- 
 rived at from the moment when he heard of Ney's defection, a 
 Council was held to consider the situation. Vitrolles proposed 
 that His Majesty, accompanied by Ministers and the members 
 of the Chambers, should proceed to Ba Rochelle and call upon 
 the loyal inhabitants of the West to rise in his defence. But 
 the Abbe de Montesquiou objected that the King of La Vendee 
 would never again be King of Paris. M. de Blacas has been 
 credited with the honour of suggesting a very ingenuous plan. 
 He advised Louis to drive out in an open carriage, surrounded 
 by the Peers and Deputies on horseback, to meet Bonaparte. ^ 
 The Usurper could not fail to be impressed with the majesty of 
 the spectacle and might be expected, incontinently, to beat a 
 retreat. Marshal Marmont recommended that the King should 
 remain at the Tuileries, which he would undertake to fortify. 
 Li the meantime the Royal Princes would leave Paris and 
 attempt to raise the provinces. At the worst, should Bonaparte 
 carry the palace by storm, he would gain nothing by putting 
 the King to death, seeing that all the other members of the 
 Royal Family would be still at large. This plan, which had it? 
 been carried out must have proved a serious embarrassment to 
 Napoleon, did not commend itself to Louis. These discussions 
 as to the course which Bonaparte would adopt, should he fall 
 into his power, were singularly distasteful to him. A proposal 
 from Bourrienne that His Majesty should betake himself to 
 Lille had passed almost unnoticed. It was, nevertheless, in 
 that fortified to^vn near the Belgian frontier that Louis decided 
 to take refuge. But he kept his intention to himself. ^ 
 
 March 19th, 1815, was Palm Sunday. The Journal des Debats 
 of that day contained an extremely virulent article against 
 
 1 Pasquier, III. pp. 147-148. 
 
 2 Vitrolles, M^moires, II. pp. 320-329. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 87-90. 
 Bourrienne, MemoireSj X. pp. 270-274. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 343-346. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. pp. 372-376. 
 
 ' Bourrienne, Memoires, X. p. 300. 
 
70 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 Bonaparte above the signature of Benjamin Constant. From 
 an early hour a crowd eager for news began to collect round the 
 Tuileries. The demeanour of the people was gloomy and de- 
 pressed.^ During the morning Louis reviewed his Household 
 troops, and it was rumoured that, in the afternoon, he intended 
 to drive out to the camp at Villejuif. He did not, however, 
 make a second appearance in public. Shortly before midnight 
 twelve travelling carriages entered the courtyard of the Tuileries, 
 one of which drew up before the entrance to the Pavilion de 
 Flore. In the hall were assembled courtiers, national guards, 
 and old servants who had been informed of the King's ap- 
 proaching departure. As Louis, preceded by a man bearing a 
 torch and leaning on the arm of Blacas and of the Due de Duras, 
 walked past them, the spectators fell on their knees. He was 
 not an emotional man, but he was genuinely moved by the 
 distress evinced by many of his humbler attendants. He spoke 
 a few words to them, bade them return to their families, and 
 expressed the hope that before long he should see them again. 
 The carriage, into which he had been assisted, then bore him 
 rapidly away under a strong escort of Gardes du Corps. He 
 was followed, shortly afterwards, by Monsieur ; whilst the Due 
 de Berri and Marshal Marmont rode off to the Champ de Mars, 
 where the Household troops had been assembled. They at once 
 started on their northward march to rejoin the King.^ 
 
 After enduring but little over ten months the restored Mon- 
 archy had collapsed like a pack of cards. To succeed Napoleon, 
 to efface the recollections of the old regime, and the policy of 
 the emigration may not have been a task which was impossible 
 of achievement, but the genius of a Henri IV was required for 
 its performance. Even had Louis XVIII been a less indolent 
 man, he was unfitted by age and infirmities from embarking on 
 so colossal an undertaking. It was his misfortune that he could 
 obtain no assistance from the members of his family, but in his 
 choice of advisers and of ministers he acted unwisely. Lord 
 Acton has expressed the opinion that, had the Bourbons reigned 
 by Talleyrand's advice they would not have fallen.^ Instead, 
 however, of listening to the counsels of the man to whom, above 
 all others, he owed his crown, Louis elected to place his trust 
 in his favourite, an emigre. A great deal of his unpopularity 
 
 ^ B. Constant, M^moires sur les cent jours, I. pp. 92, 93. 
 Vitrolles, Memoir es, H. p. 350. 
 Pasquier, III., pp. 149-150. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 357-358. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, II. pp. 238-234. 
 
 3 Historical Essays and Studies, edited by J. Figgis and R. Laurence, 
 p. 413. 
 
1815] PATERNAL ANARCHY 71 
 
 was due to the influence exercised over him by M. de Blacas 
 and to his lack of sympathy with the hardships which a change 
 of regime had imposed on many of his subjects. Louis' ignor- 
 ance, moreover, of the men, the ideas, and the institutions 
 which had grown up in France during his absence, a want of 
 knowledge which was shared by his chief advisers and his 
 Ministers, often caused him to give offence, unintentionally, and 
 to wound susceptibilities. But these circumstances alone are 
 not sufficient to account for the discontent and unrest which 
 could justify Napoleon's words that " by returning to France 
 he had deprived the Due d' Orleans, not Louis XVIII, of his 
 crown.'' ^ 
 
 Judged by the standard of the time, the Government of the 
 first Restoration had been mild and liberal, and Madame de 
 Stael could speak of it as one guiltless of all arbitrary acts. 
 Louis' feelings towards the Charter have been compared to a 
 " Union of reason " rather than to a " marriage of love."^ 
 Without doubt the description is just. Nevertheless he had 
 carried out his promises and had faithfully adhered to the pro- 
 visions of the Constitution. But, though most people may have 
 believed in his honesty of purpose, they certainly had no good 
 opinion of the intentions of the Comte d'Artois or of the men by 
 whom he was surrounded. Louis was in bad health, and the 
 reactionary views of Monsieur were notorious. It was felt, in- 
 stinctively, that the Bourbons were not in sympathy with the 
 national aspirations, and that they were the enemies of those 
 revolutionary institutions which the great mass of Frenchmen 
 were determined to perpetuate. 
 
 1 Fleury de Chaboulon_, I. p. 244. 
 Vaulabelle, Deu.v Restaur ations, II. p. 327. 
 
 B. Constant, Memoir es sur les cent jours, part i. pp. 40, 41. 
 
 2 Louis XVIII. et Decazes, par Ernest Daudet, p. 127. 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 61-64. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 NAPOLEON AGAIN 
 
 LOUIS had surrounded his departure with so much secrecy 
 that his Ministers had only been informed of it during the 
 night. They were directed to follow His Majesty to Lille, and 
 each of them was given a large gratuity to cover expenses. The 
 news of the King's flight spread rapidly.^ Lavalette heard of it 
 at six o'clock, and hurried to the Post Office to obtain confirma- 
 tion of the rumour. This was his explanation when he was 
 called upon a few months later to justify his conduct. At the 
 Ministry Lavalette found Ferrand, the Postmaster-General, in 
 the act of leaving and in some trepidation lest he should be de- 
 tained. He put no obstacles in his way, and at once installed 
 himself in his place. His first measure was to despatch a mes- 
 sage to Napoleon, who was now at Fontainebleau, to acquaint 
 him of the King's flight, and in the afternoon, having doubtless 
 received instructions from him, he caused proclamations to be 
 posted up, announcing that the Emperor would arrive in the 
 course of a few hours and that " there would be no civil war."^ 
 In the meantime a crowd had collected round the Tuileries, 
 where, towards ten o'clock. General Exelmans, in uniform and 
 wearing the tricolour cockade, arrived followed by many 
 half -pay officers. The General proceeded to take charge of the 
 Palace. By two o'clock the tricolour was fljdng over the Hotel 
 de Ville and from the summit of the Vendome column. In the 
 streets bands of working men marched in procession cheering 
 the Emperor, but the shopkeepers and business people, haunted 
 by the fear of war, were gloomy and depressed.^ On the Bottrsey 
 however, matters were viewed in a more hopeful spirit. The 
 rente, which on the 18th had fallen to 68, rose to 73 francs now 
 
 ^ Chateaubriand^ M4moires, VI. pp. 383-386. 
 2 Lavalette, Memoir es, II. pp. 151-166. 
 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 266. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 364. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSj II. p. 237. 
 ■' B. Constant, M^moires sur les cent jours, II. p. 3. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 178-180. 
 
 I 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 73 
 
 that it appeared probable that Napoleon's entry into Paris 
 would be effected quietly.^ One by one and, at first, in some 
 apprehension many of the former dignitaries and officials of the 
 Imperial Court collected at the THiileries. Most of them were 
 accompanied by their wives, who set themselves to explore the 
 rooms and galleries, and, before long, to tear down the Royal 
 decorations from the walls. As they ripped off the lilies from 
 the carpets, the pleasing discovery was made that they were only 
 sewn on over the Napoleonic emblems. In half an hour, amidst 
 much laughter and excitement, the great throne room became 
 Imperial once more.^ But as night drew on and still he came 
 not, the exultation of the afternoon gave place to an intense 
 anxiety. Then suddenly, towards nine o'clock, when even the 
 most hopeful were beginning to fear that some untoward event 
 must have happened, a sound of distant cheering and of horses 
 galloping became audible from the direction of the quays. The 
 noise increased and swelled to a deafening roar as a carriage, 
 driven at great speed and surrounded by a motley escort of 
 Polish Bancers, officers, and men of all ranks and of all regiments 
 shouting and brandishing their swords, dashed through the 
 gates. The generals and half -pay officers waiting in the court- 
 yard drew their swords and, surging forward, compelled the 
 carriage to stop some yards short of the entrance to the Pavilion 
 de Flore. Napoleon alighted. He was dressed in his famous 
 grey great-coat. In an instant he was seized and borne shoulder 
 high up the great staircase, " His eyes closed, his hands stretched 
 out in front of him, a faint smile upon his lips, like a man in a 
 dream.'* On the first floor, Eavalette and Caulaincourt rescued 
 him, and hurrying him into his private room, closed the door 
 on the noisy crowd. ^ 
 
 Gradually quiet settled down on the Palace. The escort, 
 picketing their horses to the railings of the Carousel, wrapped 
 themselves in their cloaks and lay down to sleep.* But upstairs 
 in the Emperor's room the conferences were long and anxious.^ 
 About midnight a stir among the throng of people waiting ad- 
 mission to his presence betokened the arrival of a person of 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1816, 1, p. 365. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 866-368. 
 
 Lavalette, M^moires, II. pp. 159-161. 
 
 3 Rovigo, M^moires, VII. pp. 370-371. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon^ I. p. 268. 
 Lavalette, M^moires, II. pp. 161, 162. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. p. 47. 
 
 * Houssaye, 1816, I. p. 367. 
 6 MadeHn, FmicM, II. pp. 342, 343. 
 M^moires de Napoleon , IV., nouvelle Edition, p. 351. 
 
74 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 importance. It was Fouche come to pay his respects and to 
 offer his services. He was at once shown in, and after an audi- 
 ence of an hour's duration departed, not altogether satisfied. 
 He had asked for the portfoho of Foreign Affairs, and he had 
 had to be satisfied with the office of Pohce Minister. 
 
 Napoleon was under no illusions. The shouts of the peasantry 
 and the cheers of the soldiers had not bliuded him to the fact 
 that by most persons of education his return was viewed with- 
 out enthusiasm and, in many cases, with downright alarm. 
 " They have let me come as they let the other go,"' he told 
 Mollien on the day after his arrival. The restoration of order 
 and of regular government and the establishment of diplomatic 
 relations with the Powers were the measures which, at first, 
 engrossed his attention.^ 
 
 After spending a night at Abbeville, Louis XVIII had taken 
 refuge at Eille, whither, two days before, the Due d' Orleans 
 had been despatched to take up the command. In the mean- 
 time Monsieur and the Due de Berri, with the Maison du Roi, 
 were proceeding north to join him. Napoleon, accordingly, 
 directed General Exelmans to start in pursuit with what cavalry 
 he could collect. His orders were to avoid bloodshed, but he 
 was to press the retreat of the Royalists and, if possible, to 
 hustle them over the frontier. Louis made no long stay at Eille. 
 His reception by the townspeople was fairly warm. He was 
 disagreeably impressed, however, by the sullen demeanour of 
 the troops. Immediately on his arrival he held a council, and 
 to the Due d'Orleans and to Marshal Mortier, both of whom had 
 been bidden to attend, he put the direct question : Was it safe 
 for him to remain in the town ? The honour of protecting the 
 Bang would not appear to have offered any attractions to either 
 the Royal Duke or the Marshal. In any case, they opined that, 
 though they feared no immediate danger, the arrival of the 
 Maison du Boi would undoubtedly be the signal for an out- 
 break on the part of the garrison, and, therefore, it would be 
 wiser for His Majesty to move on to Dunkirk. Nothing appears 
 to have been settled, but on the morrow, the 23rd, Louis an- 
 nounced that he should cross into Belgium that afternoon. 
 This plan he duly carried out. Marshal Macdonald taking leave 
 of him at the frontier with the words : " Au revoir, Sire, in 
 three months* time."^ The same evening the Due d' Orleans 
 
 1 Giiizot, Memoir es, I. pp. 67^ 61. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. p. 48. 
 
 2 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. pp. 300-304. 
 Fleury de C^haboulon, I. pp. 308-310. 
 Houssaye, 1815^ I. pp. 380-381. 
 Rovigo, Memoires, VII. pp. 381, 382. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 75 
 
 left for England, where his wife and family had preceded him. 
 Before taking his departure, however, he wrote a letter, which 
 was widely approved of, to the generals under his command.^ 
 He cancelled all orders which he had issued, and left it to their 
 judgment to act as, under the circumstances, they might con- 
 sider best for France. On the following day Mortier hoisted the 
 tricolour at Lille. 
 
 When Monsieur and the Duo de Berri, who were being closely 
 followed by Exelmans cavalry, heard that the King had " emi- 
 grated,"' they decided to follow his example. Leaving General 
 Lauriston to disband the Household Troops, the two Princes, 
 accompanied by Marshal Marmont and escorted by three hun- 
 dred of their best mounted men, entered Belgian territory. ^ 
 The Due de Bourbon, who had been despatched from Paris on 
 March 13th mth a mission to raise La Vendee, had met with 
 little encouragement in the west. The local leaders were every- 
 where of opinion that no rising could prove successful until 
 Bonaparte had become involved in hostilities on the frontiers. 
 Finding that he was in great danger of arrest and having no 
 heart for the work, the Duke took ship at Nantes, on March 27th, 
 and sailed for Spain. ^ 
 
 In the south the resistance to Imperial rule was of a much 
 more serious character. Early in March the Due and the Duch- 
 esse d'Angouleme had started on a visit to Bordeaux. On their 
 arrival they were greeted with the news of Bonaparte's landing 
 and of the Duke's appointment to command the right wing of 
 the Royal army under his father.* Whilst he proceeded to his 
 post at Nimes the Duchesse remained behind at Bordeaux. 
 The inhabitants, under the leadership of Lynch, the Mayor, were 
 staunch Royalists. The year before their town had been the 
 first to hoist the Bourbon flag, and they had welcomed the 
 arrival of Wellington's army. Volunteers now came forward 
 in large numbers. The National Guards were loyal, and even 
 the regular troops of the garrison appeared to be influenced by 
 the prevailing sentiments. Intelligence of Bonaparte's progress 
 was generally misleading, and the confidence of the Royalists 
 
 1 Pasquier, III. pp. 179-181. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. pp. 387-388. 
 
 * Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 101. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 311, 312. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 391. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. p. 390. 
 
 3 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 397-402. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, II. pp. 253-255. 
 
 * Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 402-415. 
 
 Cf. on these events Me'moires de Napoleon, nouvelle e'dition, 1905, 
 IV. pp. 3-5. 
 
76 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1815 
 
 continued unabated. But, on March 23rd, VitroUes, who had 
 left Paris on the day of the King's flight in order to raise the 
 South, arrived, and it became impossible any longer to conceal 
 the gravity of the situation. Madame was undismayed. Indeed, 
 her firm attitude during these trying days was to elicit from 
 Napoleon the remark that she was " the only man of her family.*'^ 
 But her courage was to prove of no avail. Directly it was known 
 that Napoleon had returned to Paris the temper of the garrison 
 underwent a marked change. On the 29th the report that 
 General Clauzel was marching on the town with Imperial troops 
 made matters worse. The rumour of his approach was correct. 
 On the 31st, after a skirmish with the volunteers which he broke 
 off as soon as possible, having orders to avoid bloodshed, he 
 summoned the town to surrender. No one was to be molested 
 on account of his opinions, but Lynch was advised to take his 
 departure. 2 Clauzel, however, guaranteed that no obstacles 
 would be put in the way of the Duchesse d*Angouleme's em- 
 barkation, and, at the same time, he warned the civil authorities 
 that he should hold them responsible for any loss of life which 
 further resistance might entail. A council was called to con- 
 sider these proposals. General Decaen, commanding the mili- 
 tary district, announced that the regular troops could no longer 
 be depended upon, and the feeling of the meeting was distinctly 
 in favour of accepting the terms offered. Madame, however, 
 determined to try the effect of a last appeal to the soldiers. 
 The regiments were paraded in their barracks, and she went 
 round and addressed each in turn. The troops listened in re- 
 spectful silence, but her words made no impression. Under 
 these circumstances she was fain to admit that to attempt to 
 defend the town with the National Guards and the volunteers 
 would lead merely to a useless effusion of blood. The next day, 
 April 2nd, Madame went on board H.M.S. The Wanderer and 
 sailed for England. In the meantime Vitrolles had established 
 himself at Toulouse as the King's Viceroy. But his tenure of office 
 was short. On April 4th General Delaborde entered the town, pro- 
 claimed the Emperor, and sent Vitrolles a close prisoner to Paris. ^ 
 The Due d'Angouleme had left Bordeaux on March 10th.* 
 
 1 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 319. Napoleon^ however^ denied having 
 used these words. 
 
 Memoires de Napoleon, nouvelle edition, 1905, IV. p. 369. 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 55-56. 
 
 2 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 313-318. 
 
 3 Vitrolles, Memoires, II. pp. 420-428. 
 * Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 319-330. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 417-437* 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, II. pp. 267-277. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 77 
 
 After establishing his headquarters at Nimes and making 
 arrangements for the enrolling and equipping of volunteers, he 
 started to visit Marseilles, Avignon, Toulon, and other towns. 
 Everywhere in the district the Duke's experiences were the 
 same : the citizens for the most part loyal, but the troops sulky 
 and disaffected. On his return to Nimes he found that a con- 
 siderable number of volunteers had been collected. As, however, 
 many of these men belonged to the dregs of the population, and 
 as it had been impossible to provide all of them with uniforms, 
 they presented a villainous appearance. They were nicknamed 
 the Miquelets by the country people, and their excesses were to 
 call for bloody reprisals at no distant date. The Duke intended 
 to march in three columns on Lyons and Grenoble. Napoleon 
 as he passed through these towns had taken along with him the 
 major part of their garrisons. With the departure of the troops 
 the Imperialist enthusiasm had quickly cooled down, and the 
 Royalists once more began to raise their heads. On the 29th 
 March the Duke advanced. MonteHmar and Valence were suc- 
 cessively occupied, and, on April 2nd, the column which he 
 commanded in person defeated an Imperialist force under 
 General Debelle at Loriol. 
 
 Napoleon was now aware of the gravity of the situation, and 
 sent General de Grouchy to Lyons with orders to act vigorously. 
 When, however, he arrived at Lyons, on the 3rd, the tide had 
 already turned. The right column of the Royal army, under 
 General Ernouf, weakened and demoralized by the defection of 
 its two regular regiments, had been routed near Grenoble and 
 driven in disorder towards Marseilles. Meanwhile disaffection 
 in his rear had compelled the Duke himself to retreat, and, on 
 the 7th, being practically surrounded near Montelimar, he was 
 forced to enter into negotiations. The next day a convention 
 known as the capitulation of La Palud was drawn up. The 
 regular regiments still under the Duke's command were to pass 
 over to the Imperialists, the volunteers were to be allowed to 
 lay down their arms and to return to their homes, and he him- 
 self was to embark at Cette and leave the country. Grouchy, 
 however, refused to ratify this capitulation which General Gilly, 
 his subordinate, had concluded, without referring to Paris for 
 instructions, and pending their receipt he kept the Duke in 
 close confinement. Napoleon, at first, had thoughts of keeping 
 the Due d'Angouleme as a hostage and of stipulating that the 
 crown Jewels, which the Bourbons had removed with them, 
 should be given up before he could allow him to be set free. 
 He soon yielded, however, to the persuasion of the Due de 
 Bassano, and sent orders that the terms of the capitulation were 
 
78 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1815 
 
 to be carried out. The Due d'Angouleme was accordingly em- 
 barked on a Swedish vessel at Cette in which he sailed to Spain. 
 He was the last member of his family to leave France. No 
 shame attaches to his surrender. To the full extent of his 
 strength and of his abilities he had upheld the Royal cause. 
 It was not, however, in his power to infuse his followers with 
 enthusiasm, nor could he inspire the waverers and the faint- 
 hearted with confidence. On April 16th, the day on which he 
 was set free, a hundred guns fired off in every garrison town 
 announced that France was once again at peace. ^ 
 
 Though Napoleon, within a comparatively short space of 
 time, had contrived to restore the appearance of domestic order, 
 all his efforts to establish diplomatic relations with the Powers 
 proved ineffectual.^ When the news of his landing in France 
 was brought to Vienna, the assembled Sovereigns and Pleni- 
 potentiaries at once drew up their declaration of March 13th, 
 1815. In it they proclaimed that Bonaparte, by leaving Elba 
 in defiance of treaties, had placed himself outside the pale of 
 civil and social relations, and " was in consequence handed over 
 to the public vengeance as an enemy and a disturber of the 
 peace." They announced, furthermore, that, if necessary, they 
 were prepared to render military assistance to the King of 
 France. It was generally anticipated, however, that Louis 
 would be able to deal successfully with Bonaparte without re- 
 sorting to their intervention. The tidings of the Usurper's 
 progress quickly dispelled these illusions. Confronted with the 
 certainty that he would be back again in Paris before many 
 days were over, the Powers unanimously decided to adopt the 
 strongest measures against him.^ On March 9th, at a Council 
 of War at which the Tsar, Wellington, Schwartzenberg, Wol- 
 konski, and Knesebeck were present, the military situation was 
 discussed.* At this meeting it was laid down as a principle that 
 under no circumstances must negotiations of any kind be en- 
 tered into with Bonaparte. Finally, on March 25th before the 
 Sovereigns separated to return to their capitals, England, Austria, 
 Prussia, and Russia formally renewed the Treaty of Chaumont 
 of March 1st, 1814, according to the terms of which each Power 
 agreed to maintain in the field an army of 150,000 men *' until 
 such time as Bonaparte should be rendered incapable of causing 
 further trouble." England, moreover, bound herself to furnish 
 an annual subsidy of five millions sterling to the three other 
 
 1 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 334. 
 
 2 Guizot, M^moires, I. pp. 63-66. 
 
 3 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 82-87. 
 
 * Talleyrand a Louis XVIII., 19 Mars, 1815. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 79 
 
 contracting Powers, and to pay thirty pounds for every man 
 short of the stipulated number in her contingent. 
 
 In Paris all the ambassadors and charges d'affaires asked for 
 their passports. Their uncompromising attitude came as no 
 surprise to Napoleon.^ On the night of his arrival he had told 
 Marshal Davout, Prince d'Eckmiihl, Due d'Auerstadt, whom he 
 had appointed Minister of War, that, though he desired peace 
 above all things, he must prepare for an early outbreak of 
 hostilities. He knew that his only hope of avoiding a general 
 war lay in the mutual jealousies of the Powers, and circum- 
 stances had placed in his hands an instrument which he pro- 
 posed to use with ejffect.^ The terms of the secret treaty of 
 January 3rd, 1815, by which England, Austria, and France 
 bound themselves to resist by arms, if necessary, the designs of 
 Russia and Prussia in Central Europe, were within his know- 
 ledge. The common story that Jaucourt, who had been acting 
 as Foreign Minister in Talleyrand's absence, had left a copy of 
 this document behind him in the hurry of his flight, is no doubt 
 untrue. It is more probable that some official charged with 
 copying the treaty had revealed its existence to Caulaincourt, 
 Due de Vicenze, Napoleon's Foreign Minister. But in whatever 
 way the secret was discovered, it is certain that it was at once 
 brought to the knowledge of the Tsar. Alexander was very 
 indignant at this proof, as he considered it, of Louis XVIII's 
 ingratitude. Not for a moment, however, did he waver in his 
 determination to employ his last man and to spend his last 
 rouble in overthrowing Bonaparte. He even magnanimously 
 refrained from reproaching Louis, who, as he instructed Pozzo 
 di Borgo at Ghent, had enough troubles for the present.^ 
 
 In his anxiety to convey the impression that his father-in-law, 
 the Emperor of Austria, entertained no hostile designs towards 
 him, Napoleon announced that Marie Louise was about to join 
 him in Paris. To encourage this illusion workmen were em- 
 ployed to prepare her apartments.* As a matter of fact, all his 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 441, 442. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 839. 
 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 339. 
 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 286-287. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches ^ X., Castlereagh to Wellington, 8 April, 
 1815 ; Sir C. Stuart to Castlereagh, 6 April, 1815 : WeUington to Castle- 
 reagh, 12 May, 1815. 
 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 119-125. 
 ' Nesselrode a Pozzo, 13 Mai, 1815. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 23 Mai, 1815. 
 * Bourrienne, M^moires, X. p. 330. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, p. 513. 
 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. p. 223. 
 
 F. Masson, Marie Louise, pp. 607-613. 
 
80 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 letters to her for some time past had remained unanswered. 
 When Neipperg brought her the news of Bonaparte's return to 
 France, she had written to her father disassociating herself from 
 his adventure, and placing herself under the protection of the 
 Powers. In the previous autumn, on the occasion of a visit 
 which she made to Aix en Savoie, the Austrian Foreign Ofl&ce 
 had selected Adam Albert Count von Neipperg to accompany 
 her. He was forty-two years of age, a soldier and a diplomatist. 
 It was not the first delicate mission which had been entrusted 
 to him ; but he was better known for his extreme hatred of 
 Bonaparte, and on account of a black patch which the loss of 
 an eye compelled him to wear on all occasions. Notwithstand- 
 ing this disfigurement, he was supposed to exercise a peculiar 
 fascination over women. In the course of a few weeks spent 
 together, Marie Louise fell completely under his influence, and 
 made a practice of handing to him, unopened, every letter which 
 she received from her husband. Now that his daughter was in 
 this satisfactory frame of mind, Francis II could unite, con- 
 scientiously, with his brother Sovereigns in their declaration of 
 war to the knife against his son-in-law. All Napoleon's mes- 
 sengers were turned back at the frontier, and any hopes which 
 he may have entertained of detaching the Emperor from the 
 coalition were dispelled.^ 
 
 Napoleon was not more successful in his attempts to restore 
 diplomatic relations with England. ^ By the help of Fouche 
 a communication from Caulaincourt to Castlereagh, protesting 
 the pacific intentions of his master, was delivered at the Foreign 
 Office. But the English Government refused to be drawn into 
 any discussions, and a letter, from Napoleon himself to the 
 Prince Regent, was returned unopened. In order to pass his 
 messengers through the iron ring which encircled France he 
 was obliged to have recourse to the ingenuity of his Police 
 Minister. The permission thus accorded Fouche to intrude in 
 foreign affairs suited him very well.^ The AlHed Powers had 
 declared that their object in going to war was to overthrow 
 Bonaparte, not to impose any specific form of government on 
 the French people. Nevertheless, he was anxious to ascertain, 
 for his own purposes, the nature of their ulterior views.* He 
 accordingly entrusted to his agents, who were generally suc- 
 cessful in eluding the vigilance of the Austrians, Napoleon's 
 communications and his own secret instructions in addition. 
 
 ^ F. Masson^ Marie Louise, pp. 600-607. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1816, I. p. 202. 
 
 3 Madelin, FoucM, II. pp. 370-375. 
 
 * Declarations of April 25, 1315, and May 9, 1816. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 81 
 
 He was equally desirous of entering into relations with Louis 
 XVin. At Ghent, where the King had taken up his residence, 
 the news of VitroUes' arrest gave rise to serious apprehensions 
 on his behalf. Madame de VitroUes travelled to Paris to inter- 
 cede for him, and, by Monsieur's advice, to interview the Min- 
 ister of Police. Fouche undertook to do all he could, but he 
 feared, or affected to fear, that her husband must go before a 
 Court Martial.^ A few days later, however, he was able to give 
 her tidings of comfort. With the utmost difficulty he had ex- 
 tracted from the Emperor, who was much incensed, the promise 
 that, whatever happened, his life should be spared. With that 
 assurance she must return, forthwith, to Ghent in charge of one 
 of his own people. The emissary whom Fouche thus introduced 
 into the Royalist camp made good use of his opportunities. He 
 saw Eouis XVIII, and conveyed to him his employer's expres- 
 sion of goodwill and his hopes of His Majesty's speedy return 
 to power. It is said that he even went so far as to ask for a 
 promise that Fouche should be retained in office, in the event 
 of the King's restoration. Eouis, however, was not prepared to 
 commit himself further than to say that his services should not 
 be forgotten. Though Fouche may not have obtained as much 
 as he had hoped, he had every reason to feel satisfied. ^ Mon- 
 sieur and his friends were firmly convinced that he had saved 
 Vitrolles' Hfe, and in Royalist circles, generally, he was held in 
 the highest estimation.^ 
 
 Guizot has happily compared Fouche's attitude towards the 
 government of the Hundred Days to that of an unsympathetic 
 doctor, who, after diagnosing the patient, leaves his bedside to 
 discuss with expectant heirs the length of time the sick man 
 may yet survive.* His secret correspondence with Mettemich, 
 however, very nearly brought his career to a sudden close. 
 Napoleon had a police of his own, and by their means contrived 
 to lay hands on the bearer of a message to Fouche. He was 
 thus placed in possession of the sign by which Mettemich's 
 agent, M. Werner, in reality Baron Ottenfels, an Aulic Coun- 
 cillor, was to be recognized at Bale. The appointment was kept, 
 
 1 Chateaubriand, M^moires, IV. pp. 432-435. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 227-231. 
 
 Cf. Benjamin Constant, Memoir es sur les cent jours, II. pp. 37-38, 
 from which it would appear that Vitrolles was in reality in great 
 danger. 
 
 2 Bourrienne, M^moires, X. p. 364. 
 Guizot, M4moires, I. pp. 86, 87. 
 
 ^ Chateaubriand, M^moires, II. pp. 427-429, 
 * Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 74. 
 Pasquier, III. p. 195. 
 
82 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1815 
 
 but by Fleury de Chaboulon, Napoleon's confidential secretary. 
 The complete ignorance in which Fouche had kept him of the 
 communications he was carrying on with the Austrian Minister 
 excited Napoleon's gravest suspicions. His continued silence 
 with regard to them would furnish the strongest proof of their 
 guilty character. But before Fleury 's return Fouche received 
 a timely warning from Real, the prefect of police, as to the 
 state of affairs. At his next interview with the Emperor, ac- 
 cordingly, he mentioned that he had contrived to enter into 
 relations with Metternich and had forgotten to speak of the 
 matter before. Napoleon's wrath blazed forth at his words. 
 " I ought to have you shot, Fouche," he roared. " I can't 
 agree with you, Sir," answered the Minister, and forthwith 
 began a long explanation of his conduct. After listening to his 
 story. Napoleon affected to be satisfied with the honesty of his 
 intentions. 1 Fleury 's report, which was made a few days later, 
 furnished abundant matter for suspicion, but no absolute proof 
 of guilt. Ottenfels had been cautious, and had neither used 
 words nor produced any document which could be considered 
 as direct evidence of Fouche's treason. He might plead with 
 justice that, in initiating a correspondence with the Austrian 
 Minister, he was only acting in accordance with the permission 
 which had been given him, and that, in a transaction of the 
 kind, he could neglect no means whereby Metternich's confidence 
 might be captured. In his heart, probably. Napoleon knew that 
 Fouche was a traitor, but he, doubtless, thought that, in the 
 precarious state of his fortunes, it would be impolitic to quarrel 
 with a man who could command a large following among the 
 old Jacobin party. ^ 
 
 During the months of April and May, 1815, Paris presented 
 an appearance of general gloom. The theatres were ill attended, 
 the shops were empty, business was at a standstill. The rente, 
 which had stood at 78 in the early days of March, fell to 56 
 francs at the end of May. Despite reassuring statements in 
 the press and the extracts from the Morning Chronicle which 
 Napoleon caused to be pubhshed, it was plain to everybody 
 that hostilities, on a gigantic scale, were imminent. Any illu- 
 sions, indeed, which these communiques might have created were 
 dispelled, on April 13th, by the appearance in the Monit&ur of 
 
 1 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 1-34. 
 Rovigo, M4moires, VIII. pp. 30-34. 
 Vaulabelle, Deujc Restaurations, II. pp. 337-342. 
 Lavalette, Memoires, II. pp. 180-182. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 196-199. 
 
 2 Fleury de Chaboulon, II. p. 41. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 83 
 
 Caulaincourt's report on the state of foreign relations. Napo- 
 leon had reluctantly been compelled to make it public, in order 
 to account for his military preparations and to show that the 
 threatened war was not of his seeking. ^ A week later, on April 
 20th, the Swiss 2 announced that they had joined the coalition 
 and had closed their frontiers, an example which was speedily 
 followed by Ferdinand VII, who, on May 2nd, formally declared 
 war. In the hope of avoiding, or of postponing, naval hostilities 
 Napoleon directed that the Bourbon flag should be kept flying 
 at sea. This subterfuge was unavailing. All through the 
 months of April and May the British cruisers played havoc with 
 the French shipping in the Channel and the North Sea, and, 
 on April 30th, the Mediterranean, a few miles to the north of 
 Ischia, was the scene of a sharp engagement between La Mel- 
 pomene of 40, and H.M.S. Rivoli of 74 guns. After a gallant 
 resistance, the French frigate was compelled to strike her 
 colours, and was taken as a prize into Palermo.^ 
 
 In the country districts the enthusiasm of the early days 
 was soon chilled by the fear of war and of invasion. Though 
 Camot, the Minister of the Interior, dismissed a large number 
 of the old prefects, most of those whom he appointed to succeed 
 them had no real confidence in the duration of the Imperial 
 regime^ and were, in consequence, little disposed to use their 
 powers rigorously. These lukewarm sentiments on the part of 
 the prefects were shared by the mayors of many of the provin- 
 cial towns, whilst the priests, as a body, openly expressed their 
 hostility to the Imperial Government. Under these conditions 
 the Royalists were inspired with renewed courage.* The recall 
 to the colours of reservists and of men on leave afforded them 
 numerous opportunities for fomenting discontent and for en- 
 couraging desertion, which they had no scruples about using. 
 But though the peasants and the working men could easily be 
 induced to elude military service, the intensity of their hatred 
 for everything connected with the old regime had been increased 
 by Napoleon's proclamations from Lyons and his speeches 
 during his march to Paris. His references to the Revolution 
 revived recollections which had slumbered for twenty years. 
 Caps of liberty reappeared, the words of the " ca ira " were 
 heard again, and in some districts the houses of the nobles were 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, pp. 622-631. 
 
 2 Ibid., I. pp. 464, 465. 
 
 3 Ibid., I. p. 449. 
 
 James, Naval History, VI. p. 363. 
 
 4 Houssaye, 1815, pp. 502-512. 
 Lavalette, M^moires, II. pp. 171-177. 
 
84 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 attacked and set on fire.^ Had Napoleon resorted to the methods 
 of '93, had he proclaimed the country in danger, and had he 
 given full sway to the passions of the mob, he might have as- 
 sumed the dictatorship. But though in this crisis of his for- 
 tunes it was essential to arouse the enthusiasm of the people to 
 a high pitch, and though it was almost equally necessary for 
 him to wield absolute power, the notion of attaining his ends 
 by appealing to the vile instincts of the populace appalled him. 
 Like most men who had witnessed the scenes of the Revolution, 
 he loathed and despised the canaille.^ Never, he told Benjamin 
 Constant, would he be the King of a Jacquerie. No doubt, also, 
 he realized that salvation was not to be achieved by such means. 
 The taste for political discussions, which had profoundly 
 affected the middle classes, and which had been one of the fea- 
 tures of Louis XVIII's brief reign, had been strengthened 
 rather than diminished by Napoleon's return. All educated 
 persons indulged in it more or less, and even the soldiers were 
 infected by the prevailing fashion. At Grenoble, Colonel de La 
 Bedoyere, when he led his regiment over to the Emperor, had 
 begged him to renounce the idea of acquiring absolute power ; 
 and at Auxerre ^ Ney had expressed the same views in much 
 less respectful language.* At Lyons, Napoleon had proclaimed 
 that the electoral colleges of the Empire would be convened 
 in the Champ de Mars " in order to modify our Constitution 
 according to the will of the people." It is impossible to say 
 whether he had ever, seriously, entertained the notion that 
 thirty thousand men could meet thus to propose and to pass 
 laws, but, in any case, it was soon found to be a wholly im- 
 practicable scheme.^ He quickly realized, however, that it 
 would be impolitic to postpone the framing of the Constitution 
 till after the conclusion of hostilities. In the newspapers, from 
 all of which he had removed the censorship, in the numerous 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, pp. 486^92. 
 
 B. Constant, Me'moires sur les cent jours, II. p. 3. 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 217-223. 
 Chateaubriand, Me'moires, VI. pp. 454, 455. 
 Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 207-209. 
 
 2 Fleury de Chaboulon, II. p. 20. 
 
 B. Constant, Memoir es sur les cent jours, II. p. 23. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 172, 173, 174. 
 
 3 Guizot, M^moires, I. p. 77. 
 
 Mme. de Stael, Considerations, III. p. 128. 
 
 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 178, 270. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 497. 
 
 M^moires de NapoMon, IV., nouvelle edition, p. 342. 
 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. p. 172. 
 * H. Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 322. 
 fi Ibid., pp. 540-543. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 85 
 
 political pamphlets of the time, and in the many communica- 
 tions of which he was daily the recipient, he was always adjured 
 to fulfil his promises. Making a virtue of necessity, and perhaps 
 hoping to arouse the national enthusiasm by the creation of a 
 *' Liberal Empire," he appointed a commission to draw up the 
 Constitution. Its labours proceeded slowly. On the eve of the 
 war, in which England was to be the most dangerous of his 
 enemies, most of the members of Napoleon's commission were 
 intent, only, on copying the British Constitution as closely as 
 possible. Camot and the Emperor himself dissented from the 
 theories of the majority, and it was when matters threatened to 
 reach a deadlock that the idea occurred to him of assigning to 
 Benjamin Constant the task which the commission appeared 
 to be unable to carry out.^ 
 
 In consequence of the violent language which he had used 
 against Napoleon, up to the very day preceding his entry into 
 Paris, Benjamin Constant had deemed it advisable to seek 
 saiety in flight. But he soon came back, having ascertained 
 from Lucien Bonaparte, with whom he had been on friendly 
 terms under the Directory, that he had nothing to fear.^ When 
 Napoleon heard of his return, he sent for him, held a long con- 
 versation with him, and, finally, invited him to draw up and 
 submit for his approval a Constitution. Constant consented, 
 and set about his work with alacrity. This extraordinary change 
 of front on the part of a man who, less than a month before, had 
 declared himself a bitter opponent to Bonaparte, has been com- 
 mented upon very adversely. Probably he was fascinated by 
 Napoleon and flattered by the deference with which he Hstened 
 to his opinions ; perhaps, also, he was anxious to obtain em- 
 ployment for pecuniary reasons. ^ He himself insinuates that 
 his sudden conversion was due to his love of liberty, which 
 made it a matter of indifference to him whether the head of the 
 State styled himself King or Emperor, provided the people and 
 the institutions were free.* But, by whatever motives he may 
 have been actuated, his Constitution was completed rapidly, 
 and, after undergoing some slight modifications, was published 
 
 1 Fleury de Chaboulon, I. pp. 288-289. 
 Vaulabelle^ Deux Restaur ations, II. p. 284. 
 Guizot, M^moires, I. pp. 67-70. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. pp. 448-451. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 176, 176. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1816, I. pp. 643, 644. 
 
 3 Pasquier, III. pp. 180-181. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. p. 380. 
 
 * B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, II. pp. 1-17. 
 Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 422-424. 
 
86 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 in the Moniteur of April 23rd. ^ It was announced, at the same 
 time, that all Frenchmen were invited to signify by vote their 
 approval or dissent, and that the result of this 'plebiscite would 
 be made known at the great assembly which was convened for 
 May 26th in the Champ de Mars. 
 
 The promulgation of the Additional Act to the Constitutions 
 of the Empire^ as it was officially called, the Benjamin, as it was 
 nicknamed, disappointed expectations. The thorough Bona- 
 partists deplored it as a weak concession to the Liberals, who 
 nevertheless criticized it adversely, whilst the people, as a 
 whole, received it with indifference, and in large numbers 
 abstained altogether from voting either for or against it.^ 
 
 Though the Additional Act had been drawn up in a more 
 Liberal spirit than the Royal Charter, its provisions were not 
 of a democratic character. The franchise had been lowered, 
 but, on the other hand, Benjamin Constant had insisted on the 
 institution of an hereditary Peerage. Napoleon had demurred 
 to this last measure, and had objected, with Carnot, that it pre- 
 supposed the existence of rich and powerful families. But 
 where were they to be found ? The laws on the division of 
 property had been framed with the express object of preventing 
 such a development. The old noblesse was hostile to him, the 
 rich members of the new nobility were few in number, and, in 
 some cases, had acquired their wealth by very questionable 
 means. In thirty years' time his mushroom Peers, without tra- 
 ditions and without large properties, would still be merely 
 soldiers or officials.^ It did not, however, require much per- 
 suasion to induce Napoleon to withdraw his opposition to an 
 experiment which was thoroughly in harmony with his aristo- 
 cratic instincts. 
 
 Benjamin Constant told Napoleon that he ascribed the ad- 
 verse criticisms on the Constitution, and the general lack of 
 interest which its publication evoked, to the universal belief 
 that he did not intend to adhere to its provisions. Only by 
 allowing the elections to proceed would he be able to dispel this 
 impression. After hesitating for several days, and at last with 
 many misgivings, he gave his consent. The Moniteur of May 
 1st, accordingly, contained a decree convening the electoral 
 colleges. The consequences of this step, probably, far surpassed 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 549-550. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 550-558. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 187-192. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. p. 183. 
 ^ B. Constant_, Memoir es sur les cent jours, II. pp. 55-63. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 547, 548. 
 Chateaubriand, M6noires, VI. pp. 456-458. 
 
1815J NAPOLEON AGAIN 87 
 
 the Emperor's worst forebodings.^ Of the 629 Deputies elected, 
 only 80 were out-and-out Bonapartists. On the other hand, 
 however, 500 Liberals and about 40 Jacobins were returned. ^ 
 Fouche had largely contributed to bring about this result. As 
 Minister of Police he had instructed the prefects, who under the 
 French system exercise an enormous influence over the elections, 
 to work hard for the return of the Liberal candidates. " There 
 is a nice Chamber preparing for him,'' he said gleefully to a 
 friend of Villemain. " I shall spare him neither Barere nor 
 Cambon, nor, you may be quite sure, La Fayette. It will be 
 an education for him." ^ The elections of May, 1815, play an 
 important part in the history of the Hundred Days. At the 
 moment when he was about to engage on military operations 
 against the armies of united Europe, Napoleon found himself 
 saddled with a Chamber composed almost exclusively of his 
 political antagonists. Without doubt this embarrassing state 
 of affairs materially influenced his dispositions in the campaign, 
 the initial movements of which he was already considering. 
 
 The great assembly in the Champ de Mars, which was held 
 on June 1st, failed to rouse any popular enthusiasm. John Cam 
 Hobhouse, afterwards Lord Broughton, a Whig and a not un- 
 friendly critic, has recorded his impressions of the scene. Napo- 
 leon was clothed in a purple mantle without arm-holes, and wore 
 on his head a black hat ornamented with plumes and looped up 
 at the side with a diamond brooch. " The Emperor," says Hob- 
 house, " looked very ungainly and squat. Joseph and Jerome, 
 caparisoned in fancy dresses of white taffety, as ill as the Princes 
 of any legitimate house in Europe." Napoleon beguiled the 
 monotony of the prayers, with which the proceedings began, 
 by scrutinizing the people through his opera-glasses. The ac- 
 ceptation of the Constitution was then communicated to him, 
 and he swore to observe its conditions.* To an address from 
 the electoral colleges he replied in a tame speech, which called 
 forth little applause beyond the cheers of the soldiers. After 
 the newly elected Deputies and the civil and military dignitaries 
 had taken the oath of allegiance, the tedious ceremony concluded 
 with a march past of the troops and the presentation of the 
 eagles to the Imperial and the National Guards.^ 
 
 Already before this two events had taken place which in- 
 
 ^ B. Constant, M^moires sur les cent jours, II. p. 72. 
 
 2 H. Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 564. 
 
 3 Madelin, FoucM, II. pp. 363-366. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 224. 
 
 * J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. pp. 400-420. 
 
 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. p. 370. 
 s Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 606. 
 
88 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 creased the seriousness of the military situation. Joachim 
 Murat, King of Naples, Napoleon's brother-in-law and the only- 
 European Sovereign whom he could regard in the light of a 
 possible ally, had been driven from his kingdom, and, nearer 
 at home, a Royalist insurrection had broken out in La Vendee. 
 Immediately before quitting the Island of Elba, Napoleon had 
 sent to apprise Murat of his plans and to instruct him to con- 
 vey to the Austrian Government assurances of the pacific nature 
 of his intentions. Murat had, hitherto, only been concerned to 
 preserve his kingdom, which had been in jeopardy owing to the 
 reluctance of the Powers at Vienna to recognize his right to 
 retain it. But the news which reached him of Napoleon's 
 triumphant progress convinced him that the hour had struck 
 for realizing his dream of ruling over a United Italy. It ap- 
 peared to him that at the head of his own army he could do as 
 much in Italy as his brother-in-law had achieved in France 
 with a mere handful of Grenadiers. As, however, he believed 
 that Napoleon himself might wish to annex the Peninsula, he 
 considered it advisable to anticipate him by putting his scheme 
 into execution at once.^ In the message, which Colonna d'Istria 
 had brought to him from Elba, he was enjoined to prepare 
 quietly for military operations, but under no circumstances to 
 begin them unless the Austrians should attack France. Murat, 
 who was only intent on pursuing his own schemes of aggran- 
 dizement, complied with the first and disregarded the second 
 part of his instructions. With most indifferent success he tried 
 to persuade the Austrian Minister at Naples that he was mobi- 
 lizing with the sole object of maintaining, by arms if necessary, 
 the territorial settlement which had been agreed to at Vienna. 
 But on March 17th he threw off the mask and set his army in 
 motion. From Ancona he detached a division to occupy Rome, 
 whilst he himself pressed on northwards with the rest of his 
 troops. On arriving at Rimini, on March 30th, he issued a 
 proclamation calling on all patriots to rise for the unity of their 
 country and to shake off the yoke of Austria. Continuing his 
 advance on a broad front, he entered Bologna on the 2nd, and, 
 on the 4th, occupied Modena and Florence with his left wing. 
 Meanwhile all Northern Italy was in a ferment. The Austrians, 
 however, were not unprepared, and were able to concentrate 
 two divisions, under Bianchi and Neipperg, behind the Po. On 
 April 9th and 10th Murat, who was a brilliant cavalry leader 
 but no general, unsuccessfully attempted to force the passage 
 of the river at Ochiobello. After sustaining severe losses he 
 
 1 Memoir es de Napoleon, IV., nouvelle edition^ 1905, pp. 8-16. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 465-473. 
 
 I 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 89 
 
 was compelled to retreat. Directly he fell back the Austrians 
 assumed the offensive, and gave the sorely shaken Neapolitans 
 no rest. Murat's adventure ended on May 3rd at Tollentino, 
 where, after a battle of forty-eight hours' duration, which he 
 had been forced to accept under unfavourable conditions, his 
 army was scattered to the winds. On May 18th, with the 
 Austrians close behind him, he returned almost alone to Naples.^ 
 After parting from his wife, whom he was never to see again, he 
 escaped disguised as a sailor and, a few days later, landed at 
 Toulon a broken and a ruined man. 
 
 To all Murat's entreaties to be given a command in the French 
 field army Napoleon turned a deaf ear.^ He is said to have re- 
 gretted his decision as he watched the fruitless charges of his 
 cavalry against the British squares on the afternoon of Waterloo. 
 He had, indeed, every reason to be incensed at the conduct of 
 his brother-in-law. The Neapolitan army was only a pawn on 
 the European chess board, but it was none the less provoking 
 to see it swept away before the game had begun. Whilst Murat 
 was striving to stem the headlong flight of his followers from 
 the field of Tollentino, Wellington had been writing to Lord 
 Stewart, the British Ambassador at Vienna, with regard to him. 
 The Duke expressed the opinion that " Murat must be de- 
 stroyed early or he will hang heavily upon us." But though 
 the fact was still unknown to him, the Neapolitan army had 
 passed out of existence, and the Austrian troops, who would 
 have been immobilized in Northern Italy, had it continued in 
 being, were free to join in the great invasion of France. ^ 
 
 Hardly had Napoleon been deprived by Murat's precipitate 
 action of the assistance which he might have received from 
 Italy, than he was compelled to send General Lamarque into 
 lia Vendue with a column which included a brigade of the 
 Young Guard. The imminence of hostilities on the frontiers, 
 the withdrawal of the garrisons from Angers, Nantes, and other 
 towns, the despatch by the English Government to the dis- 
 
 1 Spencer Walpole, Life of Lord John Riissell, I. p. 77. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 138-140. 
 
 2 Memoires de NapoMon, IV., nouvelle edition, p. 112. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 186-187. 
 
 » Wellington to Stewart, May 8, 1815, Despatches, XIV., edited by 
 Gurwood. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 565-584. 
 
 Madelin, FoucM, II. pp. 560-652. 
 
 Memoires de Napoleon, IV., nouvelle edition, 1905, p. 21. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. p. 347. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, X. p. 39. Memorandum of interview be- 
 tween Lord Harrowby and Louis XVIII. 
 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. p. 185. 
 
90 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1815 
 
 affected districts of money, arms, and ammunition, had brought 
 about the RoyaUst rising which, two months before, the Due 
 de Bourbon had, in vain, attempted to excite. The leaders had 
 fixed on May 15th for the outbreak of the insurrection. At this 
 juncture Fouche, who as Minister of PoHce had no wish to be 
 concerned in the sanguinary repression of a RoyaHst rebeUion, 
 rendered valuable assistance to the Emperor. Sending for the 
 Comte de Malartic, an old Vendeen chief, with whom he was 
 well acquainted, he induced him to use his good offices in the 
 interests of peace. He pointed out to him that the fate of 
 Bonaparte would be decided on the northern frontier, and that 
 a rising in La Vendee could have no influence on the march of 
 events. It would enable the Emperor, however, to declare 
 martial law and to call up local levies which, after the rebellion 
 had been suppressed, would be employed against the armies of 
 invasion. Malartic, accordingly, accompanied by two friends 
 and furnished with a safe-conduct by Fouche, proceeded to the 
 West.i Encouraged by the priests, some twenty thousand 
 peasants had answered to their old leader's call to arms. But 
 there was disunion among the chiefs. The veterans like Sapi- 
 naud, d'Andigne, Suzannet, and d'Autichamp resented the pre- 
 tensions of Louis de La Roche] acquelein to assume the supreme 
 command. La Roche] acquelein had been first at Ghent and 
 then in England, from where he had been conveyed to the coast 
 of Brittany in H.M.S. the Astrea. The anger of the old chiefs at 
 being superseded by a young and untried man disposed them 
 to listen favourably to Malartic 's proposals for an armistice. 
 Moreover, the result of their first engagements with " the blues,'* 
 under the energetic General Travot, had not been encouraging. 
 When, however, La Roche] acquelein heard that they had 
 opened negotiations with a view to a suspension of hostilities, 
 he sent them peremptory orders to ]oin him with their men, 
 under pain of being deprived of their commands. But, immedi- 
 ately after sending off this summons, he became engaged with 
 a flying column under General Travot, and, on June 4th, was 
 killed in action near the village of Saint-Jean-des-Monts in the 
 Marais. With the death of Louis de La Roche] acquelein the 
 movement, which had never called forth much enthusiasm, 
 practically collapsed. It had deprived Napoleon, nevertheless, 
 of the services of about 8000 men whom he could ill afford to 
 spare, and, but for the diplomacy of Fouche, a still larger num- 
 ber would have been required for its suppression. 
 
 By the beginning of May Napoleon had abandoned all hope 
 
 1 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 359-363. 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 673-584. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 91 
 
 of inducing the Powers to forego their intention of attacking 
 him<^ There were two alternatives before him. He could re- 
 main on the defensive and await the oncoming of his enemies, 
 or he could fall upon them whilst they were carrying out their 
 strategical deployment. To adopt the first plan was to repeat, 
 under, on the whole, more favourable conditions, the campaign 
 of the year before. Many eminent critics have pronounced this 
 course to have been the one which he should have followed. 
 During the Hundred Days, however. Napoleon was not an 
 Autocrat, but was in the position of a constitutional Sovereign 
 with a Parliament and a troublesome opposition. To have 
 allowed the eastern provinces to become again the theatre of 
 war might have been the soundest plan from the military point 
 of view, but he could not afford to disregard the bad effect 
 which such a decision would have had on public opinion. It 
 was contrary, moreover, to his practice thus tamely to submit 
 to his adversaries taking the initiative at their convenience. 
 Lastly, and this was perhaps the reason which carried the most 
 weight with him, it was only by a great victory that he could 
 regain his old prestige and arouse the national enthusiasm, 
 without which he could not hope to triumph over the formidable 
 coalition with which he had to deal. Having decided to strike 
 the first blow, the Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian and the Prussian 
 armies in Belgium presented the most suitable objective. They 
 lay close to the French frontier in widely scattered cantonments 
 on a front nearly one hundred miles long, from Mons to Namur. 
 Generally speaking, BlUcher's troops were quartered to the east 
 and Wellington's to the west of the great high road which runs 
 northwards through Charleroi to Brussels. Their combined 
 strength amounted to about 200,000 men. Against these num- 
 bers, in the middle of June, beyond which date he could not 
 safely postpone his attack, Napoleon was not in a position to 
 bring into line more than 126,000 troops. He was thus out- 
 numbered in the proportion of eight to five, but he counted on 
 atoning for this disadvantage by the secrecy and the celerity of 
 his movements. Owing to the wide front on which the Allies 
 were disposed, it was impossible for them to concentrate and 
 to unite in less than three days from the time of the first alarm. 
 If, therefore, he could collect his people without arousing sus- 
 picion, he might hurl himself with all his forces upon one army 
 
 ^ Memoires de Napoleon, IV., nouvelle edition, pp. 82-39. 
 Political and Military History of Campaign of Waterloo (translated from 
 French of Baron de Jomini), pp. 112, 113. 
 Clausewitz, Feldzug von 1816, pp. 1-33. 
 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 94r-99. 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. p. 232. 
 
92 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 before the other one could go to its support. The chances of 
 separating his opponents were, besides, enormously enhanced 
 by the fact that they were operating from divergent bases. 
 That is to say, that, whilst Wellington drew his supplies from 
 the coast, the Prussian lines of communication ran eastwards 
 to the Rhine. If his campaign in Belgium should prove success- 
 ful, he would still have to deal with the Austrians and Russians. 
 But, in addition to the enthusiasm which his triumph would 
 excite in his own country, the disheartening effect which it was 
 bound to have on the Allies would be incalculable. A great 
 military disaster might drive the Tories from ofl&ce, and, in 
 that case, if the speeches of the Whigs had any meaning, their 
 accession to power should be the signal for a reversal of policy 
 towards him.^ 
 
 The first and, in some respects, the most difficult part of 
 Napoleon's scheme was carried out with complete success. 
 Early in June the concentration orders were communicated to 
 the corps commanders, and, on June l4th, the whole army lay 
 opposite to the Belgian frontier between Avesnes and Philippe- 
 ville on a front of a little over thirty miles. Soon after midnight, 
 on June 11th, Napoleon quietly entered his travelling carriage 
 and was driven rapidly from Paris to Laon.^ In the course of 
 the day before he had received deputations from both Chambers. 
 He had parted from them with the significant warning to beware 
 of the fate of the Greeks of the Later Empire, who had con- 
 tinued to discuss abstract questions whilst the enemy was thun- 
 dering at the gates. Napoleon spent the night of June 14th-15th 
 at Beaumont in the midst of his army, and, as the men rose 
 from their bivouacs in the dim twilight of the summer morning, 
 the last general order, which their Emperor was to issue on the 
 opening of a campaign, was read out to them.^ The troops were 
 reminded that the day was the anniversary of Marengo and of 
 Friedland, " then as after Austerlitz and as after Wagram they 
 had been too generous. . . . These Prussians now so arro- 
 gant were as three to one at Jena, and as six to one at Montmirail. 
 Those among them who had been prisoners on the English hulks 
 could describe their sufferings to their comrades. . . . Forced 
 marches were in front of them, battles must be delivered, perils 
 
 ^ Memoir es de Napoleon, IV., nouvelle edition, p. 125. 
 
 2 History of Campaign of Waterloo (from the French of Baron de 
 Jomini), p. 115. 
 
 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 99-107. 
 
 3 Moniteur, June 13 (quoted by Houssaye), 1815, I. pp. 622-623. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, II. pp. 349, 350. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, I. p. 468. 
 
 Memoires de Napoleon, IV., nouvelle edition, 1906, pp. 44, 45. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 93 
 
 must be encountered, but if they remained true the victory- 
 would be theirs. The moment had come to conquer or to die/* 
 A few hours later, the rattle of musketry across the frontier 
 announced that contact with the Prussian outposts had been 
 established and that the most celebrated campaign of modern 
 days had begun. 
 
 Inasmuch as the governing idea of Napoleon's strategy was 
 to crush one or other of the armies opposed to him, before they 
 could unite, he could not think of moving against either of their 
 outer flanks. To have adopted such a course would merely 
 have resulted in driving whichever army he had threatened into 
 the arms of its ally. He, accordingly, decided to burst in upon 
 them by the great high road from Charleroi to Brussels, which 
 ran through the centre of their cantonments.^ At noon on 
 June 15th Charleroi was in his possession. As he sat on a chair 
 in the road and watched his troops filing through the town he 
 had every reason to feel satisfied. By the secrecy and the 
 swiftness of his concentration he had gained the start of three 
 days, which was to make up for the paucity of his numbers. 
 Before this, however, he had doubtless realiized that he had 
 sustained one great loss.^ Berthier, the man who possessed in 
 so high a degree the art of expressing his master's intentions in 
 clear and lucid orders, his chief of the staff on all his great cam- 
 paigns, was not with him on this occasion. He had followed 
 Louis XVIII to Ghent, and had afterwards tried to return to 
 France through Germany. Finding, however, that the Austrians 
 would not let him pass he had gone to Bamberg, where he had 
 been killed by a fall from a window as a Russian regiment was 
 marching through the town. In default of Berthier, Napoleon 
 appointed Marshal Soult Chief of the Staff. To Marshal de 
 Grouchy he assigned the right, and to Marshal Ney the left, 
 wing of the army, whilst the Imperial Guard and Mouton de 
 Bobau's corps formed the reserve under his own immediate 
 orders.^ 
 
 About twelve miles beyond (north of) Charleroi the great 
 highway is crossed, at the hamlet of Les Quatre Bras, by the 
 road which runs east and west from Namur to Nivelles. It is 
 a much vexed question whether Napoleon intended his advanced 
 guards to establish themselves upon this road on the evening 
 of the 15th. He himself, in the account which he dictated at 
 St. Helena, has said that such an idea formed no part of his 
 
 1 Houssaye, Waterloo, p. 118. 
 
 Memoires de Napoleon, IV., nouvelle edition, 1905, p. 112. 
 
 2 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. p. 368-369. 
 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 56-62. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 122 (note). 
 
94 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 plans. ^ On the contrary, to have denied to Bliicher the use of 
 this road would have precluded the possibility of his concen- 
 trating upon it, a mistake which he anticipated he would com- 
 mit. In any case, whether in accordance with Napoleon's 
 instructions, or in defiance of them, Ney confined himself to 
 reconnoitring Les Quatre Bras, which was held by a brigade 
 under Prince Bernard of Saxd- Weimar, whilst on the right the 
 French only advanced to within a mile of Fleurus. The Em- 
 peror's orders for the 16th furnish good evidence that, though 
 he was prepared for the eventuality, he did not expect to fight 
 a great battle that day. The north-easterly direction taken by 
 the picquets and advanced troops, who had been driven in 
 during the previous afternoon, pointed to a retreat of the Prus- 
 sian army towards its base.^ Soon after nine, on the morning 
 of the 16th, Napoleon quitted Charleroi and established himself 
 in a mill near Fleurus, from where he saw with increasing satis- 
 faction the sky line, on the rising ground to the north, grow 
 dark under the successive arrival of heavy Prussian columns. 
 By two o'clock he could feel assured that the whole, or the 
 greater part, of Bliicher's army was standing prepared to accept 
 battle to the north of the Ligny brook.^ 
 
 To reap full benefit from the great opportunity which had 
 been vouchsafed him,* Napoleon had to destroy the Prussian 
 army, not merely to expel it from its positions. This he pur- 
 posed to do by launching straight against it the troops of the 
 right wing, which were under his immediate eye, supporting 
 them, if necessary, by the reserve corps, which he ordered to 
 close up. At the same time he sent instructions to Ney to brush 
 aside whatever might be in front of him at Les Quatre Bras, 
 march on Bry, and roll up the Prussian right flank. But just 
 after Soult had sent off this communication to Ney, the Em- 
 peror was informed by a staff officer that Les Quatre Bras was 
 held by a force estimated at 20,000 men. Napoleon had con- 
 cluded correctly that it would be out of Wellington's power to 
 concentrate his whole army during the day ; he thought, never- 
 theless, that he might very likely have hurried up troops from 
 
 ^ Napoleon Memoires, IV., nouvelle edition, pp. 54, 119. 
 Cf. Clausewitz, Feldzug von 1815, pp. 43-50. 
 Ropes, Campaign of Waterloo, pp. 55-61. 
 
 Jomini, Political and Military History of Campaign of Waterloo , p. 123. 
 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 122-130. 
 
 2 Ibid,, pp. 133-140, 160, 161, 471. 
 Ropes, Campaign of Waterloo, pp. 135-138. 
 
 3 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 139-140. 
 
 Napoleon Memoires, IV., nouvelle e'dition, 1905, p. 56. 
 * Houssaye, Waterloo, p. 472. 
 Ropes, Waterloo, pp. 152-156. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 95 
 
 Brussels and that a considerable body of them might be at 
 Ees Quatre Bras. It was no part of his plan, however, to defeat 
 both Wellington and Bliicher on the 16th. He was perfectly 
 satisfied to contain the English — that is, to prevent them from 
 going to the assistance of the Prussians — and he conceived that 
 Ney ought to be able to effect this with one corps d'armee and 
 his cavalry.^ It was already past three in the afternoon ; the 
 Charleroi-Brussels road, up which Ney's troops were moving, 
 lay about six miles to the west of the scene of action round 
 Ligny. Six o'clock, therefore, would be about the earliest hour 
 at which any considerable portion of them could deploy against 
 Bliicher. To save time, accordingly, he despatched an order 
 direct to Drouet d'Erlon, commanding the rearmost of the two 
 corps under Ney, to attack the Prussian right. It was the 
 crucial moment of the campaign and Napoleon knew it, yet he 
 appears to have entrusted this message of vast importance to 
 an inexperienced aide-de-camp of his personal staff. After de- 
 livering to Drouet Napoleon's missive, Forbin-Janson, the 
 officer in question, had been told to inform Ney of its contents. 
 This, however, he neglected to do. Drouet d'Erlon himself does 
 not appear to have understood clearly his orders and to have 
 misread the words : " sur la hauteur de Saint-Amand " as " a la 
 hauteur de Saint-Amand/' Forbin-Janson, who knew nothing 
 of the larger operations of war, was unable to explain matters, 
 consequently the corps d'armee arrived on the battlefield of 
 Ligny in prolongation of the French left instead of in rear of 
 the Prussian right. ^ Its approach created great consternation 
 and caused Napoleon to suspend for a time his attack, under the 
 apprehension that an English corps had slipped past Ney and 
 was moving against him.^ In the meantime the Marshal, who 
 had become hotly engaged at Les Quatre Bras, was infuriated 
 beyond measure on learning that Drouet had marched away 
 without his permission, and, regardless of consequences, sent 
 orders to recall him. Drouet obeyed, but, what is stranger 
 still, nobody from the Headquarters Staff seems to have ap- 
 proached him to give him his correct direction. About nine 
 
 ^ Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 154-163. 
 
 2 This episode is given as M. Houssaye relates it, Waterloo, pp. 199-207. 
 But it is in contradiction with Napoleon^s own account as given in 
 Memoires de Napoleon, IV., nouvelle edition, 1905, pp. 58, 59, 65 ; and 
 with other historians. M. Houssaye's version appears to be the most 
 probable. 
 
 Cf. Ropes, Waterloo, pp. 181-182, 191-196. 
 
 3 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 171, 172, 177, 178. 
 Ropes, Waterloo, pp. 157, 158. 
 
 The whole of this aflFair is discussed very impartially by General 
 Zurlinden in the Revue des deux Mondes, Janvier, 1906, Ligny et Waterloo. 
 
96 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 o'clock, as darkness put an end to the fiercely contested struggle 
 at Les Quatre Bras, Drouet d'Erlon and his 20,000 men marched 
 up. They had been on two battlefields, on each of which their 
 presence was sorely required, yet they had come into action on 
 neither the one nor the other. ^ 
 
 After a terrific battle. Napoleon, just before nightfall, suc- 
 ceeded in dislodging the Prussians.^ Though the victory was not 
 of so complete a character as he had been entitled to expect, 
 owing to no portion of his left wing having co-operated in the 
 engagement, he was nevertheless disposed to think that the 
 Prussians would be unlikely to trouble him further, but would 
 retire on their base.^ In point of fact, General von Gneisenau 
 had come to a very different and a very momentous decision. 
 No one knew the fate which had overtaken Bliicher. The old 
 man had joined in the last charge, and was supposed to have 
 been either killed or taken prisoner. His Chief of the Staff, 
 however, after poring over his maps by the moonlight, gave the 
 order for a retreat on Wavre. He had taken the soldier-like 
 view of the situation. From the point which he had named the 
 Prussians could co-operate with Wellington, but it entailed 
 giving up their line of supplies by way of Namur and Liege and 
 establishing a fresh one through Tirlemont and Maastricht. The 
 next morning, about seven o'clock, Wellington was made ac- 
 quainted at Quatre Bras with the result of the battle and with 
 the direction of the retreat by an officer of the Prussian General 
 Staff. The retirement of his allies, which left him " en Vtiir/* 
 compelled him to conform without delay to their movement. 
 Accordingly, he sent back word that he should retreat to Mont- 
 Saint-Jean, where he would accept battle, provided he was 
 assured of support from not less than one Prussian army corps.* 
 
 The next day, June 17th, about eleven o'clock, before devoting 
 his attention exclusively to Wellington, the Emperor despatched 
 Grouchy with a force of 33,000 men in pursuit of the Prussians. 
 No military decision has ever provoked the same amount of 
 controversy. The question has been keenly debated whether 
 Napoleon was justified in detaching this large body of troops ; 
 whilst the steps which Grouchy himself took to carry out his 
 
 1 Houssaye, Waterloo, p. 213. 
 Ropes, Waterloo, p. 182. 
 
 2 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 228, 232. 
 Ropes, Waterloo, pp. 198, 199. 
 
 3 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 233, 234. 
 Ropes, Waterloo, pp. 226-227. 
 
 * Houssaye, Waterloo, p. 254. 
 Ropes, Waterloo, p. 233. 
 Despatches J XII., Wellington to Bathurst, June 19, 1815, 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 97 
 
 orders have been the subject of endless criticisms, ^ It must be 
 understood, however, that, had the Prussians retired to Namur, 
 as Napoleon supposed they had, it was very necessary to follow 
 them with a considerable force. Otherwise, when he carried 
 out his contemplated advance on Brussels, they might have re- 
 occupied Charleroi and have severed his communications. But 
 if the Prussians had gone north in order to join hands with 
 Wellington, Grouchy, in that case, would either interpose and 
 prevent their junction, or should arrive on his battlefield 
 simultaneously with them. Grouchy, who had never before 
 held a large or an independent command, was probably 
 somewhat overwhelmed by the difficulties of his task. 
 Though on the afternoon of June 17th his movements were 
 unduly slow, he did contrive to ascertain and to report to 
 Napoleon that a large portion of the Prussians had retreated 
 to Wavre. At the same time he announced that he should 
 interpose to stop them from moving on Brussels, if that should 
 prove to be their intention. But it never appears to have 
 occurred to him that they might be proposing to march directly 
 to join Wellington and to take part in the battle which, he was 
 aware, the Emperor hoped to engage to the south of the Forest 
 of Soignies. If, however. Grouchy failed to rise to the occasion, 
 he might complain, with justice, that he did not receive the 
 assistance from the Headquarter Staff which he was entitled 
 to expect.^ 
 
 In the meantime Bliicher, though he had been unhorsed and 
 ridden over at Ligny, was up and doing. Wellington had said 
 that he should stand at Mont-Saint-Jean, provided he were 
 supported by one Prussian army corps. Though the approach 
 of Grouchy was within the knowledge of the General Staff, 
 Bliicher decided that his ally should have the assistance for 
 which he asked. Accordingly, about two o'clock in the morning 
 of June 18th, Eieutenant von Massow arrived at the Duke*s 
 headquarters at Waterloo the bearer of a promise that not only 
 one army corps, but three, if possible, should march to his sup- 
 port. Bliicher had carried his heroic resolution despite the 
 opposition of his all-powerful Chief of the Staff. Gneisenau dis- 
 
 1 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 225-231. 
 Ropes, Waterloo, pp. 209-214, 218-225. 
 
 Napoleon relates these events in Memoir es de Napoleon, IV., nouvelle 
 e'dition, 1905, pp. 67-74, 117. Grouchy (and his son afterwards) has 
 told the story from his point of view. Not much credence should be 
 attached to Napoleon's acconnt, and still less to Grouchy's. 
 
 2 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 225, 226, 240-250. 
 Ropes, Waterloo, p. 281. 
 
 General Zurlinden, Bevue des deiuc Mondes, Janvier, 1906, lAgny et 
 Waterloo. 
 
98 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 trusted Wellington exceedingly, and feared that, after they 
 were committed to their perilous flank march, he would abandon 
 his position, if hard pressed, and leave them to inevitable de- 
 struction. The hesitations of the Prussian commanders as they 
 neared the battlefield, the next day, were due to Gneisenau's 
 strict injunctions that they must beware of engaging, before 
 ascertaining that Wellington was really standing firm.^ 
 
 On the morning of June 18th Grouchy duly marched on 
 Wavre, where, in the afternoon, he became involved in a sharp 
 engagement with the Prussian corps of Thielman,^ whilst 
 Bliicher and the remainder of his army joined Wellington. At 
 Walhain, when at luncheon, Grouchy heard the guns of Waterloo. 
 But, after a sharp altercation with his subordinate Gerard, who 
 insisted that they must march to the cannon, he decided to 
 adhere to his resolution of slavishly following in the Prussian 
 footsteps of the day before. 
 
 During the night Napoleon's only fear had been that, after 
 all, Wellington might not accept battle. He is said to have gone 
 through the pouring rain to the outpost line to watch and 
 listen.3 In the morning he was in good spirits. Owing to the 
 sodden state of the ground and to the fact that some of his 
 troops had not reached their bivouacs till nearly dawn, he was 
 in no hurry to begin. Eight or nine hours of daylight would 
 suffice for the purpose which he had in hand. Soult, who made 
 no secret of his anxiety, evoked the rude remark " that Welling- 
 ton was not a good general because he had beaten him in Spain. 
 He could assure him that Wellington was a bad general and 
 that the English were bad troops." At ten he rode along the 
 front of the army, which cheered him wildly, and, at eleven, pro- 
 ceeded to some rising ground close to the farm-house of La 
 Rossomme, about one mile in rear (south) of La Belle Alliance. 
 Here a table and chairs were set out for him. He had on the 
 field 74,000 men against the 67,000 opposed to him. His orders 
 to Ney for the conduct of the battle were simple. Wellington's 
 line was to be smashed in the centre.* 
 
 At half-past eleven the first assault on Hougoumont was 
 made. At one, Drouet d'Erlon, covered by the fire of the eighty 
 guns in line at La Belle AlHance, attacked the English centre ; 
 whilst the Emperor wondered whether the column approaching 
 
 1 Ropes, Campaign of Waterloo, pp. 227-230, 233-244. 
 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 274-275, 283, 284. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 284-297. 
 
 Ropes, Waterloo, pp. 255-272, 286-288 
 
 3 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 276-279. 
 
 4 Ihid., pp. 307-310, 318-326. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. p. 24. 
 
1815] NAPOLEON AGAIN 99 
 
 on the right betokened the arrival of Grouchy or the Prussians. 
 At three, Ney launched the cavalry. At five, Bulow deployed 
 against the French right rear at Planchenoit. At six, Ea Haye 
 Sainte fell.^ Ney thought he saw the red lioe quiver. At seven, 
 Zieten came up and joined the left of Wellington. Napoleon 
 played his last remaining card — the Guard was set in motion. 
 
 Soon lost to sight amidst the clouds of smoke, the Imperial 
 Guard breasted the slope of Mont-Saint-Jean. On both sides 
 of the great high road the much tried infantry of Reille and 
 Drouet d'Erlon formed for the supreme attack. Up and down 
 the staggering columns rode Ea Bedoyere shouting, by the 
 Emperor's orders, that Grouchy had arrived at last.^ But the 
 despairing cry was heard that the Guard had given way. Above 
 the deafening roar, screaming bagpipes, beat of drums, and 
 British cheers announced that Wellington had signalled the 
 advance. From the dense smoke which hid Smohain and Pape- 
 lotte emerged no long-expected Grouchy, but a Prussian column.^ 
 " We are betrayed ! '" the fatal shout went up. The French- 
 men broke and fled a panic-stricken mob. Close on their heels, 
 breathing revenge and death, thundered the Prussian cavalry. 
 Through Genappe, with its narrow street and narrower bridge, 
 the chase swept on.* Past Quatre Bras, where the trampled 
 corn lay white with corpses stripped stark naked. The moon 
 lit up the ghostly scene. ^ Through Frasnes to Charleroi and 
 on to France the headlong flight continued. 
 
 ^ Houssaye, Waterloo, p. 381. It was at this time that Wellington is 
 supposed to have said '^^ Night or the Prussians." 
 
 2 Houssaye, Waterloo, p. 390. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 398-401. 
 *lllbid., pp. 418-442. 
 
 5 Ibid,, pp. 424, 429-432. (Tlie bodies of the men killed in the action 
 of 16th stripped by marauders and peasants.) 
 
CHAPl'ER IV 
 A SECOND CHANCE 
 
 ON Sunday, June 18th, the Parisians could read, to the boom- 
 ing of the guns at lies Invalides, the short announcement 
 in the Moniteur that on the 16th the Emperor had defeated the 
 combined Enghsh and Prussian armies in Belgium. After the 
 gloom and depression of the past weeks, that Sunday was a day 
 of much rejoicing. Wellington, it was rumoured, had been 
 taken prisoner, Bliicher had been killed, their troops were scat- 
 tered. But it was not the triumph of a united people celebrating 
 a victory won over foreign enemies. The Royalists could ill con- 
 ceal their disappointment, whilst the patriotic enthusiasm of 
 the Liberals was tempered by the fear that military success 
 would mean a return to despotism. It was ominous, moreover, 
 that the tidings of victory caused the rente to fall four francs.^ 
 Fouche is believed to have been the first person to hear of 
 the result of the Battle of Waterloo. He had made arrange- 
 ments to receive the earliest intelUgence.^ During the last few 
 days he had endured great anxiety. Since the discovery of his 
 clandestine correspondence with Metternich he felt that the 
 Emperor was only waiting his opportunity to crush him. If, 
 contrary to his provisions, he were to return victorious from 
 Belgium, his position would be critical. A disagreeable vision 
 of the moat of Vincennes and the firing party passed before his 
 eyes. But on the night of the 19th-20th he knew that he was 
 no longer in danger. Napoleon's army had ceased to exist. 
 Accordingly, he set himself to weave the web which was to 
 complete the Emperor's downfall. The whole of the 20th was 
 spent in visits and consultations with Ministers and leading 
 Deputies. To all of them he expressed his convictions that 
 Napoleon's abdication was the only possible solution of the 
 present difficulties. But he ascribed his conclusion to different 
 reasons. When speaking to Bonapartists, he insisted that a 
 voluntary abdication could alone save the country from in- 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 5-7. 
 
 2 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 384-392. 
 Pasquier, III. p. 195. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 10-12. 
 
 100 
 
1815J A SECOND CHANCE,,. , , , , 101 
 
 vasion and dismemberment, perfidioti.si^y 'm&uatiilg' tfrat m 
 such a contingency the Austrians would not object to the pro- 
 clamation of the Ejng of Rome as Napoleon II. In conversa- 
 tion, however, with Liberals of the t3rpe of La Fayette he ad- 
 duced arguments of another kind. In the desperate state of 
 his fortunes Napoleon, undoubtedly, would attempt to assume 
 a dictatorship. The Chambers therefore must be firm, and 
 prompt steps should be taken to guard against a dissolution by 
 force. Napoleon ought to be given the choice between abdica- 
 tion and deposition. 
 
 About noon, on June 20th, Lucien Bonaparte^ received two 
 communications which Napoleon had despatched from PhUippe- 
 ville the day before. In one, intended for his brother's eyes 
 alone, he made no attempt to disguise the awful character of 
 the catastrophe, and announced his immediate return to Paris. 
 The next morning, at about eight o'clock, he arrived at the 
 Elysee. Lavalette has described his exhaustion and the " epi- 
 leptic laugh " with which he greeted him. He received Davout, 
 the Minister of War, lying at full length in his bath. At the 
 sight of him he raised his arms and, allowing them to fall with 
 a splash, sprinkled the Marshal's uniform with water. Fouche 
 was soon afterwards admitted. It was his policy to lure Napo- 
 leon to a sense of false security, in order that the Chambers 
 should meet undisturbed. He had excellent reasons for sup- 
 posing that any resolutions which the Peers or the Deputies 
 might come to would be unfavourable to the Emperor. His 
 only fear was that he might forestall them by some prompt 
 and vigorous measure. Fouche, accordingly, professed to take 
 a hopeful view of the outlook and depicted the condition of the 
 public mind and the situation, generally, in a favourable light. ^ 
 But whilst at the Elysee the hours went by in councils and 
 deliberations ; the Chambers met and came to an important 
 decision. On the motion of Ea Fayette the Assembly was de- 
 clared to be in permanent session. Anyone attempting to dis- 
 solve it would be guilty of High Treason.^ The Ministers of 
 War, Foreign Affairs, Police, and the Interior were commanded 
 to attend to make their reports, and, as a measure of precaution, 
 it was decreed that the National Guards were to be called out 
 and posted to protect the approaches to the Chamber. The Peers, 
 also, lost no time in passing resolutions of the same character. 
 
 1 Houssaye^ 1815, III, pp. 7-8. 
 ^ Lavalette, Memoires, II. p. 190. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, II. p. 67. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 13-15. 
 ^ Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 173-181. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 23-29. 
 
102 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1815 
 
 As soon as it was knowm that the Emperor had returned a 
 crowd collected round the Ely see. Napoleon would often leave 
 the Council chamber to walk in the garden and to consult with 
 Lucien. From the Avenue Marigny he could easily be seen over 
 the low wall which then existed. His appearance was invariably 
 greeted with loud cheers. Lucien, encouraged by the demeanour 
 of the people, besought his brother to take advantage of it 
 while there was yet time. He begged him to collect all the 
 regular troops still in Paris, and to march boldly on the Chamber. 
 Napoleon shook his head. He felt that it was no occasion on 
 which to attempt a second 18th Brumaire. But, before coming to 
 a final decision, he resolved to send liis brother to the Assembly 
 to make a last appeal to the loyalty of the Deputies.^ After 
 Lucien had departed to carry out his uncongenial task, Benjamin 
 Constant arrived. As they paced together talking under the 
 trees in the garden their conversation was interrupted by the 
 fierce howls of the mob clamouring for arms. Constant, who 
 knew too well the terrible nature of the weapon which the 
 fallen man had in his power to use, was alarmed. But Napoleon 
 soon set his fears at rest. " Listen to them,'* he said. " If I 
 chose, in an hour's time the Chambers would be no more.^ Do 
 not be afraid, however. I did not return from Elba to make 
 the streets of Paris run with blood." 
 
 In the Chamber Lucien was listened to without interruption 
 whilst he implored the Deputies not to desert the Emperor. 
 But when he said imprudently that, were they to abandon him, 
 the world at large would judge their imgrateful conduct un- 
 favourably, La Fayette sprang to his feet. " That is not true,'* 
 he exclaimed. " We have followed Napoleon to the sands of 
 Egypt, to the steppes of Russia, on to fifty battlefields, and that 
 is why we now have to mourn the loss of three million French- 
 men." The following morning the alternative was placed be- 
 fore Napoleon of either abdicating voluntarily or of submitting 
 to deposition. With the exception of Lucien, who still coun- 
 selled the dissolution of the Chambers by force, and the drawing 
 up of a stirring proclamation, everybody about him believed 
 resistance to be hopeless. Accordingly, about noon, on June 
 22nd, Napoleon signed the Act by which, for the second time, 
 he resigned his crown and abdicated in favour of his son, whom 
 he now designated as Napoleon 11.^ 
 
 1 Chateaubriand;, Memoires, VII. p. 2 
 Houssaye, 1815, pp. 16-22. 
 
 2 B. Constant, Memoires sur les cent jours, II. pp. 139-140. 
 
 3 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 62. 
 Villemain, Soui'ienirs, II. pp. 294-295. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 49-63. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 103 
 
 The moment Napoleon's signature had been obtained to this 
 document, Fouche hurried off with it in triumph to the Chamber, 
 where it was read aloud. He then moved that a commission 
 should be appointed with full powers to treat for peace with 
 the Allied Sovereigns.^ He proposed that it should consist of 
 five members to be selected by vote, two from the Upper and 
 three from the Eower Chamber. The motion having been 
 adopted, he proceeded to canvass the Deputies both in person 
 and by means of his creatures Jay and Manuel. He had in- 
 tended from the first to play the leading part on the com- 
 mission. By artfully suggesting that their talents might be 
 employed more usefully in other directions, he contrived to 
 spoil the chances of several dangerous competitors. At the 
 same time he insinuated to the various groups that their different 
 aims and interests would be safe in his keeping. Nevertheless, 
 skilfully as he had prepared the ground, he was disappointed. 
 He was chosen to act on the commission, it is true, but he 
 obtained less votes than Carnot. The third Deputy elected, 
 however, General Grenier, was an obscure person from whose 
 interference he had nothing to fear ; whilst the selection of 
 Caulaincourt and Quinette by the Peers was not displeasing to 
 him. Carnot, inasmuch as he had received the largest number 
 of votes, considered himself naturally designated for the post 
 of President. But he was speedily undeceived when the mem- 
 bers of the commission assembled the next morning at the 
 Tuileries.2 Fouche said at once that before proceeding to busi- 
 ness they must choose a President, and, bowing politely to 
 Carnot, intimated that he was his selection. Carnot, thinking 
 that he must return the compHment, told Fouche that he gave 
 him his vote. Whereupon the other three followed his example 
 and announced that Fouche was their choice also. Perhaps 
 before this they had been approached with this end in view. 
 In any case, Fouche had gained his object and, accordingly, 
 promptly took possession of the presidential chair. 
 
 From the first days of Louis XVIII's residence at Ghent all 
 the etiquette and ceremonial of Court life had been scrupulously 
 maintained. Every morning Ministers would meet the King in 
 solemn conclave round the council table. In the afternoon 
 Louis, accompanied by M. de Blacas, would take his usual drive 
 in his carriage and six horses. He appeared to be, indeed, not a 
 King in exile, but a reigning Monarch on a summer visit to the 
 
 1 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 398-401. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 63-69. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 82, 83. 
 
 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 402-405. 
 
104 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 country. 1 Chateaubriand, who, in the absence of the Abbe de 
 Montesquiou in England, had been provisionally appointed 
 Minister of the Interior, has described his empty duties and the 
 jealousies of the different parties. ^ The extreme Royalists, the 
 intimates of the Pavilion de Marsan, gathered round Monsieur 
 and indulged in the same intrigues and persisted in the same 
 quarrels as in Paris. ^ They now could cast in the teeth of the 
 Constitutionalists, with some show of reason, the reproach that 
 their present troubles had been brought about by their absurd 
 concessions to the demands of the Liberals. No blame, in any 
 case, on this occasion could attach to their party, inasmuch as 
 it had been rigorously excluded from participating in the govern- 
 ment. They had little doubt, however, that before long they 
 would all of them be back again in Paris, by which time they 
 could only hope that the King would have learnt wisdom from 
 his disagreeable experience. 
 
 Ghent was on WelHngton's lines of communication, and all 
 through the months of April and May was alive with the march 
 of troops. It is impossible to read without a smile the story of 
 the fallen King and his mock Court under these humiliating 
 conditions.* But the imperturbable confidence in the ultimate 
 triumph of his cause, which had stood Louis in good stead 
 during the long years of the old emigration, did not desert him 
 now.^ Moreover, there was something about him which, despite 
 his perpetual gout, unwieldy figure, and ignominious flight from 
 his kingdom, commanded respect and preserved him from 
 ridicule. Chateaubriand, who had certainly no liking for Louis 
 XVIII personally, describes him as the " embodiment of Legiti- 
 mate Sovereignty." At the Tuileries he had contrived to in- 
 spire the Marshals with feelings of greater awe than ever they 
 had experienced in the presence of the Emperor.^ Occasionally, 
 at Ghent, whilst out driving he would meet Wellington, and 
 would return his salute with a gracious bow and with a pro- 
 tecting wave of his hand. 
 
 The ambassadors of the Powers accredited to the Tuileries 
 
 had followed Louis to Ghent in their official capacities. This 
 
 was a state of affairs of excellent augury, and one which gave 
 
 him a recognized position which he had never enjoyed during 
 
 ^ Villemain, Souvenirs, 11. pp. 167-169. 
 
 2 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. pp. 392-894. 
 Chateaubriand a Talleyrand, 28 Avril^ 1815. 
 
 3 Guizot, Memoir es, I. p. 83. 
 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. pp. 409-410, 427-428. 
 
 Beugnot, Memoires, II. p. 237. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, pp. 415-416. 
 '' Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 85. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, VI. pp. 416-420. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 105 
 
 the emigration. But the Allies refused to entertain his sugges- 
 tion of employing a French contingent in the coming operations. 
 According to Mr. Creevey, Wellington himself scouted the 
 notion in very uncomplimentary language when, on the look- 
 out for news, he questioned him about it at Brussels. Nor was 
 Louis* request acceded to that French Commissioners should be 
 attached to the Allied Armies.^ Consequently, Wellington's 
 brilliant Staff, which trotted past Gronow on the morning of 
 Waterloo, " gay and unconcerned as though riding to meet the 
 hounds in a quiet English county," numbered among its mem- 
 bers neither Marshal Marmont nor any of the French officers 
 whom Louis had proposed should form part of it.^ Undoubtedly 
 it was well for him that the Allies adopted this course. As 
 Talleyrand^ wrote, nothing could render him more odious to 
 the mass of his subjects than the idea that the war was being 
 undertaken in his interests and on his behalf. 
 
 On the evening of June 15th the news that Bonaparte had 
 crossed the Sambre and that fighting had already taken place 
 burst upon the little Court like a bombshell. Louis was urged 
 to fly to Antwerp. There was, indeed, some reason for alarm. 
 The Due de Berri, with about 800 men, was at Alost, between 
 Brussels and Ghent, but otherwise the town was unprotected 
 and at the mercy of a cavalry raid. In the midst of the general 
 panic and the excitement among his followers Louis maintained 
 a serene composure. During the past year he had seen much 
 of Wellington, and had formed a high opinion both of his cha- 
 racter and of his abilities.* The Duke had promised that, come 
 what might, he would not leave him without news, and Louis 
 had implicit faith in his word. All through the 16th and the 
 17th, when reports of Bonaparte's success and of his rapid 
 advance were pouring in, he alone remained perfectly calm.^ 
 Chateaubriand relates how Sunday, June 18th, was spent at 
 Ghent.^ Whilst on a solitary walk the south wind carried to 
 his ears a distant rumbling noise. Afraid of being overtaken 
 
 ^ Creevey Papers^ I. p. 228. 
 Despatches, XII., Wellington a Due de Feltre, 14 Juin, 1815. 
 
 2 Gronow's Reminiscences, published by Nimmo, I. p. 186. 
 
 3 Talleyrand a Louis XVIII., 17 Mai, 1815. 
 
 Talleyrand a Bourrienne, Bourrienne Memoires, X. pp. 340-341. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, I. pp. 480, 481. 
 
 Metternich a Talleyrand, 22 Juin, 1815. 
 
 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Metternich, 14 June, 1815. 
 * Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 8-9. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. 130-132. 
 ^ Despatches, XII., Wellington a Due de Feltre, 15 Juin, 1815. 
 
 Wellington to Due de Berri, 18 Juin, 1815. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 10-19. 
 
106 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1815 
 
 by an approaching shower, he mechanically turned to retrace 
 his steps. Then suddenly he stopped as the truth dawned upon 
 him. It was no fast nearing thunderstorm, the sound of which 
 had broken in upon his anxious thoughts, but the roar of a great 
 battle. He describes eloquently his conflicting feelings as he 
 leaned against a tree, in the peaceful country road, listening to 
 the guns of Waterloo. When he returned to Ghent, everybody 
 was in a state of panic. Monsieur had galloped in from Brussels 
 with the news of the complete defeat of the English army. 
 This proved too much for Louis' composure. Under the in- 
 fluence of his intense emotion he forgot even his infirmities, 
 and contrived to walk alone to the window to listen breath- 
 lessly. The anxious hours went by, night came down, but no 
 one about the King thought of either rest or sleep. At last, 
 after midnight, a message from Wellington arrived. It was 
 short and to the point : the French army was destroyed. 
 Louis XVIII could go to bed. 
 
 During the morning of the 19th further despatches and de- 
 tails of the great battle came to hand. After the poignant 
 emotions of the past few days the exultation of the Royalists 
 knew no bounds.^ That there was something unbecoming in 
 their loud expressions of delight appears to have struck Louis. 
 Turning to Marshal Victor, Due de Bellune, at dinner, on the 
 day which followed Waterloo, he told him that he had never 
 drunk to the success of the Allies before his restoration because 
 he had been unaware of the nature of their intentions. ^ " Now, 
 however, that they are our Allies and that they are fighting 
 Bonapartism, not the French people, we may drink to their 
 success without ceasing to be Frenchmen." It would be in- 
 teresting, nevertheless, to know the thoughts of Victor, a Mar- 
 shal of the Empire, on this occasion. Though Louis had spoken 
 with this assurance of " his Allies," a letter which Clarke, Due 
 de Feltre, his Minister of War, received from Wellington, on 
 June 21st, came as a great relief. The Duke, who wrote from 
 Nivelles, suggested that His Majesty should draw nearer to the 
 French frontier. No time was lost in acting upon the hint, and 
 on June 22nd the King proceeded to Mons.^ The direct road 
 runs to the west of the battlefield ; thus Louis, as he set his 
 face once more towards France, was not obliged to drive through 
 " the pool of blood at Waterloo."* 
 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. p. 19, says first news came from Pozzo 
 di Borgo at 1 a.m. on June 19. 
 * Houssaye, 1815, III. p. 133. 
 ^ Despatches, XII., Wellington to Due de Feltre, 20 Juin, 1815. 
 
 Wellington to Due de Berri, 20 Juin, 1815. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. p. 37. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 107 
 
 The Royal stay at Mons was marked by an event of some 
 importance. Here Louis was at last induced to part with M. de 
 Blacas. All parties were agreed upon the necessity of the mea- 
 sure. Monsieur and his friends demanded it ; Wellington, 
 Pozzo, and Talleyrand recommended it ; Guizot and the con- 
 stitutional Royalists considered it an essential preliminary to 
 the King's Restoration. ^ Blacas himself realized that, for a 
 time at least, he must separate from his Royal master, and, by 
 tendering his own resignation as Minister of the Household, 
 spared Louis the painful necessity of asking for it. 
 
 After a stay of two days at Mons a second communication 
 was received from Wellington, whose headquarters had, in the 
 meantime, marched to Gateau -Cambresis. The Duke proposed 
 that Louis should join him, " His Majesty's presence on French 
 territory being desirable." The King consented gladly, and 
 forthwith gave orders for departure at an early hour the next 
 morning. 2 On the afternoon of June 24th, the day on which 
 Wellington's welcome despatch had been received, M. de Talley- 
 rand arrived at Mons. Ever since the Congress of Vienna had 
 broken up he had taken matters very leisurely, under the 
 erroneous impression that nothing of any importance would be 
 likely to happen before the end of June. Consequently, he only 
 reached Brussels after the battle of Waterloo, where he learnt, 
 greatly to his displeasure, that Louis had quitted Ghent without 
 consulting him, and was preparing to re-enter France under the 
 auspices of the Duke of Wellington. To mark his disapproval, 
 on arriving at Mons he took no steps to obtain an audience of 
 the King. 3 But, being informed during the night that the Royal 
 escort was assembling under the Due de Berri, he presented 
 himself as Louis was about to enter his carriage. At the inter- 
 view which was granted him he did all in his power to persuade 
 the King to postpone his departure. To return to his kingdom 
 in the rear of the English army must create, he told His Majesty, 
 a very bad effect. He would prefer to see him make his way 
 through Switzerland to the Royalist provinces of the south and 
 establish himself at Lyons. Had the eastern frontiers not been 
 in possession of foreign troops, Talleyrand's reasons for tender- 
 ing this advice would be easy to understand. But, under the 
 
 * Bourrienne, Memoires, X. pp. 356-360. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 86. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. p. 40. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, X., Sir C. Stuart to Castlereagh, 22 June, 
 1815. 
 
 Despatclies, XIL, Wellington to Blacas, 28 June, 1815. 
 
 ^ Wellington! s Despatches, edited by Our wood, XIL, Wellington to Due 
 de Feltre, Le Cateau, 22 Juin, 1815. 
 
 3 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 136-137. 
 
108 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1815 
 
 circumstances, as they existed, it is difficult to see what advan- 
 tage Louis could have gained by making a circuitous and, per- 
 haps, dangerous journey in order to enter France behind the 
 Austrian rather than with the English army of invasion. Un- 
 doubtedly Talleyrand must have had reasons for wishing 
 to [delay matters. Possibly he may have wished to obtain 
 promises as to the future conduct of the Government before 
 the King set foot on French soil ; perhaps he may have had 
 some secret understanding with Mettemich.^ But, by what- 
 ever motives he may have been actuated, his attempts to frus- 
 trate Louis' immediate return to France proved wholly ineffec- 
 tual. Finding that all his remonstrances were made in vain, he 
 took a bold step and intimated that, if His Majesty should 
 persist in his intention, he would be compelled to give up the 
 direction of his affairs, ^ and would respectfully ask to be allowed 
 to visit Carlsbad. " By all means,'* said Louis. " I believe the 
 waters are excellent ; they will do you good, and we shall hope 
 to hear news of you before long.*' With these words he signified 
 that the audience was at an end, and, being assisted into his 
 carriage, drove away, leaving Talleyrand speechless with as- 
 tonishment and indignation.^ 
 
 Monsieur and his friends were delighted. Not only had they 
 succeeded in separating the Kiug from Blacas, his favourite, 
 but now the hostile influence of Tallej^and, his constitutional 
 adviser, was removed as well. The future seemed to be in their 
 hands. Their triumph, however, was to be short lived.^ Directly 
 Louis arrived at Cateau-Cambresis the Duke of Wellington 
 waited upon him. He had heard of the quarrel with Talley- 
 rand, and made haste to inform His Majesty that he regretted 
 it very much. He had Uttle difficulty in bringing Louis to see 
 that, in the present state of his affairs, it would be unwise to 
 dispense with the services of so astute a person. A circular 
 was sent, accordingly, to all the Ministers, Talleyrand included, 
 who had remained behind at Mons, inviting them to meet His 
 Majesty at Cambrai, whither he proposed proceeding.^ Welling- 
 
 1 Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 265^ 266. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 44-45. 
 
 2 Cf. Supplementary Despatches, X., Metternich to Wellington, 24 Juin, 
 1815. 
 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 46-48. 
 ^ Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 90-93. 
 
 ^ Despatches, XII., Wellington to Talleyrand, 24 June, 1815. 
 Supplementary Despatches, X., Pozzo to Wellington (Cateau), 26 Juin, 
 1815. 
 
 Talleyrand to Wellington (Mons), 25 Juin, 1815. Supplementary 
 Despatches, X. 
 
 Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 268-270. 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 26 Juin, 1815. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 109 
 
 ton, at the same time, wrote to Talleyrand, pointing out that it 
 was on his advice that the King had decided to re-enter France, 
 and he gracefully added that he flattered himself that, had M. de 
 Talleyrand known the precise state of affairs, he would have 
 recommended him to adopt the same course. Under these cir- 
 cumstances he ventured to hope that he would lose no time in 
 rejoining His Majesty. Talleyrand was only too delighted to 
 comply. Ever since his interview with the King he had been 
 reproaching himself for his hasty conduct, which he felt to have 
 been unworthy of a diplomatist of his experience. 
 
 Wellington and most of the other statesmen of the coalition 
 looked upon the " pure " RoyaUsts, who surrounded Monsieur, 
 as men who were much more capable of ruining a kingdom than 
 of governing it. The proclamation to which the King affixed 
 his signature at Cateau-Cambresis, and which had, doubtless, 
 been drawn up by Dambray at their instigation, furnished a 
 case in point. In this document, which was to herald his return 
 to power, Louis was made to announce to his subjects merely 
 that he hoped to repair the ills which the war had brought 
 about, to reward the deserving, and to set the laws in motion 
 against those who had transgressed.^ 
 
 On June 26th the King entered Cambrai, which was in pos- 
 session of the English, and received an enthusiastic welcome 
 from the inhabitants. ^ The next day he held a Council which 
 was attended by Ministers and the Royal Princes. Talleyrand, 
 who strongly disapproved of the proclamation of Cateau- 
 Cambresis, presented for the King's approval the draft of a 
 second one. In his opinion His Majesty must consent to own 
 that mistakes had been committed. It was desirable, moreover, 
 that something should be said to reassure holders of national 
 property. The reading of Talleyrand's proposed proclamation 
 gave rise to a stormy scene. Monsieur wished to know whether 
 some of the remarks which it contained did not refer to him ? 
 Talleyrand admitted that they did. " Truth compelled him to 
 say that Monsieur had done a great deal of harm.*' The Due 
 de Berri, thereupon, sprang to his feet and exclaimed passion- 
 ately that, were it not for His Majesty's presence, he would 
 never allow such words to be addressed to his father. Eouis, 
 however, put an end to the altercation by deciding that the 
 proclamation should be published in substance, but that some 
 of the more objectionable sentences should be amended. ^ 
 
 On the following day, June 28th, Talleyrand, without much 
 
 ^ Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 81. 
 
 2 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 52-63. 
 
 3 Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 274-276. 
 
no THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 difficulty, obtained Eouis* signature to what has since been 
 known as the proclamation of Cambrai.^ It was a document of 
 some length framed on the general lines which he had proposed. 
 The most important portion of it, however, was the part which 
 announced the policy which was to be pursued towards the 
 persons who had taken office, or who had been concerned in the 
 Government of the Hundred Days. On this subject the King 
 declared as follows : "I promise, I who have never promised in 
 vain, to forgive those misguided Frenchmen all they have done 
 since I left Lille, on March 23rd, in the midst of so many tears, 
 imtil I returned to Cambrai, amidst so much rejoicing. But 
 the blood of my subjects has been shed owing to a treason with- 
 out parallel in the world's history. I must therefore except 
 from my forgiveness the instigators and promoters of that 
 horrible affair. The Chambers, which I propose to convene at 
 once, shall hand over those persons to the vengeance of the 
 laws.'* The area of proscription was thus sensibly narrowed, 
 whilst to throw upon the Chambers the unpleasant duty of 
 selecting the culprits who were to be brought to justice was a 
 statesmanlike conception. It was to prove a misfortune for 
 the Monarchy that it was to be found impossible to adhere to 
 this wise decision. 
 
 On deciding to quit the army and to return to Paris to see 
 what could be done. Napoleon had ordered Soult to direct the 
 retreat on Laon and to establish, if possible, communications 
 with Grouchy. On the morning of June 22nd, before he had 
 signed his abdication, news was received from the Chief of the 
 Staff and from Jerome Bonaparte. Grouchy was reported to 
 have effected his retreat to Givet, and hopes were entertained 
 that within a few hours 50,000 men would be collected at Laon.^ 
 Napoleon instructed Davout to communicate this pleasing in- 
 telligence to the Deputies, and Carnot was entrusted with a 
 message of the same nature to the Peers. After announcing 
 the Emperor's abdication to the members of the Upper Chamber, 
 Carnot, accordingly, proceeded to read out the reports from 
 Soult and the other officers which had been received during the 
 morning. He had nearly concluded when he was suddenly cut 
 short by a loud and angry exclamation of " That is not true ! " 
 The interruption came from a powerfully built man of medium 
 height, with short reddish whiskers and a prominent chin. The 
 new speaker continued in a voice hoarse with passion : " You 
 are being deceived. I was there, I commanded under the 
 Emperor. Things went all right at first. Milhaud's charges 
 
 ^ Houssaye, 1815, pp. 146-147. 
 2 lUd., pp. 52-53. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE HI 
 
 were splendid. But the fire of the English was awful. Then 
 the Guard fell into confusion. I did all I could. Perhaps 
 something might have been saved had not some battalions been 
 held in reserve and had Grouchy come up. I don't blame 
 Grouchy. As darkness set in it became a rout. I know what I 
 am talking about. I have seen disasters. I commanded the 
 rear-guard in Russia. We are just as scattered now as we were 
 then. It is childish to talk of fifty thousand men ; ten or 
 fifteen would be nearer the mark. There is nothing for it but 
 to come to terms with the enemy." Marshal Ney's outburst 
 was Hstened to in dead silence. Carnot, after muttering a few 
 words, gave up all idea of combating its effect and resumed his 
 place. It is difficult to account for Ney's extraordinary be- 
 haviour. ^ Perhaps the only explanation of it Ues in the fact 
 that, on reaching Paris that morning, he had paid Fouche a 
 visit and was already supplied with two passports, one made out 
 in his own name and the other in that of " Theodore Neubourg, 
 merchant." 
 
 Napoleon had abdicated, but in favour of his son. In both 
 Chambers, however, this condition was treated as though it had 
 never been made. A motion of Eucien Bonaparte to proclaim 
 Napoleon II gave rise to another scene. In a speech delivered 
 with undue violence, but which was not without abihty, La 
 Bedoyere sought to convince his brother Peers that to accept 
 the Emperor's voluntary abdication and to ignore his stipulation 
 on the subject of his son was unworthy of them and, moreover, 
 rendered the Act null and void. His impassioned words made 
 no impression on a cold and wholly unsympathetic audience. 
 " It seems that only traitors are to be listened to in this place," 
 roared La Bedoyere. " You are not in the Guard room," an- 
 swered Lameth. " Young man, you forget yourself," said 
 Massena. The closure and the adjournment of Lucien's motion 
 was carried shortly afterwards by a large majority. ^ 
 
 Fouche was for all practical purposes the ruler of Paris. 
 The commission, the Presidency of which he had succeeded in 
 obtaining, became, as he had always intended that it should, 
 the Provisional Government, despite some opposition on the 
 part of Carnot. 3 The night before (June 22nd) he had released 
 VitroUes* from prison, and had sent him word by his wife that 
 he wished to see him at seven the next morning. When in due 
 
 * Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 309-311. 
 
 H. Welschinger, Le Marechal Ney, 1815, p. 72, 
 
 2 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 337-339. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 75-78. 
 
 3 Madelin, Fouche, II. p. 405. 
 
 * VitroUes, Memoires, III. pp. 40, 43-45. 
 
112 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 course the Royalist agent appeared, Fouch6 told Mm to start 
 at once for Ghent, where he was to tell the King that he was 
 working in his interests, but he added : " We shall probably 
 have to go through Napoleon II, then the Due d'Orleans ; in 
 the end, however, we shall come to him." Vitrolles demurred 
 to this, but Fouche assured him that, for the present, it was 
 out of the question to think of recalling Eouis XVIII. Finally, 
 it was decided that Vitrolles himself should remain in Paris 
 and put himself into communication with the King by means 
 of emissaries of his selection.^ 
 
 One of Fouche's first acts was to despatch a commission to 
 meet the Allied Sovereigns on the eastern frontier, to treat for 
 peace on the basis of the territorial integrity of France and the 
 recognition of Napoleon II. He selected La Fayette, Ponte- 
 coulant, Sebastiani, d'Argenson, Ea Forest, and Benjamin Con- 
 stant for the purpose. He knew very well that their mission 
 must prove fruitless, but it suited him to send away from Paris 
 six men who might interfere with his designs. ^ In the course 
 of his secret dealings with the Ministers of the coalition he had 
 realized that they looked upon the restoration of Eouis XVIII 
 as the best solution of the question of the future government of 
 France. Personally, he had strong leanings in favour of the 
 Due d' Orleans. 3 As a regicide, he must necessarily be in a 
 safer position under a son of Egalite than under a brother of 
 Louis XVI. But before this Talleyrand had warned him that 
 he was on a wrong track. Legitimate Sovereignty had been the 
 watchword of the Congress. It was very unhkely, therefore, 
 that the Powers, which had taken part in it, would sanction a 
 usurpation even in favour of so eminently a respectable person 
 as the Due d'Orleans. Nevertheless, it was a consummation 
 which would have been very gratifying to the majority of the 
 senior officers of the army and to the Liberal party generally. 
 All men, moreover, who had accepted employment under Bona- 
 parte, or who had any fears that their conduct, during the past 
 three months might be called into question, would have been 
 immensely reUeved to see the Duke assume the crown. Fouche, 
 accordingly, determined to sound Wellington on the subject.* 
 
 Napoleon was still at the Elysee, very indignant that his son 
 had not been proclaimed Emperor. As Fouch^ had no desire 
 to drive him or the military and Bonapartist party too hard, 
 he decided that it would be advisable to appear to comply with 
 
 1 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 50. 
 
 2 Madelin, Fouche, II. p. 411. 
 
 3 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 50. 
 
 * Y\\\QmB.m.^^Souvenirs, II. p. 449. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 113 
 
 his wishes. He entrusted, as usual, the management of this 
 delicate business to Manuel, whose skill on this occasion fully 
 justified Fouche's high opinion of him.^ At the sitting of June 
 23rd the Chamber passed a resolution, " that Napoleon II had 
 become Emperor by reason of the abdication of Napoleon I, and 
 in accordance with the Constitution, but that, for the present, 
 the affairs of the nation were to be entrusted to the commission, 
 nominated yesterday, which consisted of men in whom the 
 country might have confidence." 
 
 After the carrying through of this empty form, which doubt- 
 less did not impose on the fallen Emperor, but saved his dignity, 
 Fouche considered that the time had come when he should leave 
 Paris. The shouting of the crowd which daily collected round 
 the Elysee was a nuisance and might become a source of danger. 
 He had tried the effect of distributing money in order to put 
 an end to these demonstrations. The people, however, took 
 what was offered them and continued to shout all the same.^ 
 On June 24th, accordingly, he inspired a motion in the Chamber 
 that " Napoleon be invited to leave Paris, where his presence 
 constitutes a public danger.'* Davout was instructed to com- 
 municate this resolution to him. Fouche, at the same time, 
 caused the guard at the Elysee to be doubled, and sent him warn- 
 ing that his life had been threatened. Probably there were no 
 serious grounds for alarm, but Fouche was aware that he had 
 a great dread of assassination. He gained his point. On June 
 25th Napoleon left Paris quietly and proceeded to the Mal- 
 maison.^ 
 
 The day before Fouche had sent to Wellington his trusted 
 Gaillard, who was also the bearer of a letter from VitroUes to 
 Monsieur.* He was to try to obtain the Duke's opinion on the 
 question of the Due d'Orleans. On this point Wellington was 
 not encouraging. To all representations of this kind, whether 
 made by secret agents or by official negotiators, he always re- 
 turned the reply that he had no authority to speak on the 
 subject, but, that so far as his opinion was worth anything, the 
 enthronement of the Due d' Orleans would not inspire the same 
 confidence as would the recall of Eouis XVIII. But apart this 
 question, it was on Wellington's moderation and statesmanlike 
 qualities that Fouch6 rightly based all liis hopes of bringing 
 hostilities to a close and of saving Paris. ^ On June 27th he 
 nominated and despatched a commission to his headquarters 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 88 94. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 100-102. 
 
 ^ Pasquier, III. p. 265. 
 
 4 Houssaye, 1816, III. pp. 171-172. 
 
 ^ Pozzo a Nesselrode, 1 Juillet, 1815. 
 
 I 
 
114 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1815 
 
 to ask for an armistice.^ Whereas the Constants, the Ea Fay- 
 ettes and their friends, who composed the deputation which he 
 had sent to the eastern frontier, were persons whose names were 
 odious to the Sovereigns and Ministers of the coahtion, the 
 members of this second commission were men of a different 
 stamp. La Besnadiere, for one, was an avowed RoyaHst, who 
 had accompanied Talleyrand to Vienna. ^ But, in addition to 
 these official negotiators, Fouche employed several secret agents. 
 Besides Gaillard there was Marshall,^ an English subject, who 
 resided in Paris and who appears to have been connected with 
 the police, and his friend, Macirone, an Italian who called him- 
 self an Englishman and who had been in the service of Murat.* 
 He also made use of General Tromelin, fresh from Waterloo, a 
 Breton Royalist, who had escaped from the Temple with Sir 
 Sidney Smith, and to whom, at a later date, Napoleon had 
 offered the choice of entering his army or of being shot.^ The 
 communications which these different people carried were all 
 very much of the same character. Appeals for a cessation of 
 hostilities, anxiety to see Wellington's army approach as soon 
 as possible, assurances that Napoleon II had only been pro- 
 claimed in order to satisfy the military party, and on July 3rd 
 the confident assertion that, once the army was separated from 
 the Chamber, that body would recall Louis XVIII without loss 
 of time. It is not very clear what Fouche's real intentions were 
 with regard to Napoleon, had the Allies demanded that he should 
 be given up.^ There is, however, a letter from Marshall to the 
 Duke, under the date of June 28th, in which he says very dis- 
 tinctly that the Due d'Otrante would be prepared to hand him 
 over."' This was probably the last thing which Wellington 
 wanted.® On this same date the French Commissioners had 
 asked for a passport to America for Napoleon, and he had told 
 them that he had no authority to grant anything of the kind. 
 But, " as a private friend,** he had already advised Bliicher, 
 
 ^ Supplementary Despatches, X., Due d'Otrante a Wellington^ 27 Juin, 
 1815. 
 
 2 Pasquier, III. pp. 263, 279. 
 
 3 Mme. de Boigne, Memoires, II. pp. 34-35, 124-127. 
 
 4 Houssaye, 1815, III. p. 185. 
 
 ^ On the subject of his curious adventures see Lenotre, Vieiia^ Papiers, 
 Vieilles Maisons, 2me series. '^ John." 
 
 ^ Supplenwntary Despatches, X., F. Marshall to Wellington, 28 June, 
 1815, 11 p.m. 
 
 F. Marshall to Wellington, 28 June, 1815, 11.30 p.m. 
 Macirone to Wellington, 3 July, 1815. 
 Due d'Otrante a Wellington, 1 Juillet, 1816. 
 ^ Supplementary Despatches, X., Marshall to Wellington, 28 June, 1815. 
 ^ Despatches, XII. (edited by Gurwood), ^Vellington to Sir C. Stuart, 
 28 June, 1815. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 115 
 
 who was anxious to shoot him, " to have nothing to do with 
 so foul a transaction. So far as he was concerned, the Sove- 
 reigns, if they wished to put him to death, could appoint some 
 other executioner/* 
 
 In the meantime Fouche had found an unexpected ally in 
 Marshal Davout. He had been unemployed during the first 
 Restoration, and had little to expect, seemingly, from the Bour- 
 bons. Nevertheless, as he informed Fouche on the 26th, and 
 as he wrote to him on the 27th, he placed his personal feelings 
 on one side and opined strongly that the recall of Eouis XVIII 
 was the only course which could arrest the onward march of the 
 enemy. This admission on the part of the Minister of War, 
 that further resistance was hopeless, greatly strengthened 
 Fouche's hand, but he had no intention of allowing matters to 
 proceed too quickly. He told the Marshal, accordingly, that it 
 was inadvisable to allow Eouis to enter the capital before some 
 understanding in regard to the future had been arranged.^ In 
 point of fact, on his own account Davout had already secretly 
 sent Archambaud de Perigord, Talleyrand's brother, to Cam- 
 brai to treat with liouis XVIII on those lines. ^ 
 
 Pasquier,^ who was in daily relations with VitroUes, Hyde de 
 Neuville, and other Royalist agents, considers that Fouche, 
 without danger, might have recalled Eouis XVIII at this junc- 
 ture. Be this as it may, matters suddenly became disagreeably 
 complicated. The Chamber, in fond recollection, doubtless, of 
 revolutionary days, decided to send to the army a deputation 
 of its members girt with their tricolour scarves. Davout had 
 temporarily resigned his duties as War Minister and had as- 
 sumed the active command of the troops. When the Deputies 
 arrived at his headquarters at Ea Villette he was engaged with 
 VitroUes. Either because he was ashamed to hide him, or be- 
 cause he thought the moment a favourable one for acquainting 
 the representatives of the people with the policy which he had 
 adopted, he introduced him to them as " the Baron de VitroUes, 
 a gentleman who may be able to facilitate our negotiations with 
 the Allies.'* The mention of the notorious Royalist's name pro- 
 voked a storm of indignation, under cover of which VitroUes 
 prudently made his escape. After his departure Davout soon 
 succeeded in pacifying his visitors, and invited them to visit the 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 180-182. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, X., Marshal Davout to Fouche, 27 Juin, 
 1816. 
 
 Fouche a Marshal Davout, 27 Juin, 1815. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, III. p. 231. 
 
 3 Pasquier, III. pp. 264, 265, 266. 
 VitroUes, Memoires, III. p. 64. 
 
116 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 encampments and bivouacs. The Deputies returned to Paris 
 much impressed by the firm attitude of the troops, who had 
 cheered " Napoleon II " and shouted " No Bourbons ! "^ 
 
 The members of the deputation do not appear to have made 
 any complaint of Davout, but to have depicted the enthusiasm 
 of the army in glowing colours. Rumours, however, of VitroUes* 
 presence at headquarters were soon in circulation. Some of 
 the generals began to talk of surrounding the Tuileries and of 
 shooting Fouche in the courtyard. Though no violent measures 
 of this description were attempted, an address, signed by sixteen 
 general officers and Davout himself, was presented to the 
 Chamber. It was a protest against any notion of recalling the 
 Bourbons, " who had treated the army badly and who were 
 odious to the majority of the people."' The Chamber accepted 
 it, and ordered twenty thousand copies to be printed and circu- 
 lated. At the same time (July 1st), to affirm their resolution, 
 they formally proclaimed Napoleon II. ^ The day after the scene 
 at La Vilette (June 30th) Fouche, when he took the chair at 
 the Commission of Government, was attacked by Carnot on the 
 subject of VitroUes. " It appears that you have been sending 
 him to Ea Villette to try to seduce the worthy Marshal Davout,'' 
 said he.^ Fouche, however, took these reproaches very philo- 
 sophically, and consented, without raising difficulties, to issue 
 a warrant for the arrest of the Royalist agent. 
 
 Though on the surface matters looked very bad, and though 
 the interference of the Chambers with military affairs was pro- 
 voking, Fouche did not despair.* Independent of him, a power- 
 ful influence had been brought to bear on the situation. On the 
 morning of June 30th the thunder of the Prussian guns in the 
 attack on Aubervilliers, only a mile from the city walls, shook 
 every window in Paris. With the exception of an infinitesimally 
 small number of persons, nobody wanted to fight. ^ 
 
 Ever since Waterloo and the Emperor's abdication the town 
 had presented quite a gay appearance. The theatres were well 
 attended, crowds of richly dressed women, says Villemain, 
 were to be seen everywhere, and the frequenters of the Boule- 
 vards occupied their accustomed chairs. There was a general 
 belief that Fouch6 had an understanding with the allied com- 
 manders. But the arrival of crowds of peasants, driving before 
 
 ^ Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 85-92. 
 Houssaye, 1816, III. pp. 236-242. 
 
 2 lUd., pp. 249-253. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 282-284. 
 
 3 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 247-248. 
 
 * Vitrolles, Memoires ^ III. pp. 94-95. 
 ^ Houssaye, 1816, III. p. 247. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 117 
 
 them their cattle or carrying their belongings, carts full of 
 wounded men, and the roar of the guns rudely dispelled these 
 illusions. Only on the Bourse were matters cheerful. On the 
 29th the news that the enemy had occupied Le Bourget sent 
 the rente up to sixty-three ; whilst, the next day, the capture of 
 Aubervilliers caused a further rise of one franc. Sismondi, who 
 deprecated the idea of capitulation, at Madame de Rumford's 
 was silenced by the rejoinder " that it was easy to see that he 
 had nothing but his writing-table to lose," The municipal 
 council waited on Fouche to beg him not to defend the town, 
 and pamphlets, entitled What are we fighting for ? or Let ua 
 have done mith it, and productions of the same kind were 
 circulated freely.^ 
 
 By Napoleon's orders strong field works had been thrown 
 up on the north side of Paris, but on the south the defences were 
 very weak — in fact, they hardly existed. The Prussian attack 
 on Aubervilliers, which was intended only as a reconnaissance, 
 soon disclosed the strength of the position. Bliicher, accord- 
 ingly, broke off the action and made dispositions to cross the 
 Seine in order to begin serious operations on the south bank. 
 The French force, under Marshal Davout, composed chiefly of 
 the remnants of the Waterloo army and Grouchy's detachment, 
 which had been withdrawn skilfully, numbered about 70,000 
 men. In their advance from the Belgian frontier the Prussians 
 had kept two days' march in front of the English. Bliicher's 
 manoeuvre was, therefore, a hazardous operation, involving a 
 flank march and a wide separation from his allies, between whom 
 and himself the river Seine would intervene. It was, in short, 
 an undertaking to which a prudent General would commit him- 
 self only if he were convinced of the total demoralization of the 
 army opposed to him, and this was not a description which could 
 be applied fairly to the troops under Davout. ^ In his unpub- 
 lished memoires, which M. Houssaye quotes, the Marshal states 
 that he could have attacked the Prussians, with an almost cer- 
 tain prospect of success, whilst they were circling round Paris. ^ 
 He had abstained from doing so, because a victory, which would 
 have added to his personal renown, would have had disastrous 
 results for his country. Without admitting that the defeat of 
 the Prussians, even under the unfavourable conditions in which 
 they had placed themselves, was a foregone conclusion, it is 
 evident that Davout, by not attacking them on June 30th or 
 
 * Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 454-455. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 255-258. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 259-266. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 251, 279. 
 
118 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1815 
 
 on July 1st, missed a great chance. But it is, perhaps, one of 
 the few occasions in history when a general acted rightly in fore- 
 going an opportunity which his enemy's foolhardiness had given 
 him. 
 
 It was impossible for the ex-Emperor to remain any longer 
 at the Malmaison. Already, on June 28th, Bliicher, who had 
 intelligence of his presence, had despatched a cavalry regiment 
 to secure him, and the attempt had only been frustrated by the 
 timely destruction of the bridge at Chatou. Fouche, very pro- 
 bably, would have had little scruple about surrendering him 
 had he thought that any advantage was to be gained by it. 
 But to allow him to be carried off by the enemy's cavalry would 
 have served no useful purpose and would have provoked great 
 indignation, seeing that he was practically a prisoner in charge 
 of General Beker, whom he had sent to the Malmaison to look 
 after him. Rescinding, accordingly, his previous instructions, 
 Fouche despatched orders that Napoleon was to start at once 
 for Rochefort, where two frigates would be placed at his dis- 
 posal. The sound of the cannonade had, however, revived the 
 fallen Emperor's spirits.^ He had begun to pore over his maps 
 and to think deeply. On the morning of June 29th, when he 
 was to depart for the coast, he suddenly put on his uniform 
 and persuaded General Beker to carry a last message for him 
 to Fouche. He wished to offer his services, simply as a general, 
 to the Commission of Government, and he undertook to embark 
 for the United States directly he had defeated the enemy. The 
 appearance of Beker at the Tuileries with this communication 
 completely upset Fouche's habitual self-control. Angrily ask- 
 ing the general how he could have undertaken such a mission, 
 he bade him return to the Malmaison and tell Napoleon that 
 his proposal could not be entertained and that he must start 
 forthwith. On hearing this answer, which Beker brought him 
 back in all haste, the ex-Emperor made no protest. He took 
 off his uniform, parted from his brother Joseph and from Hor- 
 tense, and, accompanied by Bertrand, Savary de Rovigo, and 
 Beker, drove away.^ A fortnight later, on July 15th, Captain 
 Maitland received him on the quarter-deck of H.M.S. Bellerophon. 
 
 To all Davout's and Fouche's demands for an armistice both 
 Bliicher and Wellington had returned refusals. The movement 
 of the Prussians across the Seine compelled the Marshal to con- 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 216-220. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, X., Due d'Otrante to Davout, 27 Juin 
 1816. 
 
 Beker a Due d'Otrante, 29 Juin, 1815. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 222-230. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 119 
 
 form to it and to transfer the bulk of his troops from the north 
 to the south side of Paris. The march of the army through the 
 streets and the imminence of battle increased the general alarm. 
 Fouche felt that it was time to intervene.^ In order to lessen 
 his responsibility, however, he invited the bureaux of both 
 Chambers and several Marshals and Generals present in Paris 
 to attend the sitting of his commission of July 1st. He opened 
 the conference by explaining the military situation. Carnot 
 had that morning ridden round the positions on the left bank 
 of the river, and the opinion which he now expressed as to the 
 prospects of defending them successfully was not encouraging. 
 He pointed out, moreover, that within a few days the Austrians 
 and Russians would have come up, and that, in the end inevi- 
 tably, they would be driven to capitulate under, doubtless, worse 
 conditions than they could obtain at present. Soult and Massena, 
 when asked to give their views, made it very clear that they 
 had nothing to suggest, and that they looked upon the situation 
 as hopeless. Marshal Eefebvre alone appears to have been in 
 favour of continuing the struggle. But, someone having men- 
 tioned the Bourbons, the discussion threatened to become 
 political. Fouche, accordingly, brought the proceedings to a 
 close on the understanding that the question, being a military 
 one, should be referred to a council of war, which was to be 
 convened at once. 
 
 Davout had declined to attend the meeting on the plea that 
 he could not spare the time. He saw that a capitulation was 
 inevitable, and he had no idea of allowing Fouche to saddle him 
 with the responsibility of declaring that the moment had come 
 for initiating the negotiations. ^ To the council of war, which 
 he was now instructed to assemble, he summoned eighteen 
 Marshals and Generals. Ney, alone of all the officers of high 
 rank in Paris, was not invited to attend. His speech in the 
 Chamber of Peers had brought him into disrepute with the 
 majority of his comrades. Fouche, knowing that Davout him- 
 self was not in favour of resistance, had little doubts as to the 
 result of their deliberations. In order, however, to leave as 
 little to chance as possible, he transmitted a list of questions, 
 which were to be answered by the assembled generals. Among 
 other points, he wished to be informed whether all the ap- 
 proaches to Paris could be defended successfully if attacked 
 at the same time, and whether, should the outer works be car- 
 ried, the Prince d'Eckmiihl (Davout) could prevent the enemy 
 from forcing his way into the town. However anxious the offi- 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 269-273. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 268, 276-282. 
 
120 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1815 
 
 cers might have been to prolong the defence, it was impossible 
 for them to return other than very dubious replies to questions 
 of this kind. After sitting from midnight till three in the morn- 
 ing of July 2nd, the council of war, presided over by Davout, 
 submitted answers of a sufficiently doubtful nature to justify 
 Fouche in opening negotiations for surrender. 
 
 In the course of June 29th and 30th Wellington had inter- 
 views with the French Commissioners. On both these occasions 
 he expressed the opinion that the only hope of a durable peace 
 for Europe lay in the recall of Louis XVIII. ^ On July 1st they 
 informed him that Bonaparte had left Paris in order to take 
 ship for the United States. This piece of news, he told them, 
 removed the great obstacle to an armistice. If they would 
 consent to the evacuation of Paris by the regular army, and to 
 the town being held by the National Guards " until the King 
 should order otherwise," he would do his utmost to prevail 
 upon Bliicher to consent to a suspension of hostilities. Muffling 
 shortly afterwards was instructed to write to the Prussian 
 Commander-in-Chief on the subject. In the evening of the next 
 day, nevertheless, he was obHged to inform the French delegates 
 that Marshal Bliicher was very reluctant to grant an armistice, 
 but he promised to communicate with him personally, and hoped 
 to be able to give them a more favourable reply on the morrow. ^ 
 Wellington was only desirous of obtaining for his country the 
 objects for which the war had been undertaken. These were the 
 overthrow of Bonaparte and the establishment in France of 
 some form of government which should offer reasonable assur- 
 ances for the preservation of peace in the future. The first had 
 been attained — a victory under the walls of Paris and the occu- 
 pation of the town would not assist, nay, might even prove 
 detrimental to the consummation of the second. From motives 
 of the most ordinary humanity, moreover, he was unwilling to 
 force his way into the town at the point of the bayonet, or to 
 fight a battle for the vain glory of riding in at the head of his 
 victorious troops. There was another aspect to the question 
 besides. He had reconnoitred the French works on the north 
 side of the city and had noted their strength. It is true that the 
 Prussians were now firmly established on the left bank of the 
 river, where the defences were weak. But in order to join hands 
 with them he must cross the Seine twice and pass through the 
 Bois de Boulogne. It was a serious operation, and he did not 
 feel justified in embarking upon it under the circumstances. 
 Were the Allies to suffer a reverse the moral effect of Waterloo 
 
 ^ Despatches, XII. ^ Wellington to Bathurst, 2 July, 1815. 
 " Ibid., Wellington to Commissioners, 2 July, 1815. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 121 
 
 would be lost, and it was impossible to say what might happen. 
 Lastly, a delay of a few days would enable Marshal Wrede and 
 his forty thousand Russians to come up.^ These were some of 
 the points which he set out in a memorandum addressed to 
 Prince Bliicher on the evening of July 2nd. 
 
 To the fierce old Prussian elder branch or younger branch, 
 white cockade or tricolour were matters of supreme indifference. 
 He had no thoughts beyond entering Paris, where he proposed 
 to put into execution certain schemes which he had been nursing 
 fondly for some time past. When Wellington's despatch ar- 
 rived he was in bed, but its perusal afforded Gneisenau food for 
 serious reflection. He answered that the Duke's proposals would 
 require mature consideration, and he promised to lay them 
 before the Field Marshal early the next morning. ^ Notwith- 
 standing his impatience, Bliicher had not ventured on carrying 
 out his projected attack on July 2nd. But Wellington's army 
 having closed up on the north side of Paris during the day, and 
 communication with him having been secured by means of a 
 pontoon bridge at Argenteuil, he was ready for the final struggle. 
 Before dawn on the 3rd the fighting began. The occupation of 
 Issy by the Prussians the day before threatened Vandamme's 
 right, and he now sent forward a division to retake it. In the 
 meantime Davout appeared to be making his dispositions for 
 a great battle. But about half -past seven, when the action was 
 becoming general, the fire slackened and soon ceased altogether. 
 Guilleminot, the Chief of the Staff, Bignon, the acting Minister 
 for Foreign Affairs, and Bondy, the Prefect of the Seine, had 
 been passed into the Prussian lines to treat for the surrender of 
 Paris. On those conditions Bliicher had consented to suspend 
 hostilities.^ 
 
 All through July 2nd Fouche had exhausted his ingenuity 
 and done all in his power to obtain an armistice which did not 
 involve the occupation of the capital. Besides the official 
 Commissioners, he had despatched Macirone to Wellington 
 and Tromelin to Bliicher. It was only at midnight that in 
 despair he had decided to send Bignon and Bondy to Davout 
 with instructions to acquiesce in the last resort, to the entry of 
 the Allies into Paris.* The negotiations took place at the Chateau 
 de Saint-Cloud. The terms agreed upon provided for the evacua- 
 tion of the town by the French regular army, which was to 
 
 1 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Blucher, 2 July, 1815. 
 
 2 Supplementary Despatches, X., Gneisenau to Wellington, 2 July, 1815. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. p. 288. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 293-295. 
 
 4 Ibid., pp. 284-285, 292. 
 
122 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1815 
 
 retire behind the Loire, and for the occupation of Paris by the 
 English and Prussians. In addition to these points, only one of 
 the eighteen articles, which the treaty contained, calls for 
 mention. This was clause XII, which ran as follows : " The 
 inhabitants and, in general, all individuals who may be in the 
 capital, shall enjoy full liberty and shall not be molested or pro- 
 ceeded against on account of any offices they may hold, or may 
 have held, nor on account of their conduct or political opinions."^ 
 It was afterwards claimed by some of the persons against whom 
 the Government of Louis XVIII instituted proceedings, that 
 they were covered by this article. But it must be apparent that 
 the conditions which it set forth could only be binding on the 
 parties who subscribed to it. It may be true that the clause in 
 question was a snare, intended to make the capitulation more 
 palatable and to pave the way for a monarchical restoration. If 
 this be so it was a trap, in the setting of which neither Wellington 
 nor Bliicher had a hand. The article, which has been the 
 subject of so much discussion, was proposed by the French 
 Commissioners, who had the strictest injunctions from Fouche 
 to press for its insertion in the treaty. ^ 
 
 The capitulation was brought to Fouche at the Tuileries about 
 nine in the evening. He at once sent on a copy of it to the 
 Chambers, having first, however, changed its designation of 
 " capitulation *' into that of " convention." Whilst they had 
 been waiting for this document, Fouche and his fellow members 
 of the Commission of Government had not been idle. They 
 had at their disposal a sum of 140,000 francs for their expenses 
 during the month of July, and they now decided to assign it to 
 themselves as a gratuity. In the Chambers the news that the 
 capitulation was an accomplished fact was received very calmly. 
 Those members, who had given the subject their consideration, 
 had been disposed to expect harder terms. The patriotic out- 
 burst evoked by the visit to the army at La Villette had not 
 lasted long. The Deputies soon returned to their more con- 
 genial occupation of discussing the rights of man, of decreeing the 
 abolition of titles of nobility and of framing stillborn con- 
 stitutions. 
 
 It was a grievous disappointment to Fouche that he had not yet 
 received any promise of employment from Louis XVIII. On July 
 3rd Macirone had conveyed to Wellington his wish to meet him 
 personally, and, on the following day. General de Tromelin had 
 carried a letter for him to the headquarters of the EngHsh army 
 in which he expressed his longing " to pour out his soul " into the 
 
 ^ Despatches, XII., Convention of Paris. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 297-299, 300-302. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 123 
 
 Duke's sympathetic ears. Wellington, in consequence, had 
 invited him to meet him at Neuilly. It was out of the question 
 for him to keep such a step a secret, and he was a little uneasy 
 as to the light in which Camot and his colleagues would regard 
 the proceeding.^ He overcame the difficulty, however, by 
 taking M0I6, General Valence, and Manuel with him, and by 
 calling his visit a *' mission." At Wellington's headquarters, 
 on the afternoon of July 5th, Fouch6 met Talleyrand, Von 
 Goltz, Sir C. Stuart, and Pozzo di Borgo. Much to the dis- 
 appointment of these gentlemen, he made them a very un- 
 satisfactory report of the state of public feeling. The Chambers 
 and the mass of the people were, he said, bitterly hostile to the 
 Bourbons. The conversation was prolonged till four in the 
 morning, when Fouch6 went back to Paris. It had been arranged, 
 however, that he was to return to dinner. ^ 
 
 In the meantime Eouis XVIII was close at hand, having 
 arrived, on July 5th, at Arnouville. Directly the cessation of 
 hostilities had made communications possible, numerous 
 Royalists had gone out to pay their respects to him. To avoid 
 any unpleasantness, however, they were careful to assume 
 their white cockades, only, when they were outside the city gates. 
 All these people had the same story to tell. Nothing could have 
 exceeded Fouche's skill in the management of public affairs 
 since Waterloo. In the general chorus of approval the voices 
 of Monsieur's friends were the loudest. ^ " It was a universal 
 madness," says Chateaubriand* who was very hostile to him. 
 " Religion and infidelity, virtue and vice, the Royalist and the 
 revolutionist, the foreigner and the Frenchmen '* — all were 
 convinced that without Fouch6 " there was neither safety for 
 the King nor hope for France." At Cambrai, akeady, Talleyrand 
 had hinted to Eouis that perhaps the inclusion of Fouch6 in the 
 Ministry might be a judicious move, but he had exclaimed 
 indignantly, " Never ! "^ After the all-night sitting at Neuilly, 
 when Tallejn-and arrived at Arnouville he found VitroUes, who 
 was secretly indignant at not having been invited to Join the 
 party at the Duke's headquarters, awaiting him. " Well," said 
 Talleyrand as his servant was assisting him to undress, " your 
 
 1 Supplementary Despatches, X., Macirone to Wellington, 3 July, 1815. 
 
 Otrante a Wellington, 4 Juillet, 1815. 
 Madelin, Fouchc, II. p. 432. 
 
 2 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Bathurst, 8 July, 1815. 
 
 3 VitroUes, Memoires, III. p. 105. 
 
 * Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 65, 66. 
 
 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. p. 481. 
 
 Beugnot, Memoires, II. pp. 286, 287. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 54, 55. 
 
124 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1815 
 
 Due d'Otrante has told us nothing, nothing at all/' " He is 
 much more your duke than mine/' answered Vitrolles, " and 
 there are generally ways of making people agree to what one 
 wants. I think I could have managed it/'^ 
 
 In the course of the morning WelUngton rode over to Arnou- 
 ville, and the King was seriously approached on the subject of 
 Fouche. " The sword of Waterloo thrown into the scale " 
 overcame Eouis' resistance. ^ In the evening, when Talleyrand 
 and Wellington had departed to meet Fouche for the second 
 time, he beckoned to Vitrolles and whispered to him. " I have 
 told him to do whatever he may think best in my interests, but 
 he must be tender with me, c'est mon pucelage." Vitrolles says 
 that he was shocked, and that he never smiled. ^ The remark, 
 indeed, is quite in Louis* style, and certainly does not convey the 
 impression that the man who made it was overcome with grief 
 and mortification at the idea of admitting into his counsels one 
 who had voted for his brother's death. It may be that Beugnot, 
 in speaking of his emotion when he lay before him Fouche's 
 appointment as Minister, was tliinking of his own, rather than of 
 Louis' state of mind, on that occasion.* f 
 
 Fouch^, on his return to Paris empty-handed, is strongly 
 suspected of having deliberately organized anti-Royalist demon- 
 strations. The evacuation of the capital by the army under the 
 terms of the capitulation was in course of progress. Some 
 anxiety had been entertained as to whether this could be effected 
 without disturbance. At first matters looked rather serious, but 
 Carnot and Drouot succeeded in quieting the men. A loan of 
 two milHon francs, which Fouche persuaded Lafiitte, the banker, 
 to advance, enabling the arrears due to them to be paid to the 
 soldiers, contributed largely to their peaceable departure.^ 
 In the afternoon of July 6th, Fouche drove out again to Neuilly.^ 
 On the subject of the retention of the tricolour, to which he 
 
 1 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 113, 119. 
 
 2 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. p. 400. 
 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 435-439. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 97-98. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 109-110. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 330-331. 
 
 3 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 114. 
 ^ Beugnot, Memoires, II. p. 290. 
 
 ^ Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 468-469. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 304-310. 
 
 Pasquier, Memoires, III. pp. 317-318. 
 
 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. p. 408. 
 ^ Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 109. 
 
 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Bathurst, 8 July, 1816. 
 
 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 440-441. 
 
 Correspondance, Pozzo a Nesselrode, 8 Juillet, 1815. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 125 
 
 affected to attach great weight, Wellington, who appears to have 
 discussed the matter with VitroUes, gave him his views. Had 
 the King, the year before, consented to its preservation, he would 
 have approved of the decision, but, now that it had become the 
 emblem of rebellion, it was out of the question for His Majesty 
 to think of retaining it. Soon afterwards Pozzo di Borgo, 
 Sir C. Stuart, and Talleyrand arrived, and they sat down to 
 dinner. Later on Castlereagh appeared and joined in the dis- 
 cussion. But Talleyrand, seeing that no progress was being made, 
 suddenly announced that he was empowered to offer the port- 
 folio of police to the Due d'Otrante. The situation changed at 
 once. Hostility of the Chambers, reports of the Commissioners 
 sent to the eastern frontier which had created difficulties, every- 
 thing was brushed aside. Fouche saw his way to Louis' entering 
 Paris within the next forty- eight hours. 
 
 Matters having been arranged satisfactorily, Fouche took his 
 seat in Talleyrand's carriage and was driven off to Saint-Denis, 
 whither Louis had moved, in order to be presented to him. 
 Chateaubriand, to his disgust, saw them enter the King's anti- 
 chamber together ; " vice leaning on the arm of crime," as he 
 described it.^ Louis received his new Minister well, and listened 
 to his counsels of moderation. He remained firm, however, 
 both on the question of the flag and with regard to the general 
 amnesty which he proposed. From Saint-Denis Fouche returned 
 to Paris, where there was still much to be settled. Nevertheless, 
 he was not so absorbed in business that he had no time for lighter 
 matters. A Deputy who called upon him, the next day, found 
 him sitting in his Court dress and orders for the portrait which he 
 intended to present to his young fiancee^ Mile. Gabrielle de 
 Castellane.2 
 
 When the members of the Commission of Government as- 
 sembled at the Tuileries for their sitting of July 7th, their 
 president announced to them the result of his conferences at 
 Wellington's headquarters on the two previous days. The 
 Allies, he told them, were determined to restore Louis XVIII, 
 their troops were in possession of the gates, they were to occupy 
 the town during the day, and the ICing himself would make his 
 entry on the morrow. Under these circumstances all they 
 could do was to pronounce their own dissolution and send a 
 message to that effect to the Chambers. He omitted, however, 
 to inform his colleagues that he was himself a Minister of the 
 Most Christian King. Caniot, Grenier, and Quinette objected 
 strongly, and moved that they should follow the army behind the 
 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. p. 65. 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, III. p. 321. 
 
126 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 Eoire, and that the Chambers should be convened at either 
 Tours or Blois. Such a step, on their part, said Fouche, must 
 lead to civil war. But whilst they were arguing a sound of 
 drums was heard and, presently, a Prussian detachment with 
 two guns entered the courtyard. The interruption came most 
 opportunely.^ Fouche sat down and drew up a message to the 
 Chambers, in which he acquainted them with the unanimous 
 intention of the Powers to restore Louis XVIII, and with the 
 occupation of the Tuileries by foreign troops. " We can, there- 
 fore, only give the country our best wishes, and, as our deliber- 
 ations are no longer free, we have decided not to meet again." 
 
 In ascribing to the Powers the intention of replacing Eouis- 
 XVIII upon his throne at all costs, Fouche was attempting to 
 lessen his responsibility at the expense of the truth. Welhngton 
 had always declared that the recall of their rightful King was 
 the wisest course which the French people could adopt. He had 
 made it clear, also, that it would be viewed favourably in the 
 counsels of the coalition, whilst any other solution would be 
 regarded as a usurpation, against the dangers of which the 
 Powers would be obliged to protect themselves by exacting 
 harder terms of peace. But he had never said more than that. 
 Moreover, by exaggerating the part played by the Allies in Louis' 
 Restoration, Fouche was acting most unfairly towards the 
 Government of which he was now a member. Indeed, his 
 conduct was already inspiring grave misgivings in the minds of 
 those who had espoused his cause so warmly with Louis XVIII. 
 Wellington, however, comforted himself with the recollection 
 " that at all periods of the Revolution the actors in it have not 
 scrupled to resort to falsehood, either to give a colour to, or to 
 palliate their adoption or abandonment of any line of policy.'' ^ 
 
 Fouche's message failed to create any great excitement in the 
 Chamber. 3 The Deputies were too much engrossed with drawing 
 up declarations of doctrine and amendments to the Constitution 
 to be much disturbed by outside events. Manuel said philo- 
 sophically that " he was not surprised at what had come to pass, 
 and that the Commission of Government had been powerless to 
 prevent it." The day before, on the news that the invaders' 
 troops had occupied the suburbs, M. Dupont, the member for the 
 department of the Eure, had moved that a deputation should be 
 sent to acquaint the Allied Sovereigns with the work they were 
 engaged upon, on hearing of which " they will listen to our words 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1816, III. pp. 325-328. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 326, 332-336. 
 
 2 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Bathurst, 8 July, 1816. 
 
 3 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 328-329. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 127 
 
 with a noble interest/* But he was mistaken.^ Wellington, 
 already, had suggested to Fouche that the Chambers, and other 
 political bodies illegally constituted during the usurpation, 
 should pronounce their own dissolution and submit a respectful 
 message to the King.^ The next morning, accordingly, when the 
 Deputies, intent on resuming their absorbing discussions, 
 presented themselves at the Palais Bourbon, they found the 
 building in possession of a picquet of the National Guard, com- 
 manded by the Vicomte de Boisgelin, who roughly ordered them 
 to disperse. Announcing that they should protest, they filed away 
 fo the house of their president, Eanjuinais, where they drew up a 
 report of what had taken place, and so passed out of existence.^ 
 " Moderate, enlightened and truly national, developing, in 
 circumstances of difl&culty, qualities both of the head and the 
 heart," is Mr. Hobhouse's description of them. Probably most 
 people will be disposed to agree with M. Houssaye that " this 
 miserable Chamber deserved no other end."* 
 
 On this same morning, July 8th, the Moniteur did not make its 
 appearance till about eleven o'clock. It was printed in unusually 
 large type, and was surmounted by the Royal arms. The 
 dissolution of the Chambers was made known, and the entry of 
 His Majesty into his capital was announced for the afternoon. 
 At the same time the tricolour was everywhere pulled down, 
 and the Bourbon flag was run up over all public buildings and 
 monuments. The Royalists, thereupon, produced their white 
 cockades, and two-thirds of the National Guards on duty in the 
 streets followed their example. This course of action was not 
 confined to the avowed supporters of the Monarchy. Many other 
 persons who had sworn undying devotion to the three colours, 
 now that they were confronted with the accomplished fact, 
 spontaneously assumed the badge of Royalty.^ 
 
 Eouis XVIII made his entry into Paris by the Saint-Denis 
 gate, and proceeded along the Boulevards to the Tuileries.^ 
 The procession was preceded by an enthusiastic and rather dis- 
 orderly crowd of National Guards, whose loyalty had impelled 
 them to take part in the ceremony. There were no regular 
 troops, but the citizen soldiers were followed by a motley array 
 of mousquetaires, chevau-legers, and other remnants of the 
 Maison du Roi, some on horseback, some on foot. Behind them 
 
 1 Villemain, Souvenirs, II. pp. 470-480. 
 
 2 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Bathurst, 8 July, 1815. 
 
 3 Houssaye, 1815, II. p. 331. 
 
 J. C. Hobhouse, Letters, II. p. 285. 
 
 4 Houssaye, 1815, III. p. 332. 
 
 5 Ibid., pp. 332, 333. 
 « Ibid, pp. 334-337. 
 
128 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 rode the loyal Marshals, Oudinot, Macdonald, Gouvion-Saint- 
 CjT, Marmont, Victor, and the Generals who had accompanied 
 Louis to Ghent. The King himself was seated in a large coach, 
 drawn by six white horses, with the Comte d'Artois and the Due 
 de Berri riding by his side. An interminable file of cabs, country 
 carts, and vehicles of all kinds, filled with English ofl&cers and 
 sightseers, brought up the rear of the procession. Only when the 
 wealthy quarter of the town had been reached did any cheering 
 herald the King's approach. In the courtyard of the Tuileries 
 a Prussian detachment was encamped. As Eouis drove in, no 
 guard turned out nor were compliments paid him, and he could 
 see the soldiers busily engaged in hanging out their washing on the 
 gilded railings of his Palace. 
 
 Thus ended Bonaparte's usurpation in 1815. Its opening 
 scenes supply history with one of its most picturesque pages, the 
 conclusion of the story is rich only in sordid details. Under 
 conditions, as they existed, his adventure was foredoomed to 
 failure. The acclamations of the peasantry on his march to Paris, 
 the frenzied delight of the soldiers, as they tore off their white 
 cockades and flocked to the colours of the Emperor, were not 
 representative of a great national movement.^ " It was the surge 
 of the lake through which the boat cuts its way, a Httle foam 
 thrown up at the moment and then still waters again.'' The 
 pohtical intelHgence of the French people was undeveloped. 
 Eouis XVIII had not won their affections. The mistakes of his 
 Government and the folly of the RoyaUsts had prepared men's 
 minds for one of those violent changes of which they had seen 
 several examples during the previous twenty-five years. Bona- 
 parte appeared with a dramatic suddenness, the soldiers cast in 
 their lot with his and imposed him on their countrymen. 
 
 But the right of France to consent to pass under the rule of 
 Bonaparte was challenged by all Europe in arms. It was 
 realized in the counsels of the Powers that there could be no 
 security whilst he was at the head of affairs in Paris. Even 
 should he be disposed to. remain at peace with his neighbours, 
 in course of time he would be compelled inevitably to find 
 occupation for the army to which he owed his throne. The 
 younger generals, the men of the stamp of Ea B^doyere, would 
 expect to be granted, in their turn, opportunities of winning the 
 wealth and the dukedoms which their seniors had acquired on 
 foreign battlefields. At Vienna it was resolved to give him no 
 breathing time, and to attack him at once. The weakness of his 
 position was now disclosed. The professional soldiers were at 
 
 1 Villemain, Souvenirs , II. pp. 114-117. Conversation with M. de 
 Fontanes. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 129 
 
 his disposal, but the people did not come forward to his support. 
 A regular army which has not the nation behind it is an in- 
 sufficient defence in a crisis.^ Desmarest relates that the collapse 
 of Prussia after Jena had impressed this truth upon Napoleon. 
 On returning from Germany, in 1808, he made a stay at Metz. 
 There had been complaints of the insolence of the cadets at 
 the military school to the civilians of the town. He called the 
 authorities before him and bade them put a stop to this state of 
 affairs. " The Prussian army," he told them, " was unpopular 
 because of its insolence. Once it was defeated, it disappeared, 
 and there was nothing to take its place. The army will only be 
 strong so long as it is national. "" In 1815 the French army was 
 not unpopular ; it had, indeed, the warmest sympathies of the 
 people, but it had not their personal support. 
 
 In 1792 the idea that the Sovereigns were contemplating an 
 interference in the internal affairs of France had sent a thrill of 
 indignation through the country, which had called forth volun- 
 teers in thousands and had made the people submit to com- 
 pulsory service. In 1815 the situation appeared to be the same, 
 yet it evoked a very different response. This fact is perhaps the 
 best proof that the analogy existed only on the surface. But the 
 national enthusiasm which Bonaparte was powerless to kindle 
 among his people, burnt fiercely in the ranks of the principal 
 contingents which he went out to meet in battle. Under the 
 influence of his oppression the Prussian army was animated 
 by a patriotic spirit which had been unknown at Jena. The 
 English regiments were made up largely of young soldiers and 
 militia men, but all ranks were united in the conviction that 
 " Boney " was the national enemy. The French troops were 
 eager for the struggle, and displayed a furious courage on the 
 battlefield. They could not, however, escape from the un- 
 favourable conditions under which they were called upon to 
 fight. Many of the senior officers knew that they had no mercy 
 to expect from the Bourbons. The knowledge that the halter 
 was round their necks appears to have detracted greatly from 
 their military value. Nearly all of those who were not so deeply 
 implicated were doubtful of success and were heartily sick of 
 war. The political role, moreover, which the army had played 
 in recent events had relaxed the bonds of discipline. The men 
 knew that, on the morning on which they had crossed the frontier 
 into Belgium, General de Bourmont had gone over to the enemy 
 with the whole of his divisional Staff. ^ On the afternoon of 
 Waterloo a French officer had galloped into the ranks of the 
 
 1 P. M. Desmarest, Quinze ans de haute police, pp. 198-200, 
 
 2 Houssaye, Waterloo, pp. 110-113. 
 
 K 
 
130 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 52nd regiment of the English Line shouting " Vive le Roi " 
 and crying out that the guard was advancing.^ Under such con- 
 ditions the exclamation " We are betrayed ! " rose readily to the 
 soldiers' lips and their defeat became a rout. 
 
 It has been said, often, that the Napoleon of the Hundred Days 
 was an inferior man, both physically and mentally, to the soldier 
 of Italy and to the victor of Austerlitz. The evidence which is 
 adduced to support this theory is most unconvincing. In any 
 case it cannot be disputed that he performed an unprecedented 
 amount of work during those three months, whilst the skill 
 Avith which he first planned and then concealed his concentration 
 from his enemies, has won the admiration of all students of such 
 matters. It is unnecessary to say more of his strategy than that 
 he began the campaign outnumbered in the proportion of nearly 
 two to one, and that for the decisive battle he deployed a force 
 slightly superior to the army opposed to him. This preponder- 
 ance, it is true, depended on the ability of Grouchy with 33,000 
 men to contain the Prussians who had been defeated at Ligny. 
 But Napoleon, after his return from Elba, was deaUng with 
 changed conditions. The men by whom he was served were 
 inspired by a very different spirit to the one which had animated 
 them in his earlier days. In those times, moreover, he had gone 
 out to meet the kings ; in 1814 and 1815 he had to encounter the 
 nations. 
 
 From the Belgian frontier the Allies marched to Paris without 
 meeting with any resistance worthy of the name. The collapse 
 of France after Waterloo was as complete as that of Prussia 
 after Jena. In the first case it was Bonapartism, in the second 
 it was the army of Frederick William which had been routed. On 
 neither occasion was it a truly national force which had suffered 
 defeat. But a country which allows an unhealthy militarism to 
 develop is passing through an unfortunate phase in its existence. 
 Frequent and violent changes of Government have produced a 
 demoralizing effect wherever they have taken place. 
 
 Oaths lightly broken, an utter lack of principle on the part of 
 pubHc men of all descriptions : these were the features of the 
 time. Benjamin Constant avowed himself the bitterest opponent 
 of Bonaparte, yet within a month he had accepted a salary from 
 him and a seat at his Council of State. Ney betrayed the King 
 and went over to Bonaparte. Nevertheless after Waterloo, by 
 depicting the state of the army in the blackest colours, he strove 
 to paralyse Carnot's efforts to revive the national spirit. Davout 
 entered into- secret communications with the Royalists, but he 
 signed an address to the Chambers which declared that " the 
 ^ Houssaye, Waterloo, p. 391. 
 
1815] A SECOND CHANCE 131 
 
 Bourbons were odious to the majority of Frenchmen." The 
 doings of Fouche require no comment. The Deputies, at a great 
 crisis in the existence of their country, busied themselves solely 
 with the discussion of abstract questions and with the formulating 
 of empty doctrines. 
 
 Under these conditions Louis XVIII remounted his throne. 
 The Powers replaced him there because " Legitimate Sover- 
 eignty '* was the watchword of their policy, and because his 
 enthronement offered the best guarantee for the preservation of 
 peace in the future. The circumstances, under which Ms second 
 Restoration was effected, were more humiliating than those 
 which had attended his first recall to France. Most of the diffi- 
 culties which had beset him in 1814 confronted him still, whilst 
 others had supervened in addition. But the life had been tram- 
 pled out of militant Bonapartism for the time being. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 THE BOURBON TERROR 
 
 A SINGULARLY disagreeable piece of news awaited Louis. 
 Bliicher had entered Paris with the firm resolve of blowing 
 up the Pont d'lena and of exacting a large monetary indemnity 
 from the town. It was owdng to a pure accident that the bridge, 
 of which the name recalled unpleasant recollections to the 
 Prussians, had not been destroyed on the day of His Majesty's 
 entry. The mine had been duly laid, but, for some reason or 
 another, it had not exploded. Talleyrand, as soon as he heard of 
 it, handed in a strong protest to Von Goltz, the Prussian Minister. 
 Bliicher, however, was obdurate. Not only did he swear that the 
 bridge should be blown up, but, he added that he hoped that 
 M. de Talleyrand might be standing upon it at the time. This 
 was, exactly, what the King, in a letter which he wrote and gave 
 to Talleyrand, threatened to do himself if Bliicher persisted in his 
 intention.^ But Louis was not called upon to carry out his heroic 
 words. It proved unnecessary for him to be wheeled, in his 
 arm-chair, upon the devoted bridge. A second attempt to 
 destroy it was, indeed, made the next day. But it resulted only 
 in some small damage being done to one of the piles and in the 
 drowning of a Prussian soldier. An appeal had, in the meantime, 
 been made to the Duke of Wellington. He had great influence 
 over the savage old Prussian, and his intervention was successful. 
 Bliicher consented to let the matter remain in abeyance until the 
 arrival of the Allied Sovereigns. In the end, the bridge was 
 allowed to stand, on condition of losing its objectionable name. 
 It was re -christened Pont des Invalides. 
 
 ^ Despatches, XII., Wellington to Bliicher, 9 July, 1815 (midnight). 
 Ibid., 9 July, 1816. 
 Ibid., 10 July, 1815. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XI., Bliicher to Wellington, 9 Juillet, 
 1815. 
 
 Pasquier, III. p. 341. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 337-341. 
 
 pp. 1 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 9 Juillet, 1815. 
 
 1. pp. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 124-126. 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 9 Juille 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 101. 
 
 132 
 
1815] THE BOURBON TEREOR 133 
 
 It was Wellington, again, and Castlereagh who induced 
 Bliicher to forego his intention of exacting an indemnity of one 
 hundred million francs from the town of Paris. Both refused to 
 associate themselves in any way with such a step, and, what was 
 probably more effectual, pointed out that, if the contribution 
 were levied, it would have to be divided, in equal shares, among 
 the Allies. To mark his displeasure, Bliicher remained at Saint- 
 Cloud, and refused to move his headquarters into the town.^ 
 In his private capacity, however, he was a constant visitor to 
 Paris, 2 where he became a well-known figure at Very's Restaurant 
 and at the gambling tables of the Palais Royal. 
 
 The Talleyrand Ministry, which came into existence with the 
 second Restoration, was essentially a Cabinet of moderate men. 
 The emigre party was quite unrepresented in it. On the other 
 hand, every member of the new Government had, in some capa- 
 city or another, served under the Empire. The most important 
 appointments were distributed as follows. Talleyrand was 
 President of the Council and Minister for Foreign Affairs, 
 Fouche was Minister of Police, Pasquier had the Home Ofl&ce, 
 and Marshal Gouvion-Saint-Cjn: the War Office. VitroUes was 
 Secretary to the Council, and was allowed to be present at all 
 Cabinet meetings. No time had been lost in calling together the 
 Chambers. 3 By a Royal Ordinance of July 13th the electoral 
 colleges were convened for August 14th. As regards these 
 elections certain modifications in the Charter were decreed. In 
 order to give the country a fuller representation, the number of 
 Deputies to be returned was raised from 258 to 402. The mini- 
 mum age of the electors was at the same time reduced from 30 
 to 21, and that of the Parliamentary candidates themselves from 
 40 to 25 years. These changes were, however, to be considered as 
 purely tentative in character. As soon as the Chambers met a 
 bill was to be introduced to deal with and reform, if necessary, 
 the electoral laws.* The events which now took place have been 
 made a constant subject of reproach against Bonis XVIII and his 
 Government. But, in order to judge these matters fairly, the 
 state of France must be realized. The main French army, which 
 under Davout had withdrawn behind the Loire, had not yet 
 accepted the Monarchy. It was necessary to obtain its sub- 
 
 * Despatches, XII., Wellington to Muffling, 8 Juillet^ 1815. 
 Supplementary Despatches, XL, Muffling to Wellington, 8 Juillet, 1815. 
 
 2 Ange de Lassus, La Vie au Palais Royal, pp. 120-121. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. p. 342. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XL, Hardinge to Lord Stewart, 26 July, 
 181o. 
 
 3 Y itToW&s, Memoires, III. pp. 131-132. 
 
 * Viel Castel, Histoire, III. pp. 470-474. 
 
134 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1815 
 
 mission. It assumed the white cockade and the white flag with 
 less difficulty than might have been expected owing to Davout's 
 personal influence, and to Gouvion-Saint-Cyr's firmness. The 
 example of the Army of the Loire was soon followed by the 
 different detachments scattered about the country. But, 
 in the meantime Louis* Restoration had not stemmed the tide 
 of invasion. Austrians, Russians, Bavarians, continued their 
 onward march. Though in most districts local armistices were 
 concluded and hostilities generally ceased, this was not invariably 
 the case.^ The acknowledgment of the Bourbons by the garrisons 
 of the fortified towns of the North and East by no means implied 
 their immunity from attack. The accumulation of stores and war 
 material of all kinds in their magazines was a prize which some 
 of the Allies were unwilling to let slip. Fighting, in connection 
 with some of these second-class fortresses, went on till September. 
 The protracted resistance of Longwy and of Huningue, in par- 
 ticular, added a glorious page to the annals of French history. ^ 
 If, however, with these exceptions, active warfare had, by the 
 third week in July, practically come to an end, the burden of 
 war was still terribly oppressive. Lord Castlereagh computed 
 that there were, at this time, over a million foreign soldiers living 
 on the country, the daily cost of their maintenance exceeding one 
 million and a half francs. In addition to this, Paris had been 
 called upon to pay an indemnity of eight million francs, and large 
 contributions had been exacted from other towns. Such a state 
 of affairs was in a great measure inevitable ; it was certainly 
 no more than France deserved. It was not, however, the sum 
 total of the woes which the country had to endure. ^ The Duke of 
 Wellington always preserved a strict discipline and punished 
 all excesses with a merciless severity. A very different view of 
 their duties was taken by the commanders of the armies of other 
 nations. The Prussians, with lively recollections of what they 
 had suffered under French occupation, pillaged and robbed 
 systematically. If the Austrians and Russians displayed some 
 degree of moderation, the conduct of the contingents from the 
 smaller states, like Belgium and Wurtemburg, was uniformly 
 odious. It was not till Wellington had forcibly pointed out the 
 danger of driving France to despair that the Allied Sovereigns 
 
 » Pasquier, III. pp. 351-352. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 409-417. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, III. pp. 455-458. 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 498-504. 
 
 VitroUes, Memoires, III. p. 135. 
 ^ Supplementary Despatches, XI., Castlereagh to Liverpool, precis of 
 most secret and confidential despatches, 24 July, 1815. 
 
1815] THE BOURBON TERROR 135 
 
 imposed any check on the behaviour of their troops,^ or put a 
 curb on the repacious exactions of their genei 3. 
 
 Whilst his kingdom was thus held in the iron grasp of en 
 overwhelming military occupation, Louis was helpless to resist 
 the demands of the Powers. The disbanding of the French army, 
 and the exemplary punishment of the chief individuals concerned 
 in the recent revolution, were two measures which the potentates 
 and statesmen of the coalition considered to be indispensable. 
 The dissolution of Napoleon's old army had, indeed, become 
 inevitable. Its traditions made it wholly incompatible with the 
 safety of the Bourbon throne. The lawless and ambitious designs 
 which animated some of its chief officers were justly considered 
 to be a perpetual menace to the peace of Europe. It was on 
 July 16th that Louis signed the ordinance which deprived 
 him of an army and decreed the formation of a new one. The 
 matter was, however, kept secret till certain precautions had 
 been taken. ^ The painful duty of carrying it out then devolved 
 on Marshal Macdonald. Davout had, in the meantime, tendered 
 his resignation. It was three months before the disbandment 
 was fully completed. But the affair was well managed and passed 
 off with little disturbance. ^ 
 
 By the Proclamation of Cambrai, the King had announced 
 that the Chamber would be called upon to select those persons 
 who had deserved punishment for acts committed prior to 
 March 23rd, It was impossible, however, for the Parliament 
 to meet before the autumn. And, in the meantime, not only 
 were the Powers insisting, but Louis* own adherents were 
 clamouring for the prompt adoption of punitive measures. 
 Fouche, as Minister of Police, was accordingly instructed to pre- 
 pare a list of the individuals most deeply compromised. It was a 
 task which he embarked upon with great reluctance. He had 
 accepted office under Napoleon during the Hundred Days, as 
 
 1 Pasquier, III. pp. 344-345. 
 
 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Castlereagh, 14 July, 1815. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XL, Mayor of Cateau to Wellington, 1 
 Aout, 1815. 
 
 Mayor of Roye to Wellington, 6 Aout, 1816. 
 
 Despatches, XII., Wellington to O.C. cavalry at Beauvais, 27 Sep- 
 tember, 1816. 
 
 H. Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 483-490. 
 
 2 Pasquier, III. pp. 354-356. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 136-137. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XI., Liverpool to Castlereagh, 28 July, 
 1815. 
 
 3 Pasquier, III. pp. 380-381. 
 Houssaye, 1815, HI. pp. 417-423, 434. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 169. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, III. pp. 624-626. 
 
136 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 early as March 20th, and was, himself, far more guilty than 
 many men whom he must doom to proscription. A full and 
 complete amnesty for all political offenders was the policy he 
 would have wished to see adopted.^ Nevertheless, in the course 
 of the next few days, he submitted for the King's approval the 
 names of over one hundred persons. " In justice to him,'* said 
 Talleyrand, " we must allow that he has omitted none of his 
 friends.'* It has been said that he tried to make the number 
 as large as possible, in order to convince His Majesty, and his 
 colleagues in the Cabinet, of the impossibility of discriminating 
 among such a quantity of people, all equally guilty. If this 
 was his intention, the object failed completely. The numbers he 
 proposed were considerably reduced. Several Ministers succeeded 
 in eliminating the names of personal friends, but on July 25th the 
 Moniieur contained a list of no less than fifty-seven persons, 
 against whom steps of some kind or another were to be taken. ^ 
 The proscribed individuals were divided into two classes. The 
 first, and more important division, consisted of nineteen generals 
 and other officers, denounced for having borne arms against the 
 King, who were to be brought before Courts Martial at once. 
 The second list affected thirty-eight persons, who were ordered 
 to withdraw from Paris within the space of three days. They 
 were to proceed then to wherever the Minister of Police might 
 appoint for their place of abode. The Chambers would decide, 
 when they met, whether they were to be merely banished, or 
 whether legal proceedings should be instituted against them. 
 It was a strange document in several ways. Neither titles nor 
 Christian names appeared in it. Marshal Soult, Due de Dalmatie, 
 whose name figured at the head of those comprising the second 
 group, was described merely as " Soult." On the other hand, 
 General Savary, Due de Rovigo, who was placed last in the first 
 category, was designated simply as " Rovigo.'' The fact that 
 Eavalette had been, for many years, a civilian seemed to have 
 been overlooked, and he appeared among the officers notified 
 to stand their trial before the Military Courts. " One might 
 almost have imagined," writes an historian of the Restoration, 
 " that Fouche thought he was still working for the Committee 
 of Public Safety."3 
 
 ^ Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 145-148. 
 Supplementary Despatches ^ XI., Liverpool to Castlereagh, 16 July, 
 1816. 
 
 Liverpool to Canning, 4 August, 1815. 
 
 2 H. Welschinger, Le Marechal Ney, 1815, p. 107. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 368-369. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, III. pp. 508-516. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 619-520. 
 
1815] THE BOURBON TEEEOR 137 
 
 Never, probably, has so important a State Paper been drawn 
 up with such levity. It, however, possessed one merit which has 
 been generally overlooked. The publication of the names of the 
 persons against whom proceedings were to be initiated, amounted 
 to a warning that they must look to their own safety. It was 
 certainly so understood by the parties concerned. When, a few 
 days later, the agents of the Government arrived at Macdonald's 
 headquarters to execute the warrants, all the threatened officers 
 had fled. Fouche himself had furnished everybody who needed 
 one with a passport. He had lent money to some, and had, in 
 short, done all in his power to save those whom he knew could 
 expect no mercy if caught.^ It was, probably, a subject of secret 
 congratulation to the King and to his ministers that no arrests 
 had been made. But any short-lived satisfaction which they 
 may have experienced on this score was certainly not shared by 
 the majority of Royalists. Ever since Bonis' return to power his 
 adherents had been animated by a fierce vindictiveness.^ The 
 outrageous behaviour of the Gardes -du- Corps in ihe streets 
 towards all persons suspected of Bonapartist sympathies, was 
 already a constant source of disorder.^ Nor was this feeling con- 
 fined to the barracks and the cafes. It flourished in much 
 higher spheres.* The most aristocratic salons of the Faubourg- 
 Saint-Germain breathed a spirit of so furious a resentment as 
 can with difficulty now be realized. In these circles the news, 
 which became known early in August, that the arch-traitor, 
 Ea Bedoyere had been captured lurking in Paris, was received 
 with a savage exultation. 
 
 Charles Huchet, Comte de Ea Bedoyere, of a Breton family, 
 was at this time twenty-nine years of age. He was the youngest 
 Colonel in the French army. To record his distinguished services 
 from 1806 to 1814 is to repeat the history of the great campaigns 
 of the Empire. In 1813, when invalided home after a wound 
 received in Germany, he had married Mile. Victorine Georgine de 
 Chastellux. The ancient and noble family to which the young 
 lady belonged had been almost ruined by the Revolution, and, 
 since the first Restoration, had adopted extreme Royalist senti- 
 ments. Owing to the influence of his wife's relations. Colonel 
 de La Bedoyere had obtained the command of a regiment, 
 and had been decorated with the order of Saint-Eouis. There 
 can be no doubt, however, that he never in his heart rallied to the 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 435-436. 
 
 2 Pasquier, III. pp. 387-388. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Restauration, III. pp. 443-445. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XL, Private Intelligence, 19 July, 1815. 
 * Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 134-135. 
 ,VII. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 200-201. 
 
138 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 Bourbon cause. He was one of those young officers of Napoleon's 
 army who had come under the great soldier's personal observa- 
 tion, and who had been singled out for rapid promotion. To 
 such a man the fall of the Empire meant the close of a brilliant 
 career. The idea of settling down to garrison life under an 
 unwarlike old King must, in any case, have presented a singu- 
 larly distasteful prospect.^ The return from Elba found La 
 Bedoyere quartered at Chambery. The troops there were already 
 under orders to proceed to Grenoble, and the news of Napoleon's 
 landing only hastened their departure. 
 
 The Chambery brigade marched into Grenoble about noon on 
 March 7th. The town was the headquarters of the Military 
 District. Marchand, the General Officer in command, was 
 anxiously awaiting this reinforcement. The attitude of the 
 garrison had been far from reassuring ever since Bonaparte's 
 landing had become known. He was now advancing on Grenoble, 
 and might even arrive before the gates during the course of the 
 day. With the idea of gaining time, Marchand had despatched 
 a battalion of the 5th Regiment and a company of engineers to 
 blow up the bridge at Ponthaut. But no news had been received 
 from this detachment since its departure. ^ 
 
 After the General had inspected the new-comers, the posi- 
 tions to be held by the different corps were pointed out to 
 the commanding officers. In the course of the afternoon these 
 posts were duly occupied. Up to this time nothing in La Be- 
 doyere's conduct seems to have called for remark. He appears to 
 have received and executed his orders without comment or pro- 
 test. But his men had not been long in their places before their 
 Colonel presented himself before them, waving his sword and 
 shouting to them to follow him. Led by La Bedoyere, with 
 drums beating and with loud cheers for the Emperor, the regiment 
 marched out of the town before the eyes of the whole garrison. ^ 
 When he was clear of the last houses. La Bedoyere halted his two 
 battalions, and forming them into a square, produced the old 
 regimental eagle. After a stirring speech the march was resumed. 
 A few miles further on Napoleon's advanced guard was met with. 
 It consisted of those very troops whom Marchand had the day 
 before sent out to destroy the Bridge of Ponthaut. Their defec- 
 tion is one of the most dramatic episodes in Napoleon's marvel- 
 lous adventure. When he found them across his path, prepared, 
 
 ^ Grande Encyclopedie , La Bedoyere. 
 Bourrienne, Memoires, X. p. 257. 
 Marmont, Mcmoires, III. p. 80. 
 Mme. de Boigne, I. pp. 414-415 ; II. p. 63. 
 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, I. p. 251. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 262-254. 
 
1815] THE BOURBON TEREOR 139 
 
 apparently, resolutely to bar his further progress, he had sent 
 strict orders to his own people not to fire a shot. Dismounting 
 from his horse, he had then deliberately walked up to within a 
 few yards of the muzzles of the opposing muskets, and, throwiag 
 open his coat, commanded any man " who wished to shoot his 
 Emperor to do so now and at once." Napoleon had not miscalcu- 
 lated the effect which such a proof of his faith in the affection of 
 the French soldiers for him, would have on the troops. With a 
 ringing cheer they tore off the white cockade, trampled it under 
 foot, and begged for the honour of marching at the head of his 
 column. 
 
 La Bedoyere's desertion had completely dissipated any last 
 feelings of loyalty to the Royal cause, which may still have 
 existed in the hearts of the garrison of Grenoble. ^ The gunners 
 on the ramparts now plainly told their officers that they must not 
 expect them to fire. When, about seven o'clock. Napoleon ap- 
 peared before the southern gate, and, after an angry parley with 
 the officer in command, forced his way into the town, the whole 
 of the troops received him with enthusiasm. For his exploits 
 on this occasion La Bedoyere was created a Peer and promoted 
 to the rank of General. He could not, or pretended that he could 
 not, understand why the Emperor heaped such honours upon him. 
 But Napoleon knew why. He fully realized what La Bedoyere's 
 treason had been worth to him. " Up to Grenoble I was an 
 adventurer ; after that a Prince,"' were the words he used in 
 describing this affair. In the Waterloo campaign La Bedoyere 
 served on the Emperor's staff, and returned with him to Paris. 
 After the abdication he distinguished himself by the violence of his 
 language against the Bourbons, and by his advocacy of the 
 claims of Napoleon II in the Chamber of Peers. ^ When, in 
 accordance with the terms of the capitulation, the French army 
 retired behind the Loire, La Bedoyere accompanied it. Here he 
 received timely warning that his name was at the head of every 
 list of proscribed persons. Amply supplied with money, fur- 
 nished with a passport for the United States, there does not appear 
 to have been any reason why he should not have fled the country. 
 Such was, at first, his intention. But, from Riom he suddenly 
 returned to Paris. His motives have never been explained. It is 
 supposed by some that he came back to take part in a Bonapartist 
 plot. Another suggestion is that he wished to see his wife and 
 child. 3 Whatever the reasons for his journey to Paris may have 
 
 1 Houssaye, 1615, I. pp. 254-258. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 259. 
 
 3 Pasquier, III. pp. 402-403. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 508-509. 
 
140 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 been, he travelled by the ordinary diligence and it cost him his 
 life. He was recognized by an agent of the police, who happened 
 to be his travelling companion. On his arrival he was tracked to 
 a house in the Faubourg-Poissoniere, and within a few hours 
 was a prisoner in the Abbaye. Matters then moved quickly. 
 On August 14th he appeared before a Court Martial. At his 
 trial La Bedoyere conducted his own case with both skill and 
 dignity. But for his behaviour no defence was possible. He 
 was condemned to be shot. On August 19th his appeal was re- 
 jected by the Superior Court, and, the same afternoon, his dis- 
 tinguished career terminated under the bullets of his own country- 
 men on the plain of Grenelle. 
 
 There had been considerable apprehension among the Royalists 
 that the Chastellux influence might be exercised on La Be- 
 doyere's behalf. The fear was unfounded.^ In her efforts to 
 save her husband Madame de La Bedoyere received no assistance 
 from any member of her own family. The news that the sentence 
 had been carried out was received with a sigh of relief in aristo- 
 cratic salons. In the general thirst for blood the ladies of the 
 noble Faubourg made themselves horribly conspicuous. For 
 good and for evil, the prominent part played by women in the 
 political convulsions of their country is a feature in the history of 
 France. No one who has ever read an account of the scenes of the 
 Red Terror can forget the Furies of the Guillotine. The terrible 
 women, who, with the thrif tiness of their race, would sit knitting 
 at the foot of the scaffold looking up to shriek approval as the 
 head of the aristocrat was held up to their gaze. The Tri- 
 coteuse of the Faubourg-Saint-Antoine was to find her counter- 
 part in the Brodeuse of the Faubourg-Saint-Germain. Ladies 
 of the highest rank, it is said, had crowded to La Bedoyere's trial. 
 They had trembled lest he should be reprieved. They had 
 gloated over his death. " And now for the other one ! " was the 
 cry, as soon as La Bedoyere's execution became known. The 
 " other one " was Marshal Ney, Due d'Elchingen, Prince de La 
 Moskowa, who had been arrested at a country house in Auvergne, 
 and was now in Paris, a close prisoner. ^ 
 
 Wiser far than his adherents, Louis X\T[II had heard of Ney*s 
 capture with dismay.^ There had been good reason to hope that 
 he would be able to effect his escape. Fouche had afforded him 
 
 ^ The attempts of Mme. de la Bedoyere to interest Madame Kriidener 
 on her husband^s behalf are related by Madame de Boigne, II. pp. 90-93, 
 99—100 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, III. p. 548 ; IV. p. 377. 
 
 3 Marmont, VII. p. 188. 
 Houssaye;, 1815, III. pp. 567-668. 
 
1815] THE BOURBON TEREOR 141 
 
 every facility, had supplied him with passports, made out in 
 several different names. Ney seems to have intended flying to 
 Switzerland. But at Lyons he heard that all the roads on that 
 frontier were in possession of the Austrians. Not wishing to run 
 the risk of attempting to pass through their lines, he turned back, 
 and sought refuge at the house of one of his wife's relations. 
 Information of his presence there was, withiQ a few days, brought 
 to the prefect. 1 The popular version of his capture is that, whilst 
 hiding in the upper part of the chateau, he had left a sword lying 
 about which in former days the Emperor had given him. This 
 was recognized by a visitor, who reported the matter to the 
 authorities. A domiciliary visit by the police, and Ney's arrest 
 followed. He was carried by easy stages to Paris, where he 
 arrived on August 19th, the day of La Bedoyere's execution, 
 and was at once confined in the Conciergerie to await his trial. 
 
 The bloodthirsty fury of the Royalists was mainly inspired by 
 terror. The surprising ease with which Bonaparte had made 
 himself master of the Government baffled their comprehension. 
 The existence of a deeply laid plot appeared to them the only 
 reasonable explanation. That Napoleon must have had accom- 
 plices, not only in the army, but in all branches of the public 
 service, seemed evident. Without doubt he had been in constant 
 communication with his adherents for months preceding his 
 landing in France. The idea that the return from Elba was the 
 result of a far-reaching and carefully prepared conspiracy was 
 not confined to Frenchmen. It was the opinion of almost all the 
 statesmen of the coalition. The military insurrections of 
 Drouet d'Erlon^ and the Lallemands, which had so nearly 
 coincided with Napoleon's venture, lent colour to the theory. 
 Hardly anybody then supposed that these episodes were in- 
 dependent actions, uninspired by Bonaparte. Whereas, after 
 the first Restoration the Royalists had confidently believed 
 that the fallen Emperor had scarcely a follower worthy of the 
 name, they now saw Bonapartism lurking everywhere. ^ The 
 majority were consumed with the dread of an unknown, mysteri- 
 ous power which might rise at any moment to confound them. 
 To combat this danger, Royalist vigilance committees were 
 formed all over the country. Every man watched his neighbour, 
 and an almost universal system of delation sprang into existence. 
 One half of France, it has been said, was spying on the other. 
 The abuses to which this deplorable state of affairs lent itself 
 need no comment. 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, III. p. 525. 
 
 2 Vide p. 61. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire^ III. pp. 506, 607, 608. 
 
142 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 Cruelty is often the result of fear. Under the influence of an 
 overmastering terror men are little inclined to mercy. The 
 presence of foreign armies and the fact that in most departments 
 the out-and-out Royalists were in the minority, imposed some 
 check on revengeful proceedings. But in the distant provinces 
 of the West and South the situation was different. In La 
 Vendee, and in Brittany, a state of civil war had actually 
 existed.^ Here, after hostilities had come to an end, bands of 
 armed peasantry still terrorized the country. Gangs of ruffians, 
 encouraged in some cases by the rural clergy, pillaged the houses 
 and threatened the Uves of the purchasers of national property. 
 The diligences were stopped, rapine and disorder flourished 
 unchecked. 2 It was in the South that the worst excesses were 
 committed. No sooner had the result of the Battle of Waterloo 
 become known, than Marseilles broke into revolt. The Imperial 
 troops in the town numbered only about fifteen hundred men.^ 
 In face of the menacing attitude of the mob, Verdier, the General 
 commanding in Brune's absence, decided on evacuation. Freed 
 from all restraint, the Royalist fury knew no bounds. During 
 the two days, June 25th and 26th, no less than two hundred 
 persons are supposed to have been massacred in the streets. 
 From Provence the movement spread rapidly westward to 
 Banguedoc and Gascony. Avignon, Montpellier, Nimes, Uzes, 
 Toulouse, and many other places were the scenes of most horrible 
 cruelties. At Avignon, Marshal Brune, who had handed over 
 the command of his military district to the RoyaHst Marquis 
 de Riviere, was butchered by the mob in a house in which he 
 had taken refuge. After the capitulation of La Palud the Due 
 d'Angouleme had sought refuge in Spain. When the over- 
 throw of Napoleon had reopened the road to France, he had 
 returned, and had been invested by the King with the supreme 
 command of all the military districts of the South. But, already, 
 before His Royal Highness' arrival, his disbanded troops, the 
 Miquelets, had emerged from their retreats. Most of them had old 
 scores to settle, all of them were eager for plunder. Murder and 
 outrages of all description heralded their reappearance.* 
 
 At Nimes, where the political question was aggravated by 
 religious animosities, the streets ran with the blood of Protestants 
 and Bonapartists. A ruffian, nicknamed Trestaillons, soon 
 became known as the leader in these abominations. Uzes also 
 
 1 Pasquier, HI. pp. 366-358. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histotre, III. p. 506. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 339-342. 
 
 4 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 453-461. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, III. pp. 536-539, 
 
1815] THE BOURBON TERROR 143 
 
 witnessed some terrible scenes, and could boast of a popular 
 hero, Quatretaillons,^ so named because his followers claimed 
 that his deeds of infamy had surpassed even those of Trestaillons. 
 Another band of cut-throats, the Verdets, emulated the achieve- 
 ments of the Miquelets. They wore a green uniform, the colour 
 of the Comte d*Artois' liveries, and were supposed to be especially 
 attached to him. The murder of General Ramel at Toulouse, 
 under peculiarly atrocious circumstances, was one of their chief 
 exploits. The Royalists, even in these districts, had not always 
 matters entirely their own way.^ The Protestants in the depart- 
 ment of the Gard, assisted by disbanded soldiers and deserters, 
 attacked and defeated a Royalist corps. Civil war seemed on the 
 point of breaking out. The intervention of an Austrian division, 
 under Neipperg, became necessary. These troops soon restored 
 order and dealt summary justice on all offenders caught with 
 arms in their hands. But, with their departure, the disturbances 
 were renewed. It was not till the end of the year that a more 
 peaceful state of affairs began to prevail.^ 
 
 The Due d'Angouleme had spared no efforts to repress disorder 
 and to protect innocent persons from the vengeance of his fol- 
 lowers. But he had no regular troops at his disposal, and was, in 
 many cases, ill served by the local authorities. In addition to 
 these difficulties, which greatly retarded the re-establishment of 
 good order, he had had to contend with a threatened Spanish inva- 
 sion.* Ferdinand had declared war on Napoleon and had massed 
 troops on the frontier. Beyond this he had not ventured to go. 
 In August, however, believing France to be helpless, and hearing 
 much talk of indemnities and of a prospective dismemberment 
 of the country, he conceived the time had come for action. In 
 hopes of obtaining some share in the plunder, he ordered his 
 generals to advance. The Due d'Angouleme was at Bordeaux, 
 presiding over the elections, when the news reached him. He 
 at once called out the National Guards, and collected as many 
 volunteers as possible. The Duke liimself, on August 27th, 
 proceeded to Perpignan, to confer with Castanos, the Spanish 
 commander. D'Angouleme's firm demeanour on this occasion 
 averted the danger. The general agreed to retrace his steps, 
 and the contemplated invasion collapsed. 
 
 The massacres and atrocities which for many months desolated 
 the South, were in general the spontaneous acts of the lowest 
 
 ^ Viel Castel, Histoire, III. pp. 501-505. 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 463-473. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 473-480. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 9-14. 
 * Pasquier, III. pp. 406-408. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 15-17. 
 
144 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 class of the inhabitants. To some extent, perhaps, the outrages 
 committed by the Miquelets and the Verdets were the inevitable 
 ills which Civil War and Revolution bring in their train. They 
 were, at any rate, in most cases the work of miscreants who 
 found, in the political convulsions of their country, opportunities 
 for indulging their natural propensity for robbery and bloodshed. 
 The judicial murder of the brothers Faucher at Bordeaux, 
 belongs to a different category of crime. The dregs of the 
 population were not, in this instance, the guilty parties. The 
 highest civil and miUtary officials in the district must be held 
 solely responsible for it. The condemnation of these men is one 
 of the most shameful episodes in the history of the " White 
 Terror.*' The story throws a lurid light on the spirit and the 
 passions of the time. 
 
 At La Reole, a town about forty miles from Bordeaux, there 
 lived two twin brothers, Cesar and Constantin Faucher. They 
 were the sons of an officer, and both of them under the old 
 regime had served for a short time in the army. Wlien the Revolu- 
 tion broke out the brothers enthusiastically embraced the new 
 doctrines. At Rochefort they were condemned to death as 
 Girondins, and were only pardoned on the scaffold. In Ea 
 Vendee, and on the eastern frontier, both achieved distinction 
 in the ranks of the armies of the Republic. Under the Consulate, 
 the two Fauchers, who had by this time risen to the rank of 
 Grenerals, appear to have entered the Civil Service. But, as 
 staunch Republicans, on the proclamation of the Empire, they 
 resigned their appointments and retired into private life. When, 
 however, in 1814, Wellington's army entered France, they again 
 tendered their services to the Government. During the Hundred 
 Days Cesar was returned as member for the Gironde to the 
 Chamber, and Constantin was elected Mayor of Ba Reole. After 
 Waterloo, when General Clauzel declared the region to be in a 
 state of siege, Constantin received the command of the district 
 of Bazas and La Reole. As there were no troops in either place, 
 the appointment meant very little. Such as it was, however, he 
 resigned it, without protest, on receipt of orders from the Royal 
 authorities to do so. Cesar, in the meantime, had rejoiued his 
 brother iq his native town, after the dissolution of the Chambers 
 in Paris. Both of them, on July 21st, duly witnessed the hoisting 
 of the Bourbon flag at La Reole. The affair passed off quite 
 quietly. But the next day an infantry regiment of the Line, 
 on the march to Bordeaux, pulled down the Royal colours 
 and occasioned some disturbance. On account of this mani- 
 festation, a Royalist corps was despatched to La Reole. 
 Before these troops arrived, however, order had been restored 
 
1815J THE BOURBON TERROR 145 
 
 and the Bourbon flag replaced. For some reason, the Fauchers 
 were supposed to have fomented the disorder which had taken 
 place during the passage of the Line detachment through the 
 town. The attitude of the Royalists towards them became, in 
 consequence, so threatening that the two generals barricaded 
 themselves in their house and armed some of their friends and 
 servants. They sent an account to General Clauzel of their 
 proceedings, and of the steps they proposed taking, if they were 
 molested, in the future. Clauzel had just become aware that his 
 name was in the Hst of proscribed officers. He was on the point 
 of flying from Bordeaux when the letter from the Fauchers 
 arrived. Either from thoughtlessness, or because he could not 
 conceive that it contained anything of a compromising nature, 
 he handed it over, before his departure, to the prefect. The 
 Royal authorities, however, took a different view of the matter.^ 
 A large force of gendarmes was sent to La Reole to apprehend the 
 Fauchers on the charge of being in illegal possession of a depot of 
 firearms. A perquisition, made by the poUce at their house, 
 brought to light one regulation musket, eight sporting guns, and 
 two or three toy cannon. The discovery of these weapons was 
 held sufficient to substantiate the accusation. The brothers 
 were, accordingly, removed to Bordeaux and thrown into 
 prison. 
 
 Public opinion was bitterly hostile to them. The newspapers 
 one and all clamoured for their blood. As free-thinkers, more- 
 over, the Fauchers had incurred the animosity of the priests 
 and clerical party. Clauzel had been succeeded in the command 
 of the Military District of Bordeaux by the Comte de Viosmesnil, 
 an old emigre y holding the most exaggerated views. He was the 
 last man to show mercy to two Republicans, old combatants of 
 La Vendee, whom circumstances had placed in his power. After 
 an imprisonment of six weeks in a filthy cell, crawUng with 
 vermin, the Fauchers appeared before a Court Martial on Sep- 
 tember 22nd. To the eternal shame of the Bordeaux bar, no 
 member of it could be found with sufficient courage to undertake 
 their defence. The distinguished Ravez, afterwards President 
 of the Chamber of Deputies, a personal friend of the accused, 
 had been retained. In view, however, of the popular fury against 
 them, he had considered it prudent to throw up his brief. This 
 abstention on his part had been triumphantly recorded in the 
 papers as another proof of the Fauchers' guilt. It was an 
 example which the rest of the bar were urged to follow. ^ The 
 
 1 Houssaye, III. pp. 512-518. 
 
 2 Caitses politiques du XIX siecle par une societe d*avocats, Paris^ 18257, 
 Proces des freres Faucher, 
 
146 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1815 
 
 ill-fated men reduced to their own unaided efforts, found them- 
 selves indicted on four counts : (1) retaining a command 
 after the Government had withdrawn it ; (2) inciting their 
 countrymen to Civil War by collecting an armed force at their 
 house ; (3) repressing by force the loyal impulses of the in- 
 habitants of Ea Reole ; (4) attempting to recruit a rebel corps 
 from among the soldiers of His Majesty. 
 
 The evidence called in support of these charges was of the 
 flimsiest description. Nevertheless both brothers were con- 
 demned to death. The Fauchers, though convinced it was hope- 
 less, yielded to the entreaties of a niece, and appealed. The 
 procedure before the Revisionary Court does not admit of the 
 accused being present. They had, therefore, to be provided 
 with Counsel. M. Emerigon, the bdtonnier ^ of the Bordeaux bar, 
 reluctantly came forward. The conduct of this worthy offers 
 a melancholy spectacle of human cowardice. The last thing 
 M. Emerigon had at heart was the interests of his unfortunate 
 clients. He was solely occupied in excusing his o^vn presence 
 before the Court. He begged that it might be understood that 
 he was merely there to expound the law, and not as the legal 
 defender of the accused. The appeal was, of course, rejected. 
 On the follo^ving day, September 27th, the two brothers were 
 shot. During their imprisonment, at their trial, before the 
 firing party, both had displayed courage of a high order. A 
 letter which one of them wrote to a friend, on the morning of their 
 execution, testifies to their remarkable equanimity. ^ "In an 
 hour's time we shall be no more. We are about to die owing to a 
 judicial error, for which a time of great popular excitement 
 must be the excuse.'" 
 
 It is given to few men to review their own case in so philo- 
 sophic a spirit. 
 
 1 Leader chosen annually. 
 
 2 Letter quoted by Houssaye, 1815, III. p. 618. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 THE ROYALIST VICTORY 
 
 THE elections, in accordance with the Royal Proclamation 
 of July 13th, had taken place in August. They were 
 the first which had occurred under the Restored Monarchy. 
 To understand the events which sprang from them, a brief 
 description becomes necessary of the somewhat complicated 
 machinery by which the Deputies were returned to the Chamber. 
 The Charter had laid it down that, in order to be eligible to vote, 
 a man must be not less than thirty years of age, and must pay 
 three hundred francs in direct taxation. The would-be Deputy 
 himself had to contribute a thousand francs a year towards the 
 taxes, and was required to be forty years of age. The Royal 
 Ordinance, which regulated the elections of 1815, had modified 
 the age Hmit for both electors and candidates, but had not in- 
 terfered with the pecuniary qualifications as estabHshed by the 
 Charter. The principle which governed the choice of the Parlia- 
 mentary representatives was that of " Indirect Election.*'^ 
 That is to say, the persons qualified to vote were divided into 
 two categories or degrees. The electors in the first degree were 
 eligible to belong to the college d'arrondissement ; those in the 
 second might be members of the departmental college. But 
 admission to this latter body was limited to the proportion of one 
 elector to every thousand inhabitants. Furthermore, to belong 
 to the departmental college the voter must be one of the six 
 hundred most heavily taxed individuals in the department. 
 When the elections began the college d'arrondissement voted 
 first, and selected a number of candidates equal to the number 
 of Deputies which the department was entitled to return. 
 This selection was not final. A week later the departmental 
 college met and proceeded to the direct election. In making 
 their choice, however, the members of it were bound to return 
 half the candidates put forward by the college d'arrondissement. 
 Each electoral college had a President who was appointed by 
 the King. These officials were selected with great care. At 
 
 1 Weil, Elections Legislatives , pp. 56, 67, 63-65. 
 147 
 
148 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 the elections of 1815 the Comte d'Artois, the Due de Berri and 
 the Due d'Angouleme all presided over departmental colleges. 
 When the President was not a Royal person or a local magnate, 
 he was generally the ofl&cial candidate of the Government. 
 The colleges themselves were usually divided into sections, 
 each of which had a Vice-President. Ostensibly, this was done 
 to save the elector the trouble and expense of a long journey 
 to record his vote. The real reason, however, why a sub-division 
 of the electoral colleges found favour with the authorities had 
 little to do with the convenience of the elector. By breaking up 
 the colleges into small boards of this description, the voter could 
 be brought more directly into contact with, and under the in- 
 fluence of, the President of his section.^ 
 
 In these early days it was not yet the custom of the Parlia- 
 mentary candidate to bring himself openly to the notice of the 
 electors. 2 The modern practice of a direct appeal to a con- 
 stituency only began to find favour some years later. Any 
 canvassing which took place assumed the form of a, so to speak, 
 secret intrigue. Those candidates, however, whose election was 
 favoured by the Government, found an active champion in the 
 prefect. On their behalf he would set in motion all the powerful 
 machinery which he had at his command. It was his duty to 
 leave no stone unturned which could secure the return of persons 
 agreeable to Ministers. From the nature of things, bribery, as 
 between the candidate and the elector, was not resorted to. 
 Though the Government might furnish its officers, and some- 
 times the Presidents of electoral colleges with funds wherewith 
 to prosecute the campaign, corruption, in the ordinary sense 
 of the word, was not a feature of French elections. But, if the 
 voter was not exposed to temptations of this kind, he was sub- 
 jected to pressure infinitely more fatal to an independent 
 exercise of the suffrage. The weighty influence of the prefect, 
 the social prestige attaching to the President of his college were 
 aU brought to bear upon him. This direct interference by the 
 Government and its agents in elections was the great evil of the 
 French system. ^ 
 
 Ever since the time of Napoleon, the number of officials in 
 France has been very great.* In the early days of the Restoration 
 it was computed that, exclusive of military officers, half a million 
 of individuals were in the employment of the State. A large 
 proportion of the members of an ordinary electoral college were 
 
 1 Weil, Elections Legislatives, p. 123. 
 Vitrolles^ Memoires, III. pp. 142-144. 
 
 2 Weil, Elections Legislatives, pp. 131-137. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 125. 
 
 * Ibid., pp. 120-122. 
 
1815] THE EOYALIST VICTORY 149 
 
 public functionaries of some kind. The ease with which pressure 
 could be exercised on these persons must be obvious. A refusal 
 to vote for the Government candidate was, in the case of an 
 official, to court certain dismissal from office. In 1822, when 
 Marshal Victor, Due de Bellune was at the War Office, it was 
 brought to his notice that a Captain Ea Fontaine, at Dijon, had 
 voted for an opposition candidate. The Minister, forthmth, 
 decreed that he was to be imprisoned for a month. The matter 
 was taken up by the Liberals, and formed the subject of an 
 interpellation in the Chamber. The Marshal's answer was to 
 dismiss the culprit from the army and to deprive him of his 
 pension.^ 
 
 At the elections of 1815, in order to ensure the triumph 
 of the Royalists, Pasquier, the Minister of the Interior, revived 
 a practice which the laws of the Empire had sanctioned. He 
 says, however, that he disapproved of it, but that Talleyrand 
 and the King wished the experiment to be tried. On July 21st, 
 accordingly, a Royal Ordinance appeared, empowering prefects 
 to add twenty members to each departmental college, and ten 
 to each college d'arrondissement.^ In theory the persons so 
 nominated should have been men who had rendered distinguished 
 service to the country. In practice this was a side of the question 
 which was generally ignored. In the eyes of most prefects a 
 reputation for holding " healthy opinions,'' and of being a man 
 who could be depended upon " to vote straight," far out- 
 weighed any past services to the State. With a very few excep- 
 tions it was on these lines, solely, that the specially selected 
 voters were chosen. An average departmental college numbered 
 about two hundred electors. The ejffect of introducing into such 
 a body twenty members, absolutely committed to vote for the 
 Ministerial candidates, speaks for itself.^ 
 
 The comparatively Liberal character of the Cabinet has 
 already been pointed out. The obvious policy for Ministers 
 was to secure, if possible, a preponderance of Deputies in the 
 Chamber holding views more or less in harmony with their own. 
 But, in their endeavours to secure a Royalist majority, and to 
 prevent the election of any members of the Chamber of the 
 Hundred Days, they greatly overshot the mark. The result of 
 the polling far surpassed expectations. An overwhelming 
 Royalist majority was returned. The new Deputies, however, 
 with scarcely any exceptions, were men of such extreme views, 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deuj^ Restaur of ions, VI, p. 166. 
 2 Pasquier, III. pp. 363-365. 
 
 Marmont, VII. pp. 173-174. 
 ^ Weil, Elections Legislatives, pp. 65-66. 
 
150 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1815 
 
 that the position of the Cabinet became, at once, seriously- 
 endangered. An " incomparable Chamber *' {CTiambre introwv- 
 able) J Louis is supposed to have said in the early days of this 
 amazing victory. ^ A favourable opinion, however, which he 
 was not to entertain for long. 
 
 It was impossible for Ministers to have any illusions as to 
 the difficulties which they would have to encounter during the 
 coming Session. The loyal addresses which poured in from 
 the electoral colleges probably reflected, only too accurately, the 
 opinions of the newly returned Deputies. A demand for the 
 exemplary punishment of political offenders, and a thinly 
 veiled hostility to the Cabinet, was the dominant note. Fouche 
 was, unquestionably, the particular object of these attacks. He 
 had, it is true, been returned for no less than three departments, 
 one of which was Paris, and had elected to be a representative 
 of the capital. The feeling against him was, notwithstanding, 
 very bitter. Fouche's active participation in the elections of the 
 Hundred Days has been mentioned. It does not appear, how- 
 ever, that he had had much to do with those which were just 
 over. He had probably never for a moment anticipated such a 
 result. Not foreseeing the danger, he had done nothing to avert 
 it. Possibly, also, his attention may have been too completely 
 engrossed with an important event in his private life.^ On 
 August 1st he had married Mile. Gabrielle de Castellane. The 
 young lady was good-looking and many years his junior. Though 
 penniless, she belonged to an aristocratic family.^ It was not 
 Fouche's first experiment in matrimony. His previous marriage 
 had, however, been of a very different kind. The first Madame 
 Fouche was a person of very humble extraction, remarkable 
 only for her extreme plainness. But Fouche had been fond of her. 
 This very immoral politician was always an excellent husband, 
 an affectionate father ; he had, in short, all the domestic virtues. 
 He was now a Minister of the Most Christian King. At his 
 wedding Louis had been a signatory to the marriage contract. 
 Through his wife he was allied to the noblest families. At fifty - 
 six, after a singularly eventful life, he seemed to have reached a 
 position whence he could defy the vicissitudes of fortune. Yet 
 his career was all but over. At the summit of his greatness, 
 exile and obscurity were close upon him. 
 
 Louis had accepted Fouche because he believed that it was the 
 price which he must pay for his return to Paris. But he had 
 never trusted him. M. Eugene Forgues has recently brought to 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. p. 379. 
 
 2 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 473-474. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 466-467. 
 
1815] THE ROYALIST VICTORY 151 
 
 light a curious document, The Secret Dossier of Fouche.^ It 
 is a strong testimony to the! amount of confidence reposed in 
 the Minister of PoUce. From the moment of Fouche's in- 
 stallation in office, he became, presumably by the King's orders, 
 the object of a minute supervision. Every morning his old 
 friend Vitrolles, now Secretary to the Council, would receive 
 a detailed report of all Fouche's doings. The name and, so far 
 as possible, the business of every visitor was recorded. If 
 he seemed to be in a good humour, or if he appeared depressed, 
 the fact was duly noted. This vigilance was not relaxed even 
 on his wedding-day. The next morning Vitrolles could read, 
 with doubtless much amusement, that Fouche, the night before, 
 was supposed to have been " tres gcdant." But the really 
 humorous side to the situation was, that this elaborate system 
 of espionage was carried out under the auspices of the faithful 
 Foudras, Fouche's chief lieutenant, the man who had been 
 commissioned to arrest him, in the previous March, and whom 
 a few days later, after Napoleon's return, Fouche had promoted 
 and rewarded. 
 
 Before the second Restoration was more than a few weeks old, 
 the affection of the Ultra-Royalists ^ for Fouche had sensibly 
 cooled doTVTi. The anxious days at Arnouville, when they had all 
 believed that he was the only man who could manage the King's 
 entry into Paris, were soon forgotten. The only thing which 
 they remembered now was that Fouche was a regicide. His 
 colleagues, too, in the Cabinet were beginning to find his presence 
 among them disagreeably compromising. After the elections 
 it became clear that, if the breakers were to be surmounted, the 
 Ministerial boat must be lightened. Obviously Fouche was the 
 person to be thrown overboard. ^ Talleyrand began to talk to 
 him of the charms of the United States. The post of French 
 Ambassador at Washington might, he thought, soon become 
 vacant.* But Fouche was not disposed to take the hint. He 
 wished to cling to office as long as possible. He had still, to a 
 certain extent, the support of Wellington, who had already once 
 intervened to save him when his dismissal had been decided 
 
 ^ E. Forgue's Revue Historique, 1906, XC, ^^Dossier secret de Fouche.^' 
 
 2 The term Ultra-Royalist is supposed to have been first used by Fouche, 
 and it now became the usual designation of the party. Viel Castel, Histoire, 
 IV. p. 83. 
 
 3 Houssaye, 1816, III. p. 530. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 100-103. 
 
 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Dumouriez, 26 September, 1815. 
 Supplementary Despatches ^ XI., Castlereagh to Liverpool, 14 Sep- 
 tember, 1815. 
 
 ^ Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 198-201. 
 Pasquier, III. pp. 390-394. 
 
152 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 upon. The return of the Duchesse d'Angouleme, however, 
 sealed his fate. She made no attempt to conceal her repugnance 
 for him, and flatly declined to receive him. King and Ministers 
 were both agreed that the position was no longer possible. 
 On September 15th, the Moniteur announced his appointment 
 to the Embassy at Dresden. For another fortnight he stayed on 
 in Paris, trying to brave it out. Then suddenly, on October 4th, 
 for no well- explained reason, he fled to Brussels, almost in dis- 
 guise. It was the great mistake of his life, he said afterwards. 
 Worse troubles, however, were to follow.^ 
 
 The Cabinet survived Fouche's dismissal but a few days. 
 The Ultra -Royalist reaction, which the result of the elections fore- 
 shadowed, was not the only obstacle to its continued existence. 
 The Tsar of Russia's great antipathy to Talleyrand had, from 
 the first, been a source of weakness. The Autocrat had not 
 forgotten the Secret Treaty of January 3rd, and, not without 
 reason, held the President of the Council responsible for it. 
 Possibly, also, Talleyrand himself may have considered the 
 moment favourable for resignation. He foresaw that, if he were 
 to remain in ofiice, he must, at no distant date, subscribe to 
 humiliating conditions of peace. It was a disagreeable necessity 
 from which he was anxious to escape. In consultation with his 
 colleagues, it was accordingly settled that the Ministry should 
 resign in a body.^ But, so far as his own retirement was con- 
 cerned, Talleyrand was under the delusion that it would only be 
 temporary. He was convinced that in the near future his 
 services would have to be again invoked. The readiness, however, 
 with which the King accepted the situation, came as somewhat 
 of a surprise. 3 
 
 Louis was, probably, quite prepared for the retirement of his 
 Ministers. No sooner had he received their resignation than he 
 sent for the Due de Richelieu and pressed him to undertake the 
 task of forming the new Cabinet. Two months before the Duke 
 had been offered a seat in the Government, but he had declined 
 on the grounds that he could never be the colleague of Monsieur 
 Fouche. That objection could not be raised any longer. Never- 
 theless, the King found him very reluctant to accept the greater 
 honour which he now proposed to confer on him. It was the 
 Tsar who, in the end, persuaded him to consent. Little as his 
 private inclinations prompted him to enter the political arena, 
 ill -qualified as he considered himself to be for the arduous 
 
 1 Madelin, Fouche, II. pp. 436-488. 
 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 100-101, 104, 105. 
 Marmont, VII. p. 216. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 88-95. 
 ^ Vitrolles' Memoires, III. pp. 228-229. 
 
1815] THE EOYALIST VICTOEY 153 
 
 position of First Minister of the State, Richelieu could not be 
 deaf to the inducement which his old master held out to him. 
 If he would accept office, Alexander promised to exert all his 
 authority and influence to obtain better terms of peace for 
 France. 1 The Due de Richelieu, the grandson of the roue 
 Marshal, was a man of a singularly elevated character. In the 
 early days of the Revolution he had emigrated, and had entered 
 the Russian service under the Empress Catherine. After a 
 short visit to France, in 1801, he returned to Russia, but was not 
 received favourably by the Emperor Paul. His successor, 
 Alexander, however, conceived a great liking and respect for him, 
 and appointed him Governor of Odessa. Under Richelieu's 
 enlightened administration the town had grown and flourished. 
 It was here that the greater part of his twenty- five years of exile 
 had been spent. He is said to have always looked back on this 
 time as the happiest of his life. Though the Revolution had 
 entailed on him the entire loss of a large fortune, he had no 
 sympathy with the prejudices and blind resentment of the 
 emigres. To the difficult task which now confronted him, he 
 could only bring a sound intelligence and a high-minded devotion 
 to the interests of his country. But though he had neither great 
 abihties nor wide knowledge, he was a man of studious habits, 
 well versed in military questions, and with a good grasp of 
 European politics. The many years, however, which he had 
 spent abroad, had deprived him of nearly all acquaintance 
 with the internal affairs of France. Richelieu was by nature 
 of a shy and retiring disposition. This had, on occasions, the 
 effect of making his manners appear abrupt, not so say actually 
 rude. He was often at too little pains to conceal his dislike for 
 social ceremonies. In an age, moreover, when men still attached 
 importance to questions of dress, he was rather neglectful of his 
 personal appearance. ^ 
 
 That the new President of the Council might have time to 
 select his colleagues, the King had postponed the meeting of the 
 Chambers till October 7th. Richelieu's first attempt at Cabinet 
 making was not altogether happy. He laboured under the 
 serious disadvantage of being unacquainted with almost all the 
 leading politicians. To conciliate the Comte d'Artois and the 
 extreme party, Clarke, Due de Feltre, and the Comte de Vaublanc 
 were respectively offered the War Office and the Home Depart- 
 
 1 Pasquier, III. p. 374. 
 
 Marmont, VII. p. 216, 217. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 95-99. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XI., Castlereagh to Liverpool, 26 Sep- 
 tember, 1815. 
 
 ^ Mme. de Boigne, II. pp. 123, 124, 125. 
 
154 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 merit. Clarke, notwithstanding his Imperial antecedents, had at 
 Ghent and elsewhere completely identified himself with the Ultra- 
 Royalists. There was little fear that he would hesitate to carry 
 out the harshest measures against his old companions in arms. 
 Vaublanc was at this time Prefect of Marseilles. He also had 
 served the Empire, but had remained faithful to the Monarchy 
 during the Hundred Days.^ The supreme self-confidence and 
 vanity which, at his first interview with Richelieu, he displayed, 
 convinced the latter of the new Minister's unfitness. It was, 
 however, considered to be too late to mthdraw an offer which 
 had been so readily accepted. But, as events were to prove, the 
 step which was destined to have by far the most far-reaching 
 consequences was the promotion to Cabinet rank of the Prefect 
 of Police, Elie Decazes. Louis XVIII, owing to his distrust of 
 Fouch^, had, on several occasions, directly confided certain 
 secret enquiries to him. In the course of the interviews which 
 had thus taken place, Decazes had captivated the King's fancy. 
 The retirement of M. de Blacas had deprived Louis of that 
 sympathetic companionship which was so necessary to his 
 existence. Decazes' rise in the Royal favour made rapid strides. 
 On the fall of the Talleyrand Ministry, he was selected to conduct 
 the negotiations which w^ere set on foot to induce M. de Richelieu 
 to form a new Cabinet. Decazes appears to have made a highly 
 favourable impression on the Duke, and it is said that Richelieu 
 stipulated that, if he was to be President of the Council, Decazes 
 must be Minister of Police. ^ 
 
 Richelieu had not only followed Talleyrand as President of the 
 Council, he had also succeeded him as Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs. It devolved on him, therefore, to pick up the thread 
 of the peace negotiations at the point at which Tallejn-and had 
 left them. The outlook was not encouraging. It seemed probable 
 that, in expiation for her return to Imperial rule, during the 
 Hundred Days, France would have to submit to immense 
 sacrifices. As to the nature of the penalties and the full extent of 
 the guarantees which they proposed to exact, the Great Powers 
 were not entirely agreed. In this divergence of views lay the one 
 hope of French diplomacy. 
 
 The demands of Prussia were, especially, exacting. As set 
 
 forth by Hardenburg and Humboldt, her safety could only be 
 
 secured by the retrocession of practically all the conquests of 
 
 Eouis XIV. If France, they contended, were to be left in 
 
 ^ Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 221-224. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 120-126. 
 2 lUd., p. 101. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 225-228. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 88-93. 
 
1815] THE EOYALIST VICTORY 155 
 
 possession of her existing frontiers, her eyes would, as of yore, be 
 constantly turning towards the Rhine. Any move in that 
 direction would be a menace to German interests, and must lead 
 to another war. Austrian policy accorded in the main with that 
 of Prussia. In Mettemich's scheme, however, territorial con- 
 cessions did not occupy quite so prominent a place. He was 
 fully agreed that the military position of France, on her eastern 
 frontier, must be sensibly weakened. But he was prepared to 
 see this effected, to a great extent, by the dismantling of her 
 fortresses of the first and second line.^ 
 
 The Russian note, which had been drawn up by the Count 
 Capo d'Istria, differed materially from the views expressed by 
 the German Powers. Little was demanded beyond the payment 
 of a war idemnity and th& maintenance, for a stipulated time, of 
 an army of occupation. Alexander was well disposed towards 
 France. But he was still smarting under the ingratitude, of which 
 he considered the treaty entered into at Vienna was a proof. 
 It was, however, no part of his plan to weaken her permanently, 
 for the benefit chiefly of Austria and Prussia. On the contrary, 
 a strong France would prove a useful check on German ambitions. 
 The restoration of the balance of power in Western Europe 
 became, accordingly, the basis of his policy. These friendly in- 
 tentions of the Tsar were encouraged by his Ambassador, the 
 Corsican Pozzo di Borgo. The latter's benevolent dispositions 
 were not entirely disinterested. Since 1814 he had been in re- 
 ceipt of a large pension for his services to the Bourbon cause. 
 Talleyrand even intended making him Minister of the Interior. 
 Pozzo was unwilling to accept the post, but his real motives for 
 refusing are not very clear. ^ 
 
 After the enormous expenditure in the war, a long period of 
 peace was essential for England. The question for her to deter- 
 mine was, whether that end could be best attained by supporting 
 the harsh demands of Austria and Prussia, or by espousing the 
 moderate views of Russia. In the first instance Lord Liverpool 
 and the Cabinet had unhesitatingly favoured the adoption of the 
 German policy. Both Castlereagh and Wellington, however, 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, II. pp. 36-63. 
 2 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII. et Decazes, pp. 62-53. 
 Correspondance de Pozzo avec Nesselrode, II. pp. 211-219. 
 Supplementary Despatches, XL, Liverpool to Castlereagh, 16 July, 
 1815. 
 
 Liverpool to Castlereagh, 28 July, 1815. 
 Liverpool to Castlereagh, 3 August, 1816. 
 Liverpool to Castlereagh, 11 August, 1815. 
 Castlereagh to Wellington, 12 August, 1815. 
 Memoire by Knesebeck, 13 Aout, 1815. 
 Hardenberg to Prince Regent, 18 September, 1815. 
 
156 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815, 
 
 held different opinions. In two despatches, almost identical in 
 tone, they proceeded to combat the attitude taken up by the 
 Prime Minister. By removing from France a large tract of 
 territory, it was hoped so to weaken her, in a military sense, 
 that she would be unwilling to begin another war of aggression. 
 But were the German Powers sufficiently strong to repel all 
 attempts of France to reconquer the provinces, which it was 
 proposed to deprive her of ? Neither Wellington nor Castlereagh 
 thought so.^ The chief lesson, they conceived, of the recent wars 
 was the enormous strength which France could put forth 
 when stirred by a great national impulse. If she was now 
 compelled to submit to a serious loss of territory she would, 
 without doubt, in a few years try to win back all which had been 
 taken from her. Were England to become a party to a treaty 
 for the dismemberment of France, she must, as an inevitable 
 consequence, be drawn into any war which such an agreement 
 might lead to. 
 
 The opinions expressed by Wellington and Castlereagh carried 
 great weight with the Cabinet. More moderate counsels began 
 to prevail. The adhesion of the English Government to the 
 principles of the Russian policy had at once the effect of making 
 Prussia lower her tone. Nevertheless, the demands of the Allies, 
 as formulated in a note, dated September 15th, were sufficiently 
 exacting. Talleyrand had despaired of obtaining less arduous 
 terms. But with the advent of Richelieu to the Foreign Office, a 
 notable improvement in French affairs became apparent. The 
 Tsar, true to his promise, refused to allow France to be deprived 
 of several fortresses such as Conde, Givet, Charlemont, and Joux, 
 which, according to the Ultimatum of the 15th, were to be given 
 up. Thanks also to his good offices, the war idemnity was 
 reduced by a hundred million francs. Finally, on October 2nd, 
 the de&iite terms of the treaty were agreed upon by the repre- 
 sentatives of the five Great Powers concerned. The actual 
 document was not, however, signed till November 20th. The 
 principal articles provided for the occupation of France by an 
 Allied Army of one hundred and fifty thousand men under the 
 Duke of Welhngton, for a term not exceeding five years. An 
 indemnity of seven hundred million francs was to be paid. The 
 1 Despatches^ XII., Wellington to Castlereagh, 11 August, 1815. 
 
 Wellington to Castlereagh (memorandum), 31 August, 1816. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XL, Castlereagh to Liverpool, 24 July, 
 29 July, 3 August, 12 August, 17 August, 1815. 
 
 Liverpool to Castlereagh, 11 August, 18 August, 23 August, 1815. 
 
 Castlereagh to Liverpool, forwarding precis, pp. 137-142. 
 
 Liverpool to Castlereagh, 28 August, 1815. 
 
 Memorandum by Castlereagh, 31 August, 1815. 
 
 Castlereagh to Liverpool, 21 Septerabre, 1815. 
 
1815] THE ROYALIST VICTORY 157 
 
 fortress of Eandau was to be added to Bavaria, and Chamb^ry 
 and all that part of Savoy which had been left to France in 1814 
 was to be given back to the kingdom of Sardinia. 
 
 These negotiations throw a flood of light on the aims and 
 aspirations of the different Powers. A cursory glance over the 
 history of the period between 1815 and 1870 shows that the fears 
 of the Prussian statesmen were well founded. From the vantage- 
 ground of her bristling frontier in Alsace and Lorraine, France, 
 during those fifty- five years, cast many covetous glances towards 
 the Rhine. But after a lapse of time the conditions began to 
 change. The hegemony of Germany was passing from Austria 
 into the strong hands of her northern rival, Prussia. When the 
 inevitable struggle came, France was destined to lose those con- 
 quests of Eouis XIV which Stein and Hardenburg had hoped to 
 have seen her deprived of in 1815. 
 
 The Allied Sovereigns took their departure from Paris towards 
 the end of September. Before separating, however, they had 
 affixed their signatures to that strange document, known as the 
 " Holy Alliance.'* It was an ideal which had been conceived by 
 Madame de Kriidener, and which had been brought into the world 
 by the Tsar Alexander. If in its maturer years it failed to realize 
 the high expectations formed for it at birth, this must be ascribed 
 to the demoralizing influence of contact with the realities of life. 
 Universal peace and brotherhood were the aims set forth in its 
 several articles. These admirable sentiments were, however, 
 couched in language so vague and of such extreme religious 
 mysticism as to create suspicion, when they did not excite 
 amusement. 
 
 The treaty had been signed by the Sovereigns themselves, 
 not as is customary, by their Plenipotentiaries. This peculiarity 
 saved the English Government from an awkward dilemma. The 
 Prince Regent was able to excuse himself on constitutional 
 grounds from adding his name to it, whilst, in an autograph 
 letter, he expressed himself as completely in sympathy with the 
 excellent principles which it contained.^ 
 
 * Supplementary Despatches, XI., Castlereagh to Liverpool, 28 Sep- 
 tember, 1815. 
 
 TeM of Treaty, pp. 178-180. 
 
 Liverpool to Castlereagh, 3 October, 1815, enclosing draft of letter 
 of Regent to two Emperors and King of Prussia. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 LA CHAMBRE INTROUVABLE 
 
 THE twice-adjourned opening of the Session took place at 
 last on October 7th. During the previous three weeks 
 the new Deputies had been arriving in Paris in large numbers. 
 Many were quite strangers to Paris life. Few had given any- 
 thought to the business of Government, or had any knowledge 
 of Parliamentary usages. That they should at once, in their 
 inexperience, look out for leaders, and fall under various in- 
 fluences, was to be expected. M. de Vitrolles was the person 
 naturally marked out to guide the poHtical footsteps of a Royalist 
 country gentleman. He himself had been elected to represent 
 the department of the Bower Alps. The trust, moreover, which 
 Monsieur was well known to repose in him, placed him above 
 suspicion. During the First Restoration and under the Talley- 
 rand Ministry he had been Secretary to the Council, a post which, 
 much to his indignation, Richelieu had since abolished. Vitrolles 
 was from force of habit a conspirator and an iutriguer. But he 
 was a clever man with a clear understanding of the Parliamentary 
 system.^ 
 
 At the beginning of the Session he had published a pamphlet 
 entitled The Ministry under Representative Government. It was 
 an attempt to explain the principles of party Government. 
 Most of the new Deputies might have studied it mth great 
 advantage. In point of fact, however, they gave it a most 
 unfavourable reception. The words Majority, Opposition, and 
 other terms which Vitrolles had used in their Parliamentary 
 sense, made a disagreeable impression on them. According to 
 their notions, there could be only two parties in the State — 
 RoyaUsts, hke themselves, who were for the King, and Jacobins, 
 Bonapartists, and other Revohitionaries, who were opposed to 
 him. Owing to this publication, many of the Deputies, from the 
 South especially, who would naturally have gravitated towards 
 
 1 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 186-187. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. p. 139. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Bestaurations, IV. pp. 70-71. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 238-239. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 136. 
 
 158 
 
1815] LA CHAMBRE INTROUVABLE 159 
 
 VitroUes' salon, went elsewhere for guidance. Several of them, 
 in consequence, fell under an influence which, from this time for- 
 ward, was gradually to become a factor of increasing importance 
 in political life. . 
 
 In Revolutionary and Republican days, the practice of the 
 Roman Catholic reUgion had been carried out under difficulties. 
 Small bands of the faithful were in the habit of meeting secretly, 
 to perform their devotions, under the direction of some favourite 
 priest. Thus a Jesuit, the Pere Delpuits, formerly attached to 
 the ducal house of lia Rochefoucauld used to minister to the 
 spiritual wants of a select group of true believers. ^ Most of them 
 would, in those days, have been termed " Heretofores." One 
 of their number, a pious maiden lady, was the possessor of a large 
 room in the Rue du Bac, which she had placed at the disposal 
 of the Httle society. At this, their place of meeting, the Pere 
 Delpuits did not confine himself to holding religious services, 
 and to administering spiritual comfort to his jflock. In accord- 
 ance with the rules of his order he proceeded to form " a Con- 
 gregation '" : that is to say, a sort of lay brotherhood, the 
 members of which were bound to use, for the general good of the 
 society, any political or other useful influence which they might 
 be able to command. The Empire came and went. The Pere 
 Delpuits died, and the room in the Rue du Bac passed to Mile, de 
 PoHgnac. But the Congregation remained. It so far possessed 
 no political importance. None of its members had occupied 
 high posts in the Government, nor in any of the Services. Even 
 under the First Restoration, though the King himself and Mon- 
 sieur, Jules de Polignac, Matthieu de Montmorency, and other 
 leading Royalists are supposed to have become affiliated, it 
 cannot be said that the doings of the society had, in any way, 
 affected the march of events. But with the elections of 1815 the 
 situation changed. Several members of the Congregation were 
 returned to the Chamber. For the first time since the assembly 
 of the States- General the Royalists appeared to be the complete 
 masters of France. ^ It was an opportunity for exercising that 
 occult influence on political affairs which the Society of Jesus has 
 seldom let sUp. Among the new Deputies was a rather obscure 
 lawyer of the name of Piet. The man would long ago have been 
 completely forgotten but for one fact — he had a large drawing- 
 room. Henceforward, it became the poUtical headquarters of 
 the Royalist party. Piet himself and many of the Deputies who 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, IV. pp. 71-74. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 477-481. 
 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 107. 
 Pasquier, IV. p. 12. 
 
160 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1818 
 
 frequented his house are generally spoken of as having been 
 members of the Congregation. This statement, which is con- 
 stantly made by historians of the Restoration, must be received 
 with caution. In M. de Grandmaison's list of persons who were 
 affiliated to the association there is no mention of Piet.^ Tliis 
 is a remark which appUes to several individuals popularly beUeved 
 to have belonged to the Congregation. It is possible that the 
 pubhc rumour was incorrect which supposed that Piet and most 
 of his Ultra-Royalist friends were affiliated to a secret religious 
 society. It cannot, however, be denied that the clerical spirit 
 exercised a powerful influence over their councils. The country 
 Deputy, feeling strangely awkward and out of place in Paris, was 
 always sure of a hearty welcome at M. Piet's. Knotty points 
 which had arisen during the day's debate, words and sayings 
 which had baffled his comprehension, were here explained to him. 
 The line which he, as a noble, a Royalist, and a Cathohc should 
 adopt on pending questions was made clear. Before the Session 
 was far advanced Piet's salon had become a force which Ministers 
 had to reckon with.^ 
 
 The first three months of the Session were almost exclusively 
 occupied with the passing of various exceptional measures. 
 Three bills for the suppression of seditious cries and writings, 
 for the suspension of individual liberty, and for the establishment 
 of special tribunals, known as Prevotal Courts, were passed in 
 quick succession by overwhelming majorities. This repressive 
 legislation has been a never -failing source of reproach against the 
 Chamber of 1815. Had, however, the Royalists brought to the 
 framing of these important laws a calm spirit of judicial im- 
 partiality, history would have little to say against them. The 
 necessity for special legislation would probably have been 
 recognized by now. But, unfortunately, brutal and intemperate 
 language became an ever-recurring feature of these debates. 
 An ill-concealed determination to undo the work of the Revolu- 
 tion, a fierce desire for revenge, such were the feelings which 
 too evidently inspired the greater number of the speakers. It 
 was the extravagant ideas, so freely ventilated during the passing 
 of these bills, which first opened the eyes of all sensible men to 
 the real character of the Royalist majority. The blame which 
 justly attaches to the " Incomparable Chamber " should, 
 however, only in a very Hmited degree, be extended to Louis 
 XVIII and his Ministers. ^ 
 
 * GeoiFroy de Grandmaison, La Congregation^ Paris, 1889. 
 
 2 Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 233-237. 
 
 3 Supplementary Despatches, XL, Arbuthnot to Liverpool, 30 October, 
 1815. 
 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 118-119. 
 
1815] LA CHAMBRE INTROUVABLE 161 
 
 In abnormal times it has been the almost invariable practice 
 of Governments to introduce laws to deprive the citizens of those 
 liberties and privileges which they enjoy under ordinary con- 
 ditions. That the situation of the country was altogether peculiar 
 must be admitted. It is difficult indeed to conceive circumstances 
 which more urgently called for the passing of exceptional 
 measures than the state of affairs in 1815. The conditions 
 demanded the vigorous repression of seditious cries, and made it 
 no longer possible to treat their utterance as a mere mis- 
 demeanour. The presence of the Army of Occupation was in 
 itself amply sufficient justification for the imposition of a severe 
 press law and for the censorship of all public writings.^ The 
 effect of the " suspension of individual liberty " somewhat 
 resembles that produced in England by the suspension of the 
 Habeas Corpus Act. Suspected persons could be arrested and 
 detained without trial for an indefinite period. But the large 
 number of minor officials to whom these arbitrary powers were 
 delegated constituted a serious danger. The defect was not un- 
 noticed in the course of the debates. The amendments, however, 
 on this score, advocated by Royer-Collard and a very few of the 
 more moderate men, were rejected. In consequence, mainly 
 of this absence of proper safeguards, the law was greatly abused. ^ 
 The arrests made under its provisions became far too frequent. 
 It may be true also that some unscrupulous officials used it as an 
 instrument for pajdng off old enmities and for settling private 
 quarrels. 
 
 But if the working of the law against individual liberty was to 
 prove very unsatisfactory, the effect of the establishment of the 
 Prevotal Courts was to be simply deplorable. In any country 
 conditions may arise making the creation of special tribunals a 
 measure of absolute necessity. At times of great lawlessness and 
 disorder, when party, religious, or racial feeling runs high, trial 
 by jury may become impossible. Something closely resembling 
 such a state of affairs undoubtedly prevailed in many districts 
 of the South and West of France. For the trial of certain kinds of 
 crimes of violence, Prevotal Courts had, indeed, existed down to 
 1789. The MiHtary Commissions of the Consulate and the 
 Empire had to some extent taken their place. 
 
 The bill for the revival, on an extended scale, of the Prevotal 
 Courts was introduced by the Minister of War on November 17th. 
 It was not proposed to confine their action to especially disturbed 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 8-12 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 179-196. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 160-176. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 120. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 446-449. 
 
 M 
 
162 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 provinces. Every department was to be furnished with one. 
 A President, a Provost, and four members constituted the Court. 
 The President and the members were to be selected from among 
 the Judges of the Tribunal of First Instance of the depart- 
 ment, and the Provost himself was to be a military officer not 
 below the rank of Colonel. ^ The arrest of delinquents, the 
 preliminary enquiry, and the getting up of cases generally, was 
 vested in this official, to whom very wide powers were delegated. 
 There was to be no appeal from these Courts and, if a capital 
 sentence were passed, execution was to follow wdthin twenty- 
 four hours. 
 
 Summary, or semi-military methods, were probably necessary 
 to strike terror into the lawless bands of the West and to put an 
 end to the disturbances of the South. But if Courts so consti- 
 tuted are not to become terrible instruments of oppression and 
 cruelty, an inflexible, if rough, spirit of justice must characterize 
 their proceedings. In a country subject to their jurisdiction, 
 when the press has been muzzled, the high character of the 
 Provost and his colleagues is the citizens' only guarantee for the 
 safety of their lives and the preservation of their liberties. Events 
 were, however, soon to prove that the majority of these tribunals 
 were quite unworthy of the enormous powers conferred on them. 
 With some possible exceptions, it was to be found that the 
 persons who composed them were fully as subject to local in- 
 fluences and prejudices as ordinary jurymen. But the conduct 
 of the Provosts themselves was to provide the largest crop of 
 scandals. In the exercise of their magisterial duties, these 
 officers habitually indulged in a wealth of invective, and stooped 
 to methods of intimidation which deservedly brought their office 
 into disrepute. 
 
 Whilst the Lower Chamber was busy discussing the establish- 
 ment of the Prevotal Courts, the Peers were sitting in judgment 
 on an illustrious prisoner. ^ Marshal Ney, after his arrest, had 
 been claimed by the Minister of War. The intention was to bring 
 him, with as little delay as possible, before a Court Martial. 
 Difficulties had soon arisen. There was little anxiety on the part 
 of the other Marshals to officiate at the trial of a distinguished 
 colleague. Marshal Moncey, indeed, had declined to comply 
 with the order which appointed him President. He had, in con- 
 sequence of this disobedience, been deprived of his rank and 
 awarded three months imprisonment. It was not till November 
 
 ^ Pasquier, IV. pp. 64-55. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 196-207. 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 30-31. 
 
 Houssaye, 1815, III. pp. 568-669. 
 
1815] LA CHAMBEE INTEOUVABLE 163 
 
 9th that the Court Martial at last assembled. A large and 
 fashionable audience crowded to the proceedings. But the 
 sightseers were doomed to disappointment. Ney, at once, entered 
 a protest against the competency of the Court to try him. As a 
 Peer of France he stood upon his right to be judged by his 
 Peers. The Military Court, only too delighted to be relieved of 
 an unpleasant task, unhesitatingly upheld his objection. Ney 
 was accordingly taken back to the Conciergerie. 
 
 It has often been said that Ney's legal advisers, in allowing 
 him to take this step, committed a great mistake. It has been 
 suggested that a Court Martial would have spared his life. On 
 what grounds any tribunal, least of all a military one, could have 
 avoided passing the death sentence, it is impossible to conjecture. ^ 
 Ney, himself, had certainly no illusions on that score. " Ces h-la 
 me fuzilleraient comme un la/pin " were the words he used to 
 Berry er when,^ to his great joy, he heard that his objection had 
 been upheld. But, if he conceived that he had nothing to hope 
 from his military judges, it is certainly strange that he should have 
 imagined that the Peers would be more disposed to leniency. 
 That body had recently been reconstituted. Its functions had 
 become hereditary, and its numbers had been increased by ninety- 
 four new creations. Those of its members, however, who had, 
 during the Hundred Days, sat in Napoleon's Upper Chamber, 
 had since been deprived of their Peerages by the King. The 
 new legislators were, with few exceptions, members of the old 
 famiKes. There was, in short, little in the composition of such an 
 Assembly to encourage the belief that it would be disposed to 
 show sentimental sympathy to a man like Ney. But any 
 faint hope in this direction, which may have been entertained, 
 must have been completely dispelled by Richelieu's language. ^ 
 It was on the occasion of announcing to the Peers that they 
 would be called upon to try the Marshal, that the usually 
 temperate President of the Council saw fit to indulge in this 
 outburst. His speech is said to have been composed by Laine. 
 Talleyrand called it M. de RicheHeu's ukase. No scruples about 
 prejudging the case seem to have crossed his mind. No thought 
 that he was speaking of a man as yet untried restrained him.* 
 The Peers were simply told by the First Minister of the State that 
 they must do their duty, and not hesitate to punish a great 
 criminal. 
 
 The trial occupied the 4th, 5th, and 6th of December. The 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 31-32, 37. 
 
 2 H. Welschinger, Le Marechal Ney, p. 171. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 2-5. 
 * Pasquier, IV. p. 32. 
 
 Welschinger, Le Marechal Ney, p. 185. 
 
164 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1815 
 
 well-knoAvn story of Ney's desertion, after he had boasted that 
 he would bring back Napoleon in a cage, need not be repeated. 
 The line of defence set up by Berryer,his leading counsel, consisted 
 in an attempt to make out that he was covered by Clause XII 
 of the capitulation of Paris. It was a preposterous notion. 
 Nevertheless, fruitless efforts had been made to obtain from the 
 Duke of Wellington an opinion favourable to this contention. 
 Madame Ney herself had had an interview with the Duke on the 
 subject. But neither her appeals before, nor Berry er's eloquence 
 during the trial, was to avail. ^ By the evening of December 
 6th the public proceedings had come to an end. It only re- 
 mained for the Peers to record their votes. ^ 
 
 Ney's presence was no longer necessary. For the last time he 
 was removed to the little room on the second floor of the Luxem- 
 bourg Palace which he had occupied since the beginning of the 
 trial. After he had eaten a hearty meal, destroyed some papers, 
 and smoked a cigar, he lay down on his bed and went to sleep. 
 Between three and four he was aroused. Of 161 Peers 136 had 
 voted for his death, and an official had come from the Chamber 
 to read his sentence to him. It covered ten closely-written 
 sheets. " To the point, to the point," roared Ney, exasperated 
 with its repetitions and legal jargon : " Death by shooting within 
 twenty-four hours." He was informed that, henceforward, he 
 could see only a priest, his lawyer, and his wife and children. 
 According to a generally accepted, but very improbable story, 
 Ney declined any spiritual assistance, and only consented to 
 receive a priest on the remonstrances of one of the men of the 
 guard. His interview with his wife, which took place about five 
 o'clock, was short. Ney, most of the time, paced the room 
 talking of his trial. " I shall fling myself at the King's feet," 
 sobbed his wife. Ney, anxious, no doubt, to bring the painful 
 
 * Despatches, XII. , Memorandum respecting Ney, 19 November, 1815. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XI., Madame Ney to Regent, 13 Novembre, 
 1815. Vide p. 122. 
 
 Additional note, 14 November, 1815. 
 
 Madame Ney to Liverpool, 13 November, 1815. 
 
 Marshal Ney to Wellington, 13 November, 1815. 
 
 Wellington to Ney, 15 November, 1815. 
 
 Sir C. Stuart to Castlereagh, 16 November, 1815. 
 
 Madame Ney to Sir C. Stuart, 16 November, 1815. 
 
 Communication of Madame Ney to Sir C. Stuart, pp. 237-238. 
 
 Liverpool to Madame Ney, 21 November, 1815. 
 
 Bathurst to Sir C. Stuart, 21 November, 1815. 
 
 Holland to Liverpool, 23 November, 1815. 
 
 Liverpool to Holland, 24 November, 1815. 
 
 Sir C. Stuart to Castlereagh, 4 December, 1815 (two enclosures). 
 2 Houssaye, 1815, pp. 580-585. 
 
 H. Welschinger, Le Marechal Ney, 1615, p. 330. 
 
1815] LA CHAMBEE INTROUVABLE 165 
 
 scene to a close, advised her, if ^that were her intention, to lose no 
 time about it. Accompanied by Madame Gamot, her sister, she 
 hurried off to the Tuileries.^ After waiting about an hour at the 
 foot of the great staircase, stared at by footmen and guards, 
 Clarke, the Minister of War, appeared. The two women rushed 
 at him, but he thrust them aside and continued his way. At 
 last they succeeded in gaining admission to the Due de Duras. 
 Madame Ney implored him to obtain for her an interview with 
 either the King or the Duchesse d'Angouleme. He went away. 
 Before long, however, he returned, and taking Madame Gamot 
 aside, told her that everything was over. It was true. At about 
 half-past eight, Ney, who after his wife's departure had gone 
 to sleep again, was told that the hour had come. He dressed him- 
 self with some care in a blue frock coat, a white neckcloth, knee 
 breeches and black silk stockings, and entered the cab which was 
 in waiting. On arriving at the appointed spot in the Avenue 
 de rObservatoire, he refused to allow his eyes to be blindfolded, 
 and taking off his hat, placed himself in front of the firing party. 
 He began to speak, but the words " Frenchmen, I protest " were 
 scarcely uttered when a volley rang out and Ney fell, dying as he 
 had lived, " the bravest of the brave.'* The drums beat, the 
 troops shouted, " Vive le Eoi/" and a quarter of an hour after- 
 wards his body was carried to a neighbouring hospital, where it 
 remained on view during the day.^ 
 
 " By allowing himself to be caught he has perhaps done us 
 more harm than even on March 13th," were Louis' prophetic 
 words when he first heard of Ney's arrest. ^ Few people, however, 
 had the King's prescience. Nobody yet realized the political 
 capital which was to be made out of Ney's execution. At the 
 time there was nowhere much sympathy felt for him. On the 
 Bourse the news of his death made " things better." But a few 
 years later Segur's history of the Russian campaign appeared. 
 Many persons then read for the first time of Ney's exploits. 
 Henceforward he was to be the great French soldier whom 
 the Bourbons had massacred at the bidding of the foreigners. 
 " Straight to the heart, my men," the words which he did not 
 use, were to become a legend far more dangerous to the dynasty 
 than Ney, in his lifetime, had ever been.* 
 
 In the evening the Due de Berri went to the Play. At his 
 
 1 H. Welschinger, Le Marechal Ney, 1815, pp. 343, 344. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 836-338. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, III. p. 624. 
 Marraont, Memoires, VII. pp. 189-190. 
 
 '» Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 337-342. 
 Madame de Boigne, II. pp. 133-136. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 41-43. 
 
166 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 appearance the audience rose and cheered him. " Two or three 
 more nice little executions/' said an old emigre, " and Your Royal 
 Highness will have all France at your feet." The news was, 
 indeed, expected daily that at least one more " nice Uttle execu- 
 tion '' would soon take place. On November 29th the Assize 
 Court of the Seine had found Marie Chamans Comte de Lavalette 
 guilty of an illegal assumption of authority at the Post Office, 
 on the morning of March 20th, and he had been sentenced to 
 death. General commiseration was felt for him. His mild and 
 amiable disposition had made for him numerous friends.^ Com- 
 pared to the heinous treasons of some of the generals, his offence 
 appeared trivial. During the first Restoration Lavalette had held 
 no post under the Government. No breach of his oath of fidelity 
 could be imputed against him, and the affair at the Post Office 
 had taken place after the King had fled from Paris. But, on 
 December 14th, the Court of Cassation rejected his appeal. 
 Nothing now, except the hope that the King might exercise his 
 prerogative to pardon, stood between Lavalette and the guillotine. 
 Richelieu, though personally unacquainted with Lavalette, 
 was well-disposed towards him. He was prepared to recommend 
 him as an object of Royal clemency. The obstacle to such a 
 course was the hostihty of the majority of the Deputies to the 
 condemned man. But a graceful way of overcoming the diffi- 
 culty was suggested. The birthday of the Duchesse d'Angouleme 
 was at hand. It was proposed that she should, on that occasion, 
 make an appeal on Lavalette's behalf to her uncle the King. 
 Richelieu accordingly broached the subject to her. She asked 
 for time to consider the matter, and, on the following day 
 signified her refusal. Some of the ladies of the Court had, it is 
 said, induced her to promise to abstain from intervention. It 
 may be presumed that the daughter of Louis XVI did not require 
 much persuading. 2 As soon as it had been decided that the 
 sentence was not to be interfered with, the strictest orders were 
 given lest Madame de Lavalette should gain admittance to the 
 Royal apartments. 3 But Marshal Marmont undertook to brave 
 the King's displeasure, and to place her in his path. This promise 
 
 1 Vide p. 72. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 190. 
 
 Causes politique du XIX. siecle par une societe d'avocats, Paris, 1827. 
 Proces de Lavalette. 
 
 2 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 80 Decembre, 1815. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 192-193. 
 Mme. de Boigne, II. pp. 139-140. 
 
 3 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 194-197. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. p. 363. 
 Mme. de Boigne, II. pp. 141-142. 
 Lavalette, Memoires, II. pp. 272-275. 
 
1815] LA CHAMBRE INTEOUVABLE 167 
 
 he duly carried out. His generous devotion, however, which 
 brought down on him the implacable fury of the courtiers and the 
 " Ultras," proved of no avail. Madame de Lavalette was enabled 
 to throw herself at Eouis' feet, but, though he spoke to her 
 kindly, he could not be moved to hold out the smallest hope of 
 grace. She then tried to seize the Duchesse d'Angouleme's dress, 
 but Madame eluded her grasp. Lavalette's last chance seemed 
 gone. 
 
 In the meantime a measure of the first importance was before 
 the Chamber. As far back as November 11th one of the leaders 
 of the extreme party, the Comte de La Bourdonnaye, had brought 
 forward the project of a Eaw of Amnesty. A secret committee 
 of the Chamber had been appointed to examine these pro- 
 posals. Great pains were taken to prevent any of the 
 deliberations from transpiring ; nevertheless, ugly rumours were 
 soon noised abroad. It was whispered that, under the cloak of a 
 so-called amnesty, a most formidable proscription was to be set 
 on foot. The loss of his office was the least which any public 
 servant might expect who had accepted employment during the 
 Hundred Days. La Bourdonnaye's bill, if it ever became law, 
 would, it was said, affect some eleven hundred persons.^ The 
 excitement became intense. Richelieu felt it was time for the 
 Government to intervene. 
 
 On December 8th, the day following Ney's execution, the 
 President of the Council, accompanied, in order to give additional 
 solemnity to the occasion, by all his colleagues in the Cabinet, 
 proceeded to the Lower Chamber. After saying that a great and 
 necessary example had just been made, Richelieu went on to 
 introduce a Ministerial Bill of Amnesty. The Government 
 scheme was a comparatively genuine one. Prosecutions which 
 were pending, or which had begun, against persons named in the 
 First Article of the Royal Proclamation of July 24th, were to 
 proceed. All those whose names had appeared in the Second 
 Article of the same document, together with the whole of the 
 Bonaparte family, were to be banished. With these exceptions 
 it was proposed to pass the sponge of forgiveness over everything 
 which had happened. By skilfully alluding at the end of his 
 speech to Henri IV, the mention of whose name always provoked 
 an enthusiastic outburst, Richelieu succeeded in obtaining a 
 fairly good reception for his measures. But in the evening, 
 when the matter was discussed in the Royalist salons, the Govern- 
 ment Bill was pronounced to be unsatisfactory and miserably 
 
 * Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 122. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 345-350. 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 15 Decembre, 1815. 
 
168 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 inadequate. The temper of the salons was soon reflected in the 
 Chamber. To examine, to report on, and to amend, if necessary, 
 Richelieu's Law of Amnesty, a committee had to be formed. 
 It was found to consist of those same Deputies who had been 
 considering La Bourdonnaye's proposals.^ 
 
 The relations between the Cabinet and the majority in the 
 Chamber had ceased to be amicable. The conduct of the Govern- 
 ment, in suddenly introducing the Bill of Amnesty, and thus 
 cutting the ground from under the feet of La Bourdonnaye and 
 his followers, had widened the breach. But an event, which soon 
 afterwards occiu-red, was to furnish the extremists with an oppor- 
 tunity which they fondly imagined would enable them to drive 
 from office the two Ministers whom they particularly detested. 
 On the evening of December 20th, on the eve of the day fixed for 
 his execution, Lavalette escaped from the Conciergerie, disguised 
 in his wife's clothes. The Parisians generally were dehghted 
 and amused beyond measure. In the Faubourg -Saint -Germain 
 and in the Chamber, fury and consternation reigned. There was 
 a reason for this extraordinary animosity towards an inoffensive 
 man. Lavalette's relations with Bonaparte were known to have 
 been most cordial and confidential. Though it had been im- 
 possible to prove it against him, no Royalist, worthy of the name, 
 had any doubt that Lavalette had been one of the leaders in that 
 gigantic conspiracy which had brought Bonaparte back from 
 Elba. His marvellous escape from prison seemed to them but a 
 further manifestation of that mysterious power of the Revolution 
 which they all dreaded. ^ 
 
 On December 22nd, M. de Sesmaisons ^ gave notice of his 
 intention to bring forward a motion calling upon the Ministers of 
 Police (Decazes) and of Justice (Barbe Marbois) to furnish the 
 Chamber with an explanation of the affair. The next day, in 
 expectation of some excitiug scenes, the galleries from an early 
 hour began to fill with spectators. The proceedings opened 
 quietly. Sesmaisons, in a temperate speech, pointed out the 
 unusual circumstances which had attended Lavalette's im- 
 prisonment. The invariable precaution of watching a man 
 by day and night, when under sentence of death, had been un- 
 accountably omitted. Why, after his appeal had been rejected, 
 had his execution not followed at once ? Many things in con- 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 67-58. 
 Viel Castel, IV. pp. 351-357. 
 
 * Pasquier, IV. p. 46. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 368-369. 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 102-103. 
 Lavalette, Mhnoires, II. pp. 304, 308. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. p. 47. 
 
1815] LA CHAMBKE INTEOUVABLE 169 
 
 nection with this affair seemed to require explanation. He 
 moved, accordingly, that the Ministers concerned should be called 
 upon to give one. But the speakers who succeeded him went 
 much further. In violent language they criticized the actions of 
 the Ministers, and demanded the appointment of a committee 
 to inquire into their conduct. 
 
 M. de Bouville, member for the Seine -Inferieure, in order to 
 show that the escape of the prisoner must have been connived 
 at by someone in authority, treated the Chamber to a panto- 
 mimic exhibition. Crouching down, as if encumbered with 
 petticoats, he was trying to pass under a low doorway, he covered 
 his face with his handkerchief, into which he pretended to cry 
 noisily, and gave what he considered was a true picture of 
 Eavalette leaving the Conciergerie.^ M.M. de Vaublanc and 
 Bellart were the principal speakers on behalf of the Ministers. 
 They strongly deprecated, as a danger to the Monarchy, the 
 attitude which the Chamber had taken. Nevertheless, it was 
 decided to appoint a committee to report on the propriety of 
 proceeding further with Sesmaisons' proposal. 
 
 A new and objectionable feature w^as introduced into this 
 debate. It had been conducted with much bitterness of language. 
 This was, however, no unusual circumstance. There had been 
 interruptions and angry shouts of disapproval. Such things are 
 to be expected when the subject is of absorbing interest. But 
 these cries had not all come from the body of the Chamber. A 
 large and fashionable audience in the galleries had listened to the 
 proceedings with breathless excitement, and had applauded 
 or loudly dissented from, the different speakers. In these 
 demonstrations the ladies had made themselves particularly 
 conspicuous by the fury of their gestures. This very Royalist 
 Chamber was, indeed, beginning to present more and more dis- 
 agreeable points of resemblance with the National Convention of 
 hateful memory. 
 
 It was soon known that the committee, which had been 
 nominated to consider M. de Sesmaisons' proposal, had a scheme 
 to propound. It was to take the form of an address to the King, 
 humbly praying His Majesty to dismiss M.M. Decazes and de 
 Marbois, both of whom, it was asserted, had ceased to enjoy the 
 confidence of the nation. ^ 
 
 Richelieu was by disposition neither a combative nor a sanguine 
 man. His brief experience of political life had not been at all to 
 his taste. In this crisis he was determined that the Cabinet 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 373-376. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 877-381. 
 Pasquier, IV. 51-62. 
 
170 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1815 
 
 should not dissociate itself from the fate of the two JVIinisters 
 whose resignation was demanded. But, as was his wont, he saw 
 the outlook in the blackest colours. His younger colleague, 
 Decazes, was, however, far from despairing. The unmerited 
 attacks and unjust suspicions of which he had been the object, 
 had braced him for the fray. He was strong, moreover, in his 
 knowledge of Louis' increasing affection for him. The situation 
 was critical. If the Cabinet were to fall, the King must seek his 
 new Ministers from among the " Ultras." It was impossible 
 to say to what lengths such a Government, supported by an 
 overwhelming majority, might not go. But Louis XVIII, both 
 on this as on subsequent occasions, was to give proof of his un- 
 swerving loyalty to his Ministers. Before the address could be 
 laid before him, he sent a significant message to the committee. 
 His Majesty wished it to be understood that there was only one 
 way of discovering whether the country had lost confidence in 
 Ministers, and that was — by consulting it. The effect of this 
 threat of dissolution was instantaneous. A general election 
 was the last thing which the dominant party wished for. The 
 work of the committee was hastily suspended, and the great 
 storm subsided almost as quickly as it had arisen.^ 
 
 The danger was, for the moment, averted. It was felt, how- 
 ever, that it was over the Amnesty Bill that the real battle would 
 be fought. On December 27th, M. Corbiere, the reporter of the 
 committee, appointed to examine the Ministerial Bill, presented 
 his conclusions. All the exceptions to the general pardon, 
 which Richelieu had proposed, were agreed to. But a great 
 many others were recommended. The committee, in short, by 
 the mouth of its reporter, advocated the accepting of the Govern- 
 ment Bill, with, practically, the whole of La Bourdonnaye's 
 merciless scheme tacked on to it. The month before, the fierce 
 Angevin gentleman in introducing his project had gone straight 
 to the point. 2 He had asked for " Fetters, executioners, capital 
 punishment. . . . Death, death alone can put an end to these 
 eternal plottings." Corbiere, the lawyer from Rennes, wrapped 
 up equally bloodthirsty demands in a language of specious 
 reasoning. It was for the Chamber, he contended, to define the 
 kind of conduct which was to constitute a crime against the 
 State, not to lay down the punishment which should be meted 
 out to the criminal. 3 It was on this principle that he had drawn 
 up his famous " categories," which were to make the name of 
 
 1 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 30 Decembre, 1815. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 60-G2. 
 
 3 Ihid., p. 56. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, IV. pp. 33-34. 
 
1816] LA CHAMBEE INTROUVABLE 171 
 
 Corbiere the best hated in France. Accordingly, to all those 
 individuals excluded from the general pardon by the Ministerial 
 Bill, it was proposed to add : (1) Persons who had been accessory 
 to the return from Elba ; (2) public functionaries of all descriptions 
 who had recognized Bonaparte before March 23rd ; (3) General 
 Officers who had declared in his favour prior to the same date ; 
 (4) General Officers who had fought against the Royal Armies. 
 Owing to its extreme vagueness, it will be seen what a splendid 
 field for persecution the first exception alone provided. But 
 Corbiere's ingenuity went further than this. Confiscation had 
 been specifically forbidden by the Charter. The committee, 
 however, under a thin disguise, purposed to re-establish it. In 
 future a person convicted of an offence under any of these head- 
 ings was to pay to the Treasury an indemnity proportionate to 
 his crime, and to the extent of his fortune. Fiaally, in direct 
 violation of the principle which purported to have governed 
 the framing of the report, a decree of perpetual banishment was 
 to be imposed on all regicides who had accepted employment 
 during the Hundred Days, or who had signed the Additional Act. 
 The Government Amnesty Bill had, to some extent, allayed 
 the consternation which the rumours of La Bourdonnaye's 
 scheme had caused. But when the character of the Corbiere 
 amendments became known, these apprehensions returned with 
 tenfold force. There was hardly a middle-class family without 
 some member who saw himself threatened, in his fortune, his 
 liberty, or his life. Richelieu requested Wellington to postpone 
 his intention of withdi'a^ing the British contingent from Paris, 
 and from 64 francs the rente fell to 59, a testimony to the general 
 feeling of alarm. According to statistics drawn up for the King's 
 information by the department of the police, the " categories,'' 
 if ever they became law, would draw into their net between 
 eight and nine hundred persons. Such a widespread apprehension 
 could not fail to find an echo in a Chamber which numbered some 
 four hundred members. Those Deputies who belonged to the 
 provincial aristocracy, or who frequented the salons of the 
 Faubourg-Saint-Germain, were not disagreeably affected by this 
 state of affairs. On the contrary, they probably derived con- 
 siderable satisfaction from the knowledge that the measures they 
 contemplated were causing terror among a class which they de- 
 tested. But there were others who were connected by the closest 
 ties of family and friendship with men to whom these " cate- 
 gories " meant ruin and perhaps worse. ^ Under such circum- 
 
 * Supplementary Despatches, XL, Wellington to Bathurst, 1 January, 
 1815. 
 
 Viel Castel, IV. pp. 393-396. 
 
172 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1815-16 
 
 stances it was impossible for them to be blind to the 
 dangerous situation which the extreme Royalists were creating. 
 Gradually, and almost imperceptibly, an Opposition Party was 
 coming into being. These seceders grouped themselves round 
 three men, Royer-CoUard, Pasquier, and de Serre, who were 
 destined to play prominent parts in the Parliamentary history 
 of the future. The three leaders had observed the strength and 
 advantage which their adversaries derived from their meetings 
 in Piet's salon. They determined to imitate them, and, accord- 
 ingly, hired a room for the purpose in the Rue Saint-Honore. 
 In this way they were able to meet quietly, to discuss plans, 
 and to apportion roles in the coming struggle.^ 
 
 Hitherto there had been but one party. Everything had been 
 passed by overwhelming majorities. On the question of the 
 amendments to the Amnesty Bill, Richelieu had tried to induce 
 the members of the committee to abate their pretensions. In all 
 directions his attempts had failed. In this dilemma the Govern- 
 ment was to find an ally of unexpected strength. The Club of 
 the Rue Saint-Honore, as the Comte d'Artois' followers disdain- 
 fully called it, and which Wellington suspected of Jacobinism, 
 was becoming a well-organized and compact little body. Its 
 members were now prepared to offer their whole-hearted support 
 to Ministers in their struggle with reaction. ^ Pasquier had not 
 the eloquence of de Serre ; he had, certainly, neither the learning 
 nor the highminded disinterestedness of Royer-Collard, but he 
 was, perhaps, the most astute tactician at that time in the 
 Chamber. In discussing the situation with Richelieu Pasquier 
 advocated a compromise. He proposed that the Government 
 should consent to the clause which banished the regicides. 
 Under those conditions he thought that there was a very good 
 chance of defeating the infinitely more objectionable "categories." 
 But the King, when consulted, expressed the greatest reluctance 
 to sanction a step which so flagrantly violated the Charter. 
 Ministers and their followers were, accordingly, compelled to 
 try to carry through their bill in the shape in which it had been 
 originally introduced. 
 
 The great debate began on January 2nd and occupied four 
 days. By the fierceness of their invectives and the violence 
 of their denunciations of everything connected with the Revolu- 
 tion, the " Right,** or extreme Royalists, tried to beat down all 
 opposition. On the other side the men soon to be known as the 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. p. 62. 
 
 2 Guizot^ Memoires, I. pp. 115, 125, 126. 
 
 Despatches, XIl., Wellington to E. Cooke, December, 1815. 
 Pasquier, IV. p. 69. 
 
1815-16] LA CHAMBEE INTROUVABLE 173 
 
 " Centre "' party strove, by closely reasoned arguments, delivered 
 in language of studied moderation, to impress on the Assembly 
 the injustice and danger of the proposed measures. On January 
 6th, when the Chamber met, the outlook was most unpromising. 
 According to the usual procedure, the reporter ascended the 
 tribune. After defending his amendments from the attacks 
 which had been made against them, M. Corbiere announced 
 that the committee maintained them all. Thereupon Richelieu 
 asked for a short adjournment, in order that he might consult 
 with the King.^ In an hour and a half the sitting was resumed. 
 His Majesty, said Richelieu, could not consent to any compromise 
 with regard to the indemnities, the categories, or the regicides. 
 In a brief speech the President of the Council then implored the 
 Chamber not to allow a law of forgiveness to become a source of 
 discord and of further misery to the country. 
 
 It only remained now for the Chamber to divide on the 
 different clauses of the bill. Those upon which the Government 
 and the committee were both agreed excited little interest, 
 and were passed practically unanimously. But then came the 
 question of the " categories," and the character of the scene 
 changed completely. The excitement was breathless. The 
 ceremony of counting the votes was carried out solemnly and 
 deliberately in a Chamber hushed in silence. With blanched 
 faces the friends and relations of the men to whom these pro- 
 ceedings meant life or death, freedom or imprisonment, were 
 peering down from the galleries.^ At last the President an- 
 nounced the result, and a tremendous shout of " Vive le Roi ! " 
 rent the air. But the Deputies, whose voices were generally 
 on these occasions the loudest, were silent. By a majority of 
 nine the " categories " had been rejected.^ 
 
 By a very much larger number of votes the indemnity clause 
 was thrown out. The banishment of the regicides was, however, 
 carried through without opposition. It was the one consolation 
 of the Ultra- Royalists in their unexpected defeat. Three days 
 later Richelieu carried the Bill to the Upper Chamber.* The 
 King, he announced, in face of the unanimous wish of the nation, 
 as expressed by its chosen representatives, withdrew his opposition 
 to the clause dealing with the regicides. The Law of Amnesty 
 then passed the Peers without further discussion, and, on January 
 12th, 1816, duly received the Royal assent. But in these last 
 days the Minister of War had not been idle. Orders had been 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 397-408. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, IV. pp. 35-46. 
 
 2 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 10 Janvier, 1816. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. p. 63. 
 
 4 Ibid., pp. 65-66. 
 
174 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1816 
 
 hastily despatched to the military districts, to institute pro- 
 ceedings against certain officers, before it should be too late. 
 By these means General Chartran, whose name did not appear in 
 Fouche's list, was capitally convicted and shot at Lille. 
 
 The Amnesty Bill, shorn of most of the objectionable amend- 
 ments which the Ultra-Royalists had wished to see affixed to it, 
 had thus become law. Nevertheless, the numerous exceptions 
 which it still contained took from it that character of general 
 forgiveness which its name implies. If it brought within sight 
 the end of the era of Courts Martial and State Prosecutions, it 
 also banished without trial a large number of persons.^ Soult, 
 Grouchy, and many other officials, chiefly military but also civil, 
 who had held high appointments during the Hundred Days, were 
 now started on the road to exile. The French regicides do not 
 deserve much sympathy, nevertheless their lot was hard. Loss 
 of civil rights and of the privilege of owning property in their 
 own coimtry was, in their case, added to lifelong banishment. 
 Some of them were old men, who had long ago fallen into ob- 
 scurity and oblivion. On the other hand, there were among them 
 persons whose names recall the great events of the time. There 
 was Cambaceres, fellow consul of Bonaparte, and Arch-Chancellor 
 of the Empire, the Abbe Sieyes, the framer of numerous Con- 
 stitutions, Carnot, "the organizer of victory," and more recently 
 the colleague of Fouche on the Commission of Government. 
 Real, chief actor in many a dark and mysterious police affair, 
 and David, the painter. Lastly, there was Fouche, who was 
 driven from his Legation at Dresden, and compelled to spend 
 in exile the few remaining years of his life. Li favour of Tallien 
 alone an exception seems to have been made. Protected, 
 doubtless, by recollections of the 9th Thermidor, he was allowed 
 to live on in poverty and obscurity in Paris. Many of the exiles 
 made homes for themselves in Brussels. The choice of countries 
 disposed to receive them was very limited. Though the Tsar 
 offered Carnot an abode in Russia, most Governments refused to 
 admit them within their frontiers. A strict Alien Bill, which the 
 Revolution has given rise to, and which was still in force, deprived 
 these outcasts of their customary haven of refuge. England, 
 which has often welcomed political " undesirables '' of an in- 
 finitely more objectionable stamp, in 1816 closed her doors on the 
 French exiles. 
 
 The expulsion of the regicides was accompanied by a very 
 interesting discovery. Among these men was a certain 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. 427-429. 
 Cf. Supplementary Despatches, XI., Wellington to Sir C. Stuart, 9 
 May, 1816. 
 
1816] LA CHAMBEE INTROUVABLE 175 
 
 Courtois.i After " the days of Thermidor " this worthy had been 
 commissioned to go through the papers of Robespierre. His search 
 brought to hght the now well-known letter which Marie Antoin- 
 ette had written, a few hours before her execution, to Madame 
 Elizabeth. It is presumed that Fouquier-Tinville had sent it to 
 Robespierre along with other documents in the Queen's case. 
 For reasons of his own, the " Incorruptible " appears to have 
 abstracted it and kept it for himself. Courtois also seems to have 
 thought that it was much too interesting a document to bury in 
 the archives of some Government office. He, accordiugly, in his 
 turn, purloined it, without saying anything about it. The police, 
 in 1816, in overhauling Courtois* papers, before he left France, 
 are generally beUeved to have, accidentally, discovered it. 
 Pasquier, however, says that the man himself forwarded it to the 
 authorities of his own accord. By the King's commands Decazes 
 communicated it to the Deputies. The reading of the last earthly 
 wishes of the unfortunate Queen gave rise to a scene of much emo- 
 tion in. the very RoyaHst Chamber. ^ 
 
 By the end of January the mystery which attached to Laval- 
 ette's escape from the Conciergerie had been, to a great extent, 
 unravelled. The three persons, who had successfully smuggled 
 him out of Paris, were by that time in custody. It is a well- 
 known story how, after he had contrived to leave the prison 
 in his wife's clothes, Eavalette's friends took him to the room 
 which had been prepared for him. Strange to say, it was at the 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs that a hiding-place had been found. 
 Among the permanent officials of that department was a M. 
 Bresson. This gentleman, in revolutionary days, had owed his 
 life to the devotion of some strangers who had hidden him at 
 great personal risk. His wife had, in consequence, made a vow 
 to save any poUtical fugitive from justice who might in the 
 future come across her path. When approached on the subject, 
 both M. and Madame Bresson promptly agreed to offer Eavalette 
 the hospitaUty of their apartment. Here he remained concealed 
 for about a fortnight. ^ The voice of the street crier offering a 
 reward for his apprehension, and warning householders of the 
 penalties attaching to the offence of harbouring a poUtical 
 offender, would occasionally reUeve his dullness. The activity 
 and vigilance of the police was such that it seemed almost 
 hopeless for him to attempt to pass out of Paris.* The Princesse 
 de Vaudemont had played an important part in the arrange- 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV. pp. 46-50. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 77-78. 
 
 3 Lavalette, Memoires, II. p. 300. 
 * Ibid., pp. 307, 314-316. 
 
176 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1816 
 
 ments, and materially contributed to the success of Lavalette's 
 escape from prison. Among the many foreigners who frequented 
 her salon was a young Englishman named Bruce. He was an 
 ardent Whig, and was lavish in his expressions of sympathy for 
 those whom he and his party termed the victims of the Bourbons. 
 It was, accordingly, suggested to him that he might assist in the 
 saving of one of the most deserving of them.^ Bruce readily 
 assented, but asked leave to associate in the enterprise his 
 friend Major-General Sir Kobert Wilson who was on a visit 
 to Paris. The services of the English General were eagerly 
 accepted, and henceforward he became the prime mover in 
 the undertaking. 
 
 Wilson had served with distinction both in the Low Countries 
 and in Spain, but, during most of the great campaigns of the 
 Empire, he had been attached to the Russian army as English 
 Commissioner. From the ranks of the pursuers he had witnessed 
 the destruction of the Grand Army, and had been in conversation 
 with Moreau when the latter was struck down, in 1813, in an en- 
 gagement outside the walls of Dresden. At the peace he took up 
 Whig politics with enthusiasm, and in the Waterloo campaign 
 was unemployed. 2 During his visit to Paris, along with his friend 
 Lord Kinnaird, he appears to have been intimately connected 
 with many persons ill-disposed towards the restored monarchy. ^ 
 As a politician he cannot be taken very seriously, and as an 
 officer he probably belonged to a type less common in his day 
 than it is at the present time. In coming forward to Lavalette's 
 assistance, Wilson was actuated, no doubt, by a generous wish 
 to rescue a fellow-creature from a cruel fate. Without doing 
 him an injustice, however, it may be inferred that the prospect 
 of becoming the hero of so romantic an adventure appealed 
 strongly to his love of notoriety. Proceeding to the British 
 Embassy, he announced that he was returning to England with 
 his brother-in-law. The necessary papers were at once supplied 
 him. The second passport which he obtained was required, 
 however, not for his brother-in-law, but for Lavalette, who had 
 in the meantime been furnished with the uniform of an English 
 General. On January 10th, thus disguised, he set out from 
 Paris in a cabriolet, accompanied by Wilson. They were pre- 
 ceded by Captain Hely Hutchinson of the 1st, now the Grenadier 
 Guards, on horseback, an officer whom Wilson had taken into 
 his confidence. It was the very morning when Lavalette was 
 
 ^ Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. p. 382. 
 
 Lavalette, Mermires, II. pp. 267-269, 316-317. 
 2 Dictionary of National Biography. 
 ' Pozzo a Nesselrode, 6 Fevrier, 1816. 
 
1816J LA CHAMBRE INTEOUVABLE 177 
 
 being executed in effigy on the Place de Greve. The fugitives 
 experienced several anxious moments, but on the second day 
 successfully crossed the Belgian frontier. ^ Whilst Lavalette 
 proceeded to Bavaria, Wilson returned to Paris, where he wrote 
 an account of the whole affair to Lord Grey. It is difficult to 
 conceive an act of greater folly. He cannot have been so ignorant 
 of the methods of the French police as to be unaware of the 
 risk of writing such a letter. As a matter of fact they were 
 already hot upon his scent. The tailor, who had made the 
 mysterious uniform which had been delivered without having 
 been tried on, furnished a valuable clue. The letter to Lord Grey, 
 which they opened, confirmed t leir suspicions, and gave them 
 the names of Wilson's accomplices. All three were shortly after- 
 wards arrested, and in due course received sentence of three 
 months' imprisonment. ^ 
 
 There was still much work to be performed before the Chambers 
 could put aside their labours. The Budget had to be voted, and 
 a law to regulate the conditions under which, in the future, 
 elections were to be carried out had to be passed. The solution 
 of this last question was looked upon as the most important 
 piece of legislation which awaited the attention of Deputies 
 during the Session. Vaublanc, the Minister of the Interior, 
 accordingly, on December 18th, introduced the new Electoral 
 Law. For the next three months the time of the Chambers was 
 largely taken up in discussing these proposed measures. Inas- 
 much as the bill was destined never to become law, the matter 
 can be briefly dismissed. Vaublanc's abortive Electoral Bill 
 should be remembered, however, as having, for the first time, 
 brought into prominence the real abilities of an obscure country 
 gentleman from Toulouse. Villele, a name which was soon to be 
 widely known, was appointed reporter of the committee which, 
 according to practice, had to examine the Ministerial proposals. 
 As a scheme for endowing a civilized country with a system of 
 Parliamentary representation, the bill reads almost like a hoax. 
 Under its provisions the electoral colleges were to consist almost 
 entirely of Government officials chosen by the prefects. That 
 it should be bitterly opposed is not to be wondered at. The 
 fiercest opposition to it, however, came not from the " moder- 
 
 1 Lavalette, Memoires, II. pp. 318-329. 
 
 2 Supplermntary Despatches, XL, Wellinffton to Bathurst, 15 January, 
 1816. 
 
 Grenville to Wellington, 8 March, 1816. 
 Bathurst to Wellington, 9 March, 1816. 
 Wellington to Grenville, 14 March, 1816. 
 Wellington to Bathurst, 16 March, 1816. 
 Lavalette, Memoires^ II. pp. 331-332, 348-363, 
 
178 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1816 
 
 ates," but from the Ultra-Royalists.^ Owing to their breach 
 with the Cabinet, they were loath to see the electoral machinery 
 placed in the hands of the agents of the central government, 
 to an even greater extent than was the case before. But among 
 the amendments to the Ministerial bill which Villele's committee 
 brought forward was one which dealt with the annual renewal 
 of the Chamber. It was a proposal to which the Ultra- Royalists 
 attached still more importance than they did to the question 
 of the electoral colleges. In accordance with the Charter a 
 fifth part of the Chamber had to be replaced each year. It is a 
 system known as the Rota, which had been devised in order to 
 lessen the intensity of electoral crises. The Ultra-Royalists, 
 being in the majority, were anxious to see it aboUshed and the 
 English system of a general election at the end of a stipulated 
 number of years adopted instead. Were a partial displacement of 
 Deputies to take place annually, the relative strength of parties 
 would soon disappear, seeing the enormous power which the 
 Government possessed of influencing the selection of candidates. 
 In the course of the debates the Ministerial bill underwent 
 profound modifications. ^ Indeed, when at last it was carried 
 to the Upper Chamber it contained very few of its original 
 clauses. The Peers, to the indignation of the Ultra-Royalists, 
 made short work of what had cost the Deputies three months of 
 time and trouble.^ Accepting the report of their committee that 
 most of the amendments proposed were a violation of the 
 Charter, they rejected the whole bill (April 3rd) by a substantial 
 majority. 
 
 When Corvetto, the Finance Minister, introduced the Budget, 
 the obstructive character of the tactics to which the Ultra- 
 Royalists intended to resort, became manifest. The majority 
 of the Deputies selected to sit on the committee proved to be 
 men who had been deliberately chosen on account of their 
 complete ignorance of financial matters. The sale of State lands 
 and forests was one of the principal measures by which the 
 Minister proposed to meet the deficit. It was a step to which the 
 Royalists were determined not to consent. The idea also of 
 paying the creditors of the Hundred Days in full, appeared to 
 them preposterous. They proposed to meet these claims with 
 Exchequer Bonds of 100 francs, which were, however, only quoted 
 at 60. This amounted to nothing less than a declaration of partial 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 78-79. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 609-548. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSj IV. pp. 51-59. 
 
 2 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 19 Janvier, 1816. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. p. 81. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. p. 689. 
 
1816] LA CHAMBRE INTROUVABLE 179 
 
 bankruptcy. The effect of such a course of action on the public 
 credit was probably little understood by the majority of the 
 committee, or of the Royalists, generally. In any case it seems 
 to have been an aspect of the question to which they were very 
 indifferent. At last, after many compromises and long negotia- 
 tions, chiefly conducted by Pasquier on behalf of the Govern- 
 ment, a Budget was voted. It had been found necessary, how- 
 ever, to completely drop the proposed sale of the State forests, 
 and to adjourn the question of the payment of arrears to another 
 Session. 1 
 
 The secret of the opposition of the Royalists to the sale of the 
 forests lay in the fact that these domains had been, with few 
 exceptions. Church property. In the Royalist schemes for un- 
 doing the work of the Revolution, the restoration of ecclesiastical 
 power and influence occupied a foremost place. But in order 
 to be powerful the clergy must be wealthy and independent. 
 During the latter half of the Session many propositions dealing 
 with the condition of the Church had been brought before the 
 Chamber. The members of the Congregation had, as may be 
 supposed, taken a prominent part in these discussions. The 
 demands of the clerical party were not confined to the mere im- 
 provement of the material circumstances of the clergy. It was 
 desired that the control of the University, public education, 
 and the care of the civil registers should pass into ecclesiastical 
 hands. Whether Louis XVIII had any religious belief at all may 
 be doubted. It cannot, at any rate, be questioned that any 
 convictions he may have had were not very deep-seated. ^ He 
 knew well, however, that the clergy were firm supporters of the 
 throne. On political grounds, therefore, he was disposed to 
 encourage them and to meet their wishes, as far as he considered 
 it safe to do so. Seeing the strong feeling which existed in the 
 Chamber in favour of legislation in the interests of the Church, 
 the King directed that a bill should be brought forward to 
 provide the clergy with a largely increased income. ^ 
 
 It was not, however, a salaried clergy that the clerical Royalists 
 wanted. The Church, according to their ideas, should form a 
 corporation or body in the State. It must possess landed pro- 
 perty. They hoped before long to see the retrocession to their 
 former owners of all the ecclesiastical lands which were now held 
 by the State. But the clergy were debarred from being legatees 
 and the possessors of landed estates. Such a demand could not, 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 82-87. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IV. pp. 548-580. 
 Vaulabelle, Deuoc Restaurations , IV. pp. 63-70. 
 
 2 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 29 Janvier, 1816. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 93-98. 
 
180 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1816 
 
 therefore, be made at once. By numerous amendments to the 
 Ministerial bill, however, and by proposals to remove from the 
 Church all disabilities of this kind, it was hoped to advance the 
 good cause. These efforts met with only a qualified success. ^ The 
 Vicomte de Bonald, the Christian philosopher, it is true, succeeded 
 in obtaining the repeal of the Divorce Law which had been in- 
 cluded in the Napoleonic Civil Code. But the end of the Session, 
 which the King brought to a close as soon as the Budget had been 
 passed, left many of the clerical questions in abeyance. Some, 
 also, of the amendments to which the party attached great im- 
 portance were rejected by the Peers. ^ 
 
 The attitude of the Hereditary Chamber affords food for 
 reflection. In the main its members were drawn from very 
 much the same class as were most of the Deputies. To some ex- 
 tent, no doubt, the old " nobility of the Court " had more repre- 
 sentatives in the Upper Chamber, whilst the provincial 
 aristocracy predominated in the Lower. ^ But, be the reason 
 what it may, it is incontestable, that far less extreme views 
 prevailed among the Peers than among the Deputies. In their 
 struggle with reaction, both the Government and the " Moder- 
 ates "" in the Lower Chamber discovered that they need not look 
 in vain to the hereditary legislators for support. 
 
 On April 29th, 1816, after a sitting which had lasted seven 
 months, the King declared the Session closed. Though the 
 Ultra-Royalists had not achieved as much as they had hoped to 
 do, they were not dissatisfied. It was understood that the 
 displacement of a fifth of the Chamber was to be suspended 
 during the current year, owing to an arrangement which had 
 been come to between the Comte d'Artbis and the King. The 
 Deputies, accordingly, dispersed to their homes full of hope and 
 of confidence in the future. A great disappointment was in store 
 for them.* 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, IV. pp. 74-80. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. p. 81. 
 
 3 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 2 Mars, 1816. 
 
 '* Vaulabelle, Deua; Restaurations, IV. p. 81. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 138. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 GENERAL DONNADIEU 
 
 BEFORE the Allied Sovereigns quitted Paris in the autumn 
 of 1815, they had arranged that their Ministers should 
 continue to meet to discuss current events, r It, accordingly, 
 became the practice for Sir Charles Stuart, the British ; General 
 Pozzo di Borgo, the Russian ; General Vincent, the Austrian ; 
 and Baron Von Goltz, the Prussian Ambassador, to hold weekly 
 conferences on French affairs. The police, however, generally 
 contrived to obtain copies both of the minutes of the proceedings 
 and of the reports which these diplomatists sent to their respec- 
 tive Governments. Decazes was thus enabled to inform the King 
 and the Due de Richelieu of everything which had passed at 
 these interviews. 
 
 The foreign statesmen had looked upon a strong Royalist 
 Chamber as an event of the happiest augury. But, as the 
 reactionary character of the Royalist majority became apparent, 
 they began to modify their views. The dangerous theories which 
 the presentation of the Budget had called forth, changed these 
 misgivings into feelings of genuine alarm. The four ambassadors, 
 thereupon, decided that the time had come when the King's 
 attention should be called to the apprehensions which the conduct 
 of the Chamber was exciting.^ The Duke of Wellington, it was 
 unanimously decided, was the most fitting person to under- 
 take this mission. At a meeting which took place on February 
 28th, Wellington, at the invitation of the members of the 
 conference, produced the letter which he proposed to send to the 
 King of France. After excusing his interference on the ground 
 that His Majesty had himself requested him to bring to his 
 knowledge anything which he might consider required his special 
 attention, Wellington went straight to the point. The scenes in 
 the Assembly were, he said, matters of public notoriety. The 
 Cabinet, though it deservedly enjoyed the confidence of every 
 European Government, had no influence in the Chamber. The 
 Finance Minister was now on the point of being compelled 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Lmiis XVIII. et Decazes, pp. 115-116. 
 Viel Castelj Histoire, V. pp. 1-2. 
 
 181 
 
182 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1816 
 
 to abandon his Budget. This was a matter which closely con- 
 cerned all the Great Powers. Certain members of the Koyal 
 family, and some persons about the Court, by the strong support 
 which they gave to the opposition, were rendering the task of 
 Ministers doubly difficult. It was much to be desired that His 
 Majesty should see fit to intervene to put an end to such a state 
 of affairs.^ 
 
 Wellington, however, did not confine his remonstrances to this 
 letter. A few days later he sought a personal interview with the 
 Comte d'Artois.2 At their meeting the Duke strongly deprecated 
 the constant interference of His Royal Highness and of the 
 Duchesse d'Angouleme with the conduct of public affairs. On this 
 occasion Monsieur gave proof that he was no unworthy pupil 
 of the Jesuits. He showed that he could juggle with words and 
 elude a disagreeable question with no little skill. But the Duke 
 had come well furnished with facts. He was able to bring forward 
 specific instances in which the intervention of Monsieur and of 
 the Duchesse d'Angouleme could not be gainsaid. Driven at 
 last into a comer, the Comte d'Artois somewhat sulkily admitted 
 that he had not always exercised his influence in favour of 
 Ministers. But, if he was in the future to be expected to support 
 the Cabinet, he must be kept informed of the objects of the 
 Government policy. They parted coldly, and the Duke could not 
 flatter himself that anything he had said had made much im- 
 pression on Monsieur. 
 
 Louis XVIII was painfully affected by the receipt of Welling- 
 ton's letter. It was a disagreeable reminder of the tutelage 
 which he must submit to, so long as the war indemnity remained 
 unpaid, and the Army of Occupation had not been withdrawn. 
 Nobody knew better than he did how well-founded all Welling- 
 ton's criticisms were. Though he does not appear to have taken 
 any direct steps to remonstrate with his brother, Wellington's 
 communication probably quickened his determination to bring the 
 Session to a close as speedily as possible. ^ It may, also, be 
 reasonably inferred that, when a few months later, Louis had to 
 come to a more momentous decision about the future of the 
 Chamber, his resolve was greatly influenced by recollections of 
 this humiliating episode. 
 
 The story of Wellington's intervention at the instance of the 
 
 ^ Supplementary Despatches, XI., Wellington to King of France, 29 
 February, 1816. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 2 Mars, 1816. 
 
 2 Ibid., 16 Mars, 1816. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et BecazeSf pp. 123-125. 
 Viel Castel, Ilistoire, V. pp. 4-5. 
 
 3 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Becazes, pp. 122-123. 
 
1816] GENEEAL DONNADIEU 183 
 
 Powers soon became known. The indignation of the familiars 
 of the Pavilion de Marsan and of the extreme party at this affront 
 was intense. Some of the more hot-headed even muttered 
 threats that before the Bourbons could be firmly established 
 on the throne they must " mount their horses."' The possession 
 of an army and a navy is, however, an essential condition to 
 the waging of war. In 1816 France had neither the one nor 
 the other. 1 
 
 Before the close of the year 1815 the disbanding of the old Im- 
 perial army had been completed. In order to provide some 
 kind of a military force a rough-and-ready scheme had been 
 drawn up. It was proposed to raise by voluntary enlistment a 
 legion to consist of three battalions in each department. Cavalry, 
 Artillery, and the technical Corps, on a limited scale, were to be 
 provided by the same means. This plan would, it was calculated, 
 furnish an army of about three hundred thousand men. 
 
 By an Ordinance, dated September 1st, 1815, the King had 
 wisely abolished the Mousquetaires and other Household troops, 
 with the exception of the Gardes-du-Corps. In their place a 
 cor'ps d'armee of Royal Guards about twenty-five thousand 
 strong was to be formed.^ Though the regiments which com- 
 posed it were to be specially recruited for, these corps presented 
 none of the absurdities and anachronisms which had character- 
 ized the red companies raised in 1814. On the contrary, in a 
 short space of time, they became a highly efficient body. The 
 officers and men serving in them enjoyed, it is true, certain 
 favours and distinctions. These privileges did not, however, 
 exceed those which may properly be extended to troops who 
 are specially entrusted with the protection of the person of the 
 Sovereign. 
 
 Ever since his assumption of office, Clarke, the Minister of 
 War, had been occupied with the question of the officers for the 
 new army. Incontestably, the elimination of a number of 
 men of notoriously anti-dynastic views was a step of elementary 
 wisdom. But, in dealing with the corps of officers, who, as a 
 body, had deservedly won the respect and affection of their 
 fellow-citizens, it was advisable to proceed with tact and dis- 
 crimination. All undue harshness was to be deprecated. Clarke 
 cannot be said to have displayed any of the quaUties required 
 for such a task. The " purification " of the pubKc services was a 
 constant cry of the Ultra-Royalists. They wished to see every- 
 body who had served the Usurper declared ineligible for em- 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 130-131. 
 
 2 Marmont, Mcmoires, VII. pp. 212-216. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 168-176. 
 
184 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1816 
 
 ployment in any official capacity. The Minister of War was only 
 too disposed to listen to such demands. Two Commissions were 
 appointed and installed at the War Office.^ One, presided over 
 by Marshal Victor, Due de Bellune, was to enquire into the 
 conduct of all the officers of the old army. For purposes of 
 selection Clarke drew up twenty-one " categories." The name 
 of every officer was to appear in one or other of these divisions. 
 Those whom the Commission might consider the least deserving 
 of censure were to be placed in the first categories. The more 
 guilty ones, in an ascending scale, were to be classified among the 
 higher or last groups. Only those who had the good fortune to 
 figure in the earlier divisions were to expect re- employment. 
 The second Commission, under the Presidency of the Comte de 
 Beurnonville, was to adjudicate on the claims for inclusion in the 
 new army of the numerous Royalist officers who had served in 
 irregular corps of all kinds. 
 
 Whilst Marshal Victor's Commission carried out the work of 
 elimination with a ruthless severity, the members of the second 
 Committee lent a ready ear to the often preposterous pretensions 
 of every Chouan and emigre who came before them. These pro- 
 ceedings gave rise to a widespread feeling of indignation which 
 was far from being confined to military society. It may be 
 doubted whether anything stirred up more animosity or created 
 more bitter enemies to the dynasty than the harsh treatment 
 meted out to the officers of the old army.^ 
 
 Recruiting for the new legions was not pressed very vigorously. 
 In the spring of 1816 one weak battalion was generally the 
 strength of the departmental regiments. The men who had 
 come forward to serve were mostly disbanded soldiers of the 
 old army. It was whilst their military force was in this condition 
 that Ministers were informed that a serious Bonapartist insurrec- 
 tion had broken out at Grenoble. The first news, which was 
 received in Paris on May 6th, shortly after the close of the 
 Ssssion, had been conveyed by the telegraph ^ from Lyons. In 
 the course of the next few days General Donnadieu's despatch 
 came to hand. It described the rebellion as a most formidable 
 affair. The real facts of the case were these. 
 
 During the Hundred Days the Due d' Orleans had not joined 
 the Royal Family at Ghent, but had gone to England. He had 
 made it clear both to the King and to the Duke of Wellington 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV. pp. 6-10. 
 
 Viel Castel^ Histoire, pp. 251-257. 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 167-169. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 15 Decembre, 1815. 
 ^ Chappe's semaphore system. 
 
1816] GENERAL DONNADIEU 185 
 
 that he could not associate himself with any hostile action against 
 France. This attitude, coupled with the letter which he had 
 written to the generals under his command before leaving Lille, 
 had won him many friends. It had greatly increased, however, 
 the distrust which the King entertained for him. After the 
 second Restoration he had paid a short visit to Paris to offer 
 his congratulations to Eouis, and had then returned to England.^ 
 But by the opening of the Session, in October 1815, he was back 
 again ready to take his place in the Upper Chamber. On October 
 13th he had opposed some passages in the address which the 
 Peers were preparing to submit to the King. He had counselled 
 the employment of more moderate language in speaking of the 
 Bonapartists.2 The sittings of the Peers were held in secret. 
 The matter, however, soon leaked out and was much talked about. 
 The Duke's friends advised him to have a true account of the 
 episode drawn up and circulated for general information. A 
 certain Didier, who was known to one of the frequenters of the 
 Palais Royal, was accordingly commissioned to have the Duke's 
 pamphlet printed. But the police soon discovered what was 
 going on and reported the circumstances. The King and all the 
 Royal Family were very angry. The Due d'Orleans received, in 
 consequence, a peremptory order to leave Paris and to return 
 to England. Before his departure, however, some of his people 
 succeeded in recovering his manuscript and in destroying the 
 type which had been set up. This appears to have been the 
 whole extent of Didier's connection with the Duke's affairs. 
 There is not the faintest reason to suppose that he had ever, at 
 any time, had any direct or personal dealings with His Royal 
 Highness. 
 
 There are persons in whom the love of adventure and of in- 
 trigue overmasters every other human passion. In troublous 
 times the role of the conspirator has overwhelming attractions 
 for them. Paul Didier was a man of this class. Seeing the 
 period of political convulsion in which his lines were cast, it is 
 only remarkable that he should have lived to the age of fifty- 
 eight. His career had been a singularly chequered one.^ By 
 profession a lawyer, he had been in turn a revolutionary, a 
 Royalist plotter, an emigre and an enthusiastic admirer of 
 
 1 Despatches, XII., Wellington to Due d'Orleans, 6 June, 1815. 
 Supplementary Despatches, X., Due d'Orleans to Louis XVIII., 25 
 
 April, 1815 ; 17 May, 1815 ; 12 June, 1815. 
 Liverpool to Canning, 13 June, 1815. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deuoa Restaur ations, IV. pp. 91-92. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 86-90. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 112-113. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 79-80. 
 
186 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1816 
 
 Bonaparte. A pamphlet which he had written on the subject 
 of the Concordat had been approved of by the First Consul. He 
 had rewarded its author with the chair of Jurisprudence at the 
 University of Grenoble. But Didier soon wearied of the mono- 
 tony of regular work on a fixed income. He began gradually 
 to neglect his duties for the more exciting field of speculative 
 adventures. Before long his time was completely absorbed in the 
 floating of industrial and commercial undertakings. His restless 
 imagination led him into every scheme by which fortune may be 
 rapidly acquired, from the cutting of a canal, or the opening of a 
 new road, to the promotion of a mining company. It is a curious 
 but not uncommon characteristic of men of this stamp, that 
 they are often themselves carried away by the alluring prospects 
 which they hold out to potential shareholders. They actually 
 come to believe in the genuineness of their own statements. 
 
 By the year 1813 Didier was a bankrupt flying from his 
 creditors. He now turned again to political speculation. Events, 
 however, seem to have moved too quickly for him. The Bourbons 
 were brought back before he had had time to draw attention 
 to himself in any way. For services rendered in the old days he 
 conceived that he had claims on the gratitude of the restored 
 dynasty. The subordinate post in connection with the Council 
 of State to which he was appointed after the first Restoration 
 was, in his opinion, a very inadequate requital. He is supposed 
 to have played some small part in the Fouche-Drouet d'Erlon 
 plot in March, 1815. The story of his relations with the 
 Due of Orleans, after the second Restoration, has already been 
 told. 
 
 The early days of 1816 found Didier at Eyons. He was busily 
 engaged in trjdng to persuade his dupes of the existence of a 
 society to which he gave the name of the association of national 
 independence. Both Fouche and Talleyrand were supposed 
 to be members of it. It had been formed, he assured his listeners, 
 with the object of restoring France to her former greatness 
 and of driving out Louis XVIII, who was to be replaced on the 
 throne by the Due d'Orleans. The police were not long in 
 ignorance of the propagandism which he was carrying on. 
 But Didier himself contrived to elude their vigilance. Many of 
 those, however, whom he had succeeded in enrolling were thrown 
 into prison.^ 
 
 From Lyons Didier fled into Dauphine. At Grenoble he was, 
 of course, well known, and, inasmuch as he was " wanted '* 
 by the police, he had to be careful of showing himself. He soon, 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur atioiis, IV. pp. 93-95, 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. p. 81. 
 
1816] GENERAL DONNADIEU 187 
 
 however, established relations with the numerous half -pay officers 
 resident in the town. The whole district was strongly Bona- 
 partist. The previous year Napoleon's march through the 
 province had resembled a triumphal progress. The recollection 
 of it was fresh in the memory of the country people. The 
 peasants were imbued with a strong military spirit, and most of 
 them had been soldiers of the Grand Army.^ Didier's experience 
 at Lyons had taught him that it was useless to attempt to arouse 
 enthusiasm by invoking the name of the Due d' Orleans. With 
 countrymen, old soldiers, and half-pay officers, he was merely 
 another Bourbon. 
 
 All through the months of March and April Didier was hard at 
 work preaching his revolutionary doctrines in the villages round 
 Grenoble. 2 Among a population hostile to the Bourbons he soon 
 obtained a large following. The night of May 4th was fixed upon 
 for the rising. The peasants were to assemble before nightfall 
 in the woods, and, at a given signal, to make a converging march 
 on Grenoble. The half -pay officers and the conspirators within 
 the town were to overpower or to suborn the guards and throw 
 open the gates. As soon as Grenoble had raised the tricolour, 
 Lyons would follow suit, and General Drouet d'Erlon, who was 
 waiting on the Swiss frontier, would appear and take over the 
 military direction of the movement. Such at least was the story 
 with which Didier deluded his imfortunate adherents. But, 
 though there was hardly a word of truth in any of his statements, 
 he was full of confidence and prepared, unhesitatingly, to stake 
 his life on the success of the undertaking. Both MontUvaut, the 
 Prefect of the Isere, and General Donnadieu, who commanded 
 the district, were uncompromising Royalists. Monthvaut had 
 acted as Secretary-General to Josephine after her divorce and, 
 like many other men in similar circumstances, hoped, by the 
 truculent zeal which he displayed in the service of the Monarchy, 
 to obliterate his Imperial past. Nobody had made more arbitrary 
 use of the great powers which the suspension of individual 
 liberty and other coercive legislation had placed at his disposal. 
 Numerous instances of his tyrannical proceedings are recorded. 
 In political cases he decreed that the witnesses should be marched 
 to the Court handcuffed two and two. General Donnadieu was a 
 man of the same stamp but of a more violent and turbulent dis- 
 position. He had been on several occasions in trouble under the 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deuoc Resfaurations, IV. pp. 108-114. 
 Viel Caatel, Histoire, V. pp. 82-85. 
 
 2 The best account of these events is contained in Vaulabelle, Beua: 
 Bestauratiom, IV. pp. 114-148. 
 
 Cf. also Pasquier, IV. pp. 111-115. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 86-112. 
 
188 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [I8I6 
 
 Empire, and, in its latter years, had been left without employ- 
 ment. At the Restoration he had embraced monarchical princi- 
 ples with ardour. He had followed the King to Ghent, and had 
 been rewarded with the command of the Grenoble district and 
 the rank of Lieutenant-General. 
 
 The Legion of the Isere, the department of which Grenoble 
 is the chief town, commanded by an emigre officer. Colonel de 
 Vautre, was the only regular regiment of the garrison. It con- 
 sisted of but one battalion some five hundred strong. The 
 reports which, during the month of March, had reached the 
 prefect of the existence of a certain degree of disaffection in the 
 neighbouring villages induced the General to ask for reinforce- 
 ments. His request could not easily be comphed with ; never- 
 theless some small detachments were sent him, which brought 
 up the strength of the garrison to about eight hundred men. 
 Montlivaut, following the practice of other agents of the Govern- 
 ment, had arranged with the parish priests to keep him supplied 
 with intelligence. It was not, however, till May 2nd that he 
 received any news of an alarming character. The information, 
 which was then conveyed to him, led him to order the arrest of 
 several half -pay officers and other suspected persons in the town. 
 But when Donnadieu heard that some National Guards had 
 been requisitioned to patrol the suburbs and to assist the police 
 in their perquisitions, he flew into a violent rage. He accused 
 his civilian colleague of trespassing on his department, and 
 treated his alarm as ridiculous and childish. Nothing could 
 overcome Donnadieu's obstinacy. It was not till the evening 
 of May 4th, when one or two persons arrived who had actually 
 seen the peasants mustering for the attack, that, to use his own 
 words, " The scales fell from his eyes.'' Once convinced of the 
 reahty of the danger, he made his dispositions promptly enough. 
 They were not, however, conceived with any idea of avoiding 
 unnecessary bloodshed, but solely with the object of inflicting 
 the heaviest punishment on the insurgents. Instead of order- 
 ing the gates to be closed, Donnadieu gave directions that they 
 should be left open. 
 
 The arrests which Montlivaut had effected had been made, 
 more or less, at random. The only person of any importance 
 in the plot who had been seized was a half -pay officer, and he 
 had been released the next day. This action by the police had, 
 nevertheless, almost completely dislocated Didder's plans. The 
 chief conspirators in Grenoble, concluding that the authorities 
 had discovered everything, were panic-stricken and determined 
 to fly. Thus most of the men on whom Didier had been 
 depending to open the gates and to concert movements in his 
 
1816] GENERAL DONNADIEU 189 
 
 favour, within the town, deserted their posts. The fugitives 
 joined Didier in the country during the 3rd, or on the morning 
 of the 4th. That desperate man was not, however, to be deterred 
 by the news which they brought. The movement, he decided, 
 should proceed. 
 
 When, a little before midnight on May 4th, Didier's main 
 column was approaching Grenoble, it came into contact with 
 some patrols which had been sent out to reconnoitre. They fell 
 back rapidly. The peasants pressed on and discovered to their 
 joy that the Porte de Bonne was open. They felt sure that it 
 must be in the possession of their friends. But as they rushed 
 forward with a shout of triumph, the first volley crashed into 
 them. It came from Vautre's corps, which, after a momentary 
 hesitation, was now firing steadily. A few wild shots from the 
 peasants and Didier's insurrection was over. 
 
 The moment the insurgents gave way Vautre gave the order 
 to advance. The pursuit continued throughout the night. Near 
 the village of Eybens, about three miles from Grenoble, Didier, 
 who had brought up some reinforcements, made a last effort to 
 stay the flight of his followers. But, though he set them an 
 heroic example and exposed himself recklessly, he could not 
 rally them. His horse was shot imder him, and he escaped 
 capture only by seeking the cover of the woods which bordered 
 the road. In accordance with the plan of operations. Colonel 
 Brun, a half -pay officer, had led another party of rebels agaiust 
 the north of the town. After a brief skirmish with the Royal 
 troops, the Colonel, hearing that the main column was in retreat, 
 succeeded in drawing off his men unmolested. 
 
 On the Royal side there had been no casualities. Six, however, 
 of the rebels had been killed, and considerably more had, probably, 
 been wounded. The alarming description of the affair which 
 Donnadieu had sent to Paris has already been related. The first 
 account of an engagement which a General sends back must 
 necessarily be written before he is in full possession of all the 
 facts of the case. Admitting this, Donnadieu^s despatch to the 
 Minister of War furnishes abundant proof that it was drawn 
 up with the deliberate intention of exaggerating the seriousness 
 of the insurrection. " Eong live the King — Your Excellency,'" 
 so began the first of these extraordinary documents. " All the 
 roads for three miles round Grenoble are covered with the corpses 
 of His Majesty's enemies. The troops covered themselves with 
 glory. . . . We have already caught more than sixty scoundrels 
 whom the Prevotal Court will make short work of. . . . Four 
 thousand brigands took part in the attack on the town." 
 
 On May 7th three men appeared before the Provost's Court 
 
190 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1816 
 
 and were condemned to death. Two of these, old soldiers of the 
 Imperial Guard, were guillotined the next day. In the meantime, 
 however. General Donnadieu had received instructions from 
 Paris to place the whole department under Martial Law. On the 
 9th, accordingly, a batch of thirty prisoners was taken before a 
 Court Martial presided over by Colonel de Vautre. In view of 
 the prominent part which this ofi&cer had been called upon to 
 play in the affair, another person might, with advantage, have 
 been appointed President in his place. General Donnadieu, 
 apparently, thought differently. The proceedings before the 
 Provost's Court had been marked by several unedifying incidents. 
 But Vautre's conduct put these completely into the shade. 
 " Stop, Scoundrel, " Sit down. Scoundrel,'' was the ordinary 
 language which he used in addressing the unfortunate men he 
 was supposed to be trying. He had grudgingly allowed three 
 advocates who were present in Court to conduct the defence of 
 the prisoners. But their speeches were delivered amidst a 
 running fire of adverse comments, or interrupted by the Presi- 
 dent's angry shouts " to cut it short." The trial was concluded 
 in one day. Nine of the accused were acquitted and twenty-one 
 were condemned to be shot. Seven of these were recommended 
 to the King's mercy, but the sentence passed on the remainder 
 was put into execution the next day. On the 15th, however, 
 Donnadieu was instructed from Paris that no recommendation 
 to mercy could be entertained, and that the twenty-one death 
 sentences must all be carried out. The eight men in question 
 were, in consequence, executed without further delay, among 
 them being a boy of sixteen. 
 
 Didier, for whose capture General Donnadieu had been em- 
 powered to offer a reward of twenty thousand francs, was soon 
 caught.^ After wandering about in great misery among the 
 mountains of Savoy, his whereabouts were betrayed by an inn- 
 keeper. He was taken to Turin and forthwith handed over to 
 the French police. The views of the Sardinian authorities on this 
 subject seem to have been peculiar. They were quite prepared 
 to give up Didier, a political prisoner, without even waiting for 
 the official demand of the French Government for his extradition. 
 On the other hand when, in 1822, Mingrat, a parish priest, fled 
 into Savoy after murdering his mistress and cutting up her body 
 into small pieces, they declined to surrender him. On May 23rd, 
 only six days after his arrest, Didier was in gaol at Grenoble. 
 He did not appear, however, before the Provost's Court till 
 June 8th. In the meantime great efforts were made to induce 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV. pp. 151-168. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 119-120. 
 
1816] GENEKAL DONNADIEU 191 
 
 him to make revelations, and it was conveyed to him that his 
 Ufe would be spared it he would confess everything. But nothing 
 could be extracted from him. Probably there was little to tell, 
 and the theory of the Government that there were important 
 persons behind him was, without doubt, erroneous. On the 
 evening of June 9th he was condemned to death. On the 10th, 
 the day of his execution, Donnadieu visited him to make a last 
 attempt to induce him to reveal all he knew. According to the 
 General's report Didier, after much persuasion, said, " Let the 
 King keep the Due d' Orleans and M. de Talleyrand as fai* from 
 the throne and from France as possible." It must be remembered 
 however, that there were no witnesses to this scene, and that 
 there is only Donnadieu's uncorroborated statement as to what 
 happened. 1 A few hours later Didier ascended the scaffold 
 with unshaken firmness. His was the twenty-fifth execution in. 
 connection with the affair of Grenoble. 
 
 The Government behaved most generously in the matter of re- 
 wards. General Donnadieu was created a Viscount and a Knight 
 of Saint-Eouis. A gratuity of one hundred thousand francs was 
 also awarded him. Previous to this the Duke of Wellington 
 had written to him commending his firm attitude and tendering 
 him his congratulations. MontUvaut was advanced to the rank 
 of a Councillor of State. Vautre was made a Baron and pro- 
 moted Major-General, whilst the Legion of Honour and minor 
 recompenses were distributed lavishly. From this time forward 
 Donnadieu became the idol of the Ultra -Royalists. After all, 
 they were wont to say, there was nobody Hke a man brought 
 up in the school of Bonaparte for dealing with popular move- 
 ments. ^ 
 
 The affair of Grenoble is one of the most deplorable episodes 
 of the Restoration. It was necessary to impress on the people 
 of Dauphine that attempts to upset the Government could no 
 longer be made with impunity. But this end could have been 
 attained without resorting to wholesale executions. Had, 
 however, the death sentences been carried out after the accused 
 had had the benefit of a fair trial, the necessity for making a 
 great example might be held to have justified their number. 
 The conduct of Ministers, in advising the King to reject all 
 recommendations for pardon before they had heard the reasons 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Veuoe Restaur atiom, IV. pp. 161-162. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 122-124. 
 2 Pasquier, IV. p. 116. 
 Supplementary Despatches, XI., Wellington to Donnadieu, 20 May, 
 1816. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 114-116. 
 Marmont, M^moires, VII. p. 231. 
 
192 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [I8I6 
 
 which had led the Courts to make them, camiot be defended. 
 But in passing judgment on the Government it must be re- 
 membered that the two chief officials on the spot had sent in 
 grossly misleading reports. How greatly the authorities in Paris 
 had been deceived came out by degrees, and, chiefly, owing to 
 an amusing circumstance. The dignity of a State Councillor, to 
 which Montlivaut had been raised, gave him the precedence 
 over the General at state functions. Donnadieu's indignation 
 knew no bounds, and it was due to the recriminations of these 
 two worthies that most of the truth about the events at Grenoble 
 leaked out. Montlivaut was soon afterwards transferred to Caen, 
 and the opportunity was taken, before long, of removing Donna- 
 dieu from his command.^ 
 
 Shortly before the outbreak of Didier's insurrection, the pohce 
 in Paris claimed to have brought to light the existence of a 
 dangerous conspiracy. ^ A nice sense of honour can hardly be a 
 distinguishing feature of the professional spy's character. 
 When business is slack he is apt to exchange the more or less 
 legitimate part of the detective for the highly objectionable and 
 illegal role of the agent provocateur. Police officials, and even 
 their superiors, do not always discountenance this well-known 
 tendency of their agents. If a certain amount of disaffection is 
 believed to exist, it is sometimes held to be convenient " to bring 
 it to a head.'' It is impossible to read any detailed account of 
 trial of " The Patriots of 1816 " without coming to the conclusion 
 that the more serious crimes alleged against them were deliber- 
 ately suggested by paid agents of the Government. All the 
 twenty-eight persons, includiug one woman, who appeared before 
 the Assize Court of the Seine, belonged, with the exception of a 
 half-pay officer and one or two others, to the working classes. 
 Of the three men charged mth being the ringleaders, Pleignier 
 was a leather-dresser, Carbonneau a public writer in reduced 
 circumstances, and Tolleron an engraver out of work. Some 
 change which the Minister of War had decided on, with regard to 
 the regulation cavalry boot, had injured Pleignier's business, 
 and had inspired him with a bitter hatred for the reigmng dynasty. 
 He appears to have conceived the notion of forming an associa- 
 tion, of which all the members were to be provided with special 
 cards. Pleignier had prepared them with the assistance of 
 Tolleron the engraver. Along with a Masonic sign they all bore 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. p. 117. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 116-119. 
 
 2 Causes politiques du XIX siecle par une societe d'avocatSj Paris, 1827. 
 " Proces des patriotes, 1816." 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 150-170. 
 
1816] GENERAL DONNADIEU 193 
 
 the inscription : " Union, Honour, Country," hence the name of 
 *' Patriots "" given to the conspirators. 
 
 The formation of a society of this kind was an illegal act. 
 Nevertheless the authorities, though aware of its existence, 
 showed no disposition to intervene. Different methods were 
 adopted. At the suggestion, so at least the prisoners asserted, 
 of a man called Sheltein, who was, without doubt, employed by 
 the police, a treasonable proclamation was issued. The chief 
 conspirators were in the habit of meeting at various taverns. 
 At one of these gatherings there was a good deal of vague talk 
 about an attack on the Tuileries. Sheltein, the police spy, 
 however, again came forward with a definite proposal. He 
 suggested that barrels of gunpowder might easily be exploded 
 in a sewer which ran from the Palace to the Seine, and came out 
 near the Pont Neuf . Two or three days later the whole party were 
 arrested. 
 
 At their trial the Crown Prosecutors pressed the case against 
 the prisoners with the greatest acrimony. There was evidently 
 a strong desire on the part of the Government to strike terror 
 among the disaffected working classes. " The leather-dresser 
 and the engraver must in future keep to their shops, and learn 
 that they must no longer attempt to make history," were words 
 used by the President in the course of his examination of ToUeron. 
 They doubtless explain the true reasons which actuated the 
 authorities in initiating the proceedings. 
 
 On July 27th the three ringleaders suffered the full penalty 
 usually reserved for parricides. They were conveyed barefooted 
 and draped in long black veils to the Place de Greve, where the 
 executioner chopped off their right hands, after which they were 
 decapitated. The other conspirators escaped with long terms 
 of imprisonment. 
 
 During the first half of the year 1816 there were numerous 
 other poUtical prosecutions about the country. ^ The most note- 
 worthy case being the Court Martial of General Mouton-Duvernet 
 at Lyons. This officer, who had been long in hiding, was the last 
 person to suffer death for participation in the events of the 
 Hundred Days. The otherwise gloomy summer was enlivened, 
 however, by a Royal marriage of great importance to the dynasty. 
 At the close of the previous year Blacas, who had been sent 
 as ambassador to the Neapolitan Court, had negotiated the 
 betrothal of the Due de Berri to the Princess Caroline, grand- 
 daughter of Ferdinand IV, King of the Two Sicilies. The future 
 Duchesse de Berri was a Neapolitan Bourbon, that is, a direct 
 descendant of Philip V of Spain, the grandson of Bonis XIV. 
 » Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 134-139. 
 
194 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1816 
 
 But besides this cousinship she was related to the French Royal 
 Family through her mother, Marie Clementine, the daughter of 
 Leopold II, Emperor of Austria, and the niece therefore of Marie 
 Antoinette, and through her grandmother, Marie Caroline, who 
 was the sister of the unfortunate Queen of France. On April 24th 
 the marriage by proxy took place at Naples, the bride's uncle, 
 Leopold, Prince of Salerno, representing the Due de Berri. 
 On May 21st, 1816, the Princess arrived off Marseilles, in which 
 port she was quarantined for ten days, and only arrived at 
 Fontainebleau, where it had been arranged that her first meeting 
 with her husband was to take place, on June 15th. ^ It was in the 
 forest, at the cross roads of La Croix de Saint-Herem,^ that 
 Louis XVIII and the Royal Family awaited the bride. Talleyrand 
 was present as Grand Chamberlain. Twelve years before he 
 had officiated in the same capacity and at the same spot, when 
 Napoleon had driven out from Paris to meet the Pope Pius VIII, 
 who had come to France to crown him. The young Princess is 
 said to have created a good impression on the King and on 
 her husband. On Sunday, June 16th, she made her state entry 
 into Paris, receiving a warm welcome, and on the following day 
 the marriage ceremony was celebrated at Notre Dame. The 
 happy event was made the occasion of festivities and popular 
 rejoicings. Honours and decorations were distributed freely. 
 Two old emigres, the Due de Coigny and the Comte de Viomesnil, 
 whose role in the affair of the Fauchers at Bordeaux has been 
 related, were created Marshals of France, a rank to which the 
 Comte Beumonville and Clarke, Due de Feltre, the Minister of 
 War, were elevated at the same time.^ 
 
 The Duchess de Berri, though not beautiful, and indifferently 
 educated, was bright and agreeable and possessed of some 
 personal charm. The Elys6e was given to the newly married 
 couple as a place of residence. Both were fond of society and of 
 entertaining. Their parties were soon noted for a gaiety which 
 formed a singular contrast to the dull ceremonial and strict 
 etiquette which prevailed at the Tuileries.* The Duchesse de 
 Reggio, the wife of Marshal Oudinot, had been chosen as 
 first Lady of Honour to the young Princess. This was looked 
 upon as a gracious concession to the new nobility, and was widely 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 129-130. 
 
 Imbert de Saint-Amandj Duchesse de Berri et Louis XVIII , pp. 30-50. 
 « Ibid., pp. 65-70. 
 
 Mme. de Gontaut, M^moires, pp. 169-165. 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deujo Restaur ations, IV. p. 214. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 131-132. 
 * Mme. de Boigne, II. pp. 258-261. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire , V. pp. 130-131. 
 
1816] GENEEAL DONNADIEU 195 
 
 appreciated. Outside the Faubourg-Saint-Germain it was hoped 
 that her appointment was intended to inaugurate a new de- 
 parture, and that the Royal Family meant to extend their social 
 relations beyond the families of the old nobility. But this ex- 
 pectation was fulfilled only to a very limited extent. Matrimony, 
 moreover, made little difference to the Duke's private habits. 
 He soon returned to the pleasures of his bachelor days, and what 
 was, perhaps, more unfortunate still, retained his rough manners 
 and continued to indulge in his wild outbursts of fury. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 THE FAVOURITE MINISTER 
 
 LOUIS XVin's relations with Decazes were daily becoming 
 closer and more intimate. Every day they spent long 
 hours together. Many of the King's letters to his favourite have 
 now been published. They are couched in language of the 
 warmest affection. " My dear Boy," was the paternal fashion 
 which Louis usually adopted in addressing his Minister. At the 
 Pavilion de Marsan and in the Faubourg-Saint-Germain the 
 situation was viewed with feelings of the livehest indignation. 
 Various calumnies were put into circulation to account for the 
 favour which Decazes enjoyed. One baseless fabrication was the 
 common assertion that Madame Princetau, his sister, had suc- 
 ceeded in awakening the long dormant passions of the old King. 
 But together with this slanderous invention another explanation 
 was readily accepted. Decazes, it was said, owed his position to 
 the skill with which he kept Louis entertained with highly spiced 
 anecdotes about well-known persons, which came to his know- 
 ledge through the police reports.^ It is, of course, possible that 
 the King may have derived amusement from the light which 
 they threw on the seamy side of human nature. He had a 
 decidedly cynical turn of mind, and a liking for revelations 
 obtained in this way was, to some extent, hereditary in his 
 family. It was not, however, by pandering to such tastes that 
 Decazes succeeded in establishing his great ascendancy over his 
 Royal master. 
 
 Louis had from the first been greatly pleased with Decaze's 
 intelligence. The King's indolence and dislike for the details 
 of public affairs was proverbial. But when business had to be 
 discussed with his Police Minister, Louis soon discovered that it 
 engrossed his attention to the full. Decazes had successfully 
 solved the problem as to how his master's interest could be 
 aroused and kept alive. Taking advantage of his comparative 
 youth, he almost invariably approached the matter which he had 
 in hand in the character of a pupil who had come to seek instruc- 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , IV. pp. 433-437. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VI. pp. 92-96. 
 
 196 
 
1816] THE FAVOURITE MINISTER 197 
 
 tion. Louis was immensely fascinated by the notion that he was 
 inculcating his own ideas of statecraft on the receptive mind 
 of his young minister. All through his life he had felt the need 
 of a confidential friend. The place in his affections which Blacas 
 had occupied was vacant. He had given it to D^cazes, whose 
 cultivated intelligence was congenial to him, and who had 
 found out the secret of how to make even the routine of business 
 attractive.^ 
 
 Before the Parliamentary Session had come to an end, D6cazes 
 had determined that the Chamber must be dissolved. ^ But to 
 effect this object successfully it was not sufficient to persuade 
 the King to carry it out. Richelieu and his colleagues in the 
 Cabinet must be brought to see the necessity for such a step. 
 The action of the President of the Council had removed one 
 important obstacle to the realization of his plans. No sooner 
 had the Chambers risen for the summer recess than RicheUeu 
 had declared to the King that either Vaublanc must go, or he 
 himself would resign. In the course of the debates on the 
 Electoral Bill, Vaublanc had announced that he personally 
 disapproved of the Government's intention to retain the system 
 of the Rota. But Vaublanc's misdeeds did not end here. The 
 control of the National Guards was an important branch of the 
 Home Department. The Comte d'Artois was, it is true, the 
 Colonel- General of the citizen troops. Monsieur's appointment 
 was, however, intended to be a purely honorary one. Neverthe- 
 less, Vaublanc had deliberately allowed him to assume effective 
 command of the force. The Comte d'Artois had not been slow 
 in availing himself of the opportunity thus afforded him of so 
 widely extending his influence.^ Regular Headquarter Staff 
 offices, supervised by his Aides-de-Camp de Bruges and Jules de 
 Polignac, had been, accordingly, set up. But the correspondence 
 with which these bureaux dealt was not exclusively military in 
 character. Commanders of provincial corps were encouraged 
 to report on the spirit which prevailed in their districts,* and on 
 the attitude taken up by their prefect and his subordinate 
 officials. The command of the National Guards, as understood 
 
 * Marmont, M^moires, VII. p. 226. 
 Madame de Boigne, II. pp. 283, 284. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et D^cazes, pp. 203-205. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 131-132. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV. pp. 238-240. 
 Guizot, M^moires, I. pp. 148-149. 
 
 3 Marmont, M^moires, VII. p. 230. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 90, 109. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Diazes, pp. 135 and 265. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 69-72. 
 
 * Pasquier, IV. p. 253. 
 
198 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1816 
 
 by Monsieur, was thus converted into a kind of opposition 
 Ministry of Police. In short, it threatened to become a formidable 
 political engine, the action of which, at elections especially, 
 might prove a serious embarrassment to the Government. 
 
 The removal of Vaublanc was a step very displeasing to the 
 Pavilion de Marsan and the Ultra-Royalists. Though Eouis was 
 reluctant to annoy his brother, he could not hesitate between the 
 Minister of the Interior and the President of the Council. Vau- 
 blanc was dismissed, and his place at the Home Office was taken 
 by Lain6, the President of the Chamber of Deputies. 
 
 Vaublanc was the Minister who was the most closely in 
 sympathy \vith the extreme Royalists, and who would, in con- 
 sequence, have been certain to have most strenuously opposed 
 the idea of dissolution. Nevertheless, it would be a great mistake 
 to suppose that the other members of the Cabinet, from the 
 President downwards, were prepared to approve the drastic 
 measure which Decazes contemplated. Richelieu, though he 
 might deplore the violence and short-sighted policy of the 
 majority in the Chamber, could not forget that the party, after 
 all, consisted of men who were devoted to the Monarchy. He 
 was, moreover, related by the ties of family, or connected by the 
 friendly intercourse of daily life, with the most prominent 
 members of it.^ But his most passionate desire was to see his 
 country freed from the humiHating presence of the Army of 
 Occupation. Once convinced that the conduct of the Ultra- 
 Royalists was retarding the consummation of his dearest hope, 
 Richelieu hesitated no longer. The adhesion of the President 
 of the Council to the scheme of dissolution carried with it the 
 assent of Lain6, the Minister of the Interior. Clarke was won over 
 by his elevation to the rank of a Marshal of France on the occa- 
 sion of the Royal Marriage. There was little difficulty in bringing 
 Corvetto, the Minister of Finance, into line with the views of his 
 principal colleagues. But Decazes had not confined his negotia- 
 tions to members of the Cabiaet. He had discreetly sounded 
 and then taken into his confidence the leaders of the " Moder- 
 ates," Royer-Collard, Pasquier, and de Serre, who had all 
 expressed their warmest approval of his plans and had promised 
 him their heartiest support.^ 
 
 Decazes has no title to rank as a great statesman, but, in his 
 handling of this affair, he gave proof that he was possessed of 
 diplomatic ability. His management of the King was equally 
 
 1 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 21 Mars, 1816 ; 14 Avril, 1816. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 202-204. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 252. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 121-124. 
 Vaulabelle, Deuac Restaur ations, IV. p.. 239. 
 
1816] THE FAVOURITE MINISTER 199 
 
 skilful. Louis had on many occasions been angered by the 
 conduct of the Chamber. He believed, however, that the pre- 
 dominant party truthfully reflected the opinions of the major- 
 ity of his subjects. 1 He had, recently, been much gratified 
 by the liberal and generous spirit in which the Deputies had 
 voted the money for the Due de Berries establishment. Decazes 
 did not attempt to combat the King's views. He made it his 
 practice, however, to let him see the reports which, as Minister 
 of Police, he received from the departments. In most of them 
 there was frequent mention of the insolent and presumptuous lan- 
 guage which the Deputies were indulging in in their constituen- 
 cies. A recent indisposition of His Majesty's had, it was said, 
 filled them with joy. If only Monsieur could come to the throne, 
 the work of the Counter-Revolution might begin in earnest. 
 Decazes also showed the King the letters which he received from 
 private correspondents in the provinces. One, especially, from 
 Maine de Biran, in which the philosopher spoke of the behaviour 
 of the emigre party as a serious danger to the Monarchy, greatly 
 impressed His Majesty. When the King's mind had been suffi- 
 ciently prepared, Decazes opened his batteries. 
 
 The correspondence between Louis and his favourite Minister, 
 which M. Ernest Daudet has published, shows that perseverance 
 and tact was required to bring the King to the required point. 
 It was not until August 21st that Decazes appears to have finally 
 triumphed over Louis' irresolution. ^ But the result was then seen 
 in the ordinance of September 5th, by which His Majesty dis- 
 solved the Chamber of Deputies, and declared that at the coming 
 elections the Charter would be strictly adhered to. That is to say, 
 that the number of the members of the popular Assembly would 
 be reduced to 258, the number provided by clause 36 of the 
 Charter, and that no candidates would be eligible for Parlia- 
 mentary election who had not attained the age of forty. 
 
 A remarkable feature about the affair had been the absolute 
 secrecy which had surrounded the negotiations. Not a whisper, 
 not a suspicion of the cowp d'etat which was pending had trans- 
 pired. Of the foreign statesmen present in Paris Wellington 
 alone appears to have been aware of what was going on.^ After 
 the King had affixed his signature to the famous ordinance, the 
 disagreeable task of acquainting the Comte d'Artois devolved 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 202-218. 
 Vaulabelle, Deuoo liestaurations, pp. 240-246. 
 Guizot, MemoireSj I. pp. 149-151. 
 
 2 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 132-147. 
 
 ^ Supplementary Despatches, XI., Wellington to Castlereagli, 80 August, 
 1816. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. p. 222-223. 
 
200 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1816 
 
 on Richelieu. Louis himself retired to bed, giving the strictest 
 orders that he was not to be disturbed. Monsieur was amazed 
 beyond measure, and announced his intention of at once seeking 
 his brother's presence with a view to induce liim to reconsider his 
 determination. This was, however, impossible. It seems that 
 it was not till the following evening that he conveyed his dis- 
 approval, in writing, to the King.^ Judging by a note from 
 Louis to Decazes, Monsieur's letter was couched in very 
 moderate language, and Louis' reply to it seems to have been 
 expressed in the same tone. But unlike their father, both the 
 Duo d'Angouleme and the Due de Berri waited on His Majesty 
 to assure him that they fully concurred with the step which he 
 had taken. The younger brother, however, soon reverted to his 
 former ideas. 
 
 The great news appeared in the Moniteur on September 7th. 
 The King and the Government were not long in doubt as to the 
 spirit in which the public would receive it. At the Opera, Riche- 
 lieu was the object of an enthusiastic reception. From all parts 
 of the country poured in expressions of congratulation and 
 approval. The general feeling of relief and of restored confidence 
 was reflected in a substantial rise of the rente. 
 
 At the elections which followed the dissolution, the Ultra- 
 Royalists, notwithstanding all their efforts, were, as a party, 
 defeated. When the Session 18161-1817 opened, Ministers 
 found that, in a greatly reduced Assembly, they could count on a 
 working majority of between fifty and sixty. ^ 
 
 Thus passed away the Incomparable Chamber. Circumstances 
 had given the Royalists the greatest chance which they had had 
 for a generation, and this opportunity they had misused. Their 
 advent to power had taken place at a time of national trouble 
 and humiliation. But they had done nothing to alleviate the 
 misfortunes under which their country was groaning. On the 
 contrary, they had shown very plainly that their aims and their 
 aspirations were distinct from those held by the great mass of 
 their fellow-countrymen. The independent spirit, however, 
 displayed in the aristocratic Chamber of 1815, stands out in 
 marked contrast to the cowardly and servile attitude which was 
 characteristic of the middle-class assemblies of the Empire and 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 148-149. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 230-233. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 125-126. 
 
 Madame de Boigue, II. pp. 230-231. 
 Vaulabellcj Deux liestaurations, IV. pp. 245-24G. 
 Guizot, Mcmoires, I. pp. 152-153. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 131-132. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire , V. pp. 236, 237, 261, 273. 
 
1816] THE FAVOUEITE MINISTER 201 
 
 of the first Restoration. It is to the chamhre introuvable, with all 
 its faults, that France owes her first lesson in Parliamentary 
 Government. 
 
 Disappointed ambition and wounded vanity had driven both 
 Chateaubriand and Talleyrand into the ranks of the Ultra- 
 Royalists. Chateaubriand had expected a post in the Govern- 
 ment or an Embassy, and was furious at the neglect with which 
 he had been treated. Talleyrand was enraged beyond measure 
 to see that the ship of State could be steered without his assistance. 
 Richelieu, " the Minister who knew the Crimea so thoroughly," 
 as he ironically described him, had become, in consequence, the 
 object of his keenest aversion and the target for his bitterest 
 sarcasms.^ 
 
 It was an open secret, during the summer of 1816, that 
 Cliateaubriand was preparing a book, in which he proposed to 
 lay down the true principles of representative government. 
 But The Monarchy according to the Charter^ was to be more 
 than a mere exposition of the author's views on abstract ques- 
 tions of State. It was to be, in effect, a sweeping condemnation 
 of the past poHcy of His Majesty's Ministers. When the Ordi- 
 nance of September 5th had appeared, the book, though com- 
 pleted, had not yet been published. Chateaubriand, who shared 
 to the full the indignation of the party whose cause he had 
 espoused, had, thereupon, added a postscript. These final words 
 were, as they were no doubt intended to be, even more offensive 
 than the rest of the work. A few advance copies were already 
 in circulation. Decazes obtained one of these and placed it 
 before the King. Eouis, who had never liked " the Chateau- 
 briand," as he called him, was very angry, and directed that he 
 should be told that it was His Majesty's wish that the 
 book should not be published. To this intimation, though 
 it was conveyed to him most courteously by Dambray, the 
 President of the Chamber of Peers, Chateaubriand turned a 
 deaf ear. 
 
 On the early morning of the day on which The Monarchy 
 according to the Charter was to appear, the police entered 
 the premises of the publisher, Eenormand, and proceeded to 
 carry off every copy of the book. But before the seizure had been 
 completely effected Chateaubriand, theatrically attired in his 
 Peer's robes, himself arrived. His protests were, however, of no 
 avail, nor was the contention successful which he afterwards 
 
 » E. Daudet, Lmiis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 153-165 and 169-170. 
 2 Ihid., pp. 155-159. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 240-253. 
 
 Pasquier^ IV. pp. 129-130. 
 
202 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [I8I6 
 
 made to the Minister of Police, that the property of a Peer was 
 inviolable. 1 
 
 Decazes' action had been perfectly legal though exceedingly 
 unwise. The intervention of the police had been made possible 
 owing to a technical infraction of the law which Lenormand had 
 committed. When, however, the pubHsher had paid the thousand 
 franc fine to which his offence had rendered him amenable, the 
 authorities had no longer any power to prevent the pubhcation 
 of Chateaubriand's book. Decazes had merely delayed the 
 appearance, but had not permanently suppressed the obnoxious 
 work. Louis was not slow to point out gently to his favourite 
 the foolishness of his proceedings. But the King, though he 
 might regret the seizure on account of its futility and of the halo 
 of martyrdom which it conferred on the victim, had no idea of 
 allowing Chateaubriand's flagrant disregard of his wishes to go 
 unpunished. Under date of September 20th, 1816, there ap- 
 peared an ordinance in the Moniteur to the effect that " the 
 Vicomte de Chateaubriand having thrown a doubt on the 
 Ordinance of September 6th, being a manifestation of our 
 Personal Will . . . ceases to be a member of our Council of 
 State.'' 
 
 The post from which Chateaubriand had been dismissed was a 
 purely honorary one, but it carried with it a salary of 20,000 
 francs. To a man as chronically impecunious as he was this was 
 a serious loss. He was compelled, or pretended to be compelled, 
 to sell his library. 2 His country place near Paris, La Vallee aux 
 Loups, he was, also, obliged to part with. Chateaubriand had 
 hoped to dispose of this property by means of a lottery. Ninety 
 tickets of a thousand francs each were to be offered for sale. 
 By purchasing them the Ultra- Royalists might gracefully testify 
 their gratitude to one who had lost so heavily in the service 
 of their cause. But, as the event was to prove, the sympathy 
 of these gentlemen was not prepared to take so practical a form. 
 The lottery scheme turned out a failure and had to be abandoned. 
 Poor Chateaubriand's estate was then put up for auction with a 
 reserve on it of 50,000 francs. At an advance of only one 
 hundred francs, Mathieu de Montmorency secured it. 
 
 It would have been a more pleasing trait in Louis XVTII's 
 character had he overlooked Chateaubriand's misdeeds. He 
 had always shown himself a true friend to the Monarchy, even at 
 times when it would have been greatly to his interest to have 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Lmis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 161-166. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deuw Restaur ations, IV. pp. 247-250. 
 '^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, VII. pp. 257-258. 
 
 Madame de Boigne, II. 242-243. 
 
1816] THE FAVOURITE MINISTER 203 
 
 acted otherwise. In 1814 his pen had done splendid service, 
 and had materially helped to bring about the Restoration. 
 Such a man was certainly entitled to be treated with very great 
 consideration. 
 
 The case of Talleyrand was different. His constant com- 
 plaint, that the great services which he had rendered to the 
 dynasty had met with inadequate requital, had little justification 
 in fact. When he and his colleagues in the Cabinet had resigned, 
 in 1815, the King, though disliking him, had made him one of 
 the four Grand Chamberlains of the Court, at an annual salary 
 of a hundred thousand francs. Talleyrand at this time seems 
 to have been divided between his infatuation for Madame 
 Edmond de Perigord, his nephew's wife, and hie jealousy of the 
 Due de Richeheu. All through the year 1816 his conduct had 
 been very unlike that which might have been expected from a 
 statesman of his skill and experience. In a society so closely 
 policed as was that of Paris, the unguarded expressions and the 
 violent abuse of the Government which he freely indulged in was, 
 of course, duly reported. Nor did he always reserve these 
 criticisms for the sympathetic ears of his new friends the Ultra- 
 Royalists. Foreign ambassadors were equally the recipients 
 of his angry denunciations of Richelieu and of Decazes. He 
 would probably have been surprised and not a little disgusted 
 had he known the impression which he sometimes contrived to 
 leave behind him.^ " He has prodigiously gone to pieces,"' wrote 
 Von Goltz. " There was nothing more to be done with him," 
 said Wellington. 
 
 Matters reached a crisis at a dinner given at the English 
 Embassy on November 17th. Talleyrand had taken Pasquier, 
 the President of the Chamber, aside and had begun his usual 
 diatribe against the Government. His language on this occasion 
 was particularly violent, and he behaved like a man who had 
 completely lost his head. Pasquier had great difficulty in tearing 
 himself away from him. But when at last he had shaken hands 
 with him and was taking his departure, Talleyrand followed 
 him, and, before the astonished company, began a loud and vulgar 
 abuse of Decazes. ^ This scene was the next day the talk of the 
 town. Three days later Talleyrand was officially warned that 
 he was relieved temporarily of his duties of Grand Chamberlain, 
 and was not for the present to show himself at Court. But 
 Talleyrand, though in disgrace, was a power in the land. His 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 169-177. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 313-316. 
 Pasquier, III. p. 376. 
 
 Mme. de Boigiie, II. pp. 227-228. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 135-140. 
 
204 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1817 
 
 house in the Rue Saint- Flor en tin continued to be frequented. 
 He was still associated with all the plans of Monsieur and of the 
 Ultra-Royalists. D^cazes at this time seems to have been seriously 
 advised, but to have scornfully refused, to stop his mouth with a 
 large bribe. ^ It was Talleyrand's opinion that it was useless to 
 think of driving Richeheu from office so long as Decazes continued 
 to enjoy the King's favour. It will be remembered that, after 
 Waterloo, the Comte d'Artois, Talleyrand himself, though his 
 politics at that time differed very much from Monsieur's, and all 
 the Ultra-RoyaUsts had clamoured for Blacas* dismissal. But 
 their views with regard to him had since undergone a great 
 change. Blacas was, after all, one of themselves, and, as such, 
 was to be infinitely preferred to Decazes with his middle-class 
 leanings and ideas. A scheme was accordingly set on foot to 
 bring back Blacas to Paris, in order that the old favourite 
 might supplant the new one in the King's affections. On ques- 
 tions of high politics, on everything to do with constitutional 
 Government, the minds of most of the intimates of the Pavilion 
 de Marsan were a blank. By tradition and by hereditary instinct, 
 however, they were admirably qualified to prosecute a Court 
 intrigue of this description. They entered upon it with zest. 
 
 A leading part in the conspiracy appears to have been played 
 by the Duchesse de Narbonne-Pelet. It is significant that she 
 was one of the ladies about the Duchesse d'Angouleme. Her 
 relations with the Court dated from the old days at Hartwell. 
 Louis liked her society and often talked to her. The Duchess 
 was on excellent terms with Blacas. She now wrote to him to 
 leave his Embassy at Rome and to come to Paris without warning 
 and incognito.'^ In order to prepare the King's mind for the 
 reappearance of his old favourite, she had recourse to a rather 
 vulgar stratagem. There was much talk at this time in clerical 
 and in high society of the extraordinary prophecies of a young 
 peasant, called Martin. Louis had little if any reUgious feeling, 
 but there was a certain vein of superstition in his nature. Wlien 
 the Duchess spoke to him about this wonderful prophet he 
 expressed a strong wish to see him. The young man was accord- 
 ingly brought to him, and, having, no doubt, been carefully 
 tutored as to what he was to say, succeeded in making consider- 
 able impression on Louis. But, whether the King was really 
 disturbed or not by this interview, it certainly failed to produce 
 the effect for which the conspirators had hoped. Shortly after- 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 179-182. 
 Mme. de Boij^ne, II. p. 272. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 10 Mai, 1817. 
 
 2 Mme. de Boigne, II. pp. 271-272. 
 Viel Castel, Ilistoire, VI. pp. 91-92. 
 
1817] THE FAVOURITE MINISTER 205 
 
 wards, on April 22nd, 1817, Blacas suddenly appeared in Paris. 
 His arrival created enormous excitement, the Bourse was dis- 
 turbed and a sensation was produced in all the chanceries of 
 Europe. But the matter ended there. ^ 
 
 Madame de Boigne relates that, on the day of M. de Blacas' 
 first interview with the King, she made a point of attending 
 Decazes' reception to see how he bore himself. The host, 
 however, appeared cheerful and quite in his usual spirits. ^ 
 He does not appear to have had any serious cause for alarm. 
 Notwithstanding all the reports to the contrary, which the Ultra- 
 Royahsts put into circulation, Louis seems to have been little 
 moved by his old favourite's reappearance. He gave him a 
 cordial welcome, and overlooked the fact that he had quitted 
 his post without leave. But, when Richelieu forcibly pointed 
 out the inconvenience of his further stay in Paris, Louis promptly 
 ordered Blacas back to Rome. The plot had woefully mis- 
 carried. " Of course, under the Charter," writes Madame de 
 Boigne, " there was no such thing as exile, but I do not know 
 whether it was entirely of her own free will that, shortly 
 after this, Madame de Narbonne rejoined her husband at 
 Naples."3 
 
 The first Session of the new Parliament, that of 1816-1817, 
 had been marked by no sensational scenes. But though its 
 course had been uneventful, it saw one noteworthy measure 
 carried and passed into Law. This was the Electoral Bill of 
 February 5th, 1817. Legislation in the direction of some degree 
 of Parliamentary Reform was the natural coroUary to the 
 Ordinance of September 5th. Of the law in question, the best 
 which, perhaps, can be said for it, is that it was certainly the 
 most popular of the several enactments on the subject which 
 successively came iuto force under the Restoration. It abolished 
 the system of Indirect Election.* In future the privilege of the 
 direct vote was to be conferred on every Frenchman of thirty 
 years of age and upwards, who contributed 300 francs of direct 
 taxes. There was to be only one electoral college which was to 
 meet at the chief town of the department. A fifth of the Chamber 
 was to be renewed annually. Such were the main provisions of 
 the new law. Lain6 and Decazes were the two Ministers chiefly 
 concerned in drawing them up. Royer-Collard and other leaders 
 
 1 Pozzo h. Nesselrode, 25 Avril, 1817 ; 10 Mai, 1817. 
 JE. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 183-186. 
 
 2 Mme. de Boigne, II. pp. 278-279. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 282. 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, IV. pp. 257-259. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 142-143. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 165-171. 
 
206 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1817 
 
 of the Moderate party were, however, called into theu* counsels. 
 But a very important part of the work was confided to Fran9ois 
 Guizot, the young Protestant lawyer, who was still debarred by 
 youth from a seat in the Chamber. The framers of the law 
 entered upon their deUberations with the fixed intention of 
 devising a scheme whereby the ascendancy at future elections 
 might be given to the middle classes. This end they unquestion- 
 ably attained by conferring an equal voting power on all persons 
 taxed at 300 francs and upwards. So long as these conditions 
 prevailed there was little likelihood that the Ultra-Royalists 
 would be ever again in the majority. No deadlier blow could 
 possibly have been dealt them. 
 
 When the bill was introduced into the Chamber they, of course, 
 opposed it with all their strength. Those arguments in favour of 
 maintaining the two degrees of electors, which Villele had brought 
 forward in the previous Parliament, were all heard over again. 
 But they proved of no avail. ^ On January 8th, 1817, Ministers 
 carried their bill through the Lower Chamber by a majority of 
 thirty-two. It was very doubtful, however, whether the vote of 
 the Deputies would be confirmed by the Peers. The Comte 
 d'Artois and his satellites were known to be very hostile to the 
 new law. But Louis was prepared to come to the assistance of 
 his Ministers. His intervention took a simple but effective form. 
 He forbade all members of his family, and all ofiScers of his 
 household, who had seats in the Upper Chamber, from attending 
 the sittings of the Peers whilst the Electoral Bill was under dis- 
 cussion. On January 30th the law was passed in the Hereditary 
 Chamber by 95 votes agaiust 77. 
 
 Duriug the course of this Session the Grovemment also iutro- 
 duced and carried measures to abate the stringency of the law 
 for the suspension of individual liberty, whilst maintaining, for 
 the present, the censorship of the press. On both these questions 
 the Ministerial policy was vigorously opposed by the Ultra- 
 Royalists. La Bourdonnaye and his followers who, the year 
 before, had loudly insisted on the necessity for exceptional 
 legislation, had now the most Liberal arguments to urge against 
 its contLQued enforcement. The tactics of party government 
 were beginning to be understood. 2 
 
 The weather duriug the year 1816 had been exceptionally 
 bad all over Europe. ^ In France acute agricultural distress was 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , IV. pp. 260-263. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 229-230. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, IV. pp. 265-269. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 143-144. 
 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , IV. pp. 273-281. 
 Pasquier, IV^ pp. 162-163. 
 
1817] THE FAVOUEITE MINISTER 207 
 
 superadded to the misery which recent invasions had left behind 
 them, and to the burden of a prolonged military occupation. In 
 the spring of 1817 the state of affairs in many districts amounted 
 to a famine. The Government, by importing foreign com in 
 large quantities, and by other measures, contrived to somewhat 
 mitigate the severity of the crisis. This scarcity of food led in 
 places to the outbreak of riots and disturbances. They were, 
 however, in no case serious, nor had they any political char- 
 acter. Unfortunately, offences in connection with them 
 came within the cognizance of the Prevotal Courts. These 
 tribunals, as was their wont, acted with merciless severity. 
 Several poor wretches, including one woman, were condemned 
 to death and executed, whilst others received long terms of 
 imprisonment. 
 
 But these proceedings sink into insignificance by the side of the 
 doings of the military commander at Eyons, General Canuel, 
 who might be described as a bad imitation of General Donnadieu.^ 
 He occupied the almost unique position of being a General of the 
 Empire who had seen no service against a foreign enemy. Under 
 the Republic he had been employed in La Vendue, where he had 
 distinguished himself by a merciless cruelty to all Royalists 
 who fell into his hands. During the Hundred Days, however, 
 this had not prevented him from volunteering to serve under the 
 orders of La Rochejacquelein in the very country in which he 
 had earned liis infamous notoriety. After the Restoration the 
 appointment to command the Lyons district had been his re- 
 ward. The decorations and honours which had been showered 
 on his colleague Donnadieu, at Grenoble, had filled him with 
 envy. If only an insurrection were to break out in his district, 
 similar good fortune, he argued, would be in store for him. In a 
 large city filled with a half-starving population all the elements 
 for such an outbreak were at hand. 
 
 The accounts of the odious events which followed are very 
 conflicting. The relations of them differ greatly according as to 
 whether they emanate from Royalist or Liberal sources. It 
 appears, however, to be beyond the possibility of doubt that, as 
 early as the autumn of 1816, Canuel had set on foot a secret 
 police of his own. It is equally certain that the agents whom he 
 thus employed deliberately acted, as he intended that they 
 should, the part of agents provocateurs. At least one officer 
 of the garrison was found ready to worm himself into the con- 
 fidence of his often disaffected comrades on half -pay, in order to 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deuji; Restaurations, IV. p. 282. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 233-235. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VI. pp. 115-117. 
 
208 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1817 
 
 foment, and then betray, their designs. It is satisfactory to 
 learn that the double part which this person was playing became 
 known to the conspirators, and that he paid the penalty of his 
 treachery with his life.^ Canuel's hopes were realized. He was 
 at last able to report to Paris that, on June 8th, a Bonapartist 
 rising had broken out in several villages near Lyons. Thanks 
 to his vigilance it had been suppressed. But the situation in his 
 district was still causing him the gravest apprehension. 
 
 Canuers despatch was grossly misleading. The outbreak 
 which he reported had proved a miserable affair. The rioters, 
 mostly peasants and artisans out of work, led by a half-pay 
 officer of the name of Oudin, had, indeed, proclaimed Napoleon 
 II. But a small force of gendarmes had sufficed to disperse 
 them. No lives appear to have been lost, and by the next 
 day the rebellion had everywhere been stamped out.^ 
 
 A reign of terror now began in Lyons. Hundreds of persons 
 were thrown into prison. The Provost's Court entered upon its 
 bloody work, and numerous capital sentences were passed. The 
 guillotine was conveyed from village to village, and a boy of 
 sixteen was beheaded in front of his mother's door. At Oudin's 
 execution abominable scenes took place. The officer in command 
 and most of the men of the escort arrived drunk. These atrocities 
 continued all through the months of July and August, but, 
 early in September, a fortunate circumstance brought them to a 
 close.3 
 
 The Prefect of Lyons, the Comte de Chabrol-Croussol, was an 
 honest but weak man. Afraid, doubtless, of being accused of 
 irresolution, he had allowed his better judgment to be overborne 
 by CanueFs vehemence. Sainneville, the Lieutenant of Police, 
 was, fortunately, in a different situation. He had always dis- 
 approved of Canuers methods, and had discredited his alarmist 
 tales. Now that events appeared to have justified the GeneraFs 
 fears, his position was an awkward one. He was open to the 
 accusation of having shown little foresight and vigilance. 
 Moreover, he had been away from his post, and on a visit to 
 Paris at the time of the outbreak of June 8th. It was, therefore, 
 distinctly to his interest to minimize, as much as possible, the 
 
 * Mannont, MemoireSf VII. p. 246. 
 Pasquier, IV. p. 179. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV. pp. 285-299. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VI. pp. 119-124. 
 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 238-239. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux liestaurations, IV. p. 295. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 171-178. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur atioTis, IV. pp. 297-303. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 236-237*. 
 
1817] THE FAVOURITE MINISTER 209 
 
 seriousness of the disaffection. In his reports to Decazes, accord- 
 ingly, he not only treated the stories of the civil and military 
 authorities as gross exaggerations, but asserted that any overt 
 acts of rebellion which had taken place were to be ascribed solely 
 to the instigation of CanueFs agents.^ 
 
 On the first receipt of the news from Lyons the measures which 
 Canuel had taken had met with the warmest approval. The 
 General had been rewarded with the title of Baron. ^ But now, 
 in the face of the grave divergence which existed between his 
 account of matters and that of the Lieutenant of Police, it was 
 feared that there had been undue precipitation. Under these 
 circumstances the King, on the advice of his Ministers, decided 
 to despatch Marshal Marmont to act as his Lieutenant in the 
 disturbed district. 
 
 I \ Under the conditions which prevailed the mission with which 
 Marmont had been entrusted could have been confided to no one 
 but a soldier. It was a common saying of Louis XVIII that it 
 was almost impossible to find a Marshal of the Empire who could 
 speak a dozen words without making use of an oath. But 
 Marmont combined a wide general knowledge with polished 
 manners. It might have been expected that he would display 
 the qualities required for the conduct of the enquiry which he was 
 charged to make. Though he certainly deserves the credit of 
 having put an end to the horrible state of affairs which existed at 
 Lyons, he cannot be said to have carried out his investigations 
 in anything approaching a judicial spirit. 
 
 Marmont's first reports to the Government, made with undue 
 haste, were favourable to both Canuel and the Prefect. But 
 after he had been joined by Colonel Fabvier, his Chief of the 
 Staff, his attitude underwent a complete change. Henceforward 
 he saw everythinglthrough the eyes of his subordinate.^ Fabvier 
 was a Liberal, and judged by his subsequent conduct, even at this 
 time, probably entertained anti-dynastic views. In consequence 
 of Marmont's revised opinion. General Canuel was, on October 
 6th, deservedly removed from his command. The Marshal had 
 recommended that much severer measures should be taken 
 with him. Some of his other proceedings are, however, open to 
 severe criticism. The party spirit, which he allowed Fabvier 
 to introduce into the enquiry, gave the Ultra- Royalists in the 
 
 * Marmont, Mimoires, VII. p. 243. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 241. 
 
 Vaulabelle^ Demc Restaurations , IV. pp. 303-304. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VI. pp. 143-148. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 175-179. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations^ IV. pp. 305-308. 
 
210 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1817 
 
 Chamber numerous opportunities of attacking the Ministry.^ 
 Nor did matters end there. A war of pamphlets between Canuel 
 and Fabvier, which terminated in an action at law, kept the 
 unfortunate affairs of Lyons for an unduly long time under the 
 public notice. 2 
 
 * Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 249. 
 
 Pasquier, IV. p. 180. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VI. pp. 156-157. 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 255-257. 
 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 183-186. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 THE LIBERATION OF THE TERRITORY 
 
 DURING the course of the year 1817 the composition of the 
 Cabinet had undergone some important changes. Pasquier 
 had succeeded Dambray as Minister of Justice and Gouvion- 
 Saint-Cyr had taken the place of Clarke at the War Ofl&ce. The 
 retirement of the latter freed the Government from its last con- 
 nection with the Ultra-Royalists, the Due de Feltre having signal- 
 ized his tenure of office by his persecution of his former comrades 
 of the Imperial army.^ The elections, which took place in the 
 autumn of this year, for the renewal of the first fifth of the 
 Chamber, were watched with the keenest interest. It was the 
 first experiment under the new law. On the whole Ministers had 
 reason to be satisfied. The disquieting feature of the situation 
 was the appearance, as candidates, of more advanced politicians 
 such as Ea Fayette, Manuel and Benjamin Constant. ^ The 
 Government, indeed, was compelled to exert the utmost pressure 
 and to use all its influence to prevent their election. As it was, 
 the Independents or Liberals, as they became known later, 
 scored a notable increase of seats. 
 
 A clause in the Treaty of November 20th, 1815, admitted of 
 the withdrawal of the Army of Occupation at the end of three 
 years. This was a possibility which Richelieu had never lost 
 sight of. Ever since he had affixed his signature to the terms of 
 peace, he had made up his mind that the year 1818 should see 
 his country relieved from its humiliating burden. Though the 
 raising of the money, required to pay off the war indemnity and 
 other kindred charges, was the most important step towards 
 the realization of Richelieu's hopes, this was not the only measure 
 which had to be considered. 
 
 1 Supplementary Despatches, XII., Richelieu to Wellington, 12 Sep- 
 tembre, 1817. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 2 Aout, 1817. 
 Ihid., 28 Aout, 1817. 
 Pasquier, Memoires, IV. pp. 144, 186. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 166-176. 
 
 2 Posso a Nesselrode, 3 Octobre, 1817. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 190-193. 
 
 211 
 
212 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1817 
 
 To convince the AlKed Sovereigns that the general outlook 
 was reassuring was a preliminary essential to obtaining their 
 consent to evacuation. Richelieu's personal relations with the 
 Ministers of the Powers were excellent. He had had, moreover, 
 the most flattering assurances that the policy which he and his 
 colleagues were pursuing was warmly approved of abroad.^ 
 But before the condition of France could be pronounced in all 
 respects satisfactory, before she could resume her place among 
 the nations, she must possess an army suited to her position. 
 Were Richelieu able to show that she was on the high road 
 to fulfil this requirement, his negotiations would be materially 
 assisted. 2 The more or less provisional measures which had been 
 adopted after the disbanding of the old army in 1815 were based 
 upon voluntary enlistment. The number of men which such a 
 system could provide had proved insufficient. No sooner, there- 
 fore, was Gouvion-Saint-Cyr installed in office than he was in- 
 structed to draw up a scheme for the raising of an army of a more 
 national character. 
 
 The Session of 1817-1818 opened on November 5th. In the 
 King's Speech references to the negotiations for the Uberation 
 of the territory occupied a foremost place. His Majesty was 
 also able to announce that the Prevotal Courts need no longer 
 be continued. The outlook for the Government was on the 
 surface, very promising. As a result of the annual election of a 
 fifth of the Deputies, the Ultra-Royalists now numbered only 
 75, as against 155 Ministerialists and 25 Independents. But, 
 already in the Council of State during the preparation of the bills 
 to be introduced into the Chamber, divergencies of opinion 
 manifested themselves. As the Chamber settled down to business 
 the differences in the ranks of the " Centre '* or Ministerial Party 
 became very apparent. The name of M. Royer-CoUard, the Presi- 
 dent of the Council of Public Instruction, has, already, been several 
 times mentioned. He was deservedly looked upon as one of the 
 most eminent men in the Chamber. His intellect, his learning, 
 and his rhetorical powers were remarkable. But these gifts were 
 allied to an overweening self-confidence and to an overbearing 
 character. 3 In the pedantic manner which was habitual to him, 
 he had formulated certain political doctrines, to which all his 
 life he adhered. They were briefly these. The State was to be 
 divided into three Powers. 
 
 * Gorrespondance de Pozzo,\Ll. p. 143. 
 Tsar a Richelieu^ 7 Juin, 1817. 
 
 2 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 19 Aoutj 1817. 
 Ibid., 3 Octobre, 1817- 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 258-261. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 196-206. 
 
1817] LIBERATION OF THE TERRITORY 213 
 
 (1) Legitimate and hereditary Monarchy, in whose hands the 
 executive powers of the nation should be concentrated. 
 
 (2) An hereditary Peerage, which represents the necessary 
 inequahties of individuals. 
 
 (3) A Chamber of Commons to represent the element of 
 equality which must be recognized alongside of that of inequality. 
 This assembly should be recruited from the middle classes. In 
 pursuance of this doctrine Royer-Collard had collaborated in the 
 drawing up of the Electoral Law. He always, however, com- 
 bated the theory that the Lower Chamber represented the nation. 
 It should, he considered, only represent a certain portion of it — 
 the interests of the middle classes. ^ 
 
 Royer-Collard had opposed the Ultra-Royalists because their 
 absolutist tendencies threatened to upset the equilibrium of his 
 perfect State, in favour of the Monarchy. He had, in consequence, 
 warmly supported the Cabinet in its struggle against the pre- 
 dominance of the extreme party. But, now that the Ministerial 
 policy was triumphant, he found many points to disapprove of in 
 the projected laws which the Government was proposing to bring 
 forward. 2 A group, always small in numbers, but influential by 
 reason of the high reputations and intellectual attainments of 
 the men who composed it, gathered round Royer-Collard. This 
 exceedingly select party was made up, in the Chamber, of 
 Camille Jordan, de Serre (the President of the Chamber), and 
 Beugnot ; in the Council of State, of Guizot and Barante. The 
 Nain Jaune, which was now being published in Brussels, called 
 them the Doctrinaires. The designation was a happy one. It 
 has been their nickname ever since. ^ 
 
 Gouvion-Saint-Cyr's Army Bill was the most important 
 measure of the Session. On a very limited scale the new law 
 reintroduced the principle of conscription. It also regulated the 
 advancement of officers. In future this was to be based on a 
 regular system of promotion by seniority. A certain number of 
 commissions were to be reserved annually for men who had 
 risen from the ranks. A reserve corps of veterans was to be 
 formed. The bill, in its passage through the Chamber, was 
 vigorously opposed by the Ultra-Royahsts.* Its democratic 
 character appalled them. They denounced the element of 
 compulsion which it contained as a violation of the Charter, the 
 
 * Grande Encydopedie , Royer-Collard (Pierre Paul). 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 161-163. 
 
 ^ Littre, Doctrinaire. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 165-160. 
 
 * Ibid., pp. 172-175. 
 Pasquier, IV. p. 216. 
 Crousaz-Crdtet, RichelieUj pp. 266-270. 
 
214 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1817 
 
 automatic promotion of oiG&cers as an infringement on the Royal 
 Prerogative. The Government was, however, supported by all 
 its usual followers and by the Independent Eeft. A remarkably 
 fine speech by Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, which had been composed 
 for him by Guizot, clinched matters. The bill passed the Lower 
 Chamber by a large majority. In the House of Peers the issue 
 was in much greater doubt. All the influence of the Pavilion de 
 Marsan was brought to bear against it. Monsieur even addressed 
 a vigorous letter of protest to the King. But Louis, though many 
 of Gouvion's provisions must have been distasteful to him, was, 
 as usual, loyal to his Ministers. He flatly declined to intervene, 
 and the bill, on March 9th, 1818, was carried in the Hereditary 
 Chamber by twenty-two votes. ^ 
 
 In their projected legislation on the question of the press, the 
 Government was not equally successful. A coalition of the 
 Right, the Doctrinaires, and the Left, were arrayed against 
 the Ministerial Bill. The Government was forced to submit to 
 numerous amendments. Under these circumstances its final 
 rejection by the Peers was not altogether displeasing to its 
 promoters. The existing Press Law was, in consequence, 
 allowed to remain in force for another year. Again, in the debates 
 on the ratification of the Concordat which Blacas had effected 
 with the Pope, the Government had to face the opposition of 
 the Doctrinaires. The matter was not, however, proceeded 
 with. It was decided to reopen the negotiations with His 
 Holiness.^ 
 
 It was evident that the Cabinet could no longer count on the 
 whole-hearted support of the Centre. The members of it were 
 showing a marked disposition to part company. Whilst some of 
 them were inclining towards the Royalists, the Doctrinaires 
 were leaning heavily to the Left. It was, in fact, assuming the 
 shape which it was soon to permanently adopt, that of a Right 
 and Left Centre party. This divergence of views among the 
 Ministerialists was reflected in the Cabinet. Richelieu had 
 already serious misgivings on the subject of the Electoral Law. 
 He deplored the breach with the Royalists of the Right, and 
 would gladly have come to any reasonable terms with them. 
 Both he and Lain6 had an unconquerable aversion to Royer- 
 CoUard, and a general distrust of his group. D^cazes, on the 
 other handj was inclined to follow his friends the Doctrinaires, 
 
 * Pozzo a Nesselrode, 15 Fevrier, 1818, 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , IV. pp. 316-331. 
 
 2 Guizot, McmoireSy I. pp. 195-197. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, IV. pp. 331-335, 335-337. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 208-213, 215, 226. 
 
1817] LIBERATION OF THE TEREITOEY 215 
 
 and to look to the Left for support. These differences were not 
 as yet acute, but they pointed unmistakably to trouble in the 
 future.^ 
 
 The great task of Richelieu's career was meanwhile approach- 
 ing a successful conclusion. For the past eighteen months 
 arrangements for loans wherewith to pay off the residue of the 
 war indemnity and other claims outstanding against France 
 had been in progress with Baring Brothers, of London, and 
 Hope and Co„ of Amsterdam. ^ It had been a long and a difficult 
 operation. The sum required was, for those days, gigantic. 
 Laffitte and the French bankers whom Richelieu had consulted 
 had ridiculed the notion that the amount required could ever be 
 obtained. They had declined to have anything to do with it. 
 It was Ouvrard, the boldest speculator of his time, and a man 
 of by no means unblemished reputation, who had opened the 
 negotiations between the great English house and the French 
 Government. Though the pretence under which he had brought 
 Messrs. Baring and Eabouchere to Paris turned out to be a false 
 one, the meeting between them and Richelieu had led to business. 
 It was only later on, when the success of the loan was fully 
 assured, that the French bankers headed by M. Casimir Perier 
 indignantly demanded to be given a share in the transaction.^ 
 
 Neither Richelieu nor Decazes had any knowledge of financial 
 matters. Corvetto, the Minister of Finance, though a man of 
 experience and ability, was, it would seem, hardly competent to 
 carry out an affair of this magnitude. Serious mistakes were 
 several times committed.^ In one notable instance a mis- 
 calculation on Corvetto's part would have entailed a loss of 
 £60,000 sterling, but for the generosity of the Barings, who 
 consented to forego an advantage of which they might with 
 perfect propriety have availed themselves. 
 
 The claims put in by almost every Government in Europe 
 against France amounted to an enormous sum. The committee 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 819-327. 
 Crousaz-Cretet^ Richelieu, pp. 270-271. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , IV. pp. 337-342. 
 
 3 Mme. de Boigne, II. pp. 245-257. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XI., Wellington to Castlereagh, 6 Decem- 
 ber, 1816. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 14 Janvier, 1817 (2 letters). 
 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 236-236. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, V. pp. 441-448. 
 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 278-279. 
 * Supplementary Despatches, XII.. Wellington to Liverpool. 24 Juin, 
 1818. 
 
 Crousaz-Cr^tet, Richelieu, p. 148-149. 
 
 Pozzo a Nesselrode, 26 Juin, 1817. 
 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 236-237. 
 
216 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1818 
 
 of the four ambassadors in Paris who were to deal with the 
 matter, had made but little progress towards a settlement. As 
 time went on these accounts swelled in volume, and were made 
 to extend to periods long antecedent to Revolutionary and 
 Imperial times. One small German Prince went so far as to 
 demand payment for 4000 Bitters supplied to Henri IV by an 
 ancestor, during the Wars of Religion. By July, 1817, the sum 
 required to settle these claims would, if admitted, have far 
 exceeded fifty millions sterling. Added to her other liabilities it 
 was quite out of the power of France to meet such exorbitant 
 demands.^ In this difficulty Richelieu appealed to the Tsar for 
 help. The result of this action was that Alexander, after consult- 
 ing with his brother potentates, wrote personally to the Duke of 
 Wellington ^ asking him to act as supreme arbitrator to the 
 commission of claims. It was a striking testimony to the confi- 
 dence universally reposed in Wellington. He lost no time in 
 setting to work, and it was whilst engaged on this arduous task 
 that an attempt to assassinate him was made. 
 
 About one o'clock in the morning of February 11th, 1818, 
 as Wellington's carriage was entering the courtyard of his house, 
 in the Rue des Champs Elys6es, at the comer of the Place 
 Louis XV (now Place de la Concorde), a man fired a pistol shot 
 at him. The bullet had not struck the carriage, but the mark of 
 it was plainly to be seen on the wall. When the news reached 
 the authorities the consternation in Governmental circles was 
 extreme. Within a short time both Decazes and Pasquier were 
 on the spot. The Duke thereupon gave them a letter which his 
 Adjutant-General, Lieut. -General Sir George Murray, had 
 recently received from Eord Kinnaird in Brussels.^ It contained 
 a warning that a man had been told off to murder Wellington, 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Detta^ Restauratimis, IV. p. 338. 
 
 2 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 274-275. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XII., Tsar to Wellington, 30 Octobre, 
 1817. 
 
 F. Somerset to Wellington, 26 November, 1817. 
 
 Pozzo a Wellington, 3 Decembre, 1817 (enclosures), pp. 157-169. 
 
 Wellington to Tsar, 13 Decembre, 1817. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 220-221. 
 
 Supplementary Despatches, XII., Wellington to Bathurst, 12 February, 
 1818. 
 
 Kinnaird to Murray, 30 January, 1818. 
 
 Wellington to Clancarty, 12 February, 1818. 
 
 Kinnaird to Murray, 13 February, 1818. 
 
 Clancarty to Castlereagh, 17 February, 1818 (enclosures). 
 
 Clancarty to Wellington, 19 February, 1818 (enclosures), pp. 308-324. 
 
 Wellington to Bathurst, 23 February, 1818 (enclosures), pp. 336-342. 
 
 Ibid., 8 March, 1818. 
 
 Ibid., 19 March, 1818. 
 
1818] LIBERATION OF THE TERRITORY 217 
 
 and was only waiting his opportunity to do so. This communica- 
 tion pointed clearly to the direction whence the blow had come. 
 In the meantime a diligent search for the assassin was in progress, 
 and he, Cantillon by name, a former sergeant in the army, was 
 soon caught and lodged in prison. ^ 
 
 Brussels was at this time full of French exiles, political refu- 
 gees, and malcontents generally. It was from here that eman- 
 ated a flood of seditious writings and of pamphlets against the 
 Bourbons. Representations on this subject had been made to 
 the Netherlands Government. But no action had resulted 
 from these complaints. It was, says Pasquier, quite the right 
 thing, at this time, for Bonapartists to proceed voluntarily to 
 Brussels, just as in former days the Royalists had emigrated to 
 Coblentz.2 The truth was that the machinations of these men 
 were secretly encouraged by a Royal Personage. The Prince of 
 Orange had fought honourably and had been wounded at Water- 
 loo, under the orders of the Duke of Wellington. Soon after- 
 wards he had married a sister of the Tsar. This alliance with 
 the Romanoffs appears to have turned his head. He now aimed 
 at nothing less than the Crown of France. Louis XVIII he 
 persuaded himself would sdon be driven from power. If that 
 should take place, he proposed to present himself as a candidate 
 for the French Throne. Nor was he averse to hurrying on 
 the consummation of this much to be desired event. During the 
 summer of 1817 he formed the plan of putting himself at the 
 head of the Russian and Belgian contingents in the Army of 
 Occupation, with a view to marching on Paris. It was neces- 
 sary, however, to obtain the consent of the Tsar. Camot was 
 chosen as a suitable person to sound him on the subject. But 
 this embassy never started on its mission. Alexander had 
 heard rumours of what was going on, and sent his brother-in- 
 
 * Supplementary Despatches^ XII., Decazes to Wellington, 16 Mars, 1818 
 (enclosures). 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 221-222. 
 
 Cf. Supplementary Despatches , XII., Clancarty to Wellington (en- 
 closures), 24 July, 1817. 
 
 Clancarty to Wellington (enclosures), 25 September, 1817. 
 
 Ministers of four Courts to Wellington, 27 September, 1817. 
 
 Clancarty to Wellington, 30 September, 1817. 
 
 Ibid., 29 October, 1817. 
 
 Ibid., 15 December, 1817. 
 
 Wellington to Clancarty, 6 January, 1818. 
 
 Ibid., 24 March, 1818. 
 
 Prince of Orange to Wellington, 15 April, 1818. 
 
 Wellington to Prince of Orange, 18 April, 1818. 
 
 Vols. XI. and XII. of the Supplementary Despatches are replete with 
 allusions to the conduct of the French Revolutionaries in the Low 
 Countries. 
 
218 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1818 
 
 law strict injunctions to keep quiet. The scheme had, in con- 
 sequence, come to nothing.^ 
 
 In one respect especially did the Bonapartist and " Liberal " 
 malcontents at Brussels resemble the Royalist emigres at Cob- 
 lentz. Both were equally ready to place what they considered 
 to be the interests of their own party before the good of their 
 country. 2 When, therefore, the refugees at Brussels perceived 
 that Richelieu's patriotic exertions to bring about the with- 
 drawal of the Army of Occupation were likely to be crowned 
 with success, they were intensely chagrined. Never, if they 
 could help it, should the Bourbons have the credit of having 
 " liberated the territory " before the full term of five years 
 should have elapsed. No more effectual way of hindering the 
 evacuation occurred to them than to send a hired assassin to 
 Paris to shoot the Generalissimo of the foreign armies which 
 occupied their country. 
 
 It is strange that an English gentleman should have been 
 found in close relations with such people. Eord Kinnaird was 
 a Whig.3 He had been in Paris during the Hundred Days, and 
 had pronounced himself a bitter opponent of the war which the 
 Allied Powers had declared on Bonaparte. After the Restoration 
 he had become conspicuous through his intimacy with the 
 partisans of the fallen Emperor, and, generally, with anyone 
 who was supposed to be disaffected to the Monarchy. His 
 proceedings soon attracted the attention of the police. He was 
 invited to leave Paris after the arrest of Wilson and his accom- 
 plices, and, in consequence, followed some of his friends to 
 Brussels. As he refused to divulge the name of the person who 
 had informed him of the attempt which was to be made on 
 Wellington's life, the Belgian authorities decided to arrest him. 
 But before this could be carried out. Lord Kinnaird fled from 
 Brussels, in company with his informer, by name, Marinet. 
 They arrived together in Paris, where both were taken into 
 custody. Wellington, however, obtained Kinnaird's release, and 
 lodged him in his own house. He had to undergo a severe examin- 
 ation at the hands of the police. But on April 14th he was allowed 
 to depart. The Duke of Wellington's kindness he repaid by in- 
 cluding him in an accusation of bad faith which he made against 
 the Government for having arrested Marinet, the informer.* 
 After a long enquiry Cantillon was put on his trial and ac- 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Bestaurations, IV. pp. 444-445. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 223-224. 
 
 3 Kinnaird (Charles, 8th Lord), representative Scotch peer (1780-1826). 
 * Supplementary Despatches, XII., Decazes to Wellington, 15 Avril, 1818. 
 
 Lord Kinnaird to Chamber of Peers, 15 Avril, 1818 (enclosures). 
 Wellington to De'cazes, 29 Avril, 1818. 
 
1818] LIBERATION OF THE TERRITORY 219 
 
 quitted by a French Jury. Under Napoleon's Will he benefited 
 to the extent of 10,000 francs. " Cantillon," ran the codicil in 
 which he was named, " had as much right to assassinate that 
 oligarch (Wellington), as he had to send me to perish on the 
 rock of St. Helena.*' ^ 
 
 After an assiduous labour of five months, on April 25th, 1818, 
 an agreement on the question of the claims against France was 
 arrived at and signed by the representatives of the four Great 
 Powers. Wellington had succeeded in reducing them to a sum 
 of about nine millions sterling. He had also arranged that this 
 amount should be consolidated and paid over to the Allies, who 
 were to undertake to settle with all creditors. ^ Richelieu at 
 once carried the news to the Chamber, and submitted the finan- 
 cial measures to which the Assembly would be asked to consent. 
 But all arrangements of this kind were to be of a contingent 
 character. They were only to be put into execution should the 
 Allied Sovereigns, who were to meet in Congress at Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, agree to a complete withdrawal of their troops. 
 
 The Deputies, when Richelieu made his ftnnouncement, were 
 in the midst of a rather warm discussion on the Budget. The 
 two million francs of secret-service money, annually asked for 
 by the Minister of Police, had furnished the Ultra-Royalists 
 with a pretext for an attack on D^cazes. Villele maintained 
 that, during the past two years, no plot had come to light in 
 which the mischievous interference of the police spy was not to 
 be plainly discerned. La Bourdonnaye went further. He 
 demanded the complete suppression of the office. Under a 
 Constitutional Government it was an anomaly. It encouraged 
 delation, and was an engine of national demoraHzation. No one 
 could well dispute the justice of these views. The protests, 
 however, emanated from a quarter not usually associated with 
 Liberal ideas. They were, moreover, too obviously influenced 
 by motives of personal hostility to carry much weight. The 
 motion was allowed to drop.^ 
 
 Hatred for the brilliant and fortunate Police Minister had 
 become almost a matter of rehgion with the Ultra-RoyaUsts. 
 But, secure in the constantly increasing affection of the King, 
 D^cazes could afford to defy them. He would have been more 
 than human had he never given himself the satisfaction of 
 
 * Pasquier, IV. p. 225. 
 Norvins, Histoire de Napoleon^ H. p. 522. 
 
 2 Supplementary Despatches, XII., Weflington to Castlereagh, 23 April, 
 1818. I?articulars of these arrangements are contained in Vol. XII. of 
 Supplementary Despatches and in the Correspondance de Pozzo et de Nessel- 
 rode, Vol. II. 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV. pp. 341-342. 
 
220 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1818 
 
 returning some of the impertinences to which he was subjected. 
 On the whole, however, his attitude calls for nothing but com- 
 mendation. Both in public and in private affairs his influence 
 over Louis was almost invariably exercised on the side of 
 moderation. To use his own words, " the nationalization of the 
 Monarchy and the royalization of France " were the objects 
 which he always kept in view.^ The man who could so correctly 
 gauge his country's real requirements cannot have been entirely 
 lacking in the qualities of a statesman. It seems difficult to- 
 reconcile the two facts, that Decazes should advocate a Liberal 
 and strictly constitutional policy, whilst continuing to wield 
 the arbitrary powers and to carry out the repugnant duties of a 
 Minister of Police. There can be no doubt, however, that he 
 found his office most uncongenial, and that he sincerely hoped 
 that the day would soon come when it might be possible to dis- 
 pense with it altogether. Meanwhile, he repressed as far as 
 possible the over-zealous royalism of the prefects: He had 
 aheady effected the removal of some of those officials, who by 
 their reactionary excesses, had made themselves particularly 
 odious. At the same time he constantly endeavoured to ac- 
 custom the King to the idea of gradually extending a full and 
 complete pardon to the proscribed of all parties. It was mainly 
 due to him that at the close of 1817 Louis had allowed the Due 
 d'Orl^ans to return to France. ^ 
 
 The year 1818 was the most brilliant period of Decazes* 
 career. The King had raised him to the Peerage and made him 
 a Count. In the spring he had been affianced to, and had soon 
 after married, Mile, de Saint-Aulaire.^ She belonged to an 
 ancient family, and was the grandchild through her mother of 
 the last reigning Prince of Nassau -Sarrebriick. The Comte, her 
 father, had rallied to the Empire, and was, at this time, a 
 prominent Deputy on the Liberal side. The young lady was 
 possessed of a considerable fortune in her own right, and was 
 looked upon as one of the great matches of the day. Over- 
 tures for her hand had been made on behalf of Raoul de Mont- 
 morency, a member of that now extinct noble family who had 
 rallied to the Empire, and who had since acted as aide-de-camp 
 to the Due d* Orleans. Her engagement to him had been almost 
 decided upon when Decazes had presented himself and had won 
 approval. It was another crushing defeat which he had inflicted 
 on the Faubourg-Saint-Germain.* 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Ixmis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 249-251, 253-268. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, VI. pp. 440-441, 459-461. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 326-827. 
 
 4 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 207-208, 230-231. 
 
1818] LIBERATION OF THE TERRITORY 221 
 
 During the summer of 1818 the particulars of an extraordinary 
 plot were confided to both Laine and to Pasquier. The com- 
 munications to the two Ministers had been made on the same 
 day, and in both cases by respectable persons who had neither 
 of them taken any part in the alleged conspiracy. ^ The story 
 which the two men told was identical on all material points. 
 The explanation as to how they had become possessed of their 
 information was satisfactory in every respect, yet the tale which 
 they unfolded was so improbable that it was almost impossible, 
 at first, to attach credence to it. 
 
 The Ultra-Royalists had formed the plan, they said, of seizing 
 all the members of the Cabinet on some day when they would 
 be returning to Paris from Saint -Cloud, where the King was in 
 residence. The captured Ministers were to be conveyed to 
 Vincennes and imprisoned. The governor of the fortress was 
 in the plot. Two Colonels, one commanding a cavalry regiment 
 of the Guard, the other a corps of Swiss infantry, had promised 
 to place their troops at the disposal of the conspirators. The 
 King was to be induced to appoint a new Miaistry. If he should 
 refuse to comply, he would be deposed. Perhaps even it might 
 be found necessary " to treat him like Paul I." 
 
 At the next Council at Saint-Cloud the matter was discussed 
 in the King's presence. Whilst Ministers were giving their 
 opinions as to the amount of faith to be attached to these 
 revelations, D^cazes produced a paper which corroborated 
 them in a remarkable manner. In his official despatch-box, 
 which had just been brought to him from Paris, he had found a 
 letter from Donnadieu to Chateaubriand. In it the General, 
 after referring to the gracious way in which the King had re- 
 ceived him at a recent JjQvee, added that that would not prevent 
 him from taking part in the great event, " the execution of 
 which should no longer be deferred." The story of how this 
 document had come to find a place among Decazes' papers is 
 instructive. A police agent had, it appears, been introduced 
 into Chateaubriand's household. The man had contrived 
 either himself to steal the letter or to suborn a servant to ab- 
 stract it for him. In the opinion of Ministers well acquainted 
 with the General's writing, and with his usual signature, there 
 could be no question about its authenticity. The affair now 
 became very serious. A Peer of France was involved. It was 
 decided that no immediate action should be taken. Searching 
 enquiries were, however, to be set on foot, and the doings of 
 suspected persons were to be watched. 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 241-248, whose account of these events has been 
 followed in all particulars. 
 
222 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1818 
 
 The police reports of the next few days proved highly interest- 
 ing. It was discovered that, on the occasion of the last Councils 
 which had been held, La Rochejacquelein's cuirassiers and 
 BezenvaFs Swiss regiment had been marched into the close 
 vicinity of Saint-Cloud. Other suspicious movements of a like 
 nature had been noted. Both Commanding Ofi&cers enjoyed 
 the friendship of Monsieur and belonged to the Pavilion de 
 Marsan clique. A watch set on the Caf6 de Valois, in the Palais 
 Royal, which was much used by officers of the Guards, revealed 
 the existence of an unusual agitation among its habitual fre- 
 quenters. A constant coming and going was observed between 
 the cafe and the terrace of the Tuileries by the waterside. At this 
 place long and earnest conversations were held. General Canuel 
 was reported as being particularly assiduous at these meetings, 
 and as appearing to take a prominent part in the discussions. 
 
 It was impossible any longer to doubt the existence of the 
 plot. A Cabinet Council, to consider what steps should be taken, 
 was held at the Due de Richelieu's house. Pasquier recom- 
 mended that the two Colonels should be quietly removed from 
 their commands, but that nothing else should be done. It was 
 out of the question to make public the means which had been 
 adopted to obtain possession of Donnadieu's letter to Chateau- 
 briand. Promises had been given to both the original informers 
 that their names should not be revealed. Hampered in this 
 way, it was hopeless to expect to obtain convictions. In the 
 very peculiar circumstances of the case, it might, besides, prove 
 highly inconvenient should the examining Magistrate push his 
 enquiries too far. Pasquier's excellent advice was disregarded. 
 It was decided to proceed against some of the more obscure 
 conspirators. Care was, however, to be taken to strictly circum- 
 scribe the area of investigations. This expedient is a common 
 feature in the trials of the Restoration. ^Vhen from motives of 
 policy it was considered inadvisable to prosecute the principals, 
 it was quite usual to strike at the minor agents on the fringe of 
 the conspiracy. Warrants were, accordingly, only issued for the 
 apprehension of General Canuel, and three or four other officers, 
 who like him had been in trouble in connection with the affairs 
 of Lyons. A former Chouan chief, Chapedelaine by name, who 
 on various occasions had had relations \vith the secret police, 
 was also taken into custody. The prediction of Pasquier was 
 verified ia every particular.^ After a long detention Canuel, 
 along with those of his fellow-conspirators who had not already 
 been discharged from prison, was, on November 3rd, 1818, put 
 on his trial and acquitted. 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 249-250. 
 
1818] LIBERATION OF THE TERRITORY 223 
 
 A great deal of mystery surrounds what has been generally 
 known as the " waterside conspiracy." Is it possible that the 
 regnandi dira cupidoy which Louis XVIII always ascribed to his 
 brother, can have induced Monsieur to attempt to achieve his ob- 
 ject by a Palace Revolution ? If the information which had come 
 to the knowledge of the Cabinet were correct, then Colonel de lia 
 Rochejacquelein must have been one of the chief conspirators. 
 But he gave his word" of honour to Richelieu that he had had nothing 
 whatever to do with the plot. The Ultra- Royalists asserted that 
 the whole story had been trumped up by Decazes and the police, 
 in order to bring discredit on their party. ^ According to them the 
 affair at the worst resolved itself into a few unguarded expressions 
 uttered by some discontented officers, whose feelings had been, 
 doubtless, worked upon by agents provocateurs. This theory might 
 very well be accepted, but for the episode of the " secret note " 
 which bears so marked a resemblance to the " waterside plot."^ 
 
 In the early days of July, 1818, just at the time of the arrest 
 of Canuel and his accomplices, a pamphlet was shown to Riche- 
 lieu. Copies of it had been freely circulating in the different 
 chanceries of Europe. It was a skilfully drawn-up paper which 
 purported to depict the actual condition of affairs in France. 
 The general outlook was pronounced to be most threatening. 
 Jacobinism everywhere dominant, in the Cabinet and in the 
 King's Council. The country was marching rapidly to a revolution. 
 The repercussion of such a calamity could not fail to be acutely 
 felt all over Europe. The writer then went on to discuss the 
 various remedies which might be applied to this alarming state 
 of affairs. In his opinion the only practical solution to the 
 question lay in compelling the King to alter his system of 
 Government by changing his Ministers. 
 
 The origin and liistory of this " note " was soon discovered. 
 It was at once traced to the Pavilion de Marsan. Vitrolles, 
 Monsieur's "useful man,'' was the author of it. It had been 
 copied and issued from the offices of the National Guards which 
 were still controlled by the Comte d'Artois. The foreign govern- 
 ments, to which it had been transmitted, had been made to 
 understand that it represented the opinions of the King's 
 brother, tlie heir to the throne. ^ 
 
 » Pozzo a Nesselrode, 12 Juillet, 1818. 
 Pozzo a Lieven^ 17 Juillet, 1818. 
 
 E. Guilloy, Complots militaires sous la Restaur ation, pp. 103-107. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. p. 104. 
 
 2 Supplementary Despatches, XII., Wellington to Castlereagh, 17 July, 
 1818. 
 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 251-252. 
 
 3 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 254-260. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 44-46. 
 
224 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1818 
 
 The iniquity of the policy which dictated the sending out of 
 the " secret note " must be apparent to everyone who remem- 
 bers what the situation was at the time. The King and his 
 Ministers were striving to persuade the allied Sovereigns that 
 France was in so healthy a state that she might be relieved, 
 with safety, from the burden of further military occupation. 
 This was the moment which Monsieur and his followers selected 
 for sending to them false information well calculated to make 
 them withhold their consent. 
 
 A letter which Donnadieu had written, in the previous Febru- 
 ary, to the Duke of Wellington is another connecting link be- 
 tween the " waterside conspirators '' and the instigators of the 
 " secret note.'' ^ In this long communication the General was 
 at pains to impress upon the Duke his conviction that the with- 
 drawal of the Army of Occupation would be followed by a 
 revolution in France. The unpatriotic attitude taken up by a 
 small section of Frenchmen at Brussels towards the " liberation 
 of the territory " has been pointed out. These malcontents 
 were, however, obscure men of desperate fortunes who made up 
 the scum of the Bonapaitist party. But can anything be urged 
 to extenuate the guilt of the Comte d'Artois who inspired the 
 " secret note " ? Can any excuse be offered for the conduct of 
 the Due de Fitzjames or of the Due de Crussol, who are said to 
 have proceeded to London expressly to influence English 
 Ministers against evacuation. Well might Richelieu despair of 
 his country and long for the day, when, his mission accomplished, 
 he could lay aside the hateful burden of office. ^ 
 
 The contents of the " secret note " were made public. De- 
 cazes felt that this was an opportunity, which must not be 
 allowed to escape, for exposing the anti-national policy of his 
 adversaries. 3 Angry as the King was there was little which he 
 could do. Vitrolles was, however, summarily dismissed from 
 the Council of State. It was the only office which he held. As 
 he was a poor man the deprivation of the salary attaching to 
 the post was a loss which fell heavily upon him. He was, also, 
 closely examined by the magistrate engaged in investigating the 
 " waterside plot.'* Without doubt the authorities would have 
 been very pleased had they been able to implicate him in it. 
 But he was too clever to commit himself. It is highly probable, 
 however, that he was, if not the instigator, at any rate, deeply 
 concerned in that affair as well. 
 
 1 Supplementary Despatches, XII., Donnadieu a Wellington, 12 Fevrier, 
 1818. 
 
 2 Mme. de Boigne, II. pp. 371-373. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 48-50. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 267-270. 
 
1818] LIBERATION OF THE TERRITOEY 225 
 
 If ever a man was guilty of treason, it was the author of the 
 " secret note." Nevertheless, it is difficult not to feel sorry for 
 VitroUes. He had excellent abiHties, and had on several occasions 
 rendered signal service to the Royal cause. But he had also 
 done work of a kind for which it was inconvenient to reward 
 him. He was, in fact, rather a compromising friend. This last 
 scandal made matters worse. Monsieur, on whose behalf he had 
 incurred his final disgrace, could only offer him a gift of money. 
 Even after he became King, though he reinstated him in the 
 Council of State, he appears to have thought that VitroUes was 
 not exactly a man of whom it was advisable to take much public 
 notice. 1 
 
 The foundation of the Conservateur, destined to become very 
 celebrated during its brief existence, dates from this time.^ 
 According to VitroUes it was at his suggestion that Monsieiu: 
 consented to advance twenty-four thousand francs towards 
 starting a paper which was to be the mouthpiece of the Royalists. 
 The Minerve, the Liberal organ, had been particularly severe of 
 late. The creation of the Gonservateur would, they hoped, enable 
 them to answer these attacks. Its poUcy, however, was to be 
 the defence of Religion, the King, the Charter, Liberty, and 
 honest folk in general. Such, at least, was the programme which, 
 in its first number, Chateaubriand announced would be invari- 
 ably adhered to. All the leading members of the Royalist party 
 were invited to take shares in, or to contribute to the new 
 venture. Chateaubriand, to whose pen it was to owe most of 
 its fame, had a large interest in it. The Abbe de Lamennais 
 before long Joined the Staff. Mathieu de Montmorency, 'Jules 
 de Polignac, Villele, Bonald, Talaru, and VitroUes himself were 
 connected with it. 
 
 For gentlemen to embark seriously on joumaKsm was an 
 entirely new departure. In the opinion of Richelieu it was one 
 to be greatly deplored. He foresaw that, in this instance, its 
 effect would be to widen the breach between the RoyaHsts and 
 the Ministerialists. Generally speaking he regretted it as a dis- 
 agreeable symptom of the all-pervading democratic spirit. The 
 idea of " a Montmorency entering the lists against an Etienne " 
 was a shock to his aristocratic instincts. ^ 
 
 From a financial point of view the Conservateur proved a 
 success. But in the course of pursuing Chateaubriand's pro- 
 gramme it was found necessary to ridicule and satirize the 
 
 1 VitroUes, Memoires, III. pp. 273-275. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 276-288. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 108-111, 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, p. 297, 
 
226 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1818 
 
 pretensions of the middle classes, and to attack all institutions 
 which owed their origin to the Revolution. This development, 
 though it made the paper extremely popular in fashionable 
 circles, was hardly conducive to promoting the real interests of 
 Royalty. 
 
 Monsieur's bad behaviour was not allowed to go altogether 
 unpunished. Though he was not actually deprived of the 
 Colonel-Generalship of the National Guards, the control and all 
 the business in connection with them was handed over to the 
 Minister of the Interior. The political use which Monsieur had 
 made of his command has already been explained. Far from 
 diminishing, this evil had increased fourfold. The influence 
 of the Congregation was now paramount at the headquarters of 
 the National Guards. The opportunity for putting to an end 
 so intolerable a state of affairs had come at a critical time. The 
 date of the opening of the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle was 
 approaching. The autumn elections were near at hand. They 
 would certainly be watched with the keenest interest by the 
 Sovereigns and statesmen who were to take part in the con- 
 ference. Their result might sensibly affect the decisions which 
 the Powers must come to. Ministers were now assured that, in 
 the coming electoral campaign, the opposition of Monsieur, 
 concealed behind his command of the citizen army, need no 
 longer be apprehended.^ 
 
 The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle began officially on Septem- 
 ber 30th, 1818. It was a brilliant gathering. The Tsar of 
 Russia, the Emperor of Austria, and the King of Prussia were 
 present in person. Capo d'lstria, Nesselrode, Metternich, 
 Wellington, Castlereagh, Hardenberg and, by the grace of the 
 Allies, Richelieu, were among the statesmen who attended and 
 took part in the deliberations. As early as October 9th the Allied 
 Sovereigns had given their consent to the withdrawal of the 
 Army of Occupation. There was a complete unanimity among 
 these potentates and their advisers that no good purpose could 
 be served by retaining their troops in France. Wellington had 
 pointed out, before this, that if the occupation were to be pro- 
 longed, he must take steps to safeguard his position. In face 
 of the exasperation which such a decision would create, it 
 would become advisable to concentrate between the Scheldt 
 and the Meuse. He was not without fears, however, that the 
 initial movements to effect this combination might precipitate 
 a crisis. The possibility that his scattered forces might be 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 97-102. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 252-254. 
 VauUbelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV, pp. 363-364, 
 
1818] LIBEEATION OF THE TERRITORY 227 
 
 attacked, whilst still widely separated, was one to be seriously 
 apprehended. There was no desire in the councils of the Powers 
 to bring on a popular uprising in France. The readiness with 
 which the Allies gave their consent to evacuation, may, in con- 
 sequence, be ascribed far more to Wellington's fears than to any 
 feeling of confidence in the stability of the Bourbon throne. ^ 
 
 As soon as this had been settled, both the Tsar and the King of 
 Prussia paid an unofficial visit of congratulation to Louis XVIII. 
 Relations of the most friendly and cordial nature were estab- 
 lished. To the Tsar, especially, Louis was at great pains to make 
 himself agreeable. After a very brief stay, Alexander returned 
 to Aix-la-Chapelle, whither, a few days later (November 3rd), 
 the King of Prussia followed him. There were still important 
 matters to be discussed. 
 
 Richelieu claimed that France, now that she was emanci- 
 pated from foreign control, should be admitted into the Alliance 
 of the Powers. This was a view of the situation which the 
 Allies were not prepared to adopt. ^ The treaty in question was 
 but a continuation of the one originally signed at Chaumont in 
 1814, renewed at Vienna March 25th, 1815, and again in Paris 
 on November 20th of the same year. It was directed primarily 
 against France. The potentates and statesmen assembled at 
 Aix-la-Chapelle were all agreed that events might, before long, 
 occasion a fresh recourse to its provisions. The result of the 
 French elections were known. Lafayette, Benjamin Constant, 
 and Manuel, names of ominous import, had been successfully 
 returned. The Liberal revival, which had evidently begun, was 
 pregnant with revolutionary possibilities. Under these circum- 
 stances there could be no question of allowing the Alliance to 
 lapse. But, whilst there was thus a complete accord as to the 
 necessity of maintaining the conditions of the Treaty of Chau- 
 mont, there was a divergence of opinion as to the advisability of 
 enlarging its scope by the contracting of a wider alliance, to 
 which France might become a party. 
 
 Following the lead of the Tsar, Metternich proposed that 
 a general declaration should be drawn up, based on the Holy 
 Alliance. It was to guarantee the territorial statics quo and 
 Legitimate Sovereignty. This attempt to provide " the trans- 
 parent soul of the Holy AlUance with a body," was a solution of 
 the difficulty which Castlereagh's instructions forbade him to 
 
 1 F. 0. Continental, Aix-la-Chapelle^ September to December, 1818. 
 Memoranda and Declarations, Memorandum No. I. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 89-95. 
 
 2 4 Vols. F. 0. Continental, Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, Castlereagh, 
 Paris. Wellington, January to September, September to December, 1818. 
 
 Cambridge Modern History ^ X.^ The Congresses, pp. 14-18, 
 
228 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1818 
 
 entertain. The continental Powers, on the other hand, were 
 disposed to support the scheme. They were not, however, pre- 
 pared to enter into any arrangements which involved a separa- 
 tion from Great Britain. After an exchange of views, extending 
 over several days, the matter was at last settled by a com- 
 promise. On November 15th, 1818, the Quadruple Alliance, for 
 the purpose of watching over France, was renewed in the form 
 of a secret protocol, wMch was communicated in confidence to 
 Richelieu. At the same time a declaration was drawn up, to 
 which France was invited to adhere. It set forth that the five 
 Powers intended to maintain the intimate union contracted by 
 the Sovereigns, and pronounced its object to be the preservation 
 of peace on the basis of respect for treaties. 
 
 The signing of these two diplomatic instruments concluded 
 the business of the Congress in so far as French affairs were 
 concerned. Richelieu could return to Paris. He had success- 
 fully carried through the two great objects which for the last 
 three years he had always had in view. The Declaration to 
 which, as his country's representative, he had affixed his signa- 
 ture, however vague and colourless it might be, had consecrated 
 the principle that France could now be admitted, on equal terms, 
 into the European Concert. At the same time the Treaty of 
 October 9th definitely provided for the complete withdrawal of 
 the Army of Occupation by November 30th, 1818. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 CABINET CRISES AND A TRAGEDY 
 
 RICHELIEU had always intended to resign office when the 
 last foreign soldier should have quitted French territory. 
 The strife of parties and the intrigues of the past three years 
 had disgusted him with public hfe. In the future, moreover, 
 domestic politics would occupy the foremost place in the 
 business of the State, and he was doubtful of his ability to deal 
 with them successfully. At Aix-la-Chapelle, however, his con- 
 versations with the Tsar, WelKngton, and Mettemich, caused 
 him to abandon his intention. Alexander's Liberal ideas had 
 undergone great modifications, and he was now convinced that 
 Frenchmen were, with few exceptions, either " corrupted by 
 bad principles or by violent party sentiments." ^ This was a 
 view of his countrymen with which Richelieu in his heart con- 
 curred. He could, besides, agree entirely with Welliugton about 
 the evils of a free press, and could share Metternich's fears upon 
 the subject of the dangers which the growth of Liberalism por- 
 tended. All of them assured him that he was the only man in 
 whom they had complete confidence, and impressed upon him 
 that it was his duty to remain in office. Richelieu readily sacri- 
 ficed his private inclinations, and, when he returned to Paris, 
 no longer thought of retiring. He was determined, however, to 
 impart to the poHcy of the Government a new direction. ^ 
 
 In RicheHeu's opinion the electoral law of 1817 would have 
 to be repealed. It had aHenated the Royalists from the Govern- 
 ment, and brought into existence a strong Independent party. 
 But to carry out such a measure an alliance between the Minis- 
 terialists and the Right would have to be concluded. Mole, the 
 Minister of Marine, with whom Richelieu had been in corre- 
 spondence, appears to have conducted the negotiations. The 
 Ministerialist Peers were in the habit of meeting in the salon of 
 Cardinal Bausset, and those members of the Upper Chamber, 
 
 * F. 0. France, Aix-la-Chapelle, 1818, Castlereagh to Liverpool. 
 2 Pasquier, IV. p. 270. 
 
 Broglie, SouvenirSj II. pp. 24-25. 
 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 214-215. 
 
 E. Daudet, Lmiis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 281-287. 
 
 229 
 
230 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1818 
 
 who generally voted with the Right, in the apartment of M. de 
 Talaru, which was in the same building. Mole, without, how- 
 ever, taking any of his colleagues into his confidence, succeeded 
 in arranging an understanding between these two groups.^ 
 Richelieu himself whilst at Aix-la-Chapelle had been in frequent 
 communication with Decazes. Their letters show that the two 
 Ministers were not of the same opinion about the military reforms 
 which Gouvion-Saint-Cyr was proposing to effect, but they con- 
 tain no allusions to the complete reversal of pohcy, upon which 
 the President of the Council had resolved to embark. ^ 
 
 When the Chambers met, on December 10th, the effect was seen 
 of the negotiations which had taken place between the Cardinal- 
 istSj as the frequenters of Cardinal Bausset's salon were called, and 
 the leaders of the Right. Ravez, the Royalist candidate, was 
 elected President of the Lower House, and the composition of 
 the bureau of the Upper Chamber testified to the existence of a 
 good understanding between the Ministerialists and the Right. ^ 
 Three Cabinet Councils, however, held on December 12th, 14th, 
 and 17th served to disclose that Ministers were no longer agreed. 
 Mole openly advocated an alliance with the Royalists, whilst 
 Gouvion and Decazes protested against any departure from the 
 line of policy which the Government had pursued hitherto. 
 Richelieu said very little, but showed plainly that he was in 
 agreement with Mole. The King, on the other hand, declared 
 himself upon the side of Decazes. " Let us plant our flag," said 
 he, " upon the ordinance of September 5th, hold out our hands to 
 the Right and to the Left, and look upon all those who are not 
 against us as with us.'* This Royal pronouncement appears to 
 have brought to a conclusion the business of the Council of the 
 17th.4 
 
 On the following day the prospects were obscured of uniting 
 the Ministerialists and the Right. The election of the Vice- 
 Presidents and Secretaries of the Lower Chamber proved un- 
 favourable to the Royalist candidates. RicheHeu appears to 
 have attributed this result to Decazes's opposition, and to have 
 concluded that his hostihty would render ineffectual all attempts 
 at a fusion of parties. Seeking an audience of the King he 
 tendered his resignation, an example which was followed, on Dec- 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 289-293. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 188-184. 
 Crousazr-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 303-305. 
 
 2 E. Daudet Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 270-273. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 294-295. 
 Pasquier, IV. p. 271. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 306-307. 
 
 * E. Daudet, Ixmis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 296-298. 
 
1818] CABINET CRISES & A TRAGEDY 231 
 
 ember 22nd, by Decazes and the other members of the Govern- 
 ment. Eouis had no personal Uking for Richelieu, but he was 
 reluctant to lose the services of a Minister so highly esteemed in 
 the Cabinets of the Powers. Moreover, he knew not by whom 
 to replace him, and dreaded the prospect of having to send for 
 Talleyrand. The Duke, however, would only consent to re- 
 consider his determination on the understanding that Decazes 
 should depart forthwith as Ambassador to St. Petersburg. This 
 idea that a fallen Minister must go into exile savours strongly 
 of the old regime. But his peculiar position with the King 
 imparted an unusual character to the situation, and both 
 Wellington and Pozzo di Borgo are said to have advised 
 Richelieu to make his departure from France a condition to 
 his remaining in office. 
 
 Decazes appears to have placed his fate unreservedly in 
 Louis' hands, and to have made no attempt to dissuade him 
 from accepting Richelieu's conditions. All the Duke's efforts, 
 however, to form a Cabinet proved ineffectual. Neither Pas- 
 quier nor Gouvion would join the Ministry without Decazes, 
 and a combination which involved the entry into the Government 
 of Villele, the Royalist leader, had to be abandoned. He was, 
 in consequence, obliged to acknowledge that he had failed in all 
 directions, and to recommend the King to send for either Mar- 
 mont or Macdonald. Neither of them, however, appeared suit- 
 able to Eouis, who, upon the recommendation of Pasquier and 
 Decazes, decided to entrust the task of forming a Cabinet to 
 General the Marquis Dessoles.^ 
 
 The names of the new Ministers were published in the Moni- 
 teur of December 30th ; Dessoles was President of the Council 
 and Minister for Foreign Affairs ; Decazes was Minister of the 
 Interior ; Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, Minister of War ; the Baron 
 Louis, Minister of Finance ; and de Serre, Keeper of the Seals. 
 The Ministry of Police was abolished ; henceforward the business 
 of that office was to be conducted at the Home Department by 
 a Secretary General. ^ The new President of the Council had 
 been Chief of the Staff to Moreau in the HohenUnden Campaign. 
 La 1814 he had taken an active part in bringing about the recall 
 of the Bourbons, and had been appointed by the Provisional 
 Government to the command of the National Guards. Since 
 that time, however, he had played only an insignificant part in 
 public affairs. His political views were greatly influenced by 
 his friendship for Berenger, who, though he had been a Minister 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 272-274. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 302-307. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. p. 245. 
 
232 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1819 
 
 during the first Restoration, was almost a Republican.^ It was 
 apparent, from the earliest days of the existence of the new 
 Cabinet, that Dessoles was to be completely overshadowed by 
 Decazes. Moreover, a certain divergence of opinion manifested 
 itself quickly among its members. The President of the Council, 
 Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, and the Baron Louis advocated an alliance 
 with the Eeft, whilst Decazes, de Serre, and Portal held that 
 the Government must plant its flag in the Left Centre and Doc- 
 trinaire camp. 2 Decazes, at this time, was greatly under the 
 influence of Guizot, whom he had appointed to an important 
 post at the Home Ofiice. He was soon to discover, however, 
 that the Doctrinaires were exacting masters. Their views had 
 none of the elasticity which political combinations require, and 
 they insisted, in return for their support, in filling the Council of 
 State and the prefectures with their friends.^ The Lower Cham- 
 ber at this time was divided into four groups of about equal 
 strength — the Right, the Right Centre, the Left Centre, and 
 the Left. The Government could alone depend for support, 
 with any degree of confidence, upon the Left Centre, but, on 
 the other hand, only the Right was openly hostile. Under these 
 conditions, the Ministerial policy resolved itself into a continuous 
 attempt to balance one party against the other — the system of 
 la bascule^ as it was called. The name of Decazes has been 
 associated always with this form of parliamentary tactics, in 
 which he attained great proficiency.* In the Upper Chamber 
 the Government was in a hopeless minority. When Richelieu 
 retired the Cardinalistes at once threw in their lot with the Ultra- 
 Royalists, who were thus enabled to command an overwhelming 
 preponderance of votes in the House of Peers. 
 
 Upon the Bourse, and by the country generally, the new 
 Government was regarded with favour. The middle classes 
 were disposed to look upon the retirement of Richelieu as a 
 victory achieved by their champion, Decazes, over the aris- 
 tocracy. The Duke, it was popularly supposed, had bound him- 
 self at Aix-la-Chapelle to repeal the electoral law. In the society 
 of Monsieur and in that of the Faubourg-Saint-Germain the 
 composition of the new Cabinet was regarded as a further 
 triumph for Decazes. Richelieu, however, was too independent 
 to be a favourite at the Pavilion de Marsan, and had too little 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 259-260. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 279-282. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, p. 315. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 260-261. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 276-277- 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 6-9. 
 
 ^ Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 266-267. 
 
1819] CABINET CEISES & A TEAGEDY 233 
 
 sympathy with Ultra- Royalist prejudices to be popular in the 
 salons of the noble faubourg. ^ 
 
 It was a matter of common knowledge that Richelieu had 
 retired as poor a man as on the day on which he had accepted 
 office. The 10,000 francs which he drew as a Gentleman of the 
 Bedchamber constituted his whole income. Yet, despite his great 
 services to the State, when on January 11th Dessoles intro- 
 duced a bill to confer upon him and his heirs a pension of 50,000 
 francs, it was opposed by the Right and by the Left. Upon 
 hearing of the proposal which had been brought forward regard- 
 ing him, Richelieu, who was in the country, wrote at once to 
 the Presidents of both Chambers, begging that the matter might 
 be allowed to drop. The Government, however, ignored his 
 protests and decided that the affair should proceed. But, in 
 view of the vigorous opposition of both the RoyaUsts and the 
 Independents, it was found necessary to reduce the proposed 
 grant to a life pension. In this attenuated form it was passed 
 in the Eower Chamber by the narrow margin of twenty-nine 
 votes. Meanwhile, in addition to the ignominy of having been 
 the subject of acrimonious debates in the Parliament, the Duke 
 had been attacked in the Conservateur and in a pamphlet, by 
 which Eanjuinais, a Liberal peer, sought to show that he was in 
 no need of money. Richelieu was deeply hurt, and resolved to 
 present the whole sum to a hospital at Bordeaux — the first town 
 in France to hoist the flag of the Bourbons. " After all, the 
 sacrifice is a small one," he wrote to a friend ; '' they have de- 
 prived me of the pleasure of leaving the money to my nephew." 
 But Decazes, whose friendship for the Duke subsisted in spite 
 of their political differences, persuaded the King to appoint him 
 to the post of grand veneur, and to raise the emoluments of the 
 office to the sum of 50,000 francs. ^ 
 
 The Cabinet having been formed after the opening of the 
 Session, some weeks had to elapse before Ministers could be in 
 a position to bring forward any bills of importance. A sudden 
 attack upon the Government was, however, delivered by the 
 opposition in the Upper Chamber. The good relations which 
 had been established between the Cardinalistes and the Royalist 
 Peers, who frequented Talaru's salon, had not been disturbed 
 by Richelieu's inabihty to form a Cabinet. In the counsels of 
 these two groups it was decided that one of their number should 
 move that an address be presented, praying the King to abrogate 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 282-283. 
 Viel Castel, VII. p. 268. 
 
 2 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 318-322. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 268-283. 
 
234 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1819 
 
 j the electoral law. The Marquis Barthelemy, a Cardinaliste, who 
 was deputed to bring forward this resolution, and who, in con- 
 sequence, attained for a time considerable celebrity, was a nephew 
 of the more famous Abbe, the author of The Voyage of the 
 Young Anarcharsis. The Marquis himself, in revolutionary 
 days, had been one of those Directors who had been deported 
 with Pichegreu after the coup d'etat of the 18th Fructidor. He 
 had returned to France under the Consulate, and had sat in the 
 Senate of the Empire. The Grovernment now pressed him to 
 abandon his proposal, and he was threatened with the King's 
 displeasure should he persist in proceeding with it. But he was not 
 to be deterred, and on February 20th duly brought forward his 
 motion. Despite the efforts of Decazes and the Liberal Peers a day 
 was fixed for its discussion, and, on March 2nd, a form of address 
 for presentation to His Majesty was adopted by a large majority. 
 
 Were the Right Centre members, who corresponded to the 
 Cardinalistes in the Upper House, to unite with the Royalists 
 in the Lower Chamber, the Government would sustain a defeat 
 which must entail its resignation. Decazes organi2;ed petitions 
 and demonstrations all over the country in favour of the existing 
 electoral law, and encouraged the censored press to denounce the 
 Barthelemy proposal with the utmost violence.^ At the same 
 time he determined to deal in drastic fashion with the Hereditary 
 Chamber. A bill to change the date on which the financial year 
 was to begin had been sent up to the Peers. It was a measure of 
 pure convenience and involved no party principles, nevertheless 
 it was thrown out by ninety-three votes to sixty-four. The 
 majority in the Upper Chamber, it was clear, intended to oppose 
 the Government systematically. Decazes was prepared for the 
 I situation. Two days later, on March 6th, the names were pub- 
 lished in the Moniteur of sixty-one new Peers whom the King 
 had created. 2 
 
 Fifteen of the new legislators were men who had forfeited 
 their seats in the Upper Chamber in 1815. In addition several 
 marshals, general officers, and former dignitaries of the Empire 
 figured in this vast creation. Barante, the Doctrinaire, and 
 Lacepede, the scientist, besides many officials and civil servants 
 completed the list. Louis had allowed Decazes a free hand in 
 making his selections, and he had availed himself of this oppor- 
 tunity of extending his policy of concihation. The Royalists 
 were indignant and, perhaps, genuinely alarmed at the number 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 283, 284. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 26-80. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 820-331. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 349-352. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 285-286. 
 
1819] CABINET CEISES & A TEAGEDY 235 
 
 of persons of pronounced Imperial antecedents thus introduced 
 into the Upper House. But Decazes's trust in them was to be 
 justified by their loyal conduct, good sense, and moderation, 
 which was to enhance greatly the reputation of the Hereditary 
 Chamber in the eyes of the people. Though favouritism may 
 have been responsible for a few of the promotions, Decazes, on 
 the whole, would seem to have exercised a wise discretion. 
 Nevertheless, by the creation of a majority in this arbitrary 
 manner, he had established a dangerous precedent. ^ 
 
 Not since the dissolution of the chamhre introuvable had any 
 measure created so much excitement at the Pavilion de Marsan 
 and in the salons of the Faubourg-Saint-Germain. The chorus 
 of disapproval from the fashionable world was swelled by the 
 voices of the members of the corps diplomatique. With the ex- 
 ception of Sir Charles Stuart, the Ambassadors of the Powers 
 severely condemned the action of the Government, and made 
 no secret of their regret that Richelieu was no longer at the head 
 of affairs. Owing in part to the cosmopolitan character of 
 aristocratic society of the time, and in part to the tutelage 
 which they had been accustomed to exercise over the French 
 Government, the representatives of the Powers would indulge in 
 public criticisms of Ministerial proceedings to an extent wliich, 
 in these days, would be considered intolerable. The question, 
 indeed, would appear to have been discussed of handing in a 
 collective note of remonstrance, a plan which was abandoned 
 only because of the refusal of the British Ambassador to par- 
 ticipate in it. 2 
 
 The Barthelemy proposal came before the Lower Chamber 
 on March 20th, and, after a debate extending over two days, 
 was rejected by a substantial majority. On the 22nd, de Serre 
 introduced the great legislative measure of the Session. It con- 
 sisted of three bills to regulate the position of the public Press. 
 Three prominent Doctrinaires — Guizot, the Due de Broglie, and 
 de Serre himself — had been concerned in drafting these projects 
 of law. They proposed to confer a real liberty upon the news- 
 papers, to aboUsh the censorships, which was to be replaced by 
 a moderate pecuniary guarantee, and to refer all press offences 
 to a jury for trial. Two months were consumed in discussing 
 these three bills, which the Government finally carried through 
 in the shape in which they had been introduced. The brilUant 
 oratory of de Serre reheved the dullness of these long debates, 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Lo7us XVIIl et Decazes, pp. 349-351. 
 Netteinent, Histoire, pp. 47-60. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 353-357. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 287-288. 
 
 E. Daudet, Lrnis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 253-267. 
 
236 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1819 
 
 and added greatly to the prestige of the Government.^ Much as 
 they disHked the spu-it of these measures, the Royalists, since 
 they had been in opposition, had too often denounced the 
 censorship to venture now on advocating its retention. They 
 were compelled, in consequence, to see it abolished in sulky 
 silence, and to intervene only when clauses dealing with news- 
 paper attacks upon religion were under consideration. In this 
 direction they were successful in obtaining some trifling con- 
 cessions. ^ 
 
 Despite the Liberal character of the measures for which it was 
 responsible, the Government, when the Session closed on July 
 7th, had lost the support of the Left. This party had been 
 agitating busily for the recall of all poUtical exiles to France, 
 and, in the heated discussion which the petitions of these offen- 
 ders gave rise to, the rupture between the Independents and the 
 Cabinet was consummated.^ 
 
 It was not without reason that Richelieu had described as 
 monstrous the alliance between the Jacobins, Independents, 
 and Bonapartists, which, about this time, came to be known 
 as the Liberal party. Despite the hostility of the members of 
 the Chamber of the Hundred Days to the Emperor, and their 
 insistence upon his abdication, they had been forgiven by the 
 Bonapartists on account of their opposition to the recall of the 
 Bourbons. In their common hatred of the dynasty all their 
 former differences were to be forgotten. Decazes was soon 
 forced to realize that the aims of a party so constituted must 
 necessarily be revolutionary.^ Without doubt there were 
 members of the Left, such as Saint-Aulaire, his own father-in- 
 law, or Broglie, who held no anti-dynastic views, and who could 
 be described only as Constitutional Monarchists. Victor Due 
 de Broglie, who three years before had married Madame de 
 Stael's daughter, had now a recognized place upon Beugnot's 
 famous " sofa,'* which, he had once laughingly declared, could 
 seat all the Doctrinaires. In 1815 the Duke had been the only 
 Peer who had voted for the acquittal of Marshal Ney, on the 
 ground that he believed him to be guiltless of any criminal in- 
 tention.^ Nevertheless, he had no leanings towards Bonapartism, 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 359-368. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 289-293. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 378-424. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 66-99. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 291-293. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux liestaurations, IV. pp. 422-424. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 106-114. 
 * Tliureau Dangin^ Le parti liberal, pp. 26, 78. 
 ^ Broglie, Souvenirs, I. p. 330. 
 
1819] CABINET CRISES & A TRAGEDY 237 
 
 but was a genuine Liberal. He was a fervent admirer of the 
 British Constitution, and numbered among the prominent Whigs 
 of his day many personal friends. The maintenance of the 
 electoral law of 1817 was at this time the watchword of the 
 Doctrinaires, who were in consequence prepared to take the 
 Dessoles-Decazes Cabinet under their protection. But their 
 sentiments were always of that cold and reasoned kind, which 
 never allowed an opportunity to escape of passing adverse criti- 
 cisms upon the objects of their friendship. 
 
 Notwithstanding that he was a Deputy of only a few months' 
 standing, Benjamin Constant was the most prominent member 
 of the Left proper. His opposition was embittered by the 
 knowledge that his conduct during the Hundred Days had made 
 him an object of suspicion to Royalist Governments. He was 
 not a revolutionist, however, nor should he be classed among 
 the anti-dynastic members of the party. The exact character 
 of his political creed is impossible to define, probably he had no 
 very settled convictions of any kind. But if he judged by the 
 Constitution, which in 1815 he drew up for Bonaparte, he 
 would appear to have entertained a wholesome dread of pure 
 democracy. Though he was only fifty-two years of age at this 
 time the effects were already plainly visible upon his feeble 
 frame of hard living, and of long hours spent at the gaming- 
 table. ^ 
 
 Casimir Perier had not yet achieved the position to which he 
 was to attain a few years later. He was a rich manufacturer, 
 and the member of a good middle-class family. His views were 
 constitutional, tempered, however, by a bitter hatred of the 
 old aristocracy and the clerical party. ^ Laffitte, on the other 
 hand, was a determined enemy of the dynasty. Yet the Bour- 
 bons had treated him well, and in 1814 had made him Governor 
 of the Bank of France, a position which he still retained. He 
 was the son of a carpenter at Bayonne, and by his own talents 
 had risen to be the leading banker of his country. He was 
 warm-hearted and generous, but, like many self-made men, was 
 prodigiously vain. It was his pleasure to dispense a sumptuous 
 hospitality at Maisons, his celebrated house near Paris, and at 
 his hotel in the Rue d'Artois. But the magnificence of his enter- 
 tainments was powerless to attract the aristocratic society of 
 the day. It is said that the knowledge that the doors of the 
 Faubourg Saint-Germain must remain impenetrably closed 
 against him was responsible for much of his hostility to the 
 regime. In 1817 he was returned to the Chamber at the head of 
 
 ^ Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 33-41, 
 2 Ibid., p. 130. 
 
238 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1819 
 
 the list in every electoral district of the town, and could console 
 himself for other disappointments by reflecting upon Talleyrand's 
 remark " that the man was indeed a power in the land who 
 owned Paris for liis rotten borough." 
 
 Before leaving France in 1815 Bonaparte had confided to 
 Laffitte a large sum of money which, it is said, he had em- 
 powered him to use at his discretion for any purpose conducive 
 to the interests of his cause. Though the allegation has been 
 denied, it may be regarded as almost certain that most of the 
 anti-dynastic movements and conspiracies which took place 
 under the Restoration were assisted financially by Laffite.^ 
 Richelieu had always an unconquerable aversion to him, and 
 hoped to see him dismissed from the governorship of the Bank 
 of France — a wish which he was to gratify before long.^ Never- 
 theless, the Duke would have rendered a far greater service to 
 the Monarchy had he set himself to soothe the wounded feelings 
 and to disarm the hostility of the banker. But though he was 
 free from many of the prejudices of his order he was too thorough 
 a French aristocrat to realize the enormous power of which, 
 under modern conditions, men such as Casimir Perier, and 
 Laffitte could dispose. 
 
 Manuel the creature of Fouche in the Chamber of the Hundred 
 Days, was a most dangerous enemy of the Bourbons. He was 
 by profession a lawyer, and had served in the armies of the 
 Republic. He was no orator, but a cool and skilled debater and, 
 in the Chamber of the Restoration, was to evince a peculiar 
 talent for reviving exasperating recollections of the emigration, 
 and for confronting the aspirations of the old privileged noblesse 
 with those of the middle classes. But his aims were exclusively 
 revolutionary and were not confined to a parliamentary opposi- 
 tion, which was, indeed, a mere cloak to his more serious proceed- 
 ings. Traces are abundant of his active participation in the 
 many plots, which, during the next few years, were hatched 
 against the Monarchy. ^ 
 
 La Fayette and Voyer d'Argenson, two of the most violently 
 anti-dynastic members of the Left, belonged not to the middle 
 classes, but to the best families of the old nobility. On some 
 occasion, after the Comte d'Artois had succeeded his brother as 
 Charles X, he is reported to have said that " only two men in 
 France had never changed since 1789, one was La Fayette and 
 the other was himself.*' In 1819 Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves- 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. p. 394. 
 
 2 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 31-64. 
 
 3 Guizot, Memoir es J I. pp. 239-240. 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal , pp, 48-61, 
 
1819] CABINET CKISES & A TRAGEDY 239 
 
 E/Oche-Gilbert-Mottier, Marquis de La Fayette was sixty-two 
 years of age. Time had not modified his chief characteristic 
 which Jefferson has described as " a canine appetite for popu- 
 larity/" It was still his great delight to sign himself a " National 
 Guard of '89." Upon his election to the Chamber, in 1818, he 
 entered recklessly, and with none of Manuel's circumspection, 
 into all the plots of the disaffected. The doctrine of the sove- 
 reignty of the people had no more devoted admirer than this 
 aristrocratic revolutionary.^ Marc -Rene -de- Voyer-de-Paulmy, 
 Marquis d'Argenson, the stepfather of the Due de Broglie, was 
 fully as ready as La Fayette to embark upon any enterprise 
 directed against the reigning dynasty. He appears to have 
 entertained some visionary schemes for the reconstruction of 
 society upon a socialistic basis, and has been described as " full 
 of illusions about humanity, and of contempt for his fellow- 
 men.'' 2 
 
 The year 1819 was one of general unrest in Europe. From 
 Russia came the news of a military revolt the suppression of 
 which had been attended with much bloodshed. In England \ 
 the affair dignified by the name of the Manchester massacre •, 
 testified to the existence of much popular discontent. Through- 
 out Italy the activity of the Carbonari augured ill for the con- 
 tinued maintenance of tranquillity. In Spain the signs of an 
 impending revolution were plainly manifest. In Grermany the 
 murder of Kotzebue and students' riots were symptoms of the 
 impatience of the people to see those reforms carried out which, 
 they had been led to expect, were to be inaugurated once Bona- 
 parte should have been overthrown. In order to devise means 
 of repressing this growing demand for Liberal institutions, 
 Metternich and representatives from the Northern Grerman 
 States met in solemn conclave at Carlsbad. The result of their 
 deliberations was soon made pubUc in the form of the famous 
 decrees, which were to stifle constitutional liberty in Germany . 
 for a generation.^ 1 
 
 Though the Carlsbad decrees only concerned Germany, they • 
 were regarded, not without reason, by the French Liberals as 
 reflecting the reactionary views entertained by the Sovereigns 
 of continental Europe. It was a theme which provided the 
 democratic press with an excellent field for the exercise of its 
 newly-acquired freedom. For the first few weeks which followed 
 the abolition of the censorship, the French journalists hardly 
 * Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 239. 
 Thureau Dangin^ Le parti liberal, pp. 41-47, 146. 
 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 240-241. 
 Tliureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 54-56, 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 311-3X7. 
 
240 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1819 
 
 realized the magnitude of their power. This state of affairs, 
 however, did not last for long. Liberty degenerated rapidly 
 into licence, and it was soon abundantly evident that in press 
 prosecutions juries were not to be trusted.^ As is often the 
 case in France, the first symptoms of unrest manifested them- 
 selves at the Universities. During the summer of 1819 disturb- 
 ances took place at the schools of Eaw and of Medicine. The 
 suspension of M. Bavoux, a popular professor of advanced 
 political views, was resented by his pupils, and was made the 
 occasion of a turbulent demonstration against the authorities 
 of the University. Bavoux and several students were prose- 
 cuted in consequence. The Government, however, was unable 
 to obtain their conviction, a circumstance which was hailed as 
 a triumph by the Liberal press. For a different reason the 
 Royalist papers had discussed this affair at length. These dis- 
 turbances they contended furnished the best of arguments against 
 the secular character of the education at the Universities. ^ 
 
 Many Royalists were firmly convinced that, in order to stem 
 the advancing tide of democracy, the people must be won back 
 to religious principles. This was an opinion with which the 
 governing classes in England generally concurred. Lord Liver- 
 pool's government, indeed, had sanctioned the expenditure of 
 a million pounds of public money upon the erection of new 
 Churches.^ In France, in the year 1819, the proselytizing zeal 
 of the missionaries attracted universal attention. The society 
 of Les missionaires de France was directed by the Abbe Rauzan 
 and the Abbe de Forbin-Janson, and was in close touch with 
 the Congregation of the Rue du Bac. The missionaries were 
 generally sturdy priests, selected for their brazen voices. Their 
 visits to country towns were always announced long in advance. 
 The local authorities both civil and military, acting, doubtless, 
 upon hints or orders received from Paris, as a rule afforded 
 them assistance and protection. Their proceedings in the 
 districts which they visited generally began with a procession 
 headed by a choir of young men and girls singing hymns set to 
 the tune of popular songs of the day. On arriving at some 
 prominent spot a gigantic crucifix would be set up, in expiation 
 of the offences against religion, committed by the inhabitants 
 in revolutionary times. The activity of the missionaries, how- 
 ever, was frequently displayed in more objectionable ways. Li 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII, pp. 541-547. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 802-303. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. 295-297. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 135-142. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VII. pp. 523-535. 
 
 3 Walpole, History of England (1902 edition), L pp. 388-390. 
 
1819] CABINET CEISES & A TRAGEDY 241 
 
 their discourses and sermons the institutions of modern France 
 were denounced, and purchasers of national property were held 
 up to execration. They are said, moreover, to have resorted to 
 vulgar artifices in order to impose upon the ignorance of their 
 audiences. Disputations were organized, at which disguised 
 priests would advance the most puerile arguments in support of 
 philosophical doctrines, which the missionaries would refute trium- 
 phantly to the discomfiture of their pretended adversaries.^ 
 
 Even if great allowance be made for the unscrupulous char- 
 acter of anti-clerical attacks upon the Church, it is clear that 
 these crusades against unbelief had a very harmful effect. The 
 favour extended to the missionaries by high civil and military 
 officials tempted numerous individuals to indulge in the most 
 odious forms of hypocrisy. Far from conducing to peace and 
 goodwill the visits of these fanatical priests were, as a rule, a 
 cause of strife and of discord. ^ Sensible people, moreover, 
 alarmed by their intolerance, and disgusted by the shameless 
 impositions which they saw practised around them, began to 
 distrust a Government which encouraged such proceedings. 
 
 From the little house in the Bois de Boulogne, which he had 
 hired for the summer recess, Decazes ruled France. Neither 
 the unscrupulous animosity of the Ultra- Roy ahsts nor the 
 virulent opposition of the Left disturbed him. Strong in the 
 support of the wealthy bourgeoisie and of the official classes, 
 he counted, with confidence, upon the autumn elections for 
 swelling the ranks of the Ministerialists in the Chamber. The 
 first Industrial Exhibition held in Paris, the brilliant success of 
 which was to shed a lustre over his administration of the Home 
 Department, was opened by the King on August 25th. At the 
 same time he pursued steadily his pohcy of reconciliation. 
 During this summer the Royal pardon was extended to several 
 regicides, and Bonapartists, as deeply compromised in the 
 events of the Hundred Days as Bassano and Excelmans, were 
 allowed to return to France. ^ 
 
 The secret revolutionary societies, with which Germany, Spain, 
 and Italy were permeated, had not yet spread to France. An 
 association of some importance, however, had come into exist- 
 ence known as the friends of the liberty of the Press. This league 
 numbered among its members the Due de Broglie and most of 
 the prominent Liberals in and out of Parliament. Though 
 strictly speaking an illegal association, it was tolerated by the 
 ^ Vaulabelle, DezLx Restaurations , IV. pp. 425-430. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, VIL pp. 437-439. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 303-305. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 8-11. 
 
 E. Daudet^ Louis XVIII et DecazeSy pp. 359-564, 
 
242 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1819 
 
 Government for a time, but in the autumn of 1819 it was sup- 
 pressed. This action on the part of the authorities was taken in 
 consequence of the proceedings of certain committees which 
 grew out of, or were more or less connected with, the society. 
 The so-called committee of action, which counted among its 
 members only the most anti-dynastic Liberals, was in the habit 
 of meeting at La Fayette's house in the Rue d'Anjou. Through 
 the instrumentality of Voyer d'Argenson relations were estab- 
 lished with the Prince of Orange. The conspirators appear to 
 have decided to renew the invitation made to him two years 
 before. On this present occasion he was to enter France at the 
 head of the Dutch-Belgian army, and declare Belgium united to 
 France under the tricolour. The Prince is believed to have 
 sent an officer to Paris to discuss the details of the plot. Accord- 
 ing to M. de Vaulabelle, his chief merit in the eyes of the Liberals 
 lay in the fact that he was a Protestant. The enemies of the 
 Bourbons declared always that the increasing power of the 
 clergy constituted a serious menace to national institutions. 
 Nevertheless, the project of conferring the sovereignty of their 
 country upon a foreign Prince, who had fought under Wellington 
 at Waterloo, was strangely inconsistent with all their avowed 
 principles. Possibly on this account, possibly, also, because 
 La Fayette may have been dissatisfied with the part in the 
 affair assigned to him, the matter was not proceeded with. In 
 the meantime, besides, rumours of the mischief which was 
 brewing reached the ears of the King, who at once took steps to 
 check the ambitious designs of his son.^ 
 
 Less mystery surrounds the proceedings of the celebrated 
 directing committee, the secret inner council of the society of 
 the friends of the liberty of the Press. It consisted mainly of 
 Liberal journalists, who were responsible for organizing a 
 regular system for opposing the official candidates at elections. 
 For the first time, in the autumn of 1819, lists of persons for 
 whom all lovers of liberty were invited to vote were presented 
 to the electors in the columns of the newspapers and upon cards 
 distributed in public places. The Royalists also prepared for 
 the electoral struggle. " Save the Monarchy in spite of the 
 Government " was their watchword, to which they added the 
 proviso " sooner a Jacobin than a Ministerialist." ^ 
 
 The elections for a renewal of a fifth of the Chamber, which 
 began on September 11th, were watched with the greatest 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV. pp. 443-446. 
 2 Weil, Elections legislatives, pp. 88-90. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 153, 157-158. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, IV. pp. 452-453. 
 
1819] CABINET CRISES & A TRAGEDY 243 
 
 interest all over Europe. To the surprise of Decazes they 
 resulted in an overwhelming victory for the Liberals. Eighteen 
 Royalist and six Ministerial seats were lost, whilst the Liberals 
 returned from the contest with their party augmented by twenty- 
 eight new members. In a Chamber of only two hundred and 
 fifty -seven Deputies the Left had now ninety representatives. 
 This startling revolution in the state of parties, in the first 
 instance, however, caused less excitement than the news of the 
 return of the regicide Gregoire by the electoral college of the 
 Isere. Strictly speaking this designation should not have been 
 applied to this heretofore constitutional Bishop and member of 
 the Convention. He had been absent from Paris at the time 
 of the King's trial, and only upon a subsequent occasion had he 
 signified his approval of his condemnation. He had been long 
 forgotten by the old men, and was unknown to the rising genera- 
 tion. Unquestionably, in dragging him from his obscure retreat 
 at Auteuil, the directing committee had made a great mistake. 
 The Royahst papers, with difficulty concealing their intense 
 satisfaction, declared that this scandal must necessitate the 
 repeal of the electoral law of 1817. Yet despite their affected 
 consternation the Abbe Gregoire owed his seat to the Royalists. 
 Finding, as a result of the first ballot, that the chances of their 
 candidate were hopeless, the Royalist electors at Grenoble had 
 unhesitatingly given their votes to this ex-member of the 
 Convention.^ 
 
 The Royal Family was at dinner at the Tuileries, when the 
 news was received of the Abb6 Gregoire's election. Since the 
 alterations effected the year before iil his command of the 
 National Guards, Monsieur had scarcely addressed a word to 
 his brother. But he now broke his long silence. " You see, sir," 
 he exclaimed, " to what lengths they are prepared to go.'* " I 
 do, indeed," answered Louis, " and I intend to take steps to put 
 an end to their proceedings." In point of fact neither the King 
 nor Decazes was disposed to attach undue importance to 
 Gr6goire's election. Both appear to have reaUzed, from the 
 first, that the Ultras were fully as much to blame for it as the 
 Liberals. The result of the election, however, was not the less 
 disquieting on that account. It was clear that, were matters to 
 be allowed to pursue their normal course, the Left would com- 
 mand an absolute majority in the Chamber within a year. At 
 no distant date, therefore, Louis would have to select his Minis- 
 ters from that party. But could the Government of the country 
 be entrusted to the Left without grave danger to the Crown ? 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deujv Restauratioris, IV. pp. 455-456. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 110-124, 134-135. 
 
244 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1819 
 
 Was not the opposition of the extreme Liberals revolutionary ? 
 Were they not divided from the Constitutionalists and old 
 Royalists upon fundamental differences ? Both the King and 
 his favourite Minister decided to postpone putting their loyalty 
 to the test as long as possible. 
 
 In the first instance, Louis and Decazes appear to have con- 
 sidered that the mere substitution of Septennial Parliaments 
 for the system of the Rota would suffice to meet the difficulty.^ 
 It was probable that a bill to this effect could be passed through 
 the Chamber. Dessoles, the Baron Louis, and Gouvion-Saint- 
 Cyr, however, declared at once their intention of resigning, 
 were any proposal to be brought forward affecting the electoral 
 law. Their attitude came as no surprise to Decazes. Already 
 he was striving to induce Richelieu to resume his place at the 
 head of the Government. The Duke would seem to have had an 
 interview with the King on October 4th. But though he declared 
 himself heartily in sympathy with the measure under considera- 
 tion, he refused persistently to re-enter the Cabinet. At this 
 juncture Decazes is believed to have sounded Villele as to the 
 possibility of an arrangement with the Royalists. Villele, 
 however, understood the temper of his followers too well to 
 venture upon entering into negotiations with the object of their 
 keenest aversion, and he, accordingly, made haste to rejoin his 
 friend Corbiere in the country. Meanwhile, Pasquier had 
 consented to draw up a memorandum exposing the weak points 
 in the existing electoral law. This was communicated to the 
 press, and received so favourable a reception from the public 
 as to encourage de Serre and Decazes to enlarge the scope of 
 their bill.2 
 
 De Serre, in conjunction with Broglie and Guizot, now pro- 
 ceeded to draft a comprehensive measure of parliamentary 
 reform. Their bill, to which they gave the name of Law on the 
 Legislature, was to consist of fifty-one articles, and was to form 
 a supplement to the Charter, some of the clauses of which it was 
 to abrogate. At the same time Decazes made renewed efforts 
 to overcome Richelieu's objection to returning to office.^ But 
 on November 16th he received his answer to the letter which he 
 had sent to him at The Hague. The Duke assured him that the 
 bill met with his unqualified approval, and that he regarded all 
 their former differences as ended, nevertheless, he must persist 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 366-367. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 167-168. 
 
 2 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 368-869. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 130-132. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 170-175. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 165-159, 163-168. 
 
1819] CABINET CEISES & A TEAGEDY 245 
 
 in his intention of not returning to public life. It is a curious 
 feature of this affair that, with the exception of de Serre, none of 
 Decazes* colleagues in the Cabinet appear to have been in the 
 secret of his negotiations. Dessoles, the President of the Coun- 
 cil, had, by Louis' express desire, been kept in ignorance of all 
 these transactions. But at a meeting of the Cabinet, on the day 
 on which Richelieu's answer was received, de Serre announced 
 the provisions of the bill he was drafting. Gouvion, the Baron 
 Eouis, and Dessoles thereupon dissented from the changes 
 proposed in the electoral law. After a discussion of five hours' 
 duration the three protesting Ministers handed in their port- 
 folios.^ 
 
 Notwithstanding Richelieu's refusal to enter the Cabinet, a 
 strong Government might have been formed could some of the 
 Duke's Right Centre adherents have been induced to join it. 
 In this direction, however, Decazes was successful only in 
 obtaining the co-operation of Pasquier. Nor did his overtures 
 to the Doctrinaires meet with response. Although the new 
 project of law was the work of his especial friends, M. Royer 
 CoUard was not disposed to regard favourably any change in 
 the electoral system. He had resigned recently the office of 
 President of the Commission of Public Instruction on the ground 
 of clerical interference with his department, and, since Decazes 
 had been at the Home Office, points of difference had arisen 
 between them. The services which he had rendered to the 
 Bourbons in revolutionary days have been mentioned. He 
 belonged to a good middle-class family, and had been educated 
 on Jansenist principles which had left a stern impression on his 
 character. He was a man of grave deportment, and was not 
 without a certain dignified courtesy, though he was indifferent 
 to the smaller amenities of life. To the consternation of courtiers 
 he had on one occasion blown his nose noisily, with a huge 
 bandana handkerchief, in the King's presence. Royer-CoUard 
 ranks among the finest speakers in the Chamber of the Restora- 
 tion. To an even greater extent than most of his contemporaries 
 he adhered to that academic style which the members of the 
 Constituent Assembly had adopted. His speeches, indeed, 
 resemble rather the lectures of a professor explaining or con- 
 demning a political doctrine, than the arguments which the 
 modern parliamentary debater adduces to support or to de- 
 nounce some measure under consideration. Despite his genuine 
 independence of character the part of the critic had always 
 
 ^ Pasquier, IV. pp. 318-321. 
 E. Daudet, Ixruis XVIII et Decazes, p. 372. 
 Viel Castel, VIII. pp. 171-172. 
 
246 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1819 
 
 more attractions for him than the responsibilities of office. 
 Accordingly, when Decazes pressed him to enter his Cabinet, he 
 hesitated, objected to serve with Pasquier, and finally refused 
 altogether.^ The Due de Broglie showed an equal disinclina- 
 tion to join the Government. In his memoirs he explains that 
 he could not be a member of a Cabinet which, at any moment, 
 might be under the necessity of prosecuting his stepfather 
 Voyer d'Argenson for high treason. Under these circumstances 
 D6cazes was forced to replace Dessoles, the Baron Louis, and 
 Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, by Pasquier as Minister for Foreign Affairs, 
 by Roy as Minister of Finance, and by General La Tour Mau- 
 bourg, the Ambassador in London, as Minister of War. With 
 the exception of Pasquier, his three new colleagues were scarcely 
 men from whom he could expect much assistance in the em- 
 bittered parliamentary struggle which was impending. ^ 
 
 Decazes was now at the head of a Cabinet formed to repeal 
 the electoral law of 1817, the maintenance of which had been 
 his watchword for the past three years. Had parliamentary 
 government been founded upon the party system so anomalous 
 a situation could not have arisen. Without doubt D6cazes 
 would gladly have made way for the Due de Richelieu. But, in 
 the face of his persistent refusals to accept the Presidency of the 
 Council, he honestly deemed it his duty to attempt to carry 
 out himself a measure which he regarded as indispensable to 
 the safety of the crown. It is clear that his colleague, de Serre, 
 scouted the notion of retirement, and impressed upon him 
 constantly that, to stand aside at this juncture, would amount 
 to a desertion of the Royal cause.^ Yet it was evident that no 
 alteration of the electoral law could be effected without the 
 co-operation of the Royalists, and it is strange that he should 
 not have seen that Decazes was the greatest obstacle to any 
 alHance with the Right. Louis would seem to have realized 
 more clearly the difficulties and dangers which the future had 
 in store. On November 20th, the day on which the formation of 
 the new Cabinet was made public, he expressed in one of the 
 notes, which he delighted to write to his favourite Minister, his 
 doubts and apprehensions. " The King read the Moniteur with 
 joy, your father signed the ordinance with fear. You know 
 the esteem of the former, the tenderness of the latter for 
 you, the confidence in you of both. They shall never fail you. 
 But the cheerfulness of your Uncle (Monsieur) and of the 
 
 ^ Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 80-83. 
 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 200-201. 
 Broglie, Souvenirs, II. pp. 85, 108-109. 
 
 3 E. Daudet, Louis XV III et Decazes, p. 370. 
 
1820] CABINET CRISES & A TRAGEDY 247 
 
 Duchesse d'Angouleme make me wonder whether we have 
 acted wisely/' ^ 
 
 When the Chambers met on November 29th the alterations 
 which it was proposed to make in the electoral laws were fore- 
 shadowed in the King's speech. The Liberals listened to this 
 announcement in stony silence. They were not to be molUfied 
 by the recall of numerous political exiles, nor by a further 
 restoration of Peerages forfeited in 1815. Decazes soon dis- 
 covered that by these two measures he had exasperated the 
 Royalists, and had not won the gratitude of the Eeft.^ In the 
 early days of the Session the attention of the Chamber was 
 concentrated exclusively upon the question of the admission of 
 the Abbe Gregoire. Without unduly straining a legal point he 
 might have been prevented from taking his seat, upon the ground 
 that, in the case of the Isere, the law had not been complied with, 
 which prescribed that half of the Deputies returned by an 
 electoral college must be domiciled within the department. But 
 to have invalidated his election upon a technical objection, 
 would have deprived the Royalists of the pleasure of expelling 
 him as a person unfit to be admitted to the Chamber. Finally, 
 however, after an embittered discussion, a simple decree of 
 exclusion was passed by a good majority.^ 
 
 The great Doctrinaire measure for remodelling the legislature 
 had had to be abandoned, in consequence of Richelieu's refusal 
 to join the Government. In the Duke's absence a less ambitious 
 scheme had to be devised. It was not, however, an easy matter 
 to draft a bill which should act as an effectual check upon the 
 Liberals, and at the same time avoid creating a second chamhre 
 introuvable. Owing to the difficulty of devising a measure which 
 should fulfil these two conditions, Decazes was unable to intro- 
 duce his bill at the beginning of the Session. The most favour- 
 able moment for bringing it forward was thus allowed to escape. 
 The Liberals took advantage of this delay to organize petitions 
 on a gigantic scale in favour of the existing electoral law.* The 
 Royalist papers, which for the last two months had left Decazes 
 in peace, attacked him with renewed violence.^ The difficulties 
 of his situation were seriously increased by the illness of de 
 
 * E. Dsiudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, p. 376. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 178-183, 187-191. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, V. pp. 79-80. 
 
 3 Broglie, Souvenirs, II. pp. 89-90, 101-102. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 325-327. 
 
 * Ibid., pp. 329-331. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 216-219, 267-269. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, V. pp. 89-90. 
 fi E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, p. 397. 
 
248 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 Serre. During this winter the symptoms manifested themselves 
 of the pulmonary disease which was to prove fatal to him a 
 few years later. At first hopes were entertained that he 
 would be able to resume his work before long. But towards 
 the end of January the doctors insisted upon his de- 
 parture for Nice. Moreover, Decazes himself was, at this 
 juncture, prostrated with a severe attack of bronchitis. 
 This combination of adverse circumstances appears to have 
 shaken his confidence. Pasquier was deputed to make further 
 efforts to overcome Richelieu's resistance to resuming his 
 place at the head of the Government. But the Duke remained 
 inflexible, and Louis refused absolutely to entertain the proposal 
 that Decazes should retire in favour of Laine. " He could 
 bear to see his Elie supplanted by a Richelieu, but not by 
 a Eaine ! '' ^ 
 
 The Duke consented, however, to preside over a committee 
 which Louis at last decided to appoint to assist Ministers to 
 draw up their electoral bill. After much deliberation it was 
 resolved to adopt that portion of de Serre's project of law which 
 provided for a separate representation for urban and country 
 districts. Seats on the committee had been offered to both 
 Villele and to Corbiere, but they had declined to take part in 
 the discussions. They agreed, however, to consider the minis- 
 terial proposals provided that Jules de Polignac and Mathieu de 
 Montmorency were allowed to take part in the conference, and 
 that Decazes should not be present. The support of the Royal- 
 ists was too necessary to the Government to permit of the rejec- 
 tion of any terms, however humiliating. Pasquier, in conse- 
 quence, met the representatives of the Right, and contrived to 
 arrange an understanding. Monsieur was not to oppose the 
 bill, and Villele and his friends declared themselves satisfied 
 A with the principle which it embodied. ^ 
 \ On the evening of Dimanche gras, Sunday, February 13th, 
 whilst society was making the most of the last days of the 
 Carnival, Pasquier was anxiously discussing with Decazes the 
 electoral bill, which was to be introduced into the Lower Cham- 
 ber on the morrow. Suddenly a police officer burst in upon them 
 with the news that the Due de Berri had been stabbed.^ In 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 333-834. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, p. 392. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 331-335. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 397-398. 
 Viel CastQl, Histoire, VIII. pp. 268-274. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 228-243. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. p. 336. 
 
 E. Daudet, Lmiis XVIII et Decazes, p. 401. 
 
1820] CABINET CRISES & A TRAGEDY 249 
 
 company with the Duchess he had attended a special perform- 
 ance at the Opera. During the interval preceding the last act of 
 Les noces de Gamache, she had expressed a wish to return home. 
 The Duke, accordingly, directed that her carriage should be 
 brought up to the door in the Rue Rameau, known as the entree 
 des Princes. The Opera House, at this time, was situated upon 
 the west side of the Rue de Richelieu, between the Rue Sainte- 
 Anne and the Rue Rameau. Whilst the Due de Berri, accom- 
 panied by the Comte de Mesnard and the Comte de Clermont- 
 Lodeve, was assisting Her Royal Highness into her carriage, a 
 man, coming from the direction of the Rue de Richelieu, rushed 
 at him and plunged a knife into his body. " He has struck me,'* 
 said the Duke, and then sinking backwards exclaimed, " I am 
 stabbed.'* After a short chase the murderer, who offered 
 little resistance, was captured. Meanwhile, the Due de Berri 
 had been transported into the antechamber of the box he had 
 just quitted, and from there into the manager's office, where 
 doctors were speedily in attendance upon him. Messengers 
 hurriedly despatched soon brought to the spot Monsieur, the 
 Due and the Duchesse d'Angouleme, the Due d' Orleans, besides 
 many courtiers and great officers of State. ^ 
 
 When Pasquier and Decazes arrived they found the Duke 
 lying upon a bed surrounded by his family. The doctors had 
 just completed their first examination of his wound. Close at 
 hand, bound, and under a strong escort, stood the assassin, a 
 saddler's workman of the name of Louvel. Monsieur came forward 
 at once to discuss with Decazes the propriety of sending for the 
 King. They decided that he must be told, but both agreed that 
 his presence at the Opera House was inadvisable for the moment. 
 The etiquette, the Comte d'Artois pointed out, which would 
 have to be observed upon his arrival might interfere seriously 
 with the movements of the surgeons. Monsieur spoke like a 
 Bourbon. In his eyes not even the imminence of death could 
 justify any relaxation of the ceremony inseparable from the 
 King's presence. Decazes hurried off to the Tuileries. Louis, 
 who had retired for the night, agreed to await further news 
 before proceeding to his nephew's bedside. Decazes returned 
 forthwith to the Opera House, taking with him his own doctor, 
 Dubois. He was too absorbed to notice either the repulsion with 
 which the Duchesse de Berri shrank from him, or the looks of 
 aversion upon the faces of those around her. When Dubois 
 expressed a fear that the knife might have been poisoned, he 
 promptly stepped up to the prisoner and, in a whisper, asked 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 275-283. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 243-260. 
 
250 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 him whether that were the case. This conversation between 
 the Minister and the murderer evoked an indignant murmur 
 from those present. The next day it was said in the Faubourg- 
 Saint -Germain that Decazes had been heard to whisper words 
 of advice and encouragement to his accompHce.^ 
 
 The Due de Berri was sinking fast. From the first he had 
 been under no illusions as to the fatal nature of the wounds. 
 After receiving the consolations of the Church, he desired that 
 all present should be told that he asked pardon for the scandals 
 which his irregular life had occasioned. To his wife he confided 
 his wish to see for the last time two of his natural children, who 
 were living with their mother in Paris. Not much is known 
 about the person in question, a Mrs. Brown, ^ whose connection 
 with the Duke dated from the days of the emigration in London. 
 In compliance with his request the two little girls were sent for, 
 and, in their presence, their dying father adjured his wife never 
 to forget their existence. In later years both married, one the 
 Prince de Lucingue and the other the Comte de Charrette. 
 About five o'clock, when it was evident that the end was at 
 hand, the clatter of horses* hoofs in the street outside announced 
 the arrival of the King with a strong escort. The Duke, who 
 was perfectly conscious, besought His Majesty to spare the 
 murderer's life. These were almost his last words. Soon after- 
 wards he asked to be turned upon his side, and expired quietly. 
 
 Of the Due de Berri it may be said that nothing in his life so 
 well became him as his way of quitting it. When the Royal 
 Family departed from the Opera House at daybreak, their only 
 consolation lay in a piece of news which had been whispered 
 from ear to ear during the terrible hours of the night. All hope 
 of the perpetuation of the elder branch need not yet be aban- 
 doned — the Duchesse de Berri had announced that she was 
 enceinte. 
 
 A few hours later, when the opening formalities of the sitting 
 had been completed in the Lower Chamber, M. Clausel de 
 Coussergues ascended the tribune and proposed that the Comte 
 D6cazes should be arraigned as accessory to the murder of 
 the Due de Berri. Although Clausel regained his seat amidst a 
 general cry of disapprobation, and although Villele and the more 
 clear-headed Royalists condemned his action, the party was 
 none the less resolved to encompass the downfall of Decazes. 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et DScazes, pp. 402-403. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 337-338. 
 
 2 For particulars about her see Duchesse de Gontaut, Memoires, p. 187, 
 also Les enfants du Due de Berri, par Le Vicomte de Reiset, who disposes 
 of the story that the Duke was married to Mrs. Brown. 
 
1820] CABINET CRISES & A TEAGEDY 251 
 
 " I have seen the knife," wrote Charles Nodier, the next day in 
 the Journal des Debats. " It is a Liberal doctrine/' This idea, 
 that Decazes by his encouragement of Liberalism had rendered 
 himself morally responsible for Louvel's crime, was entertained 
 by men who would have scouted the notion that he had actually 
 participated in the affair. But in Ultra-Royalist circles Clausers 
 accusation let loose the flood of hatred which had been gathering 
 for the past four years. In the salons of the Faubourg-Saint- 
 Grermain the violence of the language recalled the worst days of 
 1815, and at the Caf6 de Valois the oflBcers of the Guards indulged 
 in bloodthirsty threats against the favourite.^ 
 
 During the course of the day several Ministerial Councils were i 
 held. Louvel's statements and the investigations of the police 
 made it clear that the crime was the isolated act of a savage and ; 
 ignorant man, who for years past had been brooding over the 1 
 wrongs under which he imagined his country to be suffering. 
 Nevertheless, it was decided to reimpose extraordinary measures, 
 which Louis suggested should be of " Draconian severity.'' Bills 
 were accordingly hastily drafted to re-estabHsh the censorship of 
 the press and to suspend individual liberty. Without doubt 
 these projects of law had been drawn up in the hope of propitiat- 
 ing the Royalists. But the next day, Febiniary 15th, when they 
 were introduced simultaneously into both Chambers along with 
 the electoral bill, it was seen that this expectation would not be 
 fulfilled. The Royalists expressed their approval of the measures 
 in principle, but declared that never would they consent to confer 
 additional powers upon a Minister in whom they had no confi- 
 dence. Decazes, moreover, realized bitterly that in the Upper \ 
 Chamber most of those Peers, who owed their seats to him, had ] 
 now joined the ranks of his opponents. In the Lower House he 
 had to face not only the hostility of the Right and the Left, but 
 to be prepared for the defection of the Left Centre Ministerialists, 
 who under the lead of Royer-CoUard, announced their intention 
 of opposing the electoral bill.^ 
 
 Decazes could not depend upon the wholehearted support of 
 the members of his Cabinet. Pasquier, though present in the 
 Chamber when Clausel had preferred his charge against his 
 
 1 Villele, Memoiresj II. pp. 339-340. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 412-413. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 259-260. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 297-298. 
 « Pasquier, IV. pp. 338-340, 347-350. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 422-423. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 283-284. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 276-277. 
 
252 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 absent colleague, had not seen fit to say a word in his defence. On 
 the 16th he had even ventured to suggest to the King that, were 
 the President of the Council to resign, both Portal and himself 
 would be ready to follow his example. Louis, however, received 
 this communication so coldly that he did not dare to pursue the 
 subject. Decazes could not doubt that his fellow Ministers re- 
 garded his retirement as the simplest and best solution of the 
 present difficulty. In the first instance he had himself been 
 disposed to take this view of the situation, but the King's reluc- 
 tance to part with him, and his indignation at the conduct of the 
 Royalists had prompted him to continue the struggle. In face, 
 however, of the deadlock in both Chambers, he was fain to confess 
 to Louis that his position was no longer tenable.^ 
 
 In the meantime, the Ultra-Royalists were preparing to resort 
 to violence. Neither they nor the extreme Liberals had much 
 faith in constitutional methods. On February 14th, the Baron 
 de Vitrolles appears to have been the only person admitted to 
 intrude upon Monsieur's grief. In his memoirs he has left no 
 record of what took place between them. But, if the account of 
 his visit be true which he gave to M. de Vaulabelle, their con- 
 versation would seem to have turned chiefly upon the necessity 
 of Monsieur's marriage in the interests of the dynasty. Should 
 the Duchesse de Berri's hopes prove vain, Vitrolles appears to 
 have regarded the Duchesse de Lucques, the ex-Queen of Etruria, 
 as an eligible second wife for Monsieur. She was a daughter of 
 Charles IV and the sister of Ferdinand VII, the reigning King of 
 Spain, and, most important of all, she had a son at this time 
 twenty years of age. This young man, a descendant of Louis XIV, 
 could be brought to France, where he would act as an effectual 
 barrier between the Due d' Orleans and the throne. Were the last 
 representative of the elder branch to die without a son, it would 
 be a simple matter for the Guards to place the crown upon his 
 head. Vitrolles, besides, and this part of the story is more easy 
 to believe, was at pains to excite Monsieur's wrath against 
 Decazes. Before departing he seems to have asked for a few 
 words in writing from His Royal Highness to enable him to gain 
 admission, at all hours, to the Due de Bellune, commanding the 
 Royal Guards. Monsieur declined to comply with his request, 
 but appears to have given him leave to use his name with the 
 Marshal.^ 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 352-353. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 406-407. \ 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 264-266. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle^ Deux Bestaurations , V. pp. 105-107. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 289-290 (note). 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 350-351. 
 
1820] CABINET CEISES & A TEAGEDY 253 
 
 There are strong grounds for supposing that Vitrolles and his 
 friends were hatching a plot somewhat of the nature of the 
 " waterside conspiracy/' This accounts for his desire to obtain 
 a written authority which he could show to the Due de Bellune. 
 The conspirators appear to have harboured the design of forcibly 
 imposing a Royalist Cabinet, presided over by Talleyrand, upon 
 Bonis. Inasmuch, however, as the Right was in a hopeless 
 minority, this scheme would have necessitated the dissolution of 
 the Chamber and the abrogation of the electoral law by a Royal 
 ordinance. Talleyrand would seem to have been a party to this 
 plan. In his anxiety to play opce more a part in public affairs, 
 he would have allied himself, probably, with any party which 
 seemed likely to emerge triumphant from the crisis. Calculat- 
 ing, presumably, that the consternation created by the Due de 
 Berries murder would react in favour of the Royalists, he appears 
 to have decided to cast in his lot with them. But Villele's per- 
 sistent refusal to enter into any combination with him deprived 
 this scheme of all chance of success.^ In the meantime, the 
 denunciations of Decazes in the Drapemt hlanc and other Royalist 
 papers increased in violence. A rumour, widely current on 
 February 17th, that he had agreed to withdraw the electoral law 
 and had thus secured the support of the Liberals, drove his 
 opponents to madness. So threatening, indeed, was the demean- 
 our of the Gardes -du-Corps that Louis ordered them to be con- 
 fined to their quarters. 
 
 Decazes, however, was not to be frightened into resigning. 
 When informed that he could not, without grave danger, accom- 
 pany his fellow-Ministers on a visit of condolence to Monsieur, his 
 only answer had been to drive forthwith to the Pavilion de 
 Marsan. Without doubt he was justified in treating as idle 
 threats most of the reports which reached him. But, when 
 Mathieu de Montmorency warned him that his life was in serious 
 peril, he had doubtless good reasons for bidding him beware. 
 The cool-headed Pasquier is of opinion that, had the crisis 
 been prolonged, the fate of Marshal d'Ancre ^ would assuredly 
 have overtaken him.^ But Louis' fortitude was breaking down. 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 341-342. 
 
 Thureau Dangiri, Eoyalistefi et Republicains, p. 200. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 305-306. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 270-276. 
 
 2 Comte della Penna Concini, Marechal d'Aiicre, an Italian adventurer 
 and favourite of Marie de Medici_, widow of Henri IV, and mother of 
 Louis XIII, assassinated April 24, 1617, by a party of Gardes-du-Corps 
 commanded by the Baron de Vitry, who acted par ordre du roi. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. p. 352. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII. et Decazes , pp. 414-419. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 314-818. 
 
254 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 Already, on the evening of the 16th, he had. had a painful scene 
 with his family, in the course of which the Duchesse d'Angouleme 
 is said to have thrown herself at his feet and to have implored 
 him to dismiss Decazes, and so prevent the commission of a great 
 crime. Though he did not comply at once, their entreaties were 
 not without effect. On the morning of February 18th several 
 field-officers of the Guards called upon Vitrolles. They told him 
 that the reign of M. Decazes could not be allowed to continue, 
 and asked whether Monsieur had any orders to give them. 
 Vitrolles, according to his own story, hurried off to the Pavilion 
 de Marsan and entreated Monsieur to try again to induce the King 
 to part from his favourite Minister. The Comte d'Artois, accord- 
 ingly, made a second appeal to his brother. On this occasion 
 he appears to have experienced little difficulty in overcoming his 
 faltering resolution. Louis consented not only to dismiss Decazes, 
 but urged Monsieur to use his best endeavours to persuade 
 Richelieu to take his place. ^ 
 
 In the hour of his triumph Monsieur was fortunately more 
 inclined to listen to Villele's advice than to the counsels of 
 Vitrolles or other advocates of a cowp d'etat. Villele was of opinion 
 that his party should be satisfied, for the present, with the sub- 
 stitution of Richelieu for Decazes. The Duke could never carry 
 through the electoral bill without the support of the Royalists. 
 He could, therefore, no longer afford to ignore them, and, once 
 an electoral bill favourable to their party should have been passed 
 into law, the future would be in their hands. When their pros- 
 pects were so bright, when nothing was required but the exercise 
 of a little patience, it would be a terrible blunder to resort to un- 
 constitutional methods. Monsieur agreed, and despatched Jules 
 de Polignac to interview the Due de Richelieu, who was unwell 
 and confined to his house. But he was as little disposed to listen 
 to the solicitations of Polignac as he had been to those of Decazes. 
 Never again, he assured him, would he place himself in the odious 
 position of having to thwart constantly the wishes of Monsieur. 
 A few hours later, however. Monsieur himself arrived. He im- 
 plored him to lay aside his fear that, in the future, he would work 
 against him. " As one gentleman to another " he promised to 
 support him faithfully, and begged to be considered as his chief 
 lieutenant. Richelieu bowed, and signified that he had no 
 further objections to urge, the King might dispose of him as he 
 saw fit. On February 21st, the Moniteur announced that Decazes 
 was to be replaced, as President of the Council, by Richelieu, and 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , V. pp. 107-110. 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 426-433. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 318-820. 
 
1820] CABINET CEISES & A TRAGEDY 255 
 
 as Minister of the Interior by de Serre, who was to be succeeded 
 as Keeper of the Seals by Portalis.^ 
 
 The Gazette which announced Decazes' retirement from the 
 Government, contained also the news that he was appointed 
 Ambassador to the Court of St. James, and that the King had 
 conferred upon him a dukedom. By these marks of favour Louis 
 sought to testify publicly his appreciation of his services. He 
 appears to have hoped that until the moment should arrive for 
 his departure for England, Decazes would be able to stay in 
 Paris, and that he might still continue to enjoy, for a time, the 
 pleasure of his society. Richelieu, however, dispelled this illusion. 
 He adjured the King to insist upon his favourite's retirement to 
 the country. So long as he remained in Paris he would be sus- 
 pected of exercising an occult influence over the Government. 
 As a member of the House of Peers no power could have pre- 
 vented Decazes from attending the sittings of that Assembly. 
 Nevertheless, he complied reluctantly with the Duke's request, 
 and departed from the capital. From this moment history is 
 no more concerned with him. Louis parted from his friend and 
 intimate companion of the past four years with deep distress. 
 Before many months were past, however, another influence was 
 to enter into his life, which was to prove an effectual obstacle to 
 the renewal of their affectionate relations. The Royalist papers 
 celebrated the fall of the once all-powerful Minister with indecent 
 ecstacy. " He has slipped up in blood,'* wrote Chateaubriand, 
 in one of the last numbers of the Conservateur? 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, V. p. 111. 
 
 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 434-436. 
 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 853-354. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 324-325. 
 
 2 E. Daudet, Louis XVIII et Decazes, pp. 436-439. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 332-335. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 
 
 FOR the first time in the history of the Restoration the forces 
 of reaction had proved strong enough to overthrow a 
 Minister. The change of policy upon which the Government 
 now embarked was not, however, a consequence of the fall of 
 D^cazes. When compelled to retire he had already brought 
 forward those measures which Richelieu was destined to carry 
 out. But his removal had a marked effect upon the old King. 
 Deprived of the stimulating companionship of his favourite 
 Minister, he relapsed into indolence and, before long, fell under 
 a pernicious influence. Although a very general commiseration 
 was felt for the Royal Family in their grief, and although the 
 Due de Berri's fortitude in the last hour of his life had earned 
 for him the respect of the people, Richelieu was confronted by 
 many disquieting symptoms upon his second advent to power. 
 Early in January a military revolution had broken out in Spain, 
 the successful progress of which was watched with sympathy 
 and approval by the Liberals and Bonapartists. Rumours 
 that the Carlsbad decrees were to be extended to France was 
 exciting uneasiness, especially among the students at the 
 Universities. These unfavourable conditions, however, only 
 quickened Richelieu's resolve to proceed with the bills to impose 
 the censorship, suspend individual liberty, and to alter the 
 electoral system.^ 
 
 Richelieu, upon taking office, at once put himself into com- 
 munication with Villele and Corbiere. Both the two leading 
 members of the Right promised him their assistance, and under- 
 took to do all in their power to gain for him the support of their 
 party. The Royalists feared that Richelieu might have entered 
 into a secret compact with Decazes to retire in his favour, when- 
 ever the King might deem it safe to recall him. Villele himself 
 appears to have entertained this suspicion, but to have been 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 390-420. : 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. p. 287. 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberalj pp. 234-235. 
 
 256 
 
1820] THE TEIUMPH OF REACTION 257 
 
 reassured as he came to know the Duke better.^ On February 
 28th the debate upon the censorship was opened in the House of 
 Peers. For the next five weeks the attention of both Chambers 
 was wholly occupied with the discussion of this measure and of 
 the bill to suspend individual liberty. The Royalists, who now 
 supported the Government, had, whilst they had been in opposi- 
 tion, always denounced legislation of this kind. Villele, however, 
 defended their attitude by pointing out that, in proposing to 
 grant to Ministers whom they trusted powers which they had 
 been unwilling to confer upon their predecessors, they were acting 
 consistently. The Liberals in reply referred bitterly to the past 
 of some of the members of the Government. Was Pasquier, a 
 former Imperial prefect of police, a man who could be expected 
 to use with moderation the arbitrary powers which they were 
 now asked to confer upon him ? asked Benjamin Constant 
 indignantly. 2 
 
 These animated debates in the Lower Chamber gave General 
 Foy, the newly elected member for Peronne, his first opportunity 
 of displaying his abilities. Maximilien Sebastien Foy stands 
 out conspicuously among the Liberals of the Restoration. He 
 had served in most of the great campaigns of the Republic and 
 the Empire. In revolutionary days some unflattering remarks 
 which he had passed upon the men in power in Paris had been 
 reported to Joseph Lebon, the commissary of the convention at 
 Cambrai. The fall of Robespierre, however, had opened the 
 doors of his prison and had saved him from the guillotine. Three 
 years later he had employed the brief leisure, afforded him by 
 the peace of Campo Formio, in studying law and history at 
 Strasburg under the celebrated Koch. In the Pyrenees in 1813 
 he had given proof that he possessed military qualities of a high 
 order. Although he regarded Bonaparte's return from Elba as a 
 calamity, he had tendered his services for the defence of his 
 country during the Hundred Days. At Waterloo he had com- 
 manded a division and sustained his fifteenth wound. General 
 Foy was in his forty-fifth year when, in 1819, he entered the 
 Chamber, where a short but brilliant parliamentary career awaited 
 him. He was a strong Liberal of the type of Casimir Perier. No 
 evidence has been adduced to show that he was concerned in any 
 of the plots, in which many of his political friends were implicated 
 between the years 1819 and 1823. His speeches, abounding in 
 classical metaphors, are rather expositions of impassioned rhetoric 
 than the flights of true eloquence. Moreover, like most of the 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 349-350, 356, 368. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 365-869. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , V. pp. 118-120. 
 
258 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1820 
 
 members of his party, he was devoured by a ceaseless craving for 
 popular applause.^ 
 
 Despite the vigorous opposition of both groups of the Left, the 
 Government carried their measures. The opposition, however, 
 succeeded in introducing some amendments into the original 
 proposals. The censorship was only to be imposed for one year, 
 and important restrictions were placed upon the powers which 
 the bill to suspend individual liberty conceded to Ministers. ^ 
 The violence of the language used by both sides in the course of 
 these debates led to many stormy scenes. An entry in Villele's 
 diary, under the date of March 13th, suggests that Richelieu, 
 at this time, had serious thoughts of dispensing with parlia- 
 mentary sanction to his measures. He would appear to have 
 considered the propriety of advising the King to dissolve the 
 Chamber and to impose the censorship, suspend individual 
 liberty, and alter the electoral law by Royal ordinance. Had 
 such a course been adopted, Villele thinks that the command 
 of the troops would have been given to Marshal Soult, who had 
 recently returned from exile. It may be presumed, however, 
 that the grave dangers to the Monarchy, which Villele perceived 
 in a cowp d'etat of this description, induced Richelieu to abandon 
 his plan, upon maturer reflection.^ 
 
 Violent as the opposition had been to the passing of these two 
 bills, the Government was well aware that still fiercer resistance 
 would be offered to the new electoral law. The experience of the 
 past three years had shown that a large proportion of country 
 electors were too indifferent to parhamentary affairs to go to 
 the trouble and expense of visiting the chief town of their depart- 
 ment in order to record their vote. In consequence, mainly of 
 their abstention, the preponderance of poHtical power had passed 
 into the hands of some 60,000 town residents, paying from 300 
 to 500 francs in taxes, and whose annual incomes might, there- 
 fore, be estimated at sometliing between £80 and £100. De 
 Serre and Decazes had sought to remedy this state of affairs by 
 devising some scheme whereby all classes and interests should be 
 more truly represented. At the same time, however, they pro- 
 posed to maintain the system of direct election. The Right, on 
 the other hand, wished to see conditions established as they 
 existed prior to 1817. Richelieu, accordingly, decided to with- 
 
 ^ Grande Encyclopedie, Foy (Maximilien Sebastien). 
 Thureau Dangiii, Le parti liberal, pp. 133-137. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 365-373. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deusc Restaurations, V. pp. 120-126. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 293-330. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 369-389. 
 
 3 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 376-377. 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF EEACTION 259 
 
 draw Decazes' bill, which was under consideration by the com- 
 mittee appointed to examine it, and to substitute for it one more 
 in harmony with RoyaUst views. The right of the Government 
 to recall a project of law which had been sent into committee, 
 and to bring forward in its place another one, differing from it in 
 many essential particulars, was hotly contested by the opposition. 
 Nevertheless a new Ministerial bill was introduced, and a new 
 committee was selected to report upon it.^ 
 
 Under the terms of Richelieu's bill all quaUfied taxpayers 
 were to be members of a college d'arrondissement. But, in 
 addition, there was to be a departmental college composed of the 
 most heavily taxed inhabitants, equal in number to one-fifth 
 of the whole body of electors in the department. The final 
 selection of the candidates, chosen in the first instance by the 
 colleges d'arrondissement^ was to rest with these superior colleges. 
 In short, some 80,000 persons were to be dispossessed of the right, 
 conceded to them by the law of 1817, of directly electing their 
 representatives, in favour of about twelve or fiiteen thousand 
 land-owners and rich men. In a country with parliamentary 
 traditions, or in which the representative system was in harmony 
 with the temperament of the people, no Minister would have 
 ventured to introduce a law involving so great a disturbance of the 
 balance of political power. But few Frenchmen felt any enthu- 
 siasm for the parliamentary form of government, and many 
 regarded it with contempt, notwithstanding that the Deputies 
 under the Restoration were unpaid, and that corrupt professional 
 politicians had not yet made their appearance in the Chamber. 
 Except in Paris very little general interest was taken in the bill. 
 The Liberals, however, who knew that the future of their party 
 was at stake, were prepared to resort to any means to obtain its 
 rejection. The Doctrinaires and Left Centre men were as bitterly 
 opposed to it as the most advanced members of the Left. The law 
 of 1817, which placed the preponderance of political power in 
 the hands of the middle-classes, was their ideal electoral system.^ 
 
 On May 13th the debate began, and was extended over ten 
 sittings of the Lower Chamber. On the side of the Government 
 notable speeches were delivered by Pasquier, Lain6, and La 
 Bourdonnaye. Unlike the two former. La Bourdonnaye had 
 always been a determined opponent of the law of 1817, and he 
 was not, therefore, under the necessity of explaining his change of 
 views. In support of the ministerial proposals he propounded 
 that once highly esteemed doctrine of " a stake in the country," 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 374-376. 
 
 2 Weil, Elections legislatives , pp. 91, 92, 97. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 467-469. 
 Vaulabelle, Deuje Bestaurations, V. p. 128, 
 
260 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1820 
 
 which modern democratic theories have now superseded. Among 
 the opposition speakers General Foy pleaded eloquently for the 
 maintenance of direct election. Royer-CoUard described the 
 bill as an attempt to destroy the equality of voting power for 
 which the Charter had provided, and as a device of the counter- 
 revolutionary party for restoring class privileges.^ On May 26th 
 the general discussion was closed, and each clause of the bill was 
 taken into consideration separately. At this stage, when the 
 first and most important article concerning the composition 
 of the electoral colleges was before the Chamber, two amend- 
 ments were moved and, upon the question as to which of them 
 should be given priority of discussion, the Government was 
 defeated by one vote. M. de Chauvelin, a Liberal Deputy, who 
 had been seriously ill, had been carried into the Chamber upon a 
 chair, just in time to take part in the division. Ever since the 
 beginning of the debate a crowd, largely composed of students, 
 had been in the habit of assembling round the Palais-Bourbon. 
 The appearance of Chauvelin in his chair provoked a tremendous 
 outburst of cheers and, from this moment, a number of youths 
 constituted themselves into his bodyguard, and made a practice 
 of escorting him every day to and from the Chamber. ^ 
 
 The Government, meanwhile, had received a valuable rein- 
 forcement in the person of de Serre, who had returned from Nice 
 in improved health. The amendment of M. Camille Jordan, the 
 Doctrinaire, for which the opposition had succeeded in obtaining 
 priority of discussion, was in the nature of a compromise between 
 the law of 1817 and the ministerial proposals. The chances of 
 carrying the bill in its original shape appeared so doubtful that 
 Richelieu and de Serre would probably have accepted the 
 amendment, but for their fear of for ever alienating the Royalists. 
 They were, therefore, compelled to strain every nerve to defeat 
 it. During the next twenty-four hours bribes are said to have 
 been offered to five Liberal members. Pasquier, who must have 
 been in the secret of these transactions, talks of " pressure having 
 been brought to bear upon any Deputies who were regarded as 
 amenable to certain influences."" On June 1st, when the result 
 of the division was declared, the Camille Jordan amendment 
 was found to have been rejected by ten votes. ^ 
 
 It was now the turn of the Royalists to triumph. The next 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. p. 405. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 506-618. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, V. pp. 132-136. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 409-410. 
 
 Viel Castel, Eistoire, VIII. pp. 547-548. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Bestaurations , V. p. 144. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 411-412. 
 
 Viel Castel, Eistoire, VIII. pp. 554-655. 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 261 
 
 day, when Chauvelin and his escort made their appearance, 
 the usual cries of Vive la Chartef were drowned by shouts of 
 Vive le Roi ! At the same time a formidable body of men armed 
 with bludgeons, unmistakably officers of the Guards in plain 
 clothes, scattered the " Liberal youth of the schools " in all 
 directions. On the following day, June 3rd, although orders 
 had been sent to the Due de Mouchy to confine officers and men 
 to their barracks, the riot was resumed, and, in the course of the 
 afternoon, a student named Lallemand was killed by a sentry on 
 duty in the Tuileries gardens. When the Chamber met the next 
 day, the Liberals complained bitterly of the interference and 
 insults to which they had been subjected in the neighbourhood 
 of the Palais-Bourbon. Laffitte read a letter from the father of 
 the student who had been shot. Manuel, La Fayette and other 
 members of the extreme group strove, by the violence of their 
 language, to rouse the passions of the people. Meanwhile the 
 riot upon the Place Louis XV was assuming so serious an aspect 
 that two squadrons of cavalry were set in motion against the 
 crowd. It was an anxious moment for the authorities ; the troops, 
 however, obeyed orders and dispersed the people. On June 6th 
 the body of Lallemand was escorted to the grave by hundreds of 
 students dressed in deep mourning. The ceremony passed off 
 quietly, but in the evening the disturbances were renewed. A 
 charge of cavalry, however, put the rioters to flight, and enabled 
 the police to arrest some of the ringleaders.^ 
 
 The Government now decided to occupy the Place Louis XV 
 and the approaches to the Chamber with troops. The demon- 
 strators were, in consequence, driven on to the boulevards, 
 where several collisions with the police and soldiers occurred. 
 This change of scene brought a new and dangerous element 
 into the disturbances. The well-to-do classes had, up to this 
 time, not regarded the riots in a serious light. On the contrary, 
 crowds of well-dressed people were in the habit of watch- 
 ing, with great amusement from the terrace of the Tuileries, 
 the turbulent demonstration round the Chamber. But in the 
 rioting upon the boulevards, above the cries of vive la charter the 
 war-cry of the students, arose the ominous shouts, " Remember 
 our brothers of Manchester ! " and " To the Tuileries ! '* The 
 working men, it was clear, were beginning to respond to the 
 incitations of demagogues and agitators. ^ 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 414-423. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 658-597. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, V. pp. 149-160. 
 
 2 Villele, Mtmoires, II. pp. 380, 382-385. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 424-425. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 414-415. 
 
262 THE BOUKBON EESTORATION [1820 
 
 The Doctrinaires and Left Centre Liberals feared the Ultra- 
 Royalists much, but they dreaded the people more. The prospect 
 that the Faubourgs would intervene, were the crisis to be pro- 
 longed, filled them with alarm. Terrified by the attempts of 
 Manuel and Ea Fayette to inflame the passions of the mob, the 
 moderate members of the opposition determined to come to 
 terms with the Government.^ Neither Richelieu nor de Serre 
 were disposed to be exacting. A solution to the difficulty 
 was found in a proposal, known as the Boin amendment, which, 
 whilst preserving the principle of direct election, provided an 
 effectual counterpoise to the democratic spirit of the small 
 taxpayer. The Chamber was to consist of 430 Deputies, 258 of 
 whom were to be elected directly by the colleges d'arrondissement 
 composed of all qualified taxpayers, and 172 by the depart- 
 mental colleges, which were to be made up of the most heavily 
 taxed inhabitants, equal in number to one- quarter of the whole 
 body of electors in the department. The members of these 
 superior colleges were, moreover, to have the right of voting in 
 their colleges d'arrondissement. Hence the system obtained the 
 name of law of the double vote. The Government having accepted 
 this amendment, the Chamber divided upon it, on June 9th, 
 when it was carried by 186 votes to 65. Three days later, although 
 La Bourdonnaye and a few members of the extreme Royalist 
 group voted with the opposition, the bill amended in this fashion 
 was passed by a majority of 60. ^ 
 
 During the stormiest period of the debates in the Lower 
 Chamber the Peers had been sitting in judgment upon Louvel, 
 the murderer of the Due de Berri. On June 6th he was condemned 
 to death, and, on the following day, the sentence was carried out 
 upon the Place de Greve. Despite the excited state of the town, 
 his execution passed off quietly. ^ When the electoral bill came 
 before the Hereditary Chamber it was opposed by Broglie, 
 Barante, and the Liberal Peers, but, on June 28th, it was passed 
 into law by a majority of 85.* The agitation against it, which 
 had been fomented by the extreme wing of the Liberal party, soon 
 died away, and the town quickly resumed its normal aspect. 
 Before the Chambers were prorogued, however, the Doctrinaires 
 who held official positions were dismissed from their posts. 
 Their opposition had been so pronounced that Richelieu con- 
 
 * Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 228. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deua; Restaur atimis, V. pp. 157-158. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 426-427. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deua; Restaur ations, V. pp. 165-170. 
 Nettement, Ilistoire, V. pp. 433-434. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. p. 406. 
 
 * Viel Castel, Histoire, VIII. pp. 619-624. 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 263 
 
 sidered it impossible to allow them to retain their appointments. 
 It devolved upon de Serre, the Keeper of the Seals, to make this 
 decision known to his former friends. In the case of Camille 
 Jordan no compensation was proposed, but both Royer-CoUard 
 and Guizot were offered the salaries of honorary Councillors of 
 State, which, however, they declined to accept. Three months 
 earlier, on April 7th, Eaffitte had been dismissed from the post 
 of Governor of the Bank of France. The Eiberals retaliated by 
 organizing a national subscription to assist the victims of the 
 new press law. Some of the members of this association were 
 prosecuted, but the Government refused to include in the pro- 
 ceedings those Deputies who had joined the society, and who 
 loudly demanded to be placed upon their trial. ^ The imposition of 
 the censorship terminated the existence of several newspapers, 
 notably that of the Conservateur which Chateaubriand, who was 
 a determined advocate of a free press, decided should cease to 
 appear. 2 
 
 Although the disturbances in Paris had been easily suppressed, 
 the state of affairs generally was not altogether satisfactory. Two 
 neighbouring countries, both ruled over by members of the House 
 of Bourbon, had been the scene of successful revolutions. In 
 Spain, Riego and Quiroga had compelled Ferdinand VTI to accept 
 the Constitution of 1812. In July the Neapolitan army, under 
 General Guglielmo Pepe, had raised the tricolour of the Carbonari 
 and had imposed upon King Ferdinand IV the Spanish Constitu- 
 tion. The Baron Mounier, a former private secretary of Bona- 
 parte, but now a sincere Royahst and an intimate friend of 
 Richelieu, was at the head of the French police. During the 
 electoral riots he had always contrived to obtain accurate 
 information about the plans of the Eiberals. He had at his 
 disposal a valuable spy in the person of a certain Tiriot, a former 
 Imperial officer whom his comrades trusted implicitly. Decazes 
 had employed him with great success in reporting upon the 
 proceedings of the Bonapartists at Brussels. In the spring of 
 1820, upon his return to Paris, Tiriot had been initiated into all 
 the plots of the disaffected. Moreover, he was in very friendly 
 relations with an ex-Captain Duvergier, whom La Fayette 
 regarded with so much affection that he habitually addressed 
 him as his son. The existence of much disaffection in the army 
 was thus revealed to the Government, and the elimination of a 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 379-880, 431-437. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, p. 368. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 441-443. 
 
 2 Chateaubriand^ Memoires (nouvelle edition), IV. pp. 164-165. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 331-332. 
 
264 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1820 
 
 large number of officers was, in consequence, decided upon. In 
 the meanwhile, however, Richelieu proposed that the Due 
 d'Angouleme should make a tour of inspection in the eastern 
 departments, where some of the garrisons were believed to be 
 in an especially unsatisfactory condition.^ 
 
 On April 28th, the day after the Due d'Angouleme's departure 
 from Paris, a bag of gunpowder was exploded close to the 
 Duchesse de Berri's apartments in the Tuileries. Both perpe- 
 trators of this outrage, one of whom was a former sergeant in the 
 army, were arrested and brought to trial. The death sentences 
 which were passed upon them were, however, commuted to penal 
 servitude for life, upon the intercession of Her Royal Highness. 
 The explosion, the criminals appear to have hoped, would have 
 brought about her premature confinement.^ The Duke was 
 absent about a month, and, in the opinion of Pasquier, his tour 
 had an excellent effect. It had been marked, nevertheless, by 
 several disagreeable incidents. At Grenoble the students 
 adopted an almost hostile attitude, and trustworthy information 
 reached the police that some half-pay officers had formed a plot 
 to waylay him in the woods near Dole, upon the Swiss frontier. ^ 
 
 Up to this point the police had been invariably forewarned, 
 and had always outwitted the conspirators. But, during the 
 riots in Paris, Duvergier, the confidant of La Fayette and the 
 friend of Tiriot the spy, was arrested. Before his rooms were 
 searched, however, a woman, with whom he was upon intimate 
 terms, succeeded in destroying his papers, among them being 
 documents which would have incriminated La Fayette. This 
 person was not taken into custody, but she was interrogated by 
 Angles, the prefect of police, in so clumsy a fashion that she went 
 away with the full knowledge that her friend Duvergier had been 
 betrayed by his comrade Tiriot. Henceforward this man could 
 no longer be of any service to the police.* Owing in a great mea- 
 sure to this blunder, which deprived the authorities of a most 
 valuable source of information, a number of half-pay officers 
 were enabled to hatch a dangerous plot without the knowledge 
 of the police. 
 
 In 1820 an establishment known as the Bazar framgais ex- 
 isted at No. 11 Rue Cadet. The manager, the ex-Colonel Sauset, 
 and most of the persons employed upon the premises, were former 
 officers or non-commissioned officers of the Imperial army. 
 Some legitimate business appears to have been carried on, but 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 391-394, 396. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 400. 
 
 3 ii,ifi^^ pp^ 397-399. 
 
 4 Ibid., pp. 423-424. 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 265 
 
 it was afterwards proved that a large band of conspirators used 
 the place at their headquarters.^ In addition to Colonel Sauset 
 himself, the chief persons concerned in this affair were Colonel 
 Fabvier, that heretofore staff officer of Marmont, who had been 
 dismissed from the army in consequence of the pamphlet which 
 he had published upon the events at Lyons in 1817 ; Nantil, a 
 captain upon the active list, who was deeply in debt ; Maziau, a 
 former lieutenant -colonel of the Imperial Guard; Dumoulin, 
 a glove manufacturer at Grenoble, ruined by speculation, who 
 had proved his devotion to Bonaparte during the Hundred 
 Days; Caron, a half-pay officer, and Major Berard, who com- 
 manded a battaUon of the Eegion du Nord.^ A number of officers 
 and non-commissioned officers quartered at Cambrai, Amiens, 
 Vitry, Metz, and other towns in the eastern departments, had 
 been enrolled, and communications had been established with 
 regiments quartered at Rennes and Nantes. The emissaries, 
 who kept up relations between the conspirators in Paris and 
 their friends in the country, passed as commercial travellers and 
 contrived to baffle the vigilance of the police. The ringleaders 
 appear to have considered that the Government was too strong 
 to be attacked successfully in Paris, and to have hoped to attain 
 their ends by organizing simultaneous risings in outlying garrison 
 towns. Without doubt, their plans were modelled upon those 
 of the Spanish and Neapolitan revolutionists, who had begun 
 their operations at points remote from their respective capitals. 
 Laffitte, La Fayette, Tarayre, Manuel, Corcelles, Voyer d'Argen- 
 son, and probably other Liberal Deputies were cognizant of the 
 plot. Pasquier is convinced that the great expenses, which the 
 extended nature of the conspiracy involved, were almost entirely 
 defrayed by Laffitte. ^ 
 
 Before their preparations had been completed Nantil appears 
 to have persuaded the conspirators to alter their plan. In his 
 opinion the central Government could be overthrown only by the 
 outbreak of a revolution in Paris. Both he and Berard were quar- 
 tered in the capital, and felt certain that numerous officers and 
 non-commissioned officers of the Paris garrison could be induced to 
 join the plot. Recruits, Nantil affirmed, could be obtained even in 
 regiments of the Guard. He suggested, furthermore, that uni- 
 forms of the National Guard should be provided for the students, 
 who could be employed side by side with the regular troops. He 
 
 ^ E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 115-116. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Bestaurations, V. pp. 183-184. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. p. 68. 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VII. pp. 273-274. 
 ^ Pasquier, IV. p. 445. 
 
266 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 appears to have had an interview with La Fayette and to have 
 converted him to his views. The night of August 10th was fixed 
 upon for the rising. ^ 
 
 It is not clear what form of government the conspirators 
 proposed to set up, had their attempt succeeded. Marmont 
 declares that the movement was purely Republican. The selec- 
 tion of August 10th certainly lends some colour to this contention, 
 nevertheless it was, doubtless, correct only in so far as Ea Fayette, 
 Voyer d'Argenson and the students were concerned. Manuel is 
 believed to have been in favour of bestowing the crown either 
 upon the Due d'Orleans or the Prince of Orange. General 
 Tara3n'e, on the other hand, supported the claims of Napoleon II. 
 All the soldiers, however, appear to have agreed that the name 
 of the Emperor or of his son would have to be invoked, in order 
 to bring about the defection of the troops. Finally, it was re- 
 solved that a Provisional Government, presided over by La 
 Fayette, should be set up at Vincennes, and that the tricolour 
 should be regarded as the rallying-point of the conspirators.^ 
 Fruitless attempts were made to induce some well-known 
 general to place himself at the head of the movement. Defrance, 
 in actual command of the first military district, Maison, the 
 governor of Paris, Bachelu, Pajol and other officers of high rank 
 were approached, but all of them appear to have declined to 
 commit themselves openly. In other respects Nautilus expecta- 
 tions seem to have been confirmed, numerous officers and non- 
 commissioned officers of the Paris garrison entered readily into 
 the plot.^ 
 
 As the moment for action approached the Liberal Deputies 
 left Paris. The departure of Corcelles for Lyons, and of Voyer 
 d'Argenson for his iron-works upon the Rhine, may have been 
 in accordance with the plan of the conspirators. The reasons 
 for La Fayette's visit to La Grange, his country seat, at this 
 juncture, are not apparent. It has been said that he feared to 
 attract the attention of the police by remaining in Paris out of 
 season. The disappearance of the Deputies, and Nantil's 
 inability to enlist the services of a distinguished general officer, 
 so depressed the plotters at the Bazar frauQais^ that they decided 
 
 * E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 117-118. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. pp. 179-180. 
 
 Pasquier, IV. p. 443. 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 272. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux l^stauratims, V. pp. 186-187, 189-190. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 119-120. 
 
 Viel Castel;, Histoire, IX. pp. 74-75. 
 ^ Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 275. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. p. 73. 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 267 
 
 to postpone the date of their rising. But on August 17th Du- 
 moulin and Nantil sent a message to La Fayette asking whether 
 they could count upon his support. Their emissary brought 
 back the promise that he would be at his post. Satisfied with 
 this assurance, they decided to strike their blow on the night of 
 August 19th-20th.i 
 
 The conspirators had missed their opportunity. Already the 
 police were keenly upon the alert. On August 15th two sergeants 
 of the Guard made a confession to the chief staff officer of their 
 corps. On the following day three officers of the Legion du Nord 
 gave further information to the authorities. The Government, 
 in the first instance, decided to allow the affair to proceed, in 
 order to capture red-handed as large a number as possible of 
 culprits. In the meantime Marmont, commanding the Guard 
 Corps, had been warned by the two original informers that the 
 rising would take place during the night of August IQth.^ In 
 the afternoon of that day a Cabinet Council, attended by several 
 high military and poHce officers, was held at Richelieu's house. 
 To Pasquier's indignation, Marmont announced that he had 
 already ordered the posts at the Tuileries to be doubled, and had 
 warned the troops at Courbevoie, Versailles, and Vincennes to 
 hold themselves in readiness to march to Paris at a moment's 
 notice. It was impossible to doubt that the conspirators would 
 receive timely information of these precautions and would take 
 to flight. Marmont was bitterly reproached with having by his 
 precipitate action allowed the conspirators to escape. Pasquier 
 suspects that he was anxious to save Fabvier, who had served 
 upon his staff for several years. It is possible that Marmont 
 may not have acted in good faith ; nevertheless, it is clear, 
 from an account of the affair which RicheUeu sent to de Serre, 
 that he at least approved of the Marshal's timely precautions. 
 In his opinion to have adopted Pasquier's plan, and to have 
 allowed the tricolour to be unfurled in the streets, in the hope 
 of making important captures, would have been too dangerous 
 an expedient.^ 
 
 Pasquier's previsions were realized completely. Nantil, duly 
 warned, bajffled the vigilance of the police agent set to watch 
 
 1 Nettement, Histoire, V. p. 462. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, V. p. 191. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. p. 81. 
 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 268. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 442^43. 
 
 E. Guilloiij Complots sous la liestauration, p. 121. 
 
 3 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 227. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 446-451. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, p. 374. 
 
268 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 him, and escaped. Many of the conspirators, however, including 
 Colonel Fabvier, were arrested. During the night the disaffected 
 regiments were despatched to distant garrison towns. Whilst 
 on the march, the officers and non-commissioned officers im- 
 plicated in the plot were arrested quietly and conveyed back 
 to Paris. An attempt on the part of some of the ringleaders, 
 who were still at large, to bring about the revolt of the garrison 
 at Vitry, was denounced by Berard who, yielding to the en- 
 treaties of his wife, made a confession to General Montelegier. 
 One hundred and thirty-eight persons were taken into custody 
 within a short space of time. The Monitew of August 20th 
 announced the discovery of the plot and, on the following day, 
 published the news that the prisoners would be tried by the Peers. ^ 
 
 The members of La Fayette's committeey as it was sometimes 
 called, would not appear to have been the only persons in the 
 secret of the conspii'acy at the Bazar frangais. A number of dis- 
 affected generals, says Pasquier, forming what was known as the 
 Rovigo committee, were prepared to take advantage of the pro- 
 jected rising, should it meet with success. In 1815, Savary, Due 
 de Rovigo, had been condemned to death in contumaciam, but, in 
 1819, he had returned to France and had been acquitted by a 
 second Court Martial. Elated at this result, he seems to have 
 expected that the Royal Government would employ him forth- 
 with in the army, and to have been greatly disappointed when 
 he was informed that his wish could not be complied with. 
 As the time drew near for the conspirators at the Bazar frangais 
 to strike their blow, he and other prominent Bonapartists 
 availed themselves of the opportunity, which the marriage of 
 Marshal Davout's daughter afforded them, of meeting at Savigny, 
 the Marshal's house near Paris, without exciting suspicion. 
 Soon after the discovery of the plot Savary paid a visit to Pas- 
 quier, for the purpose, as Pasquier had reason to beHeve after- 
 wards, of betrajring the secrets of the conference at Savigny, 
 had he received any encouragement to speak. But at the time 
 the real object of his visit did not occur to him, and he allowed, 
 in consequence, this opportunity to pass of probing to the bottom 
 of the conspiracy. 2 
 
 Towards the end of June the return of Decazes to Paris 
 created some excitement in political circles, and among the 
 members of the corps diplomatique. The fears were soon dis- 
 pelled, however, that his arrival portended some new develop- 
 ment. Louis received him cordially and wrote personally to 
 
 1 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 278. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Eestauration, pp. 122-124. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 457, 460-462. 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 269 
 
 George IV to recommend him to him. But he never for a moment 
 appears to have entertained the idea of restoring him to his post 
 of favourite. After a stay of a fortnight in Paris Decazes de- 
 parted for London. Without doubt, it was not poHtical reasons 
 alone which prompted the King to part with him so readily. 
 A new influence had entered into his life which, although it had 
 not yet acquired the strength which it was soon to assume, was 
 still sufficiently powerful to make this second separation from 
 Decazes an easy matter.^ 
 
 The date of Louis XVIII's first connection with Madame du 
 Cayla is uncertain. Her ascendancy over him must have been 
 well established in the autumn of 1820, as it had come to the 
 ears of Sir Charles Stuart and, on November 9th, was mentioned 
 by him in a letter to Castlereagh. Zoe Talon, Comtesse du Cayla, 
 was at this time thirty -six years of age. Her father, in 1789, had 
 filled the post of avocat-general to theChatelet, in which capacity it 
 had devolved upon him to investigate the mysterious affair of the 
 Marquis de Favras, a case in which Louis XVIII, then the Comte 
 de Provence, is believed to have been implicated. Talon, who 
 was afterwards a secret Royalist agent, is supposed to have con- 
 trived to avoid compromising Monsieur in these proceedings. 
 The disappearance of the Favras dossier lends some colour to this 
 story. The secret of Madame du Cayla's influence over the old 
 King has often been attributed to her possession of important 
 documents connected with this affair. Moreover, under the 
 Empire she had been on very intimate terms with Savary de 
 Rovigo, the Minister of Police, and may have acquired from him a 
 knowledge of other secrets. But however much she may have 
 been assisted by her possession of compromising information, 
 it is clear that her first introduction to Louis was the result of 
 an intrigue evolved in certain clerical circles of the Faubourg- 
 Saint-Germain. ^ 
 
 In the early years of the Restoration Madame du Cayla formed 
 a friendship with Sosthenes de La Rochefoucauld, the future 
 Due de Doudeauville, and the son-in-law of Matthieu de Mont- 
 morency. Little is known of her husband, the Comte du Cayla, 
 who is described by Frenilly ^ as a person of boorish habits. 
 Some time about the year 1818 he appears to have embarked upon 
 litigation with his wife, in order to deprive her of the custody of 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. p. 428. 
 Crousaz-Cre'tet, Richelieu, pp. 364-365. 
 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 401, 403, 405-406, 410. 
 
 2 Correspondence of Castlereagh (edited by his brother), IV. p. 329. 
 Pasquier, V. p. 374. 
 
 Grande I'Jncyclopedie, Comtesse du Cayla and Favras, Marquis de. 
 ^ Frenilly, Souvenirs^ p. 450. 
 
270 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1820 
 
 her boy, Ugolin, whose striking resemblance to Savary is noted 
 both by Pasquier and by Madame de Boigne. Madame du Cay la 
 was determined not to deliver up her child, and she and Sos- 
 thenes, accordingly, took steps to conceal him from his putative 
 father. 1 
 
 The three directors of the Congregation of the Rue du Bac, 
 the Peres Delpuits, Legris-Duval, and Ronsin, had all been con- 
 nected with that branch of the La Rochefoucauld family, of 
 which the Due de Doudeauville was the head. When, in 1814, 
 Legris-Duval handed over to the Pere Ronsin the control of the 
 Congregation, he had returned to the room in the Due de Dou- 
 deauville's house, in the Rue de Varennes, which he had occupied 
 in the days when he had been Sosthenes* tutor. ^ His ascendancy 
 over his former pupil was complete, and his assistance was un- 
 hesitatingly invoked on Madame du Cayla's behalf. At the in- 
 stance of Sosthenes he appears to have consulted a certain Abbe 
 Liautard, who conducted a fashionable school, afterwards known 
 as the College Stanislas, in the Rue Notre Dame-des-Champs.^ 
 Soon afterwards, on January 18th, 1819, Legris-Duval died. The 
 Abbe Liautard, however, took charge of Madame du Cayla's 
 child, and concealed him in the neighbourhood of Orleans.* In 
 the many houses of the Faubourg -Saint -Germain in which this 
 crafty priest was a welcome guest, he had always proclaimed the 
 necessity of counteracting the irreligious influence over the King 
 of Decazes, the Liberal and the Freemason. In these Ultra- 
 Royalist circles his proposal was loudly applauded of confiding 
 to the heretofore mistress of Savary, the executioner of the Due 
 d'Enghien, the task of inspiring Louis with better principles. 
 
 As the guardian of her child the Abbe Liautard had a strong 
 hold over Madame du Cayla, who was a woman very fitted to 
 attract Louis* attention. There is no reason to suppose that she 
 showed any reluctance to play the part which he proposed to 
 assign to her.s Her first interview with the King appears to 
 have taken place whilst Decazes was still in high favour. She 
 came, as was not unusual in such circumstances, to implore his 
 good offices in the legal proceedings, which were pending between 
 herself and her husband. The fact that she was Talon's daughter 
 can hardly have failed to interest him. Nevertheless, it would 
 seem that she made no serious impression upon him. After the 
 
 * Pasquier, V. p. 373. 
 
 Madame de Boigne, Memoires, I. p. 287. 
 
 2 Geoffroy de Grandmaison, La Congregation , p. 128. 
 
 3 Abbe Denys, Memoires de Liautard j p. 51. 
 
 * Ibid., pp. 92-94. 
 
 ^ See, with regard to this intrigue. Abbe Denys, Memoires de Liautard, 
 and La Rochefoucauld, Memoires, 1837, Vol. II. 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF EEACTION 271 
 
 fall of Decazes, however, Louis began to look forward to her 
 visits with increasing pleasure. He had never been able to 
 exist without an intimate companion, and Madame du Cayla, 
 skilfully tutored by Liautard, amused and interested him greatly. 
 The secret of her frequent and prolonged visits to the Tuileries 
 was so well kept, that Richeheu himself was for a long time in 
 ignorance of the new influence which had entered into Louis' 
 life. When at last he became aware of the state of affairs he 
 disdained to ingratiate himself with the favourite, or to seek to 
 combat her ascendancy.^ 
 
 Li the course of the next four years Madame du Cayla received 
 many valuable presents and large sums of money from the old 
 King. Yet their friendship, it must be supposed, was platonic. 
 According to the gossip of the day Louis found amusement in 
 inhaling a pinch of snuff from her well-rounded shoulders. ^ It is 
 probable, however, that her influence over him is to be ascribed 
 rather to her intellectual than to her physical attractions. Though 
 she had no depth of knowledge she was bright, clever, and an 
 appreciative Ustener. Louis had always been fond of writing, 
 and prided himself upon his epistolary skill. Madame du Cayla, 
 aided doubtless by Liautard, quickly acquired the art of com- 
 posing witty notes in answer to the letters of her Royal admirer. 
 
 The intimacy of Louis XVIII with Madame du Cayla is some- 
 thing more than a scandalous episode in the history of the Res- 
 toration. She was a very ordinary adventuress, but she was also 
 the instrument of the extreme clerical and Royalist party. It 
 was the policy of those who inspired her to undo the work of 
 Decazes, and to win over the King to the views of Monsieur and 
 of the Faubourg-Saint-Germain. These objects were in a great 
 measure attained. Louis was by nature indolent, and his health 
 was daily growing worse. Not one of his Ministers was personally 
 sympathetic to him, and he was, in consequence, the more 
 readily disposed to neglect the routine of business for the com- 
 pany of a congenial and fascinating companion. As Louis be- 
 came less accessible, and as he ceased to occupy himself with 
 affairs of State, so did the importance and power of Monsieur 
 increase. The new electoral law promised to make the Royalists 
 the dominant party in the Chamber. By means of Madame du 
 Cayla they purposed to exercise an influence over the King, who 
 had always shown himself so hostile to their aspirations. With- 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 374-376. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, V. pp. 112. 
 Madame de Boi^ne, Memoires, III. pp. 72-73. 
 
 2 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 365. 
 
 C. Greville, Journals, Reign of George IV and William IV (1st 
 edition), I. pp. 71, 214-215 ; II. p. 306. 
 
272 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 out doubt Louis never really changed his opinion about his 
 brother or the Ultra-Royalists. So long, however, as nothing too 
 dangerous was asked of him, he found it very pleasant to live at 
 peace with his family, and to fritter away his declining years in 
 the company of an agreeable woman, who knew how to amuse 
 and flatter him.^ 
 
 In the month which followed the discovery of the plot at the 
 Bazar frangais, on September 29th, a son was born to the Du- 
 chesse de Berri. The event was made the occasion of great public 
 rejoicings. The cordon bleu was conferred upon thirty-one great 
 personages, numerous debtors were released from prison, and re- 
 missions of sentences were accorded freely to convicted criminals. 
 It was decided that the infant Prince, whom the Royalists in 
 their enthusiasm named the " child of miracle,*' and whom the 
 Papal Nuncio designated as the " child of Europe," should take 
 the title of the Due de Bordeaux. He is better known, however, 
 by that of the Comte de Chambord, a name which he bore during 
 the years of exile, in which nearly the whole of his life was destined 
 to be spent. His birth was attended by some rather peculiar 
 circumstances. It was an invariable custom to appoint two high 
 officers of State to act as witnesses to the coming into the world 
 of a child who might some day be King of France. After careful 
 consideration, Richelieu selected for this duty Marshal the Due 
 de Coigny and Marshal Suchet, Due d'Albufera — the first a 
 representative of the old, and the second of the new nobility. 
 To ensure their presence at the critical moment lodgings in the 
 Tuileries were assigned to them.^ 
 
 On the evening of September 28th the Duchesse de Berri had 
 retired for the night as usual. So little did the Due de Coigny 
 expect that his presence would be required before the morning 
 that, despite his eighty years, he had stolen out and had rejoined 
 clandestinely the young wife whom he had recently married. ^ 
 Nevertheless, soon after midnight, the Duchess called for assist- 
 ance, but before her attendants could reach her bedside, the 
 child had been born. Conscious of the supreme importance of 
 obtaining the testimony of independent witnesses. Her Royal 
 Highness, who retained her presence of mind, bade them call in 
 some persons unconnected with the Royal household. A National 
 Guard and a soldier on duty at the palace were brought into her 
 room. With a splendid disregard for all considerations of 
 modesty, when dynastic interests were at stake, she invited them 
 
 ^ Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 467-468. 
 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 464-466. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deua; Restaurations, V. pp. 194-195. 
 
 3 Pasquier, IV. pp. 463-464 (note). 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 273 
 
 to note and to be prepared to certify to the existence of the navel 
 string. The King and other members of the Royal family, on 
 receipt of the news, hurried to the spot. All present observed 
 with much interest the demeanour of the Due d'Orleans. He is 
 said to have been unable to hide his disappointment, and before 
 departing to have solemnly adjured Marshal Suchet to tell him 
 whether the Duchesse de Berri was the mother of the child before 
 them. Suchet had been among the earliest arrivals, and, at the 
 Duchess' request, had made a close investigation. He was con- 
 sequently in a position to return in emphatic language an affirma- 
 tive answer to the Due d' Orleans' question. His testimony, along 
 with the reports of the accowcheurs and other witnesses, were 
 published at full length in the Monitenr.^ " Between the account 
 of the Duchesse de Berri's confinement and the details of the 
 Queen of England's trial, the papers were quite unfit to be left 
 about," wrote Madame de Boigne.^ It is difficult to believe that 
 anybody could have entertained the idea seriously that anything 
 in the nature of a substitution had taken place. It was perhaps 
 doubtful wisdom, therefore, to draw so much attention to every 
 trivial circumstance which had attended the birth of the young 
 Prince. 
 
 The autumn elections of 1820 were the first to take place under 
 the new law. In addition to the annual renewal of a fifth of the 
 Chamber, the 172 Deputies, to be chosen by the newly created 
 departmental colleges, would have to be elected. Pasquier and 
 several other members of the Cabinet, under these circumstances, 
 declared in favour of the dissolution of the Chamber and a general 
 election. Richelieu, however, was of a different opinion, and 
 his will prevailed. Yet, despite the less democratic conditions 
 which the new law had created, he was filled with grave mis- 
 givings. With few exceptions he chose the presidents of the 
 electoral colleges from among the members of the Royalist party, 
 in order to make manifest the alliance between the Government 
 and the Right, and, as the critical moment approached, he had 
 recourse to an expedient little in accord with the principles of 
 parliamentary government. Some ten days before the assembly 
 of the colleges d'arrondissement, which had been convened for 
 November 4th, the King was induced to issue an electoral ad- 
 dress. In this proclamation, drawn up in turgid language by 
 Pasquier, His Majesty adjured his loyal subjects to support the 
 Government candidates. 
 
 1 Duchesse de Gontaut, MemoireSj pp. 217-225. 
 
 Cabanes, Cabinet secret de thistoire, 2me series, '' Naissance du Due de 
 Bordeaux." 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. pp. 93-99. 
 
 2 Madame de Boigne, Memoires, III. p. 66. 
 
 T 
 
274 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 Richelieu's fears proved groundless. No more than fifteen or 
 sixteen Liberals figured amongst the 172 Deputies elected by the 
 departmental colleges, while the colleges d'arrondissement returned 
 only seventeen members of the Left as against thirty-one 
 Royalists. Unquestionably the new electoral law was in the 
 main responsible for these results. But the frank co-operation 
 of all sections of Royalists against the Liberals was a new 
 and important factor in the situation. Moreover, the small 
 number of Liberals returned by the colleges d'arrondissement 
 proved incontestably that the large majority of middle-class 
 electors had no sympathy with the revolutionary tendencies 
 of La Fayette, Manuel, and Voyer d'Argenson.^ The state 
 of parties was thus completely revolutionized. In the previous 
 session the Liberals had been able to command about 110 
 votes in a Chamber of some 250 Deputies, but now, in an 
 Assembly of 430 members, they could muster no more than 
 seventy or eighty representatives. The Right and Right Centre 
 combined could outnumber the Left and Left Centre in the 
 proportion of three to one. It was soon evident, however, that 
 it would be a difficult matter to preserve the unity of the Royalist 
 party. Among the newly elected members were many men who 
 had been excluded from parliamentary life ever since the disso- 
 lution of the Chamhre introuvahle. The majority of them were 
 full of resentment for Richelieu, and rebelled at the notion of 
 supporting him. General Donnadieu, the new member for Aries, 
 was, however, by far the most violent and rancorous of these 
 dissident Royalists. A coarse and virulent attack which he had 
 made recently upon the Due de RicheHeu had procured for him 
 a detention of some weeks in the mihtary prison of the Abbaye. 
 In his new character of a representative of the people he could 
 be dealt with no longer in this summary fashion. He returned 
 to Paris, accordingly, resolved to be revenged for the indignity 
 to which he had been subjected.^ 
 
 The extreme Royalists at once made clear their hostile inten- 
 tions towards the Government by deserting the recognized 
 meeting-place of their party, at M. Piet's house, and by estab- 
 lishing their headquarters in the salon of M. de Vaublanc, the 
 former Minister of the Interior of the Chamhre introuvable. Here 
 they resolved to oppose the Government vigorously. At M. 
 Piet's, however, Villele and the majority of the members of the 
 party agreed to support Richelieu, but the opinion was freely 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 469-470. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. pp. 135-136. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deuoo Restaurations, V. pp. 195-196. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. pp. 142-146. 
 
1820] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 275 
 
 expressed that, in view of their numerical strength, the Royalists 
 should be represented in the Cabinet. The Duke was prepared 
 to admit the justice of their claim, and, as he was unwilling to 
 part with any of his colleagues, proposed to increase the number 
 of the members of his Cabinet. Delicate and complicated nego- 
 tiations ensued. Villele, who was obviously the most suitable 
 man to represent his party at the Council, refused to enter the 
 Government except in company with his friend Corbiere. Riche- 
 lieu, however, was not disposed to do more than to appoint the 
 scholarly but disagreeable Breton lawyer to a post in the ad- 
 ministration which did not carry with it a seat in the Cabinet. 
 At this juncture Chateaubriand claims to have suggested the 
 solution to the diflSculty. For some time past Madame de Mont- 
 calm, Richelieu's sister, had been trying to effect a reconciliation 
 between her brother and Chateaubriand. She had given him to 
 understand that the Government would gladly appoint him to 
 some high diplomatic post abroad. This prospect attracted him 
 greatly, nevertheless he declared that he could not accept any 
 offer of the kind with dignity, unless some of his political friends 
 were to join the Government. From this moment, however, he 
 exerted the full force of his influence with his party to bring 
 about the desired combination. After much discussion, and 
 after several proposals had been rejected, the compromise, which 
 Chateaubriand asserts that he imagined, was accepted. Corbiere 
 was to be president of the commission of public instruction, and 
 both he and Villele were to enter the Cabinet as Ministers with- 
 out portfolios. Richelieu supplemented this arrangement by 
 deciding that a seat on the Council should be given to Laine 
 under the same conditions, and that Chateaubriand should go as 
 Ambassador to the Prussian Court. ^ In the meantime Villele 
 had succeeded in breaking up the meetings in Vaublanc's saloriy 
 and had induced the dissident group to work in harmony with 
 the larger section of the Royalists, on the understanding that the 
 party as a whole should be suitably represented in the Cabinet.^ 
 These arrangements were concluded only on the eve of the day 
 fixed for the opening of the Parliament. The Session, which 
 began on December 19th, 1820, and which concluded on July 
 31st, 1821, despite its great length, was responsible for no impor- 
 tant legislation. Nevertheless, on many occasions the debates 
 were stormy and exciting. The Liberals, who the year before 
 had looked upon the triumph of their party as assured, had seen 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 404-405, 407, 426-429. 
 Pasquier, IV. pp. 62-67. 
 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. pp. 169-171. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 419-426. 
 
276 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1821 
 
 victory snatched from their grasp. The new electoral law had 
 made their prospects as gloomy as they had been bright formerly. 
 In the previous month of November important changes were 
 effected in the army. A number of officers of notoriously Bona- 
 partist and Liberal sympathies were removed from the active 
 list. But, at the same time, some very popular measures were 
 initiated. The departmental legions were abolished, and the old 
 numbers and the regimental system were restored. Not less 
 welcome was the decision to substitute for the white the blue 
 uniform, which was associated with the Republican and Imperial 
 wars.i But Richelieu's attempts to break down the practice, 
 which reserved all posts at Court for members of the old noble 
 families, met with small success. On the occasion of General de 
 Lauriston's appointment to the Ministry of the King's Household, 
 an office which had remained vacant since the days of M. de 
 Blacas, the Duke persuaded Louis to announce by Royal or- 
 dinance that he proposed to admit a larger number of his sub- 
 jects to duties about his Court. General Rapp, for many years 
 an aide-de-camp of Bonaparte, was, accordingly, appointed to 
 a post of Chamberlain, and minor offices were conferred upon 
 several generals of the Empire. But the opposition of the 
 Faubourg -Saint -Germain to these measures, and Louis' luke- 
 warm attitude towards them, neutralized their good effect.^ 
 
 The Liberals were not to be mollified by Richelieu's good iaten- 
 tions. They were never at a loss for a pretext for declaiming 
 against the arbitrary and reactionary measures of the Govern- 
 ment. During the earlier part of the Session, the Chamber had 
 often to consider the petitions of officers who had been removed 
 from their regiments. The discussion of their grievances would 
 degenerate as a rule into a series of violent recriminations be- 
 tween Foy, Chauvelin, or Manuel on the one side, and Royalists, 
 such as Sesmaisons, Duplesis de Grenedan or Castelbajac on the 
 other. At the sitting of February 7th, when some claims from 
 officers who had served under Joseph Bonaparte at Naples and 
 in Spain were under consideration, an unusually tumultuous 
 scene took place. General Foy employed the words " glorious 
 tricolour," and, notwithstanding the protesting shouts of the 
 Right, repeated them. From this moment the subject of the 
 debate was forgotten amidst the bitter taunts which the rival 
 parties hurled at each other, as they denounced or defended the 
 principles which the flag represented. ^ 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. pp. 114-113. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 108-112. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 372, 379. 
 
 3 Pasquier, V. pp. 97-107. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Beua^ Restaurations, V. pp. 249-273. 
 
1821] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 277 
 
 A distinguished authority has pointed out that there is " grave 
 danger when the lines of cleavage of the parties coincide with 
 those between the different social classes in the community. 
 One side is likely to believe that the other is shaking the founda- 
 tions of society, and passions are kindled like those that blaze in 
 civil war." ^ It mattered little what subject was before the 
 Chamber, the real question which divided the Liberals and the 
 Royalists was always present. It was the perpetual conflict be- 
 tween the Revolution and the counter- Revolution, the contest 
 between the middle classes which had gained, and the old 
 privileged noblesse which had lost by the Revolution. On March 
 1st the House was concerned merely with defining the boun- 
 daries of the new electoral districts. Nevertheless, Manuel found 
 an opportunity of alluding to the Terror of 1815, and Foy of 
 denouncing aristocracies. On May 23rd the general discussion 
 began of a Ministerial bill to compensate a number of persons 
 who had been deprived, under the terms of the treaty of 1814, 
 of the pensions accorded to them by Bonaparte. M. Duplesis 
 de Grenedan, reading from the list, asked indignantly whether 
 General Lamarque, who had fought against the King's troops in 
 La Vendee, or General Hulin, who had presided at the Due 
 d'Enghien's Court Martial, were the kind of men to be given 
 compensation. The defiant replies of La Fayette, Foy, and 
 Casimir Perier, replete with allusions to Coblentz and the emi- 
 gration, infuriated their opponents, but were hardly conducive to 
 the interests of the persons upon whose behalf they were sup- 
 posed to be pleading. The Government, indeed, was finally com- 
 pelled to jdeld to the insistence of the Royalists and to allow the 
 bill to be amended, so as to grant much less favourable condi- 
 tions to the dispossessed officers. ^ 
 
 Amidst this furious strife of parties the Government fared 
 badly. Richelieu hated the democratic tendencies of the 
 Liberals, but he was determined never to adopt the reactionary 
 policy of the Royalists. Under these conditions Ministers were 
 as often the object of the fierce indictments of the Right, as of 
 the scathing denunciations of the Left. On January 8th, General 
 Donnadieu made a personal attack on Richelieu in the Chamber, 
 and a few days later addressed some insulting remarks to him in 
 the Tuileries garden. In consequence of his conduct his name 
 was placed upon the retired list of the army. Incredible as it 
 may appear, the sympathies of the Faubourg-Saint-Germain in 
 this affair were wholly upon the side of General Donnadieu. ^ A 
 
 * A. L. Lowell, The Government of England, I. p. 439. 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deua; Restaur ations, V. pp. 286-302. 
 •^ Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, p. 420. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 627-629. 
 
278 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1821 
 
 fortnight later, on January 27th, an event occurred which in- 
 creased the embarrassments of the Government. About four 
 o'clock in the afternoon an explosion, which caused considerable 
 damage, but no loss of Hfe, took place in the Tuileries, near the 
 apartments of the King and of Madame. In both Houses it was 
 resolved that a deputation should wait upon His Majesty to 
 congratulate him upon his escape. The terms in which the 
 address from the Lower Chamber should be drawn up gave rise 
 to an animated debate. The members of the extreme RoyaUst 
 group wished to cast upon the pernicious doctrines of the Liberals 
 the responsibility for the outrage, and, at the same time, to ex- 
 press their disapproval of the measures taken by the Government 
 for the protection of the King. Camille Jordan in a fine speech — 
 the last he was ever to deliver — deprecated the party spirit which 
 the Royalists had introduced into the debate, and expressed his 
 conviction that the explosion had been planned by unscrupulous 
 politicians with the object of throwing the blame for it upon 
 their opponents. After much difficulty, Villele and Corbiere ob- 
 tained the consent of their followers to the excision of the para- 
 graph which conveyed a censure upon the Government. 
 
 Two circumstances had attracted the attention of those 
 charged with the investigation of the affair — ^the astounding 
 audacity of the criminals who had penetrated into the interior 
 of the palace, and the position of the barrel of gunpowder, which 
 seemed to indicate an intention of causing alarm rather than of 
 destroying life. This was the view of the case which Louis 
 from the first adopted. A few days later, however, the Duchesse 
 de Berri produced a paper, which she stated she had found upon 
 her table. It contained a threat that the attempt of January 27th 
 would be repeated. The enquiries of the police threw suspicion 
 upon an Itahan woman in Her Royal Highness* service. Her 
 demeanour, when questioned, strengthened the impression that 
 she was implicated in the affair. Suddenly, however, when there 
 appeared to be every reason to think that the police were upon 
 the right scent, Richelieu gave orders that the investigations 
 were to be discontinued, and that absolute silence was to be 
 observed about the whole matter. 
 
 The Duchesse de Berri's confessor had informed Monsieur that 
 Her Royal Highness had herself written the letter of warning. 
 Her only object had been to stimulate the zeal of those whose 
 business it was to discover the perpetrators of the outrage near 
 the King's apartments. Hearing that an innocent person was 
 suspected she had decided to communicate, without delay, the 
 facts of the case to Monsieur. Nothing more has ever come to 
 light in connection with this matter. It is very improbable that 
 
1821] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 279 
 
 the Duchesse de Berri was alone concerned in the affak, but if 
 other persons were implicated in it their names, says Pasquier, 
 have never been disclosed. For many weeks afterwards Ministers 
 had to listen in silence whilst the Royahsts denomiced from the 
 tribune the incompetence, apathy, and even treachery which had 
 made it possible for the authors of an attempt upon the King's 
 life to go unpunished.^ 
 
 In the spring of 1821, the course of events in Italy was watched 
 with the keenest interest by the rival parties in the French Cham- 
 ber, The successful revolutions of the previous year in Spain 
 and at Naples were the subject, in the autunm, of a conference 
 of the Powers. After assembling at Troppau,^ the Sovereigns 
 agreed to adjourn to Eaybach, for the convenience of Ferdinand, 
 King of the Two Sicilies, who was invited to take part in the 
 deliberations. Meanwhile, the armaments of Austria and the 
 movements of her troops were clear indications of her intention 
 to restore absolutism at Naples. But the Liberals believed in the 
 brave words of the Neapolitan constitutionalists, and cheered 
 loudly when General Foy declared from the tribune that the 
 Austrians would find their graves in the Abruzzi. A few days 
 later it was the turn of the Royalists to exult. At the mere sight 
 of the white uniforms. General Pepe*s army had fled in wild dis- 
 order, leaving the road to Naples open. But the news from the 
 other extremity of the Peninsula, which followed rapidly, raised 
 the drooping spirits of the Liberals. ^ 
 
 For some time past the Carbonari had been actively propagat- 
 ing their revolutionary doctrines in Piedmont. On March 10th, 
 the rout of Pepe three days earUer being still unknown, the 
 garrison of Alessandria raised the tricolour to the cry of " The 
 Spanish Constitution and war with Austria ! " On the 12th, a 
 revolution broke out at Turin, where the King Victor Em- 
 manuel, anxious to avoid bloodshed and reluctant to break faith 
 with Austria, abdicated in favour of his brother Carlo Felice, 
 who was for the moment at Modena. In the meantime. Prince 
 Carlo Alberto di Carignano, the heir - apparent, was declared 
 Regent. Carlo Alberto was beUeved to be in sympathy with the 
 movement, and is said to have given the revolutionary leaders 
 assurances of his support.* Upon receipt of the news of the out- 
 break in Piedmont, the Sovereigns hastily brought their delibera- 
 tions at Laybach to a close. The situation was critical. The 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. pp. 88-97. 
 
 2 These conferences are dealt with in Chap. XIV., Chateaubriand* s 
 War. 
 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deuoc Restaur ations, V. pp. 282-284. 
 * Cambridge Modern History, X. pp. 113-117. 
 
280 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1821 
 
 Austrian army had moved southwards, and the garrisons in Nor- 
 thern Italy were weak. The King of Prussia and his Ministers 
 hurried back to Berlin, fearful that the revolution would spread 
 to Germany. The Tsar promised assistance, and ordered a 
 concentration of his troops upon the Galician frontier. 
 
 The news from Italy caused the greatest excitement in France. 
 At Grenoble the report of Louis XVIII's abdication was circu- 
 lated, and both there and at Lyons insurrectionary movements 
 were attempted. In each town, however, the military com- 
 mander and the prefect showed great firmness and soon restored 
 order. At a Cabinet Council in Paris, Ministers reviewed the 
 situation calmly. The behaviour of the troops was reported to 
 be satisfactory. The censorship removed all fears of indiscretion 
 on the part of the press. The seditious language indulged in by 
 the extreme Liberals in the Chamber constituted, however, a 
 grave danger. It was resolved, in consequence, to prorogue the 
 Parliament for three months, should matters assume a more 
 serious complexion. The Royalists, however, were not to be re- 
 assured by the firm demeanour of the Government. Monsieur is 
 said to have secretly advised the King to recall Decazes, so con- 
 vinced was he that only by concessions to the Liberals could a 
 revolution be averted. In the Faubourg-Saint-Germain the 
 most alarming rumours were current. Between the 19th and 
 23rd March a fall of ten francs was recorded in the rente, a state 
 of affairs due almost entirely to the Royalists, who could not be 
 prevented from sacrificing their securities.^ Before long, how- 
 ever, news of a very different character was received from Italy. 
 To the consternation of the revolutionary leaders. Carlo Alberto 
 obeyed the orders transmitted to him by Carlo Felice, and 
 quitted Turin. Intelligence of Pepe's disaster increased the 
 depression of the Piedmontese patriots. In the meantime, 
 General Bubna, the Austrian commanding general at Milan, was 
 preparing for action. Concentrating rapidly as many of his own 
 troops as possible, and acting in concert with the loyal Pied- 
 montese, he crossed the Ticino on April 8th, and on the 10th 
 disposed of the revolutionaries of Northern Italy at Novaro, as 
 effectually as Frimont, of the Neapolitan Constitutionalists, at 
 Rieti. On the following day the Provisional Government at 
 Turin was dissolved, and on the 12th Bubna himself entered 
 Alessandria. 
 
 The restoration of absolutism in Piedmont and at Naples, 
 and the apparent determination of the despotic Sovereigns to 
 check the spread of constitutionalism, delighted the Royalists. 
 
 ' Pasquier, V. pp. 173-174. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. pp. 474-482. 
 
1821] THE TEIUMPH OF REACTION 281 
 
 Their triumph was as insolent as a few weeks before their terror 
 had been abject. La Bourdonnaye, Castelbajac, Bouville, Delalot, 
 Donnadieu, and other members of the group, which about this 
 time came to be known as the pointer constantly opposed the 
 Government.^ They complained, and dissatisfaction upon this 
 score was not confined to the extreme section, that too little 
 was done for the Royalists. Villele and Corbiere being without 
 portfolios, and, therefore, without Ministerial patronage, could 
 do nothing to remedy this grievance. At a Cabinet Council, at 
 the end of June, Corbiere expressed the sentiments of his party by 
 boldly asking for the dismissal of eight or ten prefects, and 
 the appointment of the same number of his friends in their place. 
 Richelieu's curt refusal to entertain his suggestion increased the 
 discontent of the Royalists at a moment when their support was 
 much needed. 2 The Government was very anxious to reimpose 
 the censorship of the Press for another year. The opposition of 
 the Liberals to such a measure was a foregone conclusion, and it 
 could, therefore, be carried only with the assistance of the Right. 
 But the Royalists made it clear that they intended to treat the 
 proposal as a vote of confidence in the Government. Despite all 
 the efforts of Pasquier and de Serre, the censorship was sanctioned 
 only until the third month of the next Session. In order to defeat 
 the Ministerial proposals a considerable number of Royalists 
 voted with the opposition. ^ 
 
 Villele had done nothing to assist the Government in the 
 matter of the censorship, and there was every reason to appre- 
 hend that he and Corbiere intended to retire from the Cabinet. 
 Richeheu, however, was anxious to avoid a rupture, and was 
 prepared to make concessions in order to preserve his alliance 
 with the Right. The Royalists wished to see Villele at the Home 
 Ofifice, on account of the immense patronage which the post 
 would place at his disposal. This solution of the difficulty, 
 Richeheu discovered, would entail the retirement of Mounier 
 from the direction of the police, and, after discussing the matter 
 with some of his colleagues, he refused to entertain the proposal.* 
 At last, on July 13th, Villele announced the lowest terms which 
 his party would be prepared to accept. Portfolios were to be 
 given to Corbiere and himself and Marshal Victor, Due de Bellune, 
 was to be Minister of War.^ Chateaubriand, who had returned 
 
 » Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. pp. 646-550. 
 
 2 Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. p. 211. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 239-240. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 241-246. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, p. 458. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. pp. 179-209. 
 
 * Pasquier, V. pp. 255-271. 
 
 ^ Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 443-444. 
 
282 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1821 
 
 from Berlin in order to be present at the baptism of the Due de 
 Bordeaux on May 1st, was again actively concerned in the 
 negotiations which ensued.^ Though he had been reinstated to 
 the Privy Council, a mark of the King's forgiveness, which he 
 had been very anxious to obtain, he did not, on that account, 
 consider himself as under any obligation to Richelieu. He now 
 declared that unless satisfaction were to be given to the demands 
 of his friends, he should refuse to return to Berlin. For the next 
 fortnight fruitless attempts were made to arrive at an agreement. 
 The insistence of the Royalists that La Tour-Maubourg should 
 retire at once, in order to make room for the Due de Bellune, 
 appears, finally, to have exhausted the Duke's patience. MM. 
 de Villele and Corbiere having no portfolios to surrender simply 
 left Paris, and a few days later, on July 13th, Chateaubriand 
 sent in his resignation. 
 
 During the greater part of this summer, the Peers had been 
 engaged in trjdng the persons concerned in the plot at the Bazar 
 frangais. The several mihtary revolutions which had taken 
 place in neighbouring countries, rendered it highly desirable that 
 prompt and striking examples should be made of the culprits. 
 But soldiers and civilians had been jointly concerned in this 
 affair, and it would not have been legal to have arraigned the 
 mihtary prisoners before a Court which was not competent to 
 try their accomphces. In view, however, of the importance of 
 meting out swift justice to the soldiers, the Government might, 
 perhaps, have been well advised had it abandoned the proceed- 
 ings against the civiHans. But the authorities appear to have 
 been afraid of incurring the reproach of having hurried on the 
 proceedings, in order to conceal the machinations of their secret 
 agents. The Liberals, at this time, invariably attributed every 
 act of treason brought to Kght by the pohce to the instigations 
 of agents provocateurs. The Government, says Pasquier, decided 
 to send the accused for trial before the Peers, in order that no one, 
 however exalted his rank might be, should escape the just penalty 
 of his offence. If that were the expectation of Ministers, it was 
 strangely to be falsified by the event. ^ 
 
 The Marquis de Semonville, the Grand Referendary of the 
 Chamber of Peers, was a type of man often to be met with under 
 unstable governments. He had contrived to pass safely, and in 
 the enjoyment of good appointments, through almost the whole 
 period from the Revolution to the Restoration. His reputation 
 for political foresight stood so high that the King told Pasquier, 
 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. pp. 223-225. 
 2 Pasquier, IV. pp. 453-456. 
 Nettement, Histoire, V. pp. 467-468. 
 
1821] THE TEIUMPH OF REACTION 283 
 
 upon one occasion, that he had felt convinced during the Hun- 
 dred Days that Bonaparte's position must be very insecure, upon 
 hearing that M. de Semonville had taken no steps to enter into 
 relations with him. At this time he is believed to have regarded 
 the ultimate triumph of the Liberals as certain, and to have 
 thought it not improbable that the Due d' Orleans might be King 
 before long. He, therefore, regretted deeply his share in the 
 condemnation of Marshal Ney, and was resolved to atone for it 
 by doing all in his power to avoid imphcating any Deputies or 
 officers of rank in the present proceedings.^ 
 
 The preliminary enquiry lasted for four months, and was con- 
 ducted by the Chancellor Dambray, over whom Semonville had 
 great influence. Four Peers had been appointed to assist him, 
 Pastoret, Generals Rapp and Digeon, and Semonville himself. 
 These proceedings resulted in forty-one of the accused, including 
 Colonel Fabvier, one of the ringleaders, being set at liberty. The 
 commissioners, moreover, refused to adopt the conclusions of 
 Jacquinot, the crown prosecutor, that presumptions of guilty 
 complicity existed with regard to Ea Fayette and several Depu- 
 ties, as well as in respect of Savary de Rovigo and eleven general 
 officers. Jacquinot, in consequence, retired from the case, and 
 was replaced by Peyronnet, the member for the Cher, whose 
 political career may be said to have dated from this trial. ^ It 
 is not surprising that, after a preUminary enquiry conducted in 
 this spirit, the public proceedings, which began on May 7th, 
 should have presented a certain character of unreality. -The 
 Peers must have felt, on many occasions, that important facts 
 were being concealed from them, and that the thirty-one persons 
 arraigned before them were but the minor actors in the con- 
 spiracy. These circumstances, doubtless, account for the very 
 light sentences pronounced on July 16th. The severest punish- 
 ment infficted did not exceed a term of five years' imprisonment. 
 The Royalists were justly indignant at this result, and a wide- 
 spread impression was created that the leniency of the Peers 
 was due to the fact that the plot was in a great measure the 
 work of the police. ^ 
 
 The autumn elections of 1821 were another triumph for the 
 Right. Of the eighty-seven seats in dispute fifty-seven were 
 won by Royalists, twenty by MinisteriaHsts, and ten only by 
 the Liberals. The pointus returned elated to Paris, and fully 
 determined to overthrow the Grovernment. But, after several 
 
 * Pasquier, V. pp. 73-75. 
 
 2 E. Guillou, Complots sous la Restauraiion, pp. 126-127. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 76-78. 
 
 3 Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 279. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux RestaurcUions, V. p. 302. 
 
284 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1821 
 
 stormy discussions in M. Piet's salon^ La Bourdonnaye, the 
 leader of the extreme group, saw that he must abandon all hope 
 of inducing Villele and the moderate men to declare war upon 
 the Cabinet.^ Baffled in this direction, he forthwith determined 
 to enter into negotiations with the Liberals. His overtures were 
 favourably received, and it was resolved that both wings of the 
 Chamber should combine, in order to prociu-e the insertion of an 
 expression of want of confidence in Ministers into the address in 
 reply to the King's speech. Both Liberals and Royalists were 
 dissatisfied with Richelieu's foreign policy. La Bourdonnaye 
 and his friends complained of a reluctance on the part of the 
 Government to adhere to the principles of the Holy Alliance, 
 whilst the Liberals lamented that not a finger had been raised 
 to assist the cause of liberty abroad. To serve their present 
 purpose, however, both parties were content to ignore these 
 fundamental differences. ^ 
 
 Assisted by the Liberals, the Royalists contrived to obtain 
 a majority of seats upon the committee which was to draw up 
 the address. When it was submitted to the Chamber, on Novem- 
 ber 26th, it was found to contain the following sentence : " We 
 congratulate you, sir, upon your continued good relations with 
 foreign Powers, in the firm confidence that peace has not been 
 purchased at the expense of sacrifices incompatible with the 
 national honour and the dignity of the Crown." These words 
 were capable of an interpretation very disrespectful to the King. 
 La Bourdonnaye and Delalot, fearing that this circumstance 
 might deprive them of the votes of many Royalists upon whose 
 support they had counted, decided to approach M. Royer- 
 CoUard in order to procure the help of the Doctrinaires and Left 
 Centre Liberals. The readiness with which the Left had entered 
 into an alliance with the Ultra-Royalists is capable of expla- 
 nation. The members of the anti- dynastic section of the party 
 were preparing a series of military plots, and the hour for putting 
 them into execution was approaching. The advent to power of 
 the Royalists would alarm public opinion, they considered, and 
 assist their designs. Needless to say, M. Royer-CoUard was 
 innocent of any complicity in these revolutionary schemes. 
 Nevertheless, he entered readily into a coalition, which could 
 result only in placing at the head of affairs the men whose re- 
 actionary views, he had always declared, constituted the gravest 
 danger to the Monarchy. ^ 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 450, 462, 460-461. 
 
 2 Pasquier, V. pp. 390-394. 
 Crousaz-Cr^tet, Richelieu, p. 481. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. pp. 343-345. 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 167-169. 
 
1821] THE TRIUMPH OF REACTION 285 
 
 The address in the terms proposed by the committee was 
 carried by a large majority. Eouis' first impulse had been to 
 refuse to receive it. But at a Council, at which he himself pre- 
 sided, it was decided that the President and his two secretaries 
 should be admitted into his presence. Accordingly, on Novem- 
 ber 30th, Louis took from the hands of M. Ravez, the President 
 of the Chamber, the address, and placing it upon his table, in- 
 formed him that he knew what it contained. After referring 
 briefly to the less important passages, he proceeded to censure 
 in dignified language the conduct of those responsible for the 
 offensive sentence. " In days of exile and persecution," said he 
 severely, " I upheld the honour of my name and of my country. 
 I am indignant to think that upon my throne I should be sup- 
 posed to have sacrificed either the honour of the nation or the 
 dignity of the crown. I try to believe that many of those who 
 have voted this address have done so without weighing fully the 
 meaning of its expressions." ^ 
 
 Ever since the retirement of Villele and Corbiere from the 
 Cabinet, most of Richelieu*s colleagues had looked upon the 
 Government as doomed. The Duke, though not as a rule a 
 sanguine man, did not on this occasion share their gloomy fore- 
 bodings. He had no personal quarrel with Villele, and hoped 
 before long to be able again to utilize his services. Moreover, he 
 was confident that in the last resort he had but to remind 
 Monsieur of his promise, for him to exercise all his influence with 
 the Royalists to bring them back into line with the Ministerialists. ^ 
 Even after the defeat of the Government upon the question of 
 the address, he did not despair. The King's message of rebuke 
 to the Chamber had not been without effect. The more moderate 
 Royalists began to think that they had acted too hastily. 
 Villele seems to have regarded a reconstruction of the Cabinet as 
 necessary, but to have wished to see Richelieu retain the Presidency 
 of the Council. Monsieur and the Court, however, were resolved 
 to drive the Duke from office, and the persons behind Madame 
 du Cayla were equally determined to bring about his downfall.^ 
 
 The lull which succeeded the storm caused by the debate upon 
 the address was of brief duration. Grcneral Donnadieu published 
 a scurrilous attack upon Richelieu, some allusions which it con- 
 tained raising a strong suspicion that he must have derived his 
 information from the Court. In the Chamber, Castelbajac in- 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. pp. 356-358. 
 
 2 Pasquier, V. p. 270. 
 
 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 446-447. 
 
 3 Pasquier, V. pp. 395-406. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 482-484. 
 Villele, MemoireSj II. pp. 471-473. 
 
286 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1821 
 
 veighed furiously against Pasquier, whilst the composition of the 
 committee, to consider the Ministerial bill to impose the censor- 
 ship for a further period, showed that the alHance between the 
 Royalists and Liberals still subsisted. Richelieu was now driven 
 to his last retrenchments. Louis, when he discussed the situation 
 with him, had referred pointedly to the invariable custom of 
 British Ministers to retire when they could no longer command a 
 majority. But before deciding finally, the Duke resolved to 
 appeal to Monsieur. When admitted to his presence he assured 
 him that it was within his power to clear away all his difficulties, 
 and reminded him of his promise made two years before. "Really, 
 my dear Duke," said Monsieur, " you take things too literally. 
 Besides, at that time, you must remember, we were in an awk- 
 ward fix." Richeheu looked him in the face, and, turning upon 
 liis heel, left the room in most uncourtierlike fashion. 
 
 A quarter of an hour later, Richelieu, who was much distressed, 
 related the story of his interview with Monsieur to Pasquier. 
 Both agreed that the struggle could not be prolonged. This 
 decision came as a relief to the members of his Cabinet. On the 
 following day, December 12th, Richelieu tendered his resignation 
 and that of his colleagues to the King. Louis merely remarked 
 that he had acted properly. ^ 
 
 Monsieur, the next morning, sent for Villele and Corbiere, and 
 informed them that they would be members of the new Govern- 
 ment. Richelieu, he told them, had suggested that M. de Blacas, 
 the Ambassador at Rome, should be President of the Council and 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs. Monsieur and Villele both agreed, 
 however, that his long absence from France constituted an in- 
 superable objection to such an arrangement. Without doubt, 
 also, it occurred to them that Blacas, a former favourite, might 
 prove a rival to Madame du Cayla, with whose conduct Monsieur 
 was thoroughly satisfied. Villele had none of Richelieu's fastidi- 
 ousness, and was ready to ingratiate Madame du Cayla by all 
 means in his power. During the next twenty-four hours he had 
 several interviews with her friend, Sosthenes de La Rochefou- 
 cauld, and received some useful hints. On December 14th 
 matters were finally arranged. Mathieu de Montmorency, 
 Sosthenes* father-in-law, was to be Minister for Foreign Affairs, 
 Villele of Finance, Bellune of War, Clermont Tonnerre of Marine, 
 Corbiere of the Interior, and Peyronnet Keeper of the Seals. The 
 only member of Richelieu's Government to retain his post was 
 Lauriston, the Minister of the King's Household. ^ 
 
 1 FasQuier, V. pp. 406-410. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, II. pp. 282-285. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. pp. 393-394. 
 
 La Rochefoucauld, Memoires, II. pp. 60-64. 
 
1821] THE TEIUMPH OF REACTION 287 
 
 The Due de Richelieu retired heartbroken, and convinced that, 
 but for the intrigues of Monsieur, his hopes would have been ful- 
 filled of uniting into one party all the true friends of the Monarchy; 
 Eauriston is believed to have related the circumstances of his 
 interview with Monsieur to the King. " What would you have ? " 
 said Louis. " He conspired against Bonis XVI, he conspired 
 against me, some day he will conspire against himself." ^ Mon- 
 sieur, however, only accelerated the downfall of Richelieu. Ever 
 since his return to public life his position had been a false one. 
 He had been striving to govern with the support of a party, the 
 policy of which differed in essential particulars from his own. He 
 could discern clearly that any attempt to re-establish the old 
 regime must end in disaster. The electoral law, for which he was 
 responsible, had saved the Royalists from political extinction, 
 and he appears to have thought that they would relinquish, from 
 gratitude, aspirations which they had never laid aside, even 
 when their fortunes were at their lowest ebb. His plan of forming 
 a monarchical and dynastic party, the watchword of which was 
 to be the maintenance of the institutions of modem France, may 
 not have been impracticable, but to have carried it out success- 
 fully greater knowledge of men and sterner qualities were re- 
 quired than he possessed. The Due de Richelieu will always be 
 remembered as a great gentleman who, upon all occasions, placed 
 the welfare of his country before the interests of his class. When, 
 a few months later, on May 18th, 1822, he died very suddenly, 
 Talleyrand, his enemy, declared that his premature death should 
 be regarded as a public calamity. But Monsieur and his friends 
 were less generous. No member of the Royal Family was present 
 at his funeral, and the Grand Almoner availed himself of an 
 absurd pretext for decUning to officiate at the service. ^ 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. p. 891. 
 
 2 Pasquier, V. pp. 415-418. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 THE SECRET SOCIETIES 
 
 THE advent to power of a Royalist Government brought the 
 two parties of the Revolution and the counter-Revolution 
 face to face. In the struggle, which now entered upon its final 
 stage, the action of the secret societies must be considered side 
 by side with the fight waged in the open daylight of the Chamber. 
 A brief account has already been given of the Congregation of 
 the Rue du Bac. The existence of the central society, and of the 
 numerous branches in provincial towns all over France has 
 never been denied. But as regards the real character of the 
 association the widest divergence of opinion prevails. According 
 to M. GeofiProy de Grandmaison, the historian of the Congrega- 
 tion, the work carried out by the society was of a purely rehgious 
 and charitable nature. Its enemies, however, and Liberal writers 
 generally, supported unquestionably by the weight of con- 
 temporary opinion, describe it as an organization the objects of 
 which were mainly political. If the list, published by M. de 
 Grandmaison, contains the whole of the names of the affiliated 
 it must be admitted that fewer great personages and prominent 
 politicians belonged to it than its adversaries have pretended.^ 
 It has been suggested, however, that the society may have been 
 divided into two branches — a religious side, the Congregation 
 proper, and a political side, the existence of which may have 
 been unknown to most of the religious associates. ^ It is not im- 
 probable that a fairly correct appreciation of the state of affairs 
 may be contained in this surmise. 
 
 In Grandmaison's work the organization and the daily routine 
 of the Congregation is described at length. Only the names, 
 however, of the presidents or prefects who were appointed 
 annually are of any general interest. Thus it would appear that 
 in 1816 M. de Eavau (prefect of police from 1821 to 1827), in 
 1818 Mathieu de Montmorency, in 1820 Jules de Polignac, and 
 
 ^ GeofFroy de Grandmaison, La Congregation, Paris, 1889. 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. pp. 269-275. 
 
 288 
 
1821] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 289 
 
 in 1824 and 1827 Eugene de Montmorency respectively oflficiated 
 as prefects of the association. Cor unum et anima una was the 
 device of the society, but it was supposed that secret signs 
 existed, by means of which the affiUated could recognize their 
 feUow associates.^ 
 
 In 1814, unlike the rulers of Austria, Spain, and the Italian 
 States, the restored Monarchy did not sanction officially the 
 return of the Jesuits to France. For some time past, however, 
 the members of the association of the Peres de la foi had been 
 carrying on the " traditions of the Society of Jesus.'" Indeed, 
 Napoleon was not very hostile to them. The Pere Ronsin, the 
 celebrated director of the Congregation of the Rue du Bac during 
 nearly the whole period of the Restoration, was himself received 
 into the Society of Jesus by the Pere de Cloriviere on July 23rd, 
 1814. Soon after the second Restoration the Jesuits appear to 
 have openly established their headquarters at Montrouge,'^ on 
 the outskirts of Paris. Here, according to public rumour, some 
 of the Pere Ronsin's most promising disciples, and various 
 persons of rank, underwent an initiation and were admitted 
 as members of the order, becoming Jesuits of the short robe, as it is 
 termed in France. It must be stated, however, that it has always 
 been denied that the rules of the Society provided for a lay 
 affiliation of this description. ^ 
 
 Meanwhile, by means of the establishment in the Rue du Bac 
 and kindred organizations all over France, the Jesuits were 
 rapidly acquiring great influence. About the year 1820, indeed, 
 these institutions had assumed so widespread a development that 
 numerous Bishops set the seal of their approval upon them by 
 affiliating themselves to the Congregation.* The activity of the 
 missionaries has been described in a previous chapter. In 
 addition to their crusades, and to the formation of about sixty 
 branch establishments of the association in country towns, the 
 Congregation was responsible for a society, which soon became 
 very notorious. The societe des bonnes etudes, the headquarters , 
 of which were at No. 11 Rue des Fosses Saint- Jacques, was 
 founded, according to M. de Grandmaison, in 1823. It would 
 appear to have existed, however, in some form or another at an 
 
 * GeoflFroy de Grandmaison, La Congregation, pp. 152-167, 343-347, 
 161. 
 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal , pp. 359-362. 
 '^ Geoffroy de Grandmaison, La CongregatioUf p. 136. 
 
 Montlosier, Memoire a consulter, p. 24. 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur atioris, V. pp. 346-347. 
 
 Madame de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 85-86. 
 
 Encyclopisdia Britannica, '^Jesuits.'' 
 
 * Geoffroy de Grandmaison, La Congregation, p. 177. 
 
 U 
 
290 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1821 
 
 earlier date. Mathieu de Montmorency and afterwards the Due de 
 Riviere presided over the institution which professed to provide 
 a place of meeting for young men desirous of discussing philoso- 
 phical and historical subjects. ^ The lectures were well attended 
 and proved very successful. It was soon whispered abroad, 
 however, that the speakers had seldom any good to say about 
 existing political institutions. Moreover, were a person to bring 
 forward for debate any genuinely philosophical questions, he 
 would be given to understand quickly that such topics were not 
 appreciated either by the noble president or by those who had 
 organized the society. 
 
 Despite all assertions to the contrary, it is impossible to doubt 
 that the institution had been started only in order to enable the 
 priests to gain an ascendancy over young men of the middle 
 classes, about to enter the Civil Service or the learned professions. 
 Though the equalitarian idea had taken a firm hold of the French 
 people, there were still persons to whom the prospect of meeting 
 men of a superior social condition to themselves offered an 
 irresistible attraction. Many youths, moreover, who were 
 perhaps impervious to vulgar considerations of this kind, may 
 not have been insensible to the advantages to be derived from 
 making the acquaintance of important persons who might be of 
 service to them in their future careers. On this point the Baron 
 de Fr6nilly is very explicit. He mentions that in 1816 he invested 
 £80 in two shares in the institution, and that by the time a Royal- 
 ist Government had risen to power the establishment had become 
 " a nursery for candidates for the civil service and the 
 magistracy.''^ La Societe Catholiques des bons livres and la 
 bibliotheque Caiholique, two societies for the publication of 
 irreproachable books were harmless manifestations of the 
 activity of the congregation. But the plan of founding a 
 military branch of the association, to be called La Congrega- 
 tion de Notre Dame des Victoires, was abandoned in consequence 
 of the Due d'Angouleme's disHke to the idea.^ 
 
 Had the priests been actuated only by the desire to combat 
 unbelief by all means in their power, no great exception need 
 have been taken to their conduct in resorting to worldly devices 
 to attain their ends. But their designs went much further, and 
 aimed at nothing short of the restoration to the Church of the 
 power which it had enjoyed before the Revolution. Their views 
 
 * Geoffroy de Grandmaison, La Congregation, pp. 216-216, 368-370. 
 
 Fr^nilly, Souvenirs^ p. 403. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Bestauraiiom, V. pp. 337-338. 
 ^ Frenilly, Souvenirs, p. 404. 
 8 Geoffroy de Grandmaison, La Congregation, pp. 219, 286-289. 
 
1821] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 291 
 
 as to how the Government should be conducted can be ascertained 
 without Hstening to the violent accusations hurled against them 
 by anti-clerical writers. Reference has already been made to the 
 Abbe Eiautard, and to the part which he played in bringing 
 Madame du Cayla to the King's notice. It is immaterial whether 
 he was a Jesuit or whether he was directly connected with the 
 Congregation. His intimate relations with the Pere Ronsin, the 
 Abb6 Rauzan, ^Begris- Duval, and other prominent members of 
 the " priest party " were notorious. Moreover, as the director 
 of the College Stanislas, the most fashionable educational estab- 
 lishment in Paris, he was a person of importance in the society 
 of the Faubourg-Saint-Germain. The Abbe Denys, at the end of 
 his panegyric of Eiautard, has made public a certain essay which 
 he evidently regards as the masterpiece of his hero. It is entitled 
 The Throne and the Altar, and appears to have been compiled 
 originally for submission to Monsieur. A very few extracts from 
 it will be sufficient to make clear his views upon modern institu- 
 tions. That curse of society, the pubHc press, he would wish to 
 see abolished without delay. A Government paper, edited by the 
 chief of police, to contain a relation of any recent events of im- 
 portance, a record of the variations of the temperature, and the 
 current price of wheat, coffee, and sugar should meet all reason- 
 able requirements. At the same time the writings of Rousseau, 
 Voltaire and other distinctly bad works should be bought up 
 and destroyed. But upon books which need only be classed as 
 " indifferent," it might be sufficient to impose a tax.^ 
 
 It would be absurd to suppose that the whole of the clergy 
 were in sympathy with the extreme views of the " Fenelon of 
 these days,'* as Eiautard's admirers have named him. It is, 
 nevertheless, certain that his opinions fairly represented those of 
 an important section. Doubtless there were many who, like the 
 Pere Rosaven, of the Society of Jesus, could see that men were 
 no longer to be coerced into religion, and that the methods of 
 their colleagues could only defeat their own object.^ But the 
 French clergy, Uke other institutions, were fated to suffer for the 
 excesses of their more violent members. The Royalist Government 
 which dates from December 15th, 1821, has always been accused 
 of having subordinated its poHcy to the wishes of the " priest 
 party.*' Mathieu de Montmorency, the Minister for Foreign 
 affairs, Franchet d'Esperey, the director, and Lavau, the prefect 
 of police, were certainly among the most zealous members of 
 the Congregation. Henceforward, the fatal suspicion grew apace 
 
 1 Abb^ Denys, Memoires de VAbhe Liautard, pp. 318-326. 
 
 2 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 343-350. 
 Abbe Denys, Memoires de I' Abbe Liautard ^ p. 51. 
 
292 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1821 
 
 that the Court, the Government, and all the great departments 
 of the State were secretly dominated by a party bitterly hostile 
 to the free institutions of the country. 
 
 At the time when the occult influence exercised by the Con- 
 gregation was beginning to attract universal attention, the 
 activity of the Liberal secret societies was at its height. Modern 
 Freemasonry had been introduced into France in the early years 
 of the eighteenth century by Derwentwater, Ramsay, and other 
 Jacobites with the object of helping the cause of the Stuarts.^ 
 Thus, by a strange irony of fate, the association, the members of 
 which the Pope has excommunicated, and which has been 
 regarded as the worst enemy to Hereditary Sovereignty, was 
 formed originally for the purpose of upholding the legitimist 
 principle, and of extending the power of the Roman Catholic 
 Church. It would be beyond the scope of this volume to trace 
 the rapid evolution of Freemasonry, or to discuss its connection 
 with the Rosicrucians and lUuminati of Germany. The Grand 
 Orient, which quickly absorbed all the masonic lodges in France, 
 was constituted in 1772 under the Grand Mastership of the Due 
 de Chartres, the celebrated Egalite.^ By this time the philo- 
 sophical doctrines of the day had taken complete possession of 
 continental Freemasons who had fallen under the ban of the 
 Roman Cathohc Church. The rapid spread of masonry among 
 the French aristocracy was a significant sign of the times. In- 
 itiation in some form or another, according to the Pere Des- 
 champs, was extended to women. The Duchesse de Bourbon, 
 Egalites sister, the Duchesse de Chartres, Madame de Genlis, 
 and the Princesse de Eamballe were among those admitted to the 
 order. The last-named Princess, he says, presided over the lodge 
 of the contrat social, the members of which were in the habit of 
 meeting dressed in blouses and sabots to dance and to imitate 
 popular diversions. 3 
 
 The enormous power wielded for a time by the Due d' Orleans 
 was due, without doubt, in a measure to his office of Grand 
 Master of the Grand Orient. Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Ijauzun, 
 and most of the prominent men in the early days of the Revolu- 
 tion were Freemasons. Nevertheless, the influence of the society 
 on the later development of events was inconsiderable.* The 
 mysterious circumstances surrounding the retreat of the Prussians 
 after Valmy and Dumouriez's negotiations with Ferdinand of 
 
 1 C. W. Heckethorn, Secret Societies, II. p. 64. 
 
 2 Pere Deschamps, Societes Secretes, I. p. liii. 
 
 3 Pere Deschamps_, Societes Secretes, II. pp. 9-14. 
 
 * C. W. Heckethorn, Secret Societies, II. pp. 55-66. 
 Johnson, Napoleonic Empire in Southern Italy and rise of Secret 
 Societies, II. p. 29. 
 
1821] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 293 
 
 Brunswick have been ascribed, however, by some people to the 
 fact that both generals were masons.^ The order was encouraged 
 by Napoleon, who may have thought that the freedom of dis- 
 cussion enjoyed in the lodges was a necessary outlet for the 
 repressed political energies of the people. In 1812, no less than 
 one thousand and eighty-nine lodges existed in France, among 
 which the army was responsible for sixty-nine. Cambaceres, the 
 Arch-Chancellor, was the chief dignatory of the Grand Orient, 
 and every lodge established within the Empire was compelled 
 to pay him toll. The annual income, which he thus derived from 
 masonry, is stated by Mr. Heckethorn to have amounted to two 
 million francs. Napoleon considered evidently that the obvious 
 dangers of the lodges, which existed in many regiments of his 
 armies of occupation, were counterbalanced by the means which 
 they afforded him of tightening his grasp upon the countries 
 which he had overrun. Gradually, however, the Freemasons 
 who had shown abject servility to him in his earlier years began 
 to turn from him. Their indifference, though it may not have 
 contributed to his downfall, probably facilitated the establish- 
 ment of the Monarchy. 2 
 
 Under the Restoration, Freemasonry was regarded with the 
 greatest disUke and suspicion by the Royalists. The clergy 
 denounced the order with unmeasured violence, and hoped to see 
 it proscribed. According to the Pere Deschamps the family of 
 Louvel, the murderer of the Due de Berri, received a pension 
 from the lodge to which Decazes belonged. The insinuation is 
 worth repeating only as an example of the accusations which were 
 levelled against masonry. ^ Though traces were found of the 
 participation of a lodge, composed chiefly of students and entitled 
 the Friends of Truth, both in the electoral riots and in the plot 
 of August 1820, Freemasonry proper had little direct share in 
 the revolutionary movements in France under the Restoration. 
 At the same time it is true, doubtless, that it materially contri- 
 buted to the rapid diffusion of Carbonarism.* 
 
 The association of Carbonari, or charcoal burners, is said to 
 have sprung from a secret society in the French army of occupa- 
 tion in Italy, some time about the year 1809. It developed 
 rapidly, and could before long count among its members most of 
 the Italian Liberals and patriots. The revolutions at Naples 
 and in Piedmont, in 1820 and 1821, were the result of the spread 
 
 ^ C. W. Heckethorn, Secret Societies, II. pp. 62-67. 
 Fere Deschamps, Societcs Secretes, II. pp. 164-167. 
 
 2 Fere Deschamps, Societes Secretes, II. pp. 196-197. 
 
 3 lUd., I. pp. liii, 100 ; II. pp. 229-230. 
 * Viel Castel, Histoire, IX. p. 70. 
 
 Fere Deschamps, Societes Secretes, II. p. 230. 
 
294 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1821 
 
 of Carbonarism.^ It was introduced into France by a student 
 of the name of Dugied, a member of the masonic lodge of the 
 Friends of Truth, who had fled to Italy after the discovery of the 
 plot at the Bazar frangais. On his return to Paris, early in 1821, 
 he brought back with him the statutes of the society to which he 
 had been affiliated during his stay at Naples. These he com- 
 municated to some of his friends, who saw that, simplified to suit 
 the ideas of their countrymen, they might serve as a means 
 of uniting into one powerful organization all the enemies of the 
 Monarchy. 2 
 
 It was decided to discard the ritual and ceremony which had 
 appealed to the Italian imagination. A candidate was only to be 
 sworn to secrecy, and to be required to keep at his abode a musket 
 and fifty cartridges. The lodges, or Vendue^ were to be of three 
 kinds, ordinary, central, and the supreme or head Vendita. 
 Though the first organizers of French Carbonarism were all 
 obscure men, they were able to communicate with La Fayette 
 who, together with his son George, readily agreed to join the 
 society. Besides the two La Fayettes, Koechlin, a rich manufac- 
 turer of Miilhausen, the journalists Cauchois-Ilemaire and 
 Sch^ffer, the Liberal Deputies Manuel, Corcelles, Voyer d'Argen- 
 son. Generals Thiard and Demar9ay are among those who com- 
 posed the head Vendita.^ Thus constituted Carbonarism was 
 to work for the expulsion of the Bourbons, and to win for the 
 people the right of selecting the form of Government which they 
 preferred. Members were enrolled so rapidly, that before the 
 end of the year 1821 lodges had been established in nearly every 
 large town in France. 
 
 As no attempt had been made to affiliate members of the 
 labouring classes, it was lawyers, journalists, professional men, 
 and students who swelled the ranks of the Carbonari. How- 
 ever strongly imbued with revolutionary theories they may 
 have been, the idea of sallying out with their muskets and their 
 fifty cartridges to meet the Royal Guard was physically re- 
 pugnant to the majority of them. But monarchies are not to be 
 overturned without recourse to violence, and Carbonarism had to 
 look to the half-pay officers and their discontented comrades 
 upon the active list for its means of action.* Frequent reference 
 has been made to the grievances of the officers of the old Im- 
 perial army. Gouvion- Saint -Cyr, when he had been Minister 
 
 ^ Johnson, Napoleonic Empire in Southern Italy and rise of Secret 
 Societies, II. p. 33. 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Restauratians, V. pp. 360-362. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. pp. 258-261. 
 ^ E. Charavay, Le General La Fayette, p. 418. 
 * E. Guillen, Complots sous la Restauration, p. 147. 
 
1821] THE SECEET SOCIETIES 295 
 
 of War, had reinstated in their regiments many of those whom 
 Clarke, his predecessor, had deprived of their employment. 
 The experiment had not been very successful. Both RicheUeu 
 and La-Tour Maubourg, in the autumn of 1821, had found it 
 necessary to relegate once more to civil life a number of officers 
 whose opinions were contaminating their comrades. The loss of 
 their employment and the consequent deprivation of the greater 
 part of the pay, which was generally their only means of support, 
 was not the full extent of the troubles of the men who were thus 
 treated. Beset by spies, compelled to live at their native towns, 
 and unable to make the shortest journey without the permission 
 of the police, some of the more intelUgent of them sought to escape 
 from the vexatious restrictions to which they were subjected by 
 embarking upon civil pursuits. But the authorities, far from 
 encouraging them to adopt any occupation which put an end to a 
 dangerous state of idleness, announced promptly that any retired 
 officer who accepted civil employment would forfeit his pension.^ 
 The hard fate of Napoleon's braves under the Monarchy has 
 been a theme for novelists and dramatists. Balzac, in the odious 
 person of PhiUppe Brideau, has depicted their worst characteris- 
 tics. ^ They were conspicuous figures in their tightly-buttoned 
 frock-coats and broad-brimmed hats, often shabby, but always 
 cocked aggressively. The moustache, which they were careful to 
 preserve to distinguish them from the Royalist officers, and the 
 stick which they carried attached to the wrist by a leather thong, 
 like a cavalry sabre, everywhere proclaimed their former calling. 
 In Paris, the cafe Montansier and the cafe Eemblin, in the Palais 
 Royal, were their favourite haunts. The news of Napoleon's 
 death, on May 5th, 1821, at St. Helena, had not created any 
 great sensation in France. Madame de Boigne relates that the 
 news vendors under her windows shouting, " Death of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte and his last words to General Bertrand,'* attracted 
 little attention. The absence of eulogistic articles upon the 
 deceased Emperor in the papers may be ascribed, doubtless, to 
 the censorship. At the same time, however, it is not improbable 
 that his death may have been regarded as an opportune occur- 
 rence by many Bonapartists. For the last two or three years 
 they had been busily engaged in creating the Napoleonic legend.^ 
 In this endeavour they were only following the example of the 
 Royalists who were constantly extolling Henri IV as the brave 
 soldier and the gallant lover, always solicitous for the welfare of 
 
 ^ E. Guillon, Complots sous la Bestauration, pp. 23-32, 43-50. 
 
 2 Balzac^ Scenes de la vie de Province, la rabouilleuse. 
 
 3 Madame de Boigne, Memoir es, III. p. 68. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 186-139. 
 
296 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1821 
 
 the common folk. The Emperor, whom the Bonapartists de- 
 picted, bore infinitely less resemblance to the real man than did 
 the King of the Royalist songs and story-books to the true 
 Henri IV. Their Napoleon was portrayed in his plain grey great- 
 coat, chatting with his soldiers round the bivouac fire, or making 
 plans for the happiness of his people, which he was prevented 
 from putting into execution only by the hostility of the allied 
 sovereigns, and the intrigues of perfidious Albion.^ 
 
 In their attempts to present Napoleon under the most pleasing 
 aspect, the Bonapartists were assisted by the most popular song- 
 writer of modem France. Beranger had been a refractory con- 
 script under the Empire, and, in Le roi d' Yvetot, had extolled 
 the happiness of living under a peace-loving King. Nevertheless, 
 from the earliest days of the Restoration, he had begun to ridi- 
 cule the pretensions of the old nobiUty, satirize the cleigy, and 
 lament the fallen greatness of France. Le vieux Sergent (1815) 
 and Le vieux Drapeau (1820) were but thinly veiled incitations 
 to rebellion. A complete edition of his poems, which was produced 
 in 1821, and which contained some of his hitherto unpublished 
 songs, was seized by the police. Beranger's trial, which began on 
 December 8th, 1821, and which resulted in a sentence of three 
 months' imprisonment, excited universal interest, and added 
 still further to his popularity. ^ Paul Eouis Courier was another 
 writer who, though he cannot be described as a Bonapartist, 
 nevertheless rendered important service to the party. As an 
 of&cer in the Imperial army he had been a grumbler, who had 
 seldom missed an opportunity of neglecting his duties. Yet at 
 the Restoration the man who had depicted always the worst 
 side of war, and who had laughed at the military spirit, was 
 to be seen, like Beranger, in the character of a worshipper of 
 national glory. Though he had been bom in easy circumstances 
 and was an accompHshed Greek scholar, he loved to describe 
 himself in his pamphlets as a vine-dresser, and affected to speak 
 from the standpoint of a man of the people. Faithful to the part 
 which he had assumed, he rarely dealt with the great controver- 
 sial questions of the day. But his attacks were not the less 
 dangerous upon that account. The tyranny of some prefect, the 
 ridiculous pretensions of a local magnate, the wastefulness of 
 
 1 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 151-158. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 60-67. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 57-68. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. pp. 397-401. 
 
 Cf. Le, champ (Tasile, 1818 ; Le Marquis de Carabas, 1818 ; La Marquise 
 de Pretintaille ; Les adieux a la gloire, 1820; Lettres d'un petit roi a un 
 petit due, 1821 ; Les missionaires, 1819; Les reverends peres, 1819 ; L'agent 
 provocateur. 
 
1821] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 297 
 
 Courts, and above all the fanaticism and interfering habits of the 
 clergy were subjects which redoubled in the minds of his readers 
 their terror of a return to the old regime.^ 
 
 There had always been liberals who had feared that were the 
 Monarchy to be overthrown, Napoleon would by some means or 
 another contrive to return to France. His death, therefore, by 
 allaying this apprehension, rendered easier the fusion of all 
 parties hostile to the reigning dynasty. Carbonarism, at this 
 juncture, seemed to provide the very organization which was 
 required for uniting into one vast association the enemies of the 
 restored Monarchy. Many half-pay and retired o£&cers were 
 easily induced to afiiKate themselves to the society. The majority 
 of them had preserved relations with their former corps, and 
 lodges by their agency were thus established in several regiments. 
 
 Napoleon himself had never been able to eradicate completely 
 from his army the Jacobinical leaven, for which its repubhcan 
 origin was responsible. In addition to the military masonic 
 lodges, or rather, in some measure, as a consequence of them, 
 other societies sprang into existence. The Philadelphians, who 
 were probably Republicans, but who were certainly anti-Im- 
 perialists, belong to this order of association. Their importance 
 was, however, very small, and any celebrity which they can lay 
 claim to rests entirely upon Charles Nodier's fantastic account 
 of their legendary chief. Colonel Oudet, who he insinuates was 
 butchered by Napoleon^s orders on the night of the battle of 
 Wagram. According to the same authority General Malet was a 
 Philadelphian, and owed to this fact the success which, for a few 
 hours, attended his conspiracy in 1812. Recent investigations, 
 however, have failed to discover any trace of the participation of 
 the society in that extraordinary affair. Nevertheless, the exist- 
 ence cannot be disputed of this and other secret societies in the 
 Imperial army, the members of which aimed at the overthrow 
 of the Napoleonic despotism. The revolutions in Portugal, Spain, 
 and Italy, in 1820-21 may be ascribed mainly to the influence of 
 poUtical associations, such as the Carbonari, formed in imitation 
 of those which existed in the French armies of occupation.^ 
 
 The symptoms of disaffection among the officers in active 
 employment, which at times manifested themselves openly under 
 
 1 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 47-60. 
 
 2 E. Guillon, Complots sous le Cansulat et I'Empire, pp. 192-197. 
 
 P. M. Desmarest, Quinze ans de haute police (Paris, 1900), pp. Ixxv, 
 269-272. 
 
 Johnson, Napoleonic Empire in Southern Italy and rise of Secret 
 Societies, II. p. 29. 
 
 C. Nodier, Societes Secretes de Farmec (Paris, 1815). 
 
 H. Douzrille, Histoire de la conspiration du General Malet. 
 
298 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1821 
 
 the Restoration, were the natural legacy of the revolutions 
 through which the country had passed. But certain grievances 
 existed, foremost among them being the idea that men of humble 
 extraction must always be at a disadvantage, in the matter of 
 promotion, with their comrades of noble birth. The conduct and 
 the language of many officers of aristocratic descent was often 
 calculated to encourage this notion, and to intensify the evils of 
 class distinctions among members of the same profession. Thus 
 Armand Carrel, a formidable enemy of the Bourbons, who was 
 fated to be killed in a journalist's duel by Emile de Girardin, is 
 said never to have forgotten the sneering remarks passed by 
 General d'Albignac upon his father's humble calling.^ The in- 
 roads of clericalism into the army were a further cause of dis- 
 union and of discontent. The evil must have been a very real one, 
 if Marshal Marmont's statement be true that the confidential 
 reports upon officers, sent in by the regimental chaplain, carried 
 greater weight with the authorities than those furnished by 
 inspecting Generals. ^ 
 
 Among the Carbonari were nearly all the men who had taken 
 part in the great plot of August 19th, 1820. It was, accordingly, 
 resolved to renew the attempt which had miscarried upon that 
 occasion. This plan, a simultaneous revolt of the troops in a num- 
 ber of different garrison towns, was approved of by La Fayette 
 and the members of the head vendita. In the eastern departments, 
 Carbonarism had taken root quickly. Most of the inhabitants of 
 the frontier provinces were Bonapartists, and, moreover, Koechlin 
 and Voyer d'Argenson, who were affiliated to the head vendita, 
 were the owners of important foundries in these districts. A 
 lodge was formed in the 29th Regiment quartered at Belfort and 
 Neu-Brisach. The retired general, Dermoncourt, was confident 
 that his old corps, the 7th Chasseurs, stationed at Colmar, would 
 follow his lead, and officers and non-commissioned officers belong- 
 ing to the Artillery at Strasburg and to the Engineers at Metz 
 entered into the conspiracy. It was decided that the movement 
 should begin by a rising of the garrisons of Belfort and Neu- 
 Brisach. The revolted troops were to raise the tricolour and to 
 effect their junction at Colmar, where a Provisional Government 
 was to be set up consisting of La Fayette, Voyer d'Argenson, and 
 Koechlin. Similar outbreaks were to take place at Metz, Stras- 
 burg, and Mulhaiisen. In the meantime a revolution of the same 
 kind would have broken out at Marseilles and Toulon, in conjunc- 
 
 ^ Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 666-567. 
 ^ Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 7-8. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 39-40. 
 
 Cf. C. Rousset, Le Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, pp. 311-315. 
 
1821] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 299 
 
 tion with which Corcelle, the Deputy and an energetic Carbonaro, 
 was preparing a rising at Eiyons. Thus, if all went well, the 
 conspirators might expect that the whole of the East of France 
 would be in a state of rebellion within a few days of the first out- 
 break.^ 
 
 It was decided that the rising at Belfort and Neu-Brisach 
 should take place during the night of December 29th-30th. But, 
 as had happened in Paris eighteen months before, neither La 
 Fayette nor the other prominent liberals, upon whose presence 
 at the scene of action the conspirators had counted, gave any 
 sign of life.* The movement was postponed in consequence, 
 and fresh plans were discussed. Finally, it was resolved that the 
 attempt at Belfort only should be made during the night of 
 January 1st. Up to this point the authorities would not appear 
 to have had the faintest suspicion of the mischief which was 
 hatching. At the evening roll-call the sergeants, who were 
 doubtless emboldened by the fact that no ofl&cers lived in the 
 barracks of the 29th, warned the men to be prepared for a call 
 to arms during the night. After carrying out this measure of 
 doubtful wisdom they adjourned to drink success to the plot, 
 whilst the officers of the battalion who were in the conspiracy 
 and a number of their comrades on half-pay met for the same 
 purpose at a neighbouring hotel. In the meantime, the attention 
 of a non-commissioned officer, who that evening had returned 
 from furlough, had been attracted by the unusual stir in the 
 barrack-rooms. He appears to have reported the unaccountable 
 activity which he had observed to his captain, who in his turn 
 communicated the news to the Colonel, the Chevalier de Toustain. 
 The officer in question, who was also the commandant of the 
 fortress, guessing the truth, at once ordered the gates to be 
 closed, and all suspicious persons to be arrested. But the con- 
 spirators had taken alarm already, and most of them succeeded 
 in effecting their escape, despite M. de Toustain*s determined 
 efforts to apprehend them. 
 
 On this same day, January 1st, Ea Fayette started for Colmar, 
 accompanied by his son and by an old servant, whom he is said 
 to have warned that the expedition they were engaged upon was 
 one " in which a man might very well lose his head." Manuel 
 and Colonel Fabvier followed them at a prudent distance. On 
 the road they were greeted by the news that the plot was dis- 
 covered, and that the chief conspirators were either in ffight or 
 in custody. Judging under these circumstances that it would be 
 dangerous and useless to prosecute their journey further, they 
 
 * E. Guillon, Complots sous le RestaureUion, pp. 166-168. 
 2 Ibid.j pp. 169-164. 
 
300 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1822 
 
 returned home, Ea Fayette to disarm suspicion making a brief 
 stay at the house of a friend who lived in the neighbourhood.^ 
 
 Carbonari lodges existed in most of the chief towns in the 
 Rhone valley, and one had been formed in a regiment at Mar- 
 seilles. But the news of the discovery of the Belfort plot put an 
 end to the revolutionary preparations which were in progress. 
 Under the pretext of enlisting volunteers to assist the Greeks in 
 their struggle for independence, Captain Valle, an ex-Imperial 
 officer, had been recruiting actively for Carbonarism. With this 
 object, on January 7th, 1822, he entertained a number of half- 
 pay and retired officers at a tavern at Toulon. ^ After inveighing 
 against the pretensions of the nobles and the growing power of 
 the clergy, he read out to his audience the statutes of the Car- 
 bonari. It happened that on this day the local papers contained 
 the news of the affair at Belfort. The coincidence struck one of 
 the company as suspicious. Denouncing Valle as an agent pro- 
 vocateur he sent for the commissary of police. Upon the appear- 
 ance of that official, the unfortunate man attempted to destroy 
 his papers. They were, however, pieced together, and furnished 
 sufficient evidence to bring him to the scaffold on 16th June, 1822, 
 as a member of a secret society which aimed at the overthrow of 
 the Government. 3 
 
 These abortive military insurrections, in the eastern provinces, 
 are remembered chiefly for the very questionable methods to 
 which the authorities resorted in order to entrap Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Caron. This former officer of the Imperial Guard had 
 been implicated in the plot at the Bazar frauQais. Notwith- 
 standing that he had been acquitted by the Peers, the Minister of 
 War deprived him of his retired pay. After his trial, Caron went 
 to reside at Colmar where, in conjunction with another ex-officer 
 named Roger, who kept a riding-school, he formed the plan of 
 rescuing the prisoners who were in confinement for alleged 
 participation in the Belfort plot. In pursuance of this object 
 he sought the assistance of a sergeant of the 46th Regiment, 
 quartered at Colmar, who professed the most violent hatred for 
 the Bourbons. The man listened sympathetically, but betrayed 
 the Colonel's intentions to the authorities. Acting under in- 
 structions from their superior officers,* several sergeants of 
 other regiments now entered into communication with both 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 443-444. 
 
 E. Charavay, Le General La Fayette, pp. 422-423. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 438-439, 444-445. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 444-447. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 102-103. 
 
 * E. GuiUon, Complots sous la Bestauration, pp. 167-170. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 432-434. 
 
1822] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 301 
 
 Caron and Roger. A plan was arranged between them for the 
 delivery of their friends who were in prison at Mulhaiisen, and, 
 probably, for bringing about a revolt of the troops in the district. 
 
 On July 22nd, 1822, a squadron of cavalry rode out of Colmar, 
 under the command of a sergeant, but with several officers 
 dressed as privates in the ranks. Outside the town Caron was 
 waiting, and directly the detachment appeared he placed himself 
 at its head. At a convenient spot a little farther on, he put on his 
 old uniform of the Imperial Guard and addressed the men. His 
 speech ended with the words ''Vive Napoleon II f'' which were 
 repeated with apparent enthusiasm by the soldiers. Shortly 
 afterwards a second body of cavalry, coming from the direction 
 of Neu-Brisach and led by Roger, was met with. Both parties 
 shouted " Vive Napoleon IIP' and continued their march together. 
 These cries were taken up afresh at each village which they 
 passed through. At Battenheim, seven miles from Mulhaiisen, 
 Caron called a halt and treated the men to drink, bidding the 
 innkeeper observe that they were no longer the soldiers of the 
 King. Thereupon the officers, who were secretly directing the 
 affair, considered that the comedy might be brought to a close. 
 At their signal Caron and Roger were seized, and the next day 
 both squadrons returned in triumph to Colmar with their two 
 prisoners.^ 
 
 The indignation at the trap which had been laid for the two 
 retired officers found expression in Eiberal pamphlets, petitions, 
 and interpellations in the Chamber. So general was the com- 
 miseration which was felt for them that it was doubtful whether 
 a jury could be found to convict. The difficulty was overcome by 
 M. de Peyronnet, the Keeper of the Seals, who enacted that the 
 case fell within the law of the 4th Nivose of the year IV, which 
 provided for the trial by military courts of civilians charged with 
 attempting to seduce soldiers from their duty by offers of money 
 or of drink. 2 Wliereas such of the Belfort conspirators as had 
 been secured appeared before the civil tribunal at Colmar, and 
 escaped with light terms of imprisonment, Caron, who in pur- 
 suance of the Ministerial decision had been arraigned before a 
 Court Martial at Strasburg, was shot in the ditch of one of the 
 forts on October 1st. The death sentence passed upon Roger by 
 the assize court of the Moselle was, however, commuted to one of 
 penal servitude for twenty years. ^ 
 
 At the same time as the projected risings in the East and 
 South a. revolutionary movement had been planned to take 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 178-184. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 201-202. 
 
 3 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 165-166, 172-173; 
 
302 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1822 
 
 place in the West. In this direction a secret society known as 
 the Knights of Liberty already existed. The association had been 
 formed originally in Paris, under the First Restoration, by a cer- 
 tain Grandmesnil, a retired army surgeon. After the Hundred 
 Days he retired to Saumur, where, about the year 1820, he 
 appears to have begun to recruit afresh for his society.^ He found 
 little difficulty in enrolling half -pay officers, small landowners, 
 and purchasers of national property resident in the valley of the 
 Loire. Accordingly, when the first Carbonari penetrated into 
 these regions they found an association already formed, the 
 members of which were eager to enter into a close alliance with 
 them. In the autunm of 1820 the officers who were then under- 
 going their course of training at the Cavalry School at Saumur, 
 had displayed their Royalist sentiments by demonstrating 
 against Benjamin Constant, and by driving him from the town. 
 But the next year the officers and non-commissioned officers who 
 succeeded them had either joined their regiments, or had been 
 promoted under the Liberal regime of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr.^ Many 
 of the new-comers were imbued with a strong democratic spirit. 
 One of their number. Lieutenant Delon, a Freemason, was thus 
 enabled to induce some of them to affiliate themselves to the 
 society of the Knights of Liberty and to the Carbonari lodges in 
 the district. The intention of the conspirators to bring about a 
 rising, which was to coincide with the military insurrections in 
 the East, was, however, by chance revealed to the authorities. 
 In their endeavours to extinguish a fire, which had broken out 
 accidentally during the night of December 19th, several officers 
 and sergeants were crushed by the fall of a wall. Some papers 
 which were found upon their persons confirmed the information, 
 which the commandant had already received, as to the existence 
 of a secret society in the school. Prompt measures were taken, 
 and, though Delon succeeded in escaping, about thirty non- 
 commissioned officers were placed in arrest.^ 
 
 This action on the part of the authorities compelled the con- 
 spirators to postpone the execution of their plans, but it did not 
 dishearten them. Grandmesnil, Gauchais, Caffe, and the other 
 leading members of the league of the Knights of Liberty t were 
 anxious to identify some well-known general with their move- 
 ment. With this object, the ex-Major Gauchais was despatched 
 to Paris. Hopes had been entertained that Pajol, the son-in-law 
 of Marshal Oudinot, would come forward. But as he showed 
 reluctance to embark upon the undertaking, they were fain to be 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, X. pp. 261-264. 
 
 * E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 141-144, 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 168-159. 
 
1822] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 303 
 
 content to accept the services of General Berton, who proposed 
 himself. This former officer had commanded a cavalry brigade 
 in the Waterloo campaign. He had never been employed under 
 the Restored Monarchy, and, in 1815, had been imprisoned as a 
 suspect for several months. He was a person upon whom the 
 police had constantly kept watch. Their reports describe him as 
 a great talker at the cafe Remblin and as a constant visitor at 
 Correard's library, in the Palais Royal, which was practically a 
 Jacobin Club.^ 
 
 Berton is said to have been a good officer. Events were to 
 prove, however, that he had none of the qualities required for a 
 revolutionary leader. At a council of war held at Saumar, on 
 February 17th, at which the General and forty-two delegates 
 from the lodges and committees in the neighbouring towns were 
 present, a plan of operations was drawn up. It was decided that 
 the first blow should be struck at Thouars, where a Provisional 
 Government was to be proclaimed and the tricolour hoisted.* 
 Berton, at the head of the insurgents, would then march upon 
 Saumur and, assisted by confederates in the cavalry school and 
 in the garrison, seize the castle with its stores of arms and ammu- 
 nition. It was reckoned that within three days of these events 
 six departments, at least, would be in open rebellion. 
 
 On Sunday, February 24th, 1822, at daybreak, on the Place 
 Saint-Medard at Thouars, General Berton, in full uniform, 
 announced the downfall of the Bourbons and the estabhshment 
 in Paris of a Provisional Government, consisting of Generals de 
 La Fayette, Foy, and Demargay, and MM. Benjamin Constant, 
 de K6ratry, and Voyer d'Argenson. The five or six gendarmes 
 who constituted the police force of the town, were overcome 
 without difficulty, and the civil officials were ordered to relin- 
 quish their posts. Much precious time was wasted, however, 
 and it was not till midday that Berton and about fifteen of the 
 chief conspirators on horseback, followed by a rabble of some 
 one hundred and thirty persons and preceded by an old soldier 
 bearing the tricolour, started for Saumur. Their hopes were not 
 realized that the people would flock to their standard in the 
 villages through which they passed. Saumur, where their con- 
 federates had expected them much earlier, was not reached till 
 the evening. The authorities were on the alert, the drawbridge 
 was up, the gates were closed, and there were no signs of assist- 
 ance from their well-wishers within the town. Instead of at once 
 forcing his way in, as the more determined of the conspirators 
 
 ^ E. Guillon, Complots sous lu Restauration, pp. 178-179- 
 2 Ibid., pp. 181-184. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 424-431. 
 
304 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1822 
 
 entreated him, Berton talked of avoiding bloodshed, and began 
 to parley with the prefect.^ Something in the nature of an armis- 
 tice appears to have been concluded, but, before daybreak, 
 Berton gave the order to retreat, whereupon his followers, who 
 were already melting away, dispersed in all directions. In the 
 course of the next few days the troops, who had been hurried into 
 the district, secured the greater number of them. Berton himself, 
 however, and several of the ringleaders succeeded in reaching the 
 coast at La Rochelle. 
 
 The conspirators, not without reason, laid all the blame for 
 the failure of their enterprise upon Berton's weakness and in- 
 decision. Determined to make a last attempt to retrieve his 
 reputation, he refused to embark while there was yet time. In 
 the 45th Regiment, which had just arrived at La Rochelle from 
 Paris, existed a Carbonari lodge. The general contrived to meet 
 the members of it at a tavern in a neighbouring village, on March 
 11th, and the possibilities of bringing about a rising at La 
 Rochelle itself were discussed. But shortly afterwards most of 
 the non-commissioned officers who had been present at the 
 interview were placed in arrest, and two battalions, upon the 
 assistance of which he had counted, were removed to another 
 garrison. Berton, thereupon, fled to Rochefort, and then made 
 his way back to the neighbourhood of Saumur.^ In the mean- 
 time, ten of the non-commissioned officers of the cavalry school 
 at Saumur, whose affiliation to the secret league of the Knights of 
 Liberty had been discovered in the previous December, had ap- 
 peared before a court martial at Tours. Two of their number, 
 Coudert and Sirejean, were condemned to death. The Court of 
 Revision, however, annulled the proceedings, on account of an 
 irregularity, and directed that they should be tried again. On 
 this second occasion. Sire jean only was found guilty of the major 
 charge of conspiracy. His extreme youth — he was but twenty- 
 one — his good looks, and his hitherto irreproachable conduct 
 marked him out as an object for general sympathy. The ladies of 
 Tours appealed to Madame Recamier to use all her influence with 
 Mathieu de Montmorency on behalf of the condemned man. But 
 her efforts were unavailing. Louis considered that, under the 
 circumstances, he would not be justified in exercising his pre- 
 rogative to pardon. On May 2nd, 1822, Sire jean underwent his 
 sentence before the assembled garrison of Tours. ^ 
 
 After the court martial at Tours, the Government broke up 
 the cavalry school and withdrew from Saumur nearly the whole 
 
 * E. Guillon, Complots sous la Bestauration, pp. 184-188. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 189-190. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp, 195-197. 
 
1822] THE SECEET SOCIETIES 305 
 
 of the troops. Only one regiment, the Carbineers of Monsieur, 
 remained in the town. Though the fideUty of this corps was sup- 
 posed to be above reproach, Grandmesnil and some of his fellow- 
 conspirators, who were still at large, were informed that it con- 
 tained a Carbonari lodge. Undeterred by previous failures, they 
 determined to attempt a fresh insurrection. Before taking action, 
 however, Grandmesnil and a certain Baudrillet proceeded to Paris, 
 where on two occasions they appear to have had interviews with 
 Ea Fayette, who urged them to persevere. A sergeant of the 
 Carbineers at Saumur, Woelfeld by name, assured them that the 
 co-operation of his comrades in any revolutionary movement 
 could be depended upon. This man, who if he had gone through 
 the form of affiliating himself to Carbonarism had acted only 
 under instructions from his superiors, was taken to see Berton, 
 who was hiding in the vicinity of the town. A second interview 
 was arranged, upon which occasion Woelfeld was to be accom- 
 panied by some of his comrades to discuss the details of the plot. 
 The appointment was duly kept on June 17th. At the general's 
 invitation the party sat down to partake of refreshment. Pre- 
 sently, however, at a signal from WoeKeld, the sergeants sprang 
 to their feet, and covering Berton with their double-barrelled 
 guns secured him, and two of his friends, with the ropes with 
 which they had come provided.^ 
 
 On August 26th, 1822, General Berton and thirty -nine of his 
 accomplices were arraigned at Poitiers. The violent language of 
 Mangin, the leading counsel for the prosecution, and his bitter 
 references to the participation of La Fayette and other Liberal 
 Deputies in the treasonable designs of the prisoners, were the 
 feature of the trial. On September 11th, the chief conspirators 
 were sentenced to death. Three weeks later, on October 5th, 
 Berton sufiFered at Poitiers. But Caffe, the surgeon and the 
 friend of Benjamin Constant, who was to have been guillotined 
 at the same time, eluded the executioner by committing suicide. 
 Two other of the condemned men were beheaded at Thouars 
 on the 7th. 2 
 
 The celebrated case of the four sergeants of La Rochelle con- 
 cludes the melancholy story of the military plots. In 1821 the 
 45th Regiment was stationed in the students' quarter in Paris. 
 Among the non-commissioned officers was a sergeant, named 
 Bories, who had fought at Waterloo. Sympathetic writers have 
 d^escribed him as a man of studious habits and of a blameless 
 private life. That he was better educated and of a more serious 
 
 ^ E. Guillon, Gomplots sous la Restauration, pp. 191-194. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 171-175. 
 2 E. Guillon^ Gomplots som la Restaur cUion^ pp. 196-207. 
 
 X 
 
306 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1822 
 
 disposition than the majority of his comrades may be taken for 
 granted. At the same time he was dissatisfied, being convinced 
 that under a more democratic regime he would have received the 
 promotion to the commissioned ranks, to which he considered 
 that he was entitled. The atmosphere of the Latin quarter, in 
 which the barracks were situated, was dangerous to a man in this 
 frame of mind. Bories appears to have acquired an intimacy 
 with a group of students and to have joined their Masonic lodge. ^ 
 Soon afterwards he was initiated to Carbonarism, and set himself 
 to recruit for the society among his fellow- sergeants. A lodge 
 was thus formed in the 45th, to which the majority of the non- 
 commissioned officers had been affihated, before the end of the 
 year. 2 
 
 In the early days of January, 1822, the regiment was ordered 
 to move to Ea Rochelle. Before leaving Paris, however, Bories 
 was admitted to an interview with La Fayette,^ and was pro- 
 vided with cards of a particular pattern to enable him to com- 
 municate with the good cousins all over France. A meeting also 
 took place between the civilian delegates of a central lodge, 
 known as that of Washington, and some of the sergeants of the 
 45th at the Roi Clovis, a tavern in the Rue Descartes. The 
 gathering was of a festive character. The toast of the Republic 
 and the Constitution of 1791 was drunk enthusiastically, and 
 flattering allusions were made to the part played by the army in 
 the Spanish Revolution. At the close of the entertainment, the 
 civilian delegates gave each sergeant a dagger of a peculiar shape, 
 and handed over to Bories a sum of money for distribution among 
 his comrades.* This last proceeding sheds an interesting light 
 upon the methods of the Carbonari. 
 
 The regiment quitted Paris on January 22nd. On the march 
 Bories, who was aware that an insurrection was about to break 
 out at Saumur, made some highly compromising overtures to a 
 Sergeant Choulet, who is said to have been a spy of the Colonel, 
 the Marquis de Toustain. A regiment of Swiss Infantry was 
 quartered at Orleans, where the 45th spent a night. The in- 
 corporation of these foreign corps into the army was resented by 
 the Liberals as a practice which savoured of the old regime. After 
 a dinner, which he had given to several of his fellow sergeants, 
 Bories became involved in a tavern brawl with some of these 
 Swiss soldiers and was placed under arrest. But at Poitiers, a 
 few days later, he was released, and billeted at the house of 
 
 1 Nettement, Histoire, VI. p. 38. 
 
 2 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 221-222. 
 
 3 E. Charavay, Le General La Fayette, p. 426. 
 ^ Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 18-19 (note). 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Eestauratiorif p. 223. 
 
1822] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 307 
 
 a retired officer. To this person, who was probably in the pay of 
 the police, and who led him on by affecting very hostile senti- 
 ments towards the Government, Bories made some unguarded 
 admissions. When the regiment arrived at La Rochelle, on 
 February 14th, he was incarcerated at once in the civil prison of 
 the town.i 
 
 The Comte Despinois, who commanded the district, had been 
 a general of the Empire. He is said to have been employed in 
 Bonaparte's secret police. Frenilly ^ speaks of him as a collector 
 of works of art and as a judge of pictures. In 1815 and 1816, when 
 in command of the first military division in Paris, he had dis- 
 played his zeal for the Royal cause by a merciless severity to- 
 wards his old comrades of the Imperial army. The activity of 
 the secret societies within his new district had not escaped his 
 vigilance. No sooner, accordingly, was he in possession of 
 Colonel de Toustain*s report than he sent for Bories to Nantes 
 in order personally to examine him. But despite the skill in such 
 matters, which he is said to have acquired in Napoleon's secret 
 service, he was unable to extract anything of importance from 
 his prisoner. 3 
 
 In the meantime, Berton, as already related, had arrived at 
 La Rochelle and had had an interview with the Carbonari of the 
 45th in the neighbourhood of the town. In the absence of Bories, 
 three sergeants, Pommier, Goubin, and Raoulx had assumed the 
 chief direction of the lodge. But two or three days after the meet- 
 ing, on March 1 1th, at which Berton had been present, Pommier 
 and Goubin were placed under arrest. This measure appears to 
 have been taken because, contrary to orders, they had been seen 
 in plain clothes in the town. But to one, at least, of the con- 
 spirators, it carried the conviction that their relations with the 
 notorious Berton, for whom the police were hunting in all direc- 
 tions, must be known to the authorities. Unable to bear the 
 suspense any longer, a sergeant named Goupillon, on March 19th, 
 disclosed the existence of the lodge to the colonel. That night 
 all the members of it in barracks were made prisoners, and the 
 daggers, which had been distributed at the Roi Clovis in Paris, 
 were discovered hidden in a mattress.* 
 
 ^ Causes politiques c6lehres du XIX. Steele^ Paris , 1827, Proces de Bories 
 et autres, pp. 17-19. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 33-37. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Bestauration, pp. 223-225. 
 3 Ibid., p. 214. 
 
 Frenilly, Souvenirs, pp. 394, 461, 472. 
 3 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 215-217, 225. 
 * Causes celebres du XIX. siecle Proces de Bories et autres, p. 19-20. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 226-228. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 37-40 
 
308 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1822 
 
 The news brought Despinois in haste to La Rochelle. To this 
 general officer both Pommier and Goubin made a full confession, 
 which embraced the story of the connection of their regimental 
 lodge with the central vendita, the Washington ^ in Paris. At their 
 trial they asserted that Despinois had visited them alone in their 
 cells, and had won their confidence by declaring that he himself 
 was a Carbonaro. Their statement may not have been true, 
 nevertheless the general's refusal to give evidence, on the plea 
 that his duties would detain him at Nantes, points to a strong 
 disinclination to answer questions about some of his proceedings. 
 In the meantime, however, he had enabled the police to arrest 
 the civilian delegates who had been present at the meeting at 
 the Roi Clovis.^ 
 
 The trial of the twenty-five accused began in Paris on August 
 21st. Though the lawyer, Barradere, was described in the acte 
 d'aocusation as the chief conspirator, all interest was centred 
 upon the four non-commissioned officers, Bories, Pommier, 
 Goubin, and Raoulx. Bories, who was unquestionably a man 
 of great force of character, quickly regaiaed his ascendancy over 
 his weaker comrades, and induced them to retract their confes- 
 sions. The existence of an association of some kind in the regi- 
 ment could not be denied, but an attempt was made to show that 
 it had no political character, and was merely a friendly society. 
 The defence is said to have been conducted tamely. Yet Merilhou, 
 who was counsel for Bories, was not only a distinguished advo- 
 cate, but was himself affiliated to the head vendita. In other 
 cases, besides, the interests of the accused were confided to Car- 
 bonari members of the Paris bar. Marchangy, to whom this 
 trial was to bring celebrity, prosecuted. In the opinion of Priace 
 Metternich his speech was so full of admirable sentiments as to 
 deserve to be placed upon the table at the approaching congress 
 at Verona. Availing himself to the full extent of the latitude 
 which the law permitted, Marchangy drew a fantastic picture of 
 Carbonarism, to the mysterious influence of which he ascribed all 
 the recent revolutionary movements in Europe. But, though 
 he omitted neither point nor insinuation which could tell against 
 the prisoners, his finest fiights of rhetoric were reserved for the 
 condemnation of their absent chiefs. " Those lords of the head 
 vendita, those aristocrats of anarchy, who bade their subordi- 
 nates go forth to tempt the hazards of an insurrection, whilst 
 they cowered in the safe recesses of their committees." ^ 
 
 1 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Bestauration, pp. 229-230. 
 Causes celebres du XIX. Steele Proces de Bories et autres, p. 37. 
 
 2 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 231-245. 
 Causes celehres du XIX. siecle Proces de Bories et autres. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 171-182. Pasquier, V. pp. 431-432. 
 
1822] THE SECRET SOCIETIES 309 
 
 On September 5th, after an impartial summing-up by Mont- 
 merque, the president, the jury withdrew. When they returned, 
 after an absence of four hours, night had set in. A fitful candle- 
 light lit up in ghastly fashion, against the dark background of 
 the Court, the faces of the accused. Amid a breathless silence 
 the foreman, the Baron Trouve, an ardent Royalist and a former 
 editor of the Conservateur, announced the verdict. Bories, Pom- 
 mier, Goubin, and Raoulx only were declared guilty of the 
 capital charge of conspiracy. Of the other prisoners a few were 
 acquitted, and others were convicted on minor counts. At mid- 
 night formal sentence of death was passed upon the four ser- 
 geants.^ Whilst the Carbonari were discussing in their lodges 
 plans for rescuing the condemned men, it was conveyed to them 
 that the head jailer of Bicetre would accept a bribe of 70,000 
 francs, to allow the prisoners to escape. The sum demanded 
 was raised among them. But, as their agents were in the act of 
 paying over a first instalment of the money, they were arrested. 
 The plot is said to have been revealed to the authorities by the 
 prison chaplain. The whole affair, however, from its inception 
 may very possibly have been arranged by the police. On the 
 day fixed for their execution, the four men would have to per- 
 form that double journey, which Victor Hugo 2 has described so 
 poignantly, from Bicetre to the Conciergerie and from the Con- 
 ciergerie to the Place de Greve. The good cousins in Paris were 
 more numerous than the troops of the garrison. Their society 
 had been organized with a view to fighting. Every member of 
 it was bound to possess a musket and ammunition. The possi- 
 bility of effecting the rescue of their comrades by force, at some 
 point along the road, was considered. On September 21st, 
 mingled with the dense crowd upon the quays and upon the 
 Place de Greve, were many Carbonari who saw the f6ur ser- 
 geants pass to their doom between a double rank of soldiers. 
 They are said to have been ready for action, and to have been 
 waiting only for a signal which never came.^ 
 
 1 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 182-185. 
 
 E. Charavay^ Le general La Fayette, p. 426. 
 
 Causes celehres du XIX. siecle Proces de Bories et autres, pp. 8JJ-86. 
 
 2 V. Hugo, Le dernier jour d'un condamne. 
 
 3 E. Guillon, Gomplots sous la Bestauration, pp. 246-249. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 
 
 FROM the earliest days of its formation the pre-eminence 
 of Villele in the new Cabinet had been admitted by his 
 colleagues. His first step had been to withdraw the bill of 
 censorship, which the former Government had introduced, and 
 to bring forward in its place two laws for the better control of 
 the newspapers. According to the first of these all offences 
 connected with the periodical press were no longer to be referred 
 to a jury, but were to be dealt with by the magistrates of the 
 Royal Courts. Under the terms of the second bill these same 
 Courts might suspend for one month any newspaper, the general 
 tone of which was disrespectful to religion or tended to impair 
 the King's authority or to endanger the public peace. A repeti- 
 tion of any of these offences was to involve the suppression of the 
 paper altogether. In addition, when the Chambers were not 
 sitting, a discretionary power of imposing the censorship was 
 conceded to Ministers. But this restriction, if resorted to, was in 
 all cases to be removed one month before the opening of the 
 Parliament. Despite the resistance of the Liberals of all shades 
 of opinion, both measures were carried successfully. In the 
 Upper Chamber, where the opposition to them was very keen, 
 the speech of Talleyrand, in which he denounced the two Govern- 
 ment bills as a direct infraction of the Charter, proved the feature 
 of the debate. On May 1st, directly the Budget had been voted, 
 the King declared the session closed.^ 
 
 Hitherto every government had been obliged, at the beginning 
 of the Session, to ask the Chambers to vote a provisional grant 
 of supplies to meet current expenses. In order to put an end to 
 this system, known as that of the douziemes provisoires, Vill^e, 
 with the King's consent, proposed to hold two sessions and to 
 bring forward two budgets in the course of the year.^ Before the 
 Parliament could meet again, however, the annual displacement 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 10-13. 
 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 420-423. 
 ^ Villele, Memoires, III. p. 15. 
 
 310 
 
1822] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 311 
 
 of a fifth of its members would have to take place. The colleges 
 d'arrondissement were accordmgly convened for May 9th, and 
 the departmental colleges for May 16th. These elections proved 
 less favourable to the Royalists than those of the two previous 
 years. This was the case especially in Paris, where ten opposi- 
 tion candidates were successful and two ministeriaUsts only. 
 In the country the Liberals were less fortunate; nevertheless, 
 out of the eighty-six deputies returned, thirty-two belonged to 
 their party. ^ 
 
 This second Session, in which the budget for the year 1823 was 
 voted, lasted from June 4th till August 17th. Though the busi- 
 ness transacted was almost entirely financial, the opposition upon 
 several occasions was enabled to subject to severe criticism the 
 Government policy with regard to the state of affairs in Spain 
 and to the conspirators at home. The trap which had been laid 
 for Caron at Colmar, the decision to send him for trial before 
 a Court Martial, and the means adopted for securing the ex- 
 General Berton were indignantly inveighed against by Foy and 
 Benjamin Constant. ^ On August 1st the publication of the 
 acte d' accusation, drawn up by Mangin the procureur general of the 
 Royal Court at Poitiers, against Berton and his accomplices 
 caused an immense sensation. Five Deputies, Benjamin Con- 
 stant, Foy, La Fayette, Laffitte, and Voyer d'Argenson were 
 described as implicated in the plot. This charge, which was 
 unfounded in respect of Foy and Constant, and, probably, also 
 in the case of Lafi&tte, afforded them an opportunity of protesting 
 violently, and of suggesting that the whole conspiracy had been 
 contrived by the police. When the excitement was at its height 
 La Fayette ascended the tribune. His position was very different 
 from that of his colleagues ; Mangin's allegations, untrue as far as 
 they were concerned, were justified as regards him. Neverthe- 
 less, with an imperturbable assurance he demanded that the 
 charges made against him should be investigated publicly. 
 In reply Villele contended that the enquiry, for which the 
 Liberals asked, was unnecessary. Amidst derisive shouts from 
 the Left he assured the Chamber that, should the complicity of 
 any member in the conspiracies be disclosed, proceedings against 
 him would be instituted at once. The next day, August 3rd, 
 M. de Saint-Aulaire, Decazes' father-in-law, moved that Mangin 
 should be called to the bar of the Chamber to answer for his 
 allegations against certain Deputies. ^ The proposal was sup- 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. pp. 427-428. 
 
 2 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 147-149. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 232-255. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 157-16G. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 428-430. 
 
312 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1822 
 
 ported by Royer-Collard, but on August 5th it was rejected on a 
 division by a substantial majority. 
 
 The Government was in a difficult position with regard 
 to these Deputies about whose complicity in the military plots 
 there could be no moral doubt. Despite Villele's brave words 
 in the Chamber, he probably shrank from prosecuting them. 
 Owing to the skilful manner in which Carbonarism had been 
 organized, it would not have been easy to establish legally the 
 connection between the head ve/ndita and the central and ordinary 
 lodges. The difficulty had been increased by the loyal silence 
 generally maintained by those of the convicted Carbonari who, 
 perhaps, might have furnished evidence against their chiefs. 
 But had the Government been in possession of the strongest 
 proofs of the guilt of the Deputies, it was by no means certain 
 that a conviction would have been obtained. A decision to 
 prosecute must have involved a state trial in the Upper Chamber. 
 The circumspect dispositions and the Liberal leanings of many 
 of the Peers, and, especially of those created at the instance 
 of Decazes in 1819, rendered it improbable that they would bring 
 in a verdict against so prominent a person as La Fayette. The 
 result of the proceedings in the Upper Chamber, instituted by the 
 Richelieu Government against the comparatively obscure con- 
 spirators of the Bazar frangais, was hardly of a nature to encourage 
 the authorities to repeat the experiment. 
 
 The Royalist Government has been reproached for the number 
 of death sentences which were carried out during the year 1822, 
 and for its general methods in dealing with the conspiracies. 
 Without doubt the conduct of the authorities in employing 
 soldiers upon the most repugnant of police duties, and in pubUcly 
 rewarding them for their skill as agents provocateurs, is deserving 
 of the severest condemnation. On the other hand, the grave 
 conditions prevailing at home and abroad would appear to 
 have justified the eleven executions^ which actually took place. 
 It was evident that the merciful treatment, extended to the 
 conspirators of the Bazar frangais in the previous year, had served 
 only to encourage the disaffected to persevere with their plots. 
 The affiliation of the French malcontents to the same secret 
 societies which had been so prominent in the revolutions in 
 Spain and Italy made the situation doubly dangerous. But 
 the best excuse for the stern measures to which the Government 
 resorted is to be found in the complete success which attended 
 
 * Ex-Captain Valle, at Toulon ; Sergeant Sirejean, at Tours ; ex-Lieut. 
 Colonel Caron, at Strasburg ; ex-General Berton and two accomplices at 
 Poitiers and Thouars ; four Sergeants of La Rochelle, in Paris ; Maillard, 
 at Pau. 
 
1822] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 313 
 
 them. The execution of the four sergeants of lia Rochelle was the 
 deathblow to Carbonarism in France. 
 
 Throughout the two short Sessions of 1822, Villele successfully 
 contrived to prevent any serious disunion among his followers. 
 The conspiracies themselves, and the suspicion that several pro- 
 minent Liberals had been concerned in them helped to preserve the 
 unity of the Royalist party. ^ But anxious as he was to avoid 
 any quarrel with the " pointus," he was by no means disposed 
 to comply with all their demands. He neither responded to 
 Chateaubriand's repeated hints that Ea Bourdonnaye was to be 
 placated by an embassy and a Peerage for his son, nor would be 
 listen to VitroUes' appeal to be readmitted to the Council of State. 
 General Donnadieu, however, was replaced upon the active list 
 of the army, and appointments were found for Castelbajac 
 and other members of the group. ^ But in a more important 
 direction Villele displayed less firmness. In his anxiety to 
 remain upon good terms with Madame du Cayla and to please 
 Monsieur, he was easily induced to defer to the wishes of the 
 clerical party. By the nomination, on June 5th, 1822, of Frays- 
 sinous. Bishop of Hermopolis, to the post of Grand Master of the 
 University, a position which took the place of that of president 
 of the commission of public instruction, all the educational 
 establishments in France were given over to the control of an 
 ecclesiastic. 
 
 Frayssinous held less extreme views than many of his col- 
 leagues ; nevertheless, the effect of this appointment was soon 
 felt. Before the end of the year the Ecole norrrmle, the training 
 school for teachers and professors, had been abolished, the 
 learned Bacy, a distinguished oriental scholar, who was suspected 
 of Jansenist leanings, had been driven from the council of public 
 instruction, and Guizot had been forced to discontinue his 
 lectures on modern history. The great Royalist success at the 
 autumn elections was followed by further concessions to the 
 clerical party. ^ 
 
 Of the eighty-six Deputies returned to the Chamber in Novem- 
 ber, 1822, seven only were members of the opposition. The 
 Liberals pretended to ascribe this result to the unfair pressure 
 brought to bear upon the electors by the agents of the Govern- 
 ment. It is true, probably, that the prefects to a greater extent 
 than usual threatened public employes of all kinds with dis- 
 
 ^ Guizotj Memoires, I. p. 246. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 19-25. 
 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 468-470. 
 ^ Le Abbe Denys, Memoires de CAhhe Liautard, p. 120. 
 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 464-465, 470. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 91-98. 
 
314 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1822 
 
 missal should they venture to vote for an opposition candidate. 
 It is not disputed that the secrecy of the ballot was frequently 
 violated, in the case of minor officials, that their superiors 
 might ascertain whether their orders had been obeyed. It is 
 generally admitted that the voting registers were often drawn 
 up unfairly. But, though the action of the prefects may have 
 decided the result of a few elections, it was incapable of effecting 
 the wholesale defeat of the candidates of the Eeft.^ The true 
 causes of the Liberal disaster lay in the conduct of certain 
 prominent members of the party. The country was prosperous, 
 and the people, generally, were well contented. Under these 
 circumstances there was no disposition to sympathize with the 
 contrivers of an abortive insurrection. The recklessness of La 
 Fayette and his friends had completely discredited the party. 
 Thinking men saw clearly that, despite their vaunted love of 
 liberty, they had no compunctions about exposing their country 
 to the hazards of a military revolution. ^ La Fayette's own 
 experiences show that this was the view which was widely 
 entertained. Though he was afterwards successful at Meaux, 
 in his own neighbourhood, he was defeated when he presented 
 himself to his old electors in the department of the Sarthe. 
 Marchangy, on the other hand, who had prosecuted the sergeants 
 of La Rochelle, and who had denounced so bitterly the instigators 
 of their treason, was returned simultaneously by the electoral 
 colleges of two different departments.^ The success of the 
 Ministerial candidates throughout the country was the more 
 remarkable, because business circles were much disturbed by the 
 fear that the Government was about to embark upon hostilities 
 against Spain.* 
 
 The Spanish revolution was brought to a successful con- 
 clusion when, on March 7th, 1820, Ferdinand VII was compelled 
 to accept the Constitution of 1812. The outbreak began, under 
 the leadership of Colonel Quiroga and Major Riego, among the 
 troops waiting to be embarked at Cadiz for the revolted colonies 
 in South America. The tyrannical rule of the King and his 
 camarilla, the disordered state of the finances, and, among the 
 half- starved soldiers themselves, a loathing for the colonial 
 expedition upon which they were to be employed, were the 
 causes of the rebellion. The course of the revolution was attended 
 with little bloodshed, and its triumph was marked, at first, by no 
 excesses.^ Louis XVIII and the Due de Richelieu, much as they 
 
 » Pasquier, V. pp. 466-467- 
 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 234-235. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Ilistoire, XI. pp. 376-383. 
 
 4 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 213, 220. 
 
 ^ Cambridge Modem History, X. pp. 216-218. 
 
1820] CHATEAUBEIAND'S WAR 315 
 
 deplored the event, and greatly as they apprehended the con- 
 sequences which might arise from the example of a successful 
 military revolution, were resolutely opposed to armed interven- 
 tion. But the Duke had no confidence in a one -Chamber Con- 
 sitution closely modelled upon that of 1791. Foreseeing dij0S.- 
 culties, he proposed to send M. de la Tour du Pin to Madrid to 
 suggest certain modifications of the Constitution and to act as 
 the King's adviser. Montmorency-Eaval, the French am- 
 bassador, was ill-fitted to mediate between Ferdinand and his 
 subjects by reason of his notoriously friendly relations with the 
 King's old counsellors. The plan was abandoned, however, in 
 consequence of the protests of Sir Charles Stuart in Paris and 
 of the action of Henry Wellesley at Madrid. In their eyes the 
 mission of La Tour du Pin was but an attempt to obtain that 
 preponderating voice in Spanish affairs which it was the British 
 policy to oppose. The future position of the revolted Spanish 
 colonies was already attracting the attention of European states- 
 men. If, as appeared probable, the mother country should prove 
 unequal to the task of subduing them, the British Government 
 was determined that they should not be taken possession of by 
 any other continental Power. ^ 
 
 The Tsar Alexander was filled with indignation at the course 
 of events in Spain. His Liberal ideas, which were waning 
 already at Aix-la-Chapelle, had received further shocks from 
 the murder of Kotzebue and of the Due de Berri. He now pro- 
 posed a conference, and offered to place his army at the disposal 
 of the Powers. This was a remedy which had no attractions for 
 Metternich, who regarded the march of a Russian army through 
 Austrian territory as an even greater evil than the triumph of the 
 popular party in Spain. The revolution at Naples in the follow- 
 ing July, and the imposition by the Carbonari of the Spanish 
 Constitution upon King Ferdinand IV, was a different matter. 
 It was a state of affairs which menaced Austrian interests in 
 Italy, and which could not be allowed to endure. There existed, 
 moreover, a secret clause in the treaty of June 12th, 1815, 
 between Austria and Naples, which forbade the introduction 
 by the Neapolitan Government of constitutional changes other 
 than those sanctioned in the Austrian dominions.^ Metternich, 
 accordingly, proposed to intervene, and proceeded to mobilize 
 an army. But, whilst thus purposing to make the Italian ques- 
 tion an exclusively Austrian affair, he was anxious, at all costs, 
 to preserve the intimate alliance of the Powers. Alarmed by the 
 
 1 Pasquier, IV. pp. 491-495. 
 
 Crousaz-Crdtet, RichelieUy pp. 325-386. 
 « Ibid., pp. 388-396. 
 
316 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1820 
 
 prospect that these military operations would lead to a further 
 subjugation of Italy by Austria, Richelieu joined with Russia in 
 pressing for a conference to consider the situation. The British 
 policy was defined by Castlereagh in a reply to Metternich*s 
 suggestion that the Allied Sovereigns should refuse to recognize 
 the Neapolitan Government, and should support Austria's action 
 in overthrowing it. This attitude which he proposed that the 
 Powers should adopt would, in his opinion, render the assembly 
 of a conference unnecessary. But Castlereagh explained that 
 the English Government could not enter into any hostile com- 
 bination against Naples. If Austria considered that her position 
 were injuriously affected by the changes which had taken place, 
 she might adopt whatever measures she deemed best to protect 
 her interests. Under these circumstances Mettemich felt that 
 he must defer to the wishes of France and Russia and agree to a 
 conference. 
 
 In the seven months which elapsed between the opening of the 
 conference at Troppau, on October 20th, 1820, and its dissolution 
 at Laibach, on May 12th, 1821, Metternich scored two notable 
 successes. As has already been related, Austrian bayonets 
 quickly restored absolutism at Naples, and a few weeks later 
 scattered the Piedmontese revolutionaries at Novaro. The re- 
 collection of the secret treaty of January 3rd, 1815, between 
 England, France, and Austria, still rankled in the mind of the 
 Tsar. Nevertheless, at Troppau, Metternich contrived to gain a 
 complete ascendancy over him. The news which reached 
 Alexander, as he was starting from Warsaw for the conference, 
 that a serious revolt had broken out in one of the regiments of his 
 Guard, made him all the more disposed to enter into the Austrian 
 system. Metternich now assured him constantly that he regarded 
 the Holy Alliance as the greatest conception of the century.^ 
 The flattered autocrat, admitting in return that many of his 
 views had been mistaken, promised to be guided in the future 
 by the man who had appreciated so correctly the dangerous 
 condition of Europe. Metternich, availing himself of the Tsar's 
 friendly dispositions, tried to instil into him a distrust of France. 
 Paris, he maintained, must still be looked upon as the fountain 
 from which flowed the stream of Jacobinical doctrines which 
 threatened danger to every State. The successive French 
 Governments since 1815 had shown a lamentable weakness in 
 dealing with the evil. No great dependence ought, in conse- 
 quence, to be placed upon her statesmen. These often repeated 
 
 1 Cambridge Modem History j X. pp. 23-31. 
 Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 401-414, 429-448. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 4-12. 
 
1820-1821] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 317 
 
 words of warning were not without effect upon the mind of 
 Alexander. 
 
 Despite Metternich's skill, the conference disclosed the exist- 
 ence of a serious divergence of views between the three autocratic 
 and the two constitutional Powers. To neither the famous 
 preliminary protocol of November 19th, 1820, nor to the princi- 
 ples contained in the circular despatches, issued by the three 
 despotic Powers at the close of the proceedings on May 12th, 
 1821, could the assent of England and France be obtained. 
 In these documents the doctrine was set forth into which the 
 pious declarations of the Holy Alliance had resolved themselves. 
 *' States in which the form of Government had been altered by 
 a revolution were to be excluded from the Alliance. . . . When 
 such an alteration threatens the safety of any other country the 
 erring State shall be brought back into the bosom of the Alliance 
 by force of arms if peaceful persuasion shall have proved in- 
 effectual."' ^ 
 
 The assembly of the Powers, which France had sought to bring 
 about in order to circumscribe Austrian action in Italy, had not 
 fulfilled the expectations of her statesmen. Though Austria had 
 acquired no actual extension of territory, her armies were spread 
 over the Peninsula from Piedmont to Naples. France, as a 
 constitutional country, had deemed it wise to follow the example 
 of England, and to be represented at the conference by Ministers 
 without plenary powers. But, whereas England could view with 
 comparative indifference an extension of Austrian influence in 
 Italy, the national and dynastic policy of France was opposed to 
 it. The situation of the two constitutional States differed in 
 another important particular. In his instructions to his half- 
 brother, Lord Stewart, the British Ambassador at Vienna and the 
 representative of England at Troppau and at Eaibach, Castle- 
 reagh prescribed a line of conduct without regard as to whether it 
 might be displeasing to the autocratic sovereigns. Richelieu, 
 however, though he was prepared only in a limited degree to 
 adopt the views of the despotic Powers, was very anxious to 
 avoid offending the Tsar. The impossibility of reconciling these 
 two objects accounts, in a great measure, for the vacillating 
 attitude of Caraman and La Ferronays, the representatives of 
 France. But Caraman, who was Ambassador at Vienna, had 
 been completely subjugated by Metternich, and would disclose 
 to him his most secret ins true tions.^ Pasquier, the Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs, further complains that at this time French 
 diplomacy was equally badly served in London, where Decazes 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. pp. 32-40, 108-134. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 20-24, 17-19, 41-46. 
 
318 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1821 
 
 was a mere puppet in the hands of Castlereagh. As a result of 
 the conference, France found herself upon less cordial terms with 
 Russia and in no better relations with England, whilst Austria 
 had pursued her course in spite of her. 
 
 Before the Sovereigns quitted Eaibach the news arrived of the 
 incursion into Moldavia of Prince Ypsilanti, a Greek officer in 
 the Russian service, and of the rising against the Turks of the 
 population of the Morea. In retaliation for the awful atrocities 
 upon the Mussulmans perpetrated by the insurgents, Gregorios, 
 the Patriarch of Constantinople, and two of his Bishops were 
 hanged, by the Sultan's orders, on April 22nd, 1821. A few days 
 later their bodies were dragged through the streets by a Jewish 
 rabble and flung into the Bosphorus. These events sent a thrill 
 of indignation through Russia, but at Laibach Metternich 
 succeeded in keeping the fury of the Tsar within bounds. He 
 contrived to persuade him that the Greek insurrection was part 
 of the great Jacobinical plot, and was directly connected with the 
 revolutions in Spain and Italy. Upon his return to St. Peters- 
 burg, however, he found it almost impossible to resist the general 
 cry for war. Indeed, Nesselrode and himself were said to be the 
 only Russians who thought of peace. The sympathy of his 
 subjects for their co-religionists was too strong to be ignored. 
 Alexander hesitated.^ Count Strogonoff, the Russian Am- 
 bassador, having failed to obtain an answer to his demands for 
 satisfaction and for guarantees that further attacks upon 
 Christians should cease, asked for his passports, and left Con- 
 stantinople with all the members of his legation. A Russian 
 army was concentrated upon the frontier of the Principalities. 
 War appeared to be inevitable. 
 
 In the meantime, Austria and England, to both of whom the 
 preservation of the integrity of the Ottoman Empire was of 
 supreme importance, strained every nerve to avert the outbreak 
 of hostilities. In face of the attitude of these two Powers, 
 Alexander turned to La Ferronays, the French Ambassador at 
 St. Petersburg, and explained to him that in spite of his sincere 
 desire for peace, he foresaw that he would be driven to make 
 war. Prussia, in that event, would be in no situation to intervene, 
 but the hostility of Austria and England might be anticipated. 
 The former Power, however, would remain quiet were she 
 threatened by a French army in Italy or upon the Rhine. He 
 proposed an alliance, which should be proclaimed publicly, and in 
 return " let France extend her compasses between Gibraltar 
 
 * Crousaz-Cretet, Richelieu, pp. 444-448. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 307-330. 
 Cambridge Modern History, X. pp. 30-31, 178-183. 
 
1821] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 319 
 
 and the Dardanelles, select any points in the Mediterranean, 
 which she would like to possess, and he would assist her to obtain 
 them by all means in his power." ^ 
 
 The first secretary of the legation was at once despatched to 
 Paris with an account of this conversation. Richelieu received 
 the news very coolly. The information which reached him from 
 Vienna respecting the Russian mobilization hardly coincided 
 with the warlike sentiments expressed to La Ferronays. No- 
 body better than he understood the fickle character of Alexander. 
 The Tsar was bound to the European system of Mettemich by 
 solemn promises made at Laibach. Would he be able to escape 
 from them ? Was it not more likely that he would draw back 
 after France had committed herself ? Russia had little to fear 
 from a naval war, but French commerce was at the mercy of the 
 English fleet. These were some of the points which Richelieu 
 impressed upon Pasquier, who was instructed to warn La 
 Ferronays to exercise the utmost reserve and caution. 
 
 Li October, 1821, whilst the question of peace or war in the 
 East was still trembling in the balance, George IV, accompanied 
 by Lord Londonderry (Castlereagh), paid a visit to Hanover. 
 Metternich soon afterwards arrived, in compliance with the 
 urgent request of the British Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 
 the course of the week which they were enabled to spend together, 
 the Eastern question was fully considered, and joint measures 
 for preserving the peace were concerted. They had hoped that 
 Count Lieven, the Russian Ambassador in London, who was on a 
 visit to St. Petersburg, would have been present to join in their 
 discussions. Though George, to facilitate the arrangement, pro- 
 longed his stay for several more days than he had intended, 
 Lieven arrived only on the eve of his departure, and too late to 
 take part in the dehberations. The interests of Prussia were 
 watched by Biilow, but France was not invited to send a repre- 
 sentative. The undermining of the influence over the Tsar of 
 the Greek Capodistrias, undoubtedly, occupied a place in Metter- 
 nich's plans for averting war.^ Pasquier asserts that the two 
 Ministers, moreover, resolved to set in motion forces at their 
 command in the Liberal party and at the Pavilion de Marsan, 
 in order to encompass the downfall of the Due de Richelieu. 
 This information, according to the same authority, was trans- 
 mitted to the Foreign Office by M. de Moustier, the French 
 Minister at Hanover, who was not only upon terms of great 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. 333-334. 
 
 2 F.O. 45 Continent, Hanover. INIarquis of Londonderry (drafts) 
 September and October, 1821. 
 
 F.O. 45 Continent, Hanover. To Marquis of Londonderry, Sep- 
 tember to November, 1821. 
 
320 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1821 
 
 intimacy with Princess Metternich, but enjoyed, in addition, the 
 confidence of her husband. ^ 
 
 At a Cabinet Council in Paris on October 27th, 1821, it was 
 decided to mobihze an army corps and a fleet at Toulon. In view 
 of the threatening aspect of affairs, it was felt to be necessary 
 for France to show that she was a force with which the Powers 
 must reckon. Six weeks later, however, the Government was 
 overthrown by the Liberal and Royalist coalition. A consumma- 
 tion for which, in Pasquier's opinion, the Hanover deliberations 
 were largely responsible. The Royalist Ministry, formed on 
 December 15th, was Uttle inclined to show practical sympathy 
 for the schismatic Greeks, but was strongly disposed to favour 
 the cause of the clerical and reactionary party in Spain. ^ 
 
 The course of Constitutional Government in Spain had failed 
 to fulfil the promise of its early days. The anti-clerical poHcy of 
 the Cortes, the suppression of the Jesuits, and the confiscation 
 of the property of the rehgious communities, ranged strong 
 forces upon the side of reaction. Moreover, the Assembly itself 
 was soon dominated by the power of the Clubs, the patriotic 
 and the political societies framed upon French revolutionary 
 models. The insurrection of the troops at Cadiz and in other 
 towns had been prepared in the masonic lodges, which were 
 numerous all over the country. But after the successful termina- 
 tion of the rebellion, Riego and the extreme Liberals founded a 
 new society. The Communeros, as they were called, were organ- 
 ized in imitation of Freemasons, though they were opposed to 
 their aims and objects. The moderate Liberals, under the name of 
 afrancesados, also formed themselves into a league. Towards the 
 year 1822, some members of this party, who desired the reform of 
 the Constitution, enrolled themselves in a secret society, and be- 
 came known as the anilleros, from the ring which was their symbol. 
 With the arrival of many fugitives from Italy, and, later on, 
 from France, Carbonari lodges sprang into existence. In the 
 cafes and public places the fiery rhetoric of the Club orators, and 
 the tragala,^ a song of the character of the Ga ira, recalled in 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. pp. 348-354. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Hwtoire, X. pp. 298-302. 
 
 ^ Tragala — Swallow it, i.e., the Constitution. 
 " Swallow it 
 Thou slave, 
 Thou who lovest not 
 The Constitution ; 
 They say that the King loves not 
 Free men, 
 Let him go 
 To rule over slaves, 
 Swallow it, 
 Swallow it" etc., etc. 
 
1821] CHATEAUBEIAND'S WAR 321 
 
 ominous fashion the scenes in revolutionary Paris thirty years 
 earlier.^ 
 
 The quarrels of the Liberals were the King's opportunity. He 
 had accepted the Constitution only because the defection of the 
 army deprived him of all means of resisting its imposition. But 
 he never ceased to intrigue against it, and to implore secretly the 
 Powers to come to his assistance. In the autumn of 1820, he 
 made an unconstitutional attempt to remove the captain-general 
 of Madrid, and to nominate a reactionary general, Carvajal, in his 
 place. He was forced to annul the appointment, however, and, 
 upon his first appearance in public, was grossly insulted by the 
 mob. In the meantime, the clergy resisted the execution of the 
 ecclesiastical laws, and armed bands of absolutists began to ap- 
 pear in Catalonia and Navarre. The disturbances became more 
 serious the following year. At Madrid, on May 4th, 1821, 
 Vinuessa, a priest, who had been sentenced to the galleys for 
 participation in a counter-revolutionary plot, was dragged from 
 prison and despatched by the mob with hammers. In Spain 
 these instruments were to acquire the sinister reputation which in 
 Paris had been associated with la lanterne.^ To add to the 
 distracted state of the country, a formidable outbreak of yellow 
 fever spread from the coast into the interior. The French 
 Government, in consequence, forbade all communication with 
 Spain, and, to enforce their regulation, established military posts 
 along the whole length of the frontier — ^the famous cordon sani- 
 taire, which was soon to be used for another purpose. By the end 
 of the year 1821, the guerilla operations of the bands in the North 
 had assumed the dimensions of a civil war, carried out with equal 
 barbarity by both sides. ^ 
 
 No sooner was it formed than the Royalist Government had to 
 consider the disturbed state of affairs upon the southern frontiers. 
 When hard pressed the combatants of the Army of the Faith, as 
 the Spanish absolutists were called, would take refuge upon 
 French territory. Villele himself favoured the continuance of the 
 policy of the Due de Richelieu, and advocated an attitude of 
 strict neutrality.* Mathieu de Montmorency, the Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs, was an active member of the Congregation, and 
 a man of almost fanatical religious convictions. Eouis, with his 
 usual good sense, had foreseen the difficulties which his appoint- 
 ment might create, and had consented to it only with reluctance. 
 
 1 Cambridge Modern History^ X. pp. 214-224. 
 
 2 Pasquier, V. pp. 281-291. 
 
 3 Ibid.,^^. 300-301. 
 
 * Madame de Boigne, MeTrnoires, III. pp. 100-109, 
 Viel Castel, Histoirej X. p. 394. 
 Guizot, MemoireSj I. p. 249. 
 Y 
 
322 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1822 
 
 Montmorency now urged upon his colleagues the necessity of 
 supporting the Spanish absolutists, and suggested that arms and 
 money should be secretly conveyed to them. It was explained 
 to him that, so long as the King maintained his ambassador at 
 Madrid, it would be inconsistent with his honour and his dignity 
 to adopt such a course. ^ Nevertheless, when soon afterwards a 
 consignment of war material for the Spanish guerillas was seized 
 by the French authorities upon the frontier, its despatch was 
 found to have been connived at both by Montmorency and by 
 Franchet, the director of the police and a former prefect of the 
 Congregation. The matter would appear to have been hushed 
 up, however, upon Montmorency promising not to repeat his 
 offence. 2 As the summer went on the situation in Spain in- 
 creased in seriousness. The absolutists seized the town of La 
 Seo de Urgel, in Catalonia, where they established a " Supreme 
 Regency of Spain, during the captivity of Ferdinand VII." On 
 July 7th, four battalions of Guards attempted an insurrection, but 
 were beaten off by the National Militia and by the townspeople 
 of Madrid. 3 Though the Bang declined to attempt to save the 
 lives of the men implicated in this affair, there can be little 
 doubt that he secretly encouraged them. In consequence of these 
 events the Ambassadors of France, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, 
 considering, or pretending to consider, that Ferdinand^s life was 
 in danger, intimated to the Government that " the relations of 
 Spain with all Europe would depend upon the treatment of his 
 Catholic Majesty and his family." * 
 
 Upon the fall of the Richelieu Ministry, Decazes had retired 
 from the Embassy in London, and had been succeeded by 
 Chateaubriand. The great writer made no secret of the joy 
 which he experienced in thus revisiting, as the Ambassador of 
 the Most Christian King, the city in which he had wandered 
 hungry and half clad in the days of the emigration. His memoirs, 
 however, afford evidence that this pleasure was short-lived. His 
 vanity was flattered by an invitation to Royal Lodge, and by an 
 evening spent with George IV and Lady Cunningham. But this 
 visit evoked also the philosophical reflection that the position of 
 a Royal mistress was no longer what it had been. At Almack's 
 he found amusement only in a study of the dandies. After a 
 short experience of London life, he declared that the galleys 
 were to be preferred to it. When they separated at Laibach, the 
 
 ^ Villele, MemoireSy II. p. 477. 
 
 2 Ibid., III. p. 33. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 226-229. 
 
 3 Pasquier, V. pp. 439-441. 
 Cambridge Modern History, X. p. 225. 
 
 * Nettement, Histoire, Vlll. pp. 125-128. 
 
1822] CHATEAUBEIAND'S WAR 323 
 
 Sovereigns had decided to meet again in the following year, 
 either at Florence or Verona. Chateaubriand was anxious above 
 all things to represent his country at the approaching Congress. 
 He constantly expressed this wish in his letters to Villele and to 
 Montmorency. 1 It has been suggested that he was actuated by 
 no deeper motive than a desire to escape from London for a time.^ 
 
 Chateaubriand has never been regarded as a practical statesman, 
 either by his contemporaries or by posterity. His childish vanity 
 and his readiness to take offence were alone sufficient to unfit 
 him for the conduct of public affairs. But his letters and his 
 despatches, both from Berlin and from London, prove that he 
 could often discern correctly the trend of national aspirations. 
 As a devoted Royalist he saw with grief and apprehension that 
 the Bourbons had failed to acquire the affections of the people. 
 In his opinion the success of the great Revolution had been due 
 to the unpopularity of the Monarchy, which had fallen in public 
 esteem owing to the military disasters of the eighteenth century. 
 The iron rule of Bonaparte had been borne because his victories 
 flattered the national vanity. From this he deduced that his 
 countrymen cared nothing for freedom, and much for mihtary 
 glory. 5 As a patriotic Frenchman, moreover, Chateaubriand re- 
 sented the diplomatic rebuffs of the past two years, and chafed 
 at the secondary position to which he considered that his country 
 had been relegated. If France was to be respected she must show 
 that she was strong. Londonderry had told him plainly that the 
 French Government could not assemble an army without danger. 
 But he disbelieved him. At the first note of war the emigre and 
 the Bonapartist would forget their differences. Once unfurled 
 upon the battlefield, the Bourbon flag would be national.* 
 
 It was not till the end of August that Chateaubriand received 
 the welcome news that he, Caraman, and La Ferronays were to 
 proceed as Ministers Plenipotentiary to the Congress. " The 
 Kings assemble in Italy, Lord Londonderry cuts his throat in 
 London, and we start for Verona." ^ With these words he 
 exultingly sets forth the story of how the Spanish war was 
 brought about. It had been arranged that a preliminary confer- 
 ence should be held at Vienna before the opening of the Congress. 
 
 1 Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. pp. 239-240, 244- 
 246, 260, 267-268, 267. 
 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 444-445. 
 Mme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 97-98. 
 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 27-29, 30-31, 33-34. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 423-430. 
 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 260-261. 
 
 3 Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. pp. 100-101. 
 
 * Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. p. 236. 
 5 Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. p. 64. 
 
324 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1822 
 
 On August 31st, Montmorency started from Paris for the Austrian 
 capital. His instructions prescribed that he was to go to Verona 
 only should the Duke of Wellington, who was to take the place 
 of Lord Londonderry, proceed there. The Congress would be 
 concerned with Eastern, Italian, and Spanish affairs, besides 
 minor points connected with piracy and the slave trade. British 
 and Austrian diplomacy had been successful in averting any 
 immediate danger of Russian intervention in the Greek insurrec- 
 tion. Capodistrias had been dismissed, and Nesselrode, with 
 whom Metternich had a good understanding, was to accompany 
 Alexander to Vienna. Under these circumstances it was prob- 
 able that the Eastern difficulty would be kept in the background. 
 As regards Italy, the only important question to be settled was 
 the duration of the Austrian occupation of the States which had 
 risen in rebelHon. Spanish affairs, however, were more compli- 
 cated, and it was soon evident that their adjustment would 
 occupy most of the sittings of the Congress.^ 
 
 Both the King and Villele had grave misgivings as to the 
 wisdom of allowing Montmorency to proceed to Vienna. Before 
 he started, Louis informed him that he proposed to raise Villele 
 to the position of President of the Council. The news dispelled 
 his hopes that the post would be reserved for him, and it was not 
 without some secret satisfaction that the King imparted it to 
 him. In writing to his colleague, to express his disapprobation, 
 Montmorency insisted that the appointment could properly be 
 conferred only upon a Peer. " Pitt himself had never been 
 President of the Council," he adduced as an argument in support 
 of his contention. The statement, though correct, was without 
 bearing upon the case, and showed merely that he was ignorant 
 of the constitution of the English Cabinet. 2 
 
 Montmorency's instructions, though not very precise, laid 
 down clearly enough the general principles which were to guide 
 his conduct at Vienna. He was to beware of making the Spanish 
 question unnecessarily prominent. He was to intimate that 
 France was well prepared to safeguard her own interests and to 
 protect her frontiers. Were the question to be raised of the 
 passage of any foreign army through French territory, he was to 
 declare unhesitatingly that it could not be entertained. Under 
 no circumstances was he to commit himself beyond enquiring 
 what the attitude of the Powers would be, should the French 
 Grovemment be forced to declare war upon Spain. Mont- 
 morency was no match for the astute diplomatists assembled at 
 
 1 Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, 1. p. 74. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 50-62. 
 
 C. Rousset, Le Marquis de Clermont-Tmnerre , pp. 215-216/219-220. 
 
1822] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 325 
 
 Vienna, who were not long in ascertaining that he was in favour 
 of intervention.^ They were satisfied, however, that Villele 
 held the contrary opinion, and the news that he had been created 
 President of the Council strengthened the impression that the 
 peace party would prevail. The pacific intentions ascribed to 
 the French Government met with Metternich's secret approval. 
 He had no wish to further the development of French influence 
 beyond the Pyrenees. But the determination of the Tsar and 
 his Ministers, Nesselrode, Pozzo di Borgo, and Tatischeff, to 
 overthrow the new Spanish regime placed him in a difficult 
 position. The principle that all Governments bred of a revolution 
 must be destroyed was the basis of his system. He was averse to 
 explaining to Alexander his reasons for not wishing to apply it to 
 Spain. He was reduced, in consequence, to creating obstacles to 
 the policy of intervention. To the Tsar he expressed doubts as 
 to whether the French army, tainted as it was with Jacobinical 
 doctrines, was a proper instrument to employ against a success- 
 ful revolution. Alexander, however, announced that under 
 these circumstances he must arrange for the passage of a Russian 
 army through Germany. This was a solution of the question 
 which Metternich could not entertain. But, as he preferred not 
 to object to it himself, he insinuated to Montmorency that the 
 Tsar's proposals might be inspired by sinister designs against 
 France. Alexander was hurt that his disinterested offers of 
 assistance should excite alarm ; nevertheless, he promised Mont- 
 morency and Ea Ferronays that he should defer scrupulously to 
 the wishes of the French Government in the matter. ^ 
 
 In the meantime, no basis for negotiation upon Spanish affairs 
 could be found, and the Sovereigns were impatient to leave 
 Vienna. The absence of the Duke of Wellington, whose de- 
 parture from England had been delayed by illness, rendered im- 
 possible any final arrangement. In consequence of his state of 
 health Wellington reached Paris only on September 20th. In 
 so far as Spain was concerned, his instructions from Canning, 
 who had succeeded Londonderry at the Foreign Office, pre- 
 scribed " a rigid abstinence from interference in the affairs of 
 that country." As regards her revolted colonies, he was to 
 intimate that the question of the recognition of their indepen- 
 dence de jure would call for decision before long. In Paris 
 Wellington had an interview with Louis, and discussed the 
 situation at length with Villele. The result of their conversation 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 437-445. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 442-443. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoircs, III. pp. 78-92. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 447-449. 
 
326 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1822 
 
 was satisfactory to both statesmen. Wellington carried away 
 with him a very favourable impression of Villele's abilities, and 
 the conviction that his intentions were sincerely pacific. At the 
 same time Villele's resolve to resist the growing demand of his 
 party for intervention was fortified by the knowledge that the 
 British Plenipotentiary was instructed to press upon the Powers 
 the expediency of leaving Spain to herself. His hopes, moreover, 
 that the general situation in that country would improve were 
 strengthened by the information that Sir William A'Court was to 
 be despatched to Madrid to advise the Spanish Government to 
 consent to certain necessary modifications of the Constitution.^ 
 
 When Wellington reached Vienna in the last days of Septem- 
 ber, both the Tsar and the King of Prussia were upon the point of 
 starting upon a visit to the King of Bavaria. The Duke had an 
 interview with Alexander, who expressed to him his determina- 
 tion to overthrow the revolutionary regime in Spain. It was de- 
 cided, however, that more formal discussions upon the subject 
 should be reserved for Verona. Wellington, accordingly, pre- 
 pared to proceed there, and Montmorency, having acquainted 
 Villele with the Duke's intention, was instructed to follow his 
 example. 2 Never since the Congress of Vienna had so many 
 crowned heads been gathered together in the same town. The 
 Emperors of Russia and Austria, the Kings of Prussia, Sardinia, 
 and Naples, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Duke of Modena, 
 the Empress of Austria, Marie Louise, the reigning Duchess of 
 Parma and ex- Empress of the French, the Queen of Sardinia and 
 her daughters, besides innumerable courtiers, secretaries, diplo- 
 matists, and ministers assembled at Verona during the first 
 three weeks of October. ^ On the 14th, preceding Montmorency 
 by two days,* Chateaubriand arrived. He brought with him in- 
 structions, in which were repeated in more precise terms the in- 
 junctions already given to Montmorency. Above all things, the 
 French plenipotentiaries were to avoid figuring before the Con- 
 gress in the character of reporters (rapporteurs) upon Spanish 
 affairs. 5 
 
 At the suggestion of Metternich it was decided to precede the 
 formal sittings of the Congress by confidential discussions be- 
 tween the chief plenipotentiaries. On October 20th, accordingly, 
 
 ^ Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington j I. pp. 284-294, 
 Wellingioii to Canning, September 21st, 1822. 
 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 59-68. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 445-446. 
 
 2 Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. pp. 319-322, 
 343-348. Welhngton to Canning, Vienna, October 4th, 1822. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 467-471. 
 
 * Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. pp. 102-104. 
 ^ Villele, Memoires, III. p. 105. 
 
1822] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 327 
 
 Montmorency, Wellington, Nesselrode, and Bernstorfi: met at 
 Metternich's house. Montmorency opened the proceedings by 
 reading out a memorandum upon Spanish affairs. The uncom- 
 promising attitude adopted by the Government at Madrid, and 
 the provocative acts directed against France made the continued 
 maintenance of peace improbable. Under the circumstances, 
 therefore, he wished to know (1) Whether, in the event of the 
 King of France deciding to recall his Ambassador from Madrid, 
 the alUed Powers would pursue the same course ? (2) Should war 
 ensue between France and Spain, what moral support would the 
 Sovereigns be prepared to offer her ? (3) Could France count upon 
 material assistance should she be compelled to ask for it ? Mont- 
 morency's communication was received with approval, alone 
 Wellington by his silence signified his disapprobation.^ 
 
 In thus denouncing Spain to the Powers, Montmorency was ex- 
 ceeding the spirit of his instructions. His action would appear to 
 have been taken without previous consultation with Chateau- 
 briand or the other French plenipotentiaries. The announce- 
 ment in the Moniteur of October 1st that the no longer required 
 cordon sanitaire would be converted into an army of observation 
 upon the Spanish frontier, may have encouraged him to hope that 
 more warlike counsels prevailed in Paris. Doubtless, also, he 
 knew that his party was striving to drive the Government into 
 war. 2 But, under any circumstances, his view of the situation 
 was so opposed to that of Villele, that it must have been almost 
 impossible for him to have conformed to the true meaning of his 
 instructions. Villele was desirous, above all things, of making the 
 Spanish question exclusively the affair of France. It must be for 
 her alone to judge of the necessity for war, and to decide when 
 her armies should advance. She must not lay herself open to the 
 imputation of having embarked upon hostilities at the bidding of 
 the Holy Alliance. Montmorency, however, like many of his 
 party, believed that the best interests of the Church, the Bourbon 
 Monarchy, and the aristocracy would be served by the destruction 
 of the anti-clerical and revolutionary regime at Madrid. He was 
 comparatively indifferent as to the means whereby that end 
 could be attained. It was not in his philosophy to understand 
 the national policy of Villele. ^ 
 
 The answers to Montmorency's questions were not delivered as 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 470-480. 
 
 Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. pp. 403-404. 
 Villele, Mtmoires, III. pp. 138-144. 
 
 2 Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. pp. 407-408, 
 C. Stuart to Canning. 
 
 Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. pp. 104-113. 
 
 3 La Rochefoucauld, Memoires, II. pp. 76-82. 
 
328 THE BOURBON EESTOEATION [1822 
 
 quickly as he had expected. The Tsar and his Ministers alone dis- 
 played any enthusiasm. Alexander at once declared that he 
 would march 150,000 men into Piedmont, to be ready to protect 
 France, should the Jacobins take advantage of the absence of her 
 army, or to embark at Genoa were their presence in Spain to be- 
 come necessary. Montmorency, at first, would appear to have 
 seen little to object to in this plan. Wellington and Metternich, 
 however, convinced him that it would be highly injurious to 
 French interests, and, in consequence of their representations, he 
 induced Alexander to abandon its execution for the present.^ On 
 October 31st, at the first formal meeting of the Congress, the 
 answers of the four Courts, which had been the subject of much 
 confidential discussion, were read out by Metternich. As re- 
 gards their Ministers at Madrid, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, 
 would act in the same manner as France. They would tender 
 her the moral support for which she asked. Material assistance 
 would be given, but the nature of it and the mode of giving it 
 would require to be specified by treaty. Wellington's reply was of 
 a different kind. On behalf of Great Britain he stated that, 
 " having no knowledge of the cause of dispute, he could give no 
 answer to any of the questions." ^ 
 
 The next few days were spent in futile attempts to bring Wel- 
 lington into line with the continental Powers, and in discussing 
 the mode in which the decisions of the Sovereigns should be signi- 
 fied to the Spanish Government. These delays exasperated 
 Alexander, who was, besides, deeply annoyed at the attitude of 
 Great Britain. On November 8th he informed Montmorency that 
 he fully intended to break off diplomatic relations with Spain, 
 should no satisfactory reply be returned to the note which his 
 Ambassador was to present at Madrid. ^ The same day Mont- 
 morency would appear to have assembled the French plenipo- 
 tentiaries, and to have asked for their opinions upon the situation. 
 Both La Ferronays and Chateaubriand expressed themselves in 
 favour of intervention, the last-named declaring emphatically 
 that Villele would be powerless to resist the unanimous demand 
 of his party for war. Caraman, on the other hand, dissented 
 mildly from the views of his colleagues. The details of this con- 
 ference were kept strictly secret, and no account of them seems 
 to have been transmitted to Villele.* 
 
 * Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. pp. 467-460. 
 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 141-166. 
 
 2 Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. pp. 496-506. 
 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 177-182. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, XL pp. 602-603. 
 
 * Pasquier, V. p. 468. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 506-608. 
 
1822] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 329 
 
 During the remainder of his stay at Verona, Montmorency was 
 occupied in preparing, in conjunction with the Ministers of 
 Russia, Austria, and Prussia, the despatches which were to be 
 sent to the Ambassadors of the four Courts at Madrid. They 
 were to be instructed to ask for their passports should satisfac- 
 tion to their demands be refused. In addition, a treaty was 
 drawn up, under the terms of which assistance was promised to 
 France, should she require it. All these matters were finally 
 settled at the formal sittings of the Congress on November 9th, 
 18th, and 19th, at none of which, however, would the Duke of 
 Wellington consent to be present.^ On November 21st Mont- 
 morency started for Paris armed with the proces verbal defining 
 the casus foederis^ and with copies of the instructions which the 
 three continental Sovereigns proposed to send to their repre- 
 sentatives at Madrid. He was riot without misgivings that the 
 King would decline to ratify the measures to wliich he had given 
 his assent. 2 
 
 Whilst Montmorency was upon his return journey, a report 
 reached Paris from La Garde, the Ambassador at Madrid, that 
 Great Britain was upon the point of concluding a treaty with Spain. 
 Villele at once instructed Marcellus, the charge d'affaires in Lon- 
 don, to ask Canning for an explanation. In forwarding a copy of 
 his despatch to the French plenipotentiaries at Verona, he ap- 
 prised them that, if the facts were as stated, the matter must be 
 regarded as so unfriendly an act as to constitute a case for war. 
 They were to ascertain, in consequence, what support France 
 might expect to receive from the Powers. The storm was dis- 
 pelled, however, by the prompt denial of Mr. Canning that any 
 treaty existed with, or had been proposed to Spain. " It would 
 appear as though your affairs were managed by cornets of 
 Hussars,'" was Metternich*s comment to La Ferronays, upon re- 
 ceipt of Wellington's assurance that the French Government had 
 been misinformed. During this month of November the situa- 
 tion of the Spanish Royalists underwent a serious change for the 
 worse. Mina, the celebrated partizan chief of the War of Inde- 
 pendence, routed the Army of the Faith, and forced the miHtant 
 absolutists and the Regents of Urgel to take refuge upon French 
 territory. 3 
 
 Villele greeted Montmorency upon his arrival with the news 
 
 » Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 194-208. 
 Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. pp. 555-557. 
 Wellington to Canning, 19 November, 1822, pp. 557-559. Memorandum 
 by Duke of Wellington. 
 
 2 Villele, Mtimoires, III. pp. 222-230. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 240-247. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XI. pp. 560-553. 
 
332 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1822 
 
 extracting the required concessions from the Spanish Govern- 
 ment.^ 
 
 The return of Chateaubriand and the news that the three 
 Powers would persist in their poUcy towards Spain, intensified 
 the difference of opinion which existed between Villele and Mont- 
 morency. The President of the Council was prepared to sanction 
 the despatch of a strongly worded note to Madrid, but upon the 
 distinct understanding that the withdrawal of the Ministers of 
 the three Powers should not entail the recall of the French Am- 
 bassador. Montmorency, however, contended that he had pledged 
 himself at the Congress that France would follow the example of 
 her Allies. Both Ministers attended the Council on December 
 25th with their resignations written out. The King declared him- 
 self in agreement with Villele. Montmorency accordingly handed 
 in his portfolio, and retired from the Cabinet. ^ His last official 
 act was to acquaint the Duke of Wellington that his offer of 
 mediation must be declined.^ 
 
 Pending the appointment of Montmorency's successor, Villele 
 assumed the direction of Foreign Affairs. He at once sent off a 
 despatch to La Garde, at Madrid, which he was instructed to 
 communicate to San Miguel, the Spanish Foreign Minister. The 
 language used by Villele was moderate in tone, but his note none 
 the less contained a distinct menace. The Spanish Government 
 was given to understand clearly that His Majesty had no present 
 intention of withdrawing his troops from the frontier. Moreover, 
 unless the situation were to improve, he would be compelled to re- 
 call his legation, and " to resort to more efficacious measures for 
 obtaining guarantees.'* The ma,jority of the Royahsts were very 
 displeased at Montmorency's retirement. Villele could not afford 
 to ignore their sentiments. In order to placate his party, he had 
 no scruples about violating diplomatic usages by publishing his 
 despatch in the Moniteur^ before its contents should have been 
 made known to the Spanish Government. It was not sufficient, 
 however, to show that he intended to deal firmly with the 
 Spanish question ; a successor to Montmorency must be found of 
 whom the Royalists would approve. In addition, Villele was 
 anxious that the Powers should not see in the appointment of 
 the new Minister any indication of an intention to abandon the 
 line of policy which the French plenipotentiaries had followed 
 
 1 Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. pp. 626-628, 
 659-660. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. p. 8. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 272-277. 
 
 La Rochefoucauld, Mernoires, II. pp. 85-86. 
 
 3 Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. p. 667. 
 Montmorency to Duke of Wellington, 24 December, 1822. 
 
1823] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAE 333 
 
 at Verona. M. de Chateaubriand appeared to be pre-eminently 
 qualified to fulfil both conditions. He was a distinguished and 
 popular member of the Royalist party, and had represented his 
 country at the Congress. Villele, besides, had every reason to 
 suppose that he held moderate views upon Spanish affairs.^ 
 
 Whilst the struggle was raging between Villele and Mont- 
 morency, Chateaubriand had kept in the background as much as 
 possible. He had long coveted the post of Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs, but when it was offered to him he went through the form 
 of declining it. He feared that his party would look upon his 
 conduct unfavom*ably, were he to take Montmorency's place, and 
 then adopt the very policy which had brought about his friend's 
 retirement. Nevertheless, during the next twenty-four hours he 
 went through an agony of apprehension lest his decision should be 
 regarded as irrevocable. But on December 27th he was sent for by 
 the King, and was enabled to inform Villele that he would accept 
 office in deference to His Majesty's desire. ^ 
 
 Chateaubriand was condenmed to inaction in his new position, 
 until it should be known in what spirit the Spanish Government 
 would receive Villele's communication of December 25th. On 
 January 16th San Miguel's reply reached Paris. La Garde, in 
 transmitting it, announced that the Russian, Austrian, and 
 Prussian Ambassadors had asked for their passports, and were 
 preparing to quit Madrid. The Spanish Minister's answer, 
 couched in firm and dignified language, conveyed his unalter- 
 able resolve to brook no foreign interference in internal affairs. 
 A Cabinet Council was convened for the 18th to consider the 
 next move of the French Government. Information had been 
 received that British diplomacy was making a last effort to avert 
 hostilities. Fitzroy Somerset, whose eminent services in the 
 Peninsular War entitled him to a position in the eyes of Spanish 
 patriots second only to that of Wellington, had been despatched 
 to counsel the Government at Madrid to adopt a more conciliatory 
 attitude. In view of the possibility of his mission accomplishing 
 the desired result, Villele recommended strongly that no final 
 step should be taken for the present. But he stood alone in his 
 opinion. Chateaubriand, throwing off the mask, urged the im- 
 mediate recall of the French Ambassador. Villele was powerless 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. pp. 460-461. 
 
 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 278-279. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 18-19. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. pp. 235-240. 
 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 462-463. 
 
 Villele, Memmres, III. pp. 283-286. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 20-29. 
 
 La Rochefoucauld, Memoir es, II. pp. 87-90. 
 
332 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1822 
 
 extracting the required concessions from the Spanish Govern- 
 ment.^ 
 
 The return of Chateaubriand and the news that the three 
 Powers would persist in their poKcy towards Spain, intensified 
 the difference of opinion which existed between Villele and Mont- 
 morency. The President of the Council was prepared to sanction 
 the despatch of a strongly worded note to Madrid, but upon the 
 distinct understanding that the withdrawal of the Ministers of 
 the three Powers should not entail the recall of the French Am- 
 bassador. Montmorency, however, contended that he had pledged 
 himself at the Congress that France would follow the example of 
 her Allies. Both Ministers attended the Council on December 
 25th with their resignations written out. The King declared him- 
 self in agreement with Villele. Montmorency accordingly handed 
 in his portfolio, and retired from the Cabinet. ^ His last official 
 act was to acquaint the Duke of Wellington that his offer of 
 mediation must be declined.^ 
 
 Pending the appointment of Montmorency's successor, Villele 
 assumed the direction of Foreign Affairs. He at once sent off a 
 despatch to La Garde, at Madrid, which he was instructed to 
 communicate to San Miguel, the Spanish Foreign Minister. The 
 language used by Villele was moderate in tone, but his note none 
 the less contained a distinct menace. The Spanish Government 
 was given to understand clearly that His Majesty had no present 
 intention of withdrawing his troops from the frontier. Moreover, 
 unless the situation were to improve, he would be compelled to re- 
 call his legation, and " to resort to more efficacious measures for 
 obtaining guarantees.'* The majority of the RoyaUsts were very 
 displeased at Montmorency's retirement. Villele could not afford 
 to ignore their sentiments. In order to placate his party, he had 
 no scruples about violating diplomatic usages by publishing his 
 despatch in the Moniteur, before its contents should have been 
 made known to the Spanish Government. It was not sufficient, 
 however, to show that he intended to deal firmly with the 
 Spanish question ; a successor to Montmorency must be found of 
 whom the RoyaHsts would approve. In addition, Villele was 
 anxious that the Powers should not see in the appointment of 
 the new Minister any indication of an intention to abandon the 
 line of policy which the French plenipotentiaries had followed 
 
 ^ Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington , I. pp. 625-628, 
 669-660. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. p. 8. 
 2 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 272-277- 
 
 La Rochefoucauld, Memoires, II. pp. 85-86. 
 ^ Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. p. 667- 
 
 Montmorency to Duke of Wellington, 24 December, 1822. 
 
1823] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 333 
 
 at Verona. M. de Chateaubriand appeared to be pre-eminently 
 quaKfied to fulfil both conditions. He was a distinguished and 
 popular member of the Royalist party, and had represented his 
 country at the Congress. Villele, besides, had every reason to 
 suppose that he held moderate views upon Spanish affairs. ^ 
 
 Whilst the struggle was raging between Villele and Mont- 
 morency, Chateaubriand had kept in the background as much as 
 possible. He had long coveted the post of Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs, but when it was offered to him he went through the form 
 of declining it. He feared that his party would look upon his 
 conduct unfavourably, were he to take Montmorency's place, and 
 then adopt the very policy which had brought about his friend's 
 retirement. Nevertheless, during the next twenty-four hours he 
 went through an agony of apprehension lest his decision should be 
 regarded as irrevocable. But on December 27th he was sent for by 
 the King, and was enabled to inform Villele that he would accept 
 office in deference to Has Majesty's desire.^ 
 
 Chateaubriand was condemned to inaction in his new position, 
 until it should be known in what spirit the Spanish Government 
 would receive Villele's communication of December 25th. On 
 January 16th San Miguel's reply reached Paris. Ea Garde, in 
 transmitting it, announced that the Russian, Austrian, and 
 Prussian Ambassadors had asked for their passports, and were 
 preparing to quit Madrid. The Spanish Minister's answer, 
 couched in firm and dignified language, conveyed his unalter- 
 able resolve to brook no foreign interference in internal affairs. 
 A Cabinet Council was convened for the 18th to consider the 
 next move of the French Government. Information had been 
 received that British diplomacy was making a last effort to avert 
 hostihties. Fitzroy Somerset, whose eminent services in the 
 Peninsular War entitled him to a position in the eyes of Spanish 
 patriots second only to that of Wellington, had been despatched 
 to counsel the Government at Madrid to adopt a more conciliatory 
 attitude. In view of the possibility of his mission accomplishing 
 the desired result, Villele recommended strongly that no final 
 step should be taken for the present. But he stood alone in his 
 opinion. Chateaubriand, throwing off the mask, urged the im- 
 mediate recall of the French Ambassador. Villele was powerless 
 
 ^ Pasquier, V. pp. 460-461. 
 
 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 278-279. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 18-19. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. pp. 235-240. 
 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 462-463. 
 
 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 283-286. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 20-29. 
 
 La Rochefoucauld, Memoires, II. pp. 87-90. 
 
334 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1823 
 
 to resist this unanimous demand for war. That same day Chateau- 
 briand instructed La Garde to ask for his papers and to leave 
 Madrid.^ 
 
 On January 28th, 1823, the Chambers met. The King's 
 speech dispelled the last hopes of the peace party. In a voice 
 weak from ill-health, but which was perfectly distinct, Louis 
 made his momentous announcement : "I have tried to assure 
 the security of my people and to save Spain herself from the 
 worst of misfortunes. All my efforts have been blindly repulsed. 
 I have ordered the recall of my Ambassador. A hundred thou- 
 sand Frenchmen, commanded by a Prince of my own family, by 
 one whom my heart delights to regard as my son, are ready to 
 march, invoking the God of Saint Louis to preserve the throne 
 of Spain for a grandson of Hem-i IV.'' His Majesty's last words 
 were droAvned by the frenzied cheers of the Royalists, who had 
 begun to manifest their delight so soon as the recall of the French 
 Minister had been announced. ^ / 
 
 In the country generally the war was exceedingly unpopular. 
 Upon the last two occasions upon which it had been attempted, 
 intervention in Spain had been attended with disastrous conse- 
 quences. The rente, which had been steadily declining for the past 
 two months, fell another three francs to seventy-six, upon the 
 King's speech. The fear was entertained not only that the cam- 
 paign might prove long and costly, but that serious complications 
 with England might ensue. Apprehensions upon this score, how- 
 ever, were to some extent allayed by the pacific character of 
 King George IV's speech at the opening of Parliament on 
 February 4th. ^ To the Liberals the idea of armed intervention 
 in Spain, for the purpose of restoring absolutism and clericalism, 
 was profoundly distasteful. This feeling was reflected in the 
 language of the opposition speakers in both Chambers in the 
 debate upon the address. 
 
 On February 10th Villele asked for an extraordinary grant of 
 one hundred million francs for military purposes. On the 24th, 
 Martignac, the reporter of the committee, presented conclusions 
 favourable to the adoption of the proposal, and the general dis- 
 cussion began. As had been the case in the debate upon the reply 
 to the King's speech, the Government was attacked from two 
 different quarters. The Liberals denounced intervention as a 
 monstrous attempt to destroy the independence of a nation, and 
 accused Ministers of carrying out submissively the behests of the 
 allied Sovereigns. La Bourdonnaye and the pointiis, on the other 
 
 ^ Pasquier, V. pp. 464, 472-480. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Ilistoire, XII. pp. 76-77. 
 
 3 M. B. Capefigue, Redt des operations, Paris^ 1823, pp. 26-26. 
 
1823] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 335 
 
 hand, though they announced that they should not refuse to vote 
 supplies, censured Villele for his lukewarm support of the great 
 principles of the Holy Alliance. Chateaubriand's first appearance 
 in the tribune of the Lower Chamber was awaited eagerly. The 
 arguments which he adduced to justify an attack upon Spain 
 were weak, but they were clothed in the striking language of 
 which he was a master. He confidently asserted that the ad- 
 vantages of the war would far outbalance the risks which it must 
 entail. France would regain her high place among the nations, 
 and her children would be reconciled in the camps of her armies. 
 " The King has entrusted his flag to captains who have triumphed 
 under different colours. They will show it the road to victory ; it 
 has never strayed from the path of honour." ^ As Chateaubriand 
 concluded, the enthusiasm of the Royalists broke loose. The 
 cheers and applause continued long after he had returned to his 
 seat, where he was overwhelmed with the congratulations of his 
 friends. 
 
 After one or two unimportant members had spoken, Manuel 
 ascended the tribune — Manuel, the incarnation of the Revolu- 
 tion, whose participation could not be doubted in all the treason 
 of the past four years. A quiver of indignation thrilled the 
 crowded benches of the Right. The Royalists with few ex- 
 ceptions had suffered cruelly in their f amiUes and in their fortunes 
 during the emigration. The prospect of war with Jacobins and 
 revolutionaries aroused their fiercest passions. They were not 
 men to be insensible to the intoxicating influence of power. As 
 though unconscious of the angry faces round him, Manuel pro- 
 ceeded to unfold his arguments. The advocates of intervention 
 would do well to be careful. The Stuarts, he contended, had met 
 their fate because they had invoked the assistance of the 
 foreigner against their own people. Regardless of the rising 
 storm of protests, he compared the situation of Ferdinand to 
 that of Louis XVI. " The dangers which threatened the Royal 
 Family became serious only when revolutionary France was 
 compelled to defend herself by other means ..." A howl of fury 
 drowned the words which followed. The Royalists, wildly gesticu- 
 lating, sprang to their feet. "He is defending the regicides," 
 " Turn him out," " Drag him from the tribune," ^ and other 
 cries assailed him. In despair of restoring order, Ravez, the 
 President, suspended the sitting for an hour. But when business 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 118-127, 158-164, 168-196. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 487-489. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 411-412. 
 
 2 Pasquier^ V. pp. 489-491. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 413-418. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 197-211. 
 
336 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1823 
 
 was resumed, Manuel was still refused a hearing. Finally, amidst 
 the general uproar, the President adjourned the Chamber. 
 
 The next day, February 27th, La Bourdonnaye moved that M. 
 Manuel, the member for La Vendee, should be expelled the 
 Chamber. In the course of the discussion which followed, he was 
 heard in his own defence. His attitude of insolent defiance drove 
 the Royalists to madness. A committee was appointed to con- 
 sider La Bourdonnaye's motion. With a cynical disregard for the 
 ordinary rules of justice, only the most extreme RoyaUsts were 
 elected to serve upon it. La Bourdonnaye himself, moreover, was 
 chosen for the office of reporter. On the 1st of March he an- 
 nounced to the chamber that his Committee had concluded 
 unanimously in favour of Manuel's expulsion. The next three 
 days were occupied with the general discussion of the proposal. 
 It was a remarkable feature of the affair that no Minister spoke 
 during the whole course of the proceedings. ^ The leadership of 
 the party would appear to have passed to La Bourdonnaye, for 
 the time being. The Royalists listened with impatience to the 
 impassioned protests of Foy and other Liberals. But the efforts 
 of Roy er- Collar d ^ to recall them to reason were not altogether 
 fruitless. The famous Doctrinaire was heard always to the best 
 advantage when the debate involved a question of principles. 
 Violence, he admitted, was a factor which could not be ignored in 
 politics. When the people attempted it, it was known as an in- 
 surrection. When Governments employed it against a foreign 
 State, it was called intervention. When it was resorted to against 
 the people, it was spoken of as a coup d'Etat. That was the name 
 which should be applied to the measure which they were asked to 
 adopt against M. Manuel. Starting from this premise, he argued 
 that the whole system of representative government would be 
 rendered impossible were parliamentary majorities thus to abuse 
 their power. Hyde de Neuville was a fiery Ultra-Royalist, but he 
 was not deaf to reason. He proposed, accordingly, an amendment 
 whereby suspension for the remainder of the Session was to be 
 substituted for expulsion. Thus modified. La Bourdonnaye's 
 motion was carried.^ 
 
 The next day, March 6th, Manuel resumed his place in the 
 Chamber. As he refused to obey the President's order to with- 
 draw, a detachment of the National Guard was sent for, and the 
 officer in command was instructed to remove him. Amidst intense 
 excitement the citizen soldiers marched in. Foy and La Fayette 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. pp. 491-492. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histmre, XII. pp. 213-223. 
 
 2 /6irf.,pp. 248-253. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 253-264, 260-262. 
 
1823] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 337 
 
 harangued them. A sergeant, a Imen-draper named Mercier, when 
 ordered to lay hands upon Manuel, declined to obey. " The 
 National Guard has covered itself with glory/' roared La Fayette, 
 whilst the Left applauded loudly. Their triumph was of brief 
 duration. 1 Silently a troop of regular soldiers — gendarmes — sur- 
 rounded the Liberal benches. When his men were in position, 
 Colonel the Vicomte de Foucault three times summoned Manuel 
 to leave his seat. Finding that words were of no avail, he bade a 
 sergeant and two men eject him. Seizing Manuel by the collar, 
 they hustled him out of the building. The Left rose in a body and 
 followed him. Later on the party resolved to attend no further 
 sittings of the Chamber during the Session, as a protest against 
 the act of violence committed upon one of their number. ^ 
 
 The comparative indifference with which the public heard of 
 these proceedings well exempUfies the small respect which was 
 entertained for the Parliamentary system. Some half-hearted 
 attempts to riot were made outside the Chamber. For a short 
 time the picture of Mercier, who had been dismissed from his 
 legion of the National Guard, was exhibited in the shop windows. 
 Crowds, for a few nights, assembled to cheer round Manuel's 
 house. The expelled member and the insubordinate linen-draper, 
 however, were popular heroes, rather because they had defied 
 authority than for any other reason. Neither the arbitrary 
 manner in which a chosen representative of the people had been 
 treated, nor the invasion of the Chamber by an armed force, 
 evoked any deep feeling of national indignation. ^ 
 
 On the day after the meeting of the Chambers the list was pub- 
 lished of the generals and officers who were to be employed with 
 the army of operations. The supreme command of the expedition 
 was assigned to the Due d'Angouleme. The four corps d'armees 
 and the corps de reserve into which the field force of 100,000 men 
 was divided, were commanded respectively by Oudinot, Molitor, 
 Hohenlohe, Moncey, and BourdesouUe. The honoured names of 
 d'Autichamp and La Rochejacquelein figured, among the 
 generals to command divisions, alongside those of Canuel and 
 Donnadieu.* The Royalists had little fault to find with the 
 majority of the officers selected. Alone the appointment of 
 General Guilleminot to the post of Chief of the Staff met with 
 their disapproval. The Due d'Angouleme at this time rather 
 affected Liberal opinions, and would sometimes shock his inti- 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. pp. 493-494. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Hutoire, XII. pp. 264-275. 
 
 3 Pasquier, V. pp. 494-495. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 275-277. 
 Nettement, Histoire, IV. pp. 440-441. 
 * M. B. Capefigue, Bedt des operatioiis, Paris, 1823, pp. 44-46. 
 
338 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1823 
 
 mates by declaring that he liked Decazes and detested the old 
 nobility. Guilleminot was a very capable officer with consider- 
 able experience of staff duties. To the Duke, who did not wish 
 to be overshadowed by a Marshal of European reputation, his 
 comparative obscurity was a further recommendation. The 
 Royalists, however, were not inclined to forget that he had 
 served upon the Headquarter Staff at Waterloo. Their candidate 
 was the Due de Bellune, the Minister for War, and an intrigue 
 was set on foot to substitute him for Guilleminot. ^ 
 
 In the meantime, the revolutionaries in France were not idle. 
 The concentration of a large army at the foot of the Pyrennees 
 was an opportunity not to be missed for bringing about a general 
 rising of the troops — a Quirogade, as it was called at the time. To 
 prepare the ground treasonable manifestos and seditious pam- 
 phlets were circulated in the cantonments. Copies of the song, in 
 which Beranger was not ashamed to invite the soldiers " to face 
 about,'" were distributed freely. ^ The proclamation of Paul 
 Louis Courier, skilfully designed to appeal to the feelings of the 
 rank and file, was surreptitiously introduced into the camps. 
 " Soldiers, '* it ran, " you are about to enter Spain to restore the 
 old regime. But, my friends, do you know of what the old 
 regime consists ? It means taxation for the people and black 
 bread and the lash for the soldier. The lash and black bread, that 
 is the old regime, so far as you are concerned. . . . Soldiers, 
 march on, and when you have won the victory, the nobles will be 
 promoted, and you will get the stick. ... Go on, enter Spain, 
 drums beating, at the bidding of the foreign Powers. . . . Hur- 
 rah for the lash, long live the stick ; no advancement for the 
 rank and file, promotion only for the nobles. When the expedi- 
 tion is over you will receive in full the arrears of floggings due to 
 you since 1789."' s 
 
 Spain, at this time, was the favourite place of refuge for the 
 Italian and French Carbonari. The police reported that, not only 
 were many of those who had fled to England setting out for 
 Spanish ports, but that suspicious characters were leaving Paris 
 for the southern frontier. The ex-Colonel Fabvier was the most 
 active organizer of the attempt which it was proposed to make 
 
 1 Camille Rousset, Le Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, pp. 259-261. 
 
 Pasquier, V. 482, 496-498. 
 * Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 178-182. 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 269-271, 280. 
 ^^ Brav' soldats v'la Tord' du jour. 
 Point de victoire, 
 Ou n'y a point de gloire. 
 Brav' soldats v'la I'ord^ du jour, 
 Gard a vous ! Demi-tour. '^ 
 3 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, p. 180. 
 
1823] CHATEAUBEIAND'S WAR 339 
 
 to seduce from their allegiance the troops composing the army of 
 invasion. He was not only in close communication with his 
 fellow-conspirators in Spain, but is said to have established secret 
 relations mth certain senior officers of the Due d'Angouleme's 
 army. The statement has been denied that disaffection existed 
 in high places.^ It is a fact, nevertheless, that Fabvier was able 
 to remain for a fortnight, unmolested at a village in the very 
 centre of the French cantonments. At a later date, Armand 
 Carrel, who was actively concerned in this treason, wrote some 
 instructive remarks about the affair. It was a delusion, he says, 
 to have supposed that the moment was ripe for a pronunciamento. 
 The soldier was not discontented. Few, moreover, among the 
 rank and file had served under the Empire. The young officers 
 were eager to take part in a campaign and to obtain promotion. 
 Most of the seniors had experienced, at some time or another, the 
 straitened circumstances incidental to half-pay, and had no 
 thoughts beyond " the daily bread attaching to their epaulettes." 
 Old generals of the Republic and the Empire would talk of the 
 white flag and Henri IV with the enthusiasm of former emigres of 
 ancient lineage. ^ 
 
 On March 15th, the Due d'Angouleme left Paris for the army. 
 No sooner had he started than steps were taken to replace 
 Guilleminot, his Chief of the Staff, by Marshal Victor, Due de 
 Bellune, the Minister of War. Villele rightly regarded the Marshal 
 as an inefficient administrator, and was dissatisfied with his 
 preparations for the campaign. Bellune had served in Spain, and 
 was anxious to be appointed to the field army. By gratifying 
 his desire, Villele saw his way to ridding his Cabinet of a useless 
 member, and to pleasing his party. Accordingly, he obtained the 
 King's sanction to Bellune's appointment as Chief of the Staff to 
 the army of operations, and to the transference of the portfoHo 
 of War to General Digeon, during the Marshal's absence. He 
 was determined, however, to prevent if possible Bellime's 
 resumption of his Ministerial duties at the close of the campaign. ^ 
 The Due d'Angouleme, once confronted with the accomplished 
 fact, would offer, Villele appears to have hoped, no serious objec- 
 tions to Guilleminot's supersession. There was, however, a 
 darker side to the intrigue, of which the President of the Council 
 may have been ignorant. In order to ensure the Duke's consent 
 to the proposed substitution, the idea was conceived of discredit- 
 ing General Guilleminot. There can be little doubt as to the 
 quarter from which these crafty counsels were inspired. To 
 
 ^ E. Guillon, Cornplots sous la Restaurationf pp. 227-281. 
 * Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, p. 184. 
 3 Pasquier, V. pp. 500-602. 
 
340 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1823 
 
 carry out the plan successfully, the active co-operation of high 
 police officials was required. Both Franchet, the director, and 
 Lavau, the prefect of police, were zealous members of the famous 
 Jesuitical institution, the Congregation of the Rue du Bac.^ 
 
 Some time about the middle of March a large trunk was trans- 
 mitted from Paris to Bayonne, addressed to Captain de Lostende, 
 aide-de-camp to General Guilleminot. The diligence which con- 
 veyed it carried also several persons upon whom the police had 
 set a watch. At a few hours' distance from Paris these men were 
 arrested, and the luggage and the effects of the travellers were 
 examined. The box addressed to Lostende was opened, and in it 
 were discovered four suits of uniform, with Imperial buttons, 
 eagles, and other suspicious objects. Orders to arrest Lostende 
 and to send him to Paris were despatched to Bayonne. Pasquier 
 asserts that he can positively affirm that this whole affair had 
 been organized by the police, and he mentions the names of the 
 two commissaries and their subordinate agent who were actually 
 concerned in it.^ Villele WTote, at once, to the Due d'Angouleme, 
 who was inspecting at Toulouse, to inform him that, in conse- 
 quence of what had taken place, the Cabinet, with the King's 
 approval, had resolved to replace Guilleminot by the Due de 
 Bellune. That officer, however, was not to regard his superses- 
 sion as an imputation upon his character. His removal had been 
 decided upon only because it was felt that the suspicion attaching 
 to his aide-de-camp would render impossible his position as 
 Chief of the Staff. 3 
 
 The Due d'Angouleme's force of character had been under- 
 estimated. He curtly rephed to Villele that he was proceeding 
 to Bayonne to enquire into matters, and that sooner than consent 
 to the unfair treatment of one of his officers, he should resign the 
 command of the army. His firm attitude at once put an end to 
 the intrigue. Bellune's appointment was cancelled, and the 
 Duke was urged to open the campaign with as little delay as 
 possible.* Upon his arrival at the army headquarters at Bay- 
 onne, on March 30th, His Royal Highness found everything in 
 disorder. The Due de Bellune had arrived with a letter of ser- 
 vice appointing him Chief of the Staff. Guilleminot was indig- 
 nant at his supersession and at the arrest of his aide-de-camp.^ 
 
 1 C. Rousset, Le Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, pp. 226-227. 
 Madame de Boigne, Memoires, III. p. 116. 
 
 2 Pasquier, V. pp. 502-503. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 282-284. 
 
 3 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 289-291. 
 
 4 Ibid., III. pp. 293-294. 
 
 ^ On April 20th the examining magistrate dismissed the charge against 
 Lostende, who resumed his duties upon the staff with a step in rank. In 
 the following October a person named Vieux, who may have been a secret 
 
1823] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 341 
 
 Reports poured in from corps commanders of a total lack of 
 transport and stores of all kinds. The Duke at once informed 
 Bellune that he should not recognize his appointment until an 
 answer to his representations upon the subject should have been 
 received from Paris. ^ In the meantime every effort must be 
 made to place the army in a position to begin the campaign. 
 With regard to the inadequacy of the preparations, for which his 
 department was responsible, Bellune could only say that his 
 orders had not been carried out. At this juncture Ouvrard, the 
 speculator and the famous army contractor of the Napoleonic 
 wars, appeared upon the scene. For some time past this remark- 
 able man had turned his attention to Spanish affairs. He had 
 constituted himself the banker of the Regency of Urgel, and had 
 visited Verona to try to induce the Powers to guarantee a loan to 
 the Spanish absolutists. His secret means of intelligence had 
 satisfied him that the arrangements of the war department, for 
 beginning the campaign at the end of March, would break down, 
 and he had laid his plans accordingly. ^ 
 
 Ouvrard now undertook to furnish the army with everything 
 required for an immediate advance, and to continue punctually 
 to supply its wants during the campaign in Spain. He stipulated, 
 however, that his estimated expenses should be paid to him in 
 advance at the beginning of each month, and that the whole of 
 the stores accumulated in the magazines upon the frontier 
 should be placed at his disposal. The efforts of the revolutionaries 
 to tamper Avith the fidelity of the troops would be thwarted 
 effectually by a rapid forward movement. To the Due d'Angou- 
 leme and to Guilleminot it appeared that only by placing them- 
 selves in Ouvrard's hands could their difficulties be surmounted. ^ 
 On April 5th his terms were accepted. It was a curious feature 
 of the affair that the agreement was signed by Victor Ouvrard, 
 the contractor's nephew. This formality was rendered necessary 
 by the fact that the man who undertook to supply the French 
 army was an undischarged bankrupt. All difficulties now dis- 
 appeared as if by magic. On the morning of April 7th the advanced 
 guards crossed the Bidassoa, and in the evening the Due d'An- 
 gouleme's headquarters were estabUshed upon Spanish territory.* 
 
 agent of the police, was sentenced, par contumace, to two years' imprison- 
 ment for sending off the box to Lostende. 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 295, 296-300, 303-308. 
 '^ Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, I. p. 612. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XL pp. 658-560. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 498-499. 
 Madame de Boigue, Memoires, III. p. 116. 
 ^ Villele, Mhnoires, III. p. 324. 
 * Pasquier, V. pp. 504-506. 
 
342 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1823 
 
 On the day preceding the general advance of the army an affair 
 of considerable political significance took place in the outpost line. 
 A band of about one hundred and fifty revolutionaries, under the 
 ex-Colonel Fabvier, mostly men who like himself had been con- 
 cerned in the military plots, appeared upon the left bank of the 
 Bidassoa. They were dressed in the uniform of clmsseurs and 
 grenadiers of the old Imperial Guard, and one of them carried the 
 tricolour. At the point at which they showed themselves, a 
 French regiment of infantry and a battery of artillery had been 
 posted to defend the passage of the river, which was fordable at 
 low tide. The revolutionaries shouted to their compatriots upon 
 the right bank, waved their flag, and sang the Marseillaise. The 
 news of what was occurring brought to the spot General Vallin, 
 the brigadier, a soldier of Waterloo. After a brief moment of 
 hesitation, he ordered the guns to open fire. At the second dis- 
 charge the flag- bearer was killed and others of the band were 
 struck down. Before an infantry detachment could cross the 
 river to attack them, Fabvier's people had fled,^ leaving some 
 twelve of their number lying dead or badly wounded upon the 
 ground. The significance of the event was fully realized in Paris. 
 Upon his return, General Vallin was thanked by the King in 
 person for his " whiff of grape-shot " upon the banks of the 
 Bidassoa. Before the campaign had begun, the chief object of 
 the war had been attained. French soldiers, commanded by a 
 Waterloo officer, had fired upon the tricolour. ^ 
 
 In a country admirably adapted to guerilla operations, a form 
 of warfare in which the Spaniards excelled, the resistance of the 
 people was more to be dreaded than that of the regular army. 
 The anarchy which had resulted from the proclamation of the 
 Constitution had alienated the sympathies of that large section of 
 the educated and well-to-do classes which, in the first instance, 
 had welcomed the revolution. The people were not interested in 
 poHtical questions, but they listened to their priests, who, with 
 few exceptions, were the sworn friends of absolute monarchy. 
 The Liberals realized, without doubt, that they had the support 
 only of a minority of the population. They seem to have assumed, 
 however, that the same methods would prevail in the Royal as in 
 the French Imperial armies. They hoped, in consequence, that 
 the irritation set up by high-handed exactions, and the un- 
 restrained marauding of the invaders would bring the people to 
 their side. The Duo d'Angouleme and General Guilleminot 
 appear to have understood the situation. ^ By their actions, and 
 
 ^ E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, pp. 286-291 . 
 
 Villele, Mem(rires, III. pp. 817-819. 
 ^ Thureau Dangiii, Le parti liberal, pp. 188_, 186-187. 
 3 Villele, Memoires, III. pp. 291-293. 
 
1823] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 343 
 
 by their proclamations they made it clear that they intended not 
 to make war upon the Spanish people, but to overthrow a 
 faction. 
 
 The favourable terms which Ouvrard obtained, and the 
 suspicion that certain officers had an interest in recommending 
 their adoption, were to furnish the opposition with a weapon with 
 which to attack the Government. Villele, however, though he 
 loyally refused to shelter himself behind the Due d'Angouleme, 
 always disapproved of the arrangement. The predicament has 
 been explained in which the Duke and his staff were placed owing 
 to the insufficient preparations of the war department. Under 
 these circumstances the propriety of entering into such an agree- 
 ment with a man of Ouvrard's reputation must be judged mainly 
 by the result. If this criterion be accepted then the Duke and 
 his advisers must be held to have acted wisely. Ouvrard loyally 
 carried out his part of the bargain. During the march of the 
 army from the Pyrenees to Cadiz, men and horses were in all 
 respects abundantly supplied, and strict discipline was main- 
 tained. ^ At the news, which Ouvrard's agents disseminated 
 throughout the country, that food and provender, promptly 
 delivered, would be generously paid for on the spot, farmers and 
 peasants flocked to the French camps with provisions of every 
 kind. 2 In the towns, the invaders were received with enthusiasm, 
 and acclaimed as deliverers. When the columns entered the 
 defiles of the Somma Sierra, veterans saw only a few shepherds 
 gazing at them with indifference, where in 1808 riflemen had con- 
 tested every yard of the ascent.^ 
 
 On May 23rd, the Due d'Angouleme entered Madrid, and re- 
 ceived an enthusiastic welcome from the inhabitants. The 
 Cortes, before the French armies crossed the frontier, had com- 
 pelled Ferdinand to follow them to Seville. Whilst a strong 
 French column was sent in pursuit, operations were prosecuted 
 vigorously against Morillo, in GaHcia, Ballasteros, in Andalusia, 
 and Mina, in Catalonia. By the Duke's wish a Council of Regency 
 was set up in Madrid, the five members of it, with the Due de 
 rinfantado as President, being chosen by the Grand Councils of 
 Castille and of the Indies. So soon as this had been accompHshed, 
 M. de Talaru was accredited to the new government as Ambas- 
 sador, and the three continental Powers likewise sent their repre- 
 
 ^ Villele, Memoires, III. p. 316. 
 Camille Rousset, Le Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, pp. 279-282. 
 Guizotj Memoires, I. p. 287. 
 Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. p. 891. 
 
 2 G. J. Ouvrard, Memmres, I. pp. 309-313. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 607-510. 
 
 3 G. J. Ouvrard, Memoires, II. p. 70. 
 
344 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1823 
 
 sentatives.i The Due d'Angouleme had entered Spain without 
 definite instructions as to the regime he was to estabhsh in the 
 place of the one he was to overthrow. He was reluctant that 
 absolute power should be conferred again upon Ferdinand, but 
 further than this he would not appear to have held very decided 
 views. Once the Regency had been set up, however, he found 
 that the direction of affairs had passed from his hands completely. 
 All the acts of the Cortes, since 1820, were declared null and void, 
 and an era of violent reaction was inaugurated. Hundreds of 
 Constitutionalists were cast into prison, and outrages of every 
 description were perpetrated. ^ The Ministers of the three Powers, 
 in their anxiety to counteract French influence, secretly en- 
 couraged the Regents to disregard the Duke's counsels of modera- 
 tion. It is by no means certain, indeed, that Talaru, an Ultra- 
 Royalist, supported him very loyally. ^ 
 
 Upon the approach of the French the Cortes fled from Seville 
 to Cadiz, dragging along with them the indignant Ferdinand. In 
 consequence of his refusals to accompany them they declared him 
 deposed until he should arrive at Cadiz, and appointed a Council 
 of Regency for the duration of the journey. As a protest against 
 this action upon the part of the Cortes, Sir William A'Court, who 
 had hitherto remained with Ferdinand, mthdrew to Gibraltar. 
 Continuing the pursuit. General BourdesouUe arrived outside 
 Cadiz on June 24th, and a strict blockade of the town, both by 
 sea and land, was established. Ouvrard, who had shown great 
 abiHty in negotiations of the kind, was empowered to buy the 
 King's release from the members of the Cortes. It was soon evi- 
 dent, however, that this could be effected only by force. The 
 Due d'Angouleme, accordingly, was instructed from Paris to 
 press the siege vigorously. In the meantime, the French were 
 practically complete masters of the country. Morillo capitu- 
 lated in Galicia, on July 10th, and Ballastros, in Andalusia, was 
 preparing to follow his example. Alone, Mina, in Catalonia, 
 continued to baffle Marshal Moncey.* In the last days of July, 
 the Due d'Angouleme, with reinforcements for the blockading 
 army, set out for Cadiz. His last illusions were gone as to the 
 possibility of improving the condition of Spain. France would 
 have to be satisfied with possessing once again an army.^ 
 
 * The correspondence between the Due d'Aiigoulene and Villele is 
 contained in the latter half of Vol. III. and in Vol. IV. of Villele's 
 Memoires. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII, pp. 530-609. 
 
 Pasquier^ V. pp. 611-612. 
 ^ Nettement, Histoire^ VI. pp. 642-643. 
 
 * Ibid., pp. 623-624. 
 
 Camfrridge Modern History, X. pp. 227-228. 
 fi Villele, Memmres, IV. pp. 279-282. 
 
1823] CHATEAUBRIAND'S WAR 345 
 
 Discouraged as he was, the Duke made a last attempt at 
 Andujar, half-way between Madrid and Cadiz, to put an end to 
 anarchy, and to restrain within bounds the fury of the absolut- 
 ists. On August 8th, he issued the document which was to be 
 known as the proclamation of Andujar. In future, the Spanish 
 authorities were to make no arrests without the permission of 
 the French military commanders, who were instructed to release 
 all persons who had been imprisoned without cause. In addition, 
 a strict supervision was to be exercised over journalists and news- 
 papers. This announcement was received with indignation by 
 the Regents, and their protests were supported by the 
 Ministers of the three Powers. In Paris, the Royalists were 
 equally enraged, and their newspapers strongly condemned 
 the proclamation. In face of this chorus of disapproval from his 
 party, Villele was constrained to inform the Duke that the King 
 and his Ministers considered that his action was a violation of his 
 promise not to interfere in internal affairs. He was compelled, in 
 consequence of this remonstrance, to communicate fresh instruc- 
 tions to his lieutenants, which reduced to a dead letter his merci- 
 ful enactment of August 8th. In setting up the Regency, the 
 Duke had made a grievous mistake. Once established, he was 
 obliged, not only to sit helpless whilst measures of which he dis- 
 approved were put into execution, but the imposition of condi- 
 tions upon Ferdinand after his release were rendered doubly 
 difficult.! 
 
 Upon the Due d'Angouleme's arrival outside Cadiz, on August 
 16th, it was decided to direct operations against the fortified 
 isthmus, known as the Trocadero, which protected the inner har- 
 bour. In addition to its other defences, a cutting eighty yards 
 broad had been made, in which the water was nearly five feet 
 deep, even at low tide. On August 19th, the first approaches 
 were dug, and on the 24th the second parallel was established 
 within fifty yards of the cutting. On the 30th, the isthmus was 
 heavily bombarded. The cessation of the fire in the afternoon, 
 however, was construed as a victory by the besieged. That night 
 the town was illuminated, and the success was celebrated by 
 balls and festivities. But whilst the Spaniards were dancing, 
 French columns were moving silently to their prescribed stations. 
 At half-past two, at low tide, the signal was given. Wading 
 through the cutting, under a heavy fii'e, the French bore down 
 all opposition. By nine o'clock the isthmus and the forts were in 
 
 * Pasquier, V. pp. 616-620. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 612-624. 
 Nettementj Histoire, VI. pp. 648-653. 
 G. J. Ouvrard, Memoires, II. pp. 159-160, 178-180. 
 
346 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1823 
 
 their possession.^ In the foremost ranks of the assailants the tall 
 figure had been conspicuous of Carlo Alberto, the future King of 
 Sardinia, a volunteer in the service of France. Thus he made his 
 amende honorable to the Powers for his Liberalism at Turin two 
 years before. But it was with no thought of politics that a 
 deputation of private soldiers waited upon him, wlien the fight 
 was over, to present him with the woollen epaulettes of a comrade 
 who had fallen, and to proclaim him a grenadier of France. ^ 
 
 The loss of the Trocadero and a gromng spirit of disaffection 
 among their troops warned the Cortes that the end was approach- 
 ing. On September 3rd, General Alava, who had attempted to 
 enter into negotiations with the Due d'Angouleme, was informed 
 that Ferdinand must be set at liberty before any proposals for a 
 cessation of hostilities could be entertained.^ The French com- 
 mander like^^•ise declined to accept the proffered mediation of 
 Sir William A'Court.* In other parts of the country the cause of 
 the Constitutionalists fared no better. Pampeluna capitulated to 
 Lauriston, and Mina's bands were broken up. Quiroga fled to 
 England, and Riego, whose followers had been dispersed, was 
 dragged into the camp of General Latour-Foissac by the peasan- 
 try. He was claimed, however, by the Regency, upon the plea 
 that he had not been captured by French troops. To accede to 
 this demand was to consign him to certain death. But the Due 
 d'Angouleme, after ascertaining the views of his Government 
 upon the subject, felt constrained to consent to transfer him to 
 the Spanish authorities.^ 
 
 In the meantime, the siege of Cadiz was pushed on vigorously. 
 On September 20th, the fort of Santi- Petri capitulated after a 
 bombardment of two hours from the fleet. The ships could now 
 close in and rain shells into the town. The Duke, it was evident, 
 was preparing to deliver the final assault. On the 28th the 
 Cortes met, voted the restoration of absolute power to Ferdinand, 
 and declared him free to proceed to the French headquarters to 
 negotiate the surrender of Cadiz. The King prepared to set out 
 at once, but his departure was opposed by the National Militia, 
 who demanded from him the promise of a general pardon and of 
 other concessions. Their attitude was so menacing that he 
 deemed it expedient to issue a proclamation, according to which, 
 " of his own free will, and upon his Royal word," he undertook 
 
 1 Viel Castel, XII. pp. 628-632. 
 
 2 M. B. Capefigue, Recit des operations, Paris, 1823, p. 235. 
 
 3 Villele, Memoires, IV. p. 365. 
 Md., pp. 334-335, 381. 
 
 ^ Nettement, Histoire, VI. p. 508. 
 Viil^le, Memoires, IV. p. 423. 
 
1823] CHATEAUBEIANDS WAR 347 
 
 to give the required assurances.^ On October 1st, Ferdinand, 
 accompanied by his Queen and by the other members of his 
 family, went on board the Royal barge in triumph to the thunder 
 of a salute from all the guns of the fortress. Upon his arrival at 
 the French headquarters " a splendid spectacle was witnessed 
 at the extremity of Europe. A grandson of Louis XIV dropped 
 upon one knee and offered his sword to another grandson of the 
 great King." 2 
 
 I The next day, at a private interview, the Due d'Angouleme 
 sought to convince Ferdinand of the necessity of consenting to 
 certain needful reforms. The result of his conversation con- 
 firmed his gloomiest anticipations. Shouts of " Long live our 
 absolute King ! " from the rabble under the windows gave Ferdi- 
 nand an excuse for talking about " bowing to the will of his 
 people." 3 Two days later, on October 4th, he made manifest 
 the worthlessness of his promises at Cadiz. By a Royal Proclama- 
 tion he confirmed all the acts of the Regency, and added to them 
 still harsher decrees against supporters of the Constitution.* His 
 confessor, Saez, he placed at the head of his Ministry, and estab- 
 lished juntas de la /e, councils with objects corresponding to 
 those of the Inquisition. Utterly disgusted, the Due d'Angou- 
 leme was anxious only to shake the dust of Spain from his feet as 
 quickly as possible. Already, before the fall of Cadiz, he had 
 resigned to Talaru the entire management of political affairs. ^ 
 It had been decided to leave behind an army of 33,000 men to 
 occupy Madrid, Cadiz, and other towns of importance. So soon 
 as arrangements had been concluded in connection with these 
 matters, he set out upon his homeward journey. To Ferdinand's 
 offer to bestow upon him the title of Prince of the Trocadero, he 
 returned a cold refusal. ^ After a brief stay at Madrid, which he 
 quitted before the King's state entry, the Duke started for the 
 French frontier on November 4th. Three days after his depar- 
 ture Riego was hanged upon gallows fifty feet high, to the savage 
 delight of the people, who less than a year before had worshipped 
 him as a hero. ' 
 
 ^ Villele, Memoires, IV. pp. 406, 413. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 662, 564-565. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 648-665. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. p. 398. 
 3 Villele, Memoires, IV. p. 438. 
 
 Viel Castel, Ilistoire, XII. pp. 650-658. 
 ^ Cambridge Modern History, X. p. 229. 
 ^ Villele, Memoires, IV. p. 382. 
 
 6 Ibid., IV. p. 460. 
 
 7 Viel Castel, Histoire, XII. pp. 663-664. 
 
 E. Guillon, Complots sous la Restauration, p. 319, 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 
 
 ON December 2nd the Due d'Angouleme, at the head of a 
 detachment of his troops, entered Paris and was accorded 
 an enthusiastic welcome. The Government was anxious to 
 render as imposing as possible this return home of the victorious 
 Royal army. Ceremonies, however, were never to the Duke's 
 taste and, in this instance, he conceived that the circumstances 
 hardly justified the magnitude of the preparations. " lis nous 
 font faire une fameuse don quichotterie," he exclaimed in disgust 
 to his staff as he mounted his horse at the Porte Maillot.^ 
 
 French intervention had not improved the condition of Spain. 
 It had substituted merely the contemptible despotism of Ferdi- 
 nand for the anarchical regime of the Cortes. Already it was plain 
 that France would derive no material advantages from the war. 
 Despite the blood and treasure which she had expended, no 
 increase of influence in the Peninsula was to accrue to her. Nor 
 were her dreams to be fulfilled of acquiring dominions beyond 
 the seas. Canning was preparing to recognize the independence 
 of the revolted Spanish colonies, and to make good his words 
 that, if France had Spain, it should be " Spain without the 
 Indies." Moreover, President Monroe was about to issue the 
 famous message which was to become the cornerstone of his 
 country's policy, and was to shatter Chateaubriand's hopes of 
 founding a Bourbon Monarchy upon the continent of South 
 America. 2 
 
 But, if France gained no national benefits from her action 
 against Spain, the war w^as productive of important results from a 
 dynastic point of view. The Bourbons proved to the world at 
 large and to the disaffected at home that they possessed an army, 
 upon the fidelity of which they could depend. ^ The last hopes of 
 the Liberals of overturning the Monarchy by a military revolution 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. p. 536. 
 
 ^ Monroe's Message to Congress, December 2nd, 1823. 
 Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. p. 858 ; II. pp. 251, 304, 425- 
 426. 
 
 ^ Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 257-268. 
 
 348 
 
1823] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 349 
 
 vanished in the smoke of VaUin's guns upon the Bidassoa. This 
 good effect, however, was to be neutraHzed by the folly of the 
 RoyaHsts themselves. Provided only that the soldiers were 
 upon their side, they believed that they could impose their will 
 upon their countrymen. Henceforward, strong in the conviction 
 that the forces of the revolution were spent, they were to drive 
 Villele along the path of reaction with consequences fatal to the 
 regime. 
 
 The recollection of Bellune's attempt to substitute himself for 
 Guilleminot as Chief of the Staff rankled in the mind of the 
 Due d'Angouleme. Upon several occasions there had been 
 friction between the headquarters of the army of operations 
 and the department of war. Before the close of the campaign 
 the Duke in his displeasure announced that, sooner than meet the 
 Marshal, he should not return to Paris. The resignation of the 
 Minister of War had been obtained, accordingly, upon October 
 18th. It was a measure of which Villele personally approved, 
 but he knew that it must bring down upon him the displeasure 
 of his party. On account of the many coteries^ the sympathies 
 and prejudices of which had to be considered, the selection of his 
 successor was not an easy matter. Choice was made finally of the 
 Baron de Damas,^ who was in command of a division of the 
 expeditionary force. Chateaubriand appears to have advocated 
 his appointment, under the impression that the Due d'Angouleme 
 would be gratified by the selection of one of his officers. His 
 expectations, however, were falsified by the event. The Duke 
 was astounded, and made no secret of his displeasure at the 
 elevation of a man who was in no way qualified for ministerial 
 rank. 2 Chateaubriand, at this time, was very anxious to remove 
 any soreness which His Royal Highness might feel at having been 
 compelled to modify the proclamation of Andujar. But all his 
 attempts to enter into private communication with him were 
 repulsed, and the Duke informed Villele that he had no intention 
 of embarking upon a correspondence with anyone except him.^ 
 
 Chateaubriand's prodigious conceit was increased by the 
 success of the Spanish adventure. Villele, who must have re- 
 gretted bitterly having admitted him into the Cabinet, kept a 
 watchful eye upon him. Notwithstanding that Lalot and La 
 Bourdonnaye were now his declared enemies, Chateaubriand, 
 who was upon very friendly terms with them, was striving to 
 bring them into the Government. Villele had grave doubts, 
 
 ^ Villele, Memoires, IV. pp. 465. 
 La Rochefoucauld, Memoires, II. pp. 98-99. 
 
 2 Villfele, Memwres, IV. pp. 505, 510-512. 
 Pasquier, V. pp. 534-536. 
 
 3 Villele, Memoires, IV. pp. 479-480. 
 
350 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1824 
 
 indeed, whether his gifted colleague was not scheming to supplant 
 him altogether, and was not proposing to assume the direction 
 of affairs. His suspicions upon this point may possibly have been 
 justified. A man who could write seriously that he had done in 
 six months what Napoleon had failed to accomplish in six years, 
 might very well aspire to supersede M. de Villele.^ The relations 
 of the two Ministers were further embittered by considera- 
 tions of personal jealousy. Chateaubriand and Montmorency, 
 but not the President of the Council, were decorated by the 
 Tsar. The ribbon of the Russian order was blue, a circumstance 
 which intensified Villele's irritation, as it gave to his colleague the 
 appearance of having been invested with the cordon bleu. Louis 
 appears to have shared the indignation of his First Minister, 
 and, to console him, created him a Knight of the Holy Ghost. 
 Chateaubriand thereupon complained so loudly that, on January 
 7th, he also received the coveted distinction. ^ 
 
 In another direction Villele had to combat an intrigue. Lauris- 
 ton, the Minister of the King's Household, stood high in Madame 
 du Cayla's estimation by reason of the readiness with which he 
 disbursed the sums required for the presents which Louis not 
 unfrequently made her.^ To the general indignation he was 
 created a Marshal of France, and sent to the seat of war in com- 
 mand of the second corps de reserve. Upon the fall of Bellune, 
 Sosthenes de La Rochefoucauld and the favourite conceived the 
 plan of transferring Lauriston to the War Office, and of replacing 
 him, as Minister of the Household, by Sosthenes' father, the 
 Due de Doudeauville. At the same time the King was to be 
 induced to dismiss Corbiere, and to transmit to Sosthenes himself 
 the portfolio of the Home Department. The sands of Louis' life 
 were running out rapidly. At all hours he would sink into a 
 heavy sleep from which it was impossible to rouse him. Villele, 
 nevertheless, contrived to persuade him of the unwisdom of such 
 a step, and, by explaining to Madame du Cayla that he should 
 oppose her plan with all his power, succeeded in inducing her to 
 abandon it.* 
 
 Though the war had not fulfilled the expectations of the 
 Government in all respects, its success, from a purely military 
 point of view, was regarded by the public as a brilliant vindication 
 of the Ministerial policy. The gloomy predictions of the Liberals 
 
 ^ Chauteaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. p. 285. 
 
 2 Pasquier, V. pp. 646-647. 
 Nettement, Histoirej VI. pp. 682-585. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 638. 
 
 Madame de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 135-137. 
 * La Rochefoucald, Memoires, II. pp. 112-116. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. pp. 580-583. 
 
1824] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 351 
 
 were scornfully derided now that events had falsified them so 
 completely. Popular opinion was entirely upon the side of the 
 triumphant Royalists. It was Villele's opportunity for carrying 
 out those measures which his party had so much at heart. 
 In the first instance he proposed to abolish the system of an 
 annual displacement of a fifth of the Chamber and to bring in a 
 Septennial Act. Though Chateaubriand spoke in favour of 
 quinquennial parliaments, and Clermont-Tonnerre had doubts 
 about the wisdom of increasing the power of the elective assembly, 
 Villele easily induced the Cabinet to adopt his views. It was 
 decided that the existing Chamber should be dissolved, and that 
 a general election should take place. No anxiety, it was agreed, 
 need be entertained as to the result, the moment was singularly 
 favourable for an appeal to the country. ^ 
 
 On December 25th the Chamber was dissolved by a Royal 
 Ordinance, and February 25th and March 6th, 1824, were 
 named for the meeting of the electoral colleges. The Royalist 
 victory was overwhelming. Nineteen Liberals only were re- 
 turned. Prominent members of the party, such as La Fayette, 
 Voyer d'Argenson, Dupont, Chauvelin, Georges de La Fayette, 
 and Saint-Aulaire were defeated, whilst Manuel was not even 
 brought forward as a candidate. ^ When the Chambers met, on 
 March 23rd, the Lower House presented a strange appearance. 
 Many of the Royalists, unable to find accommodation upon the 
 benches of the Right, were driven to migrate to the Left, and to 
 occupy the empty seats of their former opponents. The Liberal 
 rout, however, as Villele foresaw, constituted a danger by reason 
 of its very completeness. He would have seen gladly the oppo- 
 sition more numerous. " Strong, it would have held us together ; 
 weak, it will divide us," were his words to Frenilly.^ 
 
 The chief measures of legislation for consideration during the 
 coming Session were made known in the King's speech. Bills 
 were to be brought in to remodel the system of renewing the 
 Chamber, and to reduce the interest of the public debt, an opera- 
 tion which was " to close the last wounds of the Revolution." 
 The announcement contained in this sentence was eagerly 
 awaited. It meant that the Government proposed to indemnify 
 the emigres for their confiscated estates. Villele, realizing the 
 inexpediency of raising by taxation the sum required for this 
 purpose, now saw liis way to obtaining it without imposing 
 fresh burdens upon the people. Despite the war, the finances 
 
 1 C. Rousset, Le Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, p. 231. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VI. p. 598-601. 
 
 Frenilly, Smivenirs, pp. 482-483. 
 
 2 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 187-189. 
 * Frenilly, Souvenirs, pp. 488-499. 
 
352 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1824 
 
 of the State were in a prosperous condition.^ On March 5th, 
 1824, the Government 5 per cent stock stood at 104. On April 
 5th Villele introduced a bill to reduce the interest upon it from 
 5 to 4 per cent. Holders of stock were to have the choice of 
 being bought out at par or of receiving 3 per cent bonds at 75 
 francs, which was the equivalent of converting 5 into 4 per cent.^ 
 
 Throughout the country, but especially in Paris, where the 
 rente was cliiefly held, the bill was very unpopular. At the time 
 comparatively few people could realize that the measure was 
 sound and proper. The right of the State to reduce its liabilities 
 would scarcely appear to have been admitted. The most ig- 
 norant, however, could understand that any income which they 
 derived from investments in Government stock was to be less- 
 ened. Women of all classes, notes Villele, were especially ex- 
 asperated. In the upper ranks of society they talked of putting 
 down their carriages or of sending away their cooks, whilst 
 those in a lower station of life indignantly protested against any 
 diminution of the fruits of their hardly earned savings. No 
 language was too strong to condemn the IMinister who had con- 
 ceived so monstrous a plan.^ 
 
 The Liberals were not slow to utilize for their own ends the 
 unpopularity of the new law. Besides criticizing adversely the 
 proposed conversion itself, the fact was emphasized that this 
 contemplated spoliation of the stockholders was to be carried 
 out for the benefit of the survivors of a privileged aristocracy.* 
 The general discussion began on April 24th and on May 4th the 
 bill was passed in the Lower Chamber by 238 votes to 145.^ This 
 large number of blackballs, deposited in the ballot box, far 
 surpassed expectations. The Royalist opposition, the counter- 
 opposition, as it was called, was gaining strength. La Bourdon- 
 naye, the leader of this group, and Casimir Perier, one of the 
 few survivors of the Liberal disaster at the elections, had been the 
 most determined opponents to the proposed law. Villele at once 
 carried his bill up to the Peers, who, after an animated debate, 
 lasting from May 24th to June 3rd, threw it out by a majority 
 of thirty-four. 
 
 Notwithstanding that the bench of Bishops had been strength- 
 ened since Villele had assumed office, and that twenty- seven new 
 Peers had been created by the ordinance which dissolved the 
 elective assembly, the spirit of the Upper Chamber was very 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, V. p. 15. 
 
 2 Pasquier, V. pp. 550-558. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationsj VII. pp. 24-27. 
 2 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 8-9. 
 4 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIII. pp. 197-198. 
 ^ Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 16-20. 
 
1824] LA CHAMBEE RETROUVEE 353 
 
 different from that of the Lower House. ^ A considerable number 
 of the Peers were former generals and officials of the Empire. 
 Men such as Pasquier or MoUien who, though strong Constitu- 
 tional Royalists, had no sympathy with the pretensions of the 
 emigre party. The Deputies had been elected under the influence 
 of the revulsion of feeling which had swept over the country at 
 the conclusion of the Spanish war. The overwhelming Royalist 
 majority in the Lower House was the reflection merely of this 
 fleeting burst of sentiment. ^ Without doubt the Hereditary 
 Chamber represented far more accurately the real opinion of the 
 best part of the nation. Personal considerations, however, were 
 responsible mainly for the attitude adopted by the members of the 
 two Chambers towards the proposed conversion of the rente. 
 The majority of the Deputies were landed proprietors, few of 
 them were holders of stock. Most of them, moreover, belonged 
 to old aristocratic families and hoped to receive compensation 
 for the property confiscated under the emigration laws. Many 
 Peers had forfeited their estates during the Revolution, but the 
 fortunes of a very large number of them were invested in Grovern- 
 ment securities. Nearly all of them, besides, lived in Paris, ^ and 
 were, in consequence, more directly influenced by the general 
 outcry against the proposed reduction of interest. 
 
 In Villele's opinion two intrigues were largely responsible for 
 the rejection of his bill. The clerical section of the party wished 
 to see Montmorency once again a member of the Government. 
 Villele, in fact, was given to understand clearly that most of the 
 opposition would cease were a seat in the Cabinet to be found 
 for the former Minister for Foreign Affairs.* The behaviour of 
 Chateaubriand was a more serious matter. When the measure 
 was under discussion round the Council table he displayed no 
 hostility to it. In society he affected always a lofty disregard 
 for financial matters. Villele, nevertheless, felt sure that he was 
 working against him. During the most critical period of the 
 debate in the Chamber of Peers he maintained a suspicious 
 silence. 5 But Quelen, the Archbishop of Paris, was his friend, 
 and his speech was the death-blow to the bill.^ Three days later, 
 on Whit Sunday, June 6th, when Chateaubriand arrived at the 
 Pavilion de Marsan to pay his respects to Monsieur, his secretary 
 
 1 Pasquier,, V. p. 546. 
 
 2 Thureau Dangin^ Le parti liberal, pp. 281, 295-296. 
 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deux Bestaurations, VI I. pp. 37-38. 
 * Villele, Memoiresj V. pp. 34-36, 64, 70-72. 
 
 s Ibid. 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. 67. 
 
 Fr^nilly, Souvenirs, pp. 493-494. 
 
 Villele, Memoires, V. p. 40. 
 
 2 A 
 
354 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1824 
 
 handed him an envelope. It contained a curt note from Villele, 
 enclosing the copy of an ordinance signed by the King, which 
 declared " the President of our Council provisionally entrusted 
 with the portfoUo of Foreign Affairs in place of the Vicomte de 
 Chateaubriand/* 1 
 
 Villele asserts that the King decided to dismiss Chateaubriand 
 in this summary fashion without previous consultation with him. 
 In the evening of the day on which the bill was thrown out, Louis 
 expressed doubts about Chateaubriand^s good faith. Villele 
 himself also discussed the matter with some of his colleagues. 
 But no definite steps were decided upon. On Whit Sunday 
 morning, however, Louis sent for him and, telling him that his 
 suspicions were now confirmed, bade him prepare upon the spot 
 the ordinance which, half an hour later, was handed to Chateau- 
 briand. ^ Allusion has already been made to the strained relations 
 which existed between the two Ministers. It cannot be doubted 
 that, for some time past, Villele had been waiting his opportunity 
 to procure the dismissal of this dangerous member of his Cabinet. 
 . Chateaubriand boasts that the Spanish war was but the 
 initial move in his great scheme for restoring France to her former 
 position in Europe. A colonial Empire had yet to be founded in 
 South America, and the French frontiers to be extended to the 
 left bank of the Rhine. Villele had served in the navy, and knew 
 the folly of embarking upon a conflict with Great Britain. 
 Equally unattractive was the prospect of the great war which any 
 infraction of the treaties of 1815 would entail. ^ Both Marmont 
 and Fr^nilly, however, mention a story which, if true, may 
 account for the very unceremonious manner in which Chateau- 
 briand was treated. Madame Boni de Castellane, to whom he 
 was paying marked attentions, had invested in a loan to the 
 Spanish Cortes a large sum of money, the proceeds of an estate 
 wliich she had sold recently. This she had done upon the advice 
 of Chateaubriand,* who considered that Ferdinand, after the 
 war, would be obliged to assume responsibility for the liabilities 
 incurred by the revolutionary Government. One of his first 
 acts, however, after his release from Cadiz, was to repudiate all 
 loans contracted by the Corfes. In order to save his friend from 
 ruin Chateaubriand directed Talaru at Madrid to press the King 
 to acknowledge the debt. His instructions were carried out so 
 
 * Chateaubriand^ Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. p. 286. 
 Pasquier^ V. pp. 558-660. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 39-40. 
 
 3 Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone, I. p. 358. 
 Villele, Memoires, V. p. 155. 
 
 * Marmont, Memoires, VII. p. 292. 
 Frenilly, Souvenirs, pp. 494-495. 
 
1824] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 355 
 
 thoroughly that Ferdinand wrote privately to Louis to complain 
 of the annoyance to which he was subjected by his Ambassador. 
 This episode, according to Frem'Uy and Marmont, was the real 
 reason of Chateaubriand's dismissal. Two hours after receiving 
 Villele's communication, with rage in his heart, he left the Foreign 
 Office. The next day he began that implacable campaign in the 
 Journal des Debats, which was to be the chief feature of " the 
 systematic opposition " to the Government upon which he at 
 once embarked.^ 
 
 With his Septennial Act Villele was more fortunate. Intro- 
 duced into the Upper Chamber at the same time as the proposal 
 to convert the rente was brought before the Chamber of Deputies, 
 it was passed by the Peers on May 7th by 117 votes to 07. 
 In its passage through the elective assembly it was opposed by 
 Royer-Collard in a speech of remarkable brilliancy. The system 
 of representation, he contended, was thoroughly defective. The 
 interference of the central Government with the electoral 
 machinery was fatal to the free exercise of the suffrage. 
 Ministers might almost be said to appoint Deputies to the 
 Chamber. Annual partial elections, however, were a slight check 
 upon this abuse. Septennial Parliaments, on the other hand, 
 would aggravate the evil. The proposed alteration would 
 increase the power of the Chamber, but it would encroach upon 
 the Royal Prerogative. The same line of argument was the 
 next day developed by General Foy. The Liberal speeches, 
 indeed, were characterized by moderation and a strong Monarch- 
 ical spirit. On June Sth^ the Act was passed by 292 votes to 87. 
 
 Two measures, however, brought forward as concessions to the 
 clerical section of the party, were defeated. The first was a pro- 
 posal, which the Peers had adjourned during the previous 
 Session, to authorize the Crown to grant permission for the 
 establishment of convents. Pasquier was giving expression 
 only to the general opinion when he pointed out to his fellow- 
 legislators that, were they to abandon their right with regard 
 to the nuns, they could not logically refuse to act in the same 
 manner towards male religious communities. Though he 
 forebore to mention them by name, his allusion to the Jesuits 
 was understood. The proposal was negatived by 85 votes to 83. ^ 
 
 The second clerical measure to which the Peers were asked 
 to give their consent took the form of a bill, introduced by the 
 Comte de Peyronnet, the Keeper of the Seals, to assimilate the 
 penalties for thefts from Churches, or other recognized places of 
 
 * Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. pp. 287-293. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIII. pp. 409-460. 
 
 3 Pasquier, V. pp. 638-639, 662-663. 
 
356 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1824 
 
 public worship, to those in force for robberies from inhabited 
 dwelHng -houses. It should be understood that at that time 
 burglary, if committed by two or more persons, was, under 
 aggravated circumstances, punishable by death and, under less 
 serious conditions, by penal servitude for life. The Bishops, 
 however, and the clerical party were not satisfied. They wished 
 the word sacrilege to be introduced into the proposed law. 
 " Was it right, moreover," asked the Bishop of Troyes, " to 
 place our tabernacles^ upon the same footing as the articles of 
 furniture to be found in the churches of other religions ? "^ 
 But the Peers set their faces resolutely against all amendments 
 of this nature. The bill, strictly in the form in which it had been 
 presented, was passed on May 1st by 137 votes to 11. In this 
 simple shape, however, it was unacceptable to the clerical Lower 
 Chamber, and Peyronnet, accordingly, withdrew it on June 5th. ^ 
 On August 4th the Chambers were prorogued. The last 
 three weeks of the Session were occupied mainly with the dis- 
 cussion of the Budget. Some awkward questions were asked 
 upon the subject of the war expenses, which amounted to about 
 ten million sterling. ViUele, indeed, deemed it advisable to 
 appoint a commission to report upon the contract with Ouvrard, 
 which was the chief object of criticism.* La Bourdonnaye also 
 denounced the employment of secret service money for the 
 purchase of newspapers. The transactions to which he referred 
 had been exposed recently in the Law Courts. After the con- 
 clusion of the war the attitude of the press generally became very 
 hostile to the Government, several of the Royalist papers having 
 embraced the poUtics of the counter-opposition. To put an end 
 to these attacks Villele, Corbiere, and Peyronnet decided to 
 exercise vigorously against the Liberal press the powers which 
 the laws of 1822 had conferred upon them, and, at the same 
 time, to buy up the Royalist newspapers. The management 
 of this delicate business was entrusted to Sosthenes de La 
 Rochefoucauld. Money was supplied by Monsieur and by 
 Corbiere from the secret service funds of the Home Office. The 
 Tablettes universelles, Drapeau blanc, and Oriflamme were pur- 
 chased for twelve, seven,and eight thousand pounds respectively. ^ 
 Difficulties, however, were encountered in the case of La Quotidi- 
 enne. The paper was divided into twelve shares, of which four 
 
 1 The place in which the consecrated elements of the Eucharist are 
 kept in Roman Catholic churches. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSj VII. p. 60. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIII. pp. 233-253. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 264-256. 
 
 * Pasquier, V. pp. 563-565. 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, DeuiV Restaurations, VII. pp. 65-69. 
 
18241 LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 357 
 
 belonged to the editor, M. Michaud, who refused to come to terms. 
 But Sosthenes, having succeeded in buying the interests of the 
 two other proprietors, considered that he could be ignored. 
 The purchased shares were made over to two nominees of the 
 Minister of the Interior, a new editor was appointed, and, when 
 Michaud protested, he was ejected from his office by the com- 
 missary of police. Michaud, however, who held his post under 
 an agreement with his co-proprietors, took his case into the 
 Royal Courts and obtained a verdict. The proceedings brought 
 to light all Sosthenes' transactions, and caused a great 
 scandal. 
 
 The Ministerial discomfiture was not confined to this affair. 
 Under the law of 1822 a prosecution for " evil tendencies " had 
 been instituted against the Liberal paper, the Courrier frangais. 
 Influenced, doubtless, by the revelations elicited in the Michaud 
 case, the magistrates of the Royal Courts, upon whose sub- 
 servience the Government had counted with confidence, pro- 
 nounced an acquittal.^ 
 
 A Royal ordinance of August 4th announced some important 
 changes in the Cabinet. Chateaubriand's place at the Foreign 
 Office was to be filled by Damas, who was to be replaced as 
 Minister of War by Clermont-Tonnerre. Chabrol was appointed 
 Minister of Marine and the Due de Doudeauville Minister of the 
 King's Household in the place of Marshal Lauriston, who was 
 given the post of Grand Veneur, which had remained vacant 
 since the death of the Due de RicheHeu.^ Twelve days later, 
 on August 16th, the Government reimposed the censorship of 
 the press, under the provisions of the law of 1822. The alarming 
 state of the King's health and the fear that Monsieur's accession 
 might lead to disturbances, made advisable, says Villele, this 
 measure of precaution. Doubtless, also, the fact that a new reign 
 was about to begin, in which clerical matters would assume an 
 even increased importance, was responsible for the decision which 
 was published on August 26th. A new Ministry of Ecclesiastical 
 Affairs was created, and Frayssinous, Bishop in partibus of 
 Hermopolis and Grand Master of the University, was appointed 
 to it. Whilst a seat in the Cabinet was thus given to a high 
 dignitary of the Church, two Archbishops and a Bishop were 
 made Privy Councillors and admitted to the deliberations of the 
 Council of State. One of these was M. Latil, Bishop of Autun, 
 whose great influence over Monsieur dated from the death of 
 Madame de Polastron in London in 1804.^ 
 
 1 Pasquier, V. pp. 566-568. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIIL p. 570. 
 
 3 Pasquier, V. p. 549 ; VI. pp. 1-7. 
 
358 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1824 
 
 The King's condition in the last days of August was desperate. 
 His head, Villele relates, would sometimes fall forward and strike 
 violently against his writing-table. But, though his face was 
 often cut and bruised by the violence of the blow, he persistently 
 refused to allow his head to be supported by a cushion. To the 
 very last he was true to his principle that a " King of France 
 might die, but must never be ill." On his Saint's day, despite 
 the agony which standing caused him, he insisted upon receiving 
 the usual deputations, and his answer to the address of the 
 prefect of Paris could not have been delivered better had he 
 been in perfect health. ^ On September 7th, to the amazement of 
 all who were in the secret of his dying condition, he held a recep- 
 tion of the diplomatic body. In these last days of his life the 
 possibility was often present in his thoughts that both Monsieur 
 and his son might die before the Due de Bordeaux should reach 
 man's estate. " In that case always remember," said he to 
 Villele, " the mother must be Regent. Though she be unpopular, 
 and though she may inspire little confidence, no one else can 
 have the same interest in the well-being of her son and in seeing 
 him ascend the throne." ^ 
 
 Louis had always adhered scrupulously to the outward forms 
 of religion. It was believed, however, that he was still imbued 
 with the scepticism which had been fashionable in his younger 
 days. The members of the Royal Family and the persons about 
 them were much disturbed by the fear that he might die without 
 having received the consolations of the Church. But neither 
 Monsieur nor the Duchesse d'Angouleme dared to speak to him 
 upon the subject. In this difficulty they appealed to Madame 
 du Cayla to persuade him to send for his confessor. This mission 
 she performed successfully, and, according to the general belief, 
 came away not empty-handed from her pious errand. That same 
 day she is said to have converted into money an order for eight 
 hundred thousand francs, upon which Louis' signature was so 
 illegible that even the obliging Due de Doudeauville had grave 
 doubts about passing it.^ On September 13th the King's critical 
 condition was for the first time officially made public, and the 
 Bourse and the theatres were ordered to be closed. At four 
 o'clock in the morning of the 16th Louis XVIII expired, sur- 
 rounded by his family and the great officers of State.* According 
 to precedent, directly the doctors announced that he had ceased 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 110-112. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 113. 
 
 3 Ibid,, pp. 114-116. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 154-165. 
 * Nettement, Ilistoire, VI. pp. 776-783. 
 
(Om^MlLIl 
 
1824] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 359 
 
 to breathe, everybody but Monsieur went into the adjoining room. 
 Hitherto, as a King's daughter, Madame had always taken pre- 
 cedence of her husband. From the time of her release from the 
 Temple she had shared with her uncle all the trials of the emigra- 
 tion. Her grief at losing him was very genuine, nevertheless she 
 did not forget that, from the moment of his death, etiquette pre- 
 scribed for her a different procedure. In the midst of her tears 
 she paused upon the threshold, and bade M. le Dauphin pass 
 through in front of her. After an interval of a minute or two an 
 officer of the Household, throwing open again the doors, an- 
 nounced " The King,'' as Charles X came out of the chamber of 
 death. ^ 
 
 Following the custom of previous reigns, that same evening 
 the whole of the Royal Family withdrew to Saint-Cloud, where 
 the next day Charles received the diplomatic body and various 
 deputations. 2 The new King's aversion to the Constitution was 
 notorious, and his replies to these addresses were awaited with 
 anxiety. They were most satisfactory, however, and in answer- 
 ing the representatives of the two Chambers he gave a definite 
 assurance " that he should preserve the Charter, which as a sub- 
 ject he had sworn to maintain." Even before his brother's 
 death he had intimated to Villele that he should make no changes 
 in the Ministry. ^ He desired only that a place at the Council 
 table should be given to the Dauphin (Due d'Angouleme). On 
 September 23rd Louis' body, followed by a large and respectful 
 crowd, was conveyed to Saint-Denis, where it was to lie in state 
 for a month. Four days later, on the 27th, the Kjng made his 
 formal entry into his capital. Though rain was falling heavily, 
 the people assembled in large numbers and greeted him heartily. 
 Charles was still a good-looking man and could smile genially. 
 Contrasted with Louis, who could enter a carriage only with the 
 utmost difficulty, his appearance upon a horse won universal 
 approval. All the general officers living in Paris rode out to meet 
 him. The crowd recognized with delight in the procession 
 Excelmans, Lamarque, and other warriors who had been in exile 
 or disgrace since 1815. The Royal decision to remove the censor- 
 ship from the newspapers intensified the general satisfaction. 
 On the 30th, on the day following the publication of this decree, 
 Charles reviewed the National Guard. Under the influence of 
 the delight caused by this popular measure his reception was 
 even more enthusiastic than the one accorded him three days 
 before. Far from beginning, as many had feared, with bloodshed 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 8-10 (note). 
 
 2 Villfele, Memoires, V. p. 116. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 112, 129. 
 
360 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1824 
 
 and disorder, the new reign was inaugurated amidst a general 
 outburst of loyalty.^ 
 
 Louis' funeral took place on October 25th. None of the ancient 
 feudal customs were omitted which had been observed at the 
 interment of former Kings. After the body had been lowered into 
 the vault, the heralds one by one divested themselves of their 
 coats-of-arms and caps, and, crjdng out, "The King is dead! " 
 cast them down upon the coffin. Next, the Due de Mortemart, 
 the Due de Luxembourg, the Due de Grammont, and the Due de 
 Mouchy were called upon by name to bring forward the colours 
 of the companies of Guards which they commanded. These, in 
 turn, were thrown into the selpulchre. The honours ^ of the 
 deceased — ^the crown, the sceptre, and the hand of justice were 
 treated in like fashion. They were followed by the spurs, the 
 helmet, the breastplate, the sword, the shield, and the gauntlets 
 which Louis, most unwarlike of princes, was supposed to assume 
 when he led forth his armies. As one by one they fell clanking 
 down the stone steps into the vault beneath, the heralds set up 
 their shout, " The King is dead, the King is dead ! " The last 
 homage was paid to the deceased Sovereign by the Grand- 
 Chamberlain, the Prince de Talleyrand, who limped forward and 
 lowered the standard of France over the coffin. Then the Grand 
 Master of the Household, the Due d'Uzes, dropped the point of his 
 stick over the mouth of the vault, shouting thrice, " The King 
 is dead,"* adding at the third time, " let us pray for his soul."' 
 After a few minutes of profound silence, he raised his stick once 
 more and cried " Long live the King \" At the same moment the 
 door of the sepulchre fell to with a crash, and the heralds took up 
 the shout, " Long live King Charles, tenth of the name, by the 
 Grace of God, Eong of France and Navarre, most Christian, most 
 august, most powerful, our most honoured lord and good master, 
 to whom God grant a very long and a very happy life ! Let all 
 shout Long live the King ! " The drums beat and the trumpets 
 sounded, whilst the cry was repeated by all present. Outside 
 the Church the roar of cannon and the crash of musketry an- 
 nounced to the people that joy could now take the place of sorrow. 
 They had lost Louis XVIII, but his brother Charles X reigned 
 in his stead. 
 
 After the passing of the Septennial Act, Villele had no longer 
 
 ^ Pasquier, VI. pp. 16-17. 
 
 Vaulabelle, I)eux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 81-84. 
 
 Mdrae. de Boigne^ Memoires, III. pp. 162-164. 
 
 Nettement, Histoirej VII. pp. 1-13. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histmre, XIV. pp. 9-11. 
 2 Vaulabelle^ Deua; Restaurations, VII. pp. 79-81. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne^ Memoires, III. pp. 158-169. 
 
1824] LA CHAMBRE RETEOUVEE 361 
 
 to fear that his majority might be disturbed by amiual partial 
 elections. Nevertheless, the ranks of his followers were percep- 
 tibly thinned by the defection of disappointed place-hunters and 
 other malcontents, who, ranging themselves behind Ea Bourdon- 
 naye and Chateaubriand, constituted a counter-opposition and 
 threatened danger. The Liberal and hostile Royalist papers, 
 which followed the lead of Chateaubriand's organ, the Journal 
 des DebatSy were not mollified by the removal of the censorship. 
 Affecting to attribute this measure wholly to the personal action 
 of the King, they continued their attacks upon the Government. 
 Villele's relations with the Sovereign were upon a satisfactory 
 footing, but he knew that in several directions powerful influences 
 were at work to discredit him in Charles' opinion.^ 
 
 The new King had never shared his brother's distrust of Due 
 d'Orleans, and one of the first acts of his reign had been to raise 
 him and all the members of his family to the rank of Royal 
 Highnesses. This conciliatory attitude towards the head of the 
 younger branch was warmly approved of by the Liberals. ^ But 
 Charles' ephemeral popularity with this party did not survive 
 the publication of the ordinance of December 2nd, 1824. By this 
 decree fifty-five lieutenant-generals and one hundred and eleven 
 major-generals were retired from the army, either because, having 
 qualified for a pension they had not been employed since 1816, or, 
 because, being entitled to a full pension, they had not been em- 
 ployed since 1823. Nearly all the persons thus treated were 
 former officers of the Imperial army.^ The Royalist generals 
 were not affected by the regulation, though in many cases they 
 were older men, for the reason that their promotion dated, at the 
 earliest, from 1814. The measure was one which for some time 
 past Charles had wished to see carried out, and he alone must be 
 held responsible for it. By this impolitic act the illusions were 
 dispelled of those who had hoped that the new reign would in- 
 augurate a policy of general reconciliation. In describing it as 
 " the last cannon-shot of Waterloo," General Foy gave expression 
 to the indignation which prevailed in all circles outside the 
 society of the old RoyaHsts.* 
 
 Villele soon perceived that in the new reign questions of Court 
 etiquette would assume at the Council the importance of matters 
 of State. When, at Louis' funeral, the Master of the Ceremonies, 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. pp. 13-22. 
 
 2 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 9-10. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. p. 7. 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VII. pp. 87-88. 
 4 Pasquier, V. pp. 370-373 ; VI. pp. 19-21. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. pp. 31-34. 
 
 C. Rousset, JLa Marquis de Clermont-TonnerrCj pp. 243^ 247. 
 
362 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1824 
 
 breaking his staff of office and tlirowing the pieces into the 
 vault, had declared the King's Household dissolved, he records 
 his regret that this announcement was a mere figure of speech. 
 A numerous Court, besides being a centre of intrigue, furnished 
 the enemies of the monarchy with an excellent excuse for in- 
 veighing against its extravagance.^ On November 19th, a Royal 
 ordinance named December 22nd for the opening of Parliament, 
 and, on November 24th, the King indicated to Villele the legisla- 
 tion which he wished to see carried out during the coming Session,^ 
 The four chief measures, the indemnity to the emigres^ the con- 
 version of the rentej and laws to punish sacrilege and to regulate 
 the establishment of convents were a repetition, merely, of those 
 which had been withdrawn or rejected in the previous summer. 
 
 As regards the first two of these proposed laws, Villele, warned 
 by the experience of his former failure, adopted different tactics. 
 He now determined to bring in the indemnity bill before the 
 proposal to convert the rente. But he still adhered to his old plan 
 of making the conversion pay for the interest upon the indemnity. 
 It had been calculated that a milliard of francs — forty milHons 
 sterling — would be required to compensate the owners of for- 
 feited estates. According to Villele's scheme the payment of this 
 sum was to be spread over the next five years. The claims of 
 those who were to benefit under the act were to be met by an 
 issue of 3 per cent government stock at 75. At the same time all 
 holders of the old 5 per cent bonds were to be given the option of 
 converting their holdings into the new 3 per cent stock at the 
 price of issue. The operations of Messrs. Rothschild and the 
 other bankers, whose assistance Villele had invoked the year 
 before, would tend to improve the position in the market of the 
 new stock. Moreover, by utiHzing the sinking fund exclusively 
 for the redemption of the 3 per cent issue, he proposed to assist 
 its rise in price. It mighb be assumed, under these conditions, 
 that holders would avail themselves readily of their option to 
 convert, and that the same result would be obtained as by the 
 compulsory plan which had failed in the summer. If these 
 provisions were realized, the Treasury would save, over the 
 interest of the whole debt, the thirty million francs required to 
 pay the interest upon the milliard — the forty millions sterling 
 which would be added to it.^ A fall in prices, however, would 
 imperil seriously the success of this conception. 
 
 * Nettement, Histoire, VII. p. 10. 
 Villele, Memoir es J V. pp. 124-125. 
 
 2 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 13-14. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. pp. 26-29. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. pp. 362-368. 
 Vaulabelle, Deua; Restaur ations, VII. pp. 121-124. 
 
1825] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 363 
 
 M. de Martignac, who had performed the duties of political 
 adviser to the Due d'Angouleme during the Spanish war to 
 Villele's satisfaction, was entrusted with the task of introducing 
 the indemnity bill into the Lower Chamber. After the Deputies 
 had listened to his eloquent defence of the emigration, and to 
 his explanation of the nature of the great act of conciliation, by 
 which the King hoped to inaugurate his reign, a committee was 
 appointed to consider the proposed law.^ When, on February 
 17th, the general discussion began, a Liberal, M. de Girardin, 
 pointed out that, out of a total of 430 Deputies, no less than 320 
 were members of the old privileged famihes. Inasmuch as nearly 
 all of them were personally interested in the question before the 
 Chamber, he suggested that they should withdraw, and take no 
 part in the debate. The President, however, promptly ruled his 
 objection out of order. ^ The circumstances being as Girardin had 
 represented, it might have been supposed that the measure would 
 have encountered hostility only from the very diminished 
 Liberal party. It was soon evident, however, that it was to be 
 subjected to severe criticisms by the Royalist opposition. 
 
 If the principle of the bill be considered impartially, it will be 
 seen that there was much to be said in its favour. The saying of 
 MachiavelH^ maybe quoted that "a man will readily forget the loss 
 of his father, but never that of his patrimony.*' The expediency 
 cannot be questioned of a measure which was to put an end to 
 the bitterest animosities which the Revolution had left behind. 
 Moreover, it could be urged, with some show of reason, that the 
 emigres and their descendants would not alone benefit by the 
 indemnity. Indirectly it would confer an advantage upon the 
 actual possessors of the confiscated estates, by giving them a 
 better title to their properties. Despite the clause in the Charter 
 which guaranteed them against eviction, purchasers of land under 
 the emigration laws had never felt altogether secure. Patrimonial 
 estates still commanded in the market a higher price than pro 
 perty which had once been " national.*' But this distinction 
 would cease once the dispossessed owners had received compensa- 
 tion.* 
 
 La Bourdonnaye and his friends, however, were resolved to 
 deprive Villele of the credit of having carried out a measure of 
 reconciliation. Starting from the premise that all the acts of the 
 revolutionary government were illegal, he argued that the 
 emigres must still be considered the rightful owners of their 
 
 * Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 106-107. 
 Pasquier, VI. p. 29. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. p. 183. 
 ^ Machiavelli, Tlie Prince. 
 
 * Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 84-86. 
 
366 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1825 
 
 The bill to punish the crime of sacrilege, which the Peers took 
 into consideration on February 10th, attracted widespread 
 interest. UnUke the measure which they had passed in the pre- 
 vious Session, this offence now figured by name in the new law, 
 and was described as the profanation of the consecrated Host 
 and of sacred vessels. For the first of these crimes it was pro- 
 posed to impose the punishment of parricides, and for the second 
 the ordinary form of capital punishment. The chief opponents 
 of the bill were Mol6, Lanjuinais, Pasquier, Broglie, and Chateau- 
 briand. If they were to pass a measure of this kind, contended 
 the Due de Broglie, they must before long enact that the tongue 
 of the blasphemer should be torn out with hot pincers. The 
 most remarkable speech delivered in support of the Ministerial 
 proposals was that of M. de Bonald, the Christian philosopher. 
 After refuting, as unwarranted, the charge of undue severity 
 which was brought against the bill, he concluded with the pro- 
 nouncement that " to punish the sacrilegious person with death 
 was, after all, but to send him before his natural judge.'' As they 
 listened to these words from the lips of a man, who in his private 
 life was of a singularly mild disposition, it seemed to many 
 present that the spirit of the Inquisition hovered over their 
 deliberations. 1 
 
 In the last Session the ecclesiastical Peers had abstained from 
 voting upon the law to punish thefts from Churches, because the 
 measure involved a possible application of the death penalty. 
 This year, however, Cardinal de La Fare announced that they 
 intended to adopt a different procedure. " After mature con- 
 sideration," he said, " the ecclesiastical Peers have recognized 
 that, though the Church forbids them to act in the capacity of 
 judges, no reason exists to prevent them from taking part, as the 
 members of a legislative assembly, in the framing of all kinds of 
 laws." It is probable that, but for the intervention of the bench 
 of Bishops, an amendment would have passed to substitute penal 
 servitude for the death penalty in cases of profanation. ^ In the 
 result, however, the opponents of the bill were successful only in 
 obtaining that an amende honorable outside the Church, in which 
 the crime had been committed, should take the place of the 
 mutilation prescribed for parricides prior to their execution. But 
 a clause was introduced which provided that the offence must 
 have been perpetrated in public in order to fall within the mean- 
 ing of the act. On February 18th, the bill was carried by 127 
 votes to 92, and, on the following April 15th, the Deputies 
 passed it into law by a majority of 122. In the Lower Chamber 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. p. 96-103. 
 2 Nettement, Histoire^ VII. p. 73. 
 
1825] LA CHAMBEE RETEOUVEE 367 
 
 the eloquent speech, in which M. Royer-Collard opposed the 
 principle of the new measure, was the feature of the debate. ^ No 
 instance is recorded of a conviction under the law of sacrilege. 
 The statute was found to have been made impossible of applica- 
 tion by the provision that the offence must have been committed 
 in public. But the introduction of a mediaeval enactment of the 
 kind had a disastrous effect upon public opinion. From this 
 time forward the apprehension became general that the country 
 was to be ruled by a Church, of which the chief dignitaries 
 were striving to revive the barbarous edicts of the worst days of 
 intolerance.^ 
 
 But for the passing of the Budget by the Peers, the business of 
 the Session was completed on May 20th, when the Chambers were 
 prorogued to enable members to assist at the Kuig*s Coronation 
 at Rheims. A sum of six million francs had been voted for the 
 expenses of the ceremony. Some of the embellishments carried 
 out furnish a good example of the taste of the period. The 
 interior of the Cathedral, a beautiful specimen of Gothic architec- 
 ture, was transformed for the occasion in imitation of a Greek 
 temple. 3 
 
 No coronation of a King of France had taken place since that 
 of Louis XVI. Giving to the occupation of the country by the 
 Allied Armies, during the early years of his reign, and to his 
 physical infirmities, Louis XVIII had never been crowned. 
 Since the days of Clovis Kings of France, at their coronation, had 
 been anointed with a Holy oil brought down to Saint Remi by a 
 dove from heaven. The precious liquid had been preserved at 
 Rheims in a phial known as the sainte ampoule. But, on October 
 6th, 1793, Ruhl, a representative of the people and a commis- 
 sioner of the convention, had broken the bottle against the statue 
 of Louis XV and scattered its contents. Shortly before Charles' 
 coronation, however, it transpired that certain loyal persons had 
 gathered up the pieces, as well as some drops of the inexhaustible 
 ointment. This pleasing discovery was pubHshed in the Moni- 
 teur, on May 16th, when this announcement also appeared : " The 
 Holy oil to be poured upon the head of Charles X will be the same 
 as that which has anointed former Kings of France since the time 
 of Clovis." 4 
 
 On May 28th, Charles arrived in state at Rheims. The corona- 
 tion oath had been framed for absolute, not for limited mon- 
 archy. Were the old wording to be maintained Charles would 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. pp. 123-163, 312-340. 
 
 2 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 81-83. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. p. 38. 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , VII. p. 139-140. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. 506-507. 
 
366 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1825 
 
 The bill to punish the crime of sacrilege, which the Peers took 
 into consideration on February 10th, attracted widespread 
 interest. UnHke the measure which they had passed in the pre- 
 vious Session, this offence now figured by name in the new law, 
 and was described as the profanation of the consecrated Host 
 and of sacred vessels. For the first of these crimes it was pro- 
 posed to impose the punishment of parricides, and for the second 
 the ordinary form of capital punishment. The chief opponents 
 of the bill were M0I6, Lanjuinais, Pasquier, Broglie, and Chateau- 
 briand. If they were to pass a measure of this kind, contended 
 the Due de Broglie, they must before long enact that the tongue 
 of the blasphemer should be torn out with hot pincers. The 
 most remarkable speech delivered in support of the Ministerial 
 proposals was that of M. de Bonald, the Christian philosopher. 
 After refuting, as unwarranted, the charge of undue severity 
 which was brought against the bill, he concluded with the pro- 
 nouncement that " to punish the sacrilegious person with death 
 was, after all, but to send him before his natural judge."' As they 
 listened to these words from the lips of a man, who in his private 
 life was of a singularly mild disposition, it seemed to many 
 present that the spirit of the Inquisition hovered over their 
 deliberations.^ 
 
 In the last Session the ecclesiastical Peers had abstained from 
 voting upon the law to punish thefts from Churches, because the 
 measure involved a possible application of the death penalty. 
 This year, however. Cardinal de La Fare announced that they 
 intended to adopt a different procedure. " After mature con- 
 sideration," he said, " the ecclesiastical Peers have recognized 
 that, though the Church forbids them to act in the capacity of 
 judges, no reason exists to prevent them from taking part, as the 
 members of a legislative assembly, in the framing of all kinds of 
 laws." It is probable that, but for the intervention of the bench 
 of Bishops, an amendment would have passed to substitute penal 
 servitude for the death penalty in cases of profanation.^ In the 
 result, however, the opponents of the bill were successful only in 
 obtaining that an amende honorable outside the Church, in which 
 the crime had been committed, should take the place of the 
 mutilation prescribed for parricides prior to their execution. But 
 a clause was introduced which provided that the offence must 
 have been perpetrated in public in order to fall within the mean- 
 ing of the act. On February 18th, the bill was carried by 127 
 votes to 92, and, on the following April 15th, the Deputies 
 passed it into law by a majority of 122. In the Lower Chamber 
 
 * Vaulabelle, JDeuoc Restaur ations, VII. p. 95-103. 
 2 Nettement, Histoire, VII. p. 73. 
 
1825] LA CHAMBRE EETROUVEE 367 
 
 the eloquent speech, in which M. Royer-Collard opposed the 
 principle of the new measure, was the feature of the debate. ^ No 
 instance is recorded of a conviction under the law of sacrilege. 
 The statute was found to have been made impossible of applica- 
 tion by the provision that the offence must have been committed 
 in public. But the introduction of a mediaeval enactment of the 
 kind had a disastrous effect upon public opinion. From this 
 time forward the apprehension became general that the country 
 was to be ruled by a Church, of which the chief dignitaries 
 were striving to revive the barbarous edicts of the worst days of 
 intolerance.^ 
 
 But for the passing of the Budget by the Peers, the business of 
 the Session was completed on May 20th, when the Chambers were 
 prorogued to enable members to assist at the King's Coronation 
 at Rheims. A sum of six million francs had been voted for the 
 expenses of the ceremony. Some of the embellishments carried 
 out furnish a good example of the taste of the period. The 
 interior of the Cathedral, a beautiful specimen of Gothic architec- 
 ture, was transformed for the occasion in imitation of a Greek 
 temple.^ 
 
 No coronation of a King of France had taken place since that 
 of Louis XVI. Owing to the occupation of the country by the 
 Allied Armies, during the early years of his reign, and to his 
 physical infirmities, Louis XVIII had never been crowned. 
 Since the days of Clovis Kings of France, at their coronation, had 
 been anointed with a Holy oil brought down to Saint Remi by a 
 dove from heaven. The precious liquid had been preserved at 
 Rheims in a phial known as the sainte ampoule. But, on October 
 6th, 1793, Ruhl, a representative of the people and a commis- 
 sioner of the convention, had broken the bottle against the statue 
 of Louis XV and scattered its contents. Shortly before Charles' 
 coronation, however, it transpired that certain loyal persons had 
 gathered up the pieces, as well as some drops of the inexhaustible 
 ointment. This pleasing discovery was pubKshed in the Moni- 
 teur, on May 16th, when this announcement also appeared : " The 
 Holy oil to be poured upon the head of Charles X will be the same 
 as that which has anointed former Kings of France since the time 
 of Clovis." 4 
 
 On May 28th, Charles arrived in state at Rheims. The corona- 
 tion oath had been framed for absolute, not for limited mon- 
 archy. Were the old wording to be maintained Charles would 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. pp. 123-163, 312-340. 
 
 2 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 81-83. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. p. 38. 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VII. p. 139-140. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. 506-607. 
 
368 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1825 
 
 have to swear to preserve the ancient rights of the Church and to 
 extirpate heresy — a declaration according ill with the religious 
 toleration which the Constitution granted. It was believed that 
 he was anxious to avoid any mention of the Charter, and it was 
 suspected that the clergy encouraged him to take up this attitude. 
 But at the great ceremony of the next day fears upon this point 
 were set at rest. The most important part of the oath had been 
 altered to suit modern conditions, and Charles, to the relief of 
 many and to the indignation of a few, swore to govern according 
 to the Constitutional Charter. It is said, however, that it was 
 only at Rheims itself that Villele succeeded in obtaining his con- 
 sent to this necessary modification of the old phraseology.^ 
 
 In other particulars the ceremony w^as carried out in accord- 
 ance strictly with ancient usage. Neither trouble nor expense 
 had been spared to make the spectacle as imposing as possible. ^ 
 The sovereigns were represented by ambassadors- extraordinary. 
 The Emperor of Austria by Prince Esterhazy, the Tsar by Prince 
 Wolkonski, the King of Prussia by General von Zastrow and 
 George IV by the Duke of Northumberland. Deputations of 
 members of both chambers, the presidents and procurators of the 
 Royal Courts, mayors of the chief towns, prefects and other high 
 officials, besides the fashionable world in large numbers were 
 provided with seats in the Cathedral. The alteration in the word- 
 ing of his coronation oath was not the only concession to which 
 Charles had consented.^ The oldest of the Marshals, Moncey, 
 Due de Conegliano, bore the sword and officiated as Constable. 
 The sceptre, the hand of justice, and the crown were carried by 
 Soult, Due de Dalmatie, Mortier, Due de Trevise, and the Comte 
 Jourdan, all of them soldiers of the Republic and the Empire. 
 The ceremony, which began at eight and was not completed till 
 past noon, consisted of three parts. After Latil, the Archbishop 
 of Rheims had blessed it, the King was " armed '* with the sword 
 of Charlemagne. Next, prostrated before the altar, he was 
 anointed with the holy oil, upon the head and, through holes pre- 
 pared in his robes, between the shoulders, upon the right and left 
 shoulder, upon the chest and upon both arms. Still kneeling, he 
 then received from the Archbishop the sceptre in his right hand 
 and the hand of justice in his left. Lastly, he was crowned with 
 the great crown of Charlemagne and placed upon the throne. 
 The cry vivat rex in aeternum was taken up by all present to the 
 strains of a triumphal music. Inside the Cathedral hundreds of 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. p. 39. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. pp. 507-608. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 509. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 510, 
 
1825] LA CHAMBEE RETROUVEE 369 
 
 doves were let loose, whilst outside, to the blare of trumpets and 
 the roar of guns, the heralds cast medals, struck to commemorate 
 the occasion, among the crowd. ^ 
 
 On the next day, May 30th, Charles held a chapter of the order 
 of the Holy Ghost, the first ceremony of the kind which had taken 
 place since the restoration of the Monarchy. In that part of his 
 oath in which, as Grand Master of the order, he swore to observe 
 its statutes, he had sanctioned the introduction of the words, 
 " we reserve to ourselves the right of regulating the conditions of 
 admission in accordance with the good of our service." The 
 necessity was thus removed of showing the proofs of nobility 
 which the old statutes required. Had the former conditions 
 been maintained they would have rendered ineligible men like 
 Moncey, Marmont, Oudinot, Laine, Pasquier, Decazes, and 
 Villele, besides others upon whom Louis XVIII had conferred 
 the blue ribbon. ^ As Chateaubriand knelt before him, Charles 
 was observed to smile and to whisper. It Avas rumoured that he 
 was forgiven and taken back to favour. This was the dearest 
 wish of Chateaubriand's heart, but it was not to be fulfilled. 
 According to his own account the King had sent him a gracious 
 message by Quelen, the Archbishop of Paris, for which he 
 expected to be thanked upon this occajSion. He was deeply 
 offended at the silence with which his advances were received. 
 But, says Chateaubriand, his lack of response was due only to 
 his ignorance of the King's intentions. The cautious prelate had 
 omitted to convey to him Charles' words for fear of offending 
 M. de Villele.3 
 
 Upon the completion of this ceremony Charles went to the 
 hospital of Saint-Marcouf, where one hundred and twenty 
 scrofulous patients had been collected. Upon the forehead of 
 each he made, according to the ancient custom, the sign of 
 the Cross with the words, " May God heal thee, the King touches 
 thee." * After a review of the troops Charles set out for Com- 
 piegne, on June 1st, and, on the 6th, returned to Paris in state. 
 Besides the honours and promotions by which the occasion was 
 celebrated, the sentences upon many criminals were remitted, 
 political offenders and deserters were pardoned, and exiles were 
 with few exceptions recalled. Court and private balls, popular 
 festivities, banquets, gala performances at the Opera and the 
 theatres enhvened the town during the next fortnight. But the 
 attitude of the people was unsympathetic. Jhe Coronation 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSj VII. pp. 143-147. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 149-152. 
 
 3 Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvell^ edition, IV. pp. 310-311, 
 * Pasquier, VI. p. 39, 
 
370 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1825 
 
 with all its pomp had evoked, generally, no loyal enthusiasm. 
 To many the ceremony had appeared symbolical only of the 
 domination of the Church. In the eyes of a large number it was 
 unseemly that their ruler should receive, upon his knees, the 
 emblems of his office from the hands of a priest. It was re- 
 membered that Napoleon had taken his crown from the Pope 
 and had himself placed it upon his head. In the streets on, June 
 6th men repeated not the lines of Victor Hugo or Lamartine, 
 but Beranger's satire, The Coronation of Charles the Simple.^ 
 
 Since the Liberal disaster at the elections of 1824 the few 
 survivors of the party had observed a more circumspect behaviour. 
 Already signs were plentiful that a strong reaction in their favour 
 was setting in. The words of General Foy, " We are only twenty, 
 but the country is behind us," ^ ^ere not far from the truth. The 
 revolutionary language, in which the old Liberal party had 
 indulged so freely, was now seldom heard. This change was to 
 be ascribed to diminished numbers which rendered impossible 
 a vigorous offensive, and to the fact that most of the avowedly 
 anti-dynastic members had lost their seats. But another factor 
 in the situation had arisen. The influence was beginning to be 
 felt of a younger generation which had grown into manhood since 
 the Restoration. 3 M. Thureau Dangin, speaking of the year 
 1824, describes the appearance in the salon of Laffitte, the Liberal 
 banker, of a young man who was beginning to attract attention. 
 Very short of stature and wholly lacking in distinction, but with 
 eyes so bright that they seemed to light up the spectacles which 
 covered them. When he spoke a southern accent proclaimed 
 him at once a native of Marseilles. Yet no observer could fail to 
 be struck by the versatility of his brain. Passing from group to 
 group, he appeared to discuss with equal facility politics with 
 Manuel, finance with the Baron Louis, strategy with General 
 Foy. In 1821 Adolphe Thiers, the young man in question, 
 had arrived in Paris with liis gifted compatriot Mignet. The 
 " Academic laurels " which they had won at the University at 
 Aix, and a letter of introduction to Manuel were their sole 
 credentials. 
 
 Upon the recommendation of Manuel, Thiers was enrolled 
 
 ^ Frenilly, Souvenirs, p. 514. 
 Mdnie. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 178-179. 
 Pasquier^ VI. p. 40. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 153-156. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIV. pp. 531-532. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. 196-201. 
 Thureau Dangin^ Le parti liberal, p. 309. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 303. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 191-201. 
 
1825] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 371 
 
 upon the staff of the Gonstitutionml. In his new career fortune 
 came to him rapidly. Before long he was in a position to leave 
 his garret in the Passage Montesquieu and to assume the charac- 
 ter of a man about town. In these days he frequented well- 
 known fencing-rooms, drove a cabriolet, and was to be seen upon 
 the steps of Tortoni. But his attempts to play the dandy were 
 not very successful. Perhaps they were inspired only by a 
 philosophic desire of gaining experience of all phases of life.^ 
 Unlike Manuel, he neither affiliated himself to secret societies 
 nor participated in conspiracies. Yet he shared to the full extent 
 his patron's hatred of the Bourbons. But he realized that their 
 ends could be served, far more effectually under modern con- 
 ditions, by the press. Thus, whilst he adopted the old strategy 
 of the Constitutionnel, he devised new tactics. Under his influence 
 the paper became irreproachable from a dynastic point of view. 
 Vive la GJmrte, the watchword of the Liberals, is said to have 
 been invented by him. A strictly lawful enunciation of this 
 kind was resassuring to the peace-loving middle classes. At any 
 moment, however, it might become an effective battle-cry against 
 a Government suspected of harbouring designs against the 
 Constitution. 
 
 It was not in the press alone that Thiers displayed his activity. 
 Between the years 1823 and 1827 he published in ten volumes his 
 History of the Revolution. Till then no serious writer had at- 
 tempted to defend the terrorists. Thiers did not excuse the 
 crimes of these men, but he sought to explain the forces which 
 had urged them on. Great as their faults had been, they had 
 defended always the revolutionary, the national cause. Appear- 
 ing at a time when the Royalists were supposed to be preparing 
 a counter-revolution, the effect of his book was magical. Sainte- 
 Beuve has compared it to that of a second Marseillaise. After 
 reading Thiers' great work every little shopkeeper felt with 
 a glow of pride that he was the heir of the " immortal Revolu- 
 tion."2 
 
 In September, 1824, a literary and scientific periodical called 
 Le Globe was started by a group of very young and talented men. 
 The pecuniary guarantee which the law demanded from the 
 proprietors of a political newspaper had not been forthcoming. 
 Le Globe, in consequence, was debarred from the discussion of 
 current political topics. But in a so-called historical article 
 a writer could always introduce his ideas upon governments and 
 institutions. The authorities, moreover, in the case of Le Globe, 
 appear to have been indulgent. Some of the young men con- 
 
 1 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 202-206. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 209-217. 
 
372 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1825 
 
 nected with it, like Charles de Remusat, Duchatel, Vivet, and 
 Duvergier de Hauranne, the author at a later date of a parlia- 
 mentary history of the Restoration, belonged to well-known 
 families in the political and official world. But for the law which 
 rendered them ineligible for election to the Chamber before the 
 age of forty, they might have found an outlet for their energies 
 in Parliament. Upon the staff and among the regular con- 
 tributors were also several of the young professors of the ^cole 
 normahj such as Dubois, Jouffroy, Damiron, and Farcy, whom 
 Frayssinous, Bishop of Hermopolis, had driven from their posts 
 when he was appointed Grand Master of the University. In 
 addition, occasional articles were furnished by Sainte-Beuve 
 and most of the rising literary men of the day. 
 
 The young men of Le Globe attached themselves to no par- 
 ticular political group. Perhaps the views of the majority of 
 them approached most nearly to the Doctrinaire Liberalism of 
 Broglie and Barante. But some of them had more advanced 
 opinions, resembling those of Casimir Perier or General Foy. 
 With Thiers and the school of the Constitutionnel they had nothing 
 in common, except their hatred of the old Royalists. They 
 were no respecters of the legitimist principle. On the other 
 hand, however, they had no feelings of ingrained hostility to the 
 reigning dynasty. Their allegiance was given to institutions, 
 not to persons. They had no desire to see the Monarchy of the 
 Bourbons overthrown, provided its continued maintenance 
 should prove compatible with the development of the State upon 
 modem lines. But they had small confidence in it, and faced the 
 prospects of a revolution with equanimity. In religious matters 
 they advocated toleration, and, to the indignation of the older 
 school of Liberals, pleaded for freedom " even for the Jesuits."' 
 The rationalism of Le Globe was a decided advance upon the 
 Voltairianism of the Constitutionnel. The older paper, however, 
 had a large circulation, whilst Le Globe was appreciated only by 
 a small circle of cultivated readers.^ 
 
 The issue of 3 per cent Government Stock, wherewith to 
 compensate the emigres, had not been followed by that rush to 
 convert, upon the part of the holders of the old 5 per cents, 
 which Villele had expected. A general fall in prices began in 
 July, and continued steadily despite large purchases of the new 
 stock by the Government brokers. This decline was to be attri- 
 buted, as Villele soon discovered, to a crisis through which the 
 London market was passing. Nevertheless, it made for him many 
 fresh enemies among the shareholding classes. Moreover, the 
 Royalist papers, controlled by Chateaubriand, and the Liberal 
 ^ Thureau Dangin^ Le parti liberal, pp. 217-264. 
 
1825] LA CHAMBKE EETROUVEE 373 
 
 press could now unite in a common outcry against the losses which 
 the public had sustained owing to his miscalculations.^ Chateau- 
 briand recalls with pride this period of his campaign against 
 M. de Villele. " Young France," he says, " was entirely upon 
 my side. ... It was my second Spanish War."^ At Court, 
 all who were hostile to the President of the Council intrigued 
 against him with renewed vigour. ^ Charles had been greatly 
 elated by the popularity which he had acquired in the first 
 months of his reign. He was correspondingly depressed by the 
 changed attitude of the people towards him. Villele had every 
 reason to fear that he would listen to those who told him that it 
 was to be ascribed to the mistakes of his Minister.* 
 
 In the spring of 1824 La Fayette, discredited by the part 
 which he had played in the mihtary plots and rejected by the 
 electors of his own district, went to America to seek the popularity 
 which he prized so dearly. In the course of the year which he 
 spent in the United States, even his insatiable love of applause 
 was satisfied by the adulation and the hero-worship of which 
 he was the object. His return journey was made in an American 
 ship of war which had been placed at his disposal. The change 
 which had come over public opinion during his absence was soon 
 manifest. At Havre, where he landed, crowds collected under 
 his windows, and acclaimed him as a "veteran of the cause 
 of freedom." The next day a number of young men on horse- 
 back accompanied his carriage for several miles. At Rouen 
 similar scenes were enacted.^ But these demonstrations sank 
 into insignificance beside those which the funeral of General Foy 
 called forth. For some time past his health had been failing, 
 and on November 28th he died. Two days later his coflSn 
 was borne to the cemetery of the Pere-Lachaise by a number of 
 young men, who begged to be allowed to carry their hero to his 
 last resting-place. Peers, Deputies, general officers, magistrates, 
 and men of letters followed in procession. The carriage of the 
 Due d'Orleans figured conspicuously. The weather was cold 
 and wet, nevertheless ten thousand persons walked behind the 
 coffin from the Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin to the cemetery. 
 Along the whole line of the boulevards the shops were shut and 
 draped in black. At the Pere-Iiachaise thirty thousand people 
 awaited the arrival of the procession. No scene to be compared 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 1-5. 
 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 183-185. 
 
 2 Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, IV. pp. 339, 343. 
 
 3 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 263-266. 
 * Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 43-55. 
 
 s Ibid., pp. 6-6. 
 Nettement, Histmre, VII. pp. 231-232. 
 
374 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1825 
 
 with it had been seen in Paris since the death of Mirabeau. At the 
 conclusion of his speech by the graveside, Casimir Perier reminded 
 his hearers that the general's services, upon the battlefield and in 
 Parliament, had not enriched him. " But," he added, " his 
 children belong to France, and she will adopt them." A million 
 francs was collected mthin a short time. A national subscription 
 of this magnitude was without precedent.^ " This demonstration 
 should provide ministers with a subject for serious reflection," 
 wrote Chateaubriand. " The people have voted for the charter 
 upon the coffin of a general as the Romans formerly voted for 
 liberty in the Campus Martins. ^ 
 
 At a Cabinet Council held upon August 21st it had been decided 
 to proceed against the Courrier Frangais and the Constitutionnel 
 for " systematic attacks upon rehgion." In view of the state of 
 public opinion, Villele was not sanguine of obtaining a conviction, 
 but the King considered that he was bound to take steps to stop 
 the campaign against the clergy which was increasing in viru- 
 lence.^ Under the terms of the law of 1822, upon a third convic- 
 tion a paper might be suppressed altogether. The Liberals, 
 therefore, regarded these prosecutions as an attempt upon the 
 part of the Government to abolish gradually the opposition press. 
 When press cases had been removed from the jurisdiction of the 
 jury, Villele believed that he could count imphcitly upon the ser- 
 vility of the magistrates of the Royal Courts. He was speedily 
 undeceived. But the independence which they displayed was not 
 to be ascribed to the progress of Liberal ideas. On the contrary, 
 it was a return to that old spirit of opposition to Rome and 
 the Jesuits which had animated always the Parlements of the 
 ancient regime. It was the secret ambition of the new magistrates 
 to be thought to resemble their famous predecessors of the 
 eighteenth century. The Liberal press realized quickly the 
 importance of flattering these pretensions, and proclaimed that 
 in the courage of a generous magistracy " lay the only hope of 
 resisting successfully the designs of the clerical party." At the 
 trial, counsel for the defence developed this idea. " The real 
 question to be determined," said M. Dupin, " is whether the 
 civil law or the power of the clergy is to be supreme." * 
 
 During the past year pubHc attention had been absorbed 
 by the question of the influence supposed to be exercised over the 
 King and the Government by the Congregation and the Jesuits. 
 The ultramontane doctrine, as set forth by Lamennais, increased 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 8-11. 
 
 2 Tliureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 805-306. 
 
 3 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 209-210. 
 
 ^ ITiureau Dangin^ Le parti liberal, pp. 878-382. 
 
1826] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 375 
 
 the apprehensions aroused by the law of sacrilege and other 
 evidences of the growing power of the Church. The trial of the 
 Constitutionnel and the Gourrier FrauQais, which began on Novem- 
 ber 19th, excited universal interest.^ Many of the incriminated 
 articles in both papers contained little else but vulgar calumnies 
 upon the clergy. Others, however, warned their readers of the 
 existence all over the country of religious associations unauthor- 
 ized by law, and denounced the ultramontane doctrine as a 
 danger to the Galilean Church. The Court, holding that it was 
 no abuse of the liberty of the press to discuss matters of this 
 kind, pronounced an acquittal in the case of both papers. The 
 verdict was received with frantic applause, and the magistrates 
 were loudly cheered as they left the Court. ^ 
 
 In the last month of 1825 the Chanceries and Stock Exchanges 
 of Europe were disturbed by the news of the sudden death at 
 Taganrog, upon the Sea of Azov, of the Tsar at the age of forty- 
 eight. Alexander was childless, and the Grand Duke Constantino 
 had renounced his right to succeed. The accession of his younger 
 brother Nicholas, however, was attended with grave disorders. 
 The loyalty of Constantino and the firmness of the new Tsar 
 defeated the plans of the conspirators. Nicholas was quite 
 unknown outside Russia, and an expression of his views upon 
 foreign affairs was eagerly awaited. At his first reception of the 
 corps diplomatique he outlined to La Ferronays the course which 
 he intended to pursue. In future, Russian policy would be 
 concerned with the defence of purely Russian interests. He 
 did not propose to espouse the cause of the Greeks, but he was 
 determined to obtain satisfaction from the Porte. ^ 
 
 Villele's third Session was to begin on January 31st, 1826. 
 Though a considerable number of Royalists had now joined the 
 counter-opposition, he could count still upon a good majority. 
 But the split in his party compelled him to yield more and more 
 to the exigencies of the clerical group. This section clanioured 
 loudly for drastic legislation with regard to the press. But 
 Charles had not forgotten the popularity which he had acquired 
 by revoking the censorship. Villele, in consequence, was able to 
 resist thi» demand. In another direction, however, he was less 
 fortunate, and was driven to acquiesce to the drafting of a 
 measure, against the promptings of his better judgment.* 
 
 In the opinion of many of the leading Royalists a law to check 
 the division and sub-division of property was the natural com- 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deuju Restaurations , VII. pp. 164-169. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 47-49. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 77-79. 
 
 * lUd., pp. 83-84. 
 
376 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1826 
 
 plement to the indemnity bill. Jules de Polignac, who had 
 succeeded Chateaubriand as Ambassador in London, was a 
 strong advocate of this view. The political power and the 
 influence of the English landed aristocracy filled him with aston- 
 ishment. He could realize that the existence of a governing class 
 of the same kind in France would strengthen the position of the 
 Monarchy, and he believed that it could be created by a measure 
 of legislation. Villele also admired the English system, but he 
 knew that it was the outcome of habits and institutions peculiar 
 to the country. As he wrote to Pohgnac in 1824, the equal 
 division of property was now a national custom in France. 
 Though members of the old aristocracy might deplore it in 
 theory, in practice few fathers of families were disposed to enrich 
 their eldest sons at the expense of their younger children. 
 He cited the case of the Comte de Kergorlay, who preferred to 
 allow his Peerage to lapse, rather than to diminish his daughter's 
 portion by endowing it.^ 
 
 In the King's speech, at the opening of the Session of 1826, the 
 progressive division of properties was declared to be contrary 
 to monarchical principles, and it was announced that a pro- 
 posal would be brought before the Chambers " for preserving 
 the patrimony of families." The bill which was thus fore- 
 shadowed was introduced into the Upper Chamber by M. de 
 Peyronnet on February 10th. It was no daring attempt to 
 abrogate those articles of the Code which dealt with the division 
 of property. It was proposed merely that, in the event of a 
 deceased person not having disposed by wall of the quotite dis- 
 ponible ^ of his estate, that portion of it should pass, as a matter 
 of right, to his eldest son. By a third clause in the bill it was to 
 be made lawful in the future, to settle all or part of the quotite 
 disponiUe upon the second generation. These provisions, 
 however, were to apply only to landed estates taxed at not less 
 than three hundred francs.^ 
 
 Despite the very limited character of the changes which it was 
 proposed to introduce into the Code, the bill evoked a storm of 
 indignant protests. Petitions against it poured in from all parts 
 of the country. The Liberal press denounced it as anti-social, 
 and as an attempt to create afresh a privileged aristocracy. The 
 Constitutionnel believed it to be an insidious device for filling 
 convents and religious communities, and concluded that it must 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 130-132, 141-144. 
 Villele a Polignac, 31 Octobre, 1824. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 7-8. 
 
 2 That portion of the estate which the Code permitted the owner to 
 dispose of as he saw fit. 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux RestauraiionSy VII. pp. 204-208. 
 
1826] LA CHAMBRE RETEOUVEE 377 
 
 have been inspired by the Jesuits. Chateaubriand's organ, the 
 Journal des Debuts, laughed to scorn the notion of forming an 
 aristocracy out of small taxpayers. The opposition Royalist 
 papers, whilst generally approving the principle of primogeniture 
 and entails, blamed the Government for so framing their bill as 
 to make it unpopular.^ Though some of the abuse levelled at the 
 proposed law may be set down to party spirit and personal 
 jealousy of Villele, it, undoubtedly, had bitter opponents in all 
 sections of society. An establishment resembling an English 
 club, the first of the kind in Paris, had been opened recently 
 in the Rue de Grammont. It was frequented chiefly by persons 
 of the upper classes and by foreign diplomatists. Yet so freely 
 did some of these gentlemen inveigh against the bill that their club 
 was closed by the police authorities. ^ As both the director and the 
 prefect of police were active members of the Congregation, it 
 may be assumed that places of the nature of the cercle de la rue 
 de Orammont were unfavourably regarded by the clerical party. 
 Limited as was the scope of the bill, the principle which it em- 
 bodied was highly offensive to the great mass of Frenchmen. 
 The mere mention of the word primogeniture recalled the most 
 hated features of the old regime. The notion of enriching one 
 son to the detriment of his brothers and sisters was a violation of 
 that lasting legacy of the Revolution, the doctrine that all men 
 are equal. 
 
 The general discussion of the bill began on March 28th, and 
 was extended over ten sittings. Mole, Roy, Mollien, Daru, 
 Laine, and Pasquier assailed the Ministerial contention that the 
 concentration of property conduced to agricultural prosperity 
 and made for political stability. The task of defending the 
 measure fell almost entirely upon M. de Peyronnet. His argu- 
 ments, though developed with skill, were little in harmony with 
 the sentiments of the majority of the Peers. The speech of the 
 Due de BrogHe dealt the doomed bill its death-blow. The law 
 which was under consideration, he impressed upon his hearers, 
 was less a law than the declaration of a principle. It was an 
 attempt to destroy the existing social fabric by the arbitrary 
 creation of conditions of inequality. If it were passed, twenty 
 other measures of the same kind would be brought forward. 
 On April 8th the two clauses of the bill to re-establish primogeni- 
 ture were thrown out by 120 votes to 94. The remaining para- 
 graph, however, to sanction the entailing of land under certain 
 circumstances was passed by a good majority. That night the 
 
 * Pasquier, VI. p. 57. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 289-293. 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 220-223. 
 
378 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1826 
 
 town was illuminated, and joyful crowds paraded the streets. 
 The next dB,y the Constitutionnel drew a moving picture of "fathers 
 upon their balconies surrounded by their children, returning 
 thanks, with hands upraised to Heaven, that the peace of families 
 was to remain unbroken." The popular manifestations were 
 continued for several nights. But, on April 12th, Paris resumed 
 her normal aspect. It was the anniversary of the day upon wliich, 
 twelve years before, Charles, as the Comte d'Artois, had made his 
 entry into the capital. The people were determined to afford 
 no grounds for the supposition that their demonstrations of joy 
 could be connected with that event. ^ 
 
 The mutilated bill was carried to the Lower Chamber, where 
 in due course it was passed into law. But the rejection by the 
 Peers of its most important clauses was a heavy blow to 
 the Government. The Deputies, during the early part of the 
 Session, had been occupied in discussing the question of the 
 independence of St. Domingo. In point of fact the sovereignty 
 of the mother country over this colony existed in name only 
 since the year 1794, when the Convention abolished slavery. 
 The negroes had availed themselves of their freedom to drive 
 out the white colonists and to proclaim a Republic. In 1801 
 Bonaparte sent General Leclerc, the husband of his sister Pauline, 
 with 40,000 men to the island to restore French rule and to re- 
 estabUsh slavery. Toussaint- Lou vert ure, the black general, was 
 inveigled into Leclerc 's camp and despatched to France, to die 
 soon afterwards a prisoner in the fort of Joux, near Besanyon. 
 This act was the prelude to a savage war. In the pestilential 
 swamps of the interior the French suffered terribly. Yellow 
 fever broke out and claimed Leclerc among innumerable other 
 victims. In November, 1803, Rochambeau, his successor, 
 decided to abandon the island and to re-embark the remnants 
 of his force. But the peace of Amiens was at an end, and the 
 transports, with the seven or eight thousand survivors of the 
 expedition on board, were compelled to surrender to the British 
 fleet. 2 
 
 Under the Restoration no government felt inclined to repeat 
 the experiment of the First Consul. At various times, however, 
 unsuccessful attempts were made to induce President Boyer 
 to acknowledge the suzerainty of France. To put an end to this 
 state of affairs Villele advised the King to agree to recognize 
 formally the independence of St. Domingo, in return for certain 
 
 ^ Pasquier, VI. pp. 57-58. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 270-285, 290-293. 
 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 286-292. 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations^ VII. pp. 195-199. 
 
1826] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 379 
 
 commercial advantages and the payment of an indemnity of one 
 hundred and fifty miUions of francs to the dispossessed French 
 colonists. Accordingly, in May, 1825, the Baron de Mackau 
 was sent in command of a French squadron to offer these terms 
 to the President. After objecting to the amount of the compensa- 
 tion, Boyer, under the threat of a blockade, accepted the French 
 proposals. The bill which was introduced, in consequence, at 
 the beginning of the Session of 1826, was concerned only with 
 the conditions under which the indemnity should be paid to the 
 colonists. 
 
 In January, 1825, the British Government recognized the 
 independence of Mexico, Colombia, and Buenos Ayres. The 
 occasion is memorable for Canning's pronouncement that " he 
 had called in the new world to redress the balance of the old '* 
 — words which the development of events have not yet justified. 
 In face of the situation which was thus created, France could only 
 lose by delajdng to follow the example of England. But before 
 taking this step Villele hoped that Ferdinand would agree to 
 recognize formally the altered state of his South American 
 dependencies. The French acknowledgment, at this juncture, 
 of the independence of St. Domingo was inspired, without doubt, 
 by the desire to make Ferdinand's abandonment of the fiction of 
 his sovereignty over the revolted Spanish colonies as little 
 humiliating as possible. Villele, moreover, had good grounds for 
 hoping that the settlement of the question of St. Domingo would 
 regain for the Government some of its lost popularity. The 
 recognition of independence would placate the Liberals, 
 and, under the conditions under which it was to be carried 
 out, should be well received throughout the country.^ The 
 debate, nevertheless, in the Lower Chamber proved animated, 
 owing to the attitude of the Royalist opposition. La Bourdon- 
 naye and his friends selected their point of attack with skill. 
 They were Httle concerned with the bill itself, but they had much 
 to say about the constitutional principle which the whole question 
 involved. In the first place, by entering into negotiations with a 
 Republic sprung from the worst of revolutions, a rebellion of 
 slaves, the Government had lowered the dignity of the Crown. 
 Secondly, and this was the chief point, they contended that the 
 consent of the Chambers must be obtained before a cession of 
 territory could legally take place. It was not a matter, they 
 submitted, which fell within the Royal Prerogative. These 
 Ultra-Royalist upholders of the Constitution, however, were too 
 few to do more than raise awkward questions. On March 20th 
 
 * Pasquier, VI. pp. 41-45. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 203-204 
 
380 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1826 
 
 the bill was carried by 245 votes to 70. But the doubt, which 
 had been expressed as to the ability of the negroes to meet the 
 pecuniary engagements which had been forced upon them, were 
 soon justified.^ 
 
 In the previous year the first Jubilee, which had taken place 
 in the nineteenth century, had been celebrated with great pomp 
 at Rome. This feast of the Church, at which indulgence is 
 granted to pilgrims, is held usually once in every twenty-five 
 years. Permission was given, however, for a repetition of the 
 ceremony in France during the year 1826.^ The papal encyclical 
 which accorded this sanction denounced, at the same time, 
 with great violence the pestilential doctrines for the propagation 
 of which the press was responsible. On February 15th, 1826, 
 the French Jubilee was opened at Notre Dame. During the 
 next two months three general processions marched through the 
 streets, in each of which Charles himself figured conspicuously. 
 The fourth and last took place on May 3rd. The blessing of the 
 foundation-stone of the statue of Louis XVI, which was to be 
 erected upon the Place Louis XV, ^ was the great feature of the 
 ceremony. In pomp and magnificence it far surpassed those 
 which had preceded it. The Kang and the members of the Royal 
 Family, Cardinals, Bishops, and nearly 2000 minor ecclesiastics, 
 Field-Marshals, generals, staff ofi&cers. Peers, Deputies, civil 
 officials, magistrates walked in the procession.* The roar of 
 artillery announced their arrival at the Place Louis XV. The 
 Archbishop of Paris ascended the steps of the great altar which 
 had been set up. In a loud voice he three times called to Heaven 
 for mercy and forgiveness. All present fell upon their knees. 
 Close behind the King knelt the Grand Chamberlain, the Prince 
 de Talleyrand. There were persons in the crowd who could 
 remember his appearance when he had officiated at the Feast 
 of the Federation in the Champs de Mars. After the foundation- 
 stone which the King laid had been blessed, the procession re- 
 formed, to the thunder of the guns, and returned to Notre Dame 
 along streets lined with troops.^ 
 
 It was a strange spectacle for men to see who had lived through 
 Republican and Imperial days. Charles was anxious to ascertain 
 the effect which it had had upon the people, and he bade Villele 
 make enquiries of the police authorities. Villele, however, had no 
 need to consult the reports of detectives in order to furnish the 
 
 » Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 156-198. 
 
 Vaulabelle, I>«mjf RestaurcUions , VII. pp. 199-204. 
 ^ Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 318-319. 
 3 Place de la Concorde. 
 * But no member of the Orleans family. 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Detta; Restaur ations, VII. pp. 220-223. 
 
1826] LA CHAMBEE RETEOUVEE 381 
 
 required information. In the procession he had followed behind 
 the King, and had been admirably placed to observe the demean- 
 our of the crowd. 1 He knew already, and he conceived it to be 
 his duty to tell His Majesty, that the effect of the ceremony had 
 been deplorable. Bitter dislike of the prelates and higher clergy, 
 pain and disgust that their Sovereign should be walking humbly 
 in the midst of them, these were the impressions which he had 
 noted upon the faces of the people. In the three previous proces- 
 sions Charles had been dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant- 
 general. On this last occasion, however, he had put on a violet 
 mourning cloak, out of respect to the memory of his brother, 
 Eouis XVT. But Bishops wear violet robes, and this coincidence 
 gave rise to the story, which was widely beUeved by the working 
 classes, that the King, who was aflSliated already, it was said, to a 
 secret religious society, had been made a Bishop. The procession 
 was a penance which the Church had imposed upon him in atone- 
 ment for the errors of his youth. ^ Had he flaunted in public with 
 a mistress, complains M. Thureau Dangin, the people would have 
 forgiven him, but they were indignant that he should take part 
 in a great rehgious ceremony. ^ 
 
 After the acquittal of the Courrier and the Constitutionnel the 
 clerical controversy became more acute. Just as certain in- 
 veterate enemies of the Monarchy concealed their hostihty under 
 an affected solicitude for the Charter, so at this time many 
 Liberals suddenly displayed a suspicious affection for the Declara- 
 tion of 1682 and the liberties of the GalHcan Church. This section 
 of the party declared always that it had no animosity to religion, 
 but that it dreaded a theocracy. In violence of invective, how- 
 ever, the anti-clercial papers were surpassed by their opponents, 
 the Drapeau blanc and the Memorial CathoUque, the chief organ of 
 the ultramontane party.* At this juncture the Liberals received 
 valuable assistance from an unexpected quarter. The Comte de 
 Montlosier appeared upon the scene. This country gentleman 
 from Auvergne was seventy years of age. From the days of 
 his youth he had displayed a strong taste for controversies of all 
 kinds, and had shown that he could hit hard with the pen and 
 with the sword. In the Revolution he had emigrated to Cob- 
 lenz, after sitting in the Constituent Assembly, and had been run 
 through the body in a desperate duel fought at night upon the 
 banks of the Rhine. Under the Restoration he had obtained a 
 certain celebrity as the exponent of highly conservative opinions, 
 
 1 Vill^le, Memmres, V. pp. 205-206. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 335-337. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , VII. p. 224. 
 
 ^ Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 353-354. 
 * Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 317-318. 
 
382 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1826 
 
 which had earned for him the name of the " feudal publicist." 
 He despised the Charter, advocated the personal rule of the 
 Sovereign, believed in the necessity of a privileged aristocracy, 
 hated the Liberals, and could see no difference between Royer- 
 CoUard and La Fayette.^ 
 
 About the year 1824, M. de Montlosier began to be disturbed 
 by the appearance of a threefold peril, the Congregation, the 
 Jesuits, and the ultramontane doctrine. In 1825 he wrote several 
 articles in the papers denouncing these dangers, and promising 
 further details upon the subject before long. In the following 
 year, at the time of the celebration of the Jubilee, appeared the 
 famous Memoire a Gonsulter. It is a work of over three hundred 
 pages which might have been condensed with advantage. Its 
 object was to show that the ultramontane doctrine and the in- 
 creasing interference of the clergy in secular matters constituted a 
 danger to the State, to society, and to religion itself. That part 
 of the book which dealt with the Jesuits and the Congregation 
 created a prodigious sensation. By means of the last-named 
 institution the disciples of Loyola, Montlosier contended, had 
 contrived to establish their influence over all branches of the 
 administration and all classes of society. The development of 
 the Congregation had been enormous during the last few years. 
 From one hundred to one hundred and fifty Deputies were affili- 
 ated to it, and it counted numerous members in all ranks of the 
 army. In a lower sphere of society, it undertook to find places 
 for domestic servants, by whose assistance a regular system of 
 espionage was exercised over families. Montlosier asserted, in 
 conclusion, that these evils could be terminated by simply putting 
 into execution laws which had never been abrogated. ^ 
 
 Though Montlosier had spoken of many things as facts which 
 must have been matters of pure conjecture, his Memoire contained, 
 undoubtedly, a strong element of truth. The state of public 
 opinion at the time ensured its success. The first edition was 
 exhausted in a week. The Government increased the author's 
 popularity by depriving him of his pension. The effect of his 
 warnings was heightened by the appearance, at this juncture, of 
 a pamphlet by Lamennais, in which he went the length of main- 
 taining that the Pope had the right fco depose a reigning Sove- 
 reign.^ A statement, which the Government obtained and pub- 
 lished from thirteen Bishops and Archbishops, that they adhered 
 
 1 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 282-283. 
 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 386-890. 
 '-^ Montlosier, Memoire a Gonsulter , Paris, 1826. 
 
 ^ La Religion consideree dans les rapports avec Vordre politique et 
 civil. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 323-328. 
 
1826] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 383 
 
 to the Declaration of 1682, in so far as the separation of the 
 temporal from the spiritual power was concerned, passed almost 
 unnoticed. The discussion of the Budget in the Lower Chamber 
 increased the agitation. On May 25th M. Agier, a member of the 
 Royalist opposition, when the ecclesiastiical vote was under 
 consideration, denounced the ultramontane doctrine and the 
 existence of secret religious societies. Frayssinous, Bishop of 
 Hermopolis, the Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs, replied. He 
 would appear to have come to the conclusion, without previous 
 consultation with Villele, that he must take the House into his 
 confidence. In three separate speeches, which he delivered in the 
 course of the next few days, he made two important admissions. 
 Whilst refuting the charges brought against the clergy of inter- 
 ference in secular matters and of ultramontane leanings, he 
 acknowledged the existence both of the Congregation and of the 
 Jesuits. But, after sketching the history of the establishment in 
 the Rue du Bac, he affirmed positively that it was a purely 
 religious institution, in no way connected wdth politics. With 
 regard to the Jesuits, he stated that ever since the year 1800 
 they had begun to return to France. Their activities, however, 
 were limited to the direction of seven small seminaries, each of 
 which had been established wdth the permission of the Bishop of 
 the diocese. 1 
 
 Frayssinous, however, was much mistaken in imagining that 
 his frank admissions would have a calming effect. The truth of 
 Montlosier's statements was now officially confirmed. The 
 opposition wanted to know what steps the Government proposed 
 to take. In the Upper Chamber a question from Laine upon the 
 subject of the Jesuits brought the Minister to the tribune. ^ Upon 
 this occasion Frayssinous warmly defended the Society from the 
 accusations which had been brought against it, and maintained 
 that the toleration, which had been extended towards its mem- 
 bers, need create no alarm. The close of the Session put an end 
 to these discussions in the Chambers, but the question was de- 
 bated ^vith renewed ardour in the press. Montlosier, moreover, 
 embodied the substance of his charges in a denunciation which he 
 laid before the Royal Court. This tribunal, on August 18th, 
 whilst holding that the existence in France of a " society known 
 as that of Jesus " constituted an illegahty, declared itself in- 
 competent to interfere, the matter being one for the police to deal 
 with. 3 
 
 Public attention was now wholly engrossed with the clerical 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle,, Deux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 233-245. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 364-380. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 69-61. 
 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSf VII. pp. 246-249. 
 
384 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1826 
 
 question. In the drawing-room and in the workshop the conversa- 
 tion turned invariably upon the doings of the " priest party," the 
 " black men/' the Congregation and the Jesuits. The news- 
 papers retailed stories of clerical intolerance, and devoted columns 
 to controversies upon religious subjects. In the shop windows 
 were displayed pictures of stout and unctuous cures along with 
 caricatures of lean, fanatical priests busily engaged in burning 
 the works of Voltaire. In these days a crowd, or any appearance 
 of public excitement, denoted generally an attempt to interfere 
 with the missionaries, or to gain forcible entrance into a church 
 for the body of an actor, or of an officer killed in a duel. At the 
 theatre, the pit would call for the production of Tartuffe,^ and 
 would express noisily a keen appreciation of those passages in 
 which hypocrisy is unmasked. 
 
 In August the question of the Ouvrard contracts was settled at 
 last. At each successive discussion of the Budget since the war 
 the Liberals and, more particularly, the Royalist opposition, had 
 insisted upon bringing forward this affair. In consequence of the 
 report of a committee, appointed in 1824, to enquire into the cor- 
 rupt dealings alleged against Ouvrard and other persons, the case 
 had been deferred to the Royal Court. But, as two Peers, General 
 Bourdessoulle and Guilleminot, were involved in the affair, the 
 tribunal pronounced its incompetency to deal with the matter. 
 The case was then taken before the Peers who, on August 3rd, 
 1826, declared that they absolved the generals and all public 
 officials from any imputation of having taken bribes to favour 
 the contracts. They recommended, however, that proceedings 
 should be instituted against Ouvrard and five of his agents for 
 attempted corruption. The termination of this affair was the one 
 event, during the year 1826, to which Villele could look back 
 with any degree of satisfaction. The Royalists had brought 
 about the Spanish war, and it had served their purpose well. 
 Under the existing conditions of unpreparedness, the excellent 
 discipline, which had been maintained throughout the campaign, 
 would have been impossible but for the contract with Ouvrard. 
 Yet extreme Royalists like La Bourdonnaye and his friends 
 never allowed an opportunity to pass of casting suspicions upon 
 the transaction, and of commenting invidiously upon its irregular 
 character. 2 
 
 The acute development of the clerical question increased 
 seriously the disunion of the Royalists. Villele's position was 
 rendered still more difficult by Charles' complete disregard of 
 
 1 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liheral, pp. 819-821^ 868-869^ 878-876^ 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 61-62. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XV. pp. 560-570. 
 
1826] LA CHAMBEE EETROUVEE 385 
 
 public opinion. According to the ancient custom, upon the com- 
 pletion of his sixth year, the Due de Bordeaux was to pass from 
 the hands of Madame de Gontaut into those of a governor. After 
 hesitating between Mathieu de Montmorency and Jules de 
 Polignac, both members of the Congregation, the King decided 
 to appoint Montmorency to the post. But before he had taken 
 up his duties he died on Good Friday, March 29th, 1826, whilst 
 upon his knees in the Church of Saint Thomas-d'Aquia. Choice 
 was then made of the Due de Riviere who, in 1804, had been con- 
 demned to death along with Georges Cadoudal and other Royalist 
 conspirators. In his case, however, the sentence had been com- 
 muted into one of imprisonment. Riviere was fully as much 
 under the influence of the priests as either Polignac or Mont- 
 morency, but he was less well known. For this reason his ap- 
 pointment might have attracted little attention had not M. 
 Tharin, Bishop of Strasburg, been nominated at the same time 
 to the post of tutor to the young prince. During this year of the 
 Jubilee the language used by many of the Bishops in their 
 charges to their clergy had been most injudicious. But the pre- 
 late whom the King selected to instruct his grandson, the heir- 
 presumptive to the throne, had, in addition, spoken of the 
 Jesuits " as designed by Providence to replace the Monarchy 
 upon a solid foundation." ^ 
 
 On July 9th, a few days after the prorogation of the Chambers, 
 Charles bade Villele prepare that severe press law for which the 
 clerical party had been clamouring so loudly. On December 29th, 
 accordingly, a fortnight after the opening of Parliament, M. de 
 Peyronnet introduced a bill of this nature into the Bower Cham- 
 ber. Its provisions were of a most stringent character. In 
 addition to existing restrictions the periodical press was to be 
 fettered by further regulations, any contravention of which was 
 to be punished by fines and imprisonment of increased severity. 
 A new and heavy tax was to be imposed upon every newspaper, 
 and upon all books and pamphlets of less than eighty pages 8vo. 
 Moreover, no work of any kind might appear before it had been 
 examined by Government inspectors. " Your law can be summed 
 up very briefly," shouted Casimir Perier, as Peyronnet con- 
 cluded. " Printing is to be abolished in France and removed to 
 Belgium." 2 
 
 With the exception of the feeble protests in its favour from the 
 papers in the pay of the Government, the press of all shades of 
 opinion unanimously condemned the bill. Chateaubriand called 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 252-256. 
 Viel Castel, Histmre, XV. pp. 352-354. 
 
 2 Ihid., pp. 619-620. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 429-437. 
 2 C 
 
386 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1827 
 
 it the law of Vandalism, and this designation was for a short time 
 generally applied to it. But it was reserved for M. de Peyronneb 
 himself to inspire the name by which it was to be known ever 
 afterwards. Very imprudently he caused an article to be in- 
 serted in the Moniteur, in which the new law was described as 
 a law of justice and of love.^ Even the clerical papers had not 
 much to say in favour of the bill. The ultramontane Memorial 
 Catholique pronounced it unsatisfactory, and Lamennais spoke 
 of it as a monument of tyranny and hypocrisy. The Academy, 
 upon the motion of Lacretelle, the historian, resolved to present 
 a petition to the King pointing out the injury to letters which 
 the proposed law would cause. But Charles refused to receive 
 the deputation, and three Academicians, Lacretelle, Michaud, the 
 editor of the Royalist paper La Quotidienne, and Villemain who, 
 with Chateaubriand had drawn up the petition, were dismissed 
 from all public appointments. Not only was the best intelligence 
 of the country thus arrayed against the bill, it evoked the liveliest 
 indignation among the working men. The indemnity law, the 
 laws of sacrilege, and of primogeniture had been very unpopular 
 with the middle classes. But now compositors, printers, and 
 thousands of labourers saw their means of livelihood placed in 
 serious jeopardy by the action of the Government. ^ 
 
 In the meantime, the indefatigable Montlosier had presented 
 his denunciation to the Peers in the form of a petition. His 
 allegations were enquired into by a committee of members of the 
 Upper House, presided over by Portalis, who was learned in 
 clerical matters. In his report Portalis concluded that that part 
 of Montlosier 's accusations, which related to the establishment 
 in France of a monastic order unauthorized by the King, " should 
 be forwarded to the President of the Council.'" After a debate, 
 extended over two sittings, the Chamber, on January 19th, by 
 113 votes to 73 adopted the recommendation of the committee.^ 
 This decision was combated by the Minister for Ecclesiastical 
 Affairs, who voted with the minority. No action against the 
 Jesuits resulted from it, but this resolution of the Peers, carried 
 in the teeth of Ministerial opposition, served to weaken still 
 further the position of the Government. 
 
 On February 7th, the reporter of the committee which had 
 been considering the press bill delivered his conclusions. They 
 were favourable to its adoption, but several amendments were 
 suggested. From February 14th till March 12th the bill was the 
 
 1 Viel Gastel, Histoire, XVI. pp. 103-108. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 114-117. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 266-273. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 288-290. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVI. pp. 117-164. 
 
1827] LA CHAMBRE RETROUVEE 387 
 
 subject of animated debates in the Eower Chamber. Notable 
 speeches against it were delivered by Royer-Collard, Benjamin 
 Constant, and La Bourdonnaye. The Government measure was 
 defended ably by Villele and by Peyronnet. The opposition 
 succeeded in modifying the original proposals in a more Liberal 
 spirit, but it was unable to obtain their complete rejection. On 
 March 12th the bill, amended in several important particulars, 
 was passed by 233 votes to 134. A week later, M. de Peyronnet 
 carried it up to the Peers. The composition of the committee, 
 which was thereupon selected to examine it, augured ill for its 
 adoption. The labours of MM. Portalis, de Broglie, and their 
 fellow- members were largely directed towards ascertaining the 
 effect which the bill would have upon the printing industry. 
 The nature of these enquiries soon convinced the Government 
 that the prospects were slender of passing the measure into law. 
 On April 17th, M. de Peyronnet declared the bill withdrawn. 
 The news was received with intense delight all over France.^ 
 Paris and most of the chief towns were illuminated. Bands of 
 working men marched through the streets of the capital cheering 
 the Peers enthusiastically. The public manifestations of joy, 
 indeed, surpassed those which had taken place, the year before, 
 upon the occasion of the rejection of the law of primogeniture. 
 
 On the day preceding the withdrawal of the press bill, Charles 
 was persuaded by Marshal Oudinot to hold a review of the 
 National Guards. He gave this promise without previous con- 
 sultation with Villele. In view of the excited state of the capital, 
 the King's intention, which had been announced in the Moniteur, 
 caused his advisers the keenest anxiety. The question of counter- 
 manding the parade was earnestly debated at several Cabinet 
 councils. The opinion prevailed, however, that a change of plans 
 would create a very unfavourable impression. On Sunday, 
 April 29th, accordingly, 20,000 National Guards were drawn up 
 in front of the ^cole militaire. Three hundred thousand specta- 
 tors are said to have been present in the Champs de Mars. At 
 one o'clock, Charles, followed by a brilliant staff and accom- 
 panied by the Dauphin, the Due d'Orleans, and his son the Due 
 de Chartres, proceeded to ride along the front of the legions. At 
 first the cries Vive le roi were plentiful, though others of Vive la 
 Charte were plainly to be heard. When His Majesty, however, 
 was passing iu front of the 7th Legion, a citizen soldier stepped 
 from the ranks and shouted a bos les Ministres. " I came here," 
 said the Ejng, " to receive your homage, not your advice ; re- 
 
 » Pasquier, VI. pp. 78-81. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , VII. pp. 273-290, 294-296. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 463-608. 
 
388 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1827 
 
 move that man." Charles' firm attitude made a good impression, 
 and the ceremony was concluded without any repetition of this 
 scene. On his return to the Tuileries the King expressed himself 
 well pleased with his reception upon the whole, and informed 
 Oudinot that he might communicate an expression of his satis- 
 faction to the National Guards. 
 
 Charles, when he conveyed his approval to the Marshal, was 
 unaware of what had taken place after his departure from the 
 Champ de Mars. The carriage containing the Dauphine and the 
 Buchesse de Berri had been greeted with hisses and with angry 
 cries of a bos les Jesuitesses. Some of the legions, as they marched 
 home, had to pass the Ministry of Finance in the Rue de Rivoli, 
 the residence of Villele, and the Ministry of Justice in the Place 
 Vendome, the abode of Peyronnet. Upon arriving opposite the 
 houses of these two Ministers, the bands are reported to have 
 stopped plajdng, and the men, unrestrained by their officers, to 
 have shouted a has les Jesuites, cl has les Ministres. That evening, 
 whilst he was dining with Count Apponyi, the Austrian Am- 
 bassador, Villele was sent for to the Tuileries. Charles was now 
 better acquainted with the events of the day, and his Minister 
 brought to his knowledge further incidents of which he was still 
 ignorant. At the same time he urged upon the King the ad- 
 visability of disbanding the whole of the National Guard of 
 Paris. Charles bade him assemble his colleagues at once and ask 
 their opinions. A Cabinet Council was convened forthwith at 
 the Ministry of the Interior. Frayssinous, the Due de Doudeau- 
 ville, and Clermont-Tonnerre advocated that those legions only 
 should be dissolved of which the behaviour had been particularly 
 bad. But the more drastic remedy proposed by Villele was 
 adopted. The very next day the disbandment of the National 
 Guard was announced in the Moniteur, and all posts occupied by 
 the citizen soldiers were taken over by regular troops. The Due 
 de Doudeauville, the Minister of the King's Household, thereupon 
 resigned his appointment. ^ 
 
 The decision to disband the National Guard was one of the 
 important steps of the Villele Government. The semi-police and 
 semi- military duties of this militia were not always popular with 
 the citizens who had to perform them. The abolition of the force 
 was none the less resented very bitterly. The officers wer( 
 
 1 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 508-519. 
 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 266-267- 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 81-84. 
 
 C. Rousset, Le Marquise de Clermont-Tonnerre, pp. 334-341. 
 Frenilly, Souvenirs, pp. 527-528. 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 206-207. 
 Vaulabelle, DeuoG Restaur ations, VII. pp. 296-301. 
 
1827] LA CHAMBRE EETROUVEE 389 
 
 drawn mostly from the well-to-do bourgeoisie. Many of them 
 took great pride in their uniform and in their military rank. The 
 dissolution of the legions was regarded as an insult to the whole 
 of the middle classes. Many of the unpopular measures of the 
 time were forced upon Villele, but, for the determination with 
 regard to the National Guard, he was wholly responsible. Yet he 
 was a man who, as a rule, favoured gradual rather than violent 
 methods. As a Royalist he disliked the National Guard on ac- 
 count of its revolutionary origin. Doubtless, also, as a former 
 naval officer, the existence of an armed mob was peculiarly repug- 
 nant to him. The wholesale disbandment of the legions has 
 generally been considered to have been a mistake. After the 
 Revolution of 1830, it was said that that event could not have 
 taken place had the National Guard been in existence. But the 
 experience of 1848 hardly justifies the contention. The Liberal 
 press inveighed bitterly against the suppression of the force, and 
 the matter was the subject of heated discussions in the Chamber, 
 where Villele was attacked violently by liaffitte. But the dis- 
 bandment was followed by no public disturbances. On May 6th, 
 in a letter to Polignac, Villele described the town as perfectly 
 quiet. " The King can do anything he pleases,** the Due de 
 Riviere, the Governor of the Due de Bordeaux, is reported to 
 have said.^ Perhaps this over-confidence on the part of the 
 King's advisers was the most serious consequence of the disband- 
 ment of the National Guard. 
 
 No important measure of legislation was brought forward after 
 the withdrawal of the press bill. So soon as the Peers had passed 
 the Budget, on June 22nd, the King declared the Session closed. 
 Two days later the censorship was reimposed, and maintained 
 henceforward with unprecedented rigour. The unpopularity of 
 the Government at this time is strikingly exemplified by the 
 situation of those papers, which Sosthenes de Ea Rochefoucauld 
 had bought three years before, and which constituted the Minis- 
 terial organs. The circulation of the Drapeau blanc. Piloted 
 Journal de Paris, and Gazette de France had become so limited, 
 that the large sums necessary to maintain them were felt to be 
 wasted. Once they were deprived of their subsidies these papers 
 one and all ceased to appear. ^ When the Deputies separated for 
 the summer recess rumours were current of a dissolution at an 
 early date. These reports were not unfounded. Villele realized 
 that he could not face another Session under existing conditions. 
 In the Lower House his majority was dwindling, and in the Here- 
 
 1 Villele, Memmres, V. pp. 271, 274-275. 
 E. Daudet, Ministere MartignaCy p. 52. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVI. pp. 643-645. 
 
390 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1827 
 
 ditary Chamber he was in a minority. He had against him the 
 best intelHgence of the country, as represented by the Academy, 
 the magistracy, and the press, besides the middle classes in Paris 
 and in most of the large towns. His relations with the King were 
 excellent, but it was doubtful how long the Royal confidence in 
 him would be proof against the intrigues of Polignac and others 
 anxious to supplant him or to drive him from office.^ 
 
 The results of the six by-elections which had taken place 
 during the year were not encouraging. In each case a member of 
 the opposition had been successful. At Rouen, indeed, the 
 Government candidate had obtained only thirty-seven votes. ^ 
 Most of the prefects when consulted about the chances of a 
 general election depicted the outlook in gloomy colours. A recent 
 statute, which laid down the way in which the lists of electors 
 were to be kept, had deprived these officials of some of their 
 powers of fraudulently manipulating the registers in the interests 
 of the ministerial candidate. Moreover, under the terms of the 
 law of 1822, the censorship would have to be removed a month 
 before the electoral colleges were convened. It was not alone, 
 however, the future composition of the popular assembly which 
 Villele had to consider. In order to carry on his policy he must 
 be in a position to command a majority in the Hereditary Cham- 
 ber — a result which could be achieved only by the elevation to the 
 Peerage of a goodly number of his staunchest supporters in the 
 Lower House. ^ Yet, notwithstanding the odds against him, 
 Villele was prepared to court the chances of a dissolution. 
 
 The imposition of the censorship proved ineffectual to arrest 
 the attacks upon the Government. Two societies, La societe des 
 amis de la Uberte de la presse and the more famous Aide toi, le del 
 t'aidera, were formed for the dissemination of pamphlets. Peers, 
 Deputies, and the opposition of all shades of opinion subscribed 
 to them. Chateaubriand and Hyde de Neuville worked hand in 
 hand with Guizot, Salvandy, and Keratry.* Whilst the war of 
 pamphlets was at its height Manuel died suddenly, on August 
 22nd, at Maisons, the house of Laffitte, near Paris. Ever since his 
 expulsion from the Chamber in 1823 Manuel had disappeared 
 from political life. At the elections of 1824 his party had re- 
 garded him as too compromising a person to put forward. For the 
 last three years he had lived at Maisons as a pensioner of the 
 Liberal banker. But at his funeral, on August 24th, it was to be 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVI. pp. 650-651. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle_, JDeua? Restaurations, VII. p. 314. 
 ^ Nettement, Histoire, VII. p. 551. 
 
 Pasquier, VII. pp. 92-93. 
 * Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 327. 
 Nettementj Histoire , VII. pp. 558-660. 
 
1827] LA CHAMBEE RETROUVEE 391 
 
 seen that a great change had come over public opinion. The body 
 was conveyed from Maisons to the Barriere des Martyrs, by 
 Baffitte, La Fayette, Beranger, Thiers, and Mignet. At this 
 point, where the funeral procession was to be formed, an enor- 
 mous crowd collected. A number of students and other youths 
 announced their intention of carrying the body. But a commis- 
 sary of police interposed, forbade this mode of conveyance and 
 insisted that the coffin must be replaced upon the hearse. In the 
 meantime the traces had been cut and the horses removed. 
 Regardless of the protests of the officials, the demonstrators pro- 
 ceeded to drag the car along with ropes. Soon, however, a squad- 
 ron of cavalry appeared escorting a second hearse, upon which 
 the police attempted to place the coffin. The mob resisted, the 
 soldiers and gendarmes charged, and the tumult became serious. 
 Eaffitte addressed the officers, harangued the crowd, and at last 
 succeeded in arranging a compromise. The horses were harnessed 
 to the original car, and the procession proceeded amidst a con- 
 stant uproar to the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise. Speeches were 
 delivered over the grave by liaffitte, La Fayette, Beranger, and 
 lastly by Schonen, who used language of a distinctly revolution- 
 ary character. Two years before the funeral of General Foy had 
 been made the occasion of a solemn protest against the reac- 
 tionary policy of the Government. The attitude of the people 
 round the coffin of Manuel, the Carbonaro, had a more serious 
 significance. The demonstration on August 24th, 1827, was 
 directed against the dynasty.^ 
 
 Soon after this affair, on September 9th, Charles started from 
 Saint-Cloud to visit the camp at Saint- Omer. At Soissons, Laon, 
 Saint- Quentin, Cambrai, Valenciennes, Douai, and at all the villages 
 through which he passed, he received an enthusiastic welcome. 
 Arriving at Saint -Omer, on the 9th, he witnessed the manoeuvres 
 of the troops during the next five days. Returning by way of 
 Arras, Amiens, and Beauvais, he reached Saint-Cloud on the 20th. 
 He was much gratified by the warmth of his reception at every 
 stage of his journey. But above all he was impressed by the 
 loyal spirit and the devotion of the troops. He carried away the 
 firm conviction that come what might he could depend upon 
 the fidelity of the army. Judged by the light of subsequent 
 events it may have been unfortunate that Jules de Polignac 
 accompanied him upon this occasion. ^ In Liberal circles, in 
 Paris, the King's journey gave rise to the rumour that upon his 
 
 ^ Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 563-567. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VII. pp. 306-311. 
 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 309-312. 
 ^ Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 554-556. 
 
392 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1827 
 
 arrival at the camp he intended to proclaim the abolition of the 
 Charter and the restoration of the old regime.^ 
 
 Upon his return to Saint-Cloud, Charles discussed the question 
 of a dissolution in all its bearings with Villele and Corbiere. The 
 prefects, upon being again consulted, sent in reports of a rather 
 more hopeful character, and declared that as time went on the 
 situation would tend to grow worse. Yet so great was the 
 unpopularity of the Government that Villele's reasons for pressing 
 for a dissolution are difficult to understand. Perhaps M. de 
 Nettement's theory may be correct that he wished to see the 
 Liberals obtain a representation more in harmony with the 
 sentiments of the country, in order to compel the Royalists to 
 unite in self-defence. On October 16th the matter was submitted 
 to the whole Cabinet. MM. de Clermont -Tonnerre and de 
 Chabrol opposed both the dissolution and the proposed large 
 creation of Peers. The first-named, the Minister of War, sug- 
 gested that the Government should regain its popularity by 
 sending an expedition to Algiers. ^ The blockade, which had been 
 established since June 15th, in consequence of the Dey's refusal 
 to grant the satisfaction demanded for an insult offered to the 
 French Consul, had proved ineffectual to overcome his obduracy. 
 This alternative proposal, however, was not entertained, and 
 Villele was soon able to overcome the objections of his two 
 colleagues, and to inform the King that the Cabinet was unani- 
 mously in favour of a dissolution. 
 
 The blockade of Algiers was not the only warlike undertaking 
 which the Government had in hand at this juncture. The Greek 
 insurgents had numerous sympathizers in France. The Liberals, 
 the anti-clerics, and the Royalist followers of Chateaubriand were 
 enthusiastic Phil-hellenists.^ Early in 1825 the intervention of 
 Mehemet Ali of Egypt, and the despatch to the Morea of a well- 
 equipped fleet and a highly trained army, under his son Ibrahim, 
 appeared to have turned the scale hopelessly against the Chris- 
 tians. The defence of Missolonghi excited the admiration, and the 
 barbarous methods of Ibrahim the indignation, of the civilized 
 world. Canning, abandoning his policy of inaction, sought 
 to arrive at an understanding with Russia, in order to put an end 
 to the struggle. The negotiations, conducted by the Duke of 
 Wellington, who had been sent to congratulate Nicholas upon his 
 accession, resulted in the signing, on April 4th, 1826, of the 
 Protocol of St. Petersburg. Under the terms of this instrument 
 
 * VaulabellCj Deux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 311-312. 
 
 2 Nettement, Histoire, VII, pp. 590-594. 
 
 C. Rousset, Le Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, pp. 346-361. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. pp. 52-53. 
 
1827] LA CHAMBRE EETROUVEE 393 
 
 Great Britain was empowered to offer to the Porte a settlement 
 of the question upon the basis of the establishment of Greece as a 
 vassal State. But, as Canning shrank from bringing coercion 
 to bear upon the Turk, and because Metternich was strongly 
 opposed to intervention of any kind, the Protocol led to no 
 effective action. In the meantime, on October 7th, 1826, 
 Russia, by the Treaty of Akerman, obtained upon her own 
 account the evacuation of the Principalities and a satisfactory 
 settlement of her other demands. This arrangement, however, 
 which averted the immediate danger of a Russo-Turkish war, 
 in no way advanced the solution of the Greek question. 
 
 Villele was constantly twitted by the opposition with having 
 failed to reap advantages, either political or commercial, from 
 the Spanish War. In the Greek question he was accused of having 
 neglected French interests, and of having allowed Great Britain 
 to come to a separate understanding with Russia.^ In the hope 
 of regaining some of the popularity which his domestic legislation 
 had cost him, Villele, in the autumn of 1826, suggested to 
 Canning common action upon the basis of the Protocol. A 
 conference opened in London in the spring of the following year, 
 resulted in a treaty, signed on July 6th, 1827, between France, 
 Great Britain, and Russia, by the terms of which the three 
 signatory Powers undertook to procure the autonomy of Greece 
 under the suzerainty of the Sultan. In certain secret articles, 
 moreover, it was agreed that, in the last resort, force should be 
 used to bring about a cessation of hostilities. Strong hopes were 
 entertained, however, that a pacific blockade of the Morea would 
 prove sufficient to bring Ibrahim to terms. 
 
 On October 20th, on the day on which Villele had informed 
 Charles that his Ministers were in favour of a dissolution, the 
 ships of the three Powers were face to face with the Mussulman 
 fleet in the Bay of Navarino. Codrington, the senior admiral, 
 presented an ultimatum to Ibrahim, demanding a cessation of 
 hostilities and the evacuation of the Morea. Immediate action 
 was not contemplated, but the refusal of the Turks to remove 
 some fireships led to an exchange of shots. The battle became 
 general, and before nightfall the Turkish and Egyptian fleet had 
 been destroyed completely. ^ 
 
 The news of the " untoward event '* of Navarino reached Paris 
 on November 8th, two days after the appearance in the Moniteur 
 of three Royal ordinances. The first dissolved the Chamber of 
 Deputies and convened the electoral colleges for the 17th and 
 24th of November. The second put an end to the censorship 
 
 * Pasquier, VI. p. 65. 
 
 ^ Cambridge Modem History, X. pp. 189-196. 
 
394 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1827 
 
 of the press, and the third created seventy-six new Peers. The 
 large majority of these were either supporters of the Government 
 in the Bower Chamber, notorious for their strong clerical views, 
 or large landed proprietors. Soult, Due de Dalmatie, the only 
 Marshal who was not a member of the Upper Chamber, figured 
 among this large creation, and five prelates were added to the 
 Bench of Bishops. The removal of the censorship was the signal 
 for an attack of unprecedented violence upon the Government. 
 Though it was recognized with joy that by the destruction of 
 the Mussulman armada the independence of Greece had been 
 achieved, Villele gained no credit for his poHcy. By convening 
 the electoral colleges so rapidly he had hoped to catch the 
 opposition unprepared. But, despite the secrecy which had been 
 observed, the dissolution came as no surprise. For some time 
 past the Societe des amis de la liberie de la presse and that of the 
 Aide toi, le del t'aidera ^ had been making ready for the elections. 
 The promulgation of the ordinances increased their activity. 
 Chateaubriand published his Dernier avis aux electeurs.^ The 
 Royalist and Liberal opposition worked in complete harmony. 
 The Journal des Debats, the Ccmstitutionnel, and the Courrier 
 recommended the same candidates to their readers. In their 
 lists the names of Benjamin Constant, Casimir Perier, or La 
 Fayette were to be seen alongside those of La Bourdonnaye, 
 Hyde de Neuville, or Delalot.^ 
 
 The colleges d'arrondissement met on November 17th. The 
 next day it was known that in each of the eight colleges of the 
 capital the Liberal candidate had been successful. News of like 
 results was received from the departments. In hardly any case 
 was a Ministerialist returned. On the evening of the 18th many 
 quarters of the town were illuminated. Disorderly crowds armed 
 with sticks and stones assembled, and, as the night wore on, the 
 disturbance assumed a serious aspect. In the Rue Saint-Denis 
 and in the neighbouring streets carts were overturned, paving- 
 stones taken up, and barricades erected. The cry resounded, 
 des lampions^ des lampions — that ominous summons to the 
 inhabitants to light up their windows, which they were to hear 
 again upon many occasions. Police and troops arrived, opened 
 fire, and carried the barricades at the point of the bayonet. The 
 following night scenes of the same kind were witnessed. The 
 Minister of War, in his instructions to the general officers com- 
 
 1 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 695-601. 
 Frenilly, Souvenirs, p. 357. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deujc Restaur ations, VII. pp. 319-322. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 326-328. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 52-53. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 69. 
 
1827] LA CHAMBRE EETROUVEE 395 
 
 manding the troops, prescribed stern measures. The cavalry 
 charged, volleys were fired, barricades were stormed. For the 
 first time the crash of musketry was heard in the streets of Paris, 
 since the 13th Vendemiaire of the year IV, when Barras had 
 commissioned an obscure artillery officer to disperse the sections. 
 
 After this second night the disturbances were not repeated. It 
 was said that they never could have taken place had not the 
 police connived at them. The Government was suspected of 
 having secretly encouraged the rioting, in the hope of instilling 
 the electors with the fear that further Liberal victories would be 
 followed by a revolution.^ On November 24th, when the depart- 
 mental colleges assembled, fewer Liberals were returned, but 
 many Ministerial candidates were rejected. Among the unseated 
 members was M. (Je Peyronnet himself, who was defeated both at 
 Bourges and at Bordeaux. On the other hand, no less than seven 
 electoral colleges selected M. Royer-Collard. By November 30th 
 most of the results were known, and Villele could estimate fairly 
 accurately the composition of the new Chamber. The Ministeri- 
 alist and Liberal party each numbered about 170, and the 
 Royalist opposition some 80 members. Provided they would 
 consent to act together, the Royalists had a majority. But Villele 
 had lost any hopes, which he may once have entertained, of 
 such a consummation. On December 2nd he informed the King 
 ths^t he could not count upon a majority, and that the Cabinet 
 was prepared to retire. 
 
 By the press and by the public the result of the elections was 
 hailed as a defeat for the Government. The announcement was 
 eagerly awaited that a new Ministry had been formed. But 
 the King was reluctant to part with Villele, and was at a loss to 
 know what to do. At first he hoped that a partial reconstruction 
 of the Cabinet would meet the situation. But Polignac, Riviere, 
 and all the influence of the Court were opposed to the retention of 
 Villele. On December 6th Charles decided to entrust the task of 
 forming a Cabinet to Talaru. Talaru, an Ultra -Royalist Peer 
 and a former Ambassador at Madrid, understood the mechanism 
 of party Government as little as the King himself. He disap- 
 proved of Villele's policy, but he considered that Charles was not 
 justified in " abandoning his Minister,'* as he expressed it. 
 Talaru's refusal to form a Ministry, and the words of the Dauphine 
 " that he would descend a step of his throne were he to desert 
 M. de Villele," induced the King to return to his plan of a partial 
 renewal of the Cabinet. Peyronnet had been unseated, Corbiere's 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 97-99. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSj VII. pp. 322-330. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 603-610. 
 
396 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1827 
 
 health had given way, and Clermont-Tonnerre's clerical leanings 
 made him odious to the army. The King had no objection to part 
 with any of these three, and he began to hope that Villele might 
 contrive to replace them by persons acceptable to all sections of 
 Royalists. But it was soon evident that nobody of any standing 
 would associate his fortunes with so unpopular a Minister. ^ 
 
 In the meantime, intrigues were hatched, and in society, in the 
 political salonSj and in the press every possible combination was 
 put forward. The Faubourg- Saint -Germain and the Court 
 favoured the formation of a purely Royalist Cabinet, to be pre- 
 sided over by Jules de Polignac, and in which Ea Bourdonnaye 
 and Delalot were to have seats. In other circles some advocated 
 the creation of a Government of the Centre under Talleyrand, 
 who was to be supported by Laine, Pasquier, and Roy. But 
 another party hoped to see formed a mixed Liberal and Royalist 
 Cabinet, which was to derive its chief strength from Chateau- 
 briand, Delalot, Casimir Perier, and Sebastiani. Charles, though 
 convinced at last that he must part with Villele, regarded none 
 of these combinations with favour. He hated Talleyrand, dis- 
 liked Chateaubriand, and had been persuaded by Villele that his 
 friend Polignac had not the qualities necessary for high office. 
 In this dilemma he turned to Chabrol, the Minister of Marine, 
 who was agreeable to him personally, and invited him to form 
 a government. The task proved arduous, and at one time 
 Chabrol was upon the point of declaring his inability to carry it 
 out. Charles would not hear of Chateaubriand or Pasquier, 
 and the Dauphin objected to the Due de Bellune. Not till 
 January 3rd could a list be devised with which the King at last 
 coldly pronounced himself satisfied. Even then a difficulty arose 
 which threatened to unsettle everything. The new Ministers 
 made their acceptance of office conditional upon Villele's eleva- 
 tion to the Peerage, along with Peyronnet and Corbiere. The 
 former President of the Council, however, wished to remain a 
 Deputy in order better to defend his former policy, which he 
 knew would be attacked in the new Chamber. He yielded, 
 nevertheless, to the King's persuasion. ^ 
 
 On January 5th, 1828, the Moniteur made public the names of 
 the new Ministers. The Vicomte de Martignac was Minister of 
 the Interior, the Comte de Ea Ferronays Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs, the Comte de Saint-Cricq Minister of Commerce and the 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 98-107. 
 Villele, Menwires, V. pp. 288-298. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 613-621. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 299-310. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 113-117, 124-126. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VII. pp. 616-628. 
 
1828] LA CHAMBRE EETEOUVEE 397 
 
 Colonies, the Vicomte Decaux Minister of War, and Portalis 
 Keeper of the Seals. Chabrol, as in the former Grovernment, 
 was Minister of Marine, and Frayssinous, Bishop in partibus of 
 Hermopolis, was still Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs, but the 
 control of public instruction was no longer to form a department 
 of his office. " You had become too unpopular,*' said the 
 Dauphin to M. de Villele when he came to take leave of him 
 upon his retirement. " God grant, Sir, that it may be only I who 
 have become unpopular," replied the fallen statesman. ^ 
 
 » Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. p. 127. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 AN INTERLUDE 
 
 MDE VILLilLE had remained in power for a longer 
 • period than any other Minister under the Restoration. 
 During the whole time he had been in office the country had been 
 prosperous, individual liberty had been respected, and the press, 
 but for the imposition for a few months only of the censorship, 
 had enjoyed a reasonable degree of freedom. Villele's name 
 may be associated justly with sound finance, and with wise 
 measures of administrative reform. But, though he may have 
 disapproved of them personally, he was responsible for those 
 measures which have earned for the Chamhre retrouvee its un- 
 fortunate reputation. Nevertheless, the immediate cause of his 
 fall was not so much the apprehensions which his reactionary 
 legislation excited, as the cabals and jealousies of his followers. 
 He was himself to blame, however, for the quarrel with Chateau- 
 briand. The presence of Chateaubriand in the Cabinet may have 
 been incompatible with the development of a peaceful policy, 
 but it was unwise to humiliate unnecessarily a man so powerful 
 and so vindictive. Posterity has pronounced upon M. de Villele 
 the verdict that he sacrificed his personal conviction too much to 
 considerations of party. Yet the Royalists, whose cause he 
 served so faithfully, repaid him with disloyalty and ingratitude. 
 When they coalesced with the Liberals to bring about his down- 
 fall they could not realize that they had driven from office the one 
 man who, without violating the Constitution, was capable of 
 governing in the interests of their party. ^ The new Ministry was 
 without a President of the Council. Martignac, however, by 
 whose name the Government has always been known, was, from 
 the first, recognized as its chief. He was a lawyer by profession, 
 and had acted as poHtical adviser to the Due d'Angouleme in 
 Spain. Upon his return he had been appointed to a post in the ad- 
 ministration, but had never sat in the Cabinet. He was possessed 
 of considerable charm of manner, and was an excellent speaker. 
 
 1 Guizot, Merrmresj I. pp. 233-234, 289. 
 398 
 
1828] AN INTERLUDE 399 
 
 Villele had confided to him the task of introducing the bill to 
 compensate the emigres, and his speech upon that occasion had 
 added greatly to his reputation. From its earliest days the Mar- 
 tignac Cabinet was confronted with a serious difficulty, inherent 
 to the circumstances under which it had come into existence. In 
 the winter of 1821, Villele had been the leader of a victorious 
 opposition. His rise to power had been in accordance with the 
 natural working of the party system. The elections of 1827 had 
 profoundly modified the composition of the Chamber. Not only 
 a change of Ministers, but a complete change of poHcy was the 
 proper outcome of the altered spirit of the electorate. Frays- 
 sinous and Chabrol, however, had occupied seats in the former 
 Cabinet, and Martignac a place in the administration. Under 
 these conditions the new ministry was regarded necessarily as 
 a mere survival of M. de Villele's Government.^ 
 
 Had the Kling given Martignac his loyal support, it is possible 
 that his tact and his diplomacy might have enabled him to 
 overcome this initial difficulty of the situation. But Charles 
 had parted with Villele and his colleagues against his will, 
 and he now accepted their successors with reluctance. He was 
 annoyed, moreover, at one of the first acts of his new Ministers. 
 They had insisted, upon taking office, that both Franchet, the 
 director, and Eavau, the prefect of police, the two members 
 of the administration whose connection with the Congregation 
 was notorious, should be removed from their posts. The King 
 assented grudgingly, but the concession thus extorted from him 
 indisposed him still more against Martignac and his f ellow- Minis - 
 ters.2 He continued to communicate with Villele and to consult 
 him upon all occasions. Rumours of the influence still exercised 
 by the former President of the Council were noised abroad and 
 added to the difficulties of the Government. As is proved by 
 Charles' correspondence with Villele, the Cabinet had been in 
 existence hardly a week before the members of it began to doubt 
 seriously whether they would be able to command a majority in 
 the coming Session. Chateaubriand had wished to see formed a 
 Grovernment composed of Liberals and of his own followers. No 
 sooner was the Martignac Cabinet constituted than his organ, 
 the Journal des Debats, opened fire upon it. Ministers felt too 
 weak to withstand an attack from so dangerous a quarter, and 
 they sought to impress upon the King the necessity of propitiating 
 
 1 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 329-334. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 103-105. 
 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 113-116. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 178-183. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 105-106. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. p. 187. 
 
400 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1828 
 
 Chateaubriand. But Charles would not listen to the notion of 
 bringing him into the Government, nor was he much more 
 favourably disposed towards Portahs or Pasquier, whose inclusion 
 in the administration was suggested also. In his opinion, if his 
 Ministers felt insecure, it was to the Right, not to the Centre or 
 to the Eieft, that they should look for support.^ 
 
 Whilst Chateaubriand thus displayed his hostility, Ea Bourdon- 
 naye, now that Villele had been driven from office, showed a 
 disposition to support the Grovernment. The King signified 
 that he would have no objection to admitting either him or 
 Delalot into the Cabinet. But MM. Roy, PortaHs, and de La 
 Ferronays were not prepared to enter into an alliance of this 
 kind and, to avert a ministerial crisis, the negotiations were 
 broken off which are believed to have begun with these two men.^ 
 It was one of the conditions under which Ministers had consented 
 to take office that an enquiry should be instituted into the whole 
 question of those establishments, known as small seminaries, which 
 purported to exist only for the education of youths intended for 
 the ecclesiastical profession. A commission was appointed, 
 accordingly, the members of which represented very fairly all 
 classes of opinions. Though it was a step directed against the 
 Jesuits, Charles appears to have offered little objection to it. 
 His interference in the matter appears to have been confined 
 to the substitution of Mounier for Pasquier upon the commission. 
 The director of police in the Richelieu administration he re- 
 garded, apparently, as more subject to his influence than 
 Pasquier. 3 The institution of this enquiry, and the nomination 
 of Vatismesnil to the post of Grand Master of the University, 
 constituted the most important acts of the Government before 
 the opening of Parliament.* 
 
 The Chambers met on February 5th. As usual, the constitution 
 of the bureaux in the Lower Chamber, and other preliminary 
 measures afforded the first indications of the state of parties. 
 Royalists and Liberals were so nicely balanced that a group of 
 some thirty dissident Royalists, inspired by Chateaubriand and 
 led in the Chamber itself by Agier, appeared to be masters of 
 the situation.^ This state of affairs made an arrangement with 
 Chateaubriand imperative. He had declared that he would 
 never enter the Government except in the capacity of Minister 
 
 1 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 315-324. 
 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac^ pp. 125-130, 140-141. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 201-202. 
 8 Ibid., pp. 195-197. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 106-107. 
 * Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 209-212. 
 ^ E. Daudet, Ministere MartignaCf p. 149. 
 
1828] AN INTERLUDE 401 
 
 for Foreign Affairs. He intimated, however, that he might 
 be induced to go to Rome as Ambassador. Ministers were only 
 too deHghted to comply with this desire. Chateaubriand was, 
 as was the case with him frequently, in sore straits for money. 
 He was informed that not only would he be sent to Rome, but that 
 120,000 francs would be granted him in return for his past 
 diplomatic services, and as a compensation for the loss of his 
 salary as a Privy Councillor. At the same time the Grovernment 
 took into its pay the Journal des Debats, and made good to the 
 proprietors the full arrears of the subsidy which they had for- 
 feited in 1824 when, upon Chateaubriand's dismissal, they had 
 begun their campaign against M. de Villele. No less than five 
 hundred thousand francs, of which Charles himself provided 
 three, were expended in purchasing the support of this powerful 
 paper. ^ 
 
 The alliance with Chateaubriand was consolidated by less 
 questionable methods. The intention of the Chamber to censure 
 the conduct of the late Government in the address in reply to the 
 King's speech made, it impossible for Chabrol and Frayssinous 
 to remain in the Cabinet. Two portfolios were thus placed at the 
 disposal of the Grovernment. The King was in favour of replacing 
 Chabrol by La Bourdonnaye. He demurred, however, and made 
 conditions, thus enabling Ministers to obtain the Royal consent 
 to the appointment of Hyde de Neuville to the vacant post of 
 Minister of Marine. ^ Hyde de Neuville was of English descent, 
 and in revolutionary and republican times had risked his life, 
 upon many occasions, in the Royal cause. After numerous 
 hairbreadth escapes from the police of the Directory and the 
 Consulate he had sought refuge in America. Under the Restora- 
 tion he had been one of the violent Ultra -Royalists of the Ghambre 
 introuvable and, after its dissolution, had been sent as Minister 
 to the United States. Upon his return to political life in France 
 he had become an enthusiastic follower of Chateaubriand. In 
 1828 he was a prominent member of the Agier group of dissident 
 Royalists, and professed the strictly constitutional principles 
 preached by Chateaubriand and the Journal des Debats.^ La 
 Bourdonnaye, though he had made difficulties about accepting 
 the appointment offered to him, was highly offended when it was 
 
 ^ Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 290-291. 
 Pasquier, VI. p. 107. 
 E. Daudet, Mmistere Martignac, pp. 131-132. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 158-169. 
 
 3 Hyde de Neuville, Memoires. 
 
 E. Daudet, Recits des temps revolutionnaires. Le complot Coigny-Hyde 
 de Neuville. 
 
 G. Lenotre, Vieuoc papier s vieilles maisonSj 2me serie, pp. 189-191. 
 2 D 
 
402 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1828 
 
 given to Hyde. Martignac and his colleagues were to discover 
 before long that, if they had acquired the support of Chateau- 
 briand, they had incurred the bitter enmity of La Bourdonnaye.^ 
 
 No difficulty was experienced in inducing Charles to allow 
 Frayssinous to be succeeded by Feutrier, Bishop of Beauvais, a 
 prelate of enlightened views. By all means in his power Martignac 
 sought to prove his moderation. He hoped to rally round him 
 the Constitutional Liberals and Royalists, and to form a great 
 Centre party which should continue the policy of the Due de 
 Richelieu. 2 In pursuance of this aim he had persuaded Charles 
 to nominate M. Royer-CoUard to the Presidency of the Chamber. 
 The Doctrinaire had not obtained the largest number of votes ; 
 Martignac, nevertheless, recommended the King to appoint 
 him, upon the ground that his election to the Chamber by 
 seven different colleges gave him a claim superior to that of any 
 other candidate. 3 But the selection of Royer-CoUard, which 
 Martignac had advocated in order to please the Left Centre and 
 Constitutional Liberals, was resented by a large number of 
 RoyaHsts. Moreover, their candidate, Ravez, who had been 
 for ten years the President of the Chamber, considered himself 
 ill-used and became the sworn enemy of the Government. 
 His hostility was to prove a serious matter. The King liked him 
 and had a high opinion of his judgment. About this time he 
 appears to have taken the place of Villele as one of Charles* secret 
 and most trusted counsellors.* 
 
 The debate in the Lower Chamber upon the address in reply 
 to the Kjng's speech was animated. The determination of the 
 Liberals and the Agier group to apply the words deplorable 
 system to the policy of the late Government was opposed by the 
 survivors of Villele's party and by La Bourdonnaye. Martignac 
 was in a difficult position. It was impossible for him to criticize 
 severely measures with which he had personally been concerned. 
 To have defended them would have been to depart from the line 
 of policy which he intended to pursue. He confined himself to 
 deprecating the employment of language unnecessarily harsh. 
 On March 8th the insertion into the address of the paragraph 
 under discussion was carried by a majority of fourteen votes. 
 Everybody was perfectly aware that Charles would resent deeply 
 any censure passed upon a policy which had had his constant 
 approval. That night the wildest rumours were current. It was 
 said that the Government had resigned, that the Chamber was 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 109-110. 
 
 2 Thureau Dangin,, Le parti liberal, pp. 400-401. 
 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. p. 421. 
 * Pasquier, VI. p. 108. 
 
1828] AN INTERLUDE 403 
 
 to be dissolved, and that M. de Villele had been sent for by the 
 King. In point of fact Charles was very angry. To Martignac 
 and his fellow- Ministers, when they were admitted to his presence, 
 he expressed his indignation, and threatened to refuse to receive 
 the address. But on the following day to their astonishment 
 he was in a different frame of mind. He now announced his 
 intention of receiving the deputation in the usual manner, and of 
 merely admonisliing the members of it in the mildest language. 
 The reasons which induced him to refrain from any strong ex- 
 pression of displeasure are unknown. It may be conjectured 
 that, during the night, he had consulted his secret advisers, and 
 that his changed attitude was the result of their counsels. There 
 can be little doubt, however, that this affair quickened his 
 resolve to seize the earliest opportunity of ridding himself of 
 Ministers who were incapable of protecting him from what he 
 considered was a disrespectful message from the Chamber.^ 
 
 The two chief measures which the Grovernment proposed to 
 bring forward during the Session were of a distinctly Liberal 
 character. The firsfe, introduced by Martignac on March 25th, 
 was a bill to provide for the revision annually of the voting 
 registers. The proposed law had been framed with the object 
 of imposing a necessary check upon the powers which the prefects 
 had so scandalously abused at elections during the past eight 
 years. The subject involved matters of great public interest, 
 and the discussion of the Ministerial proposals occupied the 
 attention of the Chamber from April 28th till May 28th. For 
 the first time for many years the Liberals gave their support to a 
 Government bill. The Royalists, on the other hand, either 
 opposed it altogether or sought to amend it. Martignac inter- 
 vened upon several occasions with great effect in the debate, 
 and, on May 28th, when the result of the division was made 
 known, he was found to have carried his measure by a majority of 
 152. In the Upper Chamber the bill encountered opposition 
 from the Peers created by M. de Villele. On June 24th, neverthe- 
 less, it w^as passed by 159 votes to 83.2 
 
 In the meantime Ministers had come again into conflict with 
 the King. On April 21st the Due de Riviere, the Governor of the 
 Due de Bordeaux, had died, and upon his death- bed had recom- 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 110-111. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Bestaurations, VII. pp. 422-424. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 305-308. 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martigrmc, pp. 164-168. 
 Villele, Mcmoires, V. pp. 825-328. 
 
 2 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 171-176. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 429-504. 
 Vaulabelle, Deiix Bestaurations, VII. pp. 428-433. 
 
404 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1828 
 
 mended the Baron de Damas to the King as his successor. But 
 the objections to his appointment were great. He had been 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs under the late Government, and was 
 as closely connected with the priest party as Riviere himself. 
 These two facts, however, which Ministers regarded as insuper- 
 able obstacles to his nomination were, in the King's eyes, strong 
 recommendations in his favour. Charles, moreover, maintained 
 stoutly that the question was a family matter, not an affair of 
 State. Without further discussion with his Ministers, he selected 
 the Baron de Damas, and his appointment to the post of Governor 
 to the young Prince appeared in the Gazette of April 28th. The 
 members of the Cabinet, thereupon, tendered their resignations. 
 But they were content to withdraw them, upon the King's 
 assurance that the choice of a Governor to the heir-presumptive 
 to the throne was not a question about which he was bound to 
 consult his Ministers.^ 
 
 The second measure by which Martignac hoped to conciliate 
 moderate Royalist and Liberal opinion took the form of a law 
 concerning the press. The Due de Broglie had assisted in framing 
 the bill, which contained none of the unpopular restrictions of the 
 law of 1822. The Ministerial power of imposing the censorship 
 was abolished, together with " preliminary authorization " and 
 " offences of tendency." But the monetary guarantee demanded 
 from political papers was now extended to periodicals of a non- 
 political character, and it was not proposed to return to the 
 provisions of the law of 1819 and to restore to the juries the trial 
 of press cases. When the bill, on April 14thj was introduced by 
 Portalis, it was received with applause from the Liberal benches. 
 But the approval with which it had been greeted at first, quickly 
 gave place to unqualified condemnation. The Liberal papers 
 one and all denounced its concessions as illusory. Attempts 
 were even made to show that it resembled Villele's rejected press 
 law of the year before. " All we shall have gained,'* said the 
 Courrier, " is that we shall see a polite Corbiere instead of a brutal 
 Corbiere, and a Jansenist Peyronnet instead of a Jesuitic Pey- 
 ronnet." Language of this kind augured ill. Ministers were 
 afraid that they were to be deprived of all Liberal support. 
 On May 29th, when the general discussion began, the bill was 
 attacked by both the Right and the Left. A large section of 
 Royalists regarded it as a weak surrender to the revolutionary 
 spirit, whilst the Liberals contended that the greater freedom, 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 381-384. 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 188-190. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VII. pp. 426-427. 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memnres, III. pp. 235-239. 
 
1828] AN INTERLUDE 405 
 
 which it appeared to confer upon the press, would be found to 
 have no real existence. But, though Benjamin Constant and 
 other members of the party criticized it adversely, they sup- 
 ported it grudgingly, after an amendment had been introduced 
 to reduce the amount of the sum which daily newspapers were 
 required to deposit. On June 19th the bill was carried in the 
 Lower Chamber by a majority of 150. In the Upper House it 
 was opposed by Villele and Peyronnet. But upon this occasion 
 many of the seventy-six Peers, created in the previous Novem- 
 ber, showed by voting for the bill that they did not consider 
 themselves bound to support the man to whom they owed 
 their elevation. On July 14th the measure was passed by 139 
 votes to 71.^ 
 
 Whilst the Deputies had been discussing the press bill, one of 
 their number, M. Labbey de Pompieres, a Liberal, had moved 
 that a charge of high treason and malversation should be pre- 
 ferred against the members of the late Government. Martignac 
 by all means in his power sought to block the motion or to obtain 
 the adjournment of the House. But after a stormy sitting, on 
 June 14th, it was resolved by a large majority to appoint a 
 committee to report upon the charges. The Grovernment, 
 however, refused the communication of any documents and, 
 under these conditions the enquiry was necessarily very incom- 
 plete. Nevertheless, on July 21st, M. Girod, member for the Ain, 
 delivered the following conclusions. A majority of the nine 
 members of the Committee considering that the toleration 
 extended by the late Government to the Jesuits had been 
 illegal, that the imposition of the censorship in 1824 and 1827 
 had been unnecessary, that improper circumstances had attended 
 the arrest at Battenheim, in 1822, of the late Colonel Caron, 
 that the creation of seventy-six Peers in 1827 had been pre- 
 judicial to the interests of the Crown and the nation, and that the 
 conduct of the administration had been deserving of censure in 
 connection with the riots on November 19th and 20th of the 
 previous year, recommended that the Chamber should take steps 
 to obtain fuller information upon these points. The Left, there- 
 upon, brought forward and carried a motion to adjourn the dis- 
 cussion of the report till after the Budget. This, to all intents 
 and purposes, meant to postpone the matter indefinitely. The 
 object of the Liberals would thus appear to have been attained. 
 By keeping these charges suspended over the heads of Villele 
 
 * E. Daudet, Minister e Martignac , pp. 177-185. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 113-114. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 435-440. 
 Viel Castel, Hist(nrt, XVII. pp. 591-637. 
 
406 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1828 
 
 and his colleagues, they considered they had rendered impossible 
 their return to office. ^ On August 2nd, Charles, who for some 
 time past had ceased to correspond with Villele, wrote to express 
 his sympathy with him " in this dirty affair which has ended, 
 however, as well as could be expected," and to bid him " depart 
 in peace '* for the country. ^ 
 
 It was not alone by the Liberal character of the measures 
 brought before the Chamber that Ministers sought to convince 
 the country that the reactionary policy of M. de Villele was at an 
 end. In his first month of office Martignac induced the King to 
 forgive the three Academicians, Villemain, Michaud, and Eacre- 
 telle, and to restore to them the posts which they had lost the 
 year before.^ Moreover, the interdict was removed which, under 
 M. de Frayssinous, had driven Guizot and Cousin from the Uni- 
 versity. Their lecture-rooms at the Sorbonne, which they were 
 once more allowed to re-enter, were thronged, not only by stu- 
 dents, but by educated persons of all descriptions.* The sup- 
 pression of the cabinet noir is another measure for which the 
 Martignac Government can claim credit. This secret branch of 
 the Post Office, which existed for the purpose of opening letters, 
 is supposed to have been instituted by Louis XIV. In his hands, 
 and in those of Napoleon, it was doubtless a useful instrument 
 of despotism. It afforded a constant source of amusement to 
 Louis XV, from the insight which it gave him into the intrigues 
 and love affairs of his subjects. According to the scandalous 
 gossip of the day, Louis XVTII is said to have employed it for 
 the same reason. At the time of its abolition its offices were 
 situated in the basement of the Hotel des Postes, and are said to 
 have been provided with secret entrances. Thirty-two persons 
 are supposed to have been employed upon these premises. Like 
 the office of the public executioner the privilege of serving upon 
 the staff of the cabinet noir appears to have been hereditary in 
 certain famiUes. The establishment under the Restoration cost 
 the State three hundred and sixty thousand francs annually, till 
 January 31st, 1828, when it was closed by order of M. Roy, 
 Minister of Finance.^ 
 
 But the promulgation of the decrees against the Jesuits was by 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 124-127. 
 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 333-354. 
 
 Vaulabelle, DeuA' Restaurations , VII. pp. 442-446, 456-459. 
 E. Daudet, Minister e Martignac, pp. 190-194. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 364-365. 
 
 3 Ihid., p. 316. 
 
 * Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 335-337- 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. pp. 377-379. 
 
 H. Bulwer, Life of Palmer ston, 1. p. 358. 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deua^ Restaurations , VII. pp. 433-435. 
 
1828] AN INTERLUDE 407 
 
 far the most celebrated measure of M. de Martignac's administra- 
 tion. The enquiries instituted by the commission, appointed in 
 the month of January, had disclosed the existence, without legal 
 authority of any kind, of some sixty establishments purporting 
 to be seminaries for the education of young priests. In most 
 cases these schools were controlled by the Jesuits, many of whom, 
 besides, had been placed in charge of seminaries established with 
 the sanction of the Bishop of the diocese. Upon receipt of this 
 report Ministers, though by so doing they were exceeding the 
 recommendations of the majority of the members of the com- 
 mission, decided to adopt effectual measures to put an end to the 
 state of affairs which it disclosed. Two ordinances were drawn up, 
 according to the first of which a number of establishments, car- 
 ried on by persons belonging to an " unauthorized religious com- 
 munity,'" were brought within the jurisdiction of the University. 
 In another clause it was laid down that, in future, no person 
 could take charge of any educational establishment, unless he 
 were prepared to declare in writing that he was not a member of 
 an unauthorized religious society. By the terms of the second 
 ordinance the pupils in ecclesiastical schools were limited to 
 20,000 for the whole of France. The establishment of these 
 institutions was to be regulated by the Crown, no day boarders 
 were to be received, and all scholars, after the age of fourteen, 
 were required to wear an ecclesiastical dress. 
 
 Ministers expected great opposition to the ordinances from the 
 King, though they had been several times discussed in his pre- 
 sence. But their fears proved unfounded. After retaining them 
 by him for three days, he returned them with his signature duly 
 affixed. The explanation of Charles' conduct upon this occasion 
 must again be a matter of conjecture. He is known to have con- 
 sulted Frayssinous and, it may be presumed, that he had taken 
 the advice of those secret counsellors by whose opinions all his 
 acts connected with religious questions were regulated. The 
 Pere Ronsin, director of the Congregation, is said to have been 
 chiefly responsible for Charles' decision. If this be so, it may be 
 assumed that he regarded the decrees against his order as a neces- 
 sary, but temporary, concession to public opinion. 
 
 The appearance of the ordinances of June 16th in the Moniteur 
 was the signal for an outburst of indignation in the clerical press. 
 Ministers soon discovered that it was an easier matter to obtain 
 Charles* consent to their promulgation, than to compel the 
 Bishops to carry them out. Many of these prelates were mem- 
 bers of the proudest families of the old noblesse. The fact that 
 Feutrier, Bishop of Beauvais, the Minister for Ecclesiastical 
 Affairs, was of obscure descent disposed them to be the more 
 
408 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1828 
 
 insolent. The attitude of a large number of them is well illus- 
 trated by the reply of tlie Cardinal de Clermont-Tonnerre, Arch- 
 bishop of Toulouse, to Feutrier, who asked for information about 
 the seminaries within his diocese. " My Lord/' wrote the Car- 
 dinal, " the motto of my family, granted to it in 1120 by Calixto 
 II, is as follows : Etiam si omnes ego non. It is also that of my 
 conscience. I have the honour to be, with the respectful considera- 
 tion due to a Minister of the King ..." Great opposition to the 
 execution of the ordinances was offered by Quelen, Archbishop of 
 Paris. He also saw fit to write an insolent letter to Feutrier, 
 which was communicated to the King at a Cabinet council. The 
 King perused it with indignation and passed it to the Dauphin, 
 who returned it with the comment, which savours terribly of the 
 old regime, " that if he were King the Archbishop should sleep 
 that night at Vincennes."' Charles had already signified to the 
 Cardinal de Clermont-Tonnerre that he must not present himself 
 at Court, and a like expression of his displeasure was now con- 
 veyed to the Archbishop of Paris. In the meantime, the attitude 
 of the prelacy threatened to render vain the publication of the 
 decrees. In this difficulty it was decided to invoke the assist- 
 ance of His Holiness. The conduct of the negotiations was en- 
 trusted by Portalis to Easagni, a lawyer and a Genoese by birth, 
 who had formerly been auditor to the Rota, an ecclesiastical 
 tribunal at the papal court. The Pope, Leo XII, was favourably 
 disposed towards the Jesuits, but he realized the folly of at- 
 tempting to impose them forcibly upon the French people. He 
 was induced to declare that the ordinances in no way infringed 
 the rights of the episcopate. The Cardinal de Latil, whose zeal in 
 the matter was stimulated by the satisfaction which it gave him 
 to humiliate the Archbishop of Paris, was selected to communi- 
 cate this pronouncement of His Holiness to his fellow- prelates. 
 The intervention of the Pope put an end to the rebellion of the 
 Bishops. Before the end of the year the provisions of the ordi- 
 nances of June 16th had been carried out.^ One of the results of 
 these decrees appears to have been the dissolution of the Con- 
 gregation of the Rue du Bac. As a matter of policy the director, 
 the Pere Ronsin, was enjoined by the General of the Jesuits to 
 leave Paris. ^ 
 
 In foreign affairs the development of events after the Battle of 
 Kavarino had enabled the Government to shape its policy in 
 
 » Pasquier, VI. pp. 115-121. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 447-466. 
 
 E. Daudet, Minister e Martignac, pp. 195-208. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 237-238. 
 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edition, V. pp. 107-108. 
 ^ Geoffroy de Graudmaisonj La Congregation, p. 351. 
 
1828] AN INTERLUDE 409 
 
 accordance with popular sympathies. The refusal of France, 
 Great Britain, and Russia, the three Powers concerned in the 
 destruction of the Ottoman and Egyptian fleet, to grant the 
 apology and the compensation which the Porte demanded, had 
 been followed by fruitless negotiations, and finally by the recall 
 of the Ambassadors of the three Courts. The Sultan, thereupon, 
 declared null and void the Treaty of Akkerman, which he had 
 recently concluded with Russia, and summoned the faithful to a 
 holy war. Meanwhile, Canning, who had died on August 8th, 
 
 1827, had been succeeded as Prime Minister by Goderich, and, in 
 January, 1828, by Wellington. The Duke, resolving to adhere 
 steadfastly to the traditional Tory policy, despite the new situa- 
 tion which Canning's departure from it had created, refused to 
 participate in any hostile action against Turkey. But the Russo- 
 Turkish war, which it had been the aim of British diplomacy for 
 the past seven years to avert, was now inevitable. On May 6th, 
 
 1828, a Russian army crossed the Pruth. 
 
 In the spring of the year the plenipotentiaries of the three 
 Powers, signatory to the Treaty of July 6th, 1827, reassembled 
 in London. To the French Government the integrity of the 
 Turkish Empire was a matter of little consideration. The situa- 
 tion which had arisen was favourable for gaining popularity at 
 home by striking a blow for the independence of Greece. France, 
 accordingly, undertook to obtain by force of arms the evacuation 
 of the Morea. Russia had no reason for opposing an intervention 
 which would create a diversion in her favour, and Wellington 
 raised no serious objections to it. The French proposal was 
 accepted and embodied in the Protocol of Eondon, signed on 
 July 19th, 1828.1 On May 21st the Deputies, and, on June 13th, 
 the Peers, had voted the extraordinary grant of eighty million 
 francs asked for by the Government for miHtary purposes. After 
 the signing of the Protocol preparations were pushed forward so 
 rapidly that, by August 12th, an expeditionary force of 14,000 
 men under General Maison had been embarked at Toulon. This 
 officer had remained faithful to the Bourbons during the Hundred 
 Days. But his conduct at the time of the Paris plot, in August, 
 1820, had caused his loyalty to be questioned. Moreover, he had 
 been a constant opponent of M. de Villele's measures in the 
 Chamber of Peers. Charles hesitated when his name was put 
 forward by the Minister of War, and suggested that the command 
 should be given to either Marmont or to Bourmont. He did not 
 insist, however, and Maison was duly appointed. The saiUng of 
 the transports was delayed by contrary winds, and it was not till 
 August 29th that they cast anchor in the Bay of Navarino. 
 * Cambridge Modem History, X. pp. 197-201. 
 
410 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1828 
 
 Maison was greeted with the news that the object of the expedi- 
 tion had been attained. Sir Edward Codrington, under threat of 
 a blockade of the Egyptian coast, had induced Mehemet Ali to 
 sign a convention, on August 9th, which provided for the evacua- 
 tion of the Morea by his troops. Nevertheless, the French army 
 was disembarked. The most amicable relations were established 
 with Ibrahim, and, before his final withdrawal, a grand review 
 was held in his honour. Pending the settlement of its fate by the 
 Powers, the country was occupied by the French expeditionary 
 force. 1 
 
 At the time of the general elections of the year before, when 
 the news was received of Royer-CoUard's return by seven different 
 electoral colleges. Marshal Soult is said to have exclaimed to the 
 King, " There is no doubt about it, sir, the country is Left 
 Centre.'* The result of some forty elections, which had since 
 taken place, in consequence of the return of the same persons in 
 two or more electoral districts, had swelled the ranks of the 
 Liberal party and confirmed the truth of his words. ^ From the 
 first days of its formation the Government, both in foreign and 
 in domestic affairs, had shaped its poHcy uniformly in accordance 
 with the temper of the electorate. Yet in the Chamber its posi- 
 tion at the close of the Session was no stronger than it had been 
 at the opening of the Parliament. Martignac's plan had broken 
 down of moulding the constitutional Liberals and moderate 
 Royalists into a Ministerial Centre party, which should command 
 a majority over both extreme wings. The Liberals persisted in 
 regarding him as a straggler from M. de Villele's party, not as a 
 Left Centre man. When it suited them they might vote for his 
 measures, but they were at pains to make it clear that they owed 
 no allegiance to the Grovernment. To all attempts to entice fchem 
 into the Ministerial camp they replied by closing their ranks, and 
 by proclaiming the indissoluble alliance of the Left Centre and 
 the Left.3 
 
 These popular measures, which failed to overcome the dis- 
 trust of the Liberals, alienated many Royalists. Infuriated by 
 the ordinances against the Jesuits, the old followers of M. de 
 Villele enrolled themselves under La Bourdonnaye, who was now 
 a declared enemy of the Government. In the King's hearing 
 courtiers muttered the words " Ministerial concessions." It was 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVIII. pp. 379-397. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restauratioiis, VII. pp. 464-474. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVII. p. 103. 
 Vaulabelle, JDeux Restauratwns, VII. pp. 424-426. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVIII. pp. 269-274. 
 Thureau Dang-in, Le parti liberal, pp. 407-417. 
 E. Daudet^ Ministere Martigimc, p. 282. 
 
1828] AN INTERLUDE 411 
 
 a criticism to which he was particularly sensitive. His whole 
 pohtical philosophy was bound up in the conviction that his 
 brother had lost his head through yielding to "his Ministers and to 
 popular clamour. He had always regarded Martignac and most 
 of his colleagues as culpably weak ; he now began to look upon 
 them as a positive danger to his throne. About this time the 
 arrival of Polignac in Paris, and the many confidential inter- 
 views which the King accorded him, attracted much attention.^ 
 Throughout the country the ordinances against the Jesuits, and 
 the trend of the legislation during the Session, had met with 
 general approval. Ministers were anxious that Charles should 
 make another tour through the provinces. It was suggested 
 that, upon this occasion, he should inspect the cavalry camp, at 
 Luneville and visit the eastern departments. He had agreeable 
 recollections of his experiences of the year before, and he offered 
 no objections. Leaving Saint-Cloud on August 31st he visited 
 Meaux, Chalons-sur-Marne, Verdun, Metz, Saverne, Strasburg, 
 Mulhaiisen, Colmar, Luneville, and, upon his return journey, 
 stayed at Nancy and Toul. In the districts through which he 
 travelled Carbonarism had attracted many recruits, and they had 
 always been regarded as disaffected. Nevertheless, he received 
 everywhere an enthusiastic greeting. He was much gratified and 
 touched by the loyalty of the country-people. His experiences 
 at Strasburg and at the camp at Luneville strengthened his belief 
 in the unalterable fidelity of the army. On September 19th, 
 when he returned to Saint-Cloud, after an absence of twenty days, 
 he was in radiant spirits. But Ministers reaped none of the ad- 
 vantages, which they had hoped to derive, from his satisfaction. 
 Far from attributing a large part of the success of his journey 
 to their wise administration, he regarded the enthusiasm with 
 which he had been greeted, as a proof only of his own popularity 
 with his subjects. He missed no opportunity of impressing upon 
 M. de Martignac, who accompanied him throughout his tour, that 
 the year before, in M. de Villele's time, his reception had been 
 equally good. Whilst Charles had been making his triumphal 
 progress through the eastern provinces, the Duchesse de Berri 
 had been visiting the Pyrenees and the west country. In La 
 Vendee she made a point of going over the battlefields of the civil 
 war. Upon the Champ des Mattes, the scene of the death of Louis 
 de La Rochejacquelein, in June, 1815, she was gratified by the 
 sight of 15,000 old combatants of the Royal and Catholic armies, 
 drawn up with their tattered flags to receive her. The Duchesse 
 returned convinced that were the need for putting it to the proof 
 
 ^ E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, p. 118. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 118, 121, 127-130. 
 
412 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1828 
 
 to arise, the loyalty of the people of the west would be found to be 
 as devoted as in the days when they had risen to defend their 
 King and their religion. ^ 
 
 Ministers were agreed that they must try to arrive at a better 
 understanding with the King. The skill with which he would 
 contrive to avoid answering a question upon a distasteful subject, 
 was one of their greatest difficulties in dealing with him. They, 
 accordingly, decided to draw up and lay before him a memoran- 
 dum upon the situation. In this lengthy document, the work of 
 Portalis, the necessity was insisted upon of adhering to the 
 Liberal policy which had been pursued with excellent results 
 during the past Session. Public opinion, moreover, demanded 
 urgently that certain high officials should be removed from the 
 posts to which they had been appointed by M. de Villele. In con- 
 clusion it was pointed out that, should His Majesty propose to 
 entrust the conduct of the Government to men holding the views 
 of those he was now implored to dismiss, his present Ministers 
 must inform him respectfully that a Cabinet so constituted could 
 never command a majority in the Chamber. Were he to resort to 
 a step of that kind the situation which would arise could be met 
 only by a suspension of the Charter. But it was the painful duty 
 of the members of his Government to impress upon him that such 
 a course of action would mean ruin to himself and to his dynasty. 
 
 These strangely prophetic words of warning were very coldly 
 received. The Dauphin remarked sarcastically that Ministers had 
 been careful to dilate upon the merits of their own achievements. 
 The removal of Franchet, Eavau, Frenilly, and a few other highly 
 unpopular persons from active participation in the work of the 
 Council of State, and the dismissal of four or five prefects were 
 the sum total of the concessions to which Charles' consent could 
 be obtained. 2 These measures, which excited the wrath of the 
 Royalists, failed to satisfy the Liberals. In the ranks of their 
 party were men like La Fayette, Schonen, and several good 
 cousins of the dispersed Carbonari lodges. But with the excep- 
 tion of these persons the aims of the Liberals were constitutional, 
 not revolutionary. None of their leading men at this time pro- 
 posed to outstep the limits of a legitimate opposition. Benjamin 
 Constant and other Liberal members for the eastern departments 
 
 » Pasquier, VI. pp. 141-143. 
 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac. pp. 214-217. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVIII. pp'. 312-330. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VII. pp. 475-480, 484-486. 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 143-145. 
 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac^ pp. 219-225. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVIII. pp. 340-349. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VII. pp. 480-484. 
 
[1828 AN INTERLUDE 413 
 
 had made a point of being present with their electors, when the 
 King had visited their districts in the autumn. At Troyes, 
 Charles had found Casimir Perier awaiting him, and had con- 
 ferred upon him the Legion of Honour. The Liberal Deputy had 
 shown the King over his factories, and in the evening had danced 
 a quadrille with the Dauphine. In after years he was to be re- 
 minded that his behaviour, when doing the honours of his work- 
 shops, had elicited from his Royal guest the remark : " Why, the 
 man is a gentleman. "^ Inasmuch, however, as the Liberals 
 filled some two hundred seats in a Chamber of four hundred and 
 thirty members they had a right to demand that, in return for 
 their support, places in the administration should be given to 
 prominent men of their party. Ministers did not dispute the 
 justice of their claim, and were not without hopes of inducing the 
 King to consent to admit at least Casimir Perier into the Cabinet. 
 But whilst negotiations with the leaders of the Left were in pro- 
 gress an event occurred which brought a new actor upon the 
 scene. ^ 
 
 On January 2nd, 1829, when at work with the King, La 
 Ferronays, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, was taken seriously 
 ill. The probability that his state of health would necessitate his 
 resignation was the signal for intrigues to begin in all directions. 
 Hyde de Neuville worked hard in the interests of Chateaubriand, 
 and Rayneval, the French Minister at Berne, had influential sup- 
 porters. Ministers, however, finally proposed to the King the 
 Due de Mortemart, the newly appointed Ambassador at St. 
 Petersburg. The Duke, besides being the head of an old and 
 illustrious family, was a sensible man of moderate views. But he 
 was diffident about undertaking a task for which he had had no 
 training, and Charles made no effort to overcome his reluctance. 
 He had his own candidate, the Prince Jules de Polignac, his 
 Ambassador at the Court of St. James. Villele had always con- 
 sidered PoHgnac a dangerous rival, and had missed no oppor- 
 tunity of speaking disparagingly of his abilities in the Royal 
 presence. His opinion carried great weight with the King, but, 
 once his adverse influence was removed, he began to think that 
 he had been mistaken in his judgment of his friend. La Ferronays 
 was, to a great extent, responsible for the different light in which 
 he was now disposed to regard him.^ 
 
 ^ " Mais 11 est nd, cet homme-la." 
 Thureau Dangirij Le parti liberal (note), p. 428. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deua; Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 1-6. 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 232-233. 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 426-429. 
 
 3 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 233-235, 238-239. 
 Viel Castel, Histaire, XVIII. pp. 454-457. 
 
414 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1829 
 
 In many ways La Ferronays resembled the Due de Richelieu. 
 Both were emigres who had laid aside the prejudices and animosi- 
 ties of their class. Both, in consequence, were detested by the 
 society of the Faubourg- Saint- Germain. Both, moreover, had 
 incurred the displeasure of the Royal Family on account of their 
 independence of character.^ La Ferronays esteemed it always a 
 great drawback that the Cabinet contained no member who was 
 a personal friend of the King. He liked Jules de Polignac, and, 
 doubtless, failed to reahze the potentialities of mischief which he 
 represented. He conceived that he might act as the intermediary 
 between his colleagues and the I^ng, were he to be appointed to 
 the post of ]\linister of the Household, which was vacant since 
 the resignation of the Due de Doudeauville. With this end in 
 view he had been at pains to praise Polignac upon all occasions, 
 and to draw Charles' attention to any passages in his despatches 
 which were deserving of notice. It was an easy matter to in- 
 fluence him in favour of a man to whom he was deeply attached. 
 When the question arose of finding a successor to La Ferronays 
 his thoughts immediately turned to London, and he bade Portalis 
 instruct Polignac to come to Paris without delay. ^ At the same 
 time he disclosed his plan for giving to the Cabinet that new 
 element of strength which it required. Polignac should be 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Ravez of the Interior, in the 
 place of Martignac, for whom a less important post might be 
 found. But Portalis made it clear that were his colleague to be 
 removed from the office, the duties of which he had carried out 
 with distinguished success, he himself would be obliged to tender 
 his resignation to His Majesty. The sudden appearance of Polig- 
 nac, he pointed out moreover, would give rise to all sorts of con- 
 jee tures,^and would seriously endanger the position of the Govern- 
 ment on the eve of the opening of Parliament. The next day 
 Charles proposed a new combination. Portalis himself was to be 
 Foreign Minister and President of the Council, Ravez replacing 
 him as Keeper of the Seals, whilst Polignac was to be merely 
 Minister of the Household. But to his surprise and great dis- 
 pleasure Portalis refused to be won over by this tempting offer. 
 He declared unhesitatingly that in no circumstances could he 
 remain a member of the Cabinet were M. de Polignac to enter it.^ 
 
 Ravez had not the smallest desire to exchange the safe post 
 of President of the Royal Court at Bordeaux for the perilous 
 honour of a seat in the Cabinet. Pleading his judicial duties as 
 an excuse, he declared his inability to make the journey to Paris. 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 83-90. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 128-130, 140. 
 
 3 lUd., pp. 161-153. 
 
1829] AN INTERLUDE 415 
 
 But Polignac lost no time in obeying the summons which he had 
 received. It was said, at the time, that he brought with him some 
 sort of a letter of recommendation from the Duke of Wellington. 
 This was, however, absolutely denied by the Duke. He would 
 appear to have hm-ried off to see Wellington immediately upon 
 receipt of Portalis' message. The English papers, the next day, 
 alluded to him in flattering terms, and gave it to be understood 
 that he had gone to take up a high post in the Government. It is 
 possible that the Duke may have tried to influence indirectly the 
 King in his favour.^ War was raging in the East, and serious 
 international complications might arise at any moment. He 
 may have thought that Polignac, who was married to a Scotch 
 woman^ and who, both in a private and in an official capacity, had 
 been much in England, would be better disposed towards Great 
 Britain than La Ferronays, who had been for so long at St. 
 Petersburg. 
 
 A consultation with Mortemart, who was about to start for 
 Russia, was the reason officially given for Polignac's return. But 
 a note which he wrote to Portalis upon his arrival was delivered 
 to the Comte Pourtales, who lived next door to the Ministry of 
 Justice in the Place Vendome. The contents of this letter, which 
 were soon public property, appear to have disclosed the real 
 object of his visit, and to have raised the wholly unfounded 
 suspicion in the minds of Ministers that their colleague was 
 secretly plotting against them.^ The Liberal papers cried out 
 at once that PoHgnac, the agent of Wellington, the champion of 
 absolutism and of the Congregation, was to be called to office.* 
 Finding that his entry into the existing Cabinet was impossible, 
 Polignac tried in all directions to form a Ministry of his own. With 
 this object he appears to have knocked at every door. He sent 
 flattering offers to Pasquier, and begged him to select whatever 
 position might attract him most. The friends of Chateaubriand 
 were approached, and Laine, Portal, Mole, and Royer-CoUard 
 were in vain solicited to co-operate. In his excursions into the 
 Liberal camp he went the length of sounding Casimir Perier and 
 Laffitte, and, more extraordinary still, began futile negotiations 
 with Decazes. In all the combinations which he devised Martig- 
 
 * Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington^ VI. pp. 34-36. 
 Walpole, History, III. pp. 174, 175. 
 
 H. Bulwer, Life of Palmer ston, I. p. 330. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 147-148, 165, 179. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVIII. pp. 461-463. 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 239-240. 
 
 2 Miss Campbell,, whom he had married in 1819. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. pp. 153-154. 
 
 Polignac, Etudes historiques, pp. 217-218. 
 
 * Nettement, HistmrCj VIII, p. 209. 
 
416 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1829 
 
 nac appears to have been the only person with whom he ex- 
 pressed any disincHnation to be associated. In the King's circle, 
 at this time, it was the fashion to deride his abilities and to speak 
 of him as la jolie serinette, a name which Charles himseK some- 
 times applied to him.^ But in the next eighteen months Polignac 
 must have changed his opinion with regard to him. When he 
 was lying in prison, upon a charge of high treason and the mob of 
 Paris was calling fiercely for his blood, it was to Martignac that 
 he turned in his distress, and entrusted him with his defence 
 before the Peers. 
 
 Polignac's frantic efforts were unavailing. No serious politi- 
 cian, to whatever party he might belong, believed, for one mo- 
 ment in his ability to form a Cabinet which could enlist the 
 support of a majority of the Chamber. Despite the secrecy which 
 he had observed, more or less correct reports of his negotiations 
 were spread abroad. The Chambers were to meet on January 
 27th, all sorts of rumours were in circulation, and Ministers at 
 last lost patience. They intimated to the King that, if they were 
 to remain in office, Polignac must be ordered back to London. 
 Charles complied, and decided that the portfolio of Foreign 
 Affairs should be confided provisionally to Portalis. But, on 
 February 5th, before taking his departure, Polignac saw fit in 
 the debate upon the address in the House of Peers to assert his 
 unalterable fidelity to the Charter, and to attempt to refute the 
 statements which had been made about him in the papers. This 
 public declaration of his principles, far from having a reassuring 
 effect, raised a strong suspicion that it had been delivered in 
 order to pave the way to his assumption of office at an early date.^ 
 It is in this speech that he is sometimes described as having said 
 that " his children were taught to read out of the Charter."' ^ 
 
 Charles, when Polignac came to take leave of him, gave him 
 permission to return at the end of the Session. He appears to 
 have decided that his attempts to rid himself of his Ministers had 
 been premature, and that his plans would have to be postponed to 
 a more favourable occasion. The opportunity for which he 
 sought soon presented itself. The highly centralized system of 
 communal and departmental administration still subsisted in the 
 exact shape in which it had been created by Napoleon. The 
 King chose his Ministers, Ministers appointed prefects, and the 
 prefects in their turn selected the Mayors and the members of de- 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 155-157. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVIII. pp. 464-467. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. p. 167. 
 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 247-248. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 212-214. 
 
 3 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. p. 221. 
 
 i 
 
1829] AN INTERLUDE 417 
 
 partmental and municipal councils. The abolition of the Imperial 
 system of nomination by government officials, and the establish- 
 ment of the principle of election to district councils by quahfied 
 taxpayers, was to be the chief legislative measure of the Session. 
 The Ministerial proposals, into the complicated details of which it 
 is unnecessary to enter, were embodied in two bills which were in- 
 troduced by Martignac into the Lower Chamber on February 9th. ^ 
 
 These projected reforms were an important step in the direction 
 of local self-government. As such they should have commanded 
 the whole-hearted support of the Left. But the negotiations and 
 the intrigues of Polignac, and the continued exclusion from the 
 Ministry of any member of their party, made the Liberals suspi- 
 cious. They were prepared to admit that the opinions and the 
 prejudices of the King could not be ignored entirely. The ordi- 
 nances against the Jesuits and the chief measures of the past 
 Session showed, however, that his resistance could be overcome. 
 If, therefore. Ministers should fail to satisfy their party, the 
 Liberals were strongly disposed to think that it was because they 
 would not, rather than because they could not. The Royalists 
 had often advocated the decentralization of departmental ad- 
 ministration. But their papers denounced the extension of the 
 elective system to communal and municipal councils as a danger- 
 ous concession to the revolutionary spirit. ^ Martignac knew that 
 he must be prepared for the opposition of the extreme Right, 
 under La Bourdonnaye, but he reckoned confidently upon the 
 support of the moderate Royalist and of the Liberal party. 
 
 Charles, when he consented reluctantly to the framing of these 
 two bills, insisted that they must go through in their original 
 shape, or be withdra^vTi. He was, without doubt, honestly op- 
 posed to the principles which they embodied. But he was also 
 keenly alive to the fact that, should they fail to pass, he would be 
 furnished with the best of excuses for dismissing his Ministers. 
 In March, 1829, a by-election at Rethel resulted in the return to 
 the Chamber of the Comte Clauzel. He was that general officer 
 who, during the Hundred Days, had occupied Bordeaux in the 
 name of the Emperor, and had compelled the Duchesse d'Angou- 
 leme to leave the town. Charles spoke of his election as " a 
 bombshell fired at the Tuileries," and was convinced that the 
 Liberalism of his Ministers was responsible for it.^ There are no 
 
 * Vaulabelle, Deuoc Restaur ationSj VIII. pp. 19-21. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 159-162. 
 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 253-254. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 230-233. 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal , pp. 441-443. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIX. pp. 45-48. 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. p. 239. 
 
 2 E 
 
418 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1829 
 
 direct proofs, but the presumptions are strong that from this 
 time forward he set himself deUberately to bring about the defeat 
 of the Government. Akeady his insistence that the communal 
 and the departmental bill should be brought forward simultane- 
 ously had aroused the mistrust of Portalis. It is highly suspicious 
 that La Bourdonnaye should have been forgiven during this 
 winter for his hostility to Villele, and should suddenly have been 
 admitted into the King's circle. The activity displayed at this 
 period by Ravez and the Jesuitical Franchet, both members of 
 the camarilla, in organizing all sections of Royalists into a great 
 opposition party, furnishes another link in the chain of circum- 
 stantial evidence.^ The words of Louis XVIII would seem to 
 have come true. Charles was conspiring against himself. 
 
 On March 30th, when the general discussion of the two bills 
 began, Martignac was faced by a discontented and censorious 
 Liberal party, and by both wings of the Royalists banded to- 
 gether against him under Ravez and La Bourdonnaye. He was a 
 finished debater, but never had he been seen to greater advantage 
 than upon this occasion. The case for the Government was pre- 
 sented with all the art of which he was a master. His arguments 
 were delivered with an elegance of diction which charmed the 
 House. But neither reasoned statements nor persuasive rhetoric 
 availed. He had been powerless to prevent the insertion into the 
 report of the committee of a proposal for the suppression of the 
 conseils d'arrondissements, which the Ministerial Municipal bill 
 was to establish. On April 8th, at the close of the debate, Royer- 
 Collard, the President, put the question of this amendment to the 
 Chamber. Alone the Ministerialists, the Centre party, rose to 
 their feet to signify their dissent, whilst the Right and the Left 
 remained seated. Martignac cast an imploring glance towards the 
 Royalist benches, but the President, after a pause of more than 
 usual length, declared the amendment carried. Portalis and 
 Martignac hurried off to the Tuileries with the news. Charles, 
 with difficulty concealing his satisfaction, shook them by the 
 hand and bade them observe that " there was no contenting such 
 people ; the time had come to call a halt.*' After an absence of 
 little more than a quarter of an hour Ministers were back in the 
 Chamber, where Martignac announced the withdrawal of both 
 bills by Royal command. ^ 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 162-163, 186. 
 
 E. Daudet, Minister e Martigjiac, pp. 219, 254-255. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVIII. pp. 441 ; XIX. pp. 39, 43-46. 
 a Pasquier, VI. pp. 163-170. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deua; Restaurations, VIII. pp. 23-36. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIX. pp. 1-144. 
 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac^ pp. 256-276. 
 
1829] AN INTERLUDE 419 
 
 The Liberals made the decision not to proceed with these 
 measures the pretext for withdrawing all support from the Govern- 
 ment which, during the remainder of the Session, dragged out its 
 existence powerless to contend against the systematic opposition 
 of the whole of the Left and of the extreme Right. Bills to reform 
 the military code, to modify the law of arrest for debt, and other 
 minor measures had either to be adjourned or altogether with- 
 drawn. In the debates upon the Budget the Liberals and the 
 followers of La Bourdonnaye, reviewing from their respective 
 standpoints the past policy of the Government, subjected it to 
 severe criticisms. Events had developed in accordance with 
 Charles' wishes. He had allowed his Ministers to introduce laws 
 of which he disapproved personally. But they were now without 
 a majority in the Chamber, and were reduced to impotence. In 
 deciding to dismiss them he would be following a strictly con- 
 stitutional course. He was fully resolved to part with them, but, 
 before carrying out his intention, he deemed it advisable that 
 supply for the next twelve months should be voted. ^ 
 
 Ministers appear to have been serenely unconscious of the fate 
 which was in store for them. Never had their relations with the 
 King been upon a more pleasant footing. Charles, now that he 
 saw his way to ridding himself of them, treated them with a 
 charming affability. In the case of Martignac the Royalist al- 
 ways far outweighed the Constitutional Minister. His eyes were 
 more intently fixed upon the Tuileries than upon the Chamber. 
 In these last weeks of his administration, Charles' evident con- 
 tentment consoled him for his Parliamentary disappointments. 
 Yet in addition to the warnings which reached him from several 
 quarters, the King's attitude was suspicious when the question 
 arose of permanently replacing La Ferronays. At the expiration 
 of the three months' leave accorded him in the winter, he was 
 still pronounced unfit for work, and Portalis insisted upon being 
 relieved of his twofold responsibiHty. Hyde de Neuville and 
 the friends of Chateaubriand again bestirred themselves actively 
 upon his behalf. His name, along with those of Pasquier and 
 Rayneval, was submitted to the King. But Charles had no inten- 
 tion of allowing a new element to infuse fresh life into the mori- 
 bxmd Cabinet. After considerable delay he decided that Portalis 
 should be appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, and be suc- 
 ceeded as Keeper of the Seals by Bourdeau, a painstaking but 
 comparatively obscure official. Portalis would appear to have 
 had a shrewder appreciation of the situation than his colleagues. 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 175, 178. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIX. pp. 660-562. 
 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac^ pp. 282-298. 
 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal^ pp. 446-542. 
 
420 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1829 
 
 Before accepting the portfolio of Foreign Affairs, he stijjulated 
 that the comfortable post of President of the Cour de Cassation 
 should be kept open for him.^ 
 
 On July 27th, three days before the prorogation of the Cham- 
 bers, Polignac was back in Paris and hard at work constructing a 
 Cabinet. He is said to have been disagreeably surprised at the 
 influence which, during his absence, La Bourdonnaye had suc- 
 ceeded in establishing over the King. In any Ministerial com- 
 bination which might be arranged, Charles was determined to 
 confide the Home Department to the leader of the extreme Right. 
 K Polignac had ever entertained the idea of introducing into his 
 Cabinet a moderate or Liberal element, the necessity, under which 
 he found himself, of accepting La Bourdonnaye as a colleague, 
 must have compelled him to forego it. All his negotiations, how- 
 ever, were enveloped in great secrecy, and the accounts of them 
 which exist are very conflicting. It would appear to have been 
 only on August 5th that he was able to present a list of names 
 which met with Charles' approval. That same day Martignac 
 and his colleagues seem to have realized their position at last. 
 After a consultation at the house of Portalis they decided to go to 
 Saint-Cloud to ascertain the true state of affairs. Charles no 
 longer made any concealment of his determination to dismiss 
 them. " Their intentions," he told them, the next day, when thei 
 formally handed in their portfolios, " had been excellent, but the] 
 had lost all influence in the Chamber." He listened patiently to| 
 their protestations that a government of a pronounced Royalis 
 type could never command a Parliamentary majority. But he 
 remained unconvinced, and assured them that they were mia^ 
 taken. 2 
 
 On August 9th a Royal ordinance, dated the previous dayj 
 appeared in the Moniteur, containing the names of the membei 
 of the new Government. The Prince Jules de Polignac wf 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Comte de Ba Bourdonnaye 
 Minister of the Interior, the Comte de Bourmont, Minister of WarJ 
 the Comte de Chabrol, Minister of Finance, M. Courvoisiei 
 Keeper of the Seals, Admiral de Rigny, Minister of Marine, an< 
 M. de Montbel, Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs. " Decidedly,'] 
 said M. Royer-Collard, when he read the news, " Charles X 
 still the Comte d'Artois." ^ Young M. Thiers was about to st£ 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 171-175. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VIH. pp. 37-41. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 179-183. 
 E. Daudet, Ministere Martignac, pp. 299-306. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIX. pp. 577-590. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , VIII. pp. 46-47- 
 
 ^ E. Daudetj Ministere Martignac^ p. 307. 
 
1829] AN INTEELUDE 421 
 
 upon a voyage round the world. But he at once abandoned his 
 intention upon seeing the Gazette. In that list of Ministers he 
 perceived the germs of great political events at home.^ 
 
 The Liberals have been held responsible by certain writers for 
 the catastrophe resulting from the fall of the Martignac govern- 
 ment. It has been adduced as a proof of their bad faith that they 
 themselves, under another regime, introduced a bill to establish 
 those very conseils d'arrondissement for the suppression of which 
 they voted in 1829.^ But inconsistencies of this kind are in- 
 separable from party government. In systematically opposing 
 M. de Martignac, the Liberals were simply adopting constitutional 
 methods for compelling the King, eventually, to select his Minis- 
 ters from their party. Infinitely more illogical and blameworthy 
 would appear to have been the conduct of those Royalists who,, 
 though they neither desired to see the extreme Right nor the 
 Liberals in power, nevertheless allied themselves with La Bour- 
 donnaye, in order to encompass the overthrow of the Govern- 
 ment. It may be true that even with their support Martignac 
 might have been unable to withstand a coalition of the extreme 
 Right and both sections of the Left. But under these conditions 
 his defeat might not have entailed the same disastrous conse- 
 quences. Had the moderate Royalists stood aloof from La Bour- 
 donnaye, even Charles might have hesitated to embark upon 
 that ghastly experiment — a Government of the extreme Right. 
 
 ^ Thureau Dangin^ Le parti liberal, p. 457. 
 2 Ibid,, pp. 441-447. 
 
 E. Daudetj Ministere Martignac, pp. 250-251. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VIII. p, 31. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 SOWING THE WIND 
 
 THE name of Polignac occurs at ominous periods in the 
 history of the later Bourbons. The Minister of Charles X 
 was forty-nine years of age, and " carried proudly the burden of 
 his family's immense unpopularity/'^ He was the second son of 
 the Duchess, the too notorious friend of Marie Antoinette. 
 After emigrating with his mother in the early days of the Revolu- 
 tion, he entered the Russian service and, towards the close of 
 1803, returned clandestinely to France to take part iu the great 
 plot against the First Consul. The arrest of the conspirators 
 was followed by a celebrated trial, at which were to be seen side 
 by side upon the bench of the accused such strange companions 
 as Moreau, the General of the Republic and the victor of Hohen- 
 linden, the heretofore nobles Riviere and the two Polignacs, 
 Georges Cadoudal and his cut-throat gang of Chouans, and Caron, 
 the Royalist hairdresser of the Rue du Four. The elder Polignac 
 was condemned to death, and Jules to two years' imprisonment. 
 More fortunate, however, than some of the less aristocratic 
 conspirators, Armand's sentence was commuted. But both 
 brothers were detained as prisoners of State until the fall of the 
 Empire. At the Restoration, Jules was taken into high favour 
 and appointed an aide-de-camp of Monsieur. From 1823, during 
 six by no means uneventful years, he performed creditably the 
 duties of Ambassador in London. The conspiracies in which he j 
 had been engaged, and a long imprisonment, had developed hiaj 
 powers of secretiveness to an unusual extent. He was a zealous] 
 member of the Congregation and an intensely devout man. 
 His religion, however, was strongly imbued with mysticism,' 
 and he was a firm believer in the direct intervention of Providence^ 
 in human affairs. In the fatalism engendered by a blind un- 
 questioning faith lies the only possible explanation of some of] 
 his actions. 
 
 General de Bourmont, the Minister of War, had been with Neyj 
 
 * E. Daudet^ Ministere Martignac, pp. 236-237. 
 422 
 
1829] SOWING THE WIND 423 
 
 at Lons-le-Saulnier in 1815. He had accepted the command of an 
 infantry division in the Imperial army, but had deserted to the 
 enemy on the opening day of the Waterloo campaign. La 
 Bourdonnaye, the Minister of the Interior, for party or personal 
 reasons, had sometimes espoused the popular cause in the 
 Chamber. His name, however, was indelibly associated with the 
 Bourbon terror and with bloodthirsty speeches in the Chambre 
 introuvahle. " Coblentz, Waterloo, 1815,'" wrote Saint-Marc- 
 Girardin in a famous article in the Journal des Debats, " squeeze, 
 press the Ministry as you like, you will wring from it nothing but 
 national dangers and humiliations.*'^ 
 
 Courvoisier, the Keeper of the Seals, was a former supporter 
 of the Due Decazes. Since those days, however, he had grown 
 very religious, and had considerably modified his Liberal views. 
 But he assured Pasquier, upon his arrival in Paris, that he should 
 resign sooner than be a party to any violation of the Charter. 
 Chabrol, the Minister of Finance, had sat in Villele's Cabinet. 
 Like Courvoisier, he was resolved never to give his sanction to 
 unconstitutional practices. ^ Admiral de Rigny, the Minister of 
 Marine, had commanded the French squadron at Navarino. 
 He was the one person in the list of Ministers who might have 
 introduced a certain element of popularity into the Cabinet. 
 But Polignac had not gone through the form of consulting him 
 before publishing his name in the Moniteur. Contrary to his 
 expectations, the Admiral firmly declined the honour it was 
 proposed to confer upon him.^ The King sent for him and did 
 his best to overcome his reluctance. Rigny confessed that he 
 felt an insurmountable repugnance to M. de Bourmont. " I 
 understand,'* said Charles as he dismissed him in great wrath ; 
 "it is a crime in your eyes that his arms should have dropped 
 from his hands, w^hen he found himself face to face with his King. 
 It is, however, a claim to my affection and my respect.'* The 
 Baron d'Haussez, Prefect of Bordeaux, was appointed Miuister 
 of Marine on August 23rd.* The remaining member of the 
 Cabinet, the Baron de Montbel, the Minister for Ecclesiastical 
 Affairs, was a friend and supporter of M. de Villele. 
 
 The newspapers opened the campaign with a violence which 
 had never been exceeded at any previous period. The Royalist 
 press exulted that the days of concessions were over, and hinted 
 at coups d'etat and modifications of the Charter. The Liberal 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. p. 187. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIX. pp. 603-604. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 189-192. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIX. pp. 612-613. 
 * Pasquier, VI. pp. 191-192. 
 
 E. Daudet, Mtnistere Martignac, pp. 316-318. 
 
424 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1829 
 
 organs, the Constitutionnel and the Gourrier, described the new 
 Government as a grotesque attempt to revive a dead system, 
 and as an outrage to every national sentiment. The Globe 
 declared that the idea, more foolish than wicked, of forming such 
 a Cabinet could have originated only at a Court dominated, now 
 as in times past, by caprice, prejudice, obstinacy, and inconse- 
 quence. The language of the Journal des Debats, of which the 
 article of Saint- Marc -Girar din is an example, was even more 
 bitter against Ministers, whom it accused of alienating the affec- 
 tions of the people from their King. Debelleyme, the prefect of 
 police, and other high officials and councillors of State sent in 
 their resignations.^ Many of the Bishops, on the other hand, 
 issued pastoral letters in which the advent to power of Polignac 
 and his colleagues was held up as a victory for religion and the 
 monarchy. 2 Chateaubriand was on leave from Rome taking the 
 waters at Cauterets, in the Pyrenees. Upon reading the names 
 of the members of the new Government, he returned at once to 
 Paris. In a letter announcing his intention of resigning his 
 Embassy, he asked Polignac to procure for him an audience with 
 the King, that he might explain to him his reasons for retiring. 
 The interview was not accorded him, but Polignac himself spent 
 an hour in vainly trying to flatter and cajole him into foregoing 
 his purpose. Chateaubriand was, as usual, in debt and in diffi- 
 culties. He realized that Charles would deeply resent his 
 conduct, and that never again could he expect employment of 
 any kind. Nevertheless, he adhered to his resolution. ^ 
 
 At the time of the advent to power of Polignac and his fellow- 
 Ministers, affairs in the East were approaching a crisis. An im- 
 portant step had been taken towards the recognition of Greek 
 independence when, on November 16th, 1828, the Plenipotenti- 
 aries in London signed a Protocol placing the Morea and the 
 islands of the Cyclades under the guarantee of the Powers. In 
 the meantime, the course of events in the Russo-Turkish war 
 gave rise to a very serious situation. The unexpected difficul- 
 ties of the campaign induced the Russians to proclaim a blockade 
 of the Dardanelles. This violation of the neutrality of the 
 Mediterranean, which they had undertaken to observe, evoked 
 an outburst of indignation in England. Canning's policy of 
 coercing the Turk had cooled the warmth of the relations existing 
 between the Cabinets of London and Vienna. But the accession 
 of the Duke of Wellington to the Premiership, in January, 1828, 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XIX. pp. 595-603. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 608-609. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 192-193. 
 
 3 Chateaubriand, Memoires, nouvelle edrtion, V, pp. 238-248. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 192-194. 
 
1828] SOWING THE WIND 425 
 
 and, in the following autumn, the dispute about the Dardanelles, 
 brought Metternich once more into the field. ^ France had now 
 to consider her plans in view of a possible Anglo- Austrian inter- 
 vention in favour of the Turks. Under these circumstances La 
 Ferronays invited Chateaubriand to transmit from Rome his 
 opinion upon the situation which might arise, when the Russians 
 should resume hostilities in the spring. 
 
 Chateaubriand set forth his views in a lengthy memorandum. 
 A hostile move by Great Britain and Austria against Russia 
 should be, he contended, France's opportunity for readjusting 
 the Treaties of 1815. Would the Cabinets of London and of 
 Vienna give her the left bank of the Rhine in return for her sup- 
 port ? He had no hesitation in saying that the idea would not be 
 entertained for a moment. But, whereas it was the avowed 
 policy of these two Governments to keep France weak, Russia 
 was interested in seeing her strong, in order that she should 
 counterbalance, effectually, the German Powers. The Tsarina 
 was the daughter of Frederick William III. In a great European 
 conflict Prussia would be found upon the side of Russia. Civiliza- 
 tion in general, and France in particular, had nothing to fear 
 from the substitution of the Cross for the Crescent at Constanti- 
 nople. Should such a consummation some day open the road for 
 a Russian advance against India, France might regard the event 
 with complacency. W^ere France, therefore, to draw the sword 
 in the threatened conflict she must do so as the ally of Russia.^ 
 
 But the intervention of the Western Powers in the Russo- 
 Turkish conflict was confined to diplomatic action. In the spring 
 of 1829 hostilities were begun afresh, and in this second cam- 
 paign the brilliant strategy of General Diebitsch achieved a series 
 of successes for the Russian arms. On August 19th, Adrianople 
 surrendered, and Constantinople itself lay at the mercy of the 
 invaders. Polignac, upon assuming the direction of French 
 diplomacy, had to consider the situation which would be created 
 by the expulsion of the Turk from Europe and the complete 
 break up of the Ottoman Empire. Some vague words of the 
 Tsar to the French Ambassador were taken to imply that the 
 territorial changes resulting from the overthrow of Turkey might 
 render possible certain modifications in the Treaties of 1815. 
 Upon this assumption Polignac caused a memorandum to be 
 drawn up which was discussed at a Cabinet Council in the pres- 
 ence of the King and the Dauphin. ^ 
 
 In this curious document, said to have been the work of M. de 
 
 1 Cambridge Modern History^ X. pp. 201-202. 
 
 2 Chateaubriand, Memoireg, nouvelle edition, V. pp. 68-99. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 2-10. 
 
426 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1829 
 
 Boislecomte, of the French Foreign Office, the views of Chateau- 
 briand were adopted, and an understanding wdth Russia was 
 advocated, as more calculated to advance French interests than 
 a general conference or an agreement with any other Power. 
 Once matters had been settled with Russia, Prussia and Bavaria 
 were to be drawn into the alliance by the favourable conditions 
 which would be held out to them. Austria must next be ap- 
 proached, and, isolated as she would then find herself upon the 
 Continent, would probably accept the settlement proposed to her. 
 Great Britain, under these circumstances, would be compelled to 
 bow to accomplished facts. Wallachia, Moldavia, Armenia, and 
 Trebizond were to be the spoils of Russia. But should she desire 
 further territory in Asia Minor, her wishes in that respect might 
 be complied with safely. Any expansion in those regions must 
 bring her sooner or later into collision with England. France was 
 to take Belgium, besides Sarrebriick, Sarrelouis, and Eandau, of 
 Avhich she had been deprived by the Treaties of 1815. Holland 
 and Saxony were to be transferred to Prussia, who, in exchange, 
 would be required to cede her provinces upon the left bank of the 
 Rhine to the King of Saxony, whom it was proposed to set up in 
 a new Kingdom with Aix-la-Chapelle for its capital. The re- 
 mainder of the Rhenish territory, relinquished by Prussia, was 
 to be given to Bavaria, and Salzburg might, in addition, be 
 handed over to her should Austrian resistance to these arrange- 
 ments have entailed a war. The King of Holland was to be 
 moved to Constantinople to rule over a Christian Kingdom con- 
 sisting of Greece, Crete, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Albania. The 
 Dutch colonies were to be the share of Great Britain, and Austria 
 might be allowed to acquire Bosnia, Herzgovina, Servia, Turkish 
 Dalmatia, and Croatia. In this direction she could act as a use- 
 ful check upon Russia, whilst an extension of her Mediterranean 
 seaboard would bring her into rivalry with England.^ 
 
 The points to which Polignac attached the highest importance 
 were the maintenance of secondary German States, under French 
 influence, and the new direction it was proposed to impart to 
 Prussian activity. By giving her Holland she would be con- 
 verted into a maritime Power, and consequently into a potential 
 enemy of Great Britain. The creation of a weak State, under the 
 King of Saxony, out of the Prussian provinces upon the left bank 
 of the Rhine, was a solution of the question to be preferred to 
 their annexation by France. In her hands they would be re- 
 garded always as a standing menace to the German States, 
 whereas her occupation of Belgium would inspire no distrust 
 
 1 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 310-815. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 10-13. 
 
1829] SOWING THE WIND 427 
 
 among her neighbours. But she would gain thereby an outlet 
 upon the North Sea which might enable her, some day, to head a 
 European league for the overthrow of England's maritime 
 supremacy. Thus by turning her eyes resolutely to the north she 
 might rise again to the position of the predominant Power in 
 Europe. 1 
 
 It is not conceivable that, under any circumstances, Russia 
 w^ould have lent her support to a scheme so extravagant. But in 
 the meantime the strain of war had told upon her more than was 
 probably suspected, and, on September 15th, she had signed a 
 treaty of peace with the Turks at Adrianople. Polignac's 
 memorandum, which it was intended to send to St. Petersburg, 
 was relegated, in consequence, to the archives of the Foreign 
 Office. The hostility to Great Britain which it breathes at every 
 line proves how little justified was the belief, widely entertained 
 at this time both in England and in France, that a secret under- 
 standing existed between him and the Duke of Wellington. ^ The 
 transference of Holland to Prussia, and the other combinations 
 which he suggests, show as utter a disregard for the feelings and 
 predilections of the people concerned as was displayed at Vienna 
 in 1814.3 Yet Polignac himself was influenced unconsciously by 
 that sentiment of nationality which he was proposing to ignore in 
 others. When he talked of taking from Prussia the left bank of 
 the Rhine, or of wresting from England the dominion of the seas, 
 he spoke not as an emigre^ but as a French patriot. In their burn- 
 ing desire to see their country acquire her "natural frontiers,'** 
 Royalists, Liberals, and Bonapartists could meet upon common 
 ground. Lord Palmerston, during a visit to Paris about this time, 
 notes the recrudescence of a very warlike feeling. As a result of 
 his conversations with leading men of their party, he records his 
 conviction " that the Ultra -Liberals would support any Govern- 
 ment which would give them back the left bank of the Rhine." ^ 
 Without doubt, Charles and Polignac realized that they could 
 achieve popularity only by a great military or diplomatic success. 
 The memorandum shows that, had chance put the opportunity in 
 their way, they were prepared to embark upon a most adventur- 
 ous policy. But they were hardly the men to create for them- 
 selves the conditions under which so tremendous an undertaking 
 could be attempted. 
 
 ^ Nettement, Histoire, VII. (note), " a consulter sur la Belgique et les 
 provinces rhenanes " (appendix). 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 14-24. 
 
 2 Walpole, History of England, III. pp. 174-175. 
 
 8 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 21-40. 
 
 * The Pyrenees, the Alps, the Rhine, and the sea — the pre carri as it 
 was called. 
 
 ^ H. Bulwer, Life of Falmerston, I. pp. 316-316, 331. 
 
428 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1829 
 
 Charles had contemplated making a tour through Normandy 
 in the autumn. But the explosion of indignation with wliich the 
 formation of the new Government had been greeted, induced him 
 to abandon his intention. His decision was doubtless a wise one. 
 The Dauphin paid a visit to Cherbourg, but, outside official 
 circles, he was accorded the coolest of welcomes. La Fayette, on 
 the other hand, was at Puy when the news was received that 
 Polignac and his colleagues had been called to office. From this 
 moment his journey, which was connected solely with his private 
 affairs, assumed a political character. At Vizille and at Grenoble 
 he was acclaimed as the great citizen, and presented with a silver 
 crown of oak leaves. At Lyons the youth of the town rode out to 
 meet him, and a banquet was given in his honour. ^ More signifi- 
 cant still were the associations which sprang into existence for 
 the refusal to pay taxes, should it be attempted to levy them 
 illegally. The formation of the first of these, the Breton league, 
 was announced in the Journal de Commerce, on September 11th. 
 The example was quickly followed in other parts of the country. 
 The Ministerial press asserted, with truth probably, that the 
 vaunted number of members enrolled was greatly exaggerated. 
 Nevertheless, proceedings were instituted against those papers 
 which had announced the formation of these leagues, or which 
 had invited their readers to subscribe to them. But in the exist- 
 ing state of public opinion it was not easy to obtain convictions, 
 and the authorities soon decided that it would be wiser to leave 
 the matter alone. The Government was hardly more successful 
 in the other press prosecutions upon which it embarked. The 
 trial and acquittal of the elder Bertin, for publishing in the 
 Journal des Debats Saint- Marc -Girardin's article against Ministers, 
 was the great event of the Avinter. Enthusiastic Liberals com- 
 pared it to the case of the seven Bishops. ^ 
 
 The general distrust of Polignac 's intentions was not un- 
 founded. It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that he 
 was scheming to re-establish the old regime. But had he enter- 
 tained such an idea it would not have been more impracticable 
 than the one he is supposed to have been actually proposing to 
 carry out. Whilst he had been Ambassador in London he had 
 conceived a great admiration for English methods. He was 
 attracted by the liberty of action enjoyed by local authorities, 
 and by the decentralized system of government. Superficial as 
 
 1 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 340-343. 
 Viel Castel^ Histoire, XX. pp. 51-57. 
 Vaulabelle, Deuje Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 52-56. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 195-196. 
 
 Thureau Dangin_, Le parti liberal, pp. 456-457. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 463 (note). 
 
1829] SOWING THE WIND 429 
 
 was his knowledge of English institutions, his comprehension was 
 still more imperfect of the social conditions, laws, ideas, and habits 
 which the Revolution had created in his own country. He be- 
 lieved it possible to form in democratic France a governing class, 
 in imitation of the landed aristocracy which he had seen manag- 
 ing successfully local affau's in England. At the same time he 
 intended to encourage industry, open up new markets for trade 
 abroad, and create greater opportunities for the employment of 
 capital. By these means he hoped that the attention of the 
 educated classes would be diverted from politics, either to the 
 administration of local affairs or to the conduct of great business 
 undertakings. 1 Though such a system was unsuited, in most 
 particulars, to the traditional habits and educational training of 
 his countrymen, the mere attempt to introduce it constituted no 
 violation of the Charter. Moreover, the changes which it was to 
 effect could only be brought about gradually. But the principle 
 which was to be the crowning element of his scheme was of a 
 different and more dangerous character. He was in thorough 
 agreement wdth his Royal master that in the future the King 
 must be the real head of the State. Charles was content to admit 
 that he ought to consult the opinion of the Chambers, but, with 
 the understanding that when he differed from it, his will was to 
 prevail. The defence of the Royal Prerogative against the inso- 
 lent pretensions of the elective assembly was to be the watchword ^ 
 of M. de Polignac and his fellow- Ministers. 
 
 It has been contended sometimes that Polignac, when he 
 assumed office, harboured no unconstitutional designs. It has 
 been said that, misled by Ravez and Ea Bourdonnaye, he believed 
 that the Government would be able to command a majority in 
 the Chamber. Public expressions of his confidence upon this 
 point may be quoted.^ Nevertheless, the best evidence points to 
 his having from the first contemplated a recourse to extraordinary 
 measures. As early as September d'Haussez, the Minister of the 
 Marine, drew up a memorandum in which he advocated the dis- 
 solution of the Chamber, the suppression of the liberty of the 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 60-66. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. p. 330. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 7-8. 
 
 Letters of Polignac to Villele during the years 1823, 1824, 1825, 
 1826, contained in Vols. IV. and V. of Villele's Memoires. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 349. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XVIII. p. 455. 
 Villele, Memoires, V. p. 385. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires^ III. p. 337- 
 Vaulabelle, Deuoe Restaurations, VII. pp. 72-73. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 338. 
 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 72-73. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 338. 
 
430 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1829 
 
 press, and the levying of taxes by Royal ordinance.^ Even before 
 this Montbel, the Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs, in a confi- 
 dential letter to Villele foreshadowed the possibility of " a re- 
 sort to such means as the King might see fit to employ for the 
 safety of the State." ^ Polignac himself is reported to have said 
 in the secrecy of the Council Chamber that " he cared nothing 
 for a majority, that he should not know what to do with it if he 
 had it/' 3 According to some authorities he and La Bourdonnaye 
 were fully agreed as to the necessity for a cowp d'etat, but differed 
 as to the means to be employed and the time when it should take 
 place. Polignac was for delay and for trusting to the influence of 
 the clergy. La Bourdonnaye, on the other hand, advocated 
 prompt action, and placed his faith in bayonets, or, as Lord 
 Palmerston says, " held that three gendarrnes were worth a dozen 
 Jesuits." * 
 
 Besides these differences of opinion, which are imputed to them, 
 they had other subjects of disagreement. Polignac was a notori- 
 ous supporter of the Congregation, La Bourdonnaye was as anti- 
 clerical as an extreme Royalist could venture to be. Moreover, 
 La Bourdonnaye was an overbearing, quarrelsome person, who 
 was soon upon bad terms with Courvoisier and other of his col- 
 leagues. " Mauvais coucheur, if ever a man w^as so," is Chateau- 
 briand's description of him.^ This lack of harmony among the 
 members of the Cabinet induced Charles to appoint a President 
 of the Council. After some hesitation, he decided to prefer 
 Polignac to La Bourdonnaye who, thereupon, tendered his 
 resignation. Charles is said to have tried to dissuade him from 
 retiring, and to have offered to place either Talaru or the Due de 
 Bellune at the head of the Council.^ But it is very possible that 
 the King may have begun to suspect that he had overestimated 
 the courage and determination of this man from whom he had 
 expected so much. For fourteen years La Bourdonnaye had 
 denounced with merciless severity the insufficiency of the meas- 
 ures, which successive Governments had adopted, for the defence 
 of the Monarchy. But as Minister of the Interior he appears to 
 have had no policy to propose. The only trace of his three months' 
 direction of the Home Department is alleged to have consisted in 
 a regulation affecting the butchery trade in Paris, and in a circu- 
 
 1 Nettement, Histmre, VIII. pp. 347-348. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, V. p. 379. 
 
 3 E. Daudet, Revolution de 1830, p. 11. 
 
 * H. Bulwer, Life of Lord Palmerston^ I. p. 348. 
 
 E. Daudet, Revolution de 1830, p. 15. 
 ^ Chateaubriand, Memoires, V. p. 265 (nouvelle edition). 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 202-203. 
 « Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 388-889. 
 
1829] SOWING THE WIND 431 
 
 lar to the police authorities prescribing the repression of a grow- 
 ing tendency on the part of exhibitors of marionettes to intro- 
 duce into their shows the jBgure of Bonaparte or of other objec- 
 tionable political characters.^ A Roj^^al ordinance, dated Novem- 
 ber 17th, announced his resignation and the appointment of M. 
 de Montbel to succeed him. In the same gazette appeared the 
 nomination of M. de Guernon-Ranville, Procurator- General at 
 Lyons, but a member of neither Chamber, ^ to the post of Minister 
 of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs which Montbel had 
 vacated. There can be little doubt that La Bourdonnaye availed 
 himself with alacrity of the first opportunity of escaping from 
 office. He seems to have been a man of words rather than 
 of action. But it is possible, also, that he may have seen the 
 futility of embarking upon anything in the nature of a coup d'etat 
 with a colleague such as Polignac. " When my head is at stake I 
 like to play the cards myself," were the words by which he ex- 
 plained his reasons for retiring to his friends. His saying was 
 widely repeated, and strengthened the general impression that 
 highly unconstitutional questions were the subject of Ministerial 
 deliberations. 3 
 
 The winter of 1829-30 was one of exceptional severity. In the 
 autumn the harvest had been spoilt by rain, and in the manu- 
 facturing districts the over-production of the past few years had 
 been followed by a period of stagnation. Distress and un- 
 employment were rife all over the country. But in Paris this last 
 winter of the Restoration was the gayest which had been experi- 
 enced. Balls, many of them in aid of charities, were particularly 
 numerous. The rival attractions of the romantic and the classical 
 schools drew enormous crowds to the theatres. The hotels were 
 full, the number of English visitors of good position being especi- 
 ally remarkable. 4 " The surface of society,'' says Guizot, " was 
 undisturbed by the political situation. Beneath this seeming 
 quietude, however, there was much anxiety. Nobody conspired, 
 but men waited and were prepared." ^ " Constitutional principles," 
 wrote Lord Palmerston from Paris, " are making progress." It 
 was clearly his opinion that any infraction of the Charter upon 
 the part of the Government would be fiercely resisted.® Charles 
 Greville's enquiries, three months later, pointed to the same con- 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 60-65. 
 
 2 This was unusual, but perfectly constitutional. 
 
 3 Viel Castel, Histmre, XX. pp. 77-81. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 351-354. 
 
 * Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 154-158. 
 
 H. Bulwer, Life of Palmerst(m, I. p. 352. 
 ^ Guizot, Memoiresj I. p. 348. 
 ® H. Bulwer, Life of Palmerston, I. p. 314. 
 
432 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1830 
 
 elusions.^ P^lmerston found the impression general that Charles 
 would give way and dismiss his Ministers. But, if he should not, 
 he foresaw that " the Due d' Orleans might be invited to step over 
 the way from the Palais -Royal. ... As to any other change, it 
 is out of the question.'" Again, after a dinner with Polignac on 
 December 9th, at which he thought his host " looking singularly 
 beaten and cast down,'* he appears to have been greatly im- 
 pressed with the probability that he would counsel a resort to 
 violence. " A man who has passed ten years in prison becomes 
 either broken or hardened ; he is the latter.'' ^ 
 
 An astute opponent of the Bourbons, who had been watching 
 keenly the development of events, had now matured his plans. ^ 
 The first number of the National appeared on January 1st, 1830. 
 It was the new paper which Thiers had started, in conjunction 
 with Mignet and Armand Carrel, with the pecuniary assistance of 
 some of his friends. He was also in close relations with Charles de 
 Remusat and Le Globe, which was to be converted into a political 
 organ, and was to enter upon the campaign as the ally of the 
 National. Thiers divined rightly that neither Charles nor Polig- 
 nac would give way, and that, were they to be faced by a refusal 
 of support from the Chambers, they would resort to unconstitu- 
 tional measures. It was certain that the middle classes would 
 resent deeply any violation of the Charter. It was possible, 
 however, that their fears of a revolution might prove stronger 
 than their affection for the Constitution. They must be con- 
 vinced, therefore, that not only were the Bourbons a menace to 
 the maintenance of existing institutions, but that their expulsion 
 and replacement need entail no social convulsions. Thiers held, 
 moreover, that the chief reason of the failure of the many attempts 
 which had been made since 1815 to upset the reigning dynasty, lay 
 in the fact that the conspirators had never clearly put before the 
 people a successor to the Bourbons. He had no intention of com- 
 promising himself in any plots. His plans were to be worked out 
 in the columns of a daily newspaper. But he was resolved not to 
 be guilty of this particular omission.* 
 
 Guizot and the Doctrinaires had set the fashion of comparing 
 the French with the English Revolution. Thiers perceived that 
 this was a theme which, properly handled in the National, might 
 be made to serve a great anti-dynastic purpose. It was easy to 
 
 1 C. Greville, Journals, Reigns of George IV and William IV, new 
 edition, 1888, 1. p. 290 (March 8th, 1830). 
 
 2 H. Bulwer, Life oj Palmerston, I. pp. 350-351, 356-357. 
 
 3 Chateaubriand, Memaires, nouvelle edition, V. p. 256. 
 * Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 465, 466. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 377-378. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire^ XX. pp. 166-169, 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 433 
 
 present to persons whose knowledge of history was only superficial 
 extraordinary points of resemblance between the two events. In 
 both countries the King had been beheaded and a Republic had 
 been proclaimed. Upon both sides of the Channel the Republic 
 had been converted into a military despotism by a successful 
 soldier. In England the Stuarts, in France the Bourbons had 
 been restored. Charles II had been succeeded by his brother 
 James II. Bonis XVIII by Charles X, also his brother. A 
 second revolution, the complement of the first, had driven James 
 from the throne. Thiers could not pursue his comparison of facts 
 any further, but he could insinuate that the Due d' Orleans was a 
 kinsman of the reigning Bourbons, more closely related to them 
 than William of Orange to the Stuarts. The Revolution of 1688, 
 he constantly reminded his readers, had entailed no bloodshed, 
 nor had it involved a social upheaval. Institutions had subsisted, 
 the change had been one of rulers only. Thus the policy of the 
 National was anti-dynastic, but strictly monarchical at the same 
 time.^ 
 
 By calling history to his aid in this fashion, Thiers could carry 
 on a revolutionary propagandism without seriously infringing 
 the letter of the law. As in the days w^hen he had shaped afresh 
 the tactics of the Constitutionnel in its campaign against M. de 
 Villele, so he now impressed upon his followers that the defence 
 of the Constitution must be their war cry always. " We must 
 confine the Bourbons strictly to the Charter,** he would tell them. 
 " Lock all the doors, and they will jump out of the windows." The 
 name of Thiers and Mignet assured to the National a wide popu- 
 larity. Before long its large circle of readers came to regard a 
 change of dynasty, by a peaceful revolution, as almost a logical 
 consequence of 1789.2 
 
 A Royal ordinance, on January 6th, fixed the opening of 
 Parliament for March 2nd. This announcement, which dispelled 
 the vague fears existing as to the intention of the Government 
 not to convene the Chambers, was received with a general feeling 
 of relief. 3 All the members of the Cabinet, wrote Montbel to 
 Villele, in the first fortnight of January, were agreed that in the 
 event of a hostile address in reply to the King's Speech, the 
 Chamber should be dissolved.* In the meantime. Ministers had 
 decided that they must rest content during the coming Session 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 170-171. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 378-379. 
 Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, pp. 470-472. 
 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 353. 
 
 Thureau Dang-in, Le parti liberal^ pp. 473-476, 
 
 3 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. p. 370, 
 * Villele, Memoires, V. p. 409. 
 
 2 f 
 
434 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1830 
 
 with bringing forward the Budget. For the present more ambiti- 
 ous proposals would have to be postponed, and only measures of 
 secondary importance, or of a non-contentious character could be 
 introduced.^ During the month of February, however, a resolu- 
 tion was arrived at by the Cabinet which was destined to have 
 lasting consequences. The blockade of Algiers, which had sub- 
 sisted for the past two years, had proved ineffectual to bring the 
 Dey to submission. The terms of settlement, which M. de la 
 Bretonniere had been empowered to offer in the previous August, 
 had been decHned, and his ship had been fired upon before she 
 could leave the harbour. The French naval officers were unani- 
 mous in describing the disembarkation of a large force upon the 
 coast as a most dangerous undertaking. Polignac, under these 
 circumstances, conceived the idea of subsidizing Mehemet Ali and 
 of thus obtaining the assistance of his troops. But the successful 
 conclusion of this arrangement was prevented by the remon- 
 strances of Great Britain to the Porte, and by the pressure which 
 this Power brought to bear upon the Pasha. At this juncture, 
 Marmont, who had been studying the question for some time past, 
 came forward with a memorandum, in which he proved that the 
 obstacles in the way of an expedition were not so great as had 
 been pretended. The Marshal had been associated in drawdng up 
 his plans with Admiral Mackau, who was one of the few naval 
 men who regarded a landing upon the coast of Algeria as a prac- 
 ticable undertaking. Polignac had always wished to see France 
 gain a footing in Northern Africa. Doubtless also, he hoped that 
 a successful war might react favourably upon the situation at 
 home. He was, therefore, easily won over to Marmont's views. 
 At a Cabinet Council early in February the despatch of an ex- 
 pedition against Algiers was resolved upon.^ 
 
 On March 2nd the ceremony of the opening of Parliament took 
 place as usual in the Salle des Gardes at the Eouvre. From an 
 early hour all the places reserved for the public were occupied, 
 and eager crowds filled the approaches to the palace. At one 
 o'clock Charles, in the dress of a general officer, took his seat upon 
 his throne and began to read his speech. Believers in omens 
 noted that, as he had ascended the steps, his hat had fallen from 
 his head, and had been picked up and returned to him by the 
 
 1 Villfele, Memoires, V. pp. 386-387. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 224-227. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations^ VII. p. 73. 
 
 2 Polignac, J&tudes historiques, pp. 227-230. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 213-225. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 189-194. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 383-386. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VII. pp. 110-117. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 208-215. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 435 
 
 Due d' Orleans. The news that a miHtary expedition would be 
 sent to chastise the insolence of the Dey provoked little response, 
 so keen was the anxiety to hear the Royal pronouncement upon 
 internal affairs. At last Charles reached that part of his speech 
 for w^hich all present had been waiting eagerly. After expressing 
 his desire to see France happy, and in a position to enjoy in peace 
 those institutions which he was determined to preserve, he 
 uttered these stern words of warning : " Peers and Deputies, I 
 do not doubt that you will support my endeavours to carry out 
 this good work. But should wicked intrigues place obstacles 
 across the path of my Government which I cannot, which I will 
 not contemplate, I shall find the strength to surmount them in 
 my firm resolution to maintain the public peace, and in my just 
 confidence in Frenchmen, and in the love which they have always 
 shown for their King.'" ^ 
 
 These words were greeted with loud cheers by the Right, but 
 by the remainder of the House they were listened to in silent 
 consternation. By both parties they were regarded as a declara- 
 tion of war, and each side prepared for the coming struggle. The 
 Royalist papers exultingly applauded the King's determined 
 attitude, the Journal des Debats raised a cry of sorrow and alarm, 
 the Constitutionnel, the Courrier, the Globe, and the National took 
 up the Royal challenge defiantly. ^ The preHminary formalities 
 of the Session, the choice of the President, the Vice-President, 
 and the composition of the bureaux, which as usual were treated 
 as party questions, showed that the Government w^as in a hopeless 
 minority. No MinisteriaHst figured among the five candidates 
 for the Presidency whose names were submitted to the King. 
 Charles, as in the two previous years, appointed M. Royer- 
 Collard, who had obtained the largest number of votes. Even 
 more ominous proved to be the constitution of the committee to 
 consider the address in reply to the King's speech. The nine 
 members who composed it were either Liberals or dissident 
 Royalists. No candidate of the Right was elected to serve upon 
 it.3 
 
 The Peers were content with merely paraphrasing the different 
 paragraphs of the King's speech. Their rather colourless address 
 
 1 Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 354-355. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 216-217. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 74-76. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 229-233. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 232-233. 
 Guizot, Memoires, I. p. 355. 
 
 ^ Pasquier, VI. p. 217. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 77-79. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 234-236. 
 
436 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 concluded, nevertheless, ^^dth a significant reminder that " the 
 sacred rights of the Cro\vn were inseparable from the national 
 liberties/* Ministers were only too glad to escape without direct 
 censure, and were careful not to intervene in the discussion. 
 Alone, Chateaubriand opposed the adoption of the committee's 
 report, and demanded that the addi'ess should be drawn up in 
 more vigorous language.^ In the Lower Chamber the general 
 discussion of the reply, proposed by the committee, was opened 
 on March 15th. The night before one of those receptions, known 
 as jeu du roi, had taken place at the Tuileries. Charles had made 
 a point of speaking to the Liberal Deputies present, and had paid 
 especial attention to MM. Etienne, Gauthier, and Dupin, who 
 were all three members of the committee. It was rumoured that 
 the address might prove less hostile to the Government than had 
 been expected. ^ This idea was quickly dispelled. When Royer- 
 Collard, the President of the Chamber, began to read the form of 
 address proposed by the committee, over four hundred Deputies 
 listened anxiously to his words, and every Minister was present 
 in his place, except M. de Courvoisier, who was ill. All interest 
 was centred upon the paragraph, which was to constitute the 
 reply to the King's warning, as to the support which he counted 
 upon from the Chamber. It rans as follows : 
 
 " Sir, the Charter has consecrated the people's right to inter- 
 vene in the deliberations of matters of public interest. That 
 intervention must be, and is, in point of fact, indirect, carefully 
 considered, and circumscribed within certain Umits, which must 
 never be outstepped. But it is positive in its results. It requires 
 as an indispensable condition to the proper conduct of public 
 affairs that the policy of your Government should be in harmony 
 with the wishes of your people. Sir, our loyalty and our devotion 
 compel us to declare to you that that harmony does not exist." 
 
 The debate began at once. Polignac was wholly without 
 practice in public speaking, and already, in attempting to ex- 
 plain a question which had arisen in connection with an election 
 petition, had shown an almost laughable inexperience. Guizot, 
 who in the previous January had been returned by the electors at 
 Bayeux, and who upon this occasion delivered his maiden speech 
 as a Deputy, caught the eye of the President of the Council when 
 the discussion was at its height, and was struck by his strange, 
 puzzled expression. The position of the Government was 
 defended to the best of their ability by Montbel, Guernon- 
 Ranville, and d'Haussez. But the opposition speakers carried 
 everything before them. 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VII. pp. 79-81. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 242-251. 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 82-83. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 437 
 
 On the second day M. de Borgeril, a member of the Right 
 Centre, moved an amendment to the paragraph which constituted 
 the Chamber's refusal of support. This new proposal had been 
 dravTi up by M. de Martignac. It tended to the same result as 
 the original paragraph, but it was couched in language which, he 
 hoped, the King would consider less o£Fensive. The Liberals and 
 constitutional Royalists, however, inspired by M. Royer-CoUard, 
 believed that only by a respectful but strongly worded message 
 could Charles be brought to realize the gravity of the situation. 
 It was impossible, on the other hand, for Ministers and their 
 adherents to adopt an amendment hostile to the Government. 
 Lorgeril's proposal, in consequence, enlisted the support of no 
 more than thirty Deputies. That same night the address, in its 
 original form, was adopted by a majority of forty. Two hundred 
 and twenty-one votes had been recorded in its favour and one 
 hundred and eighty-one against it.^ 
 
 The defeat of the Government was in reality more complete 
 than these figures would make it appear. The thirty members 
 who had supported the Lorgeril amendment were not Ministerial- 
 ists, but, upon this occasion, they had voted with the Govern- 
 ment. ^ At a Cabinet Council the next day Polignac tendered his 
 resignation and that of his colleagues to the King. It was a 
 solution of the difficulty put forward as a mere matter of form. 
 Charles declared, at once, his unalterable resolution never to sub- 
 mit to the dictates of the Chamber in the question of his choice of 
 Ministers. Beyond accepting this principle as the basis of their 
 future policy the members of the Cabinet, at this sitting, appear 
 to have settled upon no definite plan of campaign. But M. 
 d'Haussez, who seems to have been anxious to emulate certain 
 achievements of Sir Robert Walpole, propounded an ingenious 
 scheme. He assured the Bang that he could estimate very cor- 
 rectly " the price of consciences,"" and that he was convinced that 
 the votes of forty Liberal Deputies could be bought for three 
 million francs. This additional support would give the Govern- 
 ment an assured majority, and would avert the necessity of a 
 resort to extraordinary measures. Both Charles and the Dauphin 
 however, rejected this proposal, and d'Haussez's plan was not 
 discussed at the Council table. ^ 
 
 On the following day the members of the deputation of the 
 
 * Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 354-364. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 217-220. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 253-303. 
 ^ Vaulabelle, DeUoC Restaurations, VII. p. 92. 
 3 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 430-434. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 304-312. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 220-221. 
 
438 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 Lower Chamber went to the Tuileries to present the address to 
 the King. On ordinary occasions many of the Deputies who had 
 voted the address would take part in the ceremony. But in this 
 instance only twenty-one members, in addition to those who were 
 obliged to be present, visited the palace. Charles was personally 
 popular, and most of the Deputies had pleasing recollections of 
 some little attentions he had paid them. The forty-six repre- 
 sentatives of the Eower Chamber, waiting in the salon de la Paix 
 whilst the King was at Mass, formed a solemn and almost mourn- 
 ful group amidst the pages and courtiers who stared at them with 
 a scarcely concealed dislike. Presently the Dauphine, with 
 averted gaze, passed through the room on her way to the chapel. 
 When they were ushered into the Royal presence, Royer-Collard 
 read the address with great dignity. Charles* reply was firm and 
 impressive. " Gentlemen, I expressed to you my intentions in 
 my speech at the opening of Parliament. Those resolutions are 
 unalterable, the welfare of my people makes it impossible for me 
 to depart from them. My Ministers shall inform you of my 
 decision." The next day, March 19th, the Chambers were 
 prorogued till September Ist.^ 
 
 This announcement, which was proclaimed as a triumph for 
 Royalty by the Ministerial press, was denounced with the utmost 
 violence by the opposition papers. The society Aide-toi le del 
 faidera, which had played so important a part in the elections of 
 1827, still subsisted, and its members prepared at once for the 
 dissolution which the prorogation appeared to foreshadow. In 
 Paris, on April 1st, at the restaurant Les vendanges de Bourgogne, 
 a great banquet was given to the two hundred and twenty-one 
 Deputies who had voted the address. Medals were struck to 
 commemorate the event, and in many country towns the electors 
 subscribed for entertainments in honour of their members. ^ In 
 the northern departments, at this time, iucendiary fires were 
 creating widespread alarm. Normandy, especially, was the 
 scene of these outrages, which were said to have been perpetrated 
 by agents of the Government, in order that Ministers should have 
 an excuse for resorting to arbitrary measures. ^ The misdeeds of 
 these still unknown miscreants were put a stop to only by the 
 despatch of two battalions and two squadrons of cavalry to Caen. 
 
 Without doubt Charles and Polignac had already decided to 
 dissolve the Chamber. It was advisable, however, to give the 
 
 ^ Guizot, Memoires, I. pp. 364-3'65. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 95-96. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 314-320. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 96-102. 
 
 3 Polignac^ Etudes historiques, p. 274. 
 Guernon-Ranville^ Journal d'un Ministre^ Mai 2, 5, 9. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 439 
 
 prefects time in which to prepare for the elections, and it was 
 hoped that news might be received before long of the fall of 
 Algiers. The mobilization of an expeditionary force of 35,000 
 men had been proceeding actively. These preparations were 
 viewed with great suspicion by the British Government. The 
 refusal of the Cabinet of the Tuileries to state definitely its ulti- 
 mate intentions with regard to Algeria was deeply resented. But 
 neither Charles nor Polignac were to be deterred from carrying 
 out their undertaking by the fear of a conflict with England. 
 General de Bourmont, the Minister of War, was given the com- 
 mand of the expedition. The appointment of this officer was 
 extremely galling to Marmont, whose plan the Government had 
 adopted, and who, though he had received no definite promise, 
 understood that he was to be entrusted with the supreme direc- 
 tion of the campaign. Bourmont, besides, whilst he had|.been 
 intriguing to obtain it, had constantly assured the Marshal that 
 he had no idea of putting himself forward for the command.^ If 
 Marmont 's conduct at Essonnes in 1814 be borne in mind, it may 
 be suggested, without injustice, that the sense of injury under 
 which he laboured, from this time forward, may have sensibly 
 influenced his conduct during the days of July. At this juncture, 
 when he was contemplating a cowp d'etat, Charles* decision to 
 send Bourmont abroad instead of Marmont appears to have been 
 ill-judged. Bourmont had been especially recommended to him 
 as a man who could be trusted to deal ruthlessly with a popular 
 rising. 2 
 
 As the time drew near for the decisive conflict with the Cham- 
 ber, the necessity of strengthening the Cabinet became more 
 apparent. Montbel had never ceased to urge the wisdom of 
 bringing M. de Villele into the Government. For the past year 
 Villele had remained in the country, though in the early part 
 of the Session of 1829 the charges, brought against him by M. 
 Eabbey de Pompieres, had been withdrawn. This year, however, 
 he had arrived in Paris a few days after the prorogation of the 
 Chambers. Many Royalists were now convinced that he was the 
 only man who, at this crisis, should be entrusted with the conduct 
 of affairs. The soundness of his previsions with regard to the con- 
 version of the rente had helped to rehabilitate him in the public 
 estimation. The smoothness with which the indemnity to the 
 emigres had been paid off had, at last, earned for him the gratitude 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 208-216, 222. 
 
 Despatches and Correspondence of Duke of Wellington, VII. pp. 20-26. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 212-230. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 277-283. 
 
 Guernon-Ranville, Journal d'un Mmistre, Avril 10, 17, 20, 1830. 
 ^ C. Rousset, Le Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, p. 376. 
 
440 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1830 
 
 of those who owed so much to him.^ He was himself, undoubt- 
 edly, anxious to re-enter public life provided he were accorded a 
 free hand. But neither Charles nor Polignac had any serious in- 
 tentions of invoking his assistance. The King, whenever the 
 question arose of sending for M. de Villele, would say either that 
 " it was not yet time,'* or that " he was too precious to risk at 
 such a moment." PoUgnac would appear to have entertained 
 substantially the same views. " M. de Villele must die in office,'* 
 he is reported to have said. " When I have extricated the Mon- 
 archy from the ruts into which Martignac has allowed it to sink, 
 I shall hand over gladly the Presidency of the Council to him." 
 Thus he believed himself to be the Minister whom Providence 
 had especially designed to replace the throne upon its true 
 foundations. 2 Charles had a more logical reason for not calHng 
 upon the services of M. de Villele. The unconstitutional meas- 
 ures to which he was proposing to resort would, he knew, never 
 have the approval of Villele. For his purpose he must find a 
 determined Minister who would be prepared to treat the Charter 
 with scant respect. He had hoped to find such a man in lia 
 Bourdonnaye. But his expectations had not been fulfilled, and 
 his thoughts now turned to Peyronnet, who appeared to possess 
 the qualities required of a Minister of the Interior at this particu- 
 lar juncture. 3 
 
 In the evening of March 31st, Villele, to his surprise, received a 
 visit from M. Humann, a Left Centre Liberal, and from M. du 
 Marhallac'h, a Right Centre Royalist. They came to assure him 
 that, were the King to commission him to form a new Cabinet, 
 all their colleagues would support him throughout his first Ses- 
 sion, in the course of which, however, only the Budget and in- 
 dispensable measures must be brought forward. Under these 
 conditions he would have a majority, and the time thus gained 
 would enable passions to cool down. They had lost their illusions, 
 they told him, that Parliamentary Government could be satis- 
 factorily established in France. They could see the personal rule 
 of the King restored without regret, and they felt sure that 
 Polignac was planning a coup d'etat with this end in view. But 
 they had no confidence in his capacity to bring it to a successful 
 issue. Their horror of a revolution, which must be the inevitable 
 consequence of the failure of his attempt, was the motive which 
 had induced them to lay this proposal before him. 
 
 Earlier in this same day Villele had had a long talk with the 
 
 ^ Correspondence of Montbel and Genoude with Villele^ contained in 
 Villfele's Memoires, V. pp. 377-409. 
 
 2 Villele, Memoires, V. pp. 389-390, 392-393, 397, 401, 413. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. 427-428, 429-430. 
 Pasquier, VI. p. 225. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 441 
 
 King. The interview had not been of his seeking, Charles had 
 suggested it himself. He had found the King as pleasant and as 
 gracious as formerly, but clearly determined not to take him into 
 his confidence. Nevertheless, had the visit of MM. Humann and 
 du Marhallac'h occurred at an earlier date, he should have 
 brought their suggestion to His Majesty's notice. Under the 
 circumstances, however, he conceived that no good pm-pose 
 could be served by asking for a second audience in order to dis- 
 cuss it. He could only promise, therefore, to keep the matter a 
 secret, and could hold out no hopes that their well-meant en- 
 deavours would lead to any practical results.^ A week later 
 Polignac himself suggested his entry into the Government. But 
 Villele had no confidence in the sincerity of his offer, and, in any 
 case, he could not accept a seat in a Cabinet with the policy of 
 which he was in complete disaccord. To put an end to the in- 
 trigues and rumours which his presence occasioned, he left Paris, 
 on April 12th, carrying away with him the sad conviction that a 
 badly conceived and ill -prepared coup d'etat was impending. With 
 him departed the last chance of a peaceful termination to the 
 crisis. 2 
 
 Early in May the Dauphin, by the King's desire, inspected the 
 army and the fleet at Toulon, before the expedition set sail for the 
 African coast. Immediately upon his return to Paris, on May 
 17th, the Royal ordinance dissolving the Chamber of Deputies 
 was promulgated. At the same time the electoral colleges were 
 convened for June 23rd and July 3rd, and the opening of Parlia- 
 ment was fixed for August 3rd. Two days later, on May 19th, a 
 reconstruction of the Cabinet was made public. Courvoisier, the 
 Keeper of the Seals, and Chabrol, the Minister of Finance, re- 
 tired, and were replaced in their respective posts by Chantelauze 
 and Montbel. The portfolio of the Interior, surrendered by 
 Montbel, passed to Peyronnet, and a new Ministry, to be known 
 as that of Public Works, was created for the Baron Capelle. The 
 decision to dissolve and to resort to extraordinary measures, 
 should the elections prove unfavourable, had been Courvoisier's 
 and Chabrol's reasons for retiring. Charles made no effort to 
 retain them, and parted from them in the most affectionate 
 manner. 3 
 
 By these changes Charles had created a more homogeneous 
 Cabinet. But neither he nor Polignac could impart to its mem- 
 bers their sublime confidence. Chantelauze was President of the 
 
 1 Villele, Metnaires, V. pp. 418-421. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 423-424, 462. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. pp. 224-227. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histmre, XX. pp. 368-366, 413-416. 
 
442 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 Royal Court at Grenoble and, during the Sessions of 1828 and 
 1829, had been closely associated with Ravez. The Dauphin had 
 a high opinion of him and, as he was passing through Grenoble, 
 had, after much difficulty, persuaded him to enter the Govern- 
 ment. " You will read of my appointment in the Moniteur," he 
 wrote to his brother on May 18th. " I look upon it as the most 
 disastrous thing which could have befallen me." The King had 
 ta entreat and almost to command Montbel to accept the port- 
 folio of Finance. D'Haussez, the Minister of Marine, consented 
 to remain at his post only because the Dauphin warned him that, 
 were he to retire, his successor would gain the whole credit for the 
 Algerian expedition. Guernon-Ranville in vain begged Polignac 
 to induce the King to replace him, and expressed the opinion that 
 the reconstituted Cabinet would not endure three months. In 
 Charles' words, " the name of Peyronnet was to be the flag which 
 he intended to plant upon the battlefield. His appointment was 
 to give the required fillip to public opinion." Yet Peyronnet him- 
 self would appear to have entered the Government with the idea 
 of abandoning Polignac, and of forming a Constitutional Cabinet, 
 which the King was to be compelled to accept after the elections. 
 Pasquier alleges that he tried to induce both Martignac and him- 
 self to join a combination of this kind. Neither of them, however, 
 had the faintest desire to be associated with him. Peyronnet was 
 probably the most unpopular man in France. His temper was 
 overbearing, and he was always remembered in connection with 
 the worst measures of the Villele administration. His appoint- 
 ment to the Home Department, at this time, was regarded as the 
 expression of a deliberate intention to flout public opinion. The 
 Baron Capelle was prefect of Versailles, and in former days had 
 done secret political work for the Pavilion de Marsan. His sup- 
 posed skill in electioneering matters was the reason of his inclu- 
 sion in the Cabinet. Bourmont was not to be replaced as Minister 
 of War. During his absence Polignac undertook to be respon- 
 sible for his portfoho, assisted by General de Champagny, Under- 
 Secretary of State for War.^ 
 
 The earlier reports of the prefects upon the prospects of the 
 elections had been encouraging. If their calculations could be 
 depended upon, the Government might expect a majority of 
 from thirty-five to forty. But as the time drew near for the 
 
 » Pasquier, VI. pp. 228-230. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 482-492. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 415-427. 
 Vaulabelle, Beua^ Restaurations , VIII. pp. 123-128. 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III- pp. 295-297. 
 E. Daudet, Revolution de 1830, pp. 29-35. 
 D'HausseZj Memoires, II. pp. 199-200. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 443 
 
 electoral colleges to assemble, they expressed less confident 
 opinions. Meanwhile, Peyronnet and Capelle directed that the 
 utmost pressure was to be brought to bear upon public officials. 
 Polignac, as Minister of War, enjoined generals of districts to 
 order their officers under pain of the severest penalties to vote for 
 the Government candidates. The Bishops and other high digni- 
 taries of the Church entered keenly into the struggle. In pastoral 
 letters several prelates violently denounced the conduct of the 
 opposition members of the late Chamber, and urged their clergy 
 *' to exercise all their influence to obtain good electoral results." 
 Lastly, Charles himself, on June 14th, issued an address in which 
 were to be found such sentences as these : 
 
 " Frenchmen, the late Chamber disregarded my wishes. It 
 refused to support the good work which I purposed to do. As the 
 father of my people my heart was troubled, as a King I was 
 offended. I pronounced the dissolution of the Chamber. . . . 
 The preservation of the Charter and of all the institutions 
 founded upon it shall always be the object of my endeavours. 
 But to attain this end I must exercise freely my sacred rights, 
 and they must be respected. . . . Electors, hasten to your col- 
 leges. Eet no reprehensible laziness detain you. It is a king who 
 asks you, it is a father who calls upon you. Do your duty — I 
 shall know how to do mine." 
 
 Mayors were ordered to read aloud this proclamation. Public 
 officials were directed to say everywhere that it was a question of 
 choosing between the King and a revolution. The clergy ad- 
 jured their parishioners from the pulpit to come forward for the 
 defence of their religion. Upon the other side the opposition 
 papers and the society Aide-toi, le del t'aidera were no less active. 
 The re-election of the two hundred and twenty-one Deputies who 
 had voted the address was their watchword.^ 
 
 Whilst the country was preparing feverishly for the elections, 
 the King and Queen of Naples arrived in France. They were re- 
 turning from Spain, which they had visited upon the occasion of 
 their daughter's marriage with Ferdinand VII. In Paris they 
 were installed at the Elysee, where they remained for several 
 weeks. Balls and festivities were given in their honour, and, on 
 May 31 st, they were entertained magnificently at the Palais 
 Royal. Charles, upon this occasion, consented to depart from his 
 usual rule and to be present in person. The Due d'Orleans, in his 
 anxiety to gain popularity, issued over 3000 invitations, of which 
 
 » Viel Castel, Histmre, XX. pp. 431-446. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 231-232. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSj VIII. pp. 128-132. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. p. 547-553. 
 
444 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1830 
 
 a goodly number were sent to members of the opposition. More- 
 over, to please the people, he caused the gates of the gardens to 
 be kept open during the whole duration of the ball. It was said 
 that he showed himself too frequently upon the balcony, and 
 displayed a too marked satisfaction at the acclamations with 
 which he was greeted by the crowd. As the evening wore on the 
 spirit of the mob in the gardens grew very turbulent. Amidst 
 savage shouts chairs were collected in a heap round the Statue of 
 Apollo and set on fire. Before order could be restored, the inter- 
 vention of the police and of the fire brigade had to be invoked. 
 " In truth," said Salvandy to the Due d'Orleans, *' it is a Neapoli- 
 tan feast ; we are dancing upon a volcano." 
 
 The presence in Paris of these members of a degenerate branch 
 of Bourbons was not calculated to increase the people's respect 
 for the family. The Royal couple presented a singularly grotesque 
 appearance. The King attired himself habitually so as to 
 resemble closely an old pensioner at the Invalides, whilst his 
 Queen was monstrously fat. Nevertheless, outside Court circles 
 their visit passed almost unnoticed. M. d'Haussez took upon 
 himself to point out to Charles this disquieting indifference of the 
 Parisians to their strange guests. " You are right," answered 
 the King ; " if they allow to pass so excellent an opportunity of 
 making fun, they must, indeed, have serious matters over which 
 to ponder." ^ 
 
 On June 19th it was known in Paris that the expedition had 
 disembarked safely upon the Algerian coast. This good news had 
 no favourable effect upon the elections. Four days later the 
 colleges d'arrondissement assembled, and before the end of the 
 month the Government knew the names of most of the successful 
 candidates. In the large majority of cases the opposition had 
 triumphed. With very few exceptions Deputies who had voted 
 the address had been returned a second time. Though the 
 departmental colleges might be expected to give better results, 
 it was possible no longer to hope for a government majority. On 
 June 29tli Charles bade his Ministers take counsel and advise him 
 of the measures which theii- \visdom might suggest for dealing 
 with the situation. 
 
 When at a later date Polignac, Peyronnet, Chantelauze, and 
 Guernon-Ranville were placed upon their trial, ^ they refused 
 persistently to disclose the secrets of the Council chamber. The 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 227-228. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 228-304. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 496-499. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 377-880. 
 D'HausseZj Memoires, II. pp. 225-226. 
 
 2 Montbel, Capelle, and d'Haussez succeeded in escaping abroad. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 445 
 
 proceedings, in consequence, shed little light upon the different 
 stages, by which the decision was arrived at to draw up the 
 famous ordinances. But Polignac, d'Haussez, and Guernon- 
 Ranville have written, more or less detailed, accounts of their 
 share in the events of July. Polignac is responsible for two con- 
 tributions, both of which are valuable as showing the point of 
 view from which he regarded the situation. The first of these 
 consists of a confidential memorandum, dated April 14th, 1830, 
 in which he sets forth for the King's information his ideas upon 
 the state of affairs. He admits that a certain degree of unrest 
 exists, but contends that it is confined to a small section of 
 society, and is kept alive by the newspapers which persist in 
 falsely ascribing to Ministers unconstitutional designs. The 
 general conditions of the country are prosperous and satis- 
 factory. The people are concerned entirely with their own 
 affairs, and ask only to be allowed to enjoy in peace the benefits 
 which they owe to the Charter. Frenchmen combine a veritable 
 thirst for distinctions with a passion for equality before the law. 
 This twofold sentiment finds a complete satisfaction in existing 
 laws and institutions. Outside the limited circle of a few agita- 
 tors, no one desires the overthrow of the order of things estab- 
 lished by the Restoration. From this devotion of the people to 
 the Charter and to the social conditions founded upon it, M. de 
 Polignac draws the following very dangerous conclusion. " Were 
 circumstances to render necessary a deviation from our institu- 
 tions it would be submitted to, provided that the public con- 
 science were satisfied that any such temporary infraction would . 
 establish the existing system of government upon a permanent 
 foundation in the future.'" ^ 
 
 Pohgnac's second compilation was published in 1845, nine 
 years after his release from prison. In this work, to which he 
 gives the name of etudes historiques, he seeks to justify his con- 
 duct in 1830. The only mistake which he is prepared to acknow- 
 ledge that he committed, lay in underrating the strength of the 
 revolutionary movement. ^ Ever since 1815 the struggle had been 
 going on continuously between the monarchical principle and 
 that of the sovereignty of the people. When in August, 1829, 
 the King called him to office, his crown was already in danger 
 owing to the policy of concessions to the advancing tide of 
 democracy pursued by previous governments. The Liberal party 
 was an enemy of the principle of legitimate sovereignty, and the 
 country was permeated with revolutionary societies. In 1830 the 
 action of the two hundred and twenty-one Deputies, who voted 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deua; Bestauratiom, VIII. pp. 102-106. 
 * Polignac, Etudes historiqtiesj p. 294. 
 
446 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 the address, was a violation of the Charter, inasmuch as it was an 
 attempt to deprive the King of his constitutional right to choose 
 his own Ministers. Under these conditions had the King sent for 
 Villele, Martignac, or Chateaubriand the situation would not have 
 been improved, seeing that not one of them would have been able 
 to form a Cabinet acceptable to a factious majority. " More- 
 over,'* he asks, " could the King have gone hat in hand soliciting 
 support to the Right and to the Left ? " Conduct so humiliating 
 would have been regarded merely as a sign of weakness and of 
 fear. At this crisis, Charles, he contends, rightly decided to make 
 use of the powers conferred upon him by Article 14 of the Charter, 
 which declared him to be " the supreme head of the State, and 
 competent to issue regulations and ordinances for the execution 
 of the laws and the safety of the State." 
 
 Polignac devotes considerable space to trying to prove that, 
 after the refusal of support and the re-election of a hostile Cham- 
 ber, a resort to Article 14 was perfectly constitutional. But he 
 weakens his case by citing as precedents for such action the 
 ordinances issued by Bonis XVIII against Bonaparte, in March, 
 1815, and those promulgated, in the following July, immediately 
 after the second Restoration. ^ It is hardly necessary to point 
 out that the conditions of war and of invasion, which caused these 
 edicts to be published, present no analogy to the situation in 
 1830. Nevertheless, though unprecedented, a recourse to extra- 
 ordinary measures might be sho\^Ti to have been justified, were 
 Polignac able to prove that the action of the Parliamentary 
 opposition or of revolutionary societies threatened danger to the 
 throne. It is clearly out of his power, however, to adduce any 
 real evidence in support of his statements. He can assert only 
 that, when the revolution broke out, there lay in his desk at the 
 Foreign Office a list of prominent persons affiliated to secret 
 societies, and refer to some story about the discovery of a large 
 number of daggers at the shop of an armourer, who could not 
 explain satisfactorily why they were there. ^ 
 
 In the etudes historiques occurs the following passage : "A 
 Parliamentary majority, unstable as the public opinion which 
 gave birth to it, is a perilous support for the Monarchy." ^ In 
 this sentence are contained, without doubt, the true reasons 
 which moved Charles and his President of the Council to embark 
 upon that " slight deviation from our Constitution," which had 
 been foreshadowed in the report of April 14th. It is clear that 
 Polignac was convinced that the middle classes only would resist 
 
 ^ Polignac, Etudes historiques, pp. 284-286. 
 
 2 Ibid., pp. 270-272, 282. 
 
 3 lUd.y p. 319. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 447 
 
 an infraction of the Charter. The majority of them, moreover, 
 would be deterred from overt acts of rebellion by the material 
 losses which a revolution would inflict upon them. Perhaps a 
 few hundred turbulent individuals might attempt to create dis- 
 order, but two or three volleys from the Guards would suffice to 
 disperse them. Writing fifteen years after the event, he is still at 
 a loss to understand why working men, who could not read the 
 newspapers, should have courted death on behalf of the liberty 
 of the press, or why youths of eighteen should have faced bullets 
 in defence of electoral laws which did not concern them.^ 
 
 Pasquier, who as President of the House of Peers under Louis 
 Philippe conducted the trial of the Ministers of Charles X, is of 
 opinion that, when the Government was reconstructed in May, the 
 three new members of it, Capelle, Peyronnet, and Chantelauze, 
 were required to give their assent to a coup d'etat before they 
 entered the Cabinet. ^ It is not disputed that at the first delibera- 
 tions of Ministers to consider the situation created by the whole- 
 sale defeat of Government candidates in the colleges d'arrondisse- 
 ment, a resort to Article 14 was declared constitutional by a 
 majority of the members of the Cabinet. The proposal to adopt 
 extraordinary measures Avould appear to have emanated from 
 Chantelauze. It is probable, however, that he had been prompted 
 to take this step by the President of the Council. Both Charles 
 and Polignac were instinctively conspirators, and it is practically 
 certain that before important measures were submitted to the 
 Cabinet they were in the habit of discussing them with their 
 secret advisers. According to d'Haussez, Polignac rarely pro- 
 posed anything of importance at the Council table, but he con- 
 trived always to enforce the King's wishes upon his colleagues. ^ 
 Guernon-Ranville, nevertheless, appears to have dissented from 
 his fellow-Ministers, and to have contended that, until the new 
 Chamber should have thrown out the Budget, or taken some 
 other step calculated to bring the machinery of government to a 
 standstill, the King could not legally avail himself of the dicta- 
 torial powers conferred upon him by Article 14. Unfortunately 
 for himself, and perhaps for his country, he did not carry his 
 opposition to the length of resigning. Peyronnet also deprecated 
 in a half-hearted manner a premature resort to extraordinary 
 measures, but he seems to have been quickly won over to the 
 views of the majority. In any case, very soon afterwards, he 
 proposed that the King should annul the elections and convene, 
 
 ^ Polignac, Atudes historiques, pp. 286^ 294. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 230-231. 
 
 Guernon-Ranville, Journal d'un Ministre, 29 Juin, 1830^ and 13 
 Septembre, 1831. 
 
 3 D'Haussez, Memoirts, II. pp. 240, 318-319. 
 
448 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 in the place of the elective assembly, a Grand Council, to consist 
 of selected Peers, Deputies, and Magistrates. But this plan was 
 abandoned in face of the opposition of Montbel, Capelle, and 
 Guernon-Ranville, who declared that such a body would carry no 
 weight in the country, and would be merely a feeble imitation of 
 the Assembly of Notables of 1788. The next day the same 
 Minister suggested another scheme. The King, acting under the 
 provisions of Article 14, was to abolish the liberty of the press and 
 the existing electoral law, dissolve the Chamber, and convene 
 afresh the electoral colleges, under conditions to be laid down by 
 Royal ordinance. To these proposed measures all the Ministers 
 gave their assent except M. de Guernon-Ranville.^ 
 
 On July 7th a council of Ministers, at which Charles and the 
 Dauphin were present, was held at Saint-Cloud. Polignac laid 
 before the King Peyronnet's last proposals, and declared that 
 they had the unanimous approval of his colleagues. Guernon- 
 Ranville demurred to this statement, and Charles listened 
 attentively whilst he enumerated his reasons for dissenting from 
 his fellow-Ministers. But he declared that both he and his son 
 concurred with the views of the majority, and finally summed up 
 the situation in these words : " Gentlemen, the men of the Beft 
 are imbued with the spirit of the Revolution. They pretend to 
 oppose my Ministers, but it is the Crown itself which is the real 
 object of their attacks. I am older than you. I can remember 
 the Revolution. My brother's first concessions cost him his life. 
 Then, as now, men protested their devotion to him, and asked him 
 only to send away his Ministers. He yielded, and, by so doing, 
 sealed his own fate. I shall not dismiss you. I like you, gentle- 
 men, and you have my full confidence. Were I to act otherwise, 
 sooner or later they would treat me as they treated Bonis XVI. 
 Never, however, shall they drag me to the scaffold. Gentlemen, 
 if we are to die we must die on horseback, fighting." It was 
 decided, forthwith, that Peyronnet should draw up the ordinance 
 to repeal the electoral law, whilst Chantelauze should frame the 
 edict abolishing the liberty of the press. ^ 
 
 Two days later, on July 9th, the news was received of the cap- 
 ture of Algiers after sharp fighting. The successful termination 
 of the expedition was little noticed by the public. Even upon the 
 Bourse the effect was slight and the rente remained stationary. 
 On the 14th the King went in state to Notre Dame to hear the 
 Te Deum chanted, in celebration of the victory. He was sur- 
 
 ^ Guernon-Ranville, Journal d'un Ministre, 6 Juillet, 1830. 
 2 Ibid., 7 Juillet, 1830. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 472-488. 
 
 D'Haussez, Memoires, II. pp. 239-240. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 449 
 
 prised and pained at the stony indifference with which the 
 people saw him pass through the streets. Af the door of the 
 Cathedral he was received by Quelen, Archbishop of Paris, whose 
 address was considered very ominous. " Your constant faith, sir, 
 in the protection of Mary, the Mother of God, shall not be reposed 
 in vain. May Your Majesty soon receive another reward, and be 
 enabled to thank our Lord for other victories, not less sweet, and 
 not less glorious.'' ^ In the meantime, the departmental colleges 
 had met, and the position, by the end of the second week in July, 
 was clearly defined. Though the returns from the superior col- 
 leges were less unfavourable, the Government was, nevertheless, 
 in a hopeless minority, and in a worse position than in the last 
 Parliament. Two hundred and two Deputies out of the two 
 hundred and twenty-one who had voted the address had been re- 
 turned, whilst out of the one hundred and eighty-one who had 
 supported the Ministry, only ninety-nine had been successful. ^ 
 D'Haussez, to whom as Minister of Marine some credit was due 
 for the naval preparations in connection with the Algerian 
 expedition, had been defeated in nine electoral colleges. ^ 
 
 During the next ten days the preparation of the ordinances 
 proceeded. The new electoral regulations were the subject of an 
 animated discussion at a meeting of the Cabinet on July 21st. 
 This ordinance, as drawn up by Peyronnet, was to consist of 
 twenty-two articles, which provided for the reduction of the 
 number of Deputies to two hundred and fifty-eight, the abolition 
 of Septennial Parliaments, and for the re- establishment of annual 
 partial elections, and of the system of indirect election. At the 
 same time all the reforms, introduced by Martignac's bill two 
 years before, were to be swept away. " You need have an- 
 nounced merely that in future Deputies will be appointed by the 
 prefects,'' said Guernon-Ranville bitterly to Peyronnet.* In all 
 these measures traces are discernible of a weak desire on the part 
 of Polignac and the King to give to their coup d'etat a kind of 
 constitutional appearance. Two hundred and fifty-eight was the 
 number of Deputies originally fixed by the Charter, which had 
 also laid down that the Chamber was to be renewed by annual 
 partial elections. Finally, it was prescribed that both the ordi- 
 nance repealing the electoral law and the one abolishing the 
 liberty of the press would require to be ratified by the Chambers. 
 D'Haussez approved of the ordinances in principle, but was afraid 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Hiatoire, XX. pp. 507-609. 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 309-310, 
 Pasquier, VI . pp. 238-239. 
 
 2 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 519-520, 
 ^ D'Haussez, MemoireSf II. p. 225, 
 
 < Pasquier, VI. pp. 240-241, 
 
 2 G 
 
450 THE BOUEBON EESTOEATION [1830 
 
 that the troops in the capital would prove insufficient to quell the 
 disorders which their publication would give rise to. Polignac, 
 in his capacity as Minister of War, assured him, without con- 
 vincing him, however, that all the necessary military precau- 
 tions had been taken. ^ 
 
 Charles had insisted that their plans must be wrapped in the 
 most absolute secrecy, that the ordinances might burst upon the 
 public like a bombshell. His instructions were scrupulously 
 carried out. Nevertheless, rumours that startling events were 
 impending in France reached foreign Courts. The Tsar Nicholas 
 bade Mortemart, who was returning home on leave, tell Charles 
 that " were the Coronation oath to be violated, he must expect 
 no assistance from Russia." Metternich had suspicions that an 
 infraction of the Charter was contemplated, and could realize 
 the folly of it, enemy as he was to Constitutionahsm. " I know 
 well," he said to Rayneval, the French Ambassador, " that the 
 freedom of the press and your electoral laws are abominations, 
 but any attempts to abolish them by a coup d'etat will be fatal to 
 the Bourbons." But Charles returned always the answer that he 
 was growing tired of mischievous insinuations, and that there 
 was no truth in any of these reports. Neither to the Due d'Or- 
 leans nor to Baron James de Rothschild, who ventured to ques- 
 tion him upon the subject, would he make the slightest admission. 
 He is even said to have assured the Dauphine, who was about to 
 start for Vichy, that he would sanction no important measures 
 during her absence. Meanwhile, Peyronnet was putting the final 
 touches to the electoral ordinance, and at the same time des- 
 patching to the Deputies official notification that the Chambers 
 would meet on August 3rd. Anxious visitors, who went to the 
 Home Office hoping to glean some news, saw the letters of con- 
 vocation, always sent to members on the eve of the opening of 
 Parliament, piled up upon the Minister's table, and departed 
 reassured. 2 
 
 The ordinances were to be signed at a Council to be held at 
 Saint-Cloud on Sunday, July 25th. The Baron de Vitrolles was 
 among the crowd of privileged individuals who visited the palace 
 to pay their respects to His Majesty upon his return from Mass. 
 His instinct, sharpened by years of intrigues and conspiracies, 
 
 1 D'Haussez, Memoir es, II. p. 241. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 240-245. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 625-653, 642. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 311-312. 
 
 Guizot, MemoireSf I. p. 366. 
 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 352-357. 
 
 Lord Stuart de Rothesay, France, 1830, 26 July, 1830, F.O. 411, 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 451 
 
 warned him that, for some time past, Charles and his Ministers 
 had been engaged upon matters of unusual importance. The 
 coup d'etat which he beheved to be impending would have had his 
 hearty approval, provided he had felt sure that suitable prepara- 
 tions had been made for its accompUshment. Before embarking 
 upon it, the loyal inhabitants of La Vendee should have been 
 armed, and a notification of the King's designs should have been 
 sent to foreign Courts. Charles, in his opinion, should postpone 
 any violation of the Constitution till the armies of the Holy 
 Alliance should be concentrated upon the French frontiers. 
 VitroUes, it ^\ill be remembered, was the author of the Secret note. 
 On this Sunday morning his suspicions were confii'med by the ill- 
 concealed anxiety which he discerned in the demeanour of the 
 King and of ]\Iinisters. With better reason than Royer-Collard 
 he might have said that " he had read the ordinances upon their 
 faces." ^ He now told Guernon-Ranville that he had no wish to 
 pry into Ministerial secrets, but, if any unusual measures were 
 contemplated, he could assure him that the to\^Ti was in a very 
 dangerous condition of excitement, and tliat great precautions 
 should be taken. Though he failed to ehcit any information from 
 him, he succeeded in frightening him. Goiug across the room to 
 Mangin, the prefect of poHce, Guernon asked him about the state 
 of the capital. This official, who, strange to say, had not been 
 taken into the secret, told him that he could guess the reason of 
 his questions, but that he need be under no apprehension, what- 
 ever might happen " he would stake his life that Paris would not 
 stir.'' To Pejrronnet, also, Vitrolles confided his fears, and ex- 
 pressed a wish to be allowed to make a communication to the 
 Council. Charles addressed a few words to him ; he did not, 
 however, venture to make his request to him. The King, fol- 
 lowed by his Ministers, then entered the Council Chamber, and 
 the doors were locked behind them. 
 
 " If only one of them would refuse to sign all might yet be 
 well," whispered Vitrolles to SemonviUe, whose poHtical sagacity 
 was proverbial. But, upon this occasion, the habitual acuteness 
 of the Grand Referendary of the Chamber of Peers would appear 
 to have been at fault. He ascribed the anxious looks, which he 
 had observed upon the faces of Ministers, merely to the difficul- 
 ties of composing a suitable King's speech. ^ Meanwhile, Charles 
 was listening whilst the five ordinances were read out to him. 
 The first abolished the hberty of the press, and prescribed that no 
 paper could appear without the sanction of the Government, It 
 was preceded by a lengthy enumeration of the reasons which had 
 
 * Thureau Dangin, Le parti liberal, p. 453. 
 
 * Vitrolles, MemoireSj III. pp. 360-364. 
 
452 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 induced the King to resort to this step. The second dissolved 
 the Chamber of Deputies which had not yet met. The third re- 
 pealed the electoral law, and laid down the new conditions under 
 which elections were to be carried out in future. The fourth con- 
 vened the electoral colleges, and fixed upon August 28th for the 
 opening of Parliament. The fifth reinstated upon the Council of 
 State those persons, like Franchet and Frenilly, whom Martignac 
 had succeeded in removing from it. When they had been twice 
 read aloud the King turned to the Dauphin and asked for his 
 opinion. " When the danger is imminent,'' answered he, " one 
 must put one's head down and go for it straight." " You are all 
 agreed, I believe, gentlemen ? " said Charles. " We are unani- 
 mous," replied d'Haussez, " in thinking that these measures are 
 necessary, but not in considering that the means to enforce them 
 are sufficient." " You refuse to sign ? " " No, sir, I shall not 
 desert my colleagues, and am prepared to share their responsi- 
 bility." Charles hid his face in his hands for several minutes, 
 then, taking up his pen, affixed his signature, sa3dng : " It is the 
 only way." D'Haussez, when it came to his turn to sign, ap- 
 peared to gaze anxiously round the room. " What is it ? " 
 whispered Polignac. " I am looking for the portrait of Lord 
 Strafford," replied his colleague.^ " These are grave measures, 
 gentlemen," said Charles, as the Council broke up ; " it is now 
 a matter of life and death between us." The Dauphin took a 
 less serious view of the situation . " I know somebody," he ex- 
 claimed, laughing and rubbing his hands, " who will be astonished 
 to-morrow when he opens his paper — ^that is Champagny." 
 General de Champagny was, for all practical purposes. Minister of 
 War. The full force of the joke was to be brought home to 
 M. le Dauphin before the end of the week.^ 
 
 That evening, at 11 o'clock, M. Sauvo, the editor of the 
 Moniteur, was shown into a dimly lighted room at the Ministry 
 of Justice, where Chantelauze and Montbel handed him a volu- 
 minous manuscript, the contents of which were to be inserted 
 into the official paper the next day. He glanced through it and 
 started. " You are surprised ? " questioned the two Ministers, 
 who seemed painfully anxious. " It would be astonishing if I 
 were not." '* What, then, is your opinion ? " " God save the 
 
 1 This story is denied by Polignac, J&tudes historiques, p. 315 (note). 
 
 2 Guernon-Ranville, Journal (Tun ministre, 25 Juillet, 1830. 
 IVHaussez, Memoires, II. pp. 241-244. 
 
 Polignac, Etudes hktoriques, pp. 315-316. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 246-249. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire^ XX. pp. 541-542. 
 
1830] SOWING THE WIND 453 
 
 King, God save France/' " Indeed, we pray it may be so." 
 " Gentlemen, I am fifty-seven,"' said Sauvo as he took his depar- 
 ture. " I have witnessed the scenes of the Revolution. I take 
 leave of you now, consumed with dread that I may be about to 
 see a repetition of them.'* ^ 
 
 ^ Proces des Ministres, deposition of Sauvo. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 
 
 ON Monday, July 26th, the day of the publication of* the ordi- 
 nances, the general appearance of the town was calm. In 
 the wealthy quarters a keen observer might, perhaps, have 
 detected an increased gravity and seriousness in the demeanour 
 of the passers by. On the Bourse^ however, the news created the 
 gravest alarm, and a heavy fall of the rente was recorded. ^ Forty- 
 four Liberal journaUsts met during the afternoon at the offices of 
 the National, where Thiers drew up a protest which was signed 
 by all present. The ordinances were pronounced illegal, and the 
 Deputies were urged to assemble on August 3rd, the day fixed 
 for the opening of Parliament. The proclamation concluded 
 with these words : " the Government has forfeited its right to 
 expect obedience. We intend to resist, in so far as we are con- 
 cerned ; it is for France to judge to what lengths her resistance 
 should go.'* 2 A meeting of some fourteen Deputies was also held 
 at the house of M. Delaborde. No resolutions were passed, how- 
 ever, and the members separated, after agreeing to assemble 
 again the next day at M. Casimir Perier's.^ 
 
 Throughout the day Ministers carried on as usual the business 
 of their departments, and, in the evening, for the convenience of 
 Chantelauze who was ill, met at the Ministry of Justice. Whilst 
 they were assembled, news was brought to Montbel that his win- 
 dows had been broken, and that crowds were collected in the 
 Rue de Rivoli and upon the boulevards. Polignac, fearing that 
 the Foreign Office, which was then situated at the corner of the 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. p. 250. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne^ Memoires, III. pp. 321-323. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 369-371. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. p. 696. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. p. 261. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 696-698. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 661-668. 
 
 3 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp 699-600. 
 Viel Castelj Histoire, XX. p. 669. 
 
 454 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIELWIND 455 
 
 Rue des Capucines and the boulevard, might be attacked, de- 
 cided to return home. On the way he was recognized, and stones 
 were thrown at him, D'Haussez, who accompanied him, being 
 sHghtly wounded by the broken glass of the carriage windows. 
 The mob was dispersed, however, and the night passed off with- 
 out further disturbance.^ 
 
 Marmont, whose turn it happened to be to command the 
 Guards, had been in attendance at Saint-Cloud. On this Monday 
 morning he left the palace in complete ignorance of the ordi- 
 nances, and heard of their promulgation only upon his arrival in 
 Paris. At the Institut he expressed to his friend Fran9ois Arago, 
 the astronomer, his disapproval of them, and spoke very bitterly 
 of the conduct of the Government. Later on he appears to have 
 called upon Madame de Boigne and to have talked to her in very 
 much the same strain. This astute person, possibly for ulterior 
 motives, was at pains to impress upon him that this new develop- 
 ment of events was singularly unfortunate for him personally. 
 Hitherto, whenever his conduct in deserting Napoleon at Es- 
 sonnes had been aspersed, he had been able to say that by acting 
 as he had he had helped to deliver his country from an odious 
 despotism. But, now that the Bourbons had embarked upon 
 absolutism, that excuse could serve no longer. ^ 
 
 Charles, meanwhile, had been stag-hunting all day in the 
 forest of Rambouillet. Before starting he went to see his grand- 
 children, and asked Madame de Gontaut whether she had read 
 the Moniteur. Upon her saying that it was not a paper which she 
 was in the habit of seeing, he told her that it contained news 
 which might surprise her, and proceeded to enumerate upon his 
 fingers, and to explain for her benefit the different ordinances. 
 Her grief and alarm annoyed him ; nevertheless, when she begged 
 to be allowed to put a question to him, he bade her speak. There- 
 upon she asked whether the ordinances were not a violation of the 
 Charter. " I believe not, upon my word of honour, I believe not,'* 
 he assured her, taking her kindly by the hand. " I am advised 
 that a resort to Article 14 is constitutional under the circum- 
 stances." Shortly afterwards he took his departure, telling her 
 to be under no apprehension. ^ It was nearly eleven o'clock be- 
 fore he returned to Saint-Cloud. " What news from Paris ? " he 
 asked of Marmont, upon descending from his carriage. " Much 
 alarm, much depression, sir, and a very severe fall of the rente.'* 
 " How much has it fallen ? " questioned the Dauphin, who had 
 
 * D'Haussez, Memoir es, II. pp. 249-250. 
 ^ Nettement^ Histoire, VII. p. 594. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Mhnoires, III. pp. 318-320. 
 
 Proces des Ministres, Deposition of Arago. 
 ' Duchesse de Gontaut, Memoires, pp. 311-314. 
 
456 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 been hunting with the King. " Four francs, your Royal High- 
 ness/' " It mil go up again/' said the Dauphin. 
 
 It had been decided at the Council at Saint -Cloud on Sunday 
 that, in the event of disturbances, Marmont was to be invested 
 with the command of all the troops mthin the Paris district. 
 This intelligence, however, had not yet been communicated to 
 him, and it was only about eleven o'clock on the morning of 
 Tuesday, July 28th, that he was sent for. " They appear to be 
 rather anxious in Paris ; go to the Foreign Office, obtain from 
 Polignac your letter of service and take up your command," said 
 Charles to him. It was a singularly unwelcome piece of news for 
 Marmont, who could not, however, do otherwise than obey. He 
 was to come back in the evening, the King had told him, if all 
 were quiet. At an earlier hour that morning a certain Doctor 
 Bertin, attached to the Foreign Office, appears to have arrived at 
 Saint-Cloud with a letter, which he gave to Madame de Gontaut, 
 saying that Polignac desired her to hand it to the King with her 
 own hands. The Duchess duly carried out her instructions, and 
 Charles read aloud to her the contents of the note. Polignac 
 begged His Majesty to Hsten to no alarmist rumours, and to 
 believe only his reports, which he would send to him frequently. 
 The disturbances in Paris were a mere riot, " if he should prove to 
 be wrong he would give his head in expiation of his mistake." 
 " Not much of a present that," blurted out Madame de Gontaut. 
 " I like you very much, but you are sometimes very trying," said 
 Charles.^ 
 
 In defiance of the ordinance both the Temps and the National 
 appeared as usual on Tuesday with the protest of the journalists, 
 which had been drawn up the day before, figuring conspicuously 
 in their columns. No number of either the Constitutionnel or the 
 Journal des Debats was issued, but the Royalist papers, having 
 obtained without difficulty the required permission to appear, 
 warmly congratulated the Government upon its determination 
 to deal firmly with the situation. ^ It was not alone in certain 
 sections of the press that the violation of the Constitution found 
 admirers. Guernon-Ranville's salon was invaded bj^ visitors 
 anxious to testify their admiration of the skilful manner in which 
 the cowp d'etat had been carried out. Some of the loudest to 
 applaud its success were persons who had hitherto affected 
 distinctly liberal opinions. ^ Yet from an early hour matters had 
 begun to assume a decidedly threatening aspect. At a meeting 
 
 * Duchesse de Gontaut, Memoires, pp. 816-318. 
 2 Pasquier, VI. p. 252. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 571-672. 
 ^ Guernon-Ranville, Journal d'un ministre, Juillet 27, 1830. 
 
1830] EEAPING THE WHIELWIND 457 
 
 at the Hotel de Ville, the day before, to elect new members to 
 the Chamber of Commerce, a number of large employers of labour 
 had resolved to close their places of business.^ Working men de- 
 prived of their employment, prominent among them being the 
 printers and compositors whom the ordinance against the press 
 especially affected, joined the crowds of youths and students 
 assembling about the Palais Royal. Men mounted on chairs in the 
 gardens and read out Thiers' proclamation in the National. The 
 gendarmes charged repeatedly, but failed to drive away the people, 
 who replied to all summonses to disperse by volleys of stones. 
 About two in the afternoon the police and detachments of troops 
 opened a sharp fusillade upon the rioters. A young Englishman, 
 Folkes by name, leaning from a window in the Hotel Royal, in 
 the Rue des Pyramides,is said to have been one of the first victims. 
 
 Meanwhile the police had been ordered to render unserviceable 
 the printing presses of the Temps and the National, the two 
 papers which had appeared without permission. Warrants were 
 also issued for the arrest of all those journalists who had signed 
 Thiers' protest. When the commissary of police presented him- 
 self at the office of the National to carry out his orders, he was 
 compelled to break open the doors. No resistance was offered to 
 him or to his men, but they were solemnly warned of the illegality 
 of their proceedings. They appear to have performed their work 
 in a very half-hearted manner, seeing that, in the course of the 
 next few hours, printed matter was issuing again from the offices 
 of the paper. The visit of the police to the premises of the Temps 
 gave M. Baude, the manager, an opportunity of exercising his 
 theatrical talents with marked effect. Having caused the doors 
 to be locked, and having armed himself with the code, he pro- 
 ceeded to read out to the locksmith, whom the commissary had 
 requisitioned, the penalties for housebreaking. To the delight of 
 a sympathetic crowd which had assembled, he succeeded in per- 
 suading two or three workmen, who were sent for in turn, to 
 refuse to perform the work demanded of them. To fulfil his 
 instructions, the police officer was obliged to summon, at last, 
 the smith employed to rivet the irons upon convicts. ^ The agents 
 of the men, who carried through successfully the coup d'etat of 
 twenty- one years later, wasted no time in bandjdng words with 
 journalists. 
 
 As had been arranged the day before, about thirty-seven 
 
 ^ D'Haussez, MemoireSj II. p. 252. 
 Pasquier, VI. p. 251. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 252. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 607-608. 
 
 3 Vid Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 571-575. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 607-608. 
 
458 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1830 
 
 Deputies met at the house of M. Casimir Perier, in the Rue 
 Neuve du Luxembourg, early in the afternoon. Crowds of stu- 
 dents and rioters of all descriptions filled the street, and asked 
 that some of their number should be allowed to take part in the 
 deliberations. But Casimir Perier had no intention of allowing 
 his house to be used as the headquarters of a revolutionary move- 
 ment, and he succeeded in excluding everybody except the mem- 
 bers of the Chamber. The majority of these persons appeared to 
 be as nervous and as uncomfortable as their host. Indeed, their 
 demeanour drew from Villemain the remark that " he had not ex- 
 pected to find so many cowards.'' A resolution was moved and 
 carried to the effect that the ordinances were unconstitutional. 
 M. Dupin proposed that they should all go to Saint-Cloud, not as 
 the chosen representatives of the people, but as simple citizens, to 
 implore the King to withdraw his edicts. This suggestion was 
 not generally approved of, and, as the uproar in the neighbouring 
 streets grew in intensity, the feeling of the meeting became in- 
 creasingly favourable to an early adjournment. The Deputies, 
 accordingly, resolved to close their deliberations and to assemble 
 again, the next day, at the workshops of one of their number, 
 M. Audry-Puyraveau, in the Rue du Faubourg Poissoniere, where 
 they considered that they would be more secure. Their decision 
 to disperse was hastened by the sound of an angry splutter of 
 musketry upon the Place du Palais Royal. ^ 
 
 Later on in the day another meeting was held at the house of 
 M. Cadet-Gassicourt, at which were present some of the most 
 advanced Liberals and a considerable number of former mem- 
 bers of the Carbonari lodges. As might have been expected from 
 such an assembly, the resolutions were of a revolutionary char- 
 acter. Every effort, it was decided, was to be made to incite the 
 working classes to rebellion, and committees were to be chosen 
 to direct the insurrection in the different quarters of the town. 
 Thiers took part in these deliberations, after which he disappeared 
 and was not heard of again for thirty-six'liours. Being a prudent 
 man he probably considered that, now that the train was fired, it 
 would be wise to await the result of the explosion from a safe 
 distance. 2 
 
 Marmont had established himself in the headquarter offices of 
 the Guards at the Tuileries between one and two o'clock in the 
 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 212-215. 
 
 Guizotj Memoir es, II. p. 3. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 608-610. 
 
 Viel Castel^ Histoire, XX. pp. 575-576. 
 * Vaulabelle_, Deux Restaurations , VIII. p. 219-221. 
 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. p. 613. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 579-580. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 459 
 
 afternoon. Upon taking up his command he at once discovered 
 that PoHgnac had greatly overestimated the number of troops 
 available for service. At Saint-Cloud, on the previous Sunday, 
 he had declared to the Council that 17,000 men would be at hand, 
 within a few hours, to repress any insurrectionary movement. 
 Marmont, however, realized that even with the troops at Ver- 
 sailles his total force would not exceed 11,500 men. In his in- 
 tense desire to keep his plans secret, Polignac had not consulted 
 Champagny or any other official at the War Office. It has been 
 said that his error arose from his inability to differentiate between 
 the numbers of men shown upon the strength of a regiment, and 
 those actually present with it in barracks. Polignac, as may be 
 supposed, is not prepared to admit that he was mistaken, and 
 maintains that his calculations were correct. He allows that, for 
 fear of arousing suspicion, he was averse to bringing up reinforce- 
 ments to Paris, prior to the promulgation of the ordinances, but 
 he considers that the troops in the capital itself, and those wdthin 
 a day's march of it, should have been capable of quelling any 
 disturbance. In proof of the soundness of his contention he cites 
 the opinion of the Duke of Wellington, who looked upon 9000 men 
 as sufficient to maintain order in London, a much larger town 
 than Paris. Seeing the absolutely different conditions prevailing 
 in the two countries, the argument is absurd, whether or not the 
 Duke may have held the views which he ascribes to him. 
 
 Polignac seriously asserts that, when he was calculating the 
 forces available for the repression of possible disturbances, the 
 hideous suspicion never crossed his mind that some of the troops 
 were not to be depended upon. This statement, if it be true, 
 proves only that he was singularly badly informed. It was a 
 matter of common knowledge that the regiments of the line were 
 not to be trusted to act against their own countrymen.^ It is 
 probable that Polignac, when he made so incredible an assertion, 
 was trying to excuse his strange negligence in allowing two 
 battalions of Guards to be sent to Normandy to hunt down in- 
 cendiaries, a task which a line regiment could safely have been 
 entrusted to carry out. Marmont alleges, moreover, that the 
 Guards themselves were not in the best condition for embarking 
 upon the important duties which they were to be called upon to 
 perform. All the four generals commanding divisions were absent, 
 and a large number of officers, who had been granted leave to re- 
 
 * Marmontj Memoires, VIII. pp. 341-342. 
 Polignac, Etudes historiques, pp. 304-314, 311-313 (note). 
 H. Bulwer, Life of Palmerston, I. p. 351. 
 Duchesse de Gontaut, MemoireSj p. 320-321. 
 D'Haussez, Memoires, p. 253. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 577-578. 
 
460 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 turn to their homes to vote, had not rejoined for duty. In 
 several regiments, on July 27th and the subsequent days, only one 
 officer was present with each company.^ 
 
 The increasing turbulence of the crowd, and the report that 
 barricades had been constructed, induced Marmont, soon after 
 his arrival at the Tuileries, to order out the troops. By five 
 o'clock the boulevards, the Place Eouis XV, the Place Vendome, 
 the Carrousel, the Pont Neuf, and the Place de la Bastille had 
 been occupied by horse, foot, and artillery. From these points 
 detachments were sent out to clear the neighbouring streets. At 
 the corner of the Rue de TEchelle and the Rue Saint- Honore, 
 where a barricade had been thrown up, a sharp engagement took 
 place. Among the killed was an old man, whose corpse was 
 carried about the streets and shown to the people to the cry of : 
 *' Vengeance, to arms, down with the Bourbons ! " But as night 
 came on the crowds began to dwindle away, and by half -past ten 
 order had been restored. Upon receipt of reports to this effect 
 Marmont allowed the troops to return to their barracks, and sent 
 word to Saint -Cloud that the town was quiet, but that he deemed 
 it advisable to remain in Paris himself. Ministers had been in- 
 stalled at the Foreign Office throughout the day. A decision, 
 arrived at in the evening, to declare Paris in a state of siege, was 
 the only important result of their deliberations. Polignac was to 
 carry the necessary ordinance to Saint-Cloud, early the next 
 morning, for the King's signature. When they returned home 
 on foot about midnight the streets were quiet, and the town ap- 
 peared to be in its normal condition. ^ 
 
 When morning broke on Wednesday, July 28th, the disastrous 
 consequences were apparent of the premature withdrawal of the 
 troops the night before. The street lamps had been broken 
 systematically, barricades had been erected, paving -stones had 
 been torn up and conveyed to the roofs and upper floors of houses 
 to serve as missiles, the Royal arms had been removed from shops 
 and public buildings, gunsmiths' shops had been swept bare of 
 their contents, and guards and small military posts had been 
 rushed and disarmed. The central military victualling store and 
 a powder-magazine had been captured, the Government printing 
 office had been taken possession of, a circumstance which was to 
 render very difficult communication between the authorities and 
 the insurgents ; lastly, both at the Hotel de Ville, where the guard 
 of sixteen men had been overpowered, and at Notre-Dame, the 
 
 1 Marmont^ Memoires, VIII. pp. 286-287. 
 
 2 lUd., pp. 240-241. 
 
 Guernon-Ran ville. Journal j Juillet 27, 1830. 
 D'Haussez_, Memoires, II. pp. 252-253. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. p. 615. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 461 
 
 tricolour had been hoisted and the alarm bell rung to summon the 
 people to arms. In the streets and behind the barricades men 
 were to be seen once more in the uniform of the National Guard. 
 Three years before, when this force had been disbanded, it had 
 not been disarmed. The members of it now either joined the 
 insurgents or, in the large majority of cases, simply handed over 
 to them their muskets. Much more conspicuous, however, was 
 the uniform of the students of the ^cole polytechnique. These 
 young men had broken out of their college in a body, and had 
 brought to the insurgents the aid of their technical training. In 
 all directions they were to be seen, directing the construction of 
 barricades and instructing the people, who recognized them 
 instinctively as their leaders. In the rich quarters of the town 
 respectable working men went in groups from house to house, 
 asking civilly for the loan of any firearms which might be in the 
 possession of householders. Their request was generally com- 
 plied with, and, it is said that in the majority of cases, these 
 weapons were returned faithfully to their owners. At the same 
 time, upon the steps of the Bourse and in the courtyards of houses, 
 women were hard at work making cartridges. " The riot of 
 yesterday has been converted into a revolution. It is urgent that 
 your Majesty should take steps to arrive at a peaceful settlement. 
 The honour of the Crown may yet be saved ; to-morrow, perhaps, 
 it may be too late,'" wrote Marshal Marmont to the King at an 
 early hour on Wednesday morning.^ 
 
 In his own account of his proceedings, Marmont says very 
 little about the withdrawal of the troops from the streets on 
 Tuesday night, but by implication attempts to throw the blame 
 for it upon Polignac. There was, he says, a total lack of trans- 
 port and a great deficiency of field cooking-pots, which made it 
 necessary for the men to return to barracks in order to be fed. 
 Without doubt, Polignac was responsible for the inadequacy of 
 the arrangements which had so detrimental an effect upon the 
 later operations. But it is ridiculous to pretend that men, who 
 had left their barracks only about three or four o'clock in the 
 afternoon, could not have remained out during the whole of the 
 night. 2 It is clear that Marmont, like Polignac and his fellow- 
 Ministers, completely failed to realize the gravity of the situation. 
 On Wednesday morning, however, whilst they retained their 
 illusions he perceived clearly that matters were very serious. 
 
 ^ Guernon-Ranville, Journal^ Juillet 28, 1830. 
 
 D'Haussez, Mimoires, II. p. 254. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. p. 255. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 242-243. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 330-332, 338-339, 345. 
 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 378-379. 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 284-287. 
 
462 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1830 
 
 From this time forward there can be little doubt that the wish 
 to avoid adding to the unpopularity, which his desertion of 
 Napoleon had gained for him, was uppermost in his thoughts. 
 He may have hoped that he would be held to have atoned for his 
 conduct at Essonnes, were he to be the means of inducing Charles 
 to withdraw the ordinances and to come to terms with his re- 
 volted subjects. Reference has already been made to the frame 
 of mind in which he took up his command. He conceived that 
 Polignac and his colleagues had treated him extremely ill in the 
 matter of the Algerian expedition, and as a Constitutional Liberal 
 he was honestly opposed to the ordinances. It enraged him to 
 think that he must incur fresh unpopularity, and perhaps 
 estrange himself from persons whose friendship he valued, in 
 order to carry out the measures of men whom he detested. 
 
 Marmont's despatch to the King, in which he informed him of 
 the serious state of affairs and urged him to come to terms with 
 the rebels, was accidentally lost by the orderly to whom it was 
 entrusted. A second one, drawn up in the same language and sent 
 off about eight o'clock, was duly delivered. In the meantime, 
 however, Polignac had visited Saint-Cloud, in order to obtain the 
 King's signature to the ordinance declaring Paris in a state of 
 siege. It is probable that his account of the state of the capital 
 differed in every respect from the one transmitted by the Marshal. 
 Moreover, after he had departed, Peyronnet and Capelle arrived, 
 under the mistaken idea that a Council was to be held at Saint- 
 Cloud during the course of the morning. It may be that they also 
 warned the King to attach no credence to Marmont's alarming 
 reports. About ten o'clock the Marshal was summoned to the 
 Foreign Office and informed that Paris was now in a state of 
 siege, and that, in consequence, the responsibility would devolve 
 upon him alone of restoring order. Polignac 's reason for obtain- 
 ing the King's sanction to this measure is beHeved to have been 
 due to his desire to see martial law proclaimed, in order that 
 prompt justice might be meted out to the insurgents. It is not 
 likely that, at this juncture at least, he was anxious to shelter 
 himself behind the Marshal. On the contrary, before noon, he 
 and all his colleagues betook themselves to the military head- 
 quarters at the Tuileries. It was no longer safe, they explained, 
 to remain at the Foreign Office. That may have been true, but, 
 at the same time, it is evident that by transferring himself to the 
 palace, Polignac was enabled to keep a watchful eye upon Mar- 
 mont, and to influence his decisions.^ 
 
 1 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 242-245. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 254-256. 
 
 Guernon-Ranville^ Journal ^ 28 Juillet, 1830, and 2ine partie h, Vin- 
 cennes, 28 Juillet, 1830. 
 
1830] EEAPING THE WHIRLWIND 463 
 
 On being made aware of the events of the night, Marmont had 
 sent orders to the troops to resume their positions of the day 
 before. For several hours he allowed them to remain inactive, in 
 the hope of receiving from the King the required permission to 
 enter into negotiations with the insurgents. About noon, how- 
 ever, having heard nothing from Saint-Cloud, and having been 
 informed that fifty men from one of his line regiments had 
 deserted to the rebels, he decided, reluctantly, to issue his orders 
 for action. In order to regain possession of the Hotel de Ville 
 and to clear the streets, he proposed to set in motion the major 
 portion of his troops in four columns. The left one, under General 
 Saint-Chamans, was to proceed by the boulevards to the Place 
 de la Bastille, observe the Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, and establish 
 communication with General Talon, who was to march upon the 
 Hotel de Ville by the quays. General Quinsonas was to clear the 
 Rue Saint-Honore and occupy the Marche des Innocents. General 
 de Wall, with a fourth colunm, was to establish himself upon the 
 Place des Victoires. 
 
 Marmont neither saw fit to show himself to the troops before 
 they marched off, nor to issue to them any order of an inspiriting 
 character. They were to fire only should they meet with severe 
 resistance, which he explained to mean " not a few stray shots, 
 but fifty, at least, directed upon them at a time.'" The different 
 columns succeeded with great difficulty in reaching their objec- 
 tives. General Talon, Madame du Cayla's brother, re-occupied 
 the Hotel de Ville and repulsed all attempt to recapture it. Upon 
 the Place de Greve and upon the quays the fighting was deter- 
 mined, the rebels, with drums beating, returning several times 
 to the attack. It was in the streets and upon the boulevards, 
 however, during their advance that the Royal troops sustained 
 their heaviest losses. The barricades were not defended seriously, 
 but as fast as the soldiers captured and demolished them the 
 people would throw them up afresh, thus cutting off the columns 
 to the rear. Meanwhile, a murderous fire would be poured upon 
 the troops from the windows. Tiles, bricks, paving-stones, and 
 even furniture would be hurled down upon them. The Guards, 
 upon whom fell the brunt of the fighting, behaved throughout 
 with a commendable steadiness. The linesmen, however, who 
 were received always with loud cheers by the insurgents, in some 
 cases either openly fraternized with them or discharged their 
 weapons in the air. ^ 
 
 ^ Marmont^ Memoires, VII. pp. 245-248. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 258-259. 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires , III. p. 341. 
 Vaulabelle^ Deux Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 234-246. 
 D'Haussez, Memoires, II. p. 257. 
 
464 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 Marmont has been criticized adversely for committing his 
 troops to this fight in the streets.^ It is difficult to see, however, 
 what other course he could have adopted. He could not retain 
 10,000 soldiers inactive round the Tuileries and hand over, with- 
 out resistance, the town to the revolutionaries. His long delay 
 in attacking them would appear to have been a far more blame- 
 worthy proceeding. Marmont contends that, on July 28th, his 
 strategy was correct in directing all his efforts to gaining the 
 possession of the places and open spaces upon which the main 
 streets debouched. He expected that the barricades would be 
 defended obstinately, and that the troops might find as many as 
 30,000 rebels opposed to them. He reckoned with confidence, 
 however, that their superior training would give them the advan- 
 tage. He admits readily that he was not prepared for the tactics 
 employed against him. But their methods were practicable only 
 because the entire population was upon the side of the insurgents; 
 Unarmed men built afresh the barricades which the soldiers had 
 pulled down, women carried cartridges to the combatants in their 
 aprons, children flung stones and broken bottles upon the troops 
 from the windows. Against the whole town in revolution his 
 small army was powerless. ^ 
 
 As had been settled the day before, the meeting of Eiberal 
 Deputies was held at Audry-Puyraveau's place of business in the 
 Rue du Faubourg-Poissonniere. On this occasion about thirty 
 members were present, including Laffitte and La Fayette, who 
 had hurried to town from the country, and the two Waterloo 
 generals, Mouton de Lobau and Gerard. Dupin, Villemain, and 
 Guizot had drawn up a manifesto, declaring that the ordinances 
 were unconstitutional, and that they still considered themselves 
 the lawfully elected representatives of the people. This protest 
 was approved of, but, with very few exceptions, the members 
 present declined to sign it. Casimir Perier proposed that a 
 deputation should wait upon Marmont to ask for a suspension 
 of hostiKties, in order that the grievances of the people might 
 be laid before the King. Before the meeting broke up it was 
 decided to entrust this mission to MM. Casimir Perier, Eaffitte, 
 and Mauguin, and Grenerals Gerard and Mouton de Eobau.^ 
 
 The tactics of the people in throwing up fresh barricades be- 
 hind the Royal troops, cut off the columns from all regular com- 
 munication with headquarters. Reports were, nevertheless, car- 
 ried to Marmont by officers in disguise. All of them contained 
 
 ^ "Cette honteuse guerre de pots de chambre," as M. de Guernon- 
 Ranville styles it. Journal d'un ministre, p. 258. 
 
 2 Marmont, Memoir es, VIII. pp. 268-282. 
 
 3 Vaulabelle, Deuoc EestaurationSj VIII. pp. 231-234. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 465 
 
 urgent requests for reinforcements, which he was powerless to 
 send. At this juncture, when he began to reaHze the alarming 
 nature of the situation, Fran9ois Arago came to see him. He 
 appears to have remained for some hours at the Tuileries, and 
 Marmont seems to have talked matters over with him in the most 
 open manner. The astronomer, who pressed him to throw up his 
 command, was one of his intimate friends, but he was also an 
 ardent Liberal and in close relations with the leading men of the 
 party. ^ In the adjoining room the members of the Government 
 were assembled. The sound of battle in the streets showed no 
 signs of lessening in intensity, and it was clear that the soldiers 
 were making slow progress. Polignac, says d'Haussez, preserved 
 an unruffled exterior, but seemed so lost in thought that it was 
 useless to address a question to him. Chantelauze, who was ill, 
 lay upon a sofa. Peyronnet maintained an attitude of contemptu- 
 ous indifference. Capelle talked of mowing down the people with 
 grape-shot. Montbel was unable to conceal his anxiety, and 
 Guemon-Ranville indulged in a succession of pleasantries, which 
 tried the strained nerves of his colleagues almost beyond endur- 
 ance. Glandeves, the Governor of the Tuileries, paid them 
 several visits. He was greatly concerned at the damage done to 
 the newly gravelled walks in the gardens by a cavalry regiment. ^ 
 The prefect of police, M. Mangin, had already deemed it wise to 
 leave the town in disguise, and the prefect of the Seine, M. de 
 Chabrol-Volvic, was concealed in a cellar ^ at the Hotel de Ville. 
 The absence of these officials, without doubt, aggravated the 
 difficulties of Marmont 's position. He appears to have decided, 
 however, to order the apprehension of six of the leading Liberal 
 Deputies. At the subsequent trial of the Ministers, the officers 
 of his staff were at pains to suggest that Polignac was solely re- 
 sponsible for this measure. Satisfactory evidence is not forth- 
 coming as to whether Marmont acted in this matter upon his 
 own initiative. All that can be said for certain is that, soon after 
 he had handed the warrant to the commandant of gendarmerie^ 
 he was informed of the arrival of MM. Laffitte, Gerard, Casimir 
 Perier, Mouton de Lobau, and Mauguin. The two first figured in 
 his list of persons to be apprehended. Upon hearing of their 
 presence at his headquarters, he appears to have decided to re- 
 voke his order for their arrest, and to have sent to recall the 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations , VIII. pp. 247-249. 
 Guernon-Ranville_, Journal d'un ministre, p. 259. 
 Mdme. de Boigne^ Memoir es, III. p. 350. 
 
 2 D'Haussez, Memoires, II. pp. 258-260, 265. 
 
 ^ This gentleman^ in his evidence, calls it retiring to a dependence de 
 r Hotel de Ville. The Hotel de Ville, it should be stated in fairness, had 
 been captured by the insurgents. 
 2 H 
 
466 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1830 
 
 officer charged with carrjdng it out.^ When the deputation was 
 shown in to him, Eaffitte, who acted as spokesman, implored him 
 to suspend hostihties, and argued that the resistance of the people 
 to unlawful edicts was justifiable. Marmont declared himself in 
 complete agreement with him, and deplored that, as a soldier, he 
 must enforce measures of which he disapproved. At the same 
 time he urged the members of the deputation to exercise all their 
 influence in order to induce the people to lay down their arms, 
 and promised to inform the King at once of his interview with 
 them. Before they departed, he suggested that they should see 
 the President of the Council. PoUgnac, however, upon hearing 
 that they had come to negotiate upon the basis of the withdrawal 
 of the ordinances, declined to hold any communication with them. 
 Marmont lost no time in despatching Colonel de Komi^rowski 
 to the King with a letter, in which he described the military situa- 
 tion as grave, announced the arrival of the deputation, stated the 
 nature of the conditions proposed, and begged His Majesty to 
 allow him to enter into negotiations without delay. Charles sent 
 back no written reply, and merely instructed Komierowski to tell 
 the Marshal " to concentrate his troops, stand firm, and act only 
 with large bodies of men.'* There are the strongest grounds for 
 supposing that this staff officer, who was accompanied by an 
 escort, had been passed upon the road to Saint-Cloud by an 
 emissary of Polignac, probably his nephew, the Due de Quiche, 
 bearing a message for the King.^ A few hours later, Marmont 
 received written instructions to the same effect. He w^as to con- 
 centrate all his troops between the Place des Victoires, the Place 
 Vendome, and the Tuileries ; remain upon the defensive, and 
 await orders which would be sent him on the morrow. Officers 
 in plain clothes were despatched, accordingly, to the four column 
 commanders, enjoining them to fall back upon the Tuileries. It 
 was not till ten o'clock, when fatigue had compelled the people 
 to slacken their attacks, that Generals de Saint-Chamans and 
 Talon were able to comply with their orders. About midnight all 
 Marmont 's troops were once more round the palace. A tropical 
 heat had prevailed during the day ; most of the men had been 
 without food for eighteen hours, and 2500 casualties ^ were re- 
 ported. A quarter ration of bread and some wine from the cellars 
 
 1 Guernon-Ranville, Journal d'un ministre, Juillet 28, 1830 (2me partie 
 k Vincennes). 
 
 D'Haussez, MemoireSj II. pp. 254-255. 
 
 Proces des Ministres, depositions of Chabrol-Volvic. 
 
 Komierowski, Arago pere et fils. La Rue, Guise and Foucauld. 
 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 249-254. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 250-254, 264-265. 
 Proces des Ministres, deposition of Komierowski. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 467 
 
 of the Tuileries was all that Marmont had been able to collect for 
 their sustenance.^ 
 
 Notwithstanding that the roar of the battle was plainly audible 
 at Saint-Cloud, and that by the aid of a powerful telescope the 
 tricolour could be seen flying from the steeple of Notre-Dame, 
 Charles maintained his serene confidence. ^ VitroUes was in 
 relations with General Gerard by means of a Doctor Thibaut, 
 their common friend. This person had urged him to induce the 
 Kjng to consent to some compromise. Vitrolles, realizing the 
 strength of the popular movement, drove out to Saint-Cloud and 
 was accorded a long interview by Charles. He would not, how- 
 ever, entertain for a moment the idea of negotiations until his 
 revolted subjects should have laid down their arms. Taking up 
 a paper from the table, and dropping his voice to a whisper, he 
 confided to him that Laffitte and Ea Fayette had been arrested, 
 and that a Court Martial was sitting at the Tuileries. He ex- 
 pressed a wish, however, to know his opinion as to whether he 
 should go to Paris in person. Under the circumstances, Vitrolles 
 considered that such a course was not to be recommended. If 
 military executions were to take place at the Tuileries, people 
 would be certain to say that Charles X had been seen upon the 
 balcony of Charles IX. But this objection would not apply to the 
 Dauphin, though the possibility should not be overlooked that his 
 presence in Paris might prove embarrassing to Marshal Marmont.^ 
 
 After two hours spent in a fruitless conversation, Vitrolles re- 
 turned to town. M. le Dauphin, it would appear, was as httle 
 concerned at the course of events as his father. During the 
 afternoon he had sent one of his officers into Paris, but it was to 
 ascertain only the maximum temperature recorded at noon at the 
 Observatory. After dinner the King played his usual rubber of 
 whist and the Dauphin his game of chess. Through the open 
 windows the hot night air carried to their ears the rumble of the 
 battle, and the clanging of the great bell calHng the people to 
 arms. Yet their conversation was confined always to the games 
 upon which they engaged. Sometimes, when the firing seemed to 
 be more furious than usual, Charles would give the table a fillip 
 with his finger, as though to remove a speck of dust. 
 
 1 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 255-256. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VIII. p. 266. 
 
 Guernon-Ranville, Journal d'un ministre, 28 Juillet, 1830. 
 
 D'Haussez, Memoires, II. p. 261. 
 ^ Duchesse de Gontaut, Memoires, pp. 322-323. 
 3 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 375-584. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 259-260. 
 * Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 351-369. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 260-262. 
 
 Duchesse de Gontaut, Memoires, p. 325. 
 
468 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 At dawn, on Thursday, July 29th, Marmont, in accordance 
 with his instructions, proceeded to occupy the Louvre, the Place 
 Vendome, the Carrousel, the Place Louis XV, and the Tuileries 
 gardens. Strict orders were given to the troops to fire only 
 should they be attacked. The King, in his communication to 
 him of the night before, had told him to arrange for the safe 
 passage of Ministers to Saint-Cloud between the hours of ten and 
 eleven. Marmont now urged them to start at once, and to im- 
 press upon His Majesty that he regarded the withdrawal of the 
 ordinances as a concession which the situation rendered impera- 
 tive. In his present position, however, he felt secure, and had no 
 fears of being driven from it by the people. At this juncture 
 d'Argout and Semonville, the Grand Referendary of the Chamber 
 of Peers, presented themselves at his headquarters. Fighting had 
 begun again ; nevertheless, at considerable personal risk, they 
 had come to implore him to put an end to the bloodshed. An 
 altercation ensued with Polignac, and Semonville, according to 
 his own account, took Marmont aside and advised him to place 
 the Ministers in arrest, and to announce to the people that he had 
 done so. The Marshal was not prepared to assume so great a 
 responsibility, and, finally, the members of the Government and 
 MM. d'Argout and de Semonville drove away to Saint-Cloud. ^ 
 
 Meanwhile, the insurrection had spread to the left bank of the 
 river, and the people were preparing to attack the Royal troops 
 from three different directions. Up to this point their remarkable 
 success had been achieved under the sole direction of the students 
 of the l&cole polytechnique and of other improvised leaders. De- 
 spite the progress made by the insurgents, no Liberal general was 
 yet prepared to place himself at their head. But, on this morn- 
 ing, an obscure adventurer, named Dubourg, a former officer of 
 subordinate rank, appears to have been dressed up in a second- 
 hand general's uniform, and to have been presented to the people 
 as their leader. This individual installed himself at the Hotel de 
 Ville, where he caused a black flag to be hoisted, which act seems 
 to be the only measure for which he can be held responsible. 
 Whilst the courage of the people was rising, the discipline of the 
 soldiers was breaking down, and their spirit was giving away. ^ At 
 the Tuileries d'Haussez had led a friend to the window and had 
 pointed out to him the Guards as " our one hope, and they have 
 been without food for twenty-four hours." ^ Around them the 
 
 1 Proces de Ministres, deposition of Semonville. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 258-259. 
 
 Guernon-Ranville^ Journal d'un ministre, Juillet 29, 1830 (2me partie 
 h. Vincennes). 
 
 2 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 272-275, 304-305. 
 
 3 Proces des Ministres, deposition of Bayeux. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 469 
 
 troops saw only a bitterly hostile population. No sympathizers 
 came forward to cheer them, no Royalist volunteers to help them. 
 The King remained invisible, and appeared to be indifferent to 
 their sufferings. 
 
 The night before all the troops near Paris, and those encamped 
 at Luneville and Saint- Omer, had been sent for. On this morning 
 of Thursday, July 26th, however, the army in Paris had been 
 increased only by the arrival of some 1500 men from Versailles 
 and Creil. Marmont made every endeavour to bring about a 
 suspension of hostilities. He had no means of printing proclama- 
 tions, but he directed that all prisoners were to be released and 
 furnished with handbills, to distribute to their friends, announcing 
 an armistice. The mayors of the thirteen arrondissements of Paris 
 had been convened to his headquarters ; only three, however, 
 obeyed his summons. He now urged them to do all in their power 
 to pacify the people, and to declare to them that a truce had 
 been proclaimed. In some places the fire slackened, but in other 
 directions the insurgents redoubled their efforts. Upon the Place 
 Vendome, which was occupied by 5th and 53rd regiments of the 
 line, a cessation of hostilities appears to have taken place. The 
 troops were surrounded by a crowd of people, urging them to join 
 the popular side and giving them food and drink. Their con- 
 stancy was already shaken, when Casimir Perier appeared and 
 made them a stirring speech. Headed by their officers, both 
 regiments went over to the people. ^ 
 
 Their defection compelled Marmont to make certain changes 
 in his dispositions. For fear they should follow the example of 
 their comrades, two line regiments, in the Tuileries gardens, were 
 retired to the Champs Elysees, and one of the two battalions of 
 Swiss Guards holding the Louvre was sent to take their place. 
 It was about midday. Marmont, who was in the Rue de Rohan, 
 had just ordered an aide-de-camp to announce to a body of 
 insurgents advancing along the Rue de Richelieu that hostilities 
 had ceased, when a violent fusillade broke out behind him. It 
 ceased almost as suddenly as it had begun, but it was followed by 
 a confused murmur, which to his experienced ears sounded omin- 
 ous. Turning his horse's head, he galloped towards the Tuileries. 
 His troops were flying in wild disorder across the Carrousel. It 
 would appear that, after the withdrawal of part of the garrison of 
 the Bouvre, some confusion had taken place. Availing them- 
 selves of this circumstance, a few insurgents penetrated into the 
 galleries and opened fire upon the Swiss in the courtyard. Think- 
 ing he was about to be cut off, the Colonel gave the order to 
 
 * Proems des Ministres, deposition of Champagny. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 258-269. 
 
470 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 evacuate the building. The retreat of the Swiss, who, doubtless, 
 recollected the fate which had overtaken their compatriots on 
 August 10th, 1792, degenerated into a rout, and the panic spread 
 to the troops upon the Carrousel. Marmont performed prodigies 
 of valour, and succeeded in restoring some degree of order. Never- 
 theless, he conceived it hopeless to attempt to retake the Tuileries, 
 into which the people had swarmed, and gave the order to re- 
 treat upon the Barriere de TEtoile by way of the Champs Elysees.^ 
 
 Marmont intended to hold the high ground about the Barriere 
 de I'Etoile, but, when he arrived there about two o'clock, he was 
 handed a letter which acquainted him that the Dauphin had 
 taken over the command of the troops and directed him to 
 evacuate Paris and retire upon Saint-Cloud. Accordingly, after 
 ordering the retreat to continue, he rode on himself to see the 
 King. Upon the road he passed the Dauphin, who exchanged 
 with him a cold greeting. Marmont's decision to abandon the 
 Tuileries has been severely criticized by certain Royalist writers. 
 The matter is, however, of purely academic interest, seeing that 
 the order, prescribing the evacuation of Paris, had been written 
 before the capture of the palace was known at Saint-Cloud. The 
 late hour at which he received it was due to the extraordinary 
 carelessness which had caused this important despatch to be con- 
 fided, not to a special messenger, but to an officer who was pro- 
 ceeding to the Tuileries in charge of a convoy of bread for the 
 troops. Marmont had, therefore, only anticipated the order to 
 retreat, which would have reached him probably about three 
 o'clock, had he retained his positions. Upon arriving at Saint- 
 Cloud he was admitted to see the King at once. Charles listened 
 kindly to the story of his misfortunes and addressed no word of 
 blame to him.^ 
 
 The night before, the Due de Mortemart had arrived at Saint- 
 Cloud. He had had to pass through Versailles, and had found the 
 town in a state of revolution. He was not permitted to see 
 Charles, who had retired to bed. The next morning, however, at 
 seven o'clock, ignoring all rules of etiquette, he insisted upon 
 being admitted to the King's presence. Charles was not to be 
 convinced that the position was serious, and angrily scouted the 
 notion of dismissing his Ministers and of withdrawing the ordi- 
 nances. When the Duke pressed him he fell back upon his 
 favourite expression that " he knew where concessions led to, and 
 
 1 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 260-263. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 267-268. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 349, 367-868. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. p. 403 and note. 
 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 264-267, 455-456. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 269-270. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 471 
 
 that he would sooner mount his horse than be put into the 
 executioner's cart." Scarcely had Mortemart departed than 
 Semonville and d'Argout arrived, closely followed by the seven 
 members of the Cabinet. Polignac and Peyronnet at once pro- 
 ceeded to confer with the King. The details of their interview 
 have never transpired. Very soon, however, both Ministers re- 
 turned, and Semonville was ushered alone into the Royal pres- 
 ence. According to his account, it was not until he had drawn an 
 alarming picture of the dangers which must beset the Dauphine, 
 who was on the way back from Vichy, that he began to make any 
 impression upon the King. Charles promised him to assemble 
 the Council without delay. Nevertheless, the usual time for Mass 
 was not advanced, and it can hardly have been before eleven 
 o'clock that the formal deliberations of the Council began. It is 
 clear, however, that the decision to supersede Marmont by the 
 Dauphin and to evacuate Paris must have been taken at an 
 earlier hour. It may be presumed that Polignac had expressed 
 great dissatisfaction at the way the Marshal had performed his 
 duties. 1 
 
 Early on this Thursday morning, VitroUes had seen the doctor 
 who served as intermediary between him and General Gerard. 
 He had come to tell him that the monarchy might still be saved. 
 The ILiberals would be satisfied were Charles to consent to dis- 
 miss his Ministers, to withdraw the ordinances, and to entrust to 
 the Due de Mortemart the formation of a new Cabinet, in which 
 seats would have to be given to Casimir Perier and General 
 Gerard. It was suggested that this concession might be supposed 
 to have been wrung from the King by the prayers of the magis- 
 trates of the Royal Courts, who might proceed in a body to 
 Saint-Cloud. Vitrolles was agreeably surprised at the moderation 
 of these demands, and started off at once to communicate them to 
 His Majesty. When he arrived he was informed that Charles was 
 at the Council. With great difficulty he succeeded in inducing an 
 usher to scratch the door. When the King was at the Council, 
 nobody might, under any circumstances, knock at the door. On 
 rare occasions the usher would scratch gently with his fingers to 
 intimate that some important communication awaited His 
 Majesty. It was unlocked by Polignac, who came out to speak to 
 him. Vitrolles gave him a paper upon which were written the 
 terms which the Liberals would be prepared to accept. ^ 
 
 No trustworthy account exists of the deliberations of the 
 
 ^ Proces des Ministres, deposition of Semonville. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 263-264, 271-273. 
 
 Guernon-RanviUe, Journal d'un ministre, Juillet 29, 1830. 
 2 Vitrolles, MemoireSy III. pp. 388-394. 
 
472 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 Council. There can be no doubt, however, that the Dauphin 
 was opposed to any concessions. Guernon-Ranville states that 
 he was the only Minister who considered that it was now too late 
 to give way. The plan of retiring to Blois or Tours appears to 
 have been mooted, and to have been discussed. The first news of 
 Marmont's disaster was brought to Saint -Cloud by General de 
 Coetlosquet, who had escaped from Paris in plain clothes. Ac- 
 cording to d'Haussez, the King ordered him to be admitted to the 
 Council, and he describes how he staggered into the room, 
 covered with dust, without a neckcloth, and stood panting against 
 a bookcase. After he had told his story, it seems to have been 
 decided to postpone further deliberations until the Dauphin 
 should have judged for himself of the condition of the troops. He 
 mounted his horse, accordingly, and rode out into the Bois de 
 Boulogne. A few gracious words from His Royal Highness would 
 have been much appreciated by the dispirited men. But, after 
 scanning critically the appearance of the regiments, he merely 
 asked a Colonel, whose command had suffered severely, how 
 many men he still had in the ranks. Upon receiving the required 
 information, he remarked simply, " That is a fair number," and 
 rode on.^ 
 
 When the Dauphin returned to Saint -Cloud about five o'clock, 
 it was decided to accept the terms submitted by VitroUes. 
 " Gentlemen," said Charles, " though you have my complete 
 confidence I am obliged to dismiss you, and to replace you by 
 Ministers imposed upon me by my enemies. There is no help for 
 it, and I shall send for the Due de Mortemart. I am sorry, for his 
 sake, that he should have earned the good opinion of my antagon- 
 ists. If he has done wrong he must feel now that he is being 
 cruelly punished for it." ^ Mortemart was watching the troops 
 in the park when, greatly to his surprise, he heard that the King 
 wished to see him. He was still more astonished when he learnt 
 that Charles proposed that he should construct a new Cabinet. It 
 was a terrible responsibihty to assume at such a moment, and he 
 knew, moreover, that the King would never heartily support 
 him. He refused to listen to his protests, however, and at last 
 thrust the ordinance appointing him President of the Council 
 into his belt, asking whether he would be so heartless as to return 
 it to him. The Duke's resistance was thus overcome, but many 
 important points had yet to be settled. In the meantime, how- 
 ever, VitroUes, Semonville, and d'Argout, who had been waiting 
 
 * Guemon-Ranville, Journal d'un ministre, Juillet 29, 1830. 
 
 VitroUes, Memoir es, HI. pp. 395-405 (note). 
 
 D'HausseZj Memoires, II. pp. 273-274. 
 2 Ibid., p. 275. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 473 
 
 anxiously throughout the day in the passages and ante-chambers, 
 were to take to Paris the news of the withdrawal of the ordinances 
 and the formation of a new Cabinet, under the presidency of the 
 Due de Mortemart, who was to have for colleagues, Casimir 
 Perier and General Gerard. " In all this," said Charles, as he 
 parted from them, " I see neither good for France nor safety for 
 the Crown/' i 
 
 After the expulsion of the Royal troops from Paris, the prompt 
 occupation of Montmartre was the course which should have been 
 pursued. Forty-two guns from Vincennes, which had been un- 
 able to join Marmont, reached Saint-Cloud in the afternoon. Once 
 the Guards and a formidable line of batteries had been established 
 upon the heights to the north of Paris, from which the town 
 could have been bombarded effectually, negotiations might have 
 been begun with the insurgents. This measure, however, must 
 have entailed the removal of the Royal Family from Saint-Cloud 
 to Saint -Denis in rear of the army. Marmont ^ mentions this 
 plan as the one which presented the best chance of success, but 
 neither he, nor anybody else, would appear to have counselled 
 Charles to adopt it. It is clear that the King at this time had not 
 yet realized fully the extent of his misfortunes. It is by no means 
 certain, moreover, that, when he dismissed his Ministers and 
 announced the formation of a new Government, he was acting in 
 good faith. Even he must have been aware that surrender to 
 attain its object must be made promptly and in such a way as to 
 inspire confidence. Yet he eluded all discussion with Mortemart 
 and detained him at Saint -Cloud. It is possible that he may still 
 have cherished a hope that he might be spared the humiliation of 
 having to make very serious concessions. His conduct, unques- 
 tionably, points to an intention not to allow the Duke to proceed 
 to Paris, until he should have received a report upon the situation 
 from either Vitrolles or Girardin.^ That evening both Mortemart 
 and Polignac played whist at the King's table.* 
 
 The people had displayed a surprising moderation in their hour 
 
 of victory. The damage and the robberies committed at the 
 
 Tuileries were not very serious, and are said to have been almost 
 
 entirely the work of criminals, who broke loose from the Con- 
 
 ciergerie. The Archbishop's palace, however, was plundered 
 
 systematically, sacred vessels, vestments, and furniture being 
 
 either cast into the Seine or burnt in the courtyard. Bands of 
 
 men also sacked the establishment of the Jesuits at Montrouge 
 
 ^ Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 406-410. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 273-276. 
 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 264-265, 275-276. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. pp. 281-283. 
 
 * Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. p. 625. 
 
474 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 and the headquarters of the missionaries upon the Mont-Valerien. 
 The Deputies were assembled at Laffitte's house when the news 
 was brought them of the triumph of the people and the retreat of 
 the troops. The necessity was seen at once of estabhshing some 
 central authority, other than that assumed by the so-called 
 Greneral Dubourg, at the Hotel de Ville. It was decided to give 
 to La Fayette the command of the National Guards, and to ap- 
 point a municipal commission. But all present were still in a 
 painfully nervous condition. A discharge of musketry and the 
 appearance of some soldiers in the street caused a panic. With 
 the cry " They have come to shoot us ! " some rushed to the doors 
 and windows, whilst others fled to conceal themselves in the 
 cellars and in the most private chambers of the house. In a 
 moment Laffitte, who had sprained his ankle and could not move, 
 found himself alone. The noise which had so alarmed them pro- 
 ceeded from the troops, who had deserted to the people upon the 
 Place Vendome, and who were now discharging their muskets 
 in the air. So soon as they had satisfied themselves upon this 
 point the Deputies returned and resumed their deliberations. 
 Eaffitte, Casimir Perier, Schonen, Moubon de Lobau, and Mau- 
 guin were elected to serve upon the municipal commission which 
 was to hold its sittings at the Hotel de Ville. La Fayette was to 
 have command of the National Guards, and General Gerard of 
 the regular troops who had come over to the people. ^ 
 
 Semonville, d'Argout, and Vitrolles, preceded by General de 
 Girardin on horseback, experienced no difficulty in entering 
 Paris. Once inside the town they learnt that General Gerard 
 would probably be found at the Hotel de Ville, where the Pro- 
 visional Government was sitting. Vitrolles, especially, was dis- 
 agreeably surprised to find that the situation had developed so 
 quickly. Under the circumstances, however, they all agreed that 
 they must push on to the Hotel de Ville. The Champs Elysees 
 and the Place Louis XV were deserted, but the quays, as far as 
 the eye could see, were black with people. Along the waterside 
 their progress was very slow. Every forty or fifty yards groups 
 of armed men with threatening gestures stopped their carriage. 
 As night came on, and as they approached their destination, the 
 crowd grew denser. With difficulty they made their way across 
 the Place de Greve, through peasants from the neighbouring 
 villages armed with scythes and pitchforks, students of the 
 Polytechnic, workmen in their shirt -sleeves, and club orators. 
 Sinister figures in filthy rags clutched knives or rusty muskets 
 and scowled at them defiantly. Clearly this night the mob ruled 
 Paris, and M. de Semonville, the Grand Referendary of the House 
 * Vaulabelle, Detuv Restaur ationsj VIII. pp. 299-304. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 475 
 
 of Peers, was as prompt as ever to pay his court to power. In joy- 
 ful accents, right and left, he announced that the Ministry had 
 fallen, and, to convey the news, employed a metaphor habitually 
 made use of by the sovereign people.^ 
 
 The three envoys entered at last the Hotel de Ville, and, after a 
 brief delay, were shown into the room where the commission 
 was sitting, with Casimir Perier in the chair. Semonville shook 
 La Fayette by the hand effusively, and reminded him that forty 
 years before they had met at the same spot under very similar 
 circumstances. According to VitroUes, Casimir Perier was much 
 attracted by the prospect of entering the Government. Nobody 
 present, not even Ea Fayette, appeared to regard an arrangement 
 with the King as out of the question. The situation, however, 
 was complicated by the arrival of Girardin, who had parted from 
 his companions when they entered Paris, and who now asked to 
 be admitted, stating that he was the bearer of a confidential 
 communication from Saint-Cloud. This development caused the 
 authority to be questioned of Semonville and his fellow-envoys 
 to speak in the King^s name. VitroUes loudly declared his readi- 
 ness to remain as a hostage, but soon afterwards all three took 
 their departure, having been provided with safe-conducts. They 
 were to seek out General Gerard, for whom VitroUes said that he 
 had a message. He would be found, they were informed, either 
 at the Bourse^ where he had established his headquarters, or at 
 Eaffitte^s house. ^ 
 
 After leaving the Hotel de Ville, SemonvUle, who was an 
 elderly man, declared that he was too exhausted to accompany 
 them, and returned to his lodgings at the Luxembourg. VitroUes 
 and d'Argout, however, continued their way through streets 
 intersected with barricades, the guardians of which generally 
 fired without waiting to deliver the usual challenge. But neither 
 at the Bourse nor at Laffitte's could they gain any news of 
 Gerard. D'Argout entered the banker's house alone, VitroUes 
 having agreed to return home in deference to his companion's 
 disinclination to face the Deputies and journalists assembled in 
 company with so notorious an Ultra-Royalist. In about two 
 hours* time he was rejoined by d'Argout, who gave a very en- 
 couraging account of the discussions in which he had taken part. 
 The news of the concessions to which the Eang had agreed ap- 
 peared to have satisfied the Deputies. Surprise had been ex- 
 pressed, however, that the Due de Mortemart should not have 
 come to Paris in person. Nothing, it was evident, could be 
 settled before his arrival. D'Argout and VitroUes, accordingly, 
 
 * VitroUes, Memoires, III. pp. 410-415. 
 2 Ibid., pp. 416-424. 
 
476 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 started off for Saint-Cloud, accompanied by Laffitte's nephew, 
 who was to pass them out of the town.^ 
 
 When, after several exciting experiences, they reached Saint- 
 Cloud, about three in the morning of Friday, July 30th, every- 
 body appeared to be in bed and asleep. Mortemart was in his 
 room, but had not undressed. He could not, he explained, start 
 for Paris until the King should have signed the authority for the 
 withdrawal of the ordinances. Moreover, seeing that the re- 
 establishment of the National Guard could not be prevented, it 
 was desirable that he should give it his official sanction. Morte- 
 mart agreed that no time must be lost, and they there and then 
 drew up the ordinances to which he was to obtain Charles' signa- 
 ture. At seven o'clock the Duke gained admission to the King, 
 and, soon afterwards, Vitrolles was sent for. Charles showed the 
 utmost repugnance to yielding upon the question of the National 
 Guard. Vitrolles described the state of Paris, and did all in his 
 power to convince him that the situation would admit of no delay. 
 Before making up his mind, Charles appears to have invited 
 Mortemart to leave the room. This strange request must have 
 brought home to him the small amount of confidence which 
 Charles was prepared to extend to him, had his suspicions upon 
 the point required any additional confirmation. When they were 
 alone, Vitrolles took his stand at the foot of the bed, and, shaking 
 his finger at him almost menacingly, warned him of the extreme 
 gravity of the situation. His troops, he begged him to remember, 
 had been driven from his capital, and he must beware " lest the 
 thread should snap at any moment which held the crown sus- 
 pended over the head of a child." Charles up to this hour would 
 seem to have been still the victim of his own and of Polignac's 
 illusions. He had dismissed his late Ministers, but they remained 
 at Saint-Cloud, and his intercourse with Polignac contioued un- 
 interrupted. At the same time he delayed to invest Mortemart, 
 his successor, with the powers without which his office could have 
 no real existence. Stories are told of a strange confidence which, 
 during the fighting in Paris on the previous Wednesday, he had 
 made to the Comte de Broglie. He had sought to allay his fears 
 by telling him that " Jules, the night before, had been visited 
 again by the Holy Virgin, who had bade him persevere mth his 
 pohcy which had the divine approval.'' Religious mysticism may 
 have been the link which attached him to his favourite Minister. ^ 
 Their imperturbable confidence, and their disregard of the most 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 278-280. 
 Vitrolles, Memoires, III. pp. 425-427. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 262-263. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires , III. pp. 370-371. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 477 
 
 ordinary precautions to repress the resistance, which the ordi- 
 nances might have been expected to give rise to, should, perhaps, 
 be ascribed to some influence of this kind. But, as Charles 
 listened to VitroUes, about whose attachment to his person and his 
 cause he felt no doubt, he realized the full misery of his position. 
 At last he perceived that his throne was in the direst peril, and 
 that no subterfuges could avail to save him from the humiliating 
 consequences of defeat. When, a few minutes later, Mortemart 
 was brought back to his bedside, he signed the papers which he 
 laid before him with scarcely a glance at them.^ 
 
 Mortemart, accompanied by d'Argout, started at once for 
 Paris. But the officer commanding the Royal outposts in the 
 Bois de Boulogne had received special orders that morning to 
 allow no communication with the town. In Pasquier's opinion 
 Polignac should be held responsible for this obstacle placed across 
 Mortemart 's path. When, after a long and circuitous journey on 
 foot, the Duke arrived in the neighbourhood of Laffitte's house, 
 he met, coming away from it, Berard, a Liberal Deputy. This 
 person informed him that his colleagues had separated for the 
 present, but were to meet later at the Palais- Bourbon, which was 
 once more at their disposal. At the same time he assured him 
 that the idea was no longer considered practicable of an arrange- 
 ment with Charles X, and that another plan had been proposed 
 which had been received favourably. Finally, he summed up the 
 situation with the famous words : " You are too late.'* Morte- 
 mart was dumbfounded, and appears to have accepted without 
 question the statement that it was useless for him to go to Laffitte's 
 house. Changing his plans, he made for Semonville's lodgings at 
 the Luxembourg, where he arrived so footsore and so exhausted 
 by the heat that d'Argout was compelled to support him.^ 
 
 Thiers, who had emerged from his hiding-place upon receipt of 
 the news of the popular victory, had been present at the meeting at 
 the banker's house, the night before. He had perceived quickly 
 that, now that their fears of retribution from Saint- Cloud had 
 subsided, the Deputies were dominated by their terror of the 
 people. To this apprehension he was disposed to ascribe the 
 readiness with which they had listened to proposals for an ar- 
 rangement with the King. He was convinced, however, that they 
 would accept with alacrity any other solution, provided it were 
 of a nature to preserve them from mob rule. Eafi&tte entertained 
 the same views as himself, and the result was seen of their delibera- 
 
 ^ VitrolleSj Memoires, III. pp. 430-437. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 282-284. 
 2 Ibid., pp. 285-287. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Bestauratiom , VIII. pp. 334-335. 
 
478 THE BOUEBON EESTORATION [1830 
 
 tions during the night and in the early morning, when about ten 
 o'clock the foUomng proclamation was placarded upon every 
 wall and distributed in the streets : 
 
 " Charles X cannot re-enter Paris, he has shed the blood of the 
 people. 
 
 "A Republic would expose us to internal dissensions, and 
 would bring down all Europe upon us. 
 
 " The Due d' Orleans is a Prince devoted to the cause of the 
 Revolution. 
 
 " The Due d' Orleans has never fought against us. 
 
 " The Due d' Orleans was at Jemmapes. 
 
 " The Due d' Orleans has worn the tricolour in the face of the 
 enemy. The Due d'Orleans alone can still wear it ; we will have 
 no one but him. 
 
 " The Due d' Orleans has declared himself ; he accepts the 
 Charter in the sense in which we have always understood it. 
 
 " He will owe his crown to the French people." 
 
 Thus was that change of dynasty announced, which Thiers, for 
 the past six months, had been educating the readers of the 
 National to regard as necessary in order to safeguard popular 
 liberties and institutions. The assertion, however, was untrue 
 that " the Due d'Orleans had declared himself." In point of fact 
 neither Thiers nor Laffitte knew for certain where he was. But 
 the effect of their proclamation was magical. Before midday the 
 name of the Due d'Orleans was upon every tongue.^ 
 
 Early in the afternoon some sixty Deputies assembled at the 
 Palais- Bourbon, where Eaffitte assumed the presidential chair, 
 and where Hyde de Neuville was the only representative of the 
 Royalist party. Berard related his meeting with Mortemart, and 
 some surprise was expressed that he had neither come in person 
 nor sent a message to the Chamber. The Duke was genuinely ill 
 and utterly prostrated by his fatigues of the morning. He had 
 undertaken his difficult task with reluctance, and had every 
 reason to doubt the King's good faith. He now appears to have 
 failed entirely to grasp the importance of entering quickly into 
 relations with the Deputies. Instead of betaking himself at once 
 to the Chamber, he remained at the Luxembourg, surrounded by 
 about twenty Peers who had replied to Semonville's letter of 
 convocation. The Due de Broglie, who had visited the popular 
 quarters of the town, informed his colleagues that the people were 
 in a dangerous state of excitement, and that at any mention of 
 Charles X they would certainly destroy the Luxembourg as they 
 had the Bastille. Chateaubriand, on the other hand, was greatly 
 elated by the enthusiastic acclamations of a number of students, 
 ^ Vaulabelle, Deux Bestaurationsj VIII. pp. 325-528. 
 
1830] EEAPING THE WHIELWIND 479 
 
 who had recognized him near the Palais Royal, and who had in- 
 sisted upon carrying him in triumph to the Luxembourg as a 
 defender of the liberty of the press. He assured his fellow-Peers 
 that were the Monarchy to be overthrown he would undertake to 
 restore it within three months, provided he were not deprived of 
 the use of his pen.^ 
 
 The Peers at the Luxembourg were disposed to regard Morte- 
 mart's presence among them in the light of a protection, and were 
 reluctant that he should go to the Lower Chamber. Without 
 much difficulty they induced him to entrust to one of their num- 
 ber, M. de Sussy, the communication of the ordinances to the 
 Deputies. Laffitte and the Orleanists had taken advantage of 
 the Duke's delay to enter into relations mth the Lower Chamber, 
 and had carried on a vigorous canvass in favour of their candidate. 
 When Sussy at last appeared and announced from the tribune 
 the withdrawal of the ordinances of July 25th, the re-establish- 
 ment of the National Guard, and the opening of Parliament on 
 August 3rd, he was listened to coldly. Laffitte refused to receive 
 the documents which he proposed to hand over to him, on the 
 plea that he was only presiding at an informal meeting of Depu- 
 ties, not at a sitting of the Chamber, and suggested that he should 
 take them to the municipal commission at the Hotel de Ville. 
 Shortly after Sussy 's departure Thiers arrived from Neuilly. He 
 had not contrived to see the Due d' Orleans in person, but had had 
 an interview with the Duchess and with Mademoiselle, his sister, 
 and had been empowered to declare that His Royal Highness was 
 in complete sympathy with the popular cause. On the strength of 
 this news, a resolution was carried to offer to the Due d'Orleans 
 the post of Lieutenant -General of the Kingdom. Later on in the 
 evening, the Peers, with the approval of Mortemart, endorsed 
 the action of the Deputies, and delegates were chosen to lay the 
 proposal before His Royal Highness. 
 
 Sussy, in the meantime, had met with no better fortune at the 
 Hotel de Ville than at the Palais -Bourbon. He was informed 
 curtly that Charles' ordinances could not be inserted in the 
 Moniteur, and it was only with difficulty that he succeeded in 
 persuading La Fayette to allow him to leave them with him. The 
 Hotel de Ville had become the headquarters of the former Car- 
 bonari, and of the young men who had borne the largest share in 
 the fighting — the so-called RepubUcan party. These persons 
 acclaimed La Fayette as their chief, and loudly declared that 
 neither Charles nor any member of his family should ever again 
 reign over France. The Due d' Orleans was a Bourbon, not a 
 
 » Pasquier, V. p. 291. 
 Chateaubriand, Mimoires, XV. pp. 98-103 (edition Bruxelles, 1860). 
 
480 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1830 
 
 Valois, as his partisans asserted, and as such could not be re- 
 garded as a candidate for the throne. Moreover, they contended 
 that sixty or seventy Deputies, chosen under the electoral laws of 
 a fallen monarchy, had no right to speak for France, and that 
 until the people should have been consulted as to the form of 
 government under which they should elect to live, the municipal 
 commission must not be dissolved.^ 
 
 At Saint-Cloud Charles now placed all his hopes in Mortemart. 
 But the day wore on and no message was received from him, 
 whilst the news was confirmed that the revolution was spreading 
 rapidly. Versailles had hoisted the tricolour, and the men of 
 Rouen were marching to the assistance of Paris. Marmont, who 
 was now in command only of the Guards, urged him to retire to 
 Blois, where he could convene the Chambers and summon to his 
 side the cofps diplomatique. The Marshal was growing very un- 
 easy about the spirit of the troops. Food was still scarce and, 
 owing to Polignac's lack of foresight, there was not sufficient 
 money to enable them to receive the extra pay which the King 
 had promised them. Even in regiments of the Guards numerous 
 cases of desertion were reported, and, it was feared, that many 
 more men would abandon the colours so soon as it was dark. 
 Under these circumstances, Marmont decided to issue a general 
 order acquainting the troops of the dismissal of Ministers and the 
 withdrawal of the ordinances, measures which must bring their 
 hardships to an end. Before taking this step, he says that he 
 made futile attempts to find the Dauphin, and only acted upon 
 his own responsibility because he conceived that delay would be 
 dangerous. Charles, when he heard about it, blamed him for 
 introducing political questions into an address to soldiers, and 
 bade him inform his son, at once, of what he had done. The 
 Dauphin had intended to promulgate an order, according to 
 which, far from representing the struggle as terminated, he 
 promised to share all the dangers of the troops, and urged them 
 to preserve the constancy and courage of true French soldiers. 
 He was greatly enraged at Marmont's extraordinary assumption 
 of the supreme command of which he had been deprived, and, 
 probably also, had grave suspicions of his good faith. When the 
 Marshal was alone in his room with him, he tried to seize him by 
 the throat, and asked him furiously whether he contemplated the 
 perpetration of a second act of treachery. The one-armed Mar- 
 mont placed his hand upon the hilt of his sword which the 
 Dauphin attempted to wrench from him, and, in so doing, cut 
 his hand with the blade. Both men appear to have rolled strug- 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deua? Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 336-357. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 292-293. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 481 
 
 gling upon a sofa, His Royal Highness calling loudly for the 
 Guard. Marmont, when the gardes -du- corps burst into the room, 
 was made a prisoner, and marched under escort to his quarters 
 across the great courtyard. 
 
 Upon hearing of this deplorable scene, Charles at once ordered 
 the Due de Luxembourg to take back to the Marshal his sword, 
 and to bring him to see him. When the indignant Marmont was 
 in his presence, he begged him to go to his son, who was prepared 
 to apologize, provided the Marshal would admit that he had done 
 wrong in publishing an order without his permission. But Mar- 
 mont, whilst protesting his devotion to the King, declared that 
 never again could he speak to the Dauphin. Charles, however, 
 placed his arm round him, and, adjuring him not to add to his 
 trouble by refusing his request, led him to the door, and, before 
 the assembled courtiers, charged the Due de Guiche to take him 
 to His Royal Highness. Marmont, when confronted with the 
 Dauphin, acknowledged his error, and he, in return, confessed 
 that he had acted hastily. They then shook hands coldly and 
 separated.^ Before midnight General de Girardin, who had 
 been despatched from Paris by Mortemart, arrived to warn the 
 King that the populace was preparing to attack Saint-Cloud. 
 Charles yielding, it is said, to the entreaties of the Duchesse de 
 Berri, who was in an agony of apprehension on account of her 
 children, gave orders for the departure of the Court to Trianon. 
 The mournful procession started about three o'clock in the morn- 
 ing of Saturday, July 31st, and reached Trianon about eight, 
 where nothing had been prepared. The escort of four companies 
 of gardes- du-corps was commanded by Marmont, the Dauphin, 
 with the main body of the troops, remaining for the present at 
 Saint-Cloud. 2 
 
 When Charles was resolving to fly during the night from Saint- 
 Cloud, the Due d'Orleans was quietly returning to Paris. The 
 publication of the ordinances of July 25th had found him with 
 his family at his summer residence at Neuilly. Very little appears 
 to be knowTi of his movements during the next few days. Never- 
 theless, it is practically certain that he held no communication 
 either with the King or with the Eiberal Deputies. Lafiitte, how- 
 ever, when he arrived in Paris on July 28th, sent to warn him 
 that " a trap might be laid for him at Saint-Cloud." In conse- 
 quence possibly of this message he secretly quitted Neuilly, 
 
 ^ Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 288-297. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 294-298. 
 
 D'Haussez^ Memoires II. pp. 287-288. 
 
 Guerrion-Ranville, Journal d'un ministrej 30 Juillet, 1830, p. 260. 
 2 Pasquier, VI. p. 293. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires^ VIII. p. 297. 
 
 2 I 
 
482 THE BOURBON EESTORATION [1830 
 
 either on this Wednesday or on the following day, and took up 
 his abode at Le Raincy, another of his houses a few miles away. 
 Thus it happened that when Thiers arrived at Neuilly, on Friday 
 morning, the Due d' Orleans was absent, and he was only able to 
 see the Duchess and the Princess Adelaide, Mademoiselle d' Or- 
 leans, as she was generally called. The Duke was sorely puzzled 
 to know what to do when the news was transmitted to him at 
 Le Raincy that the Liberals regarded the throne as vacant, and 
 urgently desired his return to Paris. Without doubt, in the first 
 instance, his wife counselled him to abstain from all intervention, 
 but Mademoiselle had greater influence over him, and it is certain 
 that she held more ambitious views. In his perplexity he in- 
 voked the advice of Eord Stuart de Rothesay, the British Am- 
 bassador, who urged him to remain at Neuilly and to do all in his 
 power to restore order. About five o'clock, however, he appears 
 to have ordered his carriage and to have started for Neuilly. 
 But he had not proceeded far, when Montesquiou, his aide-de- 
 camp, who accompanied him on horseback, looked round and 
 saw that he had turned back. Soon afterwards, however, he 
 departed a second time, and, upon this occasion, adhered to his 
 resolution and drove to Neuilly. ^ 
 
 The deputation from the Chamber which was to offer the 
 Lieutenant-Generalship of the Kangdom to the Due d'Orleans 
 enquired for him in vain at the Palais-Royal. General Sebas- 
 tiani, who was upon terms of intimacy with His Royal Highness, 
 wrote to him, in consequence, to explain the situation, and a 
 young man of his household undertook to deliver the letter. The 
 Duke received this communication upon his arrival at Neuilly, 
 and, in reply, sent back word that he would return to Paris the 
 next day. His partizans, however, would hear of no delay, and 
 Lafiitte forthwith despatched to him a second and more urgent 
 summons. The Duke, thereupon, set out at once on foot, accom- 
 panied by two of his aides-de-camp. Barricades rendered the 
 streets impassable for all but pedestrians. In many places the 
 paving-stones had been taken up, and everywhere the lamps 
 had been broken, the principal thoroughfares alone being lighted 
 by the candles and lanterns which the inhabitants were obliged to 
 place in their windows. The Place du Palais-Royal was thronged 
 with people and ablaze with bivouac fires, round which crowded 
 armed men of all descriptions. As the Duke made his way 
 through the different groups, no one recognized in the inoffensive 
 citizen the man whose name appeared on countless proclama- 
 tions about the towna. 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Festaurations, VIII. pp. 366-867. 
 F. O. France, No. 411. Lord Stuart de Rothesay, July, 1830. Paris, 
 30th July, 1830. 
 
 I 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 483 
 
 After entering about midnight the Palais-Royal by a side-door, 
 the Due d'Orleans sent to announce his arrival to Eaffitte and 
 La Fayette, and to request the Due de Mortemart to come to 
 him at once. During the evening, Mortemart had attempted 
 to return home, but the mob, hearing of his presence, assembled 
 round his house and compelled him to fly in disguise to the 
 Luxembourg, where Semonville lodged him in a garret.^ Upon 
 arriving at the Palais-Royal he was taken to a room, where he 
 found the Due d' Orleans lying upon a sofa. His Royal Highness, 
 with a real or simulated emotion, sought to impress upon him 
 that he had been dragged to Paris against his will, because the 
 Deputies insisted upon making him Lieutenant -General of the 
 Kingdom. He enquired anxiously whether Mortemart had been 
 invested with the power to recognize his appointment. Morte- 
 mart had no such authority, and suggested that he should ex- 
 plain his position in a letter, which he would transmit to the 
 King at the first opportunity. The Duke agreed, and forthwith 
 wrote out the assurance that " were a title to be imposed upon 
 him to which he had never aspired. His Majesty might feel certain 
 that he should regard it as a merely provisional arrangement." 
 Mortemart concealed this document in his neck-cloth and de- 
 parted. A few hours later, however, he gave it back in com- 
 pliance with an urgent request from the Duke for its return. 
 Without doubt, Charles* precipitate flight from Saint-Cloud had 
 convinced his kinsman that he was no longer a factor in the 
 situation which he need take into account.^ 
 
 About eight o'clock the delegates from the Chamber arrived 
 at the Palais-Royal. After listening to their address, the Due 
 d'Orleans informed them that he would acquaint them, In the 
 course of a few hours, with his decision with regard to the Lieu- 
 tenant-Generalship which they proposed he should assume. They 
 adjured him, however, not to delay for a moment. Berard 
 pointed out that Saint-Cloud could be Ignored, but that grave 
 peril threatened from the Hotel de Ville, where at any moment 
 the extreme party might persuade La Fayette to proclaim a 
 Republic. After several other Deputies had spoken in the same 
 strain, the Duke left the room with Dupin and Sebastiani. 
 Presently he returned with the draft of a proclamation in which 
 he announced his acceptation of the Lieutenant-Greneralship, 
 and promised that in future " the Charter should be a reality." 
 The Deputies expressed their warmest approval, and departed 
 to communicate the Duke's address to their colleagues at the 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. p. 661. 
 « Pasquier, VI. pp. 299-301. 
 Vaulabelle, Detix Bestaurations, VIII. pp. 367-369. 
 
484 THE BOUEBON RESTOEATION [1830 
 
 Palais Bourbon. But, from an early hour, an armed mob had 
 been gathering round the Hotel de Ville. Rumours were current 
 that the Deputies were negotiating with Saint -Cloud, and were 
 proposing to rob the people of the fruits of their victory. The 
 proclamation of the Due d' Orleans, which was read with feelings 
 of relief by the inhabitants of the wealthier quarters of the town, 
 roused the fury of the more turbulent sections of the population. 
 The Duke was denounced as a Bourbon, and round the Hotel de 
 Ville the cry was general that no member of that family should 
 rule over France. To calm the agitation which was growing 
 serious, the municipal commission decided to announce that 
 Charles X had ceased to reign, in a proclamation which was 
 replete with flattering allusions to the courage and virtues of the 
 people, "to whom whatever Government that might be set up 
 would owe its origin." ^ 
 
 Under these circumstances it was plain that the assumption 
 by the Due d' Orleans of the office of Lieutenant -General could 
 not be regarded as the termination of the crisis. Before that end 
 could be attained Ea Fayette, the hero of the mob, must be 
 induced to set the seal of his approval upon the Duke's nomina- 
 tion. Great efforts were made by the Orleanists in this direction, 
 and, among other means employed, the good offices of Mr. Rives, 
 the American Minister, were invoked. Once assured that, were 
 he to assist in founding a Liberal Monarchy, he would not forfeit 
 his popularity in the United States, La Fayette's resistance was, 
 in a great measure, overcome.^ At last Laffitte carried the news 
 to the Chamber that he had promised to reserve the Lieutenant - 
 General at the Hotel de Ville. The Deputies, thereupon, de- 
 clared their intention of accompanying His Royal Highness to 
 the municipal headquarters. When they arrived at the Palais- 
 Royal, the Duke showed himself upon the balcony to the crowd, 
 and publicly embraced Laffitte. He then mounted a white horse 
 and started off, attended by his aides-de-camp and closely fol- 
 lowed by Laffitte, whose sprained ankle compelled him to be 
 carried in a chair. The Deputies, flanked by four ushers of the 
 Chamber, pushed their way through the crowd as best they 
 could. A tipsy drummer beating the pas de charge headed the 
 procession. 
 
 At first this Royal progress was acclaimed with some enthusi- 
 asm by the people. The Duke, nodding to General Gerard, or 
 turning round to speak to Laffitte, would shake effusively the 
 
 1 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. p 372-378. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 301-303. 
 
 2 Thureau Dangin, La Monarchie de Juiliet, I. pp. 14-15. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire. XX. pp. 668-670, 673-675. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 485 
 
 numerous hands held out to him. Without doubt, it was not aff ec - 
 tion for him, but a desire to drag down Royalty to their own level, 
 which prompted so many citizens to grasp the Lieutenant -General 
 by the hand. As the procession approached the Hotel de Ville 
 the attitude of the crowd underwent a change. Cries of " Down 
 with the Bourbons ! " and " Eong live liberty ! "' resounded upon 
 all sides. Still smiling, but deadly pale, the Duke rode through the 
 armed mob upon the Place de Greve, and dismounted in safety 
 at the entrance to the Hotel de Ville. " You see an old National 
 Guard come to pay his respects to his General/' ^ he said to those 
 around him, as he was conducted into the great reception-room. 
 The declaration of the principles to which he undertook to adhere, 
 drawn up by the Deputies that morning, was read aloud, and, 
 in reply, His Royal Highness placed his hand upon his heart and 
 expressed the hope that he might be enabled to contribute to the 
 happiness of the people. At this juncture, the so-called General 
 Dubourg forced his way to the front, and, pointing insolently to 
 the mob outside, remarked that he must keep his word. " Evi- 
 dently, sir, you do not know me," said the Duke, with great 
 dignity. This answer evoked applause, in the midst of which La 
 Fayette came forward, and, placing the tricolour in his hands, 
 led him to the window. The Duke waved his flag, and, clasping 
 La Fayette in his arms, embraced him. At this spectacle the 
 people upon the Place set up a tremendous cheer and discharged 
 their firearms in the air. Legitimate Monarchy was at an end in 
 France. The accolade upon the Place de Greve had consecrated 
 the sovereignty of the people. The Due d'Orl^ans was accepted 
 by the Revolution, and could ride back in triumph to the Palais- 
 Royal. ^ 
 
 The reign of the Due d' Orleans may be said to have begun on 
 this Saturday afternoon. Ten days were to elapse, however, 
 during which the Charter was to be modified, before he was to be 
 formally enthroned as Louis Philippe, King of the French. His 
 conduct has been the subject of much controversy. His friends 
 contend that by coming forward he saved the country from the 
 civil war which the proclamation of a Republic must have en- 
 tailed. His detractors hold that he was guilty of treason and of 
 the blackest ingratitude towards Charles X, from whom he had 
 experienced nothing but kindness. It must be admitted that 
 during the whole of the Restoration period the Due d' Orleans 
 
 ^ Thureau Dangin, La Monarchie de Juillet, I. p. 27. 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 304-807. 
 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires (Bruxelles, 1849), XV. pp. 117-120. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 378-387. 
 
 Thureau Dangin, La Monarchie de Juillet, I. pp. 17-20. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 678-682. 
 
486 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 had made a point of ingratiating himself with tiie Liberals. The 
 leading men of their party were his constant guests at the Palais- 
 Royal, his sons were educated at a public lycee, and by all means 
 in his power he sought to show that his ideas had nothing in 
 common with those entertained at the Tuileries. Yet it does not 
 follow that he wished to see the elder branch overthrown, or that 
 he contemplated a usurpation. Without doubt, he realized that 
 Charles was following a course which might lead to a revolution. 
 But were such an event to take place, he may have hoped, 
 merely, that any decree of banishment passed upon the Bourbons 
 would not be extended to him. He was a very rich man, passion- 
 ately fond of money, and in past years had tasted the bitterness 
 of poverty and exile. His conduct, from the moment that affairs 
 became serious in Paris, points to a strong desire to avoid com- 
 promising himself with either party. The Due d' Orleans was 
 neither responsible for, nor could he have averted Charles' ruin, 
 which was consummated when the troops evacuated the capital. 
 Once the victory of the people was assured, however, he was not 
 slow to avail himself of the advantages which circumstances had 
 placed within his grasp. ^ Though he may not have been actuated 
 by disinterested motives, his acceptation of the Lieutenant- 
 Generalship undoubtedly preserved his country from further 
 bloodshed and disorder. The despatches of Lord Stuart de 
 Rothesay, the British Ambassador, who had had a long experi- 
 ence of French affairs, are instructive upon this point. As has 
 been related already, on July 30th he advised the Duke to re- 
 main at Neuilly, and warned him that his elevation to the throne 
 would not be sanctioned by the Powers. Nevertheless, the very 
 next day, he reports that " his nomination to the Lieutenant- 
 Generalship was the only solution of the question, otherwise the 
 Hotel de Ville party would have gained the upper hand.'* ^ 
 
 Charles made but a brief stay at Trianon. At one time during 
 the day bolder counsels appear to have prevailed. The Duchesse 
 de Berri, according to d'Haussez, put on male attire and stuck a 
 pair of pistols in her belt, whilst the dismissed Ministers, with 
 the exception of Polignac, were assembled and directed to draw 
 up plans for combating the revolution. Early in the afternoon, 
 however, the Dauphin arrived from Saint-Cloud with the main 
 body of the Royal army. A skirmish that morning at the Pont 
 de Sevres, in which an infantry regiment of the Guards had re- 
 fused to do its duty, showed that even the picked corps were no 
 longer to be depended upon. In consequence, possibly of his son's 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Revolution de 1830^ pp. 87-94. 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ations, VIII. pp. 159-160. 
 
 2 F. O. France, Nos. 411, 412. Lord Stuart de Rothesay, Paris, 1830. 
 
1830] EEAPING THE WHIRLWIND 487 
 
 report, Charles forthwith decided to continue his flight to Ram- 
 bouillet. Ministers hastily destroyed the proclamation and circu- 
 lars which they had drawn up, and prepared to follow the Court. 
 They w^ere informed, however, that they would do well to look to 
 their own safety, and Montbel and Capelle, who had seen the 
 King, gave them blank passports and money to enable them to 
 escape. Charles conveyed his thanks to them for their past ser- 
 vices, and expressed his regret for the dangers which they must 
 encounter.^ He appears, however, to have been more genuinely 
 solicitous on Polignac's behalf, and to have charged M. de Semalle, 
 who had property in Normandy, to do all in his power to convey 
 him in safety to the coast. Charles arrived at Rambouillet about 
 ten o'clock at night, the Dauphin and the troops bivouacking at 
 Trappes. Desertions had been numerous during the day, and 
 the roads were strewn with arms and accoutrements. ^ 
 
 The next day, August 1st, Charles heard that the Due d' Orleans 
 had taken up the office of Lieutenant -General of the Kingdom. 
 Under these circumstances he deemed it well to appoint him to 
 the post himself by a letter, in which he expressed his desire to 
 see order restored, assured " his cousin " that he counted upon 
 his devotion to his person, and announced his resolution of de- 
 fending himself to the death were he to be attacked. The gloom 
 on this Sunday at Rambouillet was dispelled for a moment by 
 the arrival of the Dauphine. The news of the outbreak of the 
 revolution had reached her at Dijon upon her return journey from 
 Vichy, and, by travelling across country in disguise, she had con- 
 trived to rejoin her family in safety. In the course of the day 
 the Dauphin withdrew from Trappes and posted his troops in 
 the forest and in the park of the chateau. His command still 
 numbered about 12,000 men and 42 guns, but it had no longer 
 any value as a fighting force. After conferring together, the 
 colonels of the different infantry regiments of the Guards de- 
 cided to enter into negotiations with the Provisional Government, 
 whilst Bourdesoulle's heavy cavalry brigade left the position 
 assigned to it and marched back to Paris. Either during the 
 night or early on the morning of August 2nd, Charles received a 
 reply from the Due d'Orl^ans. By whom it was brought and 
 precisely what it contained does not appear to be knowTi. It is 
 probable, however, that the Duke gave him to understand that 
 
 ^ D'Haussez, Memoires, II. pp. 289-291. 
 
 Guernon-Ranville_, Journal d'un ministre, 31 Juillet, 1830. 
 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 298-299. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 309-311. 
 2 E. Daudet, Revolution de 1830, pp. 78-79 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux liestaurations^ VIII. pp. 394-398. 
 
 % 
 
488 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 nothing short of his abdication could restore that tranquillity 
 which he had declared he was so anxious to see re-estabUshed.^ 
 
 Either on Sunday, August 1st, or early the following day, 
 Charles sent General de Girardin to Lord Stuart de Rothesay to 
 ask for his advice. It was the first communication which 
 either he or Polignac had had with the corps diplomatique since 
 the publication of the ordinances of July 25th. A conference of 
 the Ambassadors of the four Powers now took place, which re- 
 sulted in a reply being handed to Girardin to the effect that 
 " being in ignorance of the conditions of the country they could 
 offer no counsel, and could only advise His Majesty to provide 
 for his own safety." Pozzo di Borgo, the Russian Ambassador, 
 was an ardent supporter of the Due d' Orleans, and had already 
 had a secret interview with Mademoiselle, his sister, at the house 
 of Madame de Boigne.^ 
 
 In consequence, presumably, of the Due d'Orleans' letter and 
 of the news brought to him from Paris by General de Girardin, 
 the King and the Dauphin, on Monday, August 2nd, decided to 
 abdicate in favour of the Due de Bordeaux. In forwarding their 
 act of abdication to the Duke, Charles enjoined him to take steps 
 to have his grandson proclaimed King at once. Without doubt, 
 in the enthronement of the Due de Bordeaux, with the Due 
 d'0rl6ans as Regent, lay the only hope of preserving the legitimist 
 principle. Pasquier, on Sunday morning, discussed the matter 
 with Girardin, and urged that the child should be brought to 
 Paris, and confided to the Duchesse d'0rl6ans. At Rambouillet, 
 the Duchesse de Berri is said to have offered to take her son into 
 the capital, and to have abandoned the idea only in consequence 
 of Charles' opposition to it. There can be no doubt that had she 
 carried out her intention the Lieutenant -General would have 
 been placed in a very embarrassing position. Pasquier, ^ though 
 he himself recommended this plan at the time, is fain to confess 
 that he no longer considers that it would have proved successful. 
 The suspicion could never have been eradicated that the secret 
 advisers of Charles X were exercising their baneful influence over 
 his grandson. Without doubt the National, in commenting upon 
 the King's abdication, expressed the sentiments of the vast 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 811-316, 318-320. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 299-302. 
 
 2 F. O. France, 411. Lord Stuart de Rothesay, Paris, August 2nd, 
 1830. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 309, 315-817. 
 
 Mdme. de Boigne, Memoires, III. pp. 423-428. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 689-691. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. pp. 307-308, 315. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 303-305. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 700-703. 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 489 
 
 majority of the people when it declared that the pupil of the 
 Baron de Damas and of M. Tharin could not rule over France.^ 
 Moreover, it is clear that the Due d' Orleans had no intention of 
 co-operating in such a scheme. It is certain that he ignored 
 altogether the stipulation, which Charles had inserted into his 
 act of abdication, that his grandson should be proclaimed King. 
 A curious story is related, however, by Colonel Caradoc, after- 
 wards Lord Howden, in his unpubHshed memoirs. ^ In 1830, he 
 was attached to the British Embassy in Paris, and was entrusted 
 by the Duke with an unofficial mission to Rambouillet, with the 
 object of inducing Charles and the Duchesse de Berri to hand 
 over the Due de Bordeaux into the keeping of the Duchesse 
 d'Orleans. This apparent anxiety to protect the rights of his little 
 kinsman accords ill with all the Lieutenant- GeneraFs public acts. 
 At this time he was desirous above all things to persuade Charles 
 to leave the country. To attain this end he had despatched five 
 commissioners to him, who may have passed upon the road the 
 messenger bringing to Paris the act of abdication. ^ It is difiicult 
 to beHeve that the proposal which Lord Howden carried to 
 Rambouillet can have been made in good faith. Rather w^ould 
 it appear to have been a trick whereby Charles' objection to 
 quitting France was to be overcome. 
 
 The news brought back, during the night of August 2nd-3rd, 
 by the commissioners, that Charles refused to leave Rambouillet 
 greatly disconcerted the Due d'0rl6ans. Ever since the previous 
 Saturday he had been exercising sovereign power. He had ap- 
 pointed Ministers, convened the Chambers for August 3rd, and 
 proclaimed the tricolour the national flag. It was impossible, 
 however, to restore complete tranquillity so long as the fallen 
 King remained within a short distance of Paris, surrounded by a 
 military force which had not yet formally acknowledged the new 
 Government. The Duke, therefore, directed that an armed 
 demonstration should be made against Rambouillet. In the 
 official account of this affair, published in the Moniteur of 
 August 6th, it is stated that La Fayette was ordered to employ 
 6000 National Guards for the purpose. The beating of drums at 
 
 1 Vide, p. 885. 
 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. p. 768. 
 
 2 Tliese memoirs would appear to have been written in French. I do 
 not know what has become of the MS. A brief account of Lord Howden's 
 mission is given by an ^*^ Occasional Correspondent" in The Times of 
 October 14th, 1873, p. 8. It is referred to by M. E. Daudet in La Revolu- 
 tion de 1830, p. 88. Both Pasquier (VI. pp. 830-331) and Marmont 
 {Memoires, VIII. p. 825) mention an interview between Colonel Caradoc 
 and Charles X. They diflfer as to its object^ but both agree in describing 
 it as having taken place on the road between Rambouillet and Cherbourg. 
 
 3 Pasquier, VI. pp. 820-821. 
 
490 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION [1830 
 
 the Hotel de Ville, however, caused a vast crowd to assemble, 
 the cry "a Rambouillet / " was set up, and in a moment forty or 
 fifty thousand armed citizens started off for the Royal residence 
 " with that dash which has ever been characteristic of French- 
 men in all their enterprises.** Pasquier relates that he was walk- 
 ing through the Champs Elysees, when he found himself suddenly 
 in the midst of a hideous rabble. He estimates that about fifteen 
 or sixteen thousand armed men passed him, some on foot, some 
 in cabs and vehicles of every kind, which had been requisitioned 
 during the morning. The sinister faces around him reminded 
 him of a similar expedition on October 6th, 1789, and he is pre- 
 pared to affirm that he did not see a single person in the uniform 
 of the National Guard. ^ Without doubt, the Due d' Orleans and 
 his advisers were confident that the Royal troops would offer no 
 serious resistance, and, of a surety, they were well pleased that the 
 scum of the population should be away from Paris on the day of 
 the meeting of the Chambers. 
 
 Meanwhile, three commissioners. Marshal Maison, M. de 
 Schonen, and M. Odillon Barrot were proceeding to Ram- 
 bouillet in advance of the mob. They insisted upon being taken 
 at once into Charles' presence, and assured him, when they were 
 admitted, that the whole of Paris was advancing to the attack. 
 Maison warned him roughly that, should he persist in remaining 
 where he was, he would be responsible for the bloodshed which 
 his decision would entail. Odillon Barrot suggested diplomati- 
 cally that his peaceful departure would improve greatly the pros- 
 pects of the Due de Bordeaux. He was visibly impressed by this 
 view of the situation. After retiring to deliberate in private for 
 a short time he sent for Maison. Two years before he had con- 
 ferred upon this person the baton of a Marshal of France, and he 
 now adjured him to tell him truthfully whether 80,000 men were 
 on the march from Paris. " I have not counted them," said he, 
 '*' but I should guess that they amount to about that number.*' 
 This statement, from an officer whom he beheved he could trust, 
 overcame Charles' resistance. He announced his readiness to 
 depart at once with all the members of his family. ^ 
 
 Upon the abdication of the King and the Dauphin, Marmont 
 had resumed the command of the troops at Rambouillet. It 
 has been said that by acquiescing in Charles' departure, he al- 
 lowed a splendid opportunity to escape of inflicting a salutary 
 lesson upon the mob. He, however, alleges that the troops had 
 
 1 Pasquier, VI. pp. 322-323, 828-329. 
 Vaulabelle, Deua^ Restaurations , VIII. pp. 416-418. 
 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 701-703. 
 
 2 Pasquier, VI. pp. 824-326. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 312-313. 
 
1830] EEAPING THE WHIELWIND 491 
 
 lost all spirit, and that the position at Rambouillet was difficult to 
 defend. On the other hand, it has been contended that, had the 
 soldiers been attacked, they would have shown themselves eager 
 to avenge their defeat in the streets of Paris. In such case as 
 this the tactical considerations entered into by the Marshal may 
 be ignored. It cannot be doubted that, provided It were disposed 
 to fight for the Royal cause, the army under his command was 
 amply sufficient to have made short work of the mob. It is 
 difficult to believe, however, that the dynasty would have 
 profited by such a victory. The whole country had declared for 
 the revolution, and at this stage resistance could have resulted 
 only in the massacre of the Royal family. The Due de Luxem- 
 bourg, in a conversation with one of the commissioners in the 
 evening, doubtless summed up the situation correctly : "I 
 believe you have imposed upon us," said he ; " nevertheless, had 
 we swept that rabble off the face of the earth, we should have 
 been rendering merely a great service to the Due d* Orleans." ^ 
 Charles quitted Rambouillet in the evening of August 3rd, 
 and, escorted by his gardes-du-corps only, proceeded by easy 
 stages to Cherbourg. Despite the efforts of the commissioners 
 who accompanied him to accelerate his march, his progress was 
 of the slowest. Perhaps he still expected that a movement in his 
 favour would break out in Ea Vendue, or possibly he may have 
 been induced to linger by the hope that some promise made to 
 him at Rambouillet would be fulfilled. Yet, as the Royal family 
 moved slowly towards the coast, the aspect of the people must 
 have dispelled their illusions. Everywhere the inhabitants 
 saw their King pass into exile with cold indifference, and scarcely 
 a hat was raised in his honour. From church steeples and public 
 buildings the tricolour was flj^g, and even the country-houses of 
 the nobility were prudently closed against him. On August 16th, 
 Charles arrived at Cherbourg, and, accompanied by his family 
 and by Marshal Marmont, sailed for England on board the Great 
 Britain^ an American vessel which had been chartered for his 
 conveyance. A week earlier, on August 9th, liouis Philippe, 
 Due d*Orleans, had sworn fidelity to the revised Charter at the 
 Palais-Bourbon, and had been proclaimed King of the French.'^ 
 
 1 Viel Castel, Histoire, XX. pp. 703-706. 
 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 313-320. 
 Chateaubriand, Memoires (Bruxelles, 1850), XVI. pp. 6-10. 
 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 708-712. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaur ationSj VIII. pp. 425-427. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 327-328. 
 
 2 Marmont, Memoires, VIII. pp. 321-333. 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 344-347. 
 
 Vaulabelle, Deux Restaurations, VIII. pp. 428-431, 441-447. 
 Nettement, /Twtoire, VIII. pp. 728-731. 
 
492 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 Of the seven Ministers who composed Charles X's last Cabinet 
 only MM. de Montbel, Capelle, and d'Haussez succeeded in 
 escaping abroad. Peyronnet, after walking from Rambouillet 
 to Chartres in his dress-shoes, was recognized by an official whom 
 he had dismissed from his post, and was cast into prison at Tours. 
 In the same neighbourhood, a few days later, Guernon-Ranville 
 and Chantelauze were apprehended. When arrested at Gran- 
 ville in Normandy, on August 15th, Polignac was attempting to 
 pass for the servant of the Marquise de Saint -Fargeau. His 
 practice of drawing on a pair of gloves, in order to protect his 
 hands whilst cleaning his mistress' boots, appears to have excited 
 the suspicions of his fellow-domestics. All four prisoners were 
 in due course conveyed to Paris, and incarcerated at Vincennes.^ 
 The feeling against them was very strong among the people of 
 Paris. Louis Philippe, however, was resolved at all hazards to 
 save their lives. At their trial before the Peers, in December, 
 they were found guilty of high treason, but, in deference to the 
 King's wishes, were condemned only to perpetual imprisonment. 
 They were indebted, however, to the firmness and skilful pro- 
 visions of Montalivet, the Minister of the Interior, that they were 
 not torn to pieces by the mob and the National Guards when they 
 were removed from the Luxembourg. ^ After undergoing a 
 detention of six years' duration in the fortress of Ham they were 
 set at liberty.^ 
 
 From 1814 to 1830 the Monarchy had been struggling with 
 difficulties inherent to the conditions under which the Restora- 
 tion had been ejffected. The Constitutional Charter, which was 
 to be a guarantee that existing institutions were to be maintained, 
 had established a parliamentary system modelled upon that of 
 England. At the bidding of the Tsar, Louis XVIII had been 
 compelled to adopt a form of government, which accorded ill 
 with national traditions, and which had to be carried on in con- 
 junction with the highly centralized administrative system in- 
 stituted by Bonaparte. An acute observer of French affairs has 
 pointed out that parliamentary government is incompatible with 
 a centralized bureaucracy, and that the difficulty of reconciling 
 the two systems has not been overcome to this day.* The sudden 
 removal of a strong hand from the central government produced 
 
 1 E. Daudet, Revolution de 1880, pp. 78-79^, 102-110, 114-130. 
 Pasquier, VI. p. 330 (note). 
 
 2 E. Daudet, Revolution de 1830, Proces des Ministres de Charles X, 
 pp. 159-274. 
 
 Pasquier, VI. pp. 368-478. 
 ^ Guernon-Ranville, in his Jowmal d'un ministre, Caen, 1873, gives an 
 account of their imprisonment. 
 
 * J. E. C. Bodley, Frame, new edition, 1899, pp. 407, 408, 415, 596. 
 
1830] EEAPING THE WHIELWIND 493 
 
 anarchy under the First Restoration. The task of engrafting 
 the parliamentary system upon national institutions which were 
 unsuited to receive it was not, however, the only problem which 
 confronted the Monarchy. It was foreign invasion, not the action 
 of the people themselves, which had made the return of the Bour- 
 bons possible. But the enthronement of a brother of Eouis XVI, 
 which put an end to the war, aroused apprehensions, and was the 
 signal for animosities to break out, which the Imperial rule had 
 held in check. The fear that the revolutionary land settlement 
 was to be disturbed, the general contempt into which the Govern- 
 ment had fallen, and the lack of consideration shown to the army 
 enabled Bonaparte to march to Paris without firing a shot. 
 
 Under the Second Restoration the main causes which had 
 produced the overthrow of the Monarchy in 1815, continued to 
 operate with varying degrees of intensity. As it was put further 
 to the test the unsuitability of representative government to the 
 national temperament was made manifest. The establishment 
 of the party system, the essential complement of parliamentary 
 government, was rendered impossible by the unwillingness of 
 Deputies to submit to the necessary discipline. The tendency of 
 Royalists and Liberals to break up into groups produced that 
 Ministerial instability which has been the feature of French 
 political life under all parliamentary regimes.^ Though Villele 
 succeeded in forming a party and in remaining in office for six 
 years, his action, for a long time before his final downfall, had 
 been paralysed by the disunion of his followers. Decazes, Riche- 
 lieu, and Martignac were all in turn beset by the same difficulties. 
 
 The people, generally, took small interest in parliamentary pro- 
 ceedings. They cared little whether the franchise were narrowed, 
 or whether a Deputy were ejected from the Chamber by soldiers. 
 They placed their faith in the Charter, not because it had estab- 
 lished parliamentary government, but because it prevented a 
 return to the old regime. The infirm old Louis XVIII was not 
 the ruler of their choice, but they began to trust him when they 
 saw that he was determined to defend the Constitution against 
 the Ultra-Royalists. The advantages of peace and of a stable 
 government were reflected in a general prosperity, which turned 
 men's thoughts from revolutionary ideas. Hence the crushing 
 electoral defeat of the Liberal party, In consequence of the 
 countenance which certain prominent members of it had given to 
 the Carbonari and military conspiracies. Charles X upon his 
 accession reaped the full benefit of his brother's wisdom. More- 
 over, his appearance on horseback and his grace of manner told 
 in his favour. This good impression, however, was of brief dura- 
 J. E. C. Bodley, France, new edition, 1899, p. 533. 
 
494 THE BOURBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 tion. The clergy had suffered too much in the Revolution to be 
 credited with friendly dispositions towards the institutions of 
 modern France. Many of the high dignitaries of the Church 
 were men of ambitious views, who were known to be scheming to 
 regain for it its lost power. Charles* piety and his extreme 
 deference to the clergy aroused misgivings. His coronation at 
 Rheims was contrasted with that of the Emperor at Notre-Dame, 
 and was held to be symbolical of ecclesiastical domination. 
 Whilst educated men talked of the occult influence of the Con- 
 gregation over the King's counsels and over every department of 
 the State, the working classes, after the processions of the Jubilee, 
 were convinced that their Sovereign was a Jesuit. The laws of 
 sacrilege and of primogeniture evoked the dreaded spectre of the 
 old regime. Peyronnet's abortive press bill, the law of justice and 
 of love^ was believed to have been brought forward in deference to 
 the demands of a reactionary clergy. 
 
 The recollections of the Revolution were too fresh in the minds 
 of the men of the Restoration for political controversy to be 
 carried on in any spirit but one of extreme bitterness. To them 
 '* party division meant not the constitutional struggle to gain or 
 to guard administrative office under an unchanging sovereign 
 power, but defence and attack of the existing regime." ^ Unlike 
 his brother, Charles X was by temperament unsuited to the part 
 of a Constitutional Sovereign. He took the keenest interest in 
 the business of government, and entered passionately into all the 
 contentious questions of the day.^ But the idea that he must 
 dismiss his Ministers at the bidding of a factious opposition was 
 as repugnant to him as to a King of the old regime. A Constitu- 
 tion admitting of the personal rule of the Sovereign was infinitely 
 better suited to the nation than parliamentary government. It is 
 conceivable that such a system might have been imposed success- 
 fully upon the country had a well-considered plan for its adop- 
 tion been put into execution at a favourable opportunity. But 
 Charles had still that leaning towards " small men and small 
 measures," of which he had given proofs as the Comte d'Artois. 
 At Coblentz he believed in Calonne, and championed the policy 
 of the emigration. At the Tuileries he placed his faith in Polignac, 
 and issued the ordinances of July. 
 
 There were many men, even among the Liberals, who were 
 ready to admit that the parliamentary system could not be 
 established satisfactorily In France. Polignac 's incapacity, how- 
 ever was so notorious, that they had no faith in his ability to 
 carry out successfully the attack upon it which they suspected 
 
 1 J. E. C. Bodley, France, new edition,, 1899, p. 379. 
 » Nettement, Histoire, VIII. pp. 733-734 (note). 
 
1830] REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 495 
 
 him of planning. They were moved to Indignation, not at the 
 idea that a violation of the Constitution was contemplated, but 
 at the thought of the chaos which must result from an unsuccess- 
 ful coup d'etat. Unquestionably this was the general feeling of 
 the well-to-do bourgeoisie. The resistance of the labouring 
 classes and the students to the ordinances proved to be, however, 
 the determining factor in the situation. Their attitude may be 
 ascribed in part to the contempt and hatred which they felt for 
 Polignac as a priest-ridden emigre. It is certain that the working 
 men of Paris had no respect for parliamentary government. 
 During the street fighting of July, it was not to their Deputies 
 that they looked for guidance. Twenty-one years later they were 
 to laugh and clap their hands when they saw their chosen repre- 
 sentatives packed into prison vans and driven off to Mazas.^ In 
 1830 the masses were stirred to action by their anti-clericalism 
 and their hatred of the reigning dynasty. After the Revolution, 
 the prodigious number of silver coins upon which Charles* effigy 
 had been surmounted by the biretta shows how widespread was 
 the belief in his subjection to the priests. ^ Moreover, the sack of 
 the Archbishop's palace and of the Jesuit establishment at Mont- 
 rouge were the only instances of wanton damage committed in 
 the hour of victory. The legend has been propagated sedulously 
 that the rule of the elder branch was oppressive. Nevertheless, 
 it is certain that under the Restoration the people enjoyed a 
 greater degree of liberty than under any regime which preceded 
 it, and fully as much as under the one which followed it. 
 
 The extreme unpopularity of the Bourbons was due to the 
 conditions which had attended the re -establishment of the Mon- 
 archy. Not only was it galling to the national pride that the 
 Sovereign should owe his crown to foreign intervention, but the 
 unreasonable suspicion was entertained that the loss of territory, 
 to which France had been subjected, was the price which the 
 Bourbons had agreed to pay to the Allies for their assistance. The 
 disasters of 1814 and 1816 had not quelled the warlike spirit of 
 the people. They remembered with satisfaction that a coalition 
 of the nations had alone proved capable of overpowering them. 
 In the last years of the Restoration the rising generation was 
 
 1 Victor Hugo, Histoire d'un Crime, 4th edition, 1877, I. p. 118. 
 " Quelques homraes en blouses battirent des mains et crierent, ' C'est 
 bien fait ! a bas les vingt cinq franca ! ' " I. p. 173, " Une vieille femme 
 disait. Les vingt cinq francs sont a bas. Tant mieux.^' Under the 
 Restoration and under the Monarchy of July, Deputies were not paid. It 
 is possible that they may have been regarded with a little more respect in 
 consequence. 
 
 2 Nettement, Histoire, VIII. p. 735 (note). 
 Vaulabelle, Deitx Restaurations, VIII. p. 451 (note). 
 
496 THE BOUEBON RESTORATION [1830 
 
 burning to see the country regain its natural frontiers. " Wliat 
 are your opinions about the treaties of 1815 ?" ^ was the first 
 question put to the Duo d'Orleans by a deputation of young Re- 
 pubhcans. Guizot relates that a paper was placed in his hands, 
 a few days before Louis Philippe's enthronement, in which were 
 set forth the views of the Hotel de Ville party. " A bold march 
 to the Rhine " occupied the foremost place among the measures 
 which were to fortify and regenerate the nation. ^ Without 
 doubt, many combatants in the days of July went forth to fight, 
 convinced that the defeat of the Bourbons would mean a victory 
 gained over the Allied Sovereigns. 
 
 Charles, by his folly, had alarmed the middle classes, and 
 alienated from his cause the sympathies even of his well-wishers. 
 In the hour of distress the best elements of the nation stood aloof 
 and allowed the Monarchy to fall to the ground. Legitimate 
 Sovereignty was overthrown, but the fate of the regime which 
 was set up in its place was to prove that revolutionary forces 
 cannot be let loose with impunity. 
 
 ^ Thureau Dangin^ La Monarchie de Juilletj I. p. 50. 
 2 Guizot, Memoires, II. pp. 31-33. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Acton, Lord, 70 
 
 Agier, M., 383, 400-2 
 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, Congress of, 226-8 
 
 Alava, General, 346 
 
 Albignac, General d', 298 
 
 Albufera, Due d'. See Suchet, Mar- 
 shal 
 
 Alexander, Tsar, 1-4, 34, 40, 
 55, 78, 79, 152, 153, 155, 156, 
 174, 216, 217, 226, 227, 229, 280, 
 315-9, 324, 325, 326, 328, 330, 
 331, 350, 363, 375 
 
 Amiens, The Peace of, 29 
 
 Ancre, Marshal d', 253 
 
 Andigne' d', 90 
 
 Andre', d', 59, 64 
 
 Angle's, 264 
 
 Angouleme, Due d', 2, 39, 45, 62, 
 75, 76, 77, 78, 142-3, 148, 
 182, 200, 249, 264, 290, 337-49, 
 358, 359, 363, 398, 408, 412, 
 425, 428, 437, 441, 442, 448, 
 452, 455-6, 467, 470-2, 480-1, 
 486-8, 490 
 
 — Duchesse d', 6, 7, 39, 49, 75, 76, 
 152, 166, 167, 204, 247, 249, 254, 
 358, 359, 413, 417, 438, 450, 487 
 
 Apponyi, Count, 388 
 
 Arago, Fran9ois, 455, 465 
 
 Argenson, Voyer d', 112, 238, 242, 
 246, 265, 266, 274, 294, 298, 
 303, 311 
 
 Argenteau, Mercy, 21, 25 
 
 Argout, M. d*, 468, 471-5, 477 
 
 Artois, Comte d', 4-7, 11, 12, 16, 
 18, 33, 38, 39, 45, 59, 62, 63, 
 65, 66, 70, 71, 74, 75, 106, 107-9, 
 113, 128, 143, 148, 153, 158, 172, 
 180, 182, 197-200, 204, 206, 214, 
 222-6, 232, 238, 243, 246, 249, 
 254, 269, 271, 278, 280, 285-7, 
 291, 313, 330, 353, 356-63, 422, 
 494. See also Charles X 
 
 Aubert. See Royer-CoUard 
 
 Audry-Puyraveau, M., 458, 464 
 
 Auerstadt, Due d'. See Davout 
 
 2 k 497 
 
 Austria, Emperor Leopold II, 12-16, 
 18, 21, 23, 25, 194 
 
 — Emperor Joseph II, 12, 13 
 Francis II, 24, 26, 27, 79, 80, 
 
 226, 326, 368 
 Austria, Empress of, 326, 330 
 Autichamp, General d', 90, 337 
 Avaray, Comte d', 8, 37 
 
 Bachelu, General, 266 
 
 Balbi, Comtesse de, 8 
 
 Balzac, 295 
 
 Barrante, M. de, 213, 234, 262, 
 
 364, 372 
 Barere, 87 
 
 Baring Brothers, 215 
 Barradere, 308 
 Barras, 395 
 Barrot, Odillon, 490 
 Barthe'lemy, Marquis, 234, 235 
 
 — Abbe, 234 
 
 Bassano, Due de, 43-59, 77, 241 
 Baude, M., 457 
 Baudrillet, M., 305 
 Bausset, Cardinal, 229, 230 
 Bavaria, King of, 326 
 Bavoux, M., 240 
 Beauharnais, Eugene de, 2, 58 
 
 — Hortense de, 43, 59, 118 
 Beauvais, Bishop of. See Feutrier 
 Bedoyere, Comte de la, 84, 99, 
 
 111, 128, 137-40 
 
 — Comtesse de la, 137, 140 
 Beker, General, 118 
 Bellart, M. de, 169 
 Bellune, Due de. See Victor, Mar- 
 shal I 
 
 Be'ranger, P. J. de, 296, 370, 391 
 Be'rard, Major, 265, 268 
 
 — M., 477, 478, 483 
 Be'renger, M., 36, 231 
 Berlin, Treaty of, 24 
 Bernadotte, Marshal (afterwards 
 
 King of Sweden), 
 Bernstorff, 327 
 Berri, Due de, 39, 45, 62, 68, 70, 74, 
 
498 THE BOURBON RESTORATION 
 
 75, 105, 107, 109, 128, 148, 165, 
 
 193, 200, 248-50, 256, 264, 315 
 Berri, Duchesse de, 193, 194, 249, 
 
 252, 272, 278, 388, 411, 481, 486, 
 
 488, 489 
 Berryer, 163 
 
 Berthier, Marshal, Prince de Wag- 
 ram, 5, 48, 93 
 Berlin, Dr., 456 
 Berton, General, 303-5, 307-9, 
 
 311 
 Bertrand, General, 1 18, 295 
 Besuadiere, La, 114 
 Beugnot, M., 4, 36, 46, 124, 213, 
 
 236 
 Beurnonville, Comte de, 184, 194 
 Bezenval, Colonel de, 222 
 Bianchi, General, 88 
 Big-non, 121 
 Biran, Maine de, 1 99 
 Bischoflfswerder, 19 
 Blacas, Comte de, 8, 37, 53, 64, 69, 
 
 71, 103, 107, 154, 193, 197, 204, 
 
 205, 214, 286 
 Bliiclier, Field-Marshal, 91, 94, 
 
 96-8, 114, 117, 118, 120-2, 132, 
 
 133 
 Boigne, Mde. de, 205, 270, 273, 
 
 295, 455, 488 
 Boisgelin, Vicomte de, 127 
 Boislecomte, M. de, 426 
 Bonald, Vicomte de, 180, 225, 336 
 Bonaparte, Joseph, 1, 87, 118 
 
 — Jerome, 87, 110 
 Bonaparte, Lucien, 85, 101, 102, 
 
 111 
 Bonaparte, Napoleon, 1-5, 7, 9, 31, 
 32, 43, 60-5, 67, 68, 71-4, 76-8, 
 80-103, 110-12, 114, 117, 118, 
 120, 128-30, 139, 141, 168, 186, 
 
 194, 219, 237, 238, 283, 289, 293, 
 295-7, 323, 350, 870, 378, 406, 
 422, 446, 492-4 
 
 Bondy, 121 
 
 Bouville, M. de, 169, 281 
 Bordeaux, Due de, 272, 358, 385, 
 488-490 
 
 — M., 419. See also Chambord, 
 Comte de 
 
 Borgo, Pozzo di, 79, 107, 123, 125, 
 
 155, 181, 231, 325, 488 
 Bories, Sergeant, 305, 309 
 Bourbon, Due de, 7, 40, 75, 90 
 
 — Duchesse de, 292 
 
 Bourbons, The, 10, 61, 71, 131, 
 
 303, 348 
 Bourdesoulle, General, 337, 344, 
 
 384, 487 
 
 Bourdonnaye, Comte de la, 167, 
 168, 170, 206, 219, 259, 262, 
 281, 284, 313, 334, 336, 349, 
 352, 356, 361, 363, 379, 387, 
 394, 397, 400-2, 410, 417-421, 
 423, 429, 430, 431, 440 
 
 Bourmont, General, Comte de, 129, 
 409, 420, 422, 423, 439, 442 
 
 Bourrienne, F. de, 65, 69 
 
 Boyer, President, 378, 379 
 
 Bretonniere, M. de, 434 
 
 Brideau, Philippe, 295 
 
 Broglie, Victor, Due de, 235, 239, 
 241, 244, 246, 262, 364, 366, 
 372, 377, 387, 404, 477, 478 
 
 — Duchesse de, 236 
 
 Brown, Mrs., 250 
 
 Bruges, M. de, 197 
 
 Brun, Colonel, 189 
 
 Brune, Marshal, 142 
 
 Bresson, M. and Mde,, 175 
 
 Breteuil, Baron de, 21 
 
 Brissot, 21 
 
 Broughton, Lord. See Hobhouse, 
 John Cam 
 
 Bruce, Mr., 176 
 
 Brunswick, Duke of. See Fer- 
 dinand 
 
 Brunswick Manifesto, the, 27, 28 
 
 Bubna, General, 280 
 
 Billow, Count von, 31 9 
 „ General, 99 
 
 Cadet-Gassicourt, M., 458 
 Cadoudal, Georges, 33, 53, 385, 
 
 422 
 Caffe, M., 302, 305 
 Calonne, M. de, 12, 16, 17 
 Cambaceres, 41, 59, 174, 293 
 Cambon, 87 
 
 Cambrai, Proclamation of, 109 
 Canning, Mr., 325, 329, 331, 348, 
 
 392, 393, 409, 424 
 Cantillon. Sergeant, 217-9 
 Canuel, General, 207-9, 222, 337 
 Capelle, Baron, 441-3, 447, 448, 
 
 462, 465, 487, 492 
 Capodistrias, 319, 324 
 Caradoc, Colonel, 489 
 Caraman, M. de, 317, 323, 328, 330 
 Carbonari, The, 239, 263, 293, 
 
 297-9, 300, 302, 304, 305-9, 312, 
 
 313, 815, 320, 838, 411, 458, 493 
 Carbonneau, 192 
 Carlo Alberto di Carignano, Prince 
 
 (King of Sardinia), 279-80, 346 
 Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia, 279, 
 
 280 
 
INDEX 
 
 499 
 
 Carlsbad Decrees, the, 289 
 Carnot, General, 44, 83, 85, 86, 
 
 103, 110, 111, 116, 119, 124, 125, 
 
 130, 174, 217 
 Caroliue, Queen, 273 
 Caron, Colonel, 265, 300, 301, 311, 
 
 405, 422 
 Carrel, Armand, 298, 339, 432 
 Carvajal, General, 321 
 Castanos. General, 143 
 Castelbajac, 276, 281, 285,313 
 Castellane, Mile. Gabrielle de. See 
 
 Fouchd, Mde. 
 
 — Mde. Boni de, 354 
 Castlereagh, Lord, 38, 55, 80, 126, 
 
 133, 134, 155, 226,227,269, 316, 
 
 317-9. See also Londonderry, 
 
 Lord 
 Catherine II, Tsarina, 12, 14, 16, 19, 
 
 33, 153 
 Cauchois-Lemaire, 294 
 Caulaincourt, General, 3, 73, 79, 
 
 80, 103 
 Caumont la Force, Mile. See Balbi, 
 
 Mde. de 
 Cayla, Comte du, 269 
 
 — Comtesse du, 269-72, 286, 286, 
 313, 330, 350, 463 
 
 — Ugolin du, 270 
 Censeur, the, 43, 44 
 Chaboulon, Fleury de, 82 
 Chabrol, Comte de, 357, 392, 396, 
 
 397, 399, 401, 420, 423, 441 
 Chabrol- Croussol, Comte de, 208 
 Chabrol- Volvic, M. de, 465 
 Chamber of Deputies. See De- 
 puties 
 Chambord, Comte de, 272, 282, 358 
 Champagny, General de, 452, 459 
 Chantelauze, M., 441 444, 447, 452, 
 
 454, 465 
 Chapedelaine, 222 
 Charles X, King, 359-63, 365, 367, 
 368, 873-6, 377, 378-81, 384, 385, 
 387-93, 395, 396, 399-404, 406, 
 407-21, 425, 427-30, 432, 434-52, 
 456. 456, 458, 460-4, 466-73, 
 476-81, 483-91, 493-6. See also 
 Artois, Comte d' 
 Chartran, General, 174 
 Chartres, Due de, 292, 387 
 
 — Duchesse de, 292 
 Charrette, Comtesse de, 250 
 Chastellux, Mile. V. G. de. See 
 
 Bedoyere, Comtesse de la 
 Chateaubriand, Vicomte de, 31, 104, 
 105, 123, 125, 201, 221, 225, 255, 
 263, 275, 281, 282, 313, 322, 323, 
 
 326-8, 330-5,348, 349-51, 358-5, 
 
 357, 361, 364, 366, 369, 372, 374, 
 
 376, 377, 385, 386, 390,396,398- 
 
 402, 413-5, 419, 424-6, 436-46, 
 
 478 
 Chauvelin, M. de, 260, 261, 276 
 Choiseul, Due de, 364, 365 
 Choulet, Sergeant, 306 
 Clarke, Marshal, Due de Feltre, 64, 
 
 106, 153, 154, 161, 165, 173, 183, 
 
 184, 194, 198, 211, 295 
 Clauzel, General, 76, 144, 145, 417 
 Clermont-Lodeve, Comte de, 249, 
 
 361 
 Clermont-Tonnerre, Marquis de, 
 
 286, 367, 388, 392, 408 
 — Cardinal de, 408 
 Cloriviere, Pere de, 289 
 Clovis, King, 867 
 Cobenzl, 27 
 Codrington, Admiral Sir Edward, 
 
 393, 410 
 Coetlosquet, General, 472 
 Coigny, Due de, 194, 272 
 Comte, 43 
 
 Condd, Prince de, 7, 11, 18, 28, 40 
 Conegliano, Due de. See Moncey, 
 
 Marshal 
 Conservateur, the, 226 
 Constant, Benjamin, 43, 70, 84-6, 
 
 102, 112, 114, 130, 211, 227, 287, 
 
 257, 802, 303, 305, 311, 364, 387, 
 
 894, 405, 412 
 Constantine, Grand Duke, 875 
 Constitution, the New, 41 
 Conzie, Bishop, 17 
 Corbiere, M., 170, 171, 173, 244, 
 
 248, 256, 275, 278, 281, 282, 285, 
 
 286, 350, 366, 392, 395, 396, 404 
 Corcelles, M., 265, 266, 294 
 Corre'ard, 303 
 
 Corvetto, M., 178, 198, 215 
 Coudert, 804 
 
 Courier, Paul Louis, 296, 388 
 Court, Sir Wm. A', 326, 344, 346 
 Courtois, 175 
 Courvoisier, M., 420, 428, 480, 436, 
 
 441 
 Cousin, Victor, 406 
 Coussergues, Clausel de, 260, 261 
 Creevey, Mr., 106 
 Crussol, Due de, 224 
 Cunningham, Lady, 322 
 Custine, Fran9ois de, 20, 56 
 
 Dalberg, Due de, 2 
 Dalmatie, Due de. 
 Marshal 
 
 See Soult, 
 
500 THE BOURBON RESTORATION 
 
 Damas, Baron de, 349, 357, 404, 
 
 489 
 Dambray, Chancellor, 36, 59, 64, 
 
 109, 201, 211, 283 
 Damiron, 372 
 
 Dangin, Thureau, 370, 381 
 
 Danton, 28 
 
 Darn, 377 
 
 Daudet, Ernest, 8, 199 
 
 Dauphin and Dauphine. See An- 
 
 gouleme. Due et Duchesse de 
 David, 174 
 Davout, Marshal, 58-60, 79, 101, 
 
 110, 113, 115-7, 119-21, 130, 
 133-5 
 
 — Mile, 268 • 
 Debelle, General, 77 
 Debelleyme, 424 
 Decaen, General, 76 
 Decaux, Vicomte, 397 
 
 Decazes, Due, 154, 168, 170, 175, 
 181, 196, 197-9, 200-5, 209, 
 214-6, 219-21, 224, 230-7, 241, 
 243-56, 258, 263, 268-71, 280, 
 293, 312, 317, 322, 338, 369, 
 415, 423, 493 
 
 — Duchesse, 220 
 Defrance, General, 266 
 Delaborde, General, 76 
 
 — M., 454 
 
 Delalot, 281, 284, 394, 396, 400 
 Delon, Lieutenant, 302 
 Delpuits, P^re, 159, 270 
 Demar9ay, General, 294, 303 
 Denys, Abbe, 291 
 Deputies, Chamber of, 41, 62, 64, 
 
 103, 115, 122, 127, 133, 147, 199, 
 
 200 
 Dermoncourt, General, 298 
 Derwentwater, Lord, 292 
 Deschamps, Pere, 292, 293 
 Desmarest, 129 
 Despinois, General Count, 307, 
 
 308 
 Dessoles, Marquis, 231-3, 244-6 
 Didier, Paul, 185-192 
 Diebitsch, General, 425 
 Digeon, General, 283, 339 
 Donnadieu, General, 184, 187-92, 
 
 207, 221, 224, 274, 277, 281, 285, 
 
 313, 337 
 Doudeauville, Due de, 350, 356, 
 
 388, 414. See also Rochefou- 
 cauld, Sosth^nes de la 
 Drouot, 124 
 Dubois, Dr., 249, 372 
 Dubourg, "General,'' 468, 474, 
 
 485 
 
 Duchatel, 372 
 
 Dugied, 294 
 
 Dumoulin, M., 265 
 
 Dumouriez, General, 24-6, 28, 292 
 
 Dupin, M., 374, 436, 458, 464, 483 
 
 Dupont, General, 36, 47, 48, 50, 51 
 
 — de I'Eure, M., 126 
 Duras, Due de, 38, 165 
 
 — Duchesse de, 68 
 Duval, Legris, 291 
 Duvergier, Captain, 263, 264 
 
 Eckmuhl, Prince. See Davout 
 Elchingen, Due d'. See Ney, Mar- 
 shal 
 Elizabeth, Madame, 175 
 Emerigon, M., 146 
 Emigres, The, 11, 13, 19, 22, 27, 
 
 29, 33, 35, 42 
 Enghien, Prince d', 5, 31, 270 
 Erlon, Drouet d', 59-61, 64, 95, 96, 
 
 98, 99, 141, 186 
 Ernouf, General, 77 
 Esperey, Franchet d'. See Franchet 
 Estates of Emigres, 42, 43 
 Esterhazy, Prince, 19 
 Excelmans, General, 51, 52, 72, 74, 
 
 241, 359 
 Fabvier, Colonel, 209, 265, 267, 
 
 268, 283, 299, 338, 339, 342 
 Farcy, 372 
 
 Fare, Cardinal de la, 366 
 Faucher, Generals Cesar and Con- 
 
 stantin, 144, 194 
 Favras, Marquis de, 45, 269 
 Feltre, Due de. See Clarke, 
 
 Marshal 
 Ferdinand IV, King of the Two 
 
 Sicilies, 193, 263, 279, 315 
 
 — VII, King of Spain, 143, 263, 
 314, 320, 322, 335, 343-5, 347, 
 354, 355, 379, 443 
 
 — Duke of Brunswick, 20, 24, 27, 
 28, 293 
 
 Ferrand, Comte, 36, 42, 43, 72 
 Ferronays, de la, 317-9, 323, 
 
 325, 328-30, 375, 400, 413- 
 
 15, 419, 425 
 Fersen, Count, 21 
 Feuillants, The, 24 
 Feutrier, Bishop, 402, 407, 408 
 Fitzjames, Due de, 224 
 Folkes, Mr., 457 
 Fontaine, Captain La, 149 
 Forbin-Janson, Abb^ de, 95, 240 
 Forest, La, 112 
 Foucault, Vicomte de, 337 
 Fouche', Madame, 125, 150 
 
INDEX 
 
 501 
 
 Fouche, Due d'Otrante^ 5^ 6, 41, 
 
 55-62, 64-6, 74, 80-2, 87, 90, 
 
 100, 101, 103, 111, 112-131, 133, 
 
 135-7, 150-2, 174, 186 
 Foudras, 66, 151 
 Fouquier-Tinville, 175 
 Foy, General, 257, 260, 276, 277, 
 
 279, 303, 311, 336, 355, 361, 364, 
 
 365, 370, 372, 373 
 Franchet, 291, 322, 340, 399, 412, 
 
 418, 452 
 Francis II, of Austria, ^ee Austria 
 Frayssinous, Bishop, 313, 357, 
 
 372, 383, 389, 397, 399, 401, 406 
 Frederick William II. See Prussia, 
 
 King of 
 
 — von Ertlial, Elector of Mainz, 16 
 Freemasons, The, 292, 293, 306 
 Frenilly, Baron de, 269, 290, 307, 
 
 354, 355, 412, 452 
 
 Gaillard, 59, 113, 114 
 
 Galatz, Peace of, 15 
 
 Garat, 59 
 
 Garde, M. La, 329, 339, 333, 334 
 
 Gardes du Corps, The, 47, 183 
 
 Gamot, Mde., 165 
 
 Gauchais, Major, 302 
 
 Gauthier, M., 436 
 
 Genlis, Mde. de, 292 
 
 George, Prince Regent. See George 
 
 IV 
 George IV, 157, 269, 319, 322, 334, 
 
 368 
 Ge'rard, General, 464, 465, 467, 471, 
 
 473-5, 484 
 Ghent, 104-6 
 Gilly, General, 77 
 Girardin, Emile de, 298 
 
 — Saint-Marc, 363, 423, 424 
 
 — General, 428, 473, 475, 481, 
 488 
 
 Girod, M., 405 
 Girondins, the, 21 
 Glandeves, M de, 465 
 Gneisenau, General von, 96-8, 
 
 121 
 Goderich, Lord, 409 
 Goltz, von, 123, 132, 181, 203 
 Gontaut, Duchesse de, 385, 455, 
 
 456 
 Goubin, Sergeant, 307-9 
 Goupillon, Sergeant, 307 
 Grammont, Due de, 360 
 Grandmaison, GeofFroy de, 160, 
 
 288, 289 
 Grandmesnil, Surgeon, 302, 305 
 Gregoire, Abbe', 243, 247 
 
 2k2 
 
 Gregorios, Archbishop, 318 
 
 Grenedan, Duplesis de, 276, 277, 
 364 
 
 Grenier, General, 103, 125 
 
 Greville, Charles, 431 
 
 Grey, Lord, 177 
 
 Gronow, Captain, 105 
 
 Grouchy, General de, 77, 93, 96-9, 
 110, 117, 130, 174 
 
 Guernon-Ranville, M. de, 431, 436, 
 442, 444, 445, 447-9, 461, 456, 
 465, 472, 492 
 
 Guiche, Due de, 466, 481 
 
 Guilleminot, General, 121, 337-42, 
 349, 884 
 
 Guizot, Francois, 42, 107, 206, 213, 
 214, 232, '235, 244, 263, 313, 
 390, 406, 431, 432, 436, 464, 
 496 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus, King of Swe- 
 den, 12, 14, 15, 19, 25 
 
 Hardenburg, 154, 157, 226 
 
 Hamelin, Mde., 43 
 
 Haugwitz, 27 
 
 Hauranne, Duvergier de, 372 
 
 Haussez, Baron d^, 423, 429, 436, 
 437, 442, 444, 445, 447, 449, 
 452, 455, 465, 468, 472, 486, 
 492 
 
 Heckethorn, Mr., 293 
 
 Henry IV, 167, 216, 295 
 
 Hermopolis, Bishop of See Frays- 
 sinous 
 
 Hobhouse, John Cam, 87, 127 
 
 Hohenlohe, General, 337 
 
 Holland, King of, 426 
 
 — Queen of. See Beauharnais, 
 Hortense de 
 
 Holy Roman Empire, the, 14 
 
 Hope and Co., Bankers, 215 
 
 Hougoumont, 98 
 
 Houssaye, M., 46, 117, 127 
 
 Howden, Lord (Caradoc, Colonel), 
 489 
 
 Hugo, Victor, 809 
 
 Huchet, Charles. See Bedoyere, 
 Comte de la 
 
 Hulin, General, 5, 277 
 
 Humann, M., 440, 441 
 
 Humboldt, von, 154 
 
 Hungary, 12, 13 
 
 Hutchinson, Captain Hely-, 176 
 
 Ibrahim Pasha, 392, 393, 410 
 Infantado, Due de 1', 343 
 Imperial Guard, the, 48 
 Istria, Colonna d', 88 
 
502 THE BOURBON RESTORATION 
 
 Jacquinot, M., 283 
 
 Jaucourt, 79 
 
 Jay, 103 
 
 Jefferson, 239 
 
 Jesus, the Society of. See Jesuits 
 
 Jesuits, the, 289, 400, 405-8, 411 
 
 Joachim, King. See Murat 
 
 " Jobardiere, M. de La," 44 
 
 Jordan, Camille, M., 213, 260, 
 
 263, 278, 368 
 Joseph, Emperor. See Austria 
 Jouffroy, 372 
 Journal Royal, Le, 46 
 
 Kaunitz, Chancellor, 13, 23, 25 
 KeUermann, Marshal, 5 
 Kergorlay, Comte de, 376 
 Keratry, de, 303, 390 
 Kinnaird, Lord, 176, 216, 218 
 Knesebeck, 78 
 Koch, Professor, 257 
 Koechlin, 294, 298 
 Komierowski, Colonel de, 466 
 Kotzebue, 239, 315 
 Kriidener, Mde. de, 157 
 
 Lucques, Duchesse de, 252 
 Lucingue, Princesse de, 250 
 Luxembourg, Due de, 360, 481, 
 
 491 
 La Fayette, Marquis de, 43, 62, 87^ 
 101, 102, 112, 114, 211, 227, 238, 
 239, 242, 261, 262, 263-8, 274, 
 277, 283, 294, 298-300, 303, 
 305, 306, 311, 312, 314, 336, 337, 
 351, 365, 373, 391, 394, 413, 428, 
 464, 467, 474, 475, 479, 483-5, 
 489 
 
 — Georges, 294, 299, 351 
 Lafitte, 124, 215, 237, 238, 261, 
 
 263, 265, 311, 370, 389, 390, 391, 
 
 415, 464-7, 474, 475, 477-9, 
 
 481-5 
 Labbey de Pompieres, jVL, 405, 439 
 Labouchere, Mr., 215 
 Lacepede, 234 
 Lacretelle, M., 386, 406 
 Lacy, Professor, 313 
 Laine, M., 163, 198, 205, 214, 221, 
 
 248, 259, 369, 377, 383, 396, 415 
 Lallemand, General, 59-61, 141 
 
 — M., 261 
 Lalot, 349 
 
 Lamar que, General, 89, 277, 359 
 Lamballe, Princesse de, 292 
 Lamennais, Abbe' de, 225, 374, 382, 
 
 386 
 Lameth, 111 
 
 Lanjuinais, M., 52, 127, 233, 366 
 
 Lasagni, M., 408 
 
 Latil, Cardinal de, 38, 357, 368, 
 
 408 
 Latour-Foissac, General, 346 
 Lauriston, Marshal de, 75, 276, 286, 
 
 287, 346, 350, 357 
 Lauzun, 292 
 Lavalette, Comte de, 59, 72, 73, 
 
 101, 136, 166, 168, 169, 175-7 
 
 — Mde. de, 166, 167 
 
 Lavau, M. de, 288, 291, 340, 399, 
 
 412 
 Lebon, Joseph, 257 
 Leclerc, General, 378 
 Lee, Sir George, 7 
 Lefebvre, Marshal, 5, 119 
 
 — Desnoettes, General, 61 
 Legion of Honour, the, 50 
 Legislative Assembly, the, 19, 22, 
 
 25, 41, 101. See also Deputies, 
 
 Chamber of 
 Legris-Duval, pere, 270 
 Lenormand, 201, 202 
 Leo XII, Pope, 408 
 Leopold II, Emperor. See Austria 
 
 — Prince of Salerno, 194 
 Liautard, Abbe', 270, 271, 291 
 Lieven, Prince, 319 
 
 Lille, Comte de. See Louis XVIII 
 Liverpool, Lord, 41, 54, 55, 155, 
 
 240 
 Londonderry, Lord, 319, 323-5. 
 
 See also Castlereagh 
 Lobau, General Comte Mouton de, 
 
 93, 464, 465, 474 
 Lorge'ril, M. de, 437 
 Lostende, Captain de, 340 
 Louis, Baron, 231, 232, 244-6, 370 
 
 — Comte de Narbonne, 19, 36 
 
 — Philippe. See Orleans, Due d^ 
 
 — XIV, 193, 406 
 
 — XV, 406 
 
 — XVI, 13-18, 22, 28, 53 
 
 — XVIII, 4-9, 14, 17, 33, 34, 36-8, 
 42-5, 53, 59-61, 63-72, 74, 81, 
 103-10, 123-8, 131-7, 140, 149, 
 150, 152, 154, 165, 166, 170, 172, 
 173, 175, 179-82, 185,194, 196, 
 198-202, 204-6, 209, 212, 214, 
 217, 219-21, 223, 224, 226, 227, 
 230, 231, 234, 241, 243-56, 268- 
 71, 273,276, 278, 280, 282, 285-7, 
 304, 310, 314, 321, 324, 325, 334, 
 350, 354, 355, 357-61, 367, 369, 
 406, 446, 492, 493 
 
 Louvel, 249-61, 262, 293 
 Loyola, Ignatius, 382 
 
INDEX 
 
 503 
 
 Macdonald, Marshal, 3, 62, 74, 128, 
 135, 137, 231 
 
 Machiavelli, 363 
 
 Macirone, M., 114, 121 
 
 Mackau, Baron de, 379, 434 
 
 Madame. See Angouleme, Duchesse 
 d' 
 
 Madelin, M., 55 
 
 Mainz, Elector of. See Frederick 
 von Erthal 
 
 Maison, Marshal, 266, 409, 410, 
 490 
 
 Maison Militaire, the, 48 
 
 Maitland, Captain, 118 
 
 Malartic, Comte de, 90 
 
 Malet, General, 297 
 
 Malouet, 36 
 
 Mallet du Pan, 26, 27 
 
 Mangin, M., 305, 311, 451, 465 
 
 Manuel, 103, 113, 123, 126, 211, 
 227, 238, 239, 261, 262, 265, 266, 
 274, 276, 277, 294, 299, 335, 336, 
 337, 351, 370, 371, 390, 391 
 
 Marbois, Barbe, 168, 169 
 
 Marcellus, 329 
 
 Marchand, General, 138 
 
 Marchangy, 308, 314 
 
 Maret. See Bassano, Due de 
 
 Marhallac'h, M. du, 440, 441 
 
 Marie Antoinette, Queen, 13, 15, 
 21, 25, 28, 53, 175, 194 
 
 Marie Clementine, Queen, 194 
 
 Marie Caroline, 194 
 
 Marie Josephine de Savoie, 7 
 
 Marie Louise, Empress, 1, 2, 58, 
 79,80 
 
 Marinet, 218 
 
 Marmont, Marshal, Due de Raguse, 
 1-4, 48, 50, 69, 70, 75, 105, 
 128, 166, 209, 231, 265, 267, 
 298, 354, 355. 369, 409, 434, 
 439, 455, 456, 458-73, 490, 491 
 
 Marshall, Mr., 114 
 
 Martignac, Vicomte de, 334, 363, 
 396, 398, 399, 402, 403-7, 410, 
 411, 414-21, 437, 440, 442, 446, 
 449, 452, 493 
 
 Martin, 204 
 
 Massena, General, 111, 119 
 
 Massow, Lieutenant von, 97 
 
 Mauguin, M., 464, 465, 474 
 
 Maziau, Lieut. -Colonel, 265 
 
 Mehee, 45 
 
 Mehemet, Ali, 392, 410, 434 
 
 Mercier, Sergeant, 337 
 
 Mercy. See Argenteau 
 
 Merilhou, 308 
 
 Merlin de Thionville, 25 
 
 Mesnard, Comte de, 249 
 
 Metternich, Prince, 55, 59, 81, 155, 
 226, 227, 229, 239, 308, 315-9, 
 324, 325, 328-31, 393, 425, 450 
 
 — Princess, 320 
 Michaud, M., 357, 386, 406 
 Mignet, M., 370, 391, 432, 433 
 Miguel, San, 332, 333 
 Milhaud, General, 110 
 
 Mina, 329, 346 
 
 Mingrat, Abbe, 190 
 
 Miquelets, The, 142, 144 
 
 Mirabeau, Comte de, 21, 292, 374 
 
 Modena, Duke of, 326 
 
 Mole, Comte, 123, 229, 230, 364, 
 
 366, 377, 415 
 Molitor, General, 337 
 Mollien, 74, 353, 377 
 Monaco, Mde. de, 18 
 Montbel, M. de, 420, 423, 430, 431, 
 
 433, 436, 439, 441, 448, 452, 454, 
 
 465, 487, 492 
 Moncey, Marshal, Due de Coneg- 
 
 liano, 162, 337, 344, 368, 369 
 Monitmr, The, 45, 62, 127 
 Monroe, President, 348 
 Mons, 106, 107 
 
 Monsieur. See Artois, Comte d' 
 Montalivet, M., 492 
 Montcalm, Mde. de, 275 
 Montelegier, General, 268 
 Montesquieu, Abbe, 36, 37, 42, 69, 
 
 104 
 
 — M., 482 
 
 Montlivant, 187, 188, 191, 192 
 Montlosier, Comte de, 381-3, 386 
 Montmerque, 309 
 Montmorency, Eugene de, 289 
 
 — Matthieu, Due de, 159, 203, 225, 
 248, 253, 286, 288, 290, 291, 304, 
 321-30, 332, 333, 350, 353, 385 
 
 — Raoul de, 220 
 Montmorency-Laval, Due de, 315 
 Moreau, General, 53, 176, 231, 
 
 422 
 Mortemart, Due de, 360, 413, 415, 
 
 450, 470-3, 475-81, 483 
 Mortier, Marshal, Due de Trevise, 
 
 1, 2, 61, 74, 368 
 Moskowa, Princesse de. See Ney, 
 
 Mde. 
 
 — Prince de. See Ney, Marshal 
 Mouchy, Due de, 261, 360 
 Mounier, Baron, 400 
 Moustier, M. de, 319 
 Mouton-Duvernet, General, 193 
 Moutou de Lobau. See Lobau 
 Muffling, General, 120 
 
504 THE BOURBON RESTORATION 
 
 Murray, General Sir George, 216 
 Murat, Joachim, King of Naples, 
 
 51, 52, 59, 60, 62, 88, 89, 326, 
 
 443, 444 
 
 Nain Jaune, The, 44 
 Nancy, The Bishop of, 53 
 Nantil, Captain,, 265-7 
 Naples, King of. See Murat 
 
 — Queen of, 443, 444 
 Napoleon. See Bonaparte 
 
 — II, 101, 102, 112, 113, 139, 208. 
 See also Rome, The King of 
 
 — Ill, 43 
 
 Narbonne, Comte de, 20, 21, 24 
 Narbonne-Pelet, Duchesse de, 204, 
 
 205 
 Nassau-Sarrebriick, Prince of, 220 
 Nesselrode, Count, 226, 318, 324, 
 
 8*^5 3*^7 
 Netherlands, The, 12, 13 
 Nettement, M. de, 392 
 Neuville, Baron Hyde de, 115, 336, 
 
 390, 394, 401, 402, 413, 419, 478 
 Ney, Marshal, 3, 4, 62, 68, 69, 93- 
 
 5, 98, 99, 110, 111, 130, 140, 
 
 141, 162-5, 236, 283, 422 
 Ney, Mde., 49, 164, 165 
 Nicholas, Tsar, 375, 392, 425, 450, 
 
 492 
 Niepperg, Count von, 80, 88, 143 
 Nodier, Charles, 251, 297 
 Nobility, The French, 10, 11 
 Northumberland, The Duke of, 368 
 
 Orange, The Prince of, 217, 242, 
 266 
 
 Orleans, le Due d', 1, 40, 58, 61-3, 
 74, 75, 112, 184-6, 220, 249, 
 266, 273, 292, 361, 365, 373, 
 387, 396, 397, 432, 433, 435, 
 443, 444, 450, 478, 479, 481-92, 
 496 
 
 Orleans, Duchesse d', 388, 395, 
 479, 482-8 
 
 — Princesse Adelaide, Mlle.d', 479, 
 482, 488 
 
 Otrante, Due d'. See Fouche 
 Ottenfels, Baron, 81, 82 
 Oudet, Colonel, 297 
 Oudin, 208 
 
 Oudinot, Marshal, 5, 69, 128, 302, 
 337, 369, 387, 388 
 
 — Madame. See Reggio, Duchesse 
 de 
 
 Ouvrard, M., 215, 341, 343, 344, 
 356, 384 
 
 — Victor, 341 
 
 Pajol, General, 266, 302 
 Palmerston, Lord, 427, 431, 432 
 Papelotte, 99 
 Paris, The Battle of, 1 
 
 — Evacuation of, 41 
 
 — Occupation of, 120-2 
 
 — Archbishop of. See Quelen 
 Pasquier, 115, 133, 149, 172, 175, 
 
 179, 198, 203, 211, 216, 217, 221, 
 222, 231, 244-6, 248, 249, 251, 
 253, 257, 259, 260, 264, 265, 267, 
 268, 270, 273, 279, 281, 282, 285, 
 317, 319, 340, 353, 355, 366, 369, 
 377, 896, 415, 419, 423, 442, 447, 
 477, 488, 490 
 Pastoret, M. de, 283 
 Paul, Emperor of Russia, 158 
 Peers, Chamber of, 41,62, 64, 101, 
 178, 180, 213, 234, 282, 352, 353. 
 See also " Upper Chamber ^' 
 Pepe, General, 263, 279, 280 
 Perier, Casimir, 215, 237, 257, 277, 
 352, 372, 374, 385, 394, 413, 415, 
 454, 458, 464, 465, 469, 471, 
 473-5 
 Perigord, Archambaud de, 115 
 
 — Mde. E. de, 32, 203 
 Peyronnet, Comte de, 283, 286, 
 
 301, 355, 356, 876, 377, 385-8, 
 395, 896, 404, 405, 441-4, 447-51, 
 462, 465, 471, 492, 494 
 Philip V, King of Spain, 198 
 Pichegru, General, 53, 284 
 Piet, M., 159, 160, 172, 274, 284 
 Pillnitz, Declaration of, 16, 18 
 Pitt, 324 
 
 Pius VIII, Pope, 194, 214 
 Pleignier, 192 
 Poland, 15, 26 
 
 Polastron, Comtesse de, 38, 357 
 Polignac, Prince Jules de, 11, 159, 
 197, 225, 248, 254, 288, 376, 385, 
 389, 890, 391, 395, 396, 411, 
 413-6, 419, 420, 422-32, 434, 436, 
 437-50, 452, 454, 456, 459-62, 
 465, 466, 471, 473, 476, 477, 480, 
 486-«, 492, 494, 495 
 
 — Armand, Due de, 88 
 
 — Mile, de, 159 
 
 — Duchesse de, 422 
 Pommier, Sergeant, 807-9 
 Pompieres, Labbey de, 405, 489 
 Pontecoulant, 112 
 
 Pope, The. See Pius VIII and Leo 
 
 XII 
 Portal, Comte, 282, 252, 400, 415 
 Portalis, M. de, 255, 386, 387, 397, 
 
 400, 408, 412, 414-6, 418-20 
 
INDEX 
 
 505 
 
 Porte, The. See Turkey 
 
 Pourtalfes, Comte, 416 
 
 Prevotal Courts, 160, 161, 207, 212 
 
 Princetau, Mde, 196 
 
 Provence, Comte de. See Louis 
 
 XVIII 
 Prussia, King of, 2, 12, 16, 18, 23, 
 
 26, 27, 226, 227, 280, 326, 368 
 
 Quadruple Alliance, The, 228 
 Quatres Bras, Les, 93, 94, 96, 99 
 " Quatretaillons," 143 
 Qu^len, Archbishop, 853, 369, 408, 
 
 449 
 Quinette, 103, 125 
 Quinsonas, General, 463 
 Quiroga, Colonel, 263, 314, 346 
 Quotidienne, La, 45, 356 
 
 Raguse, Due de. See Marmont 
 
 Ramel, General, 143 
 
 Ramsay, 292 
 
 Raoulx, Sergeant, 307-9 
 
 Rapp, General, 276, 283 
 
 Rauzan, Abbe', 240, 291 
 
 Ravez, M., 145, 230, 285, 335, 414, 
 418, 429, 442 
 
 Rayneval, M., 413, 419, 450 
 
 Real, 59, 82, 174 
 
 Recamier, Mdme., 304 
 
 Reggio, Duchesse de, 194 
 
 Reichenbach, Convention of, 13, 15 
 
 Reille, General, 99 
 
 Remusat, Charles de, 372, 482 
 
 Reverdin, M., 59 
 
 Richelieu, Due de, 152-4, 158, 168, 
 166, 167, 169-73, 181, 197, 198, 
 200, 201, 203, 205, 211, 212, 
 214-6, 219, 223-38, 235, 238, 
 244-61, 254-6, 258-60, 262, 264, 
 271-8, 281, 282, 285-7, 295, 314, 
 316, 319, 821, 822, 357, 400, 
 402, 493 
 
 Riego, Major, 263, 814, 320, 346, 
 347 
 
 Rigny, Admiral de, 420, 423 
 
 Rives, Mr., 484 
 
 Riviere, Due de, 142, 290, 885, 
 889, 395, 403, 404, 422 
 
 Rivoli, Due de, 454 
 
 Robespierre, 175, 257 
 
 Rochambeau, 378 
 
 Rochefoucauld, Sosthenes de la, 
 32, 159, 269, 270, 286, 350, 856, 
 889 
 
 — Liancourt, Due de la, 365 
 
 Rochejacquelein, Louis de La, 90, 
 207, 222, 223, 337, 411 
 
 Roger, 800, 801 
 
 Roll, Baron de, 19 
 
 Rome, The King of, 2, 68, 101, 
 
 102. See also Napoleon II 
 Ronsin, Pere, 270, 289, 291, 407, 
 
 408 
 Rosaven, P^re, 291 
 Rothesay, Lord Stuart de. See 
 
 Stuart, Sir Charles 
 Rothschild, Messrs., 362 
 
 — Baron James de, 450 
 Rousseau, 291 
 
 Rovigo, Due de. See Savary, 
 General 
 
 Roy, M., 246, 400, 406 
 
 Royer-CoUard, M., 42, 161, 172, 
 198, 205, 212-4, 245, 251, 260, 
 263, 284, 312, 386, 855, 867, 
 387, 395, 402, 410, 415, 418, 
 420, 485-8, 451 
 
 Ruhl, 867 
 
 Rumford, Mde. de, 117 
 
 Sainneville, 208 
 
 Saint-Aulaire, Mile. de. See De'- 
 cazes, Duchesse 
 
 — Comte de, 220, 236, 311, 361 
 Saint-Beuve, 871, 872 
 
 Saint- Chamans, General, 468, 466 
 Saint-Cyr, Gouvion, Marshal, 62, 
 
 128, 188, 184, 211-4, 230-2, 
 
 244-6, 294, 802 
 Saint-Leu, Duchesse de. See Beau- 
 
 harnais, Hortense de 
 Saint-Ouen, Declaration of, 84 
 Salvandy, M., 390, 444 
 Sapinaud, 90 
 
 Sardinia, King of, 826, 846 
 Sauset, Colonel, 264, 265 
 Sauvo, M., 452, 463 
 Savary, General, Due de Rovigo, 
 
 59, 118, 136, 268-70, 288 
 Saxe- Weimar, Prince Bernard of, 
 
 94 
 Saxony, King of, 426 
 Scheifer, 294 
 
 Schonen, M. de, 391, 412, 474, 490 
 Schwartzenberg, Prince, 2, 3, 78 
 Sebastiani, General, 112, 396, 482, 
 
 483 
 Semall^, M. de, 487 
 Semonville, Marquis de, 282, 283, 
 
 451, 468, 471, 472, 474, 476, 477, 
 
 479, 488 
 Senate, The Imperial, 41 
 Serre, De, 172, 198, 213, 281, 232, 
 
 235, 244-8, 255, 258, 260, 262, 
 
 268, 267, 281 
 
506 THE BOURBON RESTOEATION 
 
 SesmaisonSj M. de, 168, 270 
 
 Sheltein, 193 
 
 Sieyes, Abbe, 41, 174 
 
 Sirejean, 304 
 
 Sismondi, 117 
 
 Sistova, The Peace of, 13 
 
 Smith, Sir Sidney, 114 
 
 Smohain, 99 
 
 Somerset, Lord Fitzroy, 333 
 
 Sorel, A., 12 
 
 Souham, General, 4 
 
 Soult, Marshal, Due de Dalmatie, 
 
 61, 52, 63, 64, 93, 94, 98, 110, 
 
 119, 136, 174, 268, 368, 394, 410 
 Souza, Mde. de, 43 
 Stael, Mde. de, 20, 43, 52, 71 
 — Mile. de. See Broglie, Duchesse 
 
 de 
 Stein, 157 
 
 Stewart, Lord, 89, 317 
 Straflford, Lord, 452 
 StrogonotF, Count, 318 
 Stuart, Sir Charles, 123, 126, 181, 
 
 285, 269, 315, 482, 486, 488 
 Suchet, Marshal, Due d'Albufera, 
 
 272, 273 
 Sultan, The, 409 
 Sussy, M. de, 479 
 Suwarrow, Field-Marshal, 15 
 Suzannet, 90 
 Sweden, King of. See Gustavus 
 
 Adolphus 
 
 Taine, H., 10 
 
 Talaru, M. de, 226, 230, 233, 343, 
 344, 347, 354, 395, 430 
 
 Talleyrand, Prince de, 2-5, 36, 37, 
 66, 58-60, 105, 107-9, 112, 
 123-5, 131-3, 136, 149, 151,155, 
 166, 163, 186, 194, 201, 203, 204, 
 231, 238, 253, 287, 292, 310, 360, 
 880, 396 
 
 Tallien, 174 
 
 Talon, General, 269, 463, 466 
 
 Talon, Zoe. See Cayla, Comtesse 
 du 
 
 Tarayre, General, 265, 266 
 
 TatischefF, 326 
 
 Tharin, Bishop, 385, 489 
 
 Thiard, General, 294 
 
 Thibaut, Dr., 467 
 
 lliielman. General, 98 
 
 Thiers, Adolphe, 370-2, 391, 432, 
 464, 467, 468, 477-9, 482 
 
 Tiriot, 263, 264 
 
 Tolleron, 192, 193 
 
 Toulouse, Bishop of. See Clermont- 
 Tonnerre, Cardinal 
 
 Tour Maubourg, General la, 246, 
 
 282, 296 
 Tour du Pin, M. de la, 315 
 Toustain, Colonel de, 299, 306, 307 
 Travot, General, 90 
 "Trestaillons," 142 
 Trevise, Due de. See Mortier, 
 
 Marshal 
 Trier, Elector of. See Wenceslas 
 Tromelin, General, 114, 121 
 Trouve, Baron, 309 
 Troyes, The Bishop of, 356 
 Tsar, The. See Alexander and 
 
 Nicholas 
 Tsarina. See Catherine 
 Turkey, 12 
 Tuscany, The Grand Duke of, 326 
 
 Upper Chamber, ^he. See Peers 
 Uzes, Due d', 360 
 
 Valence, General, 123 
 
 Valle, Captain, 300 
 
 Valliu, General, 342, 349 
 
 Vatismesnil, 400 
 
 Vaublanc, Comte de, 153, 164, 169, 
 177, 197, 198, 274, 275 
 
 Vaudemont-Lorraine, Princesse de, 
 56, 61, 65, 175 
 
 Vaudreuil, Marquis de, 17 
 
 Vaulabelle, M. de, 242, 262 
 
 Vautre, Colonel de, 188-91 
 
 Vendee, La, 142 
 
 Verdets, The, 143, 144 
 
 Verdier, General, 142 
 
 Vicenze, Due de. See Caulaincourt 
 
 Victor Emmanuel, King, 279 
 
 — Marshal, Due de Bellune, 106, 
 128, 149, 184, 252, 281, 282, 286, 
 338-41, 349, 350, 396, 430 
 
 Vienna, The Congress of, 63 
 
 Villele, M. de, 177, 206, 219, 225, 
 231, 244, 248, 250, 253, 254, 256- 
 8, 274, 275, 278, 281, 282, 
 284-6, 310-13, 321, 323, 324-35, 
 339, 340, 343, 346, 349-63, 366, 
 868, 869, 372, 373-6, 878-80, 
 383-5, 387-90, 392-406, 409, 
 410-3, 418, 423, 430, 433, 439, 
 440-42, 446, 493 
 
 Villemain, 116, 386, 406, 468, 464 
 
 Vincent, General, 181 
 
 Vinuessa, Padre, 321 
 
 Viomesnil, Comte de, 145, 194 
 
 Vitrolles, Baron de, 2, 4, 6, 69, 76, 
 81, 111, 112, 115, 116, 123-25, 
 133, 151, 168, 223, 225, 252-4, 
 460, 451, 467, 471-7 
 
INDEX 
 
 507 
 
 Vivet, 372 
 Voltaire, 291 
 
 Wagram, Prince de. See Berthier 
 
 Walpole, Sir Robert, 437 
 
 Wall, General de, 463 
 
 Waterloo, Battle of, 97-101, 120, 
 129, 139 
 
 Wellesley, Henry, 315 
 
 Wellington, The Duke of, 38, 54, 
 55, 78, 89, 91, 94-109, 112-4, 
 118, 120-7, 132-4, 151, 155, 166, 
 164, 171, 172, 181, 182, 191, 199, 
 203, 216-9, 224, 226, 227, 229, 
 
 231, 324-9, 331, 332, 392, 409, 
 
 415, 424, 427, 459 
 Wenceslas, Clement, Elector of 
 
 Trier, 16, 17, 22 
 Werner, M. See Ottenfels, Baron 
 Wilson, Major-General Sir Robert, 
 
 176, 177, 218 
 Woelfeld, Sergeant, 305 
 Wolkonski, Prince, 78, 368 
 Wrede, Marshal, 121 
 
 Ypsilanti, Prince, 318 
 
 Zastrow, General von, 368 
 Zieten, General von, 99 
 
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