The life of Napoleon Buonaparte, emperor of the French. By Sir Walter Scott.

| 74 TLIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
whose cause all their wars had been waged, and all ther on the throne? They had formally, and in fni'i
their glory won; by whose expeditions and energetic conclave, renounced belief in the existence of a
administration the military profession was benefited, Deity-with what consistence could they be acceswhile they neither saw nor felt the misery entailed sory to restore a national church? Some remained
on the nation at large. But the French soldier had republicans from their heart and upon conviction;
not only fought in favour of democracy, but actively and a great many more of' the deputies could not
and directly against royalty. As Vive la Ripublique abjure democracy, without confessing, at the same
was his war-cry, he was in La Vendee, on the time, that all the violent measures which they had
Rhine, and elsewhere, met, encountered, and some- carried through for the support of that system were
times defeated and driven back, by those who used so many great and treasonable crimes.
the opposite signal-word, Vive le roi. The royalists These fears of a retributive reaction were very
were, indeed, the most formidable opponents of the generally fit in the Convention. The thermidoenilitary part of the French nation; and such was riens, in particular, who had killed Robespierre, and
the animosity of the latter at this period to the idea now reigned in his stead, had more substantial
*of returning to the ancient system, that if a general grounds of apprehension from any counter-revolncould have been found capable of playing the part tionary movement, than even the body of the repreof Monk, he would probably have experienced the sentatives at large, many of whom had been merely
fate of La Fayette and Dumourier. passive in scenes where Barras and Tallien had
A second and almost insuperable objection to the been active agents. The timid party of the Plain
restoration of the Bourbons occurred in the exten- might be overawed by the returning prince; and
sive change of property that had taken place.'If the members of the girondists, who could indeed
the exiled family had been recalled, they could not, scarce be said to exist as a party, might be safely
at this very recent period, but have made stipula- despised. But the thermidoriens themselves stood
tions for their devoted followvers, and insisted that in a different predicament. They were of importthe estates forfeited in their cause should have been ance enough to attract both detestation and jealousy;
compensated or restored; and such a resumption they held power, which must be an object of distrust
would have inferred ruin to all the purchasers of to the restored monarch; and they stood on precanational demesnes, and, in consequence, a general rious ground, betwixt the hatred of the moderate
shock to the security of property through the king- party, who remembered them as colleagues of Rodom. bespierre and Danton, and that of the jacobins, who
The same argument applied to the church lands. saw in Tallien and Barras deserters of that party,
The Most Christian King could not resume his and the destroyers of the power of the sans-culottes.
throne, without restoring the ecclesiastical establish- They had, therefore, just reason to fear, that, stripment in part, if not in whole. It was impossible to ped of the power which they at present possessed,
calculate the mass of persons of property and wealth, they might become the unpitied and unaided scapewith their various connexions, who, as possessors of goats, to expiate all the offences of the Revolution.
national demesnes, that is, of the property of the Thus each favourable sentiment towards the cause
church, or of the emigrants, were bound by their of the Bourbons was opposed, 1. By their unpopulaown interest to oppose the restoration of the Bour- rity with the armies; 2. By the apprehensions of
bon family. The revolutionary government had fol- the confusion and distress which must arise from a
lowed the coarse, but striking and deeply politic, general change of property; and, 3. By the conscious
admonition of the Scottish Reformer-" Pull down fears of those influential persons, who conceived
the nests," said Knox, when he urged the multitude their own safety concerned in sustaining the repubto destroy churches and abbeys, "and the rooks lican model.
will fly off." The French government, by dilapi- Still the idea of monarchy was so generally redating and disposing of the property of the emigrants ceived as the simplest and best mode of once more
and clergy, had established an almost insurmount- re-establishing good order and a fixed government,
able barrier against the return of the original owners. that some statesmen proposed to resume the form,
The cavaliers in the great Civil War of England but change the dynasty. With this view, divers
had been indeed fined, sequestrated, impoverished; persons were suggested by those, who supposed that
but their estates were still, generally speaking, in by passing over the legitimate heir to the crown, the
their possession; and they retained, though under dangers annexed to his rights and claims might be
oppression and poverty, the influence of a national avoided, and the. apprehended measures of resumparistocracy, diminished, but not annihilated. In tion and reaction might be. guarded against. The
France, that influence of resident proprietors had son of the Duke of Orleans was named, but the inall been transferred to other:hands, tenacious in famy of his father clung to him. In another wild
holding what property they had acquired, and de- hypothesis, the Duke of York, or the Duke of
termined to make good the defence of it against Brunswick, were suggested as fit to be named conthose who claimed a prior right. stitutional kings of France. The Abbd Sidyes himLastly, the fears and conscious recollections of self is said to have expressed himself in favour of
those who held the chief power in France for the the prince last named.*
time, induced them to view their own safety as *The Memoirs published under the name or Fouchb
deeply compromised by any proposition of restoring make this assertion (See irnoires de Fouche, duc dfOi.he exiled royal family. This present sitting and trante, vol. I, p. 71: 8vo, Paris, 1824). But although that
ruling Convention had put to death Louis XVI.,- work sbhows great intimacy with the secret -history of the
with what hope of safety could they instal his bro- times, it is not to he implicitly relied upon.,, ~~~ ~ ~~~~ ~ ~~.,..... I