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

LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 681
France only to see their estates occupied, and their the ecclesiastical establishment by force; we will
hereditary offices around the person of the monarch starve it to death." Accordingly, all grants and
filled, by. the fortunate children of the Revolution. bequests to the church had been limited and qualified
Like the disappointed English cavaliers, they might by so many conditions and restrictions, as to inwell complain that though none had wished more tercept that mode of acquisition so fruitful in a caearnestly for the return of the legitimate prince, yet tholic country; while, on the other hand, the salary
none had shared so little in the benefits attending it. allowed by the state to each officiating curate was
By a natural, and yet a perverse mode of reasoning, only five hundred livres (~26 16s. 8d.) yearly. No
the very injuries which the nobility had sustained, doubt each community were permitted to subscribe
rendered them the objects of suspicion to the other what they pleased in addition to this miserable pitranks and parties of the state. They had been the tance; but in France, when the number of those
conlpanions of thile king's exile, were connected who care for no religion at all, and of those whose
with him by the ties of friendship, and had near zeal will not lead them the length of paying for it,
access to his person by the right of blood. Could it is deducted,the remainder will afford but a small
be in nature, it was asked, that Louis could see list of subscribers. The consequence was, that at
their sufferings without attempting to relieve them; the period of the restoration, many parishes were,
and how could he do so in the present state of and had been for years, without any public worship.
France, unless at the expense of those who occupied Ignorance had increased in an incalculable degree.
or aspired to civil and military preferment, or of " We are informed," was the communication fronm
those who had acquired during the Revolution the Bonaparte to one of his prefects, "that dangerous
national domains which those nobles once possess- books are distributed in your department."-" Were
ed? Yet the alarm was founded rather on suspi- the roads sown with them," was the answer returned
cion than on facts. Of the preferment of emigrants by the prefect, " your majesty need not fear their
in the army, we shall speak hereafter: but in the influence; we have not a man who would or could
civil departments of the state, few of the old no- read them."-W'Yhen we add to this the relaxed
blesse obtained office. To take a single example, state of public morals, the pains taken in the beginin the course of eleven months there were thirty- ning of the Revolution to eradicate the sentiments
seven prefects nominated to the departments, and of religion, and render its professors ridiculous, and
the list did not comprehend a single one of those the prevalence of the military character, so conspiemigrants who returned to France with Louis; and cuous through France, and so unfavourable to debut very few of those whose exile had terminated votion; and when it is further remembered that all
more early. The nobles felt this exclusion from the wealth of the church had fallen into the hands
royal favour, and expressed their complaints, which of the laity, which were fast clenched to retain it,
some, yet more imprudently, mingled with threaten- and trembling at the same time lest it should be
ing hints, that their day of triumph might yet arrive. wrested from them,-the reader may, firom all these'This language, as well as the air of exclusive dig- causes, form some notion of the low ebb of religion
nity and distance which they affected, as if, the and of the church in France.
distinction of their birth being all that they had left The disposition of the. king and royal family to
to them, they were determined to enforce the most restore the formal observances of the Romish
punctilious deference to that, was carefully remarked church, as well as to provide the suitable means of
and recorded against the king. educating in future those designed for the ministry,'The noblesse were supposed to receive particular and other religious institutions, excited among the
encouragement from the princes of the blood, while, Parisians a feeling of hatred and contempt. It
upon the whole, they were rather discouraged than must be owned, also, that though the abstract rtobrought forward or distinguishled by Louis, who, as tive was excellent, there was little wisdom in atmany of them spared not to say, was disposed to tempting to bring back the nation to all those mulmact upon the ungenerous maxim of courting his ene- meries of popish ceremonial, which, long before
mies, and neglecting those who could not upon prin- the Revolution, only subsisted through inveterate
ciple become anything save his friends. They did custom, having lost all influence on the public
not, perhaps, make sufficient allowance for the great mind.
difficulties which thle king incurred in governing This general feeling was increased by particular
France at so critical a period. events. Alarming tumults took place, on the subThe state of the clergy is next to be considered. ject of enforcing a rule unworthy of christianity and
They were, generally speaking, sincerely attached civilization, by which theatrical perfotrmers are deto the king; and had they been in possession of clared in a constant state of excommunication.
their revenues, and of their natural influence upon The rites of sepulture being refused to Mademoithe public mind, their attachment would have been selle Raucour, an actress, but a person of decent
of the utmost consequence. But without this in- character and morals, occasioned a species of
flnence, and without the wealth, or at least the in- insurrection, which compelled from the governdependence, on which it partly rests, they wvere as ment an order for interring her with the usual
useless, politically speaking, as a key which does not forms.
fit the lock to which it is applied. This state of The enforcing of the more regular observation
things, unfortunate in many respects, flowed from a of the Sabbath, an order warranted alike by relimaximn adopted during the Revolution, and followed gion and good morals, gave also great offience to the
by Bonaparte, who had his reasons for fearing the inhabitants of the capital. The solemn obsequlies
intluenone of thec clergy. " We will not put down performed for the death of Louis XVI. and his unVOL. VI. 86
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