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elevated mission confided by Provi dence."

The Proclamation of the Empire follows, on the 1st December. We quote one or two sentences of it :

"I take to-day with the crown the name of Napoleon III., because the logic of the people has already given it to me because the Senate has legally imposed it, and be cause the entire nation has ratified it.

"Is it, however, that by accepting this title I fall into the error of the Prince who, returning from exile, declared null and void

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all that had been done in his absence? from me such an absurdity: not only do I recognise the governments which have preceded me, but I inherit in some degree what they have done of good or of evil; for the governments which succeed one another, spite of their different origins are liable in solidum for their predecessors. But the more I accept all that which, since the last fifty years, history transmits to us with its inflexible authority, the less was it permitted me to pass over in silence the glorious reign of the chief of my family, and the regular, though ephemeral, title of his son."

This closes the year 1852, in which one step more has been made in the ladder of his ambition. Is it a judicious one? Ought the man of the people to assume the pomp and trappings of royalty? Should the parvenu attempt to attach to himself traditions which are native only to antiquity? Should Louis Napoleon aspire after rank, as something different from power? We think not. We think he would appear in history in a far nobler and manlier character, without the attendance of Grand Masters of the Household, Grand Chamberlains, Grand Masters of the Horse, and Grand Equerries, although carrying any number of gold and silver sticks, and dressed in any amount of lace or embroidery. The "modest state" of Cromwell has secured him many voices, which would have been loud against him had he assumed a crown. Cæsar, "the foremost man in all this world," would have lost half the grand statuesque dignity of his character if he had assumed the purple; and Napoleon Bonaparte himself committed treason to his nature, and displayed a weakness which would otherwise not have been suspected, when he aped the state of the old sovereigns whom he had so often conquered.

The most important event in the

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"The union I have contracted," says he, "is not in accordance with the traditions of ancient policy-that is its advantage. France, by her successive revolutions, has separated herself from the rest of Europe. Every sensible government ought to try to make her re-enter the pale of the old monarchies; but this will be more surely attained by a straightforward and fran poic y, than by royal alliances."

For himself, he accepts

"Vis à vis de l'Europe, la position de parvenu, titre glorieux lorsqu'on parvient par le libre suffrage d'un grand peuple."

"I have preferred, gentlemen, a woman whom I love and whom I respect, to an unknown woman whose alliance might have had advantages mixed with sacrifices."

Well done! Emperor, President, Man! These sentiments find an echo everywhere, and have conciliated more admirers to you, and softened the animosity of more enemies, than if you had married a princess who could quarter direct from Noah, through the family of Shem!

The year 1854 opens on a different scene. The Russian war has commenced, and the Emperor is engaged heart and soul in the struggle.

On the 29th January, he writes a letter to the Czar, which is here given in extenso. There is nothing remarkable in it. It is moderate and firm. We need not say it led to no result.

His speech at the opening of the Legislative Session, on the 2nd March, 1854, is of course mostly occupied with the war. He makes the memorable declaration, "le temps des conquêtes est passé!" Consequently France has no idea of aggrandising

herself.

We doubt the wisdom of such an announcement at the beginning of a war. It has a tendency to induce the enemy to protract the contest beyond what they would do, if they exVOL. XLVII.NO, CCLXXXI.

pected the ordinary penalty of conquest. A nation forced into war has a right to exact compensation from the aggressing state, and that in general can only be secured by appropriating a portion of territory.

We do not think the eloquence of the Emperor so much at home on war as on peace. He is too contemplative; and we miss altogether, in his addresses to the soldiery - of which there are several in this yearthe fiery grandeur of the speeches of his uncle.

The Session of the Corps Legislative for 1855, for some reason or other, was opened on the 20th Dec., 1854. The speech on that occasion is somewhat vapid. The only memorable sentences are those relating to the English alliance:-" That alliance," he says, 66 is not the effect of a fleeting interest, or of a policy of circumstances. It is the union of two powerful nations, associated for the triumph of a cause in which, for more than a century, their greatness has been concerned-namely, the interests of civilization, at the same time with the liberties of Europe." In allusion to the army before Sebastopol he says-" The army of the East has up to this day suffered everything and surmounted everything-epidemic, disease, conflagration, tempest, privation. Each has nobly done his duty, from the Marshal who seemed to make death stand aside till he had conquered, to the soldier and the sailor whose last expiring cry was a wish for France--an acclamation for the Elect of the country."

This is somewhat of a bathos; the egotism of the empire is affecting his style.

The year 1855 is chiefly memorable for the Emperor's visit to London. His speech at the banquet in Guildball deserves commemoration, as an instance of his felicity in seizing and giving apt expression to the prevailing ideas of the time. He thus speaks

of the alliance :-

"In effect, England and France find themselves naturally in accord on all the great questions of policy or humanity which agitate the world, from the Baltic even to the Black Sea; from the abolition of slavery to the wishes for the amelioration of the fate

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of the countries of Europe. I see in the moral as well as the political world, for our two nations, only one route to follow, only one end to aim at. There are, therefore, only secondary interests and paltry rivalries which could divide them. Good sense alone

will answer for the future."

About the middle of April the Emperor was attacked by an assassin. In alluding to this, in an address to the Senate, he says-" I do not fear the attempts of assassins. There are existences which are the instruments of the decrees of Providence. So long as I will not have fulfilled my mission, I incur no danger."

Fatalism is a characteristic of the race of Bonaparte; but the fatalism of the nephew is of a more religious cast than that of the uncle. The latter had his star or his sun of Austerlitz, and believed that the bullet which was to kill him had not been cast; but he did not call himself an instrument in the hands of Providence. The difference betwixt the fatalism of the two is this: that you could not gather from the sayings of Napoleon I. that he believed in a God, at least in any other than himself; whereas Napoleon III., in all his speeches and professions, implies the existence of a higher power, of which he is the favoured instrument.

At the opening of the extraordinary session of 1855, on 2nd July, the Emperor, as usual, pronounced a discourse. The war, and the Vienna Conferences, are the prominent topics which he discusses.

On the 15th November he delivered a speech at the closing of the Exhibition, which contains several pregnant passages, the influence of which on passing events is yet in force.

"At the sight of so many marvels displayed to our eyes, the first expression is a desire of peace. Peace alone, in effect, may develope these remarkable products of human intelligence. You ought then all, like me, to wish that this peace be prompt and durable. But in order to be durable, it ought to resolve satisfactorily the question which has produced the war. In order to be prompt it is necessary that Europe pronounce itself; for without the pressure of general opinion the struggles between great powers threaten to prolong themselves; whereas, on the contrary, if Europe decides to declare who is wrong or who is right, it will be a great step towards the solution. At the epoch of civilization in which we are, the successes of

arms, however brilliant, are only transitory; it is, in the last resort, public opinion which gains always the last victory."

Following this address, and closing the volume, is a discourse by the Emperor to the army of the East, which, like his other war speeches, is by no means remarkable.

We have now finished our task, and have traced the career of Louis Napoleon during seven eventful years, step by step, guided by his own speeches selected and arranged by himself. We have done so calmly, and, so far as we are aware, without any preconceived opinion, for the fact was, and still is, that Louis Naus an enigma. Our poleon is to opinion of his ability and sagacity has, if possible, been increased by the perusal of the contents of this vo lume; and we think most of our readers will agree with us also in ranking the Imperial author high as a master of the most difficult quality of style-extreme conciseness coincident with perfect clearness of meaning ; and will also admit that Louis Napoleon is equally great in language as in action-one of those very rare men join the greatest sagacity of intellect, who to a perfect command of language the most cautious and skilful preparation, and the most prompt and vigorous action. Still his moral nature remains an enigma. Are we to believe his professions of conscientiousness, or are we to suppose him a consummate hypocrite? We frankly confess we cannot solve the riddle. We have, however, to remark that comparing the opinions expressed in this volume with those of the first and second volumes, we notice a marked improvement in moral tone. Bare, hard expediency is no longer the only test appealed to: noble principles of ethics are openly proclaimed, and the regime of Providence is acknowledged. The great events in which he has lived have evidently had their effect, whether on his intellect alone, if we adopt the less favorable hypothesis, or on his intellect and heart together, if we believe him an honest man. His tone is less arrogant and harsh, and more serious and solemn, and not unfrequently pathetic. Indeed there are some passages which he could not have conceived unless he had felt them; speeches, in the delivery or com

position of which the most sceptical must believe in his sincerity, at least, for the time being. But on the other hand, what are we to make of his frequent asseverations of respect for the Constitution, of his wish to maintain things as they were? What of his repudiations of all Coups d'Etat, when it is self-evident he was preparing all along, with the patient skill of a consummate chess-player, for the final move on his adversary? What of his declamations on liberty, the Republic, and the national will, when all along he was cautiously and pensively forging the iron fetters of despotism?

It is quite true that he manages with marvellous dexterity, always to provide a loophole for his consistency; and that understanding the Republic in his sense as simply the expression of the will of a gross majority, and liberty as the will of that majority to enslave themselves and others, he can

never be actually convicted of falsehood; but then, according to Paley, he who uses words in one sense, knowing that those to whom they are addressed understand them in another, is guilty of virtual falsehood.

As to the future we have no better reliance than on the grounds indicated in our last review; namely, that it is Louis Napoleon's interest to keep well with us and with the rest of the world; and that in general, and in the long run, the wise and the good are coincident, and that no man living is wiser or more sagacious and far-seeing that the present Emperor of the French. We have also this additional security, that he has given hostages to fortune, and that in the Empress Eugenie and her 'fils de France,' we have the best of guarantees that the commanding intellect of the husband and father will be employed for the benefit of France and the peace of the world,

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Ir was spring, and in Italy; one of those half-dozen days at very most, when, the feeling of winter departed, a gentle freshness breathes through the air; trees stir softly, and as if by magic; the earth becomes carpeted with flowers, whose odors seem to temper, as it were, the exciting atmosphere. An occasional cloud, fleecy and jagged, sails lazily aloft, marking its shadow on the mountain side. In a few days-a few hours perhaps― the blue sky will be unbroken, the air hushed, a hot breath will move among the leaves, or pant over the trickling fountain.

In this fast-flitting period, we dare not call it season, the Cascine of Florence is singularly beautiful: on one side, the gentle river stealing past beneath the shadowing foliage; on the other, the picturesque mountains towards Fiesole, dotted with its palaces and terraced gardens. The ancient city itself is partly seen, and the massive Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio tower proudly above the

trees! What other people of Europe have such a haunt ?-what other people would know so thoroughly how to enjoy it? The day was drawing to a close, and the Piazzone was now filled with equipages. There were the representatives of every European people, and of nations far away over the seas splendid Russians, brilliant French, splenetic, supercilious English, and ponderous Germans, mingled with the less marked nationalities of Belgium and Holland, and even America. Everything that called itself Fashion was there to swell the tide; and although a choice military band was performing with exquisite skill the favourite overtures of the day, the noise and tumult of conversation almost drowned their notes. For the Cascine is to the world of society what the Bourse is to the world of trade. It is the great centre of all news and intelligence, where markets and bargains of intercourse are transacted, and where the scene of past pleasure is revived, and the plans of future enjoyment are

canvassed. The great and the wealthy are there, to see and to meet with each other. Their proud equipages lie side by side, like great liners; while photons, like fast frigates, shoot swiftly by, and solitary dandies flit past in varieties of conveyance to which sea-craft can offer no analogies. All are busy, eager and occupied. Scandal holds here its festival, and the misdeeds of every capital of Europe are now being discussed. The higher themes of politics occupy but few: the interests of literature attract still less. It is essentially of the world they talk, and it must be owned they do it like adepts. The last witticism of Paris-the last duel at Berlin-who has fled from his creditors in England-who has run away from her husband at Naples are all retailed with a serious circumstantiality that would lead one to believe that gossip maintained its 'own correspondent" in every city of the Continent. Moralists might fancy, perhaps, that in the tone these subjects are treated, there would mingle a reprobation of the bad, and a due estimate of the opposite, if it ever occurred at all; but as surely would they be disappointed. Never were censors more lenient- never were critics so charitable. The transgressions against good breeding the 'gaucheries" of manner-the solecisms in dress, language, or demeanour, do indeed meet with sharp reproof and cutting sarcasm; but in recompense for such severity, how gently they deal with graver offences. For the felonies they can always discover "the attenuating circumstances ;" for the petty larcenies of fashion they have nothing but whip-cord.

Amidst the various knots where such discussions were carried on, one was eminently conspicuous. It was around a handsome, open carriage, whose horses, harnessing, and liveries were all in the most perfect taste. The equipage might possibly have been deemed showy in Hyde Park; but in the Bois de Boulogne, or the Cascine, it must be pronounced the acme of elegance. Whatever might have been the differences of national opinion on this point, there could assuredly have been none as to the beauty of those who occupied it.

Though a considerable interval of years divided them, the aunt and her

niece had a wonderful resemblance to each other. They were both-that rarest of all forms of beauty-blond Italians; that is, with light hair and soft, grey eyes. They had a certain tint of skin, deeper and mellower than we see in northern lands, and an expression of mingled seriousness and softness that only pertains to the south of Europe. There was a certain coquetry in the similarity of their dress, which in many parts was precisely alike; and although the niece was but fifteen, and the aunt twenty-seven, it needed not the aid of flattery to make many mistake one for the other.

Beauty, like all the other "Beaux Arts," has its distinctions. The same public opinion that enthrones the sculptor or the musician, confers its crown on female loveliness-and by this acclaim were they declared Queens of Beauty. To any one visiting Italy for the first time, there would have seemed something very strange in the sort of homage rendered them: a reverence and respect only accorded elsewhere to royalties-a deference that verged on actual humiliationand yet all this blended with a subtle familiarity that none but an Italian can ever attain to. The uncovered head, the attitude of respectful attention, the patient expectancy of notice, the glad air of him under recognition, were all there; and yet, through these, there was dashed a strange tone of intimacy, as though the observances were but a thin crust over deeper feelings. "La Comtessa "-for she was especially "the Countess," as one illustrious man of our own country was "the Duke" - possessed every gift which claims pre-eminence in this fair city. She was eminently beautiful, young, charming in her manners, with ample fortune; and, lastly -ah! good reader, you would surely be puzzled to supply that lastly, the more as we say that in it lies an excellence without which all the rest are of little worth, and yet with it are objects of worship, almost of adoration-she was separated from her husband! There must have been an epidemic, a kind of rot among husbands at one period; for we scarcely remember a very pretty woman, from five-and-twenty to fiveand-thirty, who had not been obliged to leave hers from acts of cruelty, or

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