The Press. — London, England, 1857-12-12 00:00:00

120 S Yiteraturt. A Year of Revolution. From a Journal kept in Paris in 18-IS. By the Marquis of Normanby, K.G. London : Lougmans. CONSIDERABLE expectation was caused by the long announcement of this work. It was advertised extensively ; its publication was then postponed, and there were rumours that it would not be allowed to see the light for many years. Its title was stimulating, and the circumstance of an English Ambassador at Paris publishing the contents of his journal so recently after his tenure of office was out of the diplomatic routine. That the Mar quis of Normanby had literary talents of a light, pleasant kind was also remembered ; and his personal accomplishments, his social qualities, his highly agreeable manners, and his wide experience of life, all combined to raise expectation to the highest pitch. On the first appearance of the work there was a decided feeling of disappointment both in the clubs of London and in the salons at Paris. It was utterly unlike what everyone expected. It revealed no secrets ; it gave no in sight into the sentiments of the English Cabinet of 1848 ; it abounded in slipshod composition, anti an entire disregard of style was visible throughout. It was neither eloquent nor sparkling, and had scarcely any interesting anecdotes. It was branded as " blue-book," and the Marquis was informed on high lite rary authority that his sentences " sprawled " along the pages. There was much truth in the literary censure, and there was abundant cause for the disappointment; and yet, as we shall soon show our readers, the " Year of Revolution" is a book of considerable impor tance, and we confess to feeling pleasure in its perusal. If read with a literary eye, it is inelegant, inartistic, and unphilosophical but if examined from a political point of view, it is entitled to much weight, its statements are often remarkable, its evidence on some dis puted passages of the events of that (mints mirabilis cannot be hastily passed over, and it contains many things which deserve the earnest attention of those who take a deep interest in French politics. How the literary style of the work is below what was expected can easily be explained. It is not a narrative of " The Year of Revolu tion," and the title is not supported by the contents. The volumes contain only portions of a journal kept in Paris, and literally scrib bled off as fast as the Marquis's rapid pen would allow. The work, therefore, has all the appearance of the hurry incidental to fast writing ; and the Marquis has preferred to leave his notes exactly as they were jotted down at the time. Hence, as our readers will see at once, a great cause of disappointment was given to readers who expected a detailed history of "the year of revolution ;" but hence, also, in a political point of view, arises the increased value of the testimony given by the Marquis of Normanby on the momentous transactions of that extraordinary year. We must add. that if the literary merits of the work are few, it possesses many good moral features. It is written with good temper; it is not malignant nor spiteful ; nor can it be said to be onesided in political views. It has none of the cant of Whiggism, and is not an echo of Palmerstonian dictation. Its great value is the frank testimony borne by the Marquis to the situations of the leading indi viduals at Paris, and also to the state of political feeling throughout France The best feature of the work, still consider ing it politically, is that the author does not make out a ease for any one side whatever, unless it be to show the utter delusion of sup posing that a " moderate Republic " could last in France. We think that his views of the political characters of Louis Philippe and M. Lamartine, Guizot and Cavaignac, are fair, and are extremely like the truth. But in no part of the work is the noble author's fairness of tone more remarkable than in his views upon no less illustrious a personage than his Imperial Majesty Napoleon 111. Let us place the Marquis of Normanby in the chair, and see wbnt toßtimony we can extract from him as tt il!c pursued by the Emperor lik, THE PRE S S, DECEMBER 12, 1857. of the French in 1818. Let it not be forgotten that tbo giver of this testimony is a Whig of the first water, that he separated himself in early life from his hereditary Tory connec tions, and that for many years he was a pro minent champion of the Liberal party, and that on more than one occasion he seconded the early motions of Lord J. Russell for Par liamentary Reform. After mentioning the election of Louis Napoleon for Paris to the Assembly, the Mar quis of Normanby records " the general un " popularity and discredit of the present Go " vernment" June 10th, 1848). Lord Nor manby proceeds to narrate the blunders com mitted by Lamartine in his foolish and un patriotic attempt to exclude Louis Napoleon from the Assembly, and even to vote his exile from France! Lord Normanby observed shrewdly : There is no doubt that general discontent, which per vades many classes in Paris, has caused much excitement in favour of a well-remembered name ; but I am convinced, unless the Government are in possession of secret infor mation of a serious character, that the making a martyr of Louis Napoleon, by attempting to exclude him from the Assembly, is as imprudent as it is unjust. After Louis Napoleon resigned his seat for Paris, and wrote from London his masterly letter stating the causes of his resignation, Lord Normanby thus recorded the feelings towards the Prince (as he was then called) : I suppose this resignation will give us a temporary calm in the streets, butit is not likely to diminish the feeling in his favour. There are numerous groups reading his address to the electors, wherever it is affiche. It is per fectly unobjectionable in its tone, and has pleased the smaller shopkeepers much by his reference in it to peace ful relations with foreign countries ; for, with them, an immediate war was dreaded as the that consequence of his accession to the Government, under whatever title it might be. But the real strength of the cry for him, or for any other new name that may any day arise, is the odium with which the present men are regarded. I have watched the conduct of those who are now in power, for the last few months. Whatever may be the exceptional qualities and personal distinctions of certain individuals, as a body of public men, I believe that they do not possess any one redeeming quality; nor, if they remain, could I foresee any other check or limit to the mischief they are capable of doing, except their official incaracity or parliamentary weakness. Here we have the English Ambassador's tes timony as to the utter incapacity of the leaders of the Assembly, and we see how events are likely to shape themselves. Then, under date of September 20th, Lord Normanby relates how Louis Napoleon was returned at the head of the poll for Paris, and he tells us " the reason why ": He was rinlently opposed by the Reforme newspaper anti most of the clubs, and, as the three socialist candidates are not far separated in their relative numbers, it would appear he has been atbpted by various parties as the most obnoxious to the Government and an incarnation of the general discontent felt at the existing state of things. Here we have " the general discontent " tes tified to, and also the important fact that " various parties" had adopted Louis Napoleon. The Marquis tSept. tIllth) says that the first speech of Louis Napoleon was " well received." Subsequently, when Citoyen Antony Thouret made a coarse remark on Louis Napoleon and endeavoured to insult him, Lord Nurtnanby says : Rut whatever defects the refined taste of Citizen Thouret might find in the expressions, Louis Napoleon certainly showed the possession of some qualities which may be of more general application,—[ mean the self-possession and sangfroid with which he bore this ungenerous usage. He appeared neither irritated nor disconcerted. Tbat self-possession was wanted to many of the chief leaders in the Assembly. Under date of October 29th, Lord Normanby wrote the following most important entry : One cannot but feel that the position of the moderate and anti-republican party is at this moment most difficult. Many of them have within the last few days spoken to me of their embarrassments, and it is almost impossible to select any course which presents other than a choice of dangers. One must start with the conviction, which nothing short of some unforeseen and extraordinary turn of events can shake, that Louis Napoleon will be retnrned by a large majority of votes. The sort of persecution to which he has been subjected by thesuccessive Governments of the Republic since February has diffused an ilea that his success is identified with the overthrow of that of which the mass of the people have become so weary; and this, even more than the pr.stige of his name, has procured him support in many quarters where no personal sympathy can be felt. It is too late, however, for the moderate party to succeed in uniting the anti republican feeling of the countr► in favour of any candidate they might now pat forward. Surely this is a most striking passage. The mass of the people are represented by the English Ambassador as " having become " weary of the Republic," "a large majority" for the Presidency is predicted for Louis Napoleon, and in " quarters" where " no per " sonal sympathy " had been felt for him, the treatment that he had received (Lord Nor manby calls it " the sort of persecution ") from the Republican leaders had increased the Prince's supporters. It Lord Normanby had been a professed Bonapartist, his lordship could not have more strongly shaped a case for the present dynasty. Let our readers observe the following passage, under date of November the 9th : came to me the day before yesterday, in great anxiety, saying that all was going to ruin here; that there was only one chance of safety, which was that Cavaignao should at once make terms with the moderate party, and give them satisfactory assurances as to his future govern ment of the country. He added, that I was the only person at all likely to Influence him to take that course, and he entreated me therefore to speak to him again on the subject. I told him that I quite agreed with him that the result, if attainable, was the beat we could look to, but that I had never yet obtruded my advice upon the general upon any of his internal affairs, unless either specially in. vited or encouraged by something he had said. Now, as he had distinctly announced, both to me and others, that he considered his success certain as soon as the people understood that his election was synonymous with the maintenance of the Republic, this was certainly not an encouragement to advise him to make friends with those whom his intimate associates (such as llegousie) hal just been denouncing as f►lse to the Republic. I might differ from Cavaignac as to the opinion of the country upon those points, but his information ought to be much better, and after all it was his affair and not mine. was evidently rather disappointed that I would not stir in the matter. There was a report yesterday that Cavaig,nac had made some advances to that party, and the funds rose in consequence ; bnt I do not believe it, as Degonsee, whom I met at one of the Minister's last night, told me that forty members of the Reunion de la Rue (le Poitiers had followed his example, and quitted the club, because they believed them not to be Republicans. This of course will increase the bitterness on both sides. Mold told me, on the other hand, that Larcy, a Legitimist from the south, who had been much opposed to the Bonaparte " candidature," and who had said a few days ago that that fancy hal made no progress in the south, had been heard since to say that all the peasants had caught the infection, that they believed it was the only way to get rid of the Red Republic, which was the only one they knew of, and unless Cavaiguac immediately joined himself frankly with the m►derate party, they would all vote for Louis Napoleon. This letter was shown to Dafaure, who said, " We receive such from all quarters; but "—and shrugged his soldiers, as much as to say, " it is too late." This was an additional reason to decline meddling in the matter. There is a mass of evidence in that passage from which any philosophic historian, writing fifty years hence, might induct the inference that a Napoleon dynasty was the best dispen sation for France in 18-18 50. " All was going "to ruin," was confessed by a chief of the moderates, and in the south of France the peasantry are represented as espousing the cause of Louis Napoleon. Page after page from Lord Normanby's pen record the gradual but certain manner in which the coming event was shaping itself. Under date of December 12 the Marquis describes the universality of support given to Louis Napoleon : History affords no parallel to this spectacle of all the eminent men of all former political parties uniting in sup port of a man whom no one of them would personally have selected. They, in fact, follow, whilst they assume to direct, a popular impulse which they could not resist. The memory of the Emperor Napoleon is no doubt a master spell in this impulse ; but the hatred to the Re— public gives another signification to the name of Bona parte, and the traditional recollection that it was lo) his means the last Republic was destroyed in France gives doable force to this mode of protestation. And of the consummate skill with which Louis Napoleon made himself master of the event, we receive the following description under the same date : The decision of the Assembly once taken, the moderate party had no other resource than to endeavour, whilst associating themselves with the popular enthusiasm, to make a useful instrument of its idol. This plan has been followed up with much success. Louis Napoleon has placed himself entirely in their hands, and, except in one instance, has acted uniformly by the►r advice. His address was evidently entirely his own, but the sentiments it ex pressed were generally approved. He separated himself from all doubtful connections, and has, upon the few occa• sions in which he has been called upon in society to take any part, acquitted himself with sound discretion. His great anxiety seems to be to remove from foreign conutries that uneasiness ns to international relations which his name is calculated to excite, by repeated declarations of a firm determination to preserve peace. These are remarkable admissions. The result of the election was, for Louis Napoleou .