The National Register. — London, England, 1816-01-28 00:00:00

.~►i"Nan.t-va.+7 I 'ice 1 THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Ming, einatitution Zeno. Pe 111.1 SH ED AT NO. 89, C H ANCE'. RY-L A NE, LON DIPN. No. 4M. S UNDAY, JANUARY 28, ISM. PRTCE POLITICAL DISQUISITION. —war. SV 0.11.1 GATT olg qfFRANCE; ausasedurd PRIDE eBUONA PARTS ; DIVISION! ize FRANC!; DURAIZILI fIF of the BOURBON REIGN; DESPAIR of the R r:PUßLicAtql. FRANCE has, for centuries, attracted the attention, almos, exclusively, of all Europe. To FRANCE we have been accus tomed so long to look for models of taste in arts, in literaturet in war, and in fashions, that it may be said, directly or indi rectly, the sway of the whole continent is in her hands. What she cannot effect by force, she contrives by intrigue; and often produces an influence, solely by the desire, or the seeming interest, that other nations have to oppose her. To what parti cular accident of soil or of situation, of genius or of fortune, she owes this great ascendancy of influence, it is difficult to pronounce; but the fact seems indisputable. For our own parts, we are . not sufficient admirers of the peculiar characteristics of FRESCIL literature, or of the fine arts as practised in that country, to yield the palm of genius to FR ENC'i MEN. To their actual merits we are by no means blind; and have note limn idle spectators of the rapid:progress which they have made, of late years, in the exact sciences, in', chemistry, in the manufacturing arts, and in all that is scien tific or methodical* in the praetic-e of war ; in which . they 'have been,. for 15 . years; first-the conquerors, and lastly the instrue-- tora,sof all Eutteufre-. The opposition which the extended domination of French, Power at last produced has effected tbe-ruin of FRANCE, as g military ? natiou.. Such is ever the fate. of inordinate - ambition. Yet,, in her fall, she has the consolation of disappointed pride, if it be a consolation to the fallen, to be reminded of former grandeur, that her subjugation was effected by the combination of all EUROPE ; and that the whole power of the North, the hive of nations, and the congregated swarms of warriors from the DON and the.TANals.to the Wzmit, the tr. BE, and the 'Etc...sits (tint to speak of the Egao and the Tacius), were unequal to her destruction, till united under the banners ofH ENGLAND, at the field of WATERLOO, or rapidly marching to follow up the fatal blow struck by WELLINGTON and Br.e -crn mt. She is, at length, then fallen. A Prince raised by foreign arms to the throne sways the sceptre of the GAut,s, awl foreign. soldiers garrison: her towns ; in which scarcely a remnant of her once proud army is to he found. The tro phies of her conquests, the statues and the pictures, which, like the Romans, she collected to adorn her triumphs, are returned by the right of conquest to those from whom they were) taken. The gardens of her . capital, for such we may consider the Boss DE BOULOGNE' and other public places, have been the encampments of the COSSACKS, or of the ENG L Isli; and by them have been almost destroyed. Tire mighty CAPTAIN who led them to so many victories, and placed his standard in every great capital of the Continent, is a captive chained, like P. 1014 E Ettl; to a logic; guarded - by' the Ocean, an' VA . T 1 4f. No, (IQCO: !If! of BaIT AIN, as fart as rate and . the Styx itelf can Lind the daring and impious mortal- of fabulous history, to whom we have likened him. nig fantilly are ban4Ared, from their adopted country. His name is erased from every. public monument. His busts and his pictures ave sought foe, l) the Police,. ity every hut where they have been hid by the poor veteran who served him in so many catorati , Aitli. 'Vo possess his picture is a badge of infamy. To peonounce his name is to inc;ir impri sonment. Yesterday an Emperor, to-day an outcast under the ItAm of all. ErraorE. Such is the and of the ambition of a Corsican soldier. W hat the - pangs of remorse, under such aa existence, may be we cannot depict. Vorhaps he is sustained thedeep• sense of pride, and rho knowledge that, if Sr. EitLEN A N to be his ;rave, the' some rock, which is now 114 prison, will be Olen his moutimen6; and that the anxiety with which he is guarded' is a tributte which the fears of his enemies can'offer to-his reatmess. We could wish; if it' Were pessitA, tt) Attract the attt:ntiori of our - readers more front the enntinent, and' dieect it to out' own inrernal affairs, - -confide t', in public aftitils, as welt gs in private; that he whose heart is• abroad cad never be happy at home;—but we find it impossible. French- ?4evds, even rtes**, supersedes every other topic ; anti, till the meeting of parlitt-- ;ment at least, when the orators of St. STEPHEVS Chatiet• !contrive to give a particular inipulse to the attbntionof the ;Faille, we are constantly p'rested`Witli . the Crirtfctidn . of; What is doing &Palis'? Wilt the' pi 4 rsent state - of thing tie dura ble there? Will toots Wirt. preterve the throne of his' ancestors? Will the twice - -expelled, yet always degiied, scendant of flntitor whO has reigned' 21 years by hie deadly foes as his secret depties, maintain the power that' he has acquired ? We have, once . since we have andeTtaken the cohdtict of the NATIONAL REGISTER, in our observations on the trial - of MARSHAL NEN, given our 'opinitin in the affirmative; and we still think that, unless the imposing power by which he is at present supported be, by some accident, withdrawn from France, it must be only by gross folly indeed, and a weak- • ness that we do not attribute to Louis XVIII., that' his power can he subverted. The Mot: ARCHY of ea ANCt, till it was overturned by the weakne;s of Louts XVI., and his want of pursuing the sti•aight- . forward course, either of adopting implicitly the C o nstitutob, which he had signed or of boldly maintaining his power by force, from the first, was a military goverinhent, as all the thrones of the Continent have been, and still are. Stich a power may still, by the aid of the British army, we think, be established in France; and once established, we see no less CAUSE for the security of Louts than. of AuLxAmnrtt, of FitANcis or of FuEDLitic W Lt A-4 ; all of whom have been, hitherto, able to support themselves on their thrones by the mere effect of a little-ordinary prudence ; and the courage and fidelity of their guards ; though all are in debt, and all have '.occafia)ny •nb; to the most violent reverses in war. tl!v beet: subject to the most V 101CIIT ievcrsgs w 41. $1 41 r.... :4 7.1 , 1„,„12: ' '' • 44 . , \ ••• • 4.4A4 , 9131441r s , 4 M' .NM