The Press.
London, England, 1856-03-22 00:00:00

THE EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH.

THE Roman satirist denied the existence of
Fortune, and maintained that her worship
was based upon the weakness and follies of
mankind. Yet it is in the annals of his own
country that we find some of the most striking
examples of the mutability of fate; and even
those who concede the widest range of possi-
bilities to the combination of intellect and
genius, are unable to deny that they cannot
create opportunity.
Seven years ago, Prince Louis NAPOLEOg
was an exile, with a doubtful reputation He
had no share in the accomplishment of those
events which so rapidly conducted him to
empire ; and the house of Orleans might
have been reigning at this moment had its
expulsion depended upon him. Doubtless,
the mind of the banished Prince was visited
at times by dazzling visions of future power
and glory, yet to sober minds their realisation
must have seemed as impossible as a tale of
the Arabian Nights. Suddenly, when he had
just attained the full maturity of manhood,
when his enthusiasm had been tempered by
experience, and his mind disciplined by adver-
sity, the imposing fabric of constitutional
monarchy dissolved like vapour: the wall
erected against his race was thrown to the
ground, and the city of promise laid open be-
fore him.

- -
Carried away by political excitement, the
French nation determined that a republican
form of government was best suited to their
genius, and, owing to the magic of his name,
the Prince was chosen President. But. in an
inconceivably short space of time, the National
Assembly had proved itself unfit for the per-
formance of its high duties, and had taught
the people to regard the representative sys-
tem with contempt and dislike. But, though
his own judicious conduct placed him in
marked and favorable controst with the dele-
gates of the nation, Louis NAPOLEON was not
the cause of the weakness and vacillation they
displayed.
Of these opportunities the Prince took ad-
vantage with consummate ability. Success
followed success—each more brilliant than the
last—till at length, amid universal rejoicings•
and by the sutlrages of two-thirds of France,
he assumed the diadem of his uncle.
While thinking men were still uncertain to
what cause they should attribute the astonish-
ing elevation of one whom they had but recently

MARCH 22, 1856.

regarded with a feeling allied to contempt, a
storm burst forth in the East which threat-
ened the equipoise of European power
and the tranquillity of tw• quarters of
the globe. Seizing the occasion which
no foresight could have predicted, LOUIS
NAPOLEON stepped forward as master of the
situation, and the wonder of Europe was
changed to admiration. Before the splendid
effects of his vast resources, energetic will, and
irresponsible power, the glory of England
grew pale. The last fatal blow to Russia was
given by the arms of France. The successful
champion of the Pope has in turn become
the champion of the Sultan, and in the two
oldest seats of European empire his influence
is paramount.
Wisely, too, has the Emperor of the FRENCH
determined that his glory in the field shall be
only second to his magnanimity and modera-
tion in the closet. The first to declare for
war, he has also been the first to let fall the
words of peace. And the position he has won
enables him to dictate both to his allies and
his enemies. But one thing was wanting to
make full the cup of his greatness ; and that
one thing has been vouchsafed him. He had
won an Imperial crown; he had proved him-
self possessed of those qualities which entitle
men to be rulers of their kind ; by a successful
war he had raised his power to the very
highest pitch. That power had now to be
consolidated. What he had hitherto done had
been done for himself alone ; the house of
Bonaparte was yet to be established. At this
juncture, in many respects the turning-point
of his fortunes, an heir is born to him. The
hereditary principle will now lend its aid to
the stability of his Government. He can no
longer be regarded by any one as an indis-
pensable, but temporary, dictator. His pre-
tensions are now less personal than dynastic ;
and, humanly speaking, it seems impossible
to add aught to the favourable posture of his
affairs

To this moment opportunity has waited on
the French Emperor. Every successive event
has happened exactly at the right moment.
Had he been possessed of omnipotence, he
could not have ordered things better than
fortune has ordered them for him. Even his
early, and in some respects ridiculous, failures,
have been unable to injure him. Were it not
a name of ill-omen, we should liken him to the
ruler of Samos.

We shall not now discuss the prospects of
his family. We would merely urge on those
to whom the form of his government is dis-
tasteful, that it is the result of an exhaustive
process. Since 1815, every political theory
has had its chance. There has never been a
more open field for talent than in France
during the last forty years. If the old
monarchy could govern the country, why did
it not? If the new monarchy could govern the
country, why did it not ? If a classical republic
could govern the country, why did it not? If none
of these systems could produce a man—if the
Polignacs, Guizots, and Lamartines were all
failures—we are bound to give a fair trial to
some other aspirant. Theoretically, we should
prefer a freer form of Government, but the
French have rejected every other. Permitte
dtvis cetera.

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