Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1847-08-26

magni6cence, @egance, taste, md enlight.
eminent. Hayiag attracted around him the
gay, the graceful and the witt. Die Enclosed
the gates Of his splendid mana3b TO the gilt.
tering divinities Of the day l4fashion, bon
ton, aud distinction OF every Ind. Lost 10
the giddy crowd, he took pr,in all its en-.
Ioyments and designations amazed that
amid such vortex of plenaresshe should
still remain a stranger to hppnessl
Music, dress, the perfuaed atmosphere
surrounding the fair and hshionable, were
the chief objects ofhis intsest. Vainly had
he attempted to devote himself to the soci.
ETY. of men renowned I'd wit and under
standing. The ignoran:e of the learned,
the errors OF the wise, eisited only his com.
passion or contempt.
Such is the misfortune Of proficiency -
No one reaches the atihcial standard we
have created. Even ihose who are as learn
cd as ourselves are leEned after some other
fashion and from olf lofty eminence we
look down upon manktd as upon crowd of
dwarfs and pigmies In the hierarchy of
intellect, as in that u power, elevation is
isolated Ito be aloak is the destiny of the
great
VaInly did the clpnt de Charney devote
himself TO sensual ,Ieasures. In the inGan.
ey Of social systeaso long estranged from
'ne Joys OF lie, antaill defled by the blood
stained orgies Of te Revolution, attired in
rags and iat,ers o. Roman virtue, yet emu.
lating the licentbus excuses Of the repens
cy,. he signalizedhimself by his prodgaliiy
ana dissipation. Labour lost.-Horses,
equipages. spladid table, balls. concerts.
and hunting panes. failed to secure pleas
ure as his guest He had friends to ilatter
MN, mistresses % amuse his leasure yet,
though all ihes we're purchased a, the high
est price, the cont found himself as far as
ever from the loys Of love or friendship
Nothing availeii to smooth the wrinkles Of
his heart, or free it into a smile: Charney
actually tdboirrd to be entrapped by the
bats OF socieih without achieving captiva.
ton. The sym Pleasure, raising her fair
form and enci snling voice above the surface
Of the waterg fascinated he man, but the
eye Of the Philosopher could not refrain
from plungi1g into the CLASSY depths below,
TO be disguised by the scaly body and bifur.
cal tail OF The ensnaring monster
~ truth and error were equally against him.
10 virtue he was a stranger, 10 vice indif-
ierent. He had experienced the vanity Of
knowledge; but the bliss Of ignorance wa.
denied MN. The gates Of Eden were clos
ed against his re-en,rance. Reason appear
ed ialiaclous, Joy apocyphal. The noise o
entertainments wearied him; the silence o
home was still more tedious in company
he became a burden to others; in retire
ment, TO himself. A profound sadness tool
possession OF his soul
In spite of all Charneys efforts. the de
mon Of philosophical analysis, far from b,
ing exercised, served to tarnish. undermine
contract, and extinguish the briliiancy o
every mode of life he selected. The prais,
of his friends, the endearments OF his loves
seemed nothing more than the current COR
given in exchange for a certain portion o
his property. the paltry evidence of ne
cessity for living at his expense.
Decomposlng every passion and sent;
ment, and reducing all things 10 their prim
tive elements, he, at length, contracted
morbid frame OF mind, amounting almos, /,
alteration of intellect. He fancied tina, il
the finest tissue composing his garments, h
could detect the exhalations Of the anima
of whose fleece il was woYen-on the sill
Of his gorgeous hangings, the crawling worn
which furnishes them. His furniture. car
pets, gewgaws, trinkets of coral or mother
otpearl, all were stigmatized in his eyes
the spoil Of the dead. shaped by the labor
of some squalid artisan. The spirit of in
quiry had destroyed every illusion. Tn
Imagination of the sceptic was paralysed
To such heart as that Of Charney, how
ever, emotion was indispensable. The low
which found no single object on which Il
concentrate its vigour expanded into ten
derness for all mankind; and he became
philanthropist
With the view Of serving the cause Of hi
fellow-creatures, he devoted himself TO pol
iiics. no longer speculative, but active
initiated himself into secret societies, ant
grew fanatic for freedom, the only super
stition remaining for those who have re
nounced the higher aspirations of humaI
nature. He enrolled himself in plot -
conspiracy against nothing less than tn
sovereignty Of the victorious Napoleon
In this attempt, charney fancied himsel
aciuated by patriotism, by philanthropy, b
love Of his countrymen More likely b.
animosity against the one great man, o
whose power and glory he was enVious J.
An aristocrat at heart, he fancied himself
leyeller. The proud noble who had beer
robbed Of the title of count. bequenthed hin
by his ancestors, did not choose that his in
feror in birth should assume the little o
emperor, which he had conquered at tn
point of his sword.
1t matters little in what plot he embarked
his destinies at that epoch, there was n,
lack of conspiracies II was one of III
many Matched between 1903 and 1904, ant
not suffered 10 come to light; the police
that second providence which presides owe
the safety of empires-was beforehand will
it Government decided that the less nois
made on the occasion, the belter the
would not even spare it so much as dis
charge of mnskeis ON the PLANE de Gren
ellie, the scene Of military execution; bu
the heads Of the conspiracy we're privaiel
arrested, condemned, almost without trial
aud conveyed away TO solitary confinement
in various state prisons, citadels, or fortres
ses. Of the ninety-six departments of consu
lar France.
CHAPTER ii.