The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-09-21
THE OCTOBER MAGAZINES.
"THE GALAXY.v


month, one English, and very good, illustrative
of Charles Reade's novel, Put Yourself in
His Place, and one American, and very bad,
by winslow Homer, illustrating Mrs. Ed
wards novel of "Susan Fielding"
We take the following from Mr.. Justin
McCarthy's paper entitled ''The Real Napo-
leon:"-
Within the past twelve months the genuine
character of Louis Napoleon has displayed itself
strikingly, nakedly in his policy He has tried
in succession. mild liberalism, severe despotism.
reactionary conservatism, antique Cesarism.
and then, in an apologetic, contrte sort of way,
A liberalism of q rather pronounced character
Every time that he tried any new policy he was
secretly intriguing with some other and making
ready for the possible necessity of having to
abandon the former and take up with the
latter He was like the lady in lie Diable
Boiteux," who, while openly coquetting with the
younp lover, silly gives her hand behind her
back to the old admirer. So far as the public
could Judge, Louis Napoleon has, for many
months back, been absolutely without any
settled policy whatever. He has been waiting
for q wind. Such course is probably the safest
a man in his position can take; but one who at
a great crisis, cannot originate and initiate
policy, will not be remembered amongthe grand
rulers of the world. | do not remember any
greater evidence given in our time of absolute
iucapacity to seize plan of action and decide
upon it, than was shown by the Emperor of the
French during the crisis of June and July So
feeble so vague, hating, ,vacilating was the whole
course of the Government, that many who de-
test Louis Napoleon, but make it an article of
faith that he is sort of all-see-
ing, omnipotent spirit of darkness,
were forced to adopt a theory that the
riots in Paris and the provinces were deliberately
got up by the police agents of the empire for
the purpose OF frightening the bourgeois class
out of any possible hankeTing after democracy
No doubt this idea was widely spread and
eagerly accepted in Paris; and there were many
circumstances which seemed to justify it. But
/ do not believe in any such Imperial stage
play. fancy the riots surprised the Govern
ment, first, by their sudden outburst, and next
by their sudden collapse Probably the Impe-
rial authorities were very glad when the
disturbances began. They gave an
excuse for harsh conduct, and they seemed
for the time, to put the Government in the right
They restored Louis Napoleon ut that moment
in the eyes of timid people, to that position, as
a supreme maintainer of order, which for some
years he had not had an opportunity effectively
to occupy. But the obvious want OF stamina in
the disturbing force soon took away from the
Imperial authorities this opportune prestige and
very little political capital was secured for I'm
perialism out OF the abortive barricades, and in
coherent briclbats, and eifusive chantings of the
''Marseillaise." In truth, no one had anything
else to offer just then in place of the Empire.
The little crisis was no test whatever of the
Emperor's hold over his people, or of his power
to deal with popular revolution. To me it
seems doubtful whether the elections brought
out for certain any fact with which the world
might not already have been well acquainted,
except the bare fact that Orleanism has hardly
any more of vitality in it than Legitimacy.
Rochefort, and not Provost Paradol, is the typi-
cal figure of the situation.
The popularity and the success of Rochefort
and his paper are remarkable phenomena, but
only remarkable in the od-fashioned manner of
the straws which show how the wind blows.
Rocheforts success is due to the fact that he had
the good fortune to begin ridculing the empire
just at the time when a general notion was
spreading over France that the empire of late
had been making itself ridiculous. Louis Napo-
leon had reaching the turning-point of his career
had reached and passed it. The country saw
now all that he could do. The bag of tricks was
played out. The anticlimaX was reached at last.
The culmen, the crisis, the turning g-point Of
Louis Napoleon'S career seems to fie to have
been attained when, just before the outbreak of
the Schleswig- -Holstein war-so small war in
itself, so fateful and gigantic in its results-he
appealed to the Emperors and Kings of Europe,
and proposed that the nations should hold
conference to SETTLE once and forever all pend
ing disputes ! think the attitude of Louis Ma
pOleon at that moment was dlgnlhed command
ing imperial His peculiar style, torci6le,
welghty. measured-I have heard it well de-
scribed as monumental" style-came out with
great effect in the language of appeal. There
was dignity and grace, there was what Edmund
Burke so appropriately terms "a proud hu-
mility," in Louis Napoleons allusion to his own
personal experience in the school of exile and
adversity as an excuse for his presuming to offer
advice to the sovereigns of Europe. One was
reminded of Henry of Navarre's allusion to the
wind of adversely which, blowing so long upon
his face, had prematurely blanched his hair.
do not wonder that the proposed Congress never
met. do not wonder that European Govern
ments put it asde--some with courteous phrase
and feigned willingness to accept the scheme,
like Russia and Austria; some with cold and
brusque rejection, like England. Nothing
worth trying for could have come OF the Con
gress. Events were brooding of which France
and England knew nothing, and which could
not have been exercised away by any resolu-
tions of conclaye of diplomatists
But that was, l think, the last
occasion when Louis Napoleon held any.
thing like commanding, overruling position
in European affairs, and even then IL was but q
semblance. After that came only humiliation'
and reverses. In diplomatic sense, nothing
could be more complete than the checkmat(
which the Emperor OF the French drew upor
himself by the sheer laundering OF his conduc
with regard to Prussia. He succeeded in plac
ing himself before the world in the distinct atti
tude of an enemy to Prussia; and no sooner hac
he, by assuming this attitude, forced Prussia tC
take a defiant tone, than he suddenly sank dowr
into Quietude. He had bullied to no purpose
he had TO undergo the humiliation of see
ing Prussia rise in public estimation, by means
of the triumph which his unnecessary and un
called-for hostility had enabled her to win. Ii
fact, he was outgenerhlledb by his pupil Bismark
even more signally than he had preViousl,
been outgeneralled by his former pupil, Cavour
More disastrous and CHASTITY, by far, was tn
failure OF his Mexican policy. That polio,
began in talsehood and treachery, and ende
as it deserved. Poetic and dramatic iustic
was fearfully rendered. Never did Philip II
of Spain, never did his father, never di
Napoleon /, never did Mendez Pinto or an
other celebrated liar exceed the deliberat
xt,o Col xuhi oh