The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-10-28
THE PRESS.
Friday Morning, October %, 1870
mi.direeted Sympathy.

It is uuite common to hear persons VINO feel
or profess to feel sympathy for criminals, out
casts and paupers accused of "sickly senti-
mentalism." Bluff optimists are ready to
send all suggestions for the amelioration Of
the condition of these classes into space with
a sweep of the hand. AS to criminals they
will quote the imprecatory psalms as COM
plete justification of the attitude of modern
society toward them. Sand Samuel hewed
Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal,"
they exclaim, reveling in the stern admins
tration of Hebrew justice as though it were
the most gratifying circumstance mentioned
in sacred history. AS for the poor, they quote
with the great capitalist in the story the
words of our Saviour, "The poor We have al
press disapproval of phianthrcpic effort-a
perverson of the meaning Of the text, by the
way, which constitutes blaspheme if anything
in the world can. "Sickly sentimentalism,"
An the view of these students of scripture, is
anything that disturbs the established order
Df things in favor of those whom misfortune
has deprived of liberty or the means of sui
eistence.
But it is not now our purpose so much to
combat the views of others as to indicate
what morbid sympathy really is by calling at
tentioa to a remarkable example of it, 1t is
not uncommon in reading articles on current
European transactions to find writers deplor-
ing the downfall of SO exalted parsonage as
Napoleon, and dwelling with sympathetic fer
vor upon the forlorn condition of great rul-
or suddenly stripped of power and Of all the
incidental attention, brilliant surroundings
and fattery that pertain to the state of soye-
reign. In sentimental vein worthy Of
school girl who weeps over the erotic
pangs of the darling young marquis, or
count or duke of some cheap romance, they
paint the gloom that surrounds the late impe-
rial inmate of the Tuileries in his retirement
Now the Bonapartes are criminals, but not
the kind that deserve sympathy, as it seems
to us. They are not criminals who have been
overtaken by any adequate punishment for
their crimes-they are not repentant crimi-
mails, lying PROSTATE under the retributive rod
Of justice, hopeless, helpless and suffering
How can one think of wasting sympathy on
Louis Bonaparte in his elegant retirement of
Wilhelmshone, enjoying all the luxuries that
wealth can bring, living in peace and absolute
safety with his friends and looking forward to
the not distant day when he will be reunited
with his wife and child whom he has plum
dered the French people to render more afflu-
emit than many reigning princes? Pity tiger
who has broken in upon defenseless village
in the night and slain score of the people,
and now lies gloating over his spoils in his
caverns These Bonapartes have had no pity.
AL their ways have been paved with human
bones They have not murdered hum
dreds but millions. They have not robbed in
dividuals but nations. For all their crimes
there is no penalty but denial of their right
to desolate the earth any longer. A carnivor
Gus beast, like Bonaparte, ought to be con-
tent with the comfort and safety guaranteed
by his captors, without expecting Or receiving
pity.