The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-06-30
D o M las.
n. Alexandra Dumas ON the Past, Present and
Future Of France

81 nave been 10 Versailles 10 see to see 10 to know,
nized and consecrated in one man, M. rnlers he
has seen, he mas known. ne mas foreseen ana that
admirable logic which presdes over human des tiny
has put MIN al the head OF france ar the moment
wnen France has most want OF vision, OF know
ledge and provision. what Will NJ. Tniers no., I
often heard IL asked, when ne has delivered
Paris.' Tor there Was no doubt he would deliver It,
.kii mon en-, ne keeps HIS own council lie will
do right well that which he has said he Will
do And men shook their heas with an air
Of doubt, because Iii France nothing Is easier than
10 be proclaimed great, and no,hing Is more dii
cult than TO be recognized honest. NJ. Theirs VIII
neither be M0nck nor ashinsto he will ne rnlers.
future for new mmvrtaty NJ rhiers w. e ~ n ave
Ing 1orewarned us wnnOut our believing MIN, will
have saved US almost without our recognition.
Nj. Theirs after having lore warned
us and then saved us-alter having done at seventy
that which ine most ROBUST men o. our own genera
tlon would nave beeu Incapable OF doing las IS
proved by the TACT tnat We nave none vi US done
In. Theirs VIII re-esia6iish or 4er and movement
repose, al least IN security, he VIII say 10 tine
CONTRIBUTIONS your government freely, 10y
any, intelliCently, II you are aDie, and name
he VIII remain TRANQUILITY At home. II nc then has q
home. y M. liners IL content to play part
haruer than that oil auluiuOn, tie part OF the
pie, honest maa, slave oil ms word or duty,
and II he does not iouad the republic 4 arn mat
Ins poor republic tnls perpetual miscar-
rage OF France, ends Ny being interesting Ger
tainiy, 70 Judge iaeas as one judges men, by their
past, by tuer family. by their acts, II Is pussi
10 I've less respeclaDie To nave a more eyil name
than the French republic. ITS fathers. It's grand
ratners lis lovers. At, children. are, Tor Inc
part, fools, mbeclles grotesqnes robDers and
sl.s The most honest Is RooespIerre, the pules Is
81. .ust tn convinced Is arat. in 'g5 IL slew lis
cndren. 10 IL slew otlers, - 1t slA us
mother. Whatever be the udGe IL Stays IL Stays,
II Stays always. II calls ms laying foundations.
Genius, glory, virtue. Cnenier, Lavuis.er, Males
heroes Maaaine Elizabeth. the breas, the Clement
lnomases. tue Lccom.es, tne DarDoys. the DeI uer-
rvs, the B0nJeans all pass there. But, the
hand, IL mas Spontaneous generations; suad III
hatcn,ngs OF unioresc cen. iucompreuenslDle pne-
nonlena. gigantic ethemera. colossal pnan' as.na-
gOria when come Ia moment to ge,tIcu.ae, 10
s..er cry and die on background reodenei ~
forms is loand by thousands IN TINS Revolutionary
Zoology, from the uarilng-turned tO,Utt such ~
s SI91sse to ,en me red'aed Merry Anarew
Their females out OF respect for w.men.
whom they resemble when they are de.d.
Well, but in spite OF all these hat o. SINISTER drsu.
ments we are all. more less, republicans Eeart,
and cannot help exclainins, IN presence OF ihis
ell, tue republic as inc singer Camille said upon
e scanod as he pointed 10 ms orenead. Never
theess there WAS something there On the otncr
hand, we comprehend Lnat before these three ex-
perences France hesltates, anu That a good numuer
OF honest mon wnO asked notniax better tnan 10 he
rallied TO that elastic form which has the merit OF
being everiastlngly provisl ba exclaimed, anu now
eXClam, that II Is altogether Impossible, ana wish
to return TO the mos, forgotten Of monaIcnical
forms, rs though to prove That nothing eau ever be
Impossible among u.s.
Alter describing the present position OF France,
beaten and soIled by INVASION and dsemoowe.ied
AID dishonored by lnsurrection ANA express ny u
Deet that matters are not JAS bad as they seem, M
Dumas sums up the NcLious Oi the past SIAty-t
years.. .Llbertyl fiction Proclaimed ~. eXtln-
guishe. In 1894. Military glory nction which asted
twenty Yeas and vanished IN q das. The cnareri
nction 'naugurated by SDA ..uef king. violated by
pious king, t5rn into rags by revoitcd raIisIans
Parliamentary aud CONSTITUTIONAL government. nc-
make durable. and tina the pistol snot OF NJ. La.
grange slew. The repu .lc Of '4sl hcuon that
n1s g1s ,oe Legend usgea to AZ own
pre- IS peace another fiction which gave
Us the trmean war. the war IA llai
Universal Suffrage fiction which coti:ers three
or tour millions OF individuals, VINO can ne Their
wnom they don't know. on the reconmen iaton OF
o project or tue counsel OF newspaper; which
gives c,oCooo Of votes 10 It's sovereign winch con-
firms them at the end OF eighteen Years, and WHICH,
three moths afterwards lets its vote be broken and
It's sovereign driven away by u tavern orator. the
INDUSTRIOUS Gauiissat 9. the republic, Lotcn ng
up all the Old phrase. OF Danton 10 make his ner-
chandlse go down. The ooposnol lcti,u regular
ana votes Tor when 1t Is IN; which de-
MAIDS the return Of the princes when the
II has superseded the empire. The Frencn
nat On fiction which su0OIdinates "7oo0,Oo0 of
individuals 20 l6o, % Parsans who are always dis
contented: VINO change governments III twenl i-four
hours and tell the provinces they must submit ~ TIE
TIL one hne the provinces, tired Of THIS
bombarded, saying, Get yourselves out OF that
as you cam Politics, diplomacy alliances, SYM
patty OF peoples III w o. tne hmperor Or
leuses, the 1hassepots, the camps at Cnalons, the
great generals the lnvlncb!e army, "A Beriin,'
the 'Marsellaise hctons. NJ de MoltSe
has fore zen al, spied ALL conquered ali,
be orenanl Laws justice, mag.stracy-lict, ons. Al.
Fd,re puts the law lii his pocket, NJ. GamDetta PUTS
The mag strates out o. The door, and NJ CreinIrux
81 Is assassins tree. Lastly, equality and rate nifty
IN most gro esaue AID noss erroe OF an the ilc-
tions seek tnem under tue III n O. the iVt,l Le
lie ID among he corpscs OF tie Ii stays
- et, nnnoie Servants o tns.e nctions, We cut OF
explatory monumen, which, later on, we allow 10
be destroyed. We pioea," as Y. sar lieutenanL Of
artillery whom We leave 10 de on an English isaDo
whose ashes we bring back III uiulnpn, wnile we
de;noiian and rebuild the coiumi.
And when NJ. Theirs asks for twenty-fonr
hours OF reflection pe ore declaring war against
Prussia, we call him Prassian ami wish " pun
down his house, and whea We are beaten We elect
IN in twenty -siX departments, and wnen his house
really demolished W. vote % million 10 reDuid l..
and now that lac has saved US we ASK how We shall
be abIe best 10 get md OF nlm AND we let thirty
thousand o our sons he stain for the plea sure OF
Gaualssart. which Is nard and we pay i've mlliiards
for a phrase OF y. Favie. which Is dear; and We
accuse TrOcnn Of treason because lie was not will
Ing TO maAe US eAterminate ourselves. which Is
mad. And We support the siege OF Paris like
conquer0rs, TO drink glass Oh beer IN q caie;
aud we allow Paris 10 be occupied and
hurry -gurdy players, by bohemian painters, by
q thy Journalists py Italians or La vlile.Ie and by
Poles OF ali lands. And 10 conclude, beno Us now
with might ana main calling out Tor our exied
Princes; In other words. we are declaring IN the
face OF the word that eighty years we nave not
known what we " ere doing that lis Is misunaer-
standing tuat 1904 error, that 1880 is 0ettse,
that lo4s is q fault tnar the 10Th OF December Is
distraction, that the AIN OF september is a lark OF
gamins, that 1t all counts for nothing that 1t
done for fun and thai we are ABOUT to begin
at is now never. The situation offers at least
this advantages mat II authorizes us 10 recognize
our past errors, to condenn and execute them pub.
licy, thanking God Tor the lesson me gives Us.
All the world cries. "N here Is the man who Will
save we want man." Don't LOOK so 1ar Tor
this man; you have MN at hand; this man, 1t Is
you II Is l, IL is each one OF u.s. be each man
and the prOvidenlla man, the great man whom we
always end by ovcrturnlng and cursing, VIII become
completely useless. How 10 constitute oneself
Q man. N0thing harder, II one knows not
how 10 will IL; nothing easier n one wills IT,
y IL Is not a question OF the mass; let
rs see now u constitute the individual. Tor II IS
cessary that the individual that Is tue ruler Of himself
sDoald rise cut OF this great tempest The beag
seli-contained aud seli-kn0wing knowing whence
he comes and WHITTIER he goes what he willis aud
ought do with mis- life ana with the group of lives
dependent him. having his ide al anu his aDsOlute
the individual In fact does not exist IN France, or
at most Is very rare. We must resointely
needfui, yes or no, that there be 0od morality,