The New York herald., 1871-06-30
D o MAS.
n. Alexandra Dumas on the Past, Present and
Future Of France.

The following are the principal passages OF the
letter OF NJ. Alexandre Dumas, which allusion
was made by Atlantic telegraph,-
~ nave been 10 Versailles TO see to see ls to know
TO know Is to ioresee. This truth Is being recog-
MED and consecrated in one man, NJ. liners; he
mas seen he mas known. ne mas fOreseen. ana that
admirable logic which presdes over human destiny
has put MIN al the head OF france al the moment
ledge and provision. what Will M. Tniers do,'
often heard 1t asked, 'when ne has delivered
.1hl mon d eu, ne keeps his own coun. eli. He viii
do right well that which he has SAID he Will
do.' And men shook their heais with an AIR
OF doubt, because la France nothing Is easier than
10 be proclaimed great and no,hIng Is more dlni.
cult than to be recognized as honest M. Theirs VIII
neither be Monck nor ashln ston will ne rniers.
lhere Is sun room III the memory o. the OF the
future for new immortality. M. Ihers, er hav-
lug 1orewarnei us wlinout our believing MIN, will
have saved US almost without our recognition.
NJ. Theirs after having iOrewarned
us and then saved us-aiter having done At seventy
that whicn the most ROBUST men our own genera
ton would nave been incapable OF doing ias IS
proved by the TACT tnat we nave none oi US done
IL france, aud when all minds shall ne. II not In
repose, al least IN securty, he VIII say TO the
ally, intengenlly, II you are aDle, and nanie
whom you wish, provided 1t B not L. and
ne wil remain tranlully ~ home Il no then has
home. III. liners Ii content to play part
harder than that oi aOillon the part OF the Sim
PIE, honest man, slave oI his word and Of MS duty,
aud II he does not lound the republic 4 aiiirm that
ne VIII defend II against all surprise and all insult
Inis poor republic, this perpetual mscar-
rtage OF France, ends by being interesting. Ger
talnly, TO Judge ueas one judges men, Dy neir
past, by tnelr amii. by their acts IL Is pOss bic
10 oe less respectable, TO nave a more evil name
than the FreAcD republic. its fathers, ILs granl-
ratners, lis lovers At, chdren. are IOr the most
part, fools, 'mbeces groesaues. robbers and dssas-
Si.S. The most honest Is Rooesplerre the pulesi Is
81. .ust the LOST convinced Is arat IL slew lis
children, IN ie IL slew lis otners, IN -. IL slA lis
motner. Whatever be the date IL Stays, II slAys,
II Stays always. III calls this laying foundations
Genids, glory virtue Cnenler. Lasols.er Males-
nerues, Mauane EilLabtth the breas, the Clement
lhomases. tue Lcco.n,es, TIE Darboys, the Deg
ryS, the Boneans all pass there. but, the uIner
hand, II mas spontaneous generations; suad en
hdtcn.ngs OF unforeseen, tnconpfeuensibe pne-
nomena, gigantic ePhemera, colossal pnan' 'as.la-
gorla, when come III inolnenL To geslIcu.a.e, TO
fre and blood. And this Kind, In di.ie,cnt
forms. is ioand by thousands IN TINS revolutionary
zoology, from the darlIng-lurued oocott, such as
GroIsset, to the rei.ta.ied Merry Andrew,
such as tipen- Ros. we say nothing OF
tnelr females out Of respect for w.men
We'll. but in spite OF all These nat SINISTER arsu.
mcnts, we are all more or less republicans at Ieart
aiiu We cannot help excianlins, III presence OF ihs
ell, LIE republic as Inc singer Camille said upon
scahod as he pointed 10 MS orenead, Never
the.ess, there WAS something there On tile other
hand. We comprehend that before these three
perIences France hesitates. anu tnat good numuer
OF honest m wno asked no,ni1x better tnan 70 be
rallied to that elastic form winch has the nent of
being eyerlastlngly provsi hal, exclaimed, and
TO return to the mosl forgotten Of monaI cnlcai
forms, as though to prove tnat nothing cau ever be
impossible among Us"
Alter describing the present position OF France
beaten and soiied by INVASION and disemoowe.ied
AID dishonored oy insurrectlon, ana express ny
Deile that matters are HOT pad as they seel, N.
Dumas up the hctions OF tIe pasI SlAty- our
years. 'Llberty nciion Proclaimed in 'Ss eXtin-
guishe IN 1904 Military glory. icIlon winch asted
twenty years and vanished in q day. The cnarerl
nctlon naugurateu by sDL atLet king. violated by
2 plous King. tarn into rags by reyoitcd rarisans.
and constitutional government. nc-
ton wnch an the CO ent Of NJ. tiailot war unable 10
make durable. and tina tie pistol stot OF M. La
siHu 1AA hO
the Napoieonic legend jugged to lgs own
profit with these jour words. the EN-
The reverses in Mexico aud the disaster OF Sedan.
Universal suffrage fiction which con.ers on three |
Or iour millions OF individuals, VINO can ne Iher |
read nor write the rlght oi voLlnn Tor candidate
wnom tney don't know. on the recolnmen apon OF |
} project or the counsei OF q newspaper; which |
gives c0.o,o0o Of It's sovereign winch con-
lrns them at the end OF eighteen Years, and which,
rs sovereign driven away by u tavern orator, the /
llaslrous Gaudlssait o. the republic, hotcn ng
up an the old phrase. OF Daaton 70 make his mer-
chaidse go down. The Ouposi.lol ncti)n regular |
aud systematic, which votes against wnen 1t Is out
AHA votes Tor wnen Is IN; whicn de. |
i' !nipirs rel refuses il and refuses refuses it" Il when len
i has superseded the empire. The French |
20 l5o, W Parislans VINO are always DIS
;ontented; VINO change governments IL tweal5 -four
hours and tell the provinces they must submit totre
decision, TIL bne day tho provinces, tired Of the
cross their arms and watch PARIS, burned
anu bombarded saying, Get yourselves out OF tnat
~ you can.' Politics. diplomacy alliances, sym |
pathy Of peoples, Ill will OF the Emr mreror-hcGons
NJ. dc bismarck laughs at ali that. Inc nItrdl-
great generals Tie lnvlncb!e army, "A Beriln,' ,
me 'Marsellaise : nctions. NJ. de M0ltAe |
has fore ,een al, spied all, conquered all,
be oreban1. Laws, justice, magistracy-lict Ons Al.
Fare Duts the law Ia his pocket, NJ. Gamoelta PUTS
The magistrates out o. she door and y. Crenirux
ID most sro esluc AID inoss .crrDe OF all the nc
lions seek tnem under TIE ~ n: O the iUt,l Ie
lie a. among ne corpses OF tne h stass,
~ Gt, nImbe servants tlese uctiUns, We cut Off
the h .ai OF LOUIS XNI to whom we tnen RI ls, an
ex piatory monunenf, which, later on, we allow 10 |
be destroyed. We proclaim as Caesar lieutenant Of
artillery whom We leave 10 de on an En1llsn isaDo;
whose ashes we bring back III niulnpn wnlle we |
de;noiisl and rebuild the column. y |
Ana when NJ. rniers asks for twenty-four
hours OF reflection ue ore declaring war against |
Prussia, we call hun Prasslan aid wish 10 pull
down his house, and wnel We are beaten we elect
b IN in twenty-sx departments, and wnen his house
Is really demolished We vote million 10 reDuid l..
and now that he has saved US we ask how We shall
he able best TO yet rid OF hil And we let thirty
thousand OF our sons be stain for The pleasure Of
for phrase OF y. Favie. which IS dear; and we
accuse Tfochu Of treason because he was not will
mad. And we support the siege OF Paris like
heroes, aud we wiii not permit the irussans rs
conquerors, 70 drink g!ass OF beer IN cai5;
plageJ aud burned by bad women, Uy
hurdy -gurdy players, BY Bohemian painters, by
my Journalists, oy Italians OF La vlle.te and by
Poles or all lands And to conclude, benoi Us now
with might ana main calling out lor our exiled
Princes; In oIuer words. we declaring In the
face OF the world that ior eighty years have not
known what We ere doing, that lis Is a misunder-
standing tnat 1904 is al error, tnat 1880 Is 0etSe
that lo43 Is fauit that the l0th OF December Is q
distraction, that the 4th OF september q lark OF
gamins, that 1t all counts for nothing that 1t was
Done for fun and that we are ABOUT to begin
agan.
AT is now or never. The situation offers at least
this advantages mat II authorizes us 10 recognize
our past errors, u condemn and execute them pub
lcy. thanking God Tor the lesson me gives
All the world cries, "N here IL the man who will
save us-we want man." Don't LOOK so fur iOr
this man; you have him at hand; this man. 1t Is
you II Is l. II Is each one OF BE each one man,
and the providenllal man, the great man whom we
always end by overturnlng and cursing, Will become
completely useless How TO constitute oneself
man. Nothing harder, II one knows not
how 10 will II; nothing easier II one wills IT.
II Is not question OF the mass; let
now ~ constitute the individual for II IS ne
cessary that the individual that Is the ruler OF himself
sloald rise out OF tiis great tempest The Deilg