, 1873-07-20
NAPOLEONlSM.
Social Anatomy Of tho Second
Empire.

Tho Inherent Do1lenlanisrn Of the Bonn.
part1st Tone and Manners.
From Tho Lo,don Saturday Eerft,o.
In its tilno tho daily Telegraph han certainly
bad some very wonderful correspondence, aud
perhaps none Of them hnro been moro wondor-
ful In their way than tho gentomnn who was ur,-
I'll latoly Its representative in raris. Originality
has not always leen the strong point Of corro-
hpondonts Of that journal, but At least this ono
waR original. Tloro mover WAS anything like
him before, and thoro mover 1as boon ANYTHING
like him ainco. His succoBgor or Successors have
boon only weak initiation Of tho originu1 arti-
clio, and tho recont epnBmodio effort Of ono Of
thom to distinguish himHolf by telegraph
ing in brcathlcss haste o long md detailed mar
rativo OF q particularly confidential intorviow
with too celebrated lady who had Just
been requested to xollovo Pnris from her
presence waB almost u confoBslon Of despair. It
has boon thought worth while to reprint col
lection Of tho groat correspondents lettors,
under tho title Of "Court aud Social Life in
Franco undcr Napoleon tho Third" Tinslcy
Drothors), and It must bo said Of them TINT they
constitute worthy monument both Of tho
Daily Telegraph aud Of tho Second Empire.
From tho preface VIC 1oarn that the correspond
ent had Ind somo personal acquaintance with
tho Emperor III tho devionn bypaths OF his
shady exilo, and this won for him s'pcculiar 3d.
oial advantages ut paris. No aro also assured
that hlB "atyle" WAS peculiarly his own. It
would certainly appear that, by raro combina-
tton Of remarkable qualities, ho wns peculiarly
fitted not only to represent tho Telegraph, but
to bo tho chronicler Of tho Empire. Tho friend
Of royalty, tho oonfldant Of chambcrlains and
statesmon, tho cherished darling Of ariHtocratic
cotories, descended to common Garth when ho
sat down to describe tho doings Of Olympus. He
had happy way Of writing history in tho racy Ian
guago Of tho turf and tho smoking-room. His
letters had oil tho charm OF that FREQ and ensy
conversation which is associated with tho 1lrl-
bnttoned waiBtcoats, seltzor ind brandy, and
short black pipcs and an unbuttonsd correspond
ont was obviously an appropriate hiatorlan of
debrdille Empire. The writor Of the preface as
sures us TINS, although tho lettors may Beom OF
first sight scattorod md incoloront, thoro will
be found running through them !" diatinot idea,
Ills Is Certainly 3rue. Tho Volumes hsSo roally
= historical value, for they illustrate In very
striking way tho peculiar social characteristics Of
tho Second Empire, and onablo us to understand
tho sort Of loathing and contempt with which tho
Donnpartist Court Was regarded by all decent
people in Franco.
The truth ia, that down to its last hours the
Empire could not shake OF the evil taint Of itB
origin: Tho political, crimo Of tho coup d'etat
givo, and probably had forgiven. It WAS tho So
oinl surroundings Of the Court which ruined IT.
AL ut once little knot OF men who until short
timo before had been living from hnnd TO mouth
bilklng lan1ladiea, puntiug in low. holls, md
otherwise e1orciaing tloir wits In tho pursuit
OF a proonriouB livelihood, suddenly found thom-
selves tho masters Of ono OF the richest coun-
tries Of tho world. Tho transition might have
been too much oyon TOR moro austere yirtuo
than WAS Represented in \ circle to which tho
creator Of VAutrin could alone hnyo done justico
As It Was, tho result 'yaa inevitable. Tho loutage
Of Mazarin md Fouquet was revived by tho con-
Bpirators OF December. NeVer porhaps before
in tho history Of the world was SO much hungry
aconndrelism suddenly put in the way Of helping
itBelf to what 1t wanted. Tho loader OF tho set
had to tolerate his companions and found when
too late TINT thoy would not submit to tho pru-
well as hiB own, 10 would have liked to I'M
poBc, If ho had been n very great man he
would possibly hare got rid Of troublesome as.
sociates by banishing or shooting them; but
kindly, and generous In his priyato friandships.
And, besides, unless he had donu 1t very boldly
1t might havo been dangerous for him to broak
with his former confoderatos. 1t is the penalty
III Ill EuQBplIAGlGA LllAb uOWGfGE EACtl1EIf WH1
DO the motives with which thoy are undortakon
they cannot be accomplished except by the aid
Of PERSONS whom 1t is difficult afterwards TO
shake of, and with whom contact ia pollution.
known, did lcse harm to tho now Empire, por-
haps, than tho Inherent Dolomianisn OF its tone
and manners. Tho Emperor himself never
emanoipated himself from the loose, froo md
easy habits Of tho confirmed man about town;
but his position imposed on him certain regard
for Appearances which was dleregarded by
tho Flellrys and Mornya. There was taint in
the atmosphere Of tie Court which corrupted
all who wore brought within its influence, and
ropoNed both virtue. and honor. We arc not
Of that good-humored, ensy tolerance OF vice, and
disposition to emile ut it and make light Of it,
which iB destructive to tho moral sense. Very
scandalous poraonn came and wons ut tho I'M
is the society into the midst Of which tho great
correspondents Introduces US. Tho Daily Tele-
gram went in strong for the Empire in those
days, though it has had ita little kick at tho
praises. And his praisos arc full of his
toricnl Significance. What thoy come to Is
pretty much this-that tho Donapartes know
hoy to heop gsGsd hoase that they gase ING no
fields Of trufllea, and did all thoy could to mako
their guosts foel very much ut homo. Every
body knows tho sort Of house In private life
which corresponds to thls, Thefo INC 1amlly an
tocodonts are SHADY and will not bear looking
into, md guests are baitod for by lavish foaats
and freedom from the restraints Of rigid eti-
quette with something moro than d touch Of
fastnoss In tho freedom. There can be no doubt
TINT the TuiElories in tho Emperor's time Was
very jolly aort Of houao to 50 to. and the popu-
1arity OF tho Empire with certain section Of
English society and with travelling Americans had
its root in thla FREQ and easy hospitality. The bur.
lcBuue Of tho Grand Duchess Of Gerolstein, !"
which is said to hayo driven tho Queen Of Spain
from hor throne, also supplied o bitter conf
moutary on the aocial aspects Of tho Empire
which, like the Grand Duchess, had all tho vul.
gar looaoncaa OF = common grisettc, and eyory
now and then kickol out it's lno clothes with q
sudden fling.
The correspondents lettors begin at tho end of
1864 and end in :ho summer Of 1870. AL at once
we arc plunged into whisl Of dancing and late
supporH. W0 arc at n ball at the Foreign Of1lco
and tho Emperor and Empress arc pointed ont
to us under their masks sud dominos. Princess
Motternich giyos D masAod ball In Lent, the
groat foaturo Oh which IL . party Of ponitenta
from convent who glide in two and two in