, 1873-01-12

| Tire sudden death Of Louis Napoleon inyosts
he defined to bo the controlling idea of his life.
It is to be hoped that tic idea has perished With
him, and that its adhorcnts have suffered sufi-
! cient1y to be convinced Of it's utter worthless
neBs. Tho Idea, under the First Napoleon, en-
tailed upon Franco the horrors OF needless war,
devastation, md debt. Under the Third Napo-
leon, it resulted in the humiiating defeat Of the
French army by the Germans, the loss Of thou
sands OF lives end millions Of treasure. For
half century, first and laHt, Franco groaned
under tho Cesaris1n Of the Bonapartea, and, daz-
zled By their military succeEsos, their shows and
pageantB, indr1ged in de1usiye dreams, from
which it has moro than once wakened to find
itself swamped in carnage and anarchy, civil
strife, or foreign domination. o..
Tie late Louis Napoleon was pre-eminently d
plo:ter, q solitary thinker, and 3 literary dlle-
tant. The Nnpoleonic Idea has not only been
with him matter OF practice and enforcement,
but matter of theory, which ho has elaborated
in two works, his "Napo1ooaio Ideas ~ .nnd
"Life of Cesar" That Idea ia substantially
that Divine Providence, in every cge, produces
fer; men, Of whom CGear and the Bonapartes
were examples, who aro Indispensable to tho
happiness Of the human raco., Absolute power
should be entrusted to them, for they alono arc
competent to exercise 1t, aud if tho peopla re-
poso proper confidence in them and in
vest them with tho requisite power,
they will reach tho maximum Of personal
happiness. and national prosperity and
glory. Is applied to franco, Frencllmen were
tho creatures; tic Bonarartes, the creators.
The Napoleonic Idea. onco accepted, Franco
would be Paradise, and Napoleon I. or Napo-
Icon H., as tho caso might be; the presiding
genius, dispensing blessings with lavish hand.
I: nfallible themselves, Franco would bc inyulnor-
able, and the envy OF the world. This theory of
Divinely-conferred excellence France unhositat-
ingy accepted, wrapped itself in false security,
revclled and caroused, and became the gnyest
nation OF tho world, without stopping to fore
cast the results which might ensua from the
operation OF tho Napo]conic idea, or considering
that another man; or numerous MEN, might sud-
denly become possessed OF the samo Idea, aud
imagine that they were, tho perBous whom provi-
dence had designated as essential TO. the happi~:
ness Of tho people and capable Of securing it,.
They adopted both conditions OF the Napoleonic
Idea,-that its acceptance would result in
complete happiness, and that it's rejection would.
on the other hand, involve them in complete
misery. They only eaw the Millennium mp
preaching III the ono case, and srift destruction
On tho other: They failed to reach tho logical
deduction from the 1des... Had they not the
opera, the Ja1din sIahille and tho cafes, the !
soirees and masquos and military pageants; an
unending Tont Of pleasures by day and By night 2
What more could they dosiro2 Had not tue dis
penser Of al these gaiotice dazzled the world at
Magonta and solfcsino, and elevated France in
IN incredible ahort space Of time to the highest
position among the European powers, dictated
to England, Russia, Italy, and Austria, defeated
tho Gear, defended the Pope, punished the
orientala, conquered Mexico. and increased
the French dominions by the conquests
Of war? For timo it did seem
as il tho Napoloonio Idoa wero onanipo- |
tent. Bnt suddenly there came man Of strong
Ell, ideas than Napoleon, and, almost in a day,
Germany ehiyered the Napoleonic Ides as il it
had beea Of glass, ind It's aayocate vas hurled
from his throne as swiftly rs Lucifer ont Of |
Heaven: 49, .~.
In carrying out his idea, it is evident that |
Napoleon had not the most perfect confidence in |
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