The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-11-25

victor r,uso'. History orr Crime

a. 3D.. f. Gao, moan. . ....-ti as 3 50. hUs .Nn.
,,.,.. li..r rof catastrophe. ro~allavai !
'"' taniorFi D. hnrn. yfDoa 1900. raf.
r't'"-H i.orl ftD l,ul. w. I-!.f r.
'mDn'Hy i'nae ny whish ha ,pt,,.-
roi- m.r" Than aflai e {. nr
i,.us r'mecn '.or.4
rcrtH nf .iuud ~ 'im'"~ ''.. 'i ana 90
iupor,tivc neD,e-iiY nj moment W''n tine
,rInei,iss az cuu-i '....' faic have already
becn nlriue,d. anal Wipn tho r,'p.cs serior
.ocms not uuwiIiini. o. again 500 az nnurht
thc peoples nanla,s-this $40 y OF the Crime
o. December. told by man who WIS az one'
nm cyc-wincra % comhntsnt ami % 81 'timl
When W. con4id T. tine dat' OF its app arancr
W. can but feel tlot th.s volume IS iu some sort
nh outcry OF republican France and that it ehal-
lengcs not criticism. but sympathy Tao truth
H. that we Americans. fortified in soi-com-
placcncy by century OF scf-eovcrnment SUR
yev with too serene philosophy the sirivine-
and the stumbnes. the achievements. the mis-
carriages. AMI the agonios of younger common
wcaths We have read Bu eklc and incline to-
give some credit to that Enthusiastically cquiw
lent for fatalsm which, hy ignoring the action ,
OF individuals. seems to dispense with the duty |
al Indignation. and 10y shifting upon betrayed |
people the shame of its betrayal. relieves thu \
spectator from the pang II too hnrrowin
pity. We apprehend. however. that the mo mi
sense g. .ne future historian is in no dam rr OF
perishing from atrophy that the noNr BUSINESS
md guilt of an individual Will cont .nue to he
measured less by the impotent enlravor to
tbro,tle the shirt of nm age ia an Ivy the direct
scathe and personal wrong ird ted on his fell
low citizens No doubt the triumph of a sham
Caesar. upheld though i, was for almost a gen
Grafton could not hinder the idea of n republic
from striking root in the soil Of France hut
where are the sewers II this harvcst-whcre are
the men who in 1913 laid broad and fair the
framework Of constitutional state. and gave
Impulse and purpose to the march OF an enlght-
ened natonG Some have fallen by knife and
bullet; not few have starved in exile; others
succumbed 10 the fevers Of Cayenne only
scanty remnant has survived to climb the hill OF
promise; nearly all have dropped by the way.
stricken by the fatal sickness OF capacities vast
ed Of large designs denied frution. Of faith
shaken and hope deferred.
We believe thnt the astutc Americans who
were wont to justify the Second Empire by tho
enlarged streets and improved restaurants of
Paris now profess themselves no longer gulled
by the sullen nullity nnd pinchbcck glitter Of
Louis Napoleon Bonnparte. The fact is that
this man joined to mediocre attanments and
abilities cunning which, cspied and measured
the tremendous power latent in the imperial
traditions; and he WAS in this sense the man Of
destiny that he was incxoraby impelled by
circumstance and incompetence to transmute
those traditions into "A kissing and II stencil.
Since the dastardly outrage of December was
answered and interpreted by the dastardly col
lapse of Metz. it is seen that Louis Napoleon's
success was that Of thief who rohs n bank and
who secures transient impunity by hribng the
officers OF the law. 1t is the object of Victor
Hugo. in the volume from which wa shall make
some extracts 10 sketch the authors and accom-
plices Of this notable enterprise. 10 ~, forth the
craft with which the crime WIS planned andtho
righteousness which marked its execution.
To appreciate the character OF the at COM
mitted by Louis Bonaparte on the 81 Of Deem
Der. 1851. we must bear in mind that nobody in
France. outside small gung Of conspirators
desired a restoration Of the empire 1t is SAT,
10 say that not a member Of the Assembly could
have been elected on that platform The sober
sense OF the country was satisfied with the ma
honal L gisature. in which. by the way tho ma
lorty was conservative. The only indictments
were the extreme radicals IN Paris who had or
gained the insure tion Of June. leis. and WAC
certainly aulLd not be accn--i "f r"artinnarN
sentiments. II was. however. rs We shall see
the heartburnings u this faction. slyly in
named and turned 10 account, which strIppe1
the peoples representatives OF defence in tn
hour Of need. and insured the success Of tn
coup d5dt.
So late as the night before the outbreak vioto
Hugo tells US. the Hypothesis Of an assault OF
the Constitution was esteemed entirely inrrcdi
Ole. In the first place such a tragedy seemed Il
rxact u giant. whereas the only actor available
was dwarf. Revolutions hitherto had re
aured men ola certain stature; it il not tn
Nrst conner who penetrate an eishteonu
Brumarc. Now. this son Of ii lrtensc who wa
ne? man who had Strasbourg behind lin
instead Of Arcola. and Bouosne in place q
Austerlitz fellow chiefly noted for the naiv
fatuitY Of his imueriul pose. from whose eagle