New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-10-16
AFTER LOUIS XIV.
THE CONDITION OF FRANCE UNDER THE
DUKE OF ORLEANS.

Had the history of France ended abruptly with
the close of the Regency the portion OF 1t IN
cluded in this volume would have been the most
complete satiric comedy ever played by nation
and its rulers The plans and the labors of
great King the long succession Of wearisome and
costly and, as 1t turned out. useless wars; the
almost continuous succession of capable men de-
voted to the Improvement of the finances and to the
success Of France in European diplomacy; the
jealous pursuit of gigantic phantoms, IKE inc
Spanish succession, which when attained, dwindied
to the minute proportions and tormentlng actlV-
ity Of a bottled imp; the misery and boodshen
caused by the efforts to bring about uniformity
in religion the building of stately palaces ana
the cultivation Of stately manners, eliminating
in Q series Of spectacles that amazed tho world,
in battles like Blenbeim, in the 1ridescent
schemes Of John Law, In the really marvellous
treaty making skill Of Dubois, in the elevation OF
Bourbon to the throne Of Spaln in the disper-
sion Of the Huguenots-all vanished at last IN
tableaux vivants where the most obvious features
were the brandy-swollen, snuff edaubed faces OF
noblewomen, the unrestrained orgies Of free
thinking ruler, and the beggary of the people.
Throughout every act of this strange drama there
is one figure which is always admirable. 1t is
the figure of France. The staggering blows OF the
tax-farmer of the financial doctrinaire. of the re-
ligious bigot, of the royal despot fail to weaken
her She stands upon q soil whose fertility Is
boundless, and her gayety and good nature can be
darkened only by the threat of complete destruc-
ton 1t was this very happiness of her disposition
which during all those ages Of decaying feudalism
kept her ignorant of her real strength.
OF course this historic satire is not easily re-
peated on paper The lines Of action and OF motlVe
are almost infinite in number, and it is only when
they converge to that chamber where Orleans was
to die with a silly jest at death and hell on ni0
lips that one sees how they are all united In oil
unfnterrupted theme At fret thought. it seems
as If Mr. Perkins has committed an error asainSO
literary proportion in devotng more than hall OF
volume upon the Regency to the history OF tho
reign that preceded it, The title Of his book might
be improved, perhaps, but the fact remains that
the story of Orleanss administration like the min
act Of a play would be incomprehenslble without
an elaborate study of what had gone before
Taken by itself, it would give the impression tnat
a sudden change had come over the morals Oh ''ie
ruling caste in France. There still survived many
of the generation who witnessed the narrow pie'y
of Nine de Maintenon's court, and Ohe hohesV
though cruel bgotry of the King, her husband
Tho free life of the latter in his earlier years must
have been forgotten by the people, and the under
current of aristocratc life, constrained by rules
of the most punctilious etiquette known 10 MS
tory, was hard to discover. so 1T might easily
seem to the younger multitude that the unolushih5
vice of the Regents time was something qulte
novel But ID must be remembered that orleans
was no longer youth when he came into power.
lie had conned his lessons and fixed his haolts
inst az his companions had done, under the strict
guard OF Louis NV. His sarcastic temper was
gratifed by the perception of Inconsistencies
l.l.o nod in tho CONTEMPLATION OF
his own greatness, could not see When he wished
IN take q certain officer with him on MISSION 70
Snain. the king objected that the man was
Jansenist He cannot be that" was the Dukes
reply. according to his own account OF the Incl
dent. for he does not believe in God at all, ana
the King withdrew mis- protest. Whether thls
story be true or not it illustrates the purely formal
character of the Kings religious views. lie was
satisfied if the letter OF his DEGREES was conpiled
with. External compliance was all that ne Mill
self gave, or was capable of giving and II was all
that he expected of others. But he required uha'
with all the intensity of nature 70 which the re-
straints OF conscience were unknown. The whole
sale conversions Of the Calvinists, on which he
congratulated himself, il they had not been al
tended with harshness, would have been as rldlc1-
ious as the early missionary performances among
the tribes Of barbarians, when whole clans were
turned into so-called Christians by the INDUS
trious labor Of an hour, little water and the
monotonous reiteration Of the names of the 1rin-
ill., Contemporary notions on this subject were
seen TO be absurd at once when deliberately applied
20 the savage races of America. The rosy views
Of those who thought that il wac easy 70 make
Christians were punctured at the time Of the
Mississippi craze by the penetrating criticism OF
the Jesuit Any Of these savages,' he wrote OF
the redmen would be baptized ten times day
for glass Of brandy"
The sin of hypocrisy is censured too much, par
tcularly by those to whom it would be useful In
Mace of legitimate restraints Of which they are un
conscious or incapable. The Duke of Orleans
doubtless prided himself on being an honest man.
II he had vices. he did not try to conceal them :
nor did he hide the baleful glare of his court, as
the late King had DONE under the cloak OF curl
OILS and minute etiquette. But his honesty was
q physical defect rather than virtue of the MIND
When he rose late in the day. after having made
night of il, he was frank, ill-tempered and rude'
because ID was difficult to be otherwise with every
nerve tingling from recent intoxicatlon. 10 thls
one virtue of frankness the Duke gave up much
that had been found by Louis NV indispensable
70 his authority His administration was a fatal
break in the continuity Of monarchical tradition.
Under the conditions that existed In France the
tranStlOn from tiHIiu cOhsci 'np'N i""'N'N'
like Colbert to spccuator like Law was OF
frightful import, though the visionary Scotchman
would be as harmless a modern bourse as any
lamb that was teeced
While the people of France and of all Europe
were ready for enlarged methods in business, those
who had the direction of the revenue and disburse
ments of the Nation slavishy initiated methods
that belonged TO An age Of feudal disunion. when
every skilled hand was useful, thousands OF the
most valuable inhabitants were turned into rebels,
exiles or corpses by religious persecution. In
Nation where centralized government had become
living necessity, and where the whole organism
responded to the lightest official pressure the doc
trine of States rights was preserved in its most
extreme form by means Of tolls and duties cclected