The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-31

as by pleasure. There idens vi rated there mind
found mind, and struck electric sparks. There
wero assembled, no 1t seemed TO them. tho mon
who could holp mankind. Never before. In.
decd. had there been such n cult of liberty. The
youth OF France dreamed that they had drunk
OF n golden cup, and they were intoxicated; they
perforated. they crowned each other with bay
leaves; they wept, they believed. Any cause
that presented itself to them in tho name of
freedom was acclaimed, whether 1t was eman.
cipation from slavery or from tho marriage law,
restitution OF civil rights TO the French
ProtestRnts or destruction OF tho nltars of
tho Church. When America declared It's indie
pendencc. young Paris took fire. bravcd disln.
heritance, and offered It's aid without sclf.inter.
est or reservation. Voltnire blessed BENJAMIN
Franklin's son; IL was one of his last acts. and
young men hailed 1t as n fitting
of his life. With the passion for liberty won't
a rage for simplicity. When Silas Dcane and
Arthur Lee, the American ehvoys. came over to
Paris with ~unpowdered hair. and plain, dark
cloth coats. moving like dignihod farmers amid
the scintillating world, the young mon of Yer.
s~ailles wanted to give up toupces and to adopt
fustian. They would willingly have worn rnrs
and eaten dry broad II they could have helped
negroes, Huguenots. or abstract victims Of any
sort by such sacrifices. The only things they
never thought of giving up were their own priv.
ileges. their exemption from taxes. ana their
game laws; the only people they never dreamed
Of delivering was the haggard race at their gates.
Zeal for humanity brought zoal for science In
its train. Science and its pseudo counterparts,
astrology and magnetism. were cultivated with
enthusiasm. because they were expected to al.
~leviate tho sufferings of mankind. When tho
frat balloon was sent up from the Tuilcries
Gardens the applauding crowd was NOV d to
tears; 1t was taken for granted that the relief
from all distress would now be instantaneous;
the arts Of warfare were to be changed. Towns
wore to DO besiegcd, and England was to be in.
vadod by bnlloons; s~anguine ladies dreamed
more selfshly. but not more nationally, OF
corsairs descending to WOO them and of roman.
tic aerial courtships. The aeronauts were
hailed as gods; with the increase OF ma
terial prosperity men grew. indeed. to
consider themselves as gods. secure and
almost immortal. On the one hand were to
be found serious students and dlscovcrors. max.
ing solid progress in knowlcdgc; Lavoisier In
his laboratory, Laplaco and Lagrange In their
observatories, Cuvier and Button in the Jarain
des Plantes; on tho other hand, appraised Mt the
same value. were a crowd OF charlatans, sin
cere and insincere. each with his panacca for
the worlds ills. incascd in big theory or small
vial; each believed in with the whole faith of
the unreasonable Partisan world. Over oil,
BiorliylnS tno uupeS ana even the decetverS,
burned the newly kindled famo Of philan.
thropy. the feeling Of intense sympathy for pain,
the determination to abolish 1t. Most of the
men who made en- pirio experiments In this
cause truly believed in them. They wcro guilty
OF crcdulity rather than Of dishonesty; Of
intellectual confusion and lack OF discipline
rather thnn Of lawlessness. Conspicuous as
an example at once Of power and OF
incongruity was Mesmer. Possessed Of q
mysterious influence. which must have
seemed. even to himself. half magic, half scien.
tidc, it would have been strange IL he had not
felt sincere faith in his gift and looked upon the
display OF it as q mission. 1t lent .tsclf, no
doubt. to theatrical effects. half unconscious
tricks and conscious pucrilitics; but his talent
for hypnotism was genuine, and enabled him TO
assuaEc pain; II he was a c%oniurer. he believed
himself to be also o priest. He was not merely
a quack OF genius. like Cagliostro. and 1t is not
surprising. therefore. that his seances should
have attracted Paris. They were thronSed not
only BY grandecs. by fainting princcsses, eaccr
beauties and crcdulous blucstockinss, but by
earnest students. genuine snvants and grave
patriots with ideals. Lafayette among them.
They came. night after night. rs to an oracle. to
watch and listen. in the hope that here, at last,
was the solution of their most crucial problems.
Tho result. of course. was less than futile.
1t Is perfectly true, as the author reminds US,
that the half century which is to precedc a
radical revolution may often be recognized by
the number OF reforms. small and great, pro-
posed during the period: still more, by the
universal talk about them. The Paris Of ITO
and 1880 resounded with changes md rumors
Of changes, in law. trade. art and society. 1t
was n symptom OF the times that every question
engendered parties and fcuds, so that the whole
town was split up into hostile camps, which met
In IVA lrn trtn =. I'D -l-l A. - ~
their tongues and pursue with their pens.
There, for instance, was the war OF the econo-
mists about free trade in grain. and, al
most as conspicuous. the discussion of
military tactics. For some time nothing
else was spoken OF among fine ladies In their
salons or among coachmen in the streets but
tho question as to whether corporal punishment
with the fiat Of the sabre, which prevailed in
the Prussian Army. should also be used in the
French. Voices became thrilled over 1t. In
memoirs which resuscitnte his century before
our eyes the Comte de Segnr tells US that one
morning ar aristocratic officer. a comrade of
his. rushed into his room in evident agitation.
Swear TO do me a s%ervice!' he cried. his hand
upon his heart. The count swore. TAKE my
sabre and strike mo hard with the back
OF 1t till l bid you STOP" said the other.
Tho Count tried persuasion and anger In
vain. Forced to keep his oath. he hit out with
some malice. But 1t was not till an hour had
passed that tho order to cease came. The kneol.
ing officer rose to his feet; tears of sensibility
were in his Dyes. Now" he exclaimed. know
from experience that this Establishment Is not
only possible but perfectly humane" The count
believed that all was over. but. to his dismay.
the friend declared that, to make the test com
plete, he, also. must undergo it. Resistance was
as vain as before. SGgur submitted, but cried
HALT at the first stroke. Tho two men then
parted. with many embraces. tho officer UNI
moved In his hard-won theory.
HI.
1t may be ur2ed that, among the women. Mt
any rate, there was no puzzling mixture; that
hero frivolity was uncomplicated by as. ~irations.
Their luxury was. indeed. incrcdiblc: they ac-
cepted 1t like the air they breathcd. Yet it could
not quite smother tho dreams OF tho soul. Their
monastic education helped to keep such dreams
alive; though mundane. 1t WAS by TO means
matcri listic, and tho need OF religion was
always kept carefully before them. Usually.