The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-03


A French Lady's R-ec0llectlOns Of the
Restoration
The irst volume Of the Memoirs Of the
Comtesss dc BOigns. which We reviewed
at the time Of its publication by the Scrl0-
ners. dealt with the period as TO which
the author could speak only TO q certain
extent from personal observation. and
for the most part wal confined to re-
counting what her relatives and friends
had told her. The volume before us.
which treats Of the four years following
the Hundred Days. is almost wholly made
up Of the authors personal impressions
and reflections.
The author Of these memoirs throws q
good deal Of light on the means taken 10
pay the large pecuniary indemnity exaoted
OF France. TO secure which the Allied
Powers had left behind them In that country
in 1915 an army OF occupation amounting
"a 10000 men. IL ls a curious fact that
while a. the conquerors OF Napoleon In
1914 the allied sovereigDs had shown them
selves generous. In 1915 al the upholders
Of Louis XVIII. they pushed their de-
mands 70 the point of insult. The truth
doubtless is that The strength and pros
perity exhibited SO quickly by France after
the first abdioation Of Napoleon had
aroused their surprise and jealousy. They
had taken for granted that the country
had been exhausted by long war; yet
70 their astonishment they saw II rise
from it's disasters 60 powerful that at the
Congress Of Vienna TaIleynand had been
able to secure a leading part for France.
Ministries and nations were alike alarmed,
and as the opportunity for a further
crusade against the French nation had
been provided by the Hundred Days
every one was determined TO turn It to
the best advantage. Their hatred. how
sver. was entirely blind. for although they
wished to humiliate France they were at
the same time anxious 10 consolidate the
Restoration. The humiiatiOns, however.
Of the period succeeding Waterloo in
fiictsd a wound upon the new royalist
government from which il never recovered
and which became one Of the reasons for
its downfall. The nation never entirely
pardOned the house OF Bourbon for the
suIrerings imposed upon II by those whom
the Crown called allies.
Nine. de BOigne declares that excuseble
as these feelings were they were at the
same time unjust. She -pronounoes It in
conceivable that Louis XVIII. found any
s~atisfaction in behoIdinS Prussian cannon
trained upon the Tuileries. Nor could
he have been. she thinks. any better pleased
that foreigners should make their wey
to his private apartments and carry of the
pictures which decorated ,his palace.
We glance at what the author Of these
memoirs has to tell us about the execution
Of Marshal Ney. in whose trial her father.
the Marquis d'Osmond. who had been APP
pointed French Ambassador at London.
was compelled to take part. 1t is well
known that Ney. Known in the Napoleonic
armies as "the bravest Of the brave"
and made successively by the Emperor a
Marshal OF France, Duo d~'Elchingen and
Prince OF the Moscova, deserted Napoleon
in 1914 and was appointed by Louis XVIII.
a peer Of France. He was ordered to stop
the march Of the Emperor on his return
from the island of Elba, but ven over TO
his side. After the Second Restoration
he was accused OF treason condemned
to death by the Chamber Of Peers M was
shot. There is no doubt that the Chamber
Of Peers was legally bound TO condemn the
Marshal. but King Louis XVIII. has been
greatly reproached for not pardoning him
The author to these memoirs doubts whether
the King had either the power or The will
to do 80. She points out that when we
essay TO Judge events Of this kind after the
lapse Of many years we do not allOw suf-
icient weight to the impressions prevalent
at the moment. She t~estifies that for a
time after the Second Restoration every
body In Paris wal afraid. and she reminds
us thai nothing Is more cruel than fear.
An epidemic of vengeance had set In. and
Of this fact no other proof in her opinion
is needed that the words OF the Due de
Richelieu when he set Ney's case before
the Court OF Peers.
Touching this point she remarks that
seeing that so fine and noble a character
as the Duo de Richelieu was unable "a
avoid the ~contagion, II was bound to become
universal, and 1 doubt IL he could have
refused 10 popular clamor the victim which
il claimed without driving il to greater
excuses" II is certain that in 1915 those
who demanded ali example 20 deter future
traitors were the honorable members Of
the Royalist party, the princes, the Bishops.
the Chambers and the Court. Moreover,
Europe as a whole insisted that Frenchmen
had no right to be generous or indulgent
at the expense Of European blood and
treasure. Nine. dc Boigne cites the Duke
! OF WeIlington's attitude as evidence of
this fact. She says that tho Marshal's
pardon depended muoh more upon him
than upon Louis XVIII; we must also
remember that the penalty Of death for
political reasons was then regarded as
natural by every mind" The author OF
these memoirs has no wish to Offer any
excuse for the MADNESS which prevailed
at that period. She was angry, she tells
us, TO see members Of high society rendering
their personal services to guard Marshal
Ney in the prison cell, and to sleep there
lest he should escape.
That all his is as true as Il is hateful can
be proved by an extract relating TO the same
subject from the memoirs of Chancellor
Pasquier: 1T Is impossible" recalls the
Chancellor. "for any one but an eye witness
70 realize the revolving passions which per-
vRded the ranks Of even the highest society.
l have seen men Of high birth put on the
uniform Of the National Guard (which they
probably never wore before), request and
obtain the privilege Of mounting guard at
the prison gate and Of watching over the
room in which Marshal Ney was confined.
being unwilling to entrust his safe custody
TO any but themselves" Mime. dc Boigne
points but that more han kindness was
ranuirad ~ aacpra tina nardOp ~ Marahal