Year: 1870

DECEIVING AND BEING DECEIVLD


I'm that celebrated interview between the
French Emperor and an "Englishman" few
days after the formal declaration of war, but
before the opening of actual hostlllties, the
Emperor said that he had hoped to manage
the FrancO-P Prussian controversy III such q
way as to maintain peace, even after he had
directed his Minister to threaten Prussia with
war but. continued he, France has slipped
"out of my hand, and l cannot rule unless
"leadn 1t is not now worth while to discuss
whether France would, at that particular
moment, have been drawn into such state OF
martial excitement as the Emperor referred
to, if he had not previously appealed to pop
ular passions through those infiammatOry
menaces against Prussia which were so sud
denly uttered by his Minister in the Corps
L61isldtif But certain it is that those insane
words of the Duke of GTamOnt appeared to
be the spark that kindled the cOnfagraton
which has since consumed the power of France
and destroyed the Emperor himself. Up to that
moment France was in no higher state of agita-
ton than she bad otter been in, on previous
OCCASIONS ander different circumstances. But
when thetballenge to war was suddenly thrownin





were echoed by the servile Bonapartist ma
jOrity in the Lcgislature,-it was to be ex-
pected that at least the more excitable parts of
the population would be wrought up in the way
which the Emperor pretended to consider I'M
cOntrollable If France appeared to him to
have Slipped out of his hands, it was because
he himself had uttered the maddening cry by
which nations are bereft of reason.


But after all, have we seen the population
of France display such an overwhelming de-
termination to make war upon Germany as to
prove it was altogether beyond the Emperor's
power of control? "This war;" said he to the
Englishman before the opening of hostilities,
SIS the most national Car that in my time
France has undertaken, and have no choice
"but to advance at the head of a public
"opinion which | can neither stem nor check.'
Now, was this remark justified by the events
of the great crisis7 1t is true that the army
of France, which necessarily Obeys orders,
fought large number of sanguinary battles,
and exhibited as high courage as any properly
disciplined army would exhibit. But, have we
seen, among the forty million people of France
those impressive and determinate indications
of warlike ardor which would authorize us to
believe that the war was national aud popular
in the highest degreeq Has there been, for
example any such spectacle as was displayed
in this country during the prosecution of the
war for the UniOn3 Or has there been through
out France any such profound martial impulse
as has been Witnessed among the population
of all the States of Germany Let any one
recall the scenes with which we were all fa-
miliar in America seven or eight years ago.
when business men, wOrkingmen, and farmers,
native and adopted citizens, voluntarily
marched to the field by the hundred thousand
to battle for their Government and flag. That
was o national war in the real sense of the
word. But the vast population of France
remained impassive to perfectly astounding
degree during the two months that followed
the Emperor's declaration of its irrepressbility.
Was i. not utterly preposterous in him to speak
of the war-spirit of France as being uncon-
trollable and "most national" in view of facts
like these7 The regular French Army, which
fought because it was ordered to fight, repre-
sents but small proportion of the armsbear-
ing population of France; and yet during the
forty days of battles and disaster, did we see
anything like an irresistible national rush to
its support by the uncomfortable population of
martial Francef 1t is true that for a week or
two past the gay Parisans have been very
terrible in their menaces against the Ger
mans; but we shall be better able to estimate
the intrinsic force of these menaces after the
German army has appeared before the capital.
Outside of Paris, what have we seen of the
warlike orgasm of the grand nation 7"


The fact is that the Emperor spoke falsely
about the population of France. In one sense,
doubtless, he was deceived. He had sur
rounded himself with military parasites, Min
isterial sycophants, and servile Legislature
with men and bodies that were so anxious
to show their obsequiousness to their master,
that whenever he gave the least sign of a de-
sire in any direction, they instantly backed him
up in it, and were always willing to go even
little further than himself. 1t was thus that
he was served by Benedict, and Olivier, and
Lebeuf, and Cassagnac, and De Gramont.
When he menaced Germany, they, as well as
the seryile Legislature, were instantly anxious
for war and it was very easy for the self
swindled Emperor to be deceived into the be-
lief that the yaporing Of these Court syco-
plants represented the uncomfortable Gcmoud