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THE TELESCOPE. [Vol. I.] COLUMBIA. (8. C.) TUPSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1H1G. [No. 35.} niRUMIB WklRU BY THOMAS W. LORIIAIN. l\nnt of Subscription ?'fhr?? Hollar* per annum, pay* able in sulraiicc....Nu paper to be discontinued, but at the option of the Bditor, until nil arrcarugcs arc pakl. .hlvertiicmrnft not c.tcccdiug fourteen line*, inserted the flrnt tiinc tor scventy>five ccnt% and f.?i ty ccnU tor rich subsequent insertion. IsUtn to tlic Editor intmt be por.tpaid, or the postage will be charged to the writer IJTKKAHY HKVIEW. Thf finbstancc of fume fatten written by an Engtitiiman resident at Paris, during the last reign of the /Cmperor JVupoleon t wUhanJlu? jirmli.v of original Documents. Two vols. Hvu. pp. 1)50. London, IblG. COMTIXVr.ll. AVe cannot help observing, tliat tl?o anecdote relating to a plot proposed to tlio duke of Or leans, tint! disclosed by thui prince to the king, does not appear to us probable, and at any rate ought not to havo been inserted by our author, upon such information as disappointment and jenluusy are too likely to have furnished upon tiucli a subject. The (itli letter contains a concise and interest ing account of the progress of Napoleon from Porto Fcrrajo to Paris j and the 8th describes the royal court in its expiring moments. A question, by no means uninteresting, sug gest* itself at the close of this period, viz. Whe ther a successful resistance could Imvo been made at any, and at what moment, to the ad vance of Napoleon. It is manifest, we think, from the facta and observations contained in this work, and from subsequent events, that neither ?ho popularity of Napoleon with the people, nor the. attachment of the army, would ofthemselves hove been sufficient to givo him so conspicuous n triumph over u rival in possesion of the crown and the capital. If any one will call to mind the opprobrious usage Bonaparte met with hut one year before in the very provinces which now nailed his return, he wdl be convinced that ha tred to the royal house which now governed them, rattier than attachment to their ancient chief, obtained from the people of France their ready acquiescence in his designs.?The exis tence of a previous conspiracy in his favour is Ho longer asserted } and the government of France has inelleetually attempted to givo the colour of hucIi a charge to any one of tho trials which havo already taken place at Paris. As to the army, it is notorious that their allegiance had been ottered to other persons, and that the conspiracy of Drouet and l?efevre Desnouettes, (the only one which broke out during tho eleven months,) hud not only no connexion w ith Hona Eirtc, but had avowedly another chief in view. y comparing dates, it will be found that nei ther did the commanders swerve, nor the regi ments revolt, until the conviction of the perfidy and imbecility of tho government which they had served when it most needed their assistance, had become irresistible in the whole body. It is true the disgust was universal { but, on the first intimation of the approaching danger, the lea ders of the constitutional opposition, among whom our author particularly cites M. Constant and the author of the Cenmtr, rallied round the tln one, from a conviction, no doubt, that liberty had more to fear from the power of Napoleon, than from the feebleness of the Bourbons j and, in the hope of profiting by tho difficulties of the severcign, to extend the rights, and to confirm the lil>erticM of the people. Wise and liberal councils were undoubtedly rccommondod ; and the unimpeachable virtue of Lafayette and D'Argonson was ottered to medi ate between the king anil his people. It may be doubted, indeed, whether this reconciliation would then liuve been an available defence, but there is no question, that although a seeming ac quiescence was given in tho councils proposed, and although the king was made to appear eager to embrace a constitutional system, yet no act of popular conciliation?no sympton of rcpen tanco appeared. Chateaubriand prayed?and Lalluy Tollendal wept-?and I,nine recanted ? but the insincerity and weakness of the court counteracted tho eflfect of their protestation, and paraly/.ed the efforts of their more able and patriotic supporters. With us, indeed, it is a matter ol serious doubt, whether tho priest* and nobles, and, in general, those who surrounded the person of the monarch, did not, upon calcu lation, prefer flight, and the chance of return with foreign arms, to such a reconciliation with the people as would have alono secured iU co operation in that terrible crisis. There, arc,how ever, among those who displayed tho most no ble energy in that moment, persons eminently qualified to satisfy the world upon those trans actions | and to them we look with confidence foru narrative, illustrating the character of the nation, which demanded liberty, and of tho court, which hated it too much to purchaso its otvn safety at such a price. In the night of the 19th of March, tho king leaves his capital ? and on the follow ing oveninu, .Napoleon arrives. " Paris, on the entry of Napoleon, presented but a mournlul spectacle. 'Ihe crowd which went out to meet the eni|>eror, remained in the outskirts of the city i the shop* were shut?no one appeared at the windows?the Boulevards were lined with a multitude collected about tho many mountebanks, tumblers, &c. which, lor the two last days, had been placed there in grea ter numbers than usual by tlio police, in order to divert the populace. There was no noise, nor any acclamations j a few low murmurs and whis pers were alone heard, when tho spectators of thcsQ open shows turned round to look at tho ?tringof six or eight carriages, which preceded the imperial troops. The regiments then pas sed along, and cried out, vive I'empcrcur {-?not ii word ftom any one. Tlicr tried tho more po pular and ancient exclamation, vivo Bonaparte \ atl Htill nilent. The patience of the* dragoons was exhausted f some brandished their swords, other* drew their pistols, and rode into the al loy** amidst the people, exclaiming," Criedonc. vive I'omporcur V' but the crowd only gave way, and retreated, without uttering a word. 1. p. 179. True it is, that although tlio Bourbons fled from their palace, unpiticd and unrcgrettcd. yet tho return of tho adventorer was marked by gloom, and ho wan saluted by fewer acclamati ons than had greeted him iu tho smallest town. It was difficult t> any, that the royalist faction i was tho |)rcdoiniiiant one in Paris ; lor never did a sovereign recoivo less consolation than did Louis, when lie invited the national guard to defend his faithful city. Hut passion had since given way to reflection. The fugitive dynasty appeared by ita weakness to offer more satisfac tory chances to the lovers of freedom, than the return of a conqueror, strentliened by a popula rity to which he hod long been a stranger, and who, by the unauthori/.ed resumption of a title which he had forfeited, and by the violent tenor of his proclamations from Lyons, seemed to seek the recovery of his throne,* in tho same spirit which had formerly deprived him of it. Our limits prevent u? from entering into any i detail of the public acts of thnt short lived retell, or following our author in those numerous dis positions with which he has, we think, some what overloaded the narrative of that interesting period. Suffice it to say, that his style, ratifr' wordy and diffuse-?his arrangement prejudicial to the story?and an eagerness of opinion, ra tlier dangerous in tho historinn, ore amply com pensated by the able and honest spirit of liis po litical views, and, above all, by nis industrious and impartial relation of the measures and faults of the imperial government, during the hundred days of iU dotation. Tho usurpation of power ?the return to despotic passions?Hie appeal to public feeling and national vanity on tho part of tho monarch?the menial vassalag* ?nd submis sion of a corrupt aristocracy?the crouching re pentance of the miciemw noblest? on tho one hand ; on tho other, the resistance of popular feeling?-the manly spirit of tho public bodies?? the license of the press?the unanimous devoti on of literary men to the cause of liberty?the republican spirit, the constitutional jealousy of the people, and the .submission of the crown? tho desire of peace, even iu the ariny?and the general will in the nation to be free, are alter nately offered in the great picture which no com mon industry or skill have here presented to our observation. We shall offer but one or two remarks upon the character of tho government an?l the nation, during that unparalleled cruris. Confidently oh we maintain the privilege of discussing the character and conduct of all those who fill the eye of the world, and influence it* destinies, we desire not at all to enter into com* petition with thoso of our contemporaries, who, in a loathsome recapitulation of private vices, endeavor to complete the portrait which they sketch in ignorance nod passion j nor can we acl inii e their patriotic distrust of the national feel ing, which they seem to think cannot ho made sufficiently adverse to a defeated and degraded monarch, without henping on his head imputati on* of a nature only to be gathered in converse with the basest of human being*. For us it is sufficient that lie was ambitious, and a hater of liberty ; and by all that we can collect from this work, and from other sources of information, we doubt whether his disposition was in tho smal lest degree altered, in this respect, by his year of mortification. Like manv others, corrupted by high station, he kcciiis always to have been willing to extend the promise of' frenriom on the peril of the moment; but never to have been sa tisfied of its actual advantage to the people, or of its being compatible with the existence of a pow-i erful government. In all (he conversations which he held with the einiuont persons then la bouring to extort from him concessions to the people, he is said to have manifested a total in sensibility on this point. And in the council of state, held to discuss tho subject of confiscation, he was so irritated at the attenpt to deprive the crown of this power, that he exclaimed,44 Je vois bien co que vous voulc/., Messieurs j main cein lie sera pas. II faut encore le bras, le vieiuv brasde f'Kinpcrcur !?et vous lo sent'ire/.." Neither had his misfortunes destroyed that ell tire confidence in himself, nor that belief in thu superior intelligence which guided him, and made it impitssible for him to share hi a power. His insensibility to reproach can only be ac counted for by this favourite belief, which, in deed, appears at all times to have relieved his conscience from the torment of self-accnoation. It is reported, and, we believe, with perfec t truth, that when tho suicide of Uerthier was re luted to him by one of his minister*, he replied, " See the power of conscionce ! Uerthier left France with his family, and nil hi* fortune ; but lie had betrayed me, and lie could not survive it ?while 1 liuve never for one night been depri ved of sleep !*' Ily far tho mo^t interesting and important part of this book, is the account given of the last of the threo periods into which wo divided it, in the commencement oi'ihi* article *, and it would, we presume, be difficult to obtain a more acu rate, detailed, and impartial narration of tho uuparallelled crisis which took place after the re turn of ltonaparte to l'nris, than is given by thin anonymous writer, who seems, indeed, to be eminently qualified, by his general accomplish ments, the opportunities he enjoyed, anil the time he ha* sinco hail to correct lih first impres sion*, to settle our belief at to the leading event* of that memorable period. We have already Mated, that there arv mmy matter* of" opinion unon which v/e entirely disagree with hiin ; anil although we give him credit Tor a most faithful relation of all the outward acts of the French authorities during thin strugglo, must be allowed to dilVvr with him in the confidence with which it would rather seem that certain characters had inspired him. We own, that several of those norkuiih, to whom our author inclines to attri bute virtues of a higher order, appear to us to have been feeble or treacherous f nor can we join with him, in attributing great merit to Lan |uinais, the president of un assembly, which is so well described in the following passage, that we cannot refuse to insert it. Thus the king, amongst the other benefits which must make liis name dear to Fieuchmenv muy join that of having brought to a close the labors of a representation us moderate, as en lightened, and as truly national, an it iH possi ble to assemble in France; a representation less tinctured, perhaps, than might be expected with the fuuits incident to popular bodies?and developing, each day, in circumstances of un parallelled difficulty and danger, qualities both of the head and heart, which will reflect honor on their labours, and, however unsuccessful, will not be wholly lost ; for they will serve as an in citement nnu example for those whose future ef forts shall meet with a more deserved and abet ter fate. The king himself, us well ns his nati on, must be considered infinitely their debtor, as the resolution of the secret committee, on the 2'2d of June, compelled Napoleon to abdicate, and saved his capital, if not his crown. It re dounds, however, to their glory, that none of them made any merit of this action, as if per formed in his favor, or from any other motive1 than that of saving their country from extremi ties. 'Hie royalists would not have had the re quisite courage, which, in France, is to be found only r.mongst the friends of freedom. These partisans insult them with surviving their func tions, and ridicule M. Manuel's quotation from Mirabeau, with a spite which shows how happy they would have been to witness the extirpation of the patriots. Their spirit has been already sufficiently displayed, i'hey did not die on their curule chuirs, it is true $ but personal ex posure is rendered respectable and useful by tho time in which it is employed. The senators of liomo who were massacred by Hrennus had a ve ry different fate with posterity from thosu who were whipped naked in the squares by the Ger man Otlio, yet tho courage of both and their cause were tho same. The representatives would not have been shot, but sent to jail."? Vol. II. p. 1G8. I We believe a mor*> accurate investigation would have informed the writer of these IrtterB, that great suspicion attaches to the character oi Laoiuinais, for having adjourned the assembly on the 7th of July, contrary to the remonstran ces of many of its members ; and by tho?e who had formerly most confidence in his fidelity, it is generally believed that he was informed of the determination to obstruct their reassembling.? llut the chief point uimhi which wo would warn our readers against the uxcessive charity of this acute writer, is the character of Fouche, duke of Otrnnto, the rent sovereign of France, during that eventful time, and to whom he gives credit for many more virtues than, upon a luir exami nation o! the facts, we can ever think him enti tled to. His repeated reflections on this subject, indeed, and the very prominent liguro which the personage in question makes in this extra ordinary crisis, have induced us to attempt a short sketch of his life and character, taken from a pretty carcfui observation of his public acts during the manifold changcs of the lust quarter of a centurv. lie plunged into the revolution at an early age } ami, either from enthusiasm or fear, very hooii became attached to the violent |?nt-fy in the convention?assisted it in overturning the Gi rondine faction?and finally executed, and boasted of huving executed, against that portv and the royalists at Lyons, cruelties wliicli would have done honor to robcxpicnc himself, to whose ruin, after the murder of Diinton, he especially contributed, on tho 9th Thcrinidor.? From that hour, Fouche seams to have sought recoliciliation with the moderato party?hut in vain. lie wax, with tho rest of the jacobin*, expelled the convention?his arrest nan decreed ?anil ho OHcaped only by flight. In his con cealment, ho published an address to the con vention, whicli, in nloce of justifying himself, accused that asseinoly of having authorized and provoked all the violent measure* of which he liaU been tho organ. From that |ieriod to (lie year 179(5, ho wan an object of suspicion as a terrorist. Whenever a jacobin conspiracy wan discovered, he uniformly disappeared from the scene, and only reappear ed when the attacks of the royalist party urove the directory to seek aid from'the jacobins. In every such crisis, ho resumed their principles, and sought eagerly for einplm-inent, from wliicli he was only excluded by his former bad renuta tion. In 1797 he was sent oil a mission to Italy ?reappeared on tho IBth of Fructidor, and was proposed for the ministry of police??but again rejected j and it was not until the revolu tion which took place in the directory in 1798, that he obtained that ministry, tfyeve* then prevailed through the aid of tlie jacobins, but immediately became their enemy | and Fouclte, who, as in 1794, hoped to reconcile hitnsolf with the nation, gave to his administration a very mild character, although ho secretly protected the jacobins, and with difficulty escaped himself from tho vengeance of tho wily director. Upon the return of lionaparte* whom Hyeyei unwil lingly associated to his designs of overturning the directory, Fouche conducted himself with I such address, that, although known to be the fitend of the jaccbius, ana himself under the surveillance of Thurnt, his chief secretary, who had order* to arreat him upon the first symptom of treachery, ho outrode tne storm | and, upon the 18th llrumaire, ho remained in office, and without delay attached Inmseff to Honapartc. Now, for the first time, hi* repentance could manifest it sol I in an effectual manner}?tho mi nister supported his master in organizing a mi tigated despotism; and, profiting by tho vio lence of llonaparte, he obtained lor hiniHelf the reputation of a protector of all parties, and, Kpito of hi* former crimen, hi* namn became uni versally popular in France. Nothing, indeed, was mo easy as thin munuuivro to those who know llonaparte. The emperor issued a violent decree?Pouchc made tho nature of it known before it wan promulgated?blamed it in conver sation?then only half executed it. The empe ror wan angry?the minister executed it entire ly llut in the mean time lie wuh known to to ha\o blamed it, and to have retarded its exe cution. Sometimes, too, the emperor was per* Hiiuded, in the interval, to mitigate its severity, ho that, even by the delav, Fouche, no doubt, contributed to preserve the lives and fortune* of many of his countrymen. Bonaparte noon perceived his minister's gaino ?but the fear of Ins influence, and the power of his agent*, was such, that he did not send him. away till tho end of three years. At last the blow was struck. Pouche <|uitted his first min istry, and although he had transported one hun dred and thirty republicans for 11 conspiracy, irt which ho declared thov were not concerned, and conducted to the scaffold four Frenchmen for n filot of which he denied the existence.?although ic had let many royalists be shot, nod had ban ished many more,?-lie Imd universally, on hi* retirement, the. chaructcr of being a staunch friend both of the royalists and of the repubUt cans. The government of his successor, Hegniei, was distinguished by the trial of I'ichogru and Moreau, and the murder of tin* duke d'hugheiu In that season of gloom and terror, Pouchc was again longed for ; and Napoleon, in spite of his suspicions, found it prudent to replace him. lie continued to practise spin hi? old game? delay?bold and mysterious conversation? blame of his master's plans?which he neverthe less executed, when resignation was the alter native. Ill I RIO, Bonaparte suddenly abused Itini in council; obliged liim to accept the government of ltomu; then dismissed liim from the mi nil try ; sent liim from Paris), anil arrested him on the road. Fouchc threatened discoveries, and c*ca|>ed into banishment and obscurity, where he remained until the first abdication of the em peror. Fouc.ho nt first dreaded the counterre volution; but seeing M. do Talleyrand in pos sesion of the government, he not only took courage, but nspired to complete his whitewash ing, by becoming the minister of Louis XVIII. 1 lirt conduct during the eleven mootlws of that reign was conformable to this project. To the patriot*, he insisted on the necessity of a popu lar ministry. To the princcs, with whom he continually intrigued, he promised the consoli dation of the monarchy, us he had effected that of Napoleon, and expressed sincere contrition for the death of Louis XVI. To thu jacobins, In? declared his adherence, and promoted their projer.U and conspiracies, llis conversation was of a piece. He abused the Bourbons?then said they might be saved by making him a min ister ;?occasionally announced a plot?which he assured the royalists he endeavored to pre vent for the sake of the king,?and the jacobins, to save their heads. A little treachery toward* all nartics heightened thu zest, and proved tho authenticity of h'u communicViins?and in creased thu anxiety which wus to make his as sistance valuable. When Napoleon landed, Fouchc offered him self to the court. Tho princes negotiated with him ; but after the first conference,orders were given to arrest him. Home lave thought that this arrest was a stratagem, to insure the em ployment of Fouchc by the usurper : und tho conduct of the former to Bonaparte, and the indiscretion of the royalists, who never ceased to count uiion him, and to quote the proofs of iheir intelligence with him, might seem to war rant this notion t but we are more apt to attri bute to thu habitual distrust and weak nets of that family, an act which, after all, could nev er conceal from Napoluon the constant in trigue* of Fourhe with the discarded dynasty, (t is well known that he had said to one of tho emigrating royalists, *? Hauvez Jo Monarque? Jo rcpomls do la monarchic." This, it is true, may be attributed to the habitual lightness of bin conversation, which is so great, that it i* well known that when the duke of Wellington reproached him with hnving assorted to the chamber, in his message from tho government, that the allies insisted on the restoration of the king, and challenged him to provo the truth of the assertion, ho replied, " Que voulez vou? do plus ? he Itoi, n'est-il pas dans sou Palais ? C'est toutcequ'il faut." Honapnrte, dependent and timid as he was at his last return, had no option about employing Carnntaud Fouchc ; and tho conduct of the lat ter from that moment became problematical. On the one hand, he used all means to attach to the imperial government, all those whose popu larity gave strength to it. Itlsouualiy carton, that if fie meditated at that timo the overthrow of Napoleons he did not confide hie project, to those fi'ends of liberty whom hi Had tallied round the eagle, although many of thorn wen his intimate friends. On the other hand, ho did not fail to revert to hit old tactic*, fa ?o?v?r* sation, he blamed and treated with ridicule a fid contempt the projects of the omoeror, whose go* terotn?u?i he aaW^ran great n?u. Ha Alloy. *1