against the government, and proclaimed the constitution that had been adopted by the Cortes in 1812. So entirely was this proclamation in accordance with the public sentiment, that it was echoed instantaneously from every part of the Peninsula. The government hardly retained a single adherent, and on the 8th of March, the king himself found it necessary to his safety to take the oath. Nor did the expression of sympathy stop here. The example of Spain was imitated in the course of the year in Portugal, Naples, and Sardinia and so eager were the people to enjoy the benefit of the proposed changes in the forms of their governments, that, without giving themselves time to frame constitutions, they adopted everywhere the identical Spanish constitution of 1812. At Naples, it is said, that they had not even a copy of this instrument before them at the time when they proclaimed it the supreme law of the land. Such was the manner in which the reign of liberal institutions was established, as it were, by acclamation through the whole Southwest of Europe.

These mushroom liberal Constitutions, as you are well aware, Gentlemen, were suppressed by the armed intervention of the Allied Powers, almost as promptly as they were formed. In the mean time, however, they excited great alarm in all the courts of Europe, and particularly in that of France, where they did much to change the prevailing current of feeling, and to occasion the adoption of a policy unfavorable to the charter. But another occurrence, in itself of much less importance, probably did more than these revolutions to produce this effect,-I mean, the assassination of the Duke de Berri, the son of the Count D'Artois, and one of the presumptive heirs to the crown. It so happened, that, about this time, a journeyman saddler, named Louvel, in a fit of political fanaticism, or more properly insanity, attacked this prince one night at the door of the theatre, and inflicted upon him a mortal wound. You would hardly suppose, Gentlemen, that any one could have suspected the king's confidential servants of being privy to an outrage of this description; but such is the force of party feeling, that the next day a member of the House of Deputies moved an impeachment of the Prime Minister for high treason, as an accomplice in the assassination of the Duke de Berri. This proposal was not encouraged in the House, but the court appear to have acted on the supposition that it was conformable to fact. The ministers, though not impeached, were immediately removed, and a new line of policy adopted, unfavorable to the charter and to the progress of political improvement. Thus, Gentlemen, did a single act of an obscure and isolated individual contribute more, perhaps, than any other circumstance, to determine the course of events in one of the greatest monarchies in Europe. This happened during the life of Louis XVIII. but after the total decay of his health had in a great measure incapacitated him from exercising any influence upon the conduct of the public affairs. His death, which happened soon after, in the year 1823, transferred the crown from the head of the author of the charter to that of a known enemy of liberal principles, and of course confirmed the new direction that had been given to the national policy. The first result of the change of ministry had been the despatch of an army of 100,000 men into Spain, for the purpose of crushing the Constitution. This measure was followed at home by others of a similar character. The influence of the government was now regularly exerted at all the elections against the liberal party, and with such effect, that, for a time, the number of opposition deputies was reduced to fourteen out of more than four hundred. Had the court at this juncture silenced the press, they would probably have succeeded in their purpose, and rid themselves after a while without much difficulty of the obnoxious charter. But whether from mere neglect, or undue confidence in their own strength, the court, while they were constantly engaged in making new attempts on the chartered rights of the people, permitted the opposition journals to comment on their proceedings with perfect freedom, and it must be owned that they performed the office with signal ability. Châteaubriand, the ablest writer of the time, had joined the popular party, and with a host of other pow erful men, kept up in all the papers a constant battery upon the government. The effect was prodigious, and soon became apparent in the character of the elections. The friends of liberty began to reappear in the House of Deputies. Lafayette and his son were again elected. The Abbé de Pradt and Benjamin Constant took their seats. At every accidental vacancy, some new member was added to the opposition, until finally, at the next general election in 1827, the minister was left in a minority. At this decided indication of the feeling of the people, the king at first recoiled. He removed the obnoxious ministers, and for the next two years pursued a vacillating course, which gave satisfaction to neither party. Compelled

at length to come to some decision, he reverted in an evil hour to his for mer policy,-made up his mind to brave the people, and on the 8th of August, 1829, placed the Prince de Polignac,-a personal favorite of his own, and whose name was the known symbol of arbitrary principles,-at the head of the govern

ment.

The news of this appointment was received by the people with astonishment and indignation. I happened at the time to be travelling in France, and heard the first intelligence of the change of ministry at Bordeaux,-a city renowned for its loyalty, but which looked with no eye of favor upon this measure. Proceeding thence to Paris, I found the public mind inflamed everywhere with a kind of fury. The gravest and most judicious persons spoke of the conduct of the king in terms which are rarely used, excepting by the young and ardent in their feverish transports of passion. It was apparent to all, excepting the misguided monarch and his immediate counsellors, that the ground he had taken was not tenable, and that if he did not immediately withdraw from it, he would expose himself to be blown up by some tremendous explosion.

How fortunate would it not have been for Charles the tenth, if some of his counsellors or friends in whom he reposed confidence had at this critical moment opened before him the book of the history of the Stuart kings of England, and pointed out to him the striking similarity between the fortunes of that unhappy race and those of his own family! He would there have seen in the first Charles the prototype of the unfortunate Louis XVI. the victim alike of his virtues and his faults,-in Cromwell another Napoleon, the admiration, terror and scourge of his country, in the exiled Stuart Princes, himself and his relations wandering from city to city, and eating the bitter bread of beggary successively in every corner of Europe,-in the second Charles, an easy prudent Prince, like the author of the Charter, content to follow where the current of circumstances led, and too well pleased with the throne he had miraculously recovered, to risk it by any dangerous experiment on the public feeling. When he had traced the parallel to this point, could he have failed to see in the second James, attacking with a fool-hardy rashness the established institutions of the kingdom, himself and the mad project in which he was engaged? And when he looked farther and beheld the royal bigot dethroned by a member of his own family,-driven a second time into exile, and dragging out a wretched old age at St. Germain's, amid the scoffs and sneers of the young French courtiers, would he have failed to anticipate the fate that awaited him if he persisted, and take warning? Yes, Gentlemen, this book of instruction would have been, and was, opened to him in vain. M. de Châteaubriand, whom I have repeatedly mentioned as the most eloquent French writer of the day, while these affairs were in progress, wrote and published, in the hope of exciting his attention, a most powerful and striking statement of this remarkable parallel, under the title of the History of the Four Stuarts. Every eye but the King's could see the application from first to last; he could see it himself, in every particular, excepting that which forewarned him of his own destiny. Alas! Gentlemen! how many of us are there, that are willing, that are able, under any circumstances, to gather wisdom from the experience of others?

We come then, Gentlemen, to the last scene in this eventful history. All the counsels of wisdom,-all the lessons of experience,-all the pregnant indications of public feeling were lost upon Charles the Tenth and his ministers. They had made their calculations and were resolved to stake every thing on the issue. But even for the purpose of attaining the end they had in view, their proceedings seem to have been arranged with very little judgement. It was impossible to govern under the forms of the Charter without the concurrence of the chambers; it was also well known that the majority was decidedly against them, and that the measures, in which they were engaged, would render this majority still more powerful at any new election. It was then impossible that any good could result from assembling the chambers, and the proper course would have been to revoke the charter, and appeal at once to the army, which was to be, at all events, the last and only dependence. Instead of this, however, the King, in the spring of last year, assembled the chambers. The majority, as was expected, declared against him, and presented an address requesting the removal of the ministers. At this period, it was not too late for Charles the Tenth to retrace his steps. Had he complied with this request, he could have kept his throne. Instead of this, he dissolved the house of deputies, and ordered a new election. The result proved that the strength of the opposition party would be greater in the next chamber

than it was in the last. There was still time for reconsideration, and it is really wonderful that this new and decisive demonstration of the public sentiment did not at last unseal the King's eyes. But it seems to have been written in the book of fate, that the fortunes of the Bourbons should correspond in every point, from first to last, with those of the Stuarts. The opposition he met with, instead of enlightening him in regard to his policy, only provoked him to precipitate his course; and on the 26th July, he finally took the decisive step, by publishing the famous ordonnances which dissolved the new house of deputies before it had even been assembled,-abolished the freedom of the press, and deprived a great part of the voters of the right of suffrage which was given by the Charter. It was admitted by the ministers, in the report which accompanied these decrees, that they were all illegal, and the only excuse they could allege, was that of state necessity, the ready apology, which has regularly served as the pretence for every attempt at usurpation, in every age and country. It was plain, in fact, that the Charter was violated in its two most essential provisions, those which secured to the people the liberty of the press, and a representation in the government. If they acquiesced in this proceeding, the securities they had obtained for their personal rights were lost forever.

Consider, Gentlemen, for a moment, what would be the effect in this country, if the President of the United States (who has just as much right so to do as the King of France had) were to publish, of his own mere motion and authority, an act to disfranchise a great part of the voters throughout the country, and to prevent the publication of the newspapers. You will then have some idea of the effect produced by these ordinances upon the minds of the French people.

It was necessary, however, to act as well as feel. The publication of these ordinances imposed upon the population of the the city of Paris a high and trying duty. The great Charter of the liberties of France was trampled under foot; and if the violation was not resisted, the dearest rights of the people were sacrificed forever. But who was to set the example of resistance? France, Gentlemen, is not, like this country, a cluster of contiguous sovereignties, each of which is represented by its own capital,-acts to a certain extent on its own views of policy, and would make a separate stand against any attempt at usurpation on the part of the government. France is a consolidated kingdom, containing more than thirty million inhabitants; and of this vast body, Paris, with its population of from seven to eight hundred thousand souls, is, for all political purposes, the virtual representative and head. The political movements of the city of Paris have always, for centuries past, regulated and governed those of the whole kingdom. If effectual resistance were made, the example must be set by the capital, and on the conduct of the citizens of Paris, at this conjuncture, depended the success or failure of the cause of French liberty. There was even more than this at issue. The French Charter is,--as I remarked at the outset,-not merely the formal security of the rights of the French people, but an act of compromise between the two great parties of the established governments, and the friends of liberty which pervade the whole European Commonwealth. After the late suppression of all the representative constitutions in the two Peninsulas, the people throughout Europe looked up to the French Charter as their only remaining security; and it depended on the conduct of the citizens of Paris at this crisis, whether this security should be retained, or whether the last vestige of a liberal constitution of government should be swept from the continent.

Such, Gentlemen, was the high and arduous duty which devolved, at this juncture, on the citizens of Paris, and it must be owned, that they have discharged it with signal fidelity. Their preparations for resistance were incomplete,their enemies were numerous and well disciplined, but they entered on the struggle without flinching for a moment, and carried it on with heroic firmness at every hazard, and under the most painful sacrifices, until it was crowned with complete success. All the highest qualities that can adorn our nature, were exhibited on this occasion by the whole population of that great city, to an extent,I am bold to say, unparalleled in the annals of the world;-courage,-constancy, heroic self-devotion,-a genuine enthusiasm for justice and liberty,contempt for gain and even life, and especially, the last and most difficult of all the virtues, self-government amid the flush and triumph of victory. What, Gentlemen, was the highest encomium which the most eloquent orator of antiquity could bestow upon the most accomplished and illustrious of her military chieftains? That of moderation in success. "No power of genius,-no pomp or flow of language," says Cicero, in his flattering address to Cæsar in return for the pardon

granted to one of his dear friends-"no power of genius,-no pomp or flow of language, can do justice to the greatness of your military achievements. I have often said, and shall ever repeat, that they far transcend those of any other General of this or any other age or country. You have conquered innumerable nations of the most ferocious and warlike character, but in sparing and restoring to his fortunes and family a fallen enemy, you have this day achieved a more glorious conquest than any of these. It is much, no doubt, to succeed in a great and decisive battle; but to govern the passions,-to quell the rage of combat,-to moderate the insolence of victory,-to forgive, comfort, and even crown with gifts and honors a prostrate foe ;-these are actions that elevate a man above the sphere of vulgar greatness; that raise him, as it were, to a sort of similitude with God himself." Gentlemen, these sublime virtues, the display of which in a single instance, by one of the most accomplished characters of antiquity, was looked upon by Cicero as something almost miraculous, were exhibited on this occasion in thousands of instances by the whole body of the mechanics of Paris. During these three days of carnage and confusion, not only was there no abuse of power, for any unworthy purpose,-no intemperance, no excess,-no coldblooded massacre or plunder, but the people displayed a disinterestedness and a delicate sense of honor, which would not have discredited the age of chivalry. Whenever they found any articles of value, they carried them to a place of deposite. In numberless instances, individuals refused the gratuities that were offered them. The young heroes of the Polytechnic School, who contributed so much to the success of the struggle, declined the honorary badges which the government proposed to confer upon them. They fought for principle; and when the battle was over, they returned to their workshops, their parlors, or their studies, and left it to the deputies to settle the details of the Constitution. This, Gentlemen, was something really admirable; and whatever may be the result of the present convulsions, as long as there is a friend of liberty or virtue alive in any corner of the world, he can never look back without the strongest sentiments of delight and wonder, upon the conduct observed upon this occasion by the truly heroic inhabitants of Paris.

It is impossible, Gentlemen, to enter at present into a minute detail of the transactions of this memorable week, and they are so fresh in your minds that it would probably be unnecessary. I shall barely recapitulate the leading incidents. The obnoxious ordinances were published in the official paper on Monday the 26th of July; but as this paper circulates but little among the body of the people, they were not generally known till the day after. The editors of the newspapers, who were prohibited from publishing them without a license, were the first to feel the effect of the measure, and they published on the same day a vigorous protest, in which they declared that they should not yield obedience to them, and exhorted the deputies and other citizens to follow their example. A similar protest was published the next day by the deputies then at Paris. In the mean time, most of the liberal papers appeared on the morning of the 27th, notwithstanding the prohibition, and the agents of the police were immediately despatched to seize their presses. The publishers refused to submit, and fastened their doors upon the police officers. This was the beginning of open resistance, or as Talleyrand said of the invasion of Spain by Napoleon, the beginning of the end. The police attempted to force the doors of the printing offices, and sent for some locksmiths to give them assistance. These in general declined the service. At last, they found a single man who was willing to undertake it,-and who was he, Gentlemen? He was the workman habitually employed by the superintendants of the state prison to rivet the irons on the galley slaves. What a commentary on the nature of the work in which they were now engaged!

Monday and Tuesday were days of preparation. The streets were barricaded, -the pavements torn up,-the lamps broken,-the citizens supplied with arms and ammunition, and every practicable arrangement made for a desperate resistance. Wednesday and Thursday were the great days of battle. The whole population of Paris was in arms, and acting in general under the command of the students of the Polytechnic School. It was a strange thing, Gentlemen, to see these young men leaving their books to take the direction of a movement, which was to decide the political character of the country, and perhaps of Europe. But there are some cases, in which the warm and bold impulses of youth are more natural and perhaps more useful guides of action than all the calculation and experience of riper age. In the mean time, the ministry had put their army into motion,—but they seem to have acted with very little spirit. The troops of

the line generally refused to act on the offensive, and left the brunt of the battle to the Swiss and the armed agents of the Police. On Wednesday, the fighting was mostly in the neighborhood of the City Hall,-which was taken and retaken several times by the adverse parties, but finally remained in possession of the people. On Thursday, the scene of action was transferred to the Palace, which was vigorously attacked by the people, and both the two principal divisions,-denominated respectively the Louvre and the Tuileries-were, after much loss on both sides, successively carried. This result seems to have been regarded as decisive; and the Royal troops made no farther efforts. On Friday morning the city was tranquil, and the tri-colored flag waved in triumph over all the public buildings. In the mean time, steps had been taken for effecting a new political organization of the city and kingdom. During the night of Wednesday, the municipal authorities were named, and the National Guard, which had been suppressed by the King three years before, invited to appear in arms, according to the old divisions. These arrangements took place on Thursday. On Friday, the deputies, then at Paris, appointed General Lafayette Commander in Chief of the National Guard. He was thus brought back by the force of circumstances to the same station which he had occupied forty years before, on the first organization of that body at the opening of the Revolution. On the same day, the deputies formed a provisional Government for France, and placed at its head the Duke of Orleans, with the title of Lieutenant General of the kingdom. Finally, on Saturday the King abdicated, and his son the Duke of Angoulême renounced his pretensions to the crown, reservation being made by both of the rights of the Duke of Bordeaux, a child of ten years old, who was the next in succession in the same line.

Such, Gentlemen, is the outline of the military and political transactions of this busy week. The deputies refused to acknowledge the rights of the Duke of Bordeaux, and completed their civil arrangements by declaring the Duke of Orleans King, and reforming, in some important parts, the constitutional charter, which was now accepted and acknowledged as the irrevocable fundamental law of the kingdom. Charles the Tenth, finding that the claim of his grandson was not acknowledged, attempted at first to withdraw his abdication; but the march of ten thousand troops from Paris towards the place of his retreat at Rambouillet, again changed his purpose. After much hesitation and reluctance, he consented to an unconditional surrender; and at length, with "many a longing, lingering look behind," withdrew slowly and sadly from the abode and dominions of his royal ancestors. He was once more received on the hospitable shores of England, where he has finally taken up his residence for the second time at Holyrood House, in Edinburgh, the ancient palace of the Kings of Scotland, and the scene of some of the most tragical incidents in the early history of the unhappy Stuart family, to whose fortunes those of his own bear so striking a resemblance.

Misfortune, Gentlemen, is sacred, and I should do injustice to your feelings and my own, if I added a word that should appear disrespectful to a fallen man, however directly his fall may be traced to his own errors. Let us rather turn our eyes from this mournful example of the frailty of our nature, and the instability of fortune, to contemplate for a moment the character of his successor, which seems to offer all the securities that are wanted of a firm, prudent and liberal administration of the government, as far as this may depend upon the wishes and conduct of the King. Louis Philip the First, unlike most of the hereditary sovereigns of the old world, is an able, well-informed and liberal man. He was placed very early in life under the care of the celebrated Madame de Genlis, and he is probably one of the best educated persons in Europe. The adherence of his father to the popular party at the commencement of the revolution naturally placed him on the same side, and he served with great distinction in the armies of the Republic for two or three years. At the celebrated battle of Jemappes, in 1792, he and one of his brothers acted as aids to General Dumouriez. When the reign of terror came on, he was compelled to emigrate, and at this time he exhibited in a very striking manner the independence and manliness of his character, by resorting at once for his support to his own talents and resources, instead of depending, like most of his fellow-emigrants, upon charity. He offered himself under another name as a teacher of mathematics, in a small college at Coire, in Switzerland; and having regularly passed examination and been received, attended to the duties of the place for fifteen months with exemplary assiduity and great success. During this period, Gentlemen, though residing in a very severe climate, he rose every morning at all seasons at four o'clock, and repaired to his post, without the intermission of a single day. At one of the subsequent changes in the political