The influence of a court must be great on the morals of those who live in its purlieus. Conversing with the Duc de ----, a man who has had general currency in the best society of Europe, on this subject, he said, --"England has long decried our manners. Previously to the revolution, I admit they were bad; perhaps worst than her own; but I know nothing in our history as bad as what I lately witnessed in England. You know I was there quite recently. The king invited me to dine at Windsor. I found every one in the drawing-room, but His Majesty and Lady ----. She entered but a minute before him, like a queen. Her reception was that of a queen; young, unmarried females kissed her hand. Now, all this might happen in France, even now: but Louis XV. the most dissolute of our monarchs, went no farther. At Windsor, I saw the husband, sons, and daughters of the favourite, in the circle! _Le parc des Cerfs_ was not as bad as this."
"And yet, M. de ----, since we are conversing frankly, listen to what I witnessed, but the other day, in France. You know the situation of things at St. Ouen, and the rumours that are so rife. We had the _Fête Dieu_, during my residence there. You, who are a Catholic, need not be told that your sect believe in the doctrine of the 'real presence.' There was a _reposoir_ erected in the garden of the chateau, and God, in person, was carried, with religious pomp, to rest in the bowers of the ex-favourite. It is true, the husband was not present: he was only in the provinces!"
"The influence of a throne makes sad parasites and hypocrites," said M. de ----, shrugging his shoulders.
"And the influence of the people, too, though in a different way. A courtier is merely a well-dressed demagogue."
"It follows, then, that man is just a poor devil."
But I am gossiping away with you, when my Asmodean career is ended, and it is time I went to bed. Good night!
Garden of the Tuileries.--The French Parliament.--Parliamentary Speakers.--The Tribune.--Royal Initiative.--The Charter.--Mongrel Government.--Ministerial Responsibility.--Elections in France.--Doctrinaires.--Differences of Opinion.--Controversy.
The Chambers have been opened with the customary ceremonies and parade. It is usual for the king, attended by a brilliant _cortège_, to go, on these occasions, from the Tuileries to the Palais Bourbon, through lines of troops, under a salute of guns. The French love _spectacles_, and their monarch, if he would be popular, is compelled to make himself one, at every plausible opportunity.