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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Apprenticeship Of Life. By G. Ii. Le...
with these ideas as paradoxes ; but when she found them to be convictions she was deeply pained . And yet anarchy preached by such lips , could it be anarchial ? No . There was something in Hortense which ennobled her opinions : the deformity of error was covered by her own grace . Scandalized as the old lady was by hearing such opinions she could not withstand the charm of Hortense ' s nature , and in a very few days had learned to love her in spite of everything . The Baron and the Colonel , as maybe supposed , could not long withstand the influence of a pretty woman who contradicted their opinions , and charmed their solitude with her gaiety . Armand was proud of his wife , and very pleased to see her conquest over their prejudices . To Hortense the Baronne was an object of deep interest . As a woman she felt proud of this grand type of womanhood : and sincerely did she feel that all her culture , all her knowledge , was as nought beside the higher wisdom of this serene old woman at whose feet she sat and listened like a veritable child . What struck her perhaps most was the unfeigned respect and love with which the Baron and the Colonel regarded their mother . It was quite touching to see the devotion of two such men : the Baron a rough , rustic , hardheaded soldier—the other a polished man of the world , gay , sceptical , witty , careless , and irreverent—yet both looking" up to the old woman as to a sainted being , revering and yet fondling her . There was no formality in this respect , it was the impulse of the heart . They really did think their mother the most perfect woman upon earth , and then * manner was the expression of their thought . Hortense made the remark one day to her . " Yes , my dear , " she replied , "the boys are very fond of me ; they have always been the best of boys ! Their father did not seem to understand them so well : he was harsh to them . But I never found any trouble with them . I was gentle to them , they were gentle to me . " " But how have you managed them ? " ** By never managing them ! Dear child , my system through life , to them and to others , has been the simple and selfish one—of unselfishness . " " And you call it selfish ? " " The best kind of selfishness : we gain more in this life by giving than by hoarding" , " That I believe . " " Generosity calls forth generosity , as meanness calls forth meanness . If you had approached Charlemagne with fear , lest he should bite you , he would probably have bitten ; but you spoke kindly to him , and he licked your hand : he has generous feelings , if you only appeal to them ; and so have all men . I am an old woman now , and have seen a great many people and things ; and this one lesson I have learned—this one rule I have practised—to seek my pleasures in the pleasures of others , and to sacrifice myself , if need be , for them . If I could leave you any legacy worth accepting it would be that . Believe me , there J 3 no selfishness so successful as unselfishness ; there is nothing so strengthening as self-sacrifice . " " I do believe you \ " exclaimed FJortense , greatly moved by the sentiment and the tone in which it was uttered . " Dear child , I do not say th ' i 3 to you out of boasting—you believe that , don't you ? I have an ob ' ject in saying it . You are dear to me . for yourself , but dearer for Armand ' s sake . He loves you ; you are worthy of him : you will be happy , God grant it ! But life is a scene of trial ; you may be sorely tried , and it is to fortify you against that hour , should il come , that 1 give you an old woman ' s experience . When it comes think of me—think of w . y words—act on them and you will bless me . " " I will ! 1 will ! Oh ! I would lay down my life for Armarid !" Of course you would ; but , my dear , there are things more tcriibie in lifo than that—infinitely more terrible ! " " Well , then , I would do more—I would lag down tug lone for him ! " The Baronne drew her to her bosom ,, mid kissed her Hushed check as she said : "To feel capable of doing that is the best guaraMce for never having to do it . You are worthy to love Armand and to be loved by him . " Two days after the Baronnc was no mow . She died quite suddenly , and without pain . In the morning she had complained of great feebleness : in the afternoon , while seated in her high-backed chair , she drooped her head backwards , and breathed her last without a struggle . Peacefully she had lived , and peacefully she died . She had lived for others , and their love had made life one sweet ; and gentle smile . Nobler , braver , gentler woman never beautified God ' s earth ; and never did nobleness , bravery , and gentle ness meet with more perfect , recompense in the devotion of others . Such natures are the records of our divinity ; we cannot , despair while such as they are amongst us ! OiiAi » TRu VI . —The Wtatk uv Vmascv .. Lot us pass over some years uneventful in the life of Armand , though not ; without immense influence on his development , and pause at 1 S 30 , when a tottering monarchy seemed out . of sheer recklessness to hasten its own fall , and the hopeless incapacity of the- Bourbons in I he- plenitude of power fairly wore out a nation ' s endurance . Charles X ., to the charm of nfi ' able manners anil a certain elegance and j felicity of diction , which in a Witi . ^ - were advantages almost Mihii'irni o cov . t any amount of persona ! inca ^ ac ";; v , I'ddrr , uuio ; h . natilv for li ' mi : v . d \ ov \ France , the- most yliilncckcil obstinacy m his ptcjudicir , and aa iwaifLrerau'd notion of regal dignity . His whole life hud been one oi' constant opposition
to the spirit of the age ; this unvarying attitude he mistook for firmness : it was stupidity . Like all obstinate , narrow-minded men he entertained the firmest belief in his own capacity , and an intense desire to do everything- himself . Those who depict him as a king governed by others , understand very little of his nature , or the private history of the time . If he had any superiority it was precisely this power of influencing others : how much of that influence is to be attributed to the affable grace and persuasiveness of his mind , and how much to the mere strength of his will , which ministers dared , not resist , may remain a question ; but the fact of his influence is unquestionable .
He courted popularity , was greedy of it ; yet opposed the people in every way , and with his own hands destroyed the nimbus which was around his kingly name . Some of his mots had immense effect , and gained for him a place in the heart of that susceptible nation , always so easily swayed by a graceful compliment , an epigram , or an imaginative and grandiose formula . It is impossible to estimate the effect of that one adroit sentence when the guards were endeavouring to keep back the crowd which pressed round him , and * he said Plus de hallebardes ! as if henceforth Royalty relied solely on the affection of the people . And this happy expression seemed only the presage of that politic abolition of the Censorship which followed it ; and the consecration of the Charter which was for ever to secure the liberties of France .
The history of the reign of Charles X . is the history of a series of blunders which seem astounding to the spectator , but which were the very natural consequences of a mistaken idea of the function of Royalty , and a courageous persistence in carrying out that idea . He tried to govern a kingdom , and in doing so contrived to outrage every party in it except the insignificant party of Legitimists . He offended the philosophic party by his avowed preference for the clergy ; but while scandalizing the freethinkers by a , puerile return to ancient , worn-out ceremonies , and by the patronage of TartulTe , he irreparably aggrieved the most wide-spread and influential body of the clergy , by driving out the Jesuits , and by several other acts tending to weaken
their influence . He tried to restore the ancient splendour and authority of the noblesse , and nevertheless permitted the new noblesse of the Empire—an aristocracy of soldiers , fournisseurs , & c , who had been invested with grand titles at the will of an Emperor , who was incapable of at the same time investing them with the traditional manners and feelings of Vicomtes , Marquisses , and Barons . The two nobilities could not work together . An aristocracy is not be erected in a day ; meaning by aristocracy what has hitherto been meant by it , and not really a selection of the most capable . The war of antipathy and ridicule between the two nobilities was exasperating arid pernicious ; audit is easy to perceive that victory must have been on the side of the faubourg Mt . Germain . It may be said that the superiority of the old noblesse was a . superiority of
futilities , a more finished grace of deportment , a more exquisite urbanity of l .-ingunge , the traditional tone of great society , and the prestige which always attaches itself to antiquity . Perhaps so . But you will never make a crown piece fivsh from the mint bear the same value as an ancient coin : it may better answer the common purposes of money , and will buy more goods than the coin , but it will not appeal to the imagination of mankind , nor flatter that historic sense which consciously and unconsciously has in all men a , desire to liv . gratified . The Army of course felt no love for the Restoration . Their glory was indissolubly connected with the Consulate and the Empire ; and the Restoration was not only an era of forced peace , but it was the signal of disbanding vast bodies of soldiers , who , after spending their lives in the camp , were
scni once more into the crowd of ouvriers to scramble for a pitiful existence , and to solace themselves with the remembrance of their bygone glory . The Bourgeoisie was the only element which really flourished during the Restoration ; and it grew insolent in success , and was speedily irritated by the acts of a despotic Government . The Bourgeoisie had been in bad odour during the Empire . Napoleon's contempt for shopkeepers is well known , i \ nd his court of soldiers superciliously styled cveiy one not military apekiu , which made Talleyrand wittily reply , " Nous autres nous appelons mHiiari'e tout ce ( f i-i n"csf . pas civil . " In such a stute of society conspiracies nf course abounded , and Secret Societies v / ere . the undercurrents of a discontent ready soon to overflow . Amontf the most energetic of these , societies , though little know ? . , wastluu oi
the , lircthers , founded by Frangipnlo and Armand , winch had ^ -illations in every part of France . Its constitution was such as to defy detection , and even in case of treachery no papers or documents of any kind could bo brought ntfumst the members . An ostensible society , Thv . Free Brotherhood , numbered among its ranks men of every shade of opinion , and . seemed indeed little more than a debating society , on which the poiice kept an eye , but which was a yood icrecn for the more secret and energetic . society of Brothers which grew nj ) out of its bosom .
Annaud had windied deeply the history and progress of humanity , and i . v ~ noble sis : eerily of his convictions gave a momentum to las natural eloquence , wl-. ieli irresistibly carried away his hearers . I \ ever were two men better ii'i ' " * for popular leail-r- liiaa I rangi ]) : > lo and A ; u :: a : nl . Bolh endowed wiiiv ' . ¦ ¦¦ : mysi vi'Mvs nia ^ r : { ' -in which act s ijjvra oil : ¦ ¦;• : •; ia a poivnt thou . ; ! : i ' . ; .:., ¦ rv . ' ' - . vi : tWi' l ^ . -tM . 'i . 'r ; !; : >!"> Ivismrd , llviiitrlit . ! " . ] , :: mu eliumeii !; : !) o ; b : 1 iii . ! " > . ¦ >»* -- * i ¦ ' / ¦
sine - v hi-ii : I ' . . , ' . ; id ; -irv ; , iol above the m ; rs ; . >; ' d * -M .- i _; .-: iu'wc . s b y ( liv . !¦ : ¦ Hi ''••' ¦ " in : if ti ulii and chivalry oi' their nature .- ' , it was curious to see the fierce , bearded , warlike republicans with loud imperious voices , energetic gestures *
!04 <&!)£ -&'Eafrev; [Saturday,
! 04 <&!) £ - &' eafrev ; [ Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 11, 1850, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_11051850/page/20/
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