of this body, the Regent feared they would place obstacles in the way. But the Duc de Saint-Simon was equal to the emergency, and, in his own voluble and consequential way, has recorded with much detail the measures he adopted for carrying out the proposal. He assumed responsibility for all the arrangements, and with gossipy fulness tells how he prepared for holding the Bed of Justice at the Tuileries, keeping it a profound secret until the very morning it was to be convened, and how the summons to attend was only to be issued a few hours before. The precautions although somewhat elaborate were all required. The step was highly critical for the Regent. It involved not only the recognition of his authority as Regent, but, in the event of its being unsuccessful, his deprivation of the Regency itself. In short, it could only be justified by a successful conclusion, a result which was ultimately attained, although by means of a high-handed and arbitrary nature. Throughout the whole of the proceedings, the Regent displayed a firmness and resolution which can only be attributed to the desperation of his position. They were sufficient, however, to the end he had in view, although by no means features characteristic of his general conduct. The Parliament was over-awed; the decree was abrogated; and Law once more regained his freedom. Thus was Law the innocent instrument of the degradation of the French Parliament, and the establishment of a despotism oriental in its thoroughness and far-reaching in its effects.