Paris and the Parisians in 1835 (Vol. 1)Trollope, Frances Milton
History
Paris and the Parisians in 1835 (Vol. 1)
Trollope, Frances Milton
Paris (France) -- Description and travel; Paris (France) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
This gratitude and affection endures still--nothing will ever efface
it; for his military tyranny is passed away, and the benefits which
his colossal power enabled him to bestow upon them remain, and must
remain as long as France endures. The only means by which another
sovereign may rival Napoleon in popularity, is by rivalling him in
power. Were some of the feverish blood which still keeps France in
agitation to be drawn from her cities to reinforce her military array,
and were a hundred thousand of the sons of France marched off to
restore to Italy her natural position in Europe, power, glory, and
popularity would sustain the throne, and tranquillity be restored to
the people. Without some such discipline, poor young France may very
probably die of a plethora. If she has not this, she must have a
government as absolute as that of Russia to keep her from mischief:
and that she will have one or the other before long, I have not the
least doubt in the world; for there are many very clever personages at
and near the seat of power who will not be slow to see or to do what
is needful.
Meanwhile this fine body of young men are, as I understand, receiving
an education calculated to make them most efficient officers, whenever
they are called upon to serve. Unfortunately for the reputation of the
Polytechnic School, their names were brought more forward than was
creditable to those who had the charge of them, during the riots of
1830. But the government which the men of France accepted from the
hands of the boys really appears to be wiser and better than they had
any right to expect from authority so strangely constituted. The new
government very properly uses the strength given it, for the purpose
of preventing the repetition of the excesses to which it owes its
origin; and these fine lads are now said to be in a state of very
respectable discipline, and to furnish no contemptible bulwark to the
throne.
It is otherwise, however, as I hear, with most of the bodies of young
men collected together in Paris for the purpose of education. The
silly cant of republicanism has got among them; and till this is
mended, continued little riotous outbreakings of a naughty-boy spirit
must be expected.
One of the happiest circumstances in the situation of poor struggling
England at present is, that her boys are not republican. On the
contrary, the rising spirit among us is decidedly conservative. All
our great schools are tory to the heart's core. The young English
have been roused, awakened, startled at the peril which threatens the
land of their fathers! The _penny king_ who has invaded us has
produced on them the effect usual on all invasions; and rather than
see him and his popish court succeed in conquering England, they would
rush from their forms and their cloisters to repel him, shouting,
"Alone we'll do it, BOYS!"--and they would do it, too, even if they
had no fathers to help them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account