Paris: With Pen and Pencil: Its People and Literature, Its Life and BusinessBartlett, D. W. (David W.)
History
Paris: With Pen and Pencil: Its People and Literature, Its Life and Business
Bartlett, D. W. (David W.)
Paris (France) -- Description and travel; Paris (France) -- Social life and customs
Napoleon was vanquished, but Guizot continued to write books. Some of
them were as follows: _"Some Ideas upon the Liberty of the Press;" "Of
the Representative Government;" "Essay upon the state of Public
Instruction."_ He was a _busy_ man--he was never idle. This is in his
favor, and undoubtedly he honestly sought the good of the nation, though
mixed with this desire there was a strong love of fame, and great
ambition. He wrote a book upon the elections, and the king created a new
department for him--that of director-general of the communes and
departments. He made use of his position to extend his influence. He
became chief of the doctrinaire school, which included many eminent men
of that time, and acquired great political power. It occupied a kind of
middle ground between the _ancien regime_ and pure liberalism. There
came a reaction, and Guizot again took to his pen, leaving office and
emolument. The king did not like his writings, and even his office of
professor of history in the university was taken from him. He was a man
who was not dejected through misfortune, and grew stronger as he was
persecuted. His wife was taken very ill, and finally died. The Catholic
priests endeavored to gain access to her bed-side, but were not
permitted. She died a convert to Protestantism. Guizot was to her a good
husband, but she always felt keenly the fact that she was older than her
husband. He married a young and beautiful English woman, of whom he was
passionately fond, if so cold a man ever possessed passions. His first
wife, it is said, knew who was to succeed her. He now wrote a _History
of Representative Government_, in which he gave the administration
repeated blows.
He issued new books often enough to keep his name constantly before the
public, and these volumes were loudly praised by the opposition
journals. The administration modified its conduct toward him, and he
again participated in public affairs. But he foresaw the great change
which was coming, and this time made sure to make no blunders. Perhaps,
indeed, it is probable that he was honest in desiring a government like
that of Louis Phillippe--at any rate, he saw with great shrewdness the
revolution, and profited by his foresight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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