To set a limit to the depredations of the Circassians, the governor was repeatedly compelled to penetrate into their mountains at the head of some Russian regiments; he neglected nothing that could lead to the diffusion of the benefits of European society in that barbarous country, and several young Circassians, whom the fortune of war or other events had placed in his hands, were carefully educated under his superintendence, instructed in our arts, accustomed to our manners, and then restored to their homes to dwell among their countrymen, whose customs and habits might be softened and improved by their example: such was the custom of the ancient Romans with regard to their vanquished nations. This active administration continued during the plague which devastated Odessa in the year 1813; and the Duke then displayed the utmost firmness and energy, though he was obliged more than once to have recourse to the military power, which in Russia is always confounded with the civil administration. But it would be necessary to visit Odessa to form a just estimate of all he has effected there; he appeared to have inherited the creative genius of the great cardinal. A new field soon opened before him. The events of 1814 had brought about the restoration of the Bourbons, and the influence of the Emperor Alexander reigned paramount over the proceedings of the senate which prepared the fall of Napoleon. Louis XVIII., who was a prince of a touchy disposition, and very ceremonious habits, had but very little inclination for the Duc de Richelieu, for he could not forgive his having preferred filling a high and important situation in Russia to the dignity of an attendant upon his exiled person; nevertheless, he restored the peerage to his family, as well as the situation of first _gentilhomme du roi_. The Duke was not in office during the first restoration, and he employed himself in studying the new spirit that had arisen in his country, after so many domestic troubles; for he was sufficiently aware of the state of affairs to comprehend that events exercise an irresistible power in the modification of the character, and that when a person is desirous of bringing a revolution to a close, it is necessary to make incessant concessions to men and circumstances, and submit to unavoidable acts of necessity: these, no doubt, are painful duties, but are we not all called to wear the crown of thorns?