anticipated so much from the triumph of their
allies beyond the ryrcnees, and dreaded utter
discouifiture from tlieir defeat, endeavored to
turn aside the stream, and to envenom patriotic
by party feelings. The attempt wholly failed:
the Chambers were all but unani- , ^^^ ^y
inous in favor of the war; and their 130, 137 ;
feelings were re-echoed from Calais -'Vnn. Hist,
to the Pyrenees.' vi. 34,41.
M. Talleyrand made a remarkable fpeech on
this occasion, which deserves to be
recorded, as one of the most uufortu- m. Taljey-
nate prophecies ever made by a man rand's
of ability on the future issue of af- ^■"•'^'^l' °"
fail's. " It isjust sixteen years to-daj'," ^^^'■•
said he, "since I was called by him who then
governed the world to give him my advice on
the struggle in which he was about to engage
with Spain. I had the misfortune to displease
him because I revealed the future — because I
unfolded the misfortunes which might arise
from an aggression as unjust as it was inex-
pedient. Disgrace was the reward of ni}' sin-
cerity. Strange destiny ! — which now, after so
long an interval, leads me to give the same
counsels to a legitimate sovereign ! It is my
part, who have had so large a share in the
double Restoration — who, by my efforts, I may
say by my success, have wound up my glory
and my responsibility entirely with the alli-
ance between France and the house of Bour-
bon — to contribute as much as lies in my power
to prevent the work of wisdom and justice from
being compromised by rash and insane pas-
sions." "When this counsel on the Spanisli war
is compared with the result which occurred a
few months afterward, the difference is suflB-
ciently striking. Talleyrand, with his sagacity
and experience, proved a more fallacious coun-
selor than Chateaubriand, with his poetry and
romance. "Wisdom was found in the inspira-
tions of genius rather than the deductions of
experience. The reason is, that Tallyj-iand
thought the result would be the same, because
it was an attack by France on Spain, forgetting
that the circumstances were materially differ-
ent, and that the Bourbon invasion had that in
its favor which in that of Kapoleon was alto-
gether awanting — viz., the support of the great
body of the people. A memorable example of
the important truth, that events in history are
not to be drawn into a precedent unless the ma-
terial circumstances attending them are simi-
lar ; and that it is in the faculty of 2 ^gj,, ^.^^
discerning where that similarity ex- 120 ; Ann.
ists that the highest proof of political Hist. vi. 34,
wisdom is to be found. ^
The enthusisam of the Chamber of Deputies
in favor of the war did not evaporate ^^
merely in vehement harangues from vote of
the tribune ; substantial acts testified credit of
their entire adhesion to the system of KiO.COO,CCO
the Government. The}' voted, by a '■^"'^®-
very lai'ge majority, a supplementary credit of
1823.]
100,000,000 francs (£4-,000,000) for carrj-ing on
the war, to be put at the disposal of the min-
ister. The state of the revenue this year was
very flattering, and dsmonstrated how rapidly
the national resources were augmenting un-
der the influence of the peace, freedom, and
security of property which France
vi^39 4o'^* was enjoying under the mild rule of
' ' the Bourbon princes.' *
In the course of the debate on this grant, an
56. incident occurred, which, in a more
Affair of .M. unfavorable state of the public mind,
^h^'rh'' '" might liave overturned the mon-
berofDep- archy. M. Manuel was put forward
uties; his by the Opposition to answer the
speech. speech of M. Chateaubriand, he be-
ing the orator on the Liberal side whose close
and logical reasoning, as well as powers of elo-
quence, were deemed most capable of deaden-
ing the sensation produced by the splendid ora-
tion of the Foreign Minister. He said, in the
course of his speech — "The Spaniards, it is
said, are mutually cutting each other's throats,
and we must intervene to prevent one party
from destro3ung the other. It is without doubt
a singular mode of diminishing the horrors of
civil war, to superinduce to them those of for-
eign hostilities. But suppose you are success-
ful. The insurrection is crushed in Spain ; it is
annihilated ; the friends of freedom have laid
down their arms. What can you do ? You
can not forever remain in the Peninsula ; you
must retire; and when you do so, a new explo-
sion, more dangerous than the former, will
break fortli. Consult history: has ever a re-
volution in favor of civil liberty been finally
subdued ? Crushed it may be for the moment ;
but the genius which has produced it is imper-
ishable. Like Antieus, the giant regains his
strength every time he touches the earth.
"The civil war which recently raged in Spain
was mainly your own work; the sol-
Conanued. ^^'^rs 'of the faith' onl^ took up
arms m the belief they would be
supported by you. How, then, can you find
in the consequences of your own acts a justifi-
cation of your intervention? Can you justify
deeds of violence by perfidy? You say you
wish to save Ferdinand and his family. If you
do, beware of repeating the same circumstances
which, in a former age, conducted to the scaffold
victims for whom you daily evince bo warm
and legitimate an interest. Have you forgotten
that the Stuarts were only overturned because
they sought support from the stranger ; that it
was in consequence of tlie invasion of the hos-
tile armies that Louis XV'^I. was precipitated
from the throne? Are you ignorant that it
was tlie protection accorded by France to tiie
Stuarts which caused the ruin of that race of
p.-inces? That succor was clandestine, it is
true ; but it was sufficient to encourage the
ituarts in their rosLstance to public opinion ;
Uience the resistance to that opinion, and tlie
misfortunes of that family — misfortunes whicli
it would have avoided if it had sought its 8U|)-
port in tlie nation. Nee
the dangers of the royal family have been fear-
* It exhibited a surplus of 12, 015,907 frnnrN(i'l,f)Hn,onO),
so that the extraordinary rredit only rc(juircd to he oprr-
ated upon to the cxloiit of 57,U51,0'j:i francs (£2,3-10,000).
—Budget, 1823; Annuaire Ihstori/jue, vi. 3J, 40.
Vol I— 1» r.
HISTORY OF EUROPE.
417
fullj' aggravated when the stranger invaded
our territory, and that revolution- , , „ rr- .
-'' . , •, f A""- If 'St-
ar}' trance, leeling the necessity of vi. 72, 73;
defending itself by new forces and Lam. vii.
a fresh energy — " * ^^^' ^*^^-
At these words a perfect storm arose In
the Chamber. "Order, order!" was ,„
sliouted on the Right ; " this is regi- storm in
cide justified and provoked." "Ex- the Chain-
pulsion, expulsion!" "Let us chase '^^'^s-
the monster from our benches!" exclaimed
a hundred voices. The president, M. Ravcz,
seeing the speaker had been interrupted in
the midst of a sentence, and that the offence
taken arose from a jncsumcd meaning of words
which were to follow, not of what had actually
been used, hesitated with reason to act upo:i
such speculative views, and contented himself
with calling M. Manuel to order. So far wore
the Ro^-alists from being satisfied with this
moderate concession, that they instantly ruse
up in a bod}', surrounded the president's chair
with loud cries and threats, demanding that the
apologist of regicide should be instantly expel-
led from the Chamber ; while one of them, moi e
audacious than the rest, actually pulled M. Man-
uel from the tribune, and, mounting in his stead,
demanded in a stentorian voice the vengeance
of France on the advocate of assassin.s. Mean-
while M. Manuel, conscious that the sentence
which had been interrupted, if allowed to be
completed, would at once dispel the storm, was
calm and impassible in the midst of the ujn-oar ;
but that only made matters worse with the
infuriated majorit}' ; and at length
the president, finding all his ertorts ' j'^ljfj- l^^'"
to appease the tumult fruitless, Moniteur, '
gave tlie well-known signal of dis- Feb. 27, 182.1;
tress by covering his head, and J'il"'- '*"â– "'-'
broke up the meeting."
This scene had already been sufliciently vio-
lent, and indicative of the risks 59
which the representative system Expuhijon oi'
ran in France from the excitable ^'- Manuel,
temper of the people; but it was as notliing to
that which soon after ensued. The lvoyalist.s,
when the meeting was dissolved, rushed in a
body out of the Chamber, and broke into sep-
arate knots, to concert ulterior operations;
while the Liberals renniined on their benches,
in the midst of which M. Manuel wrote a letter
to the president, in which lie stated how the
sentence Avhich had been interrupted was to
liave been concluded, and contended for his
right to finish the sentence, and tiien let its
import be judged of by the Chamber.* Tlie
sitting was resumed, to consider this explana-
tion ; but a heated Ko3alist fi-om the south, M.
Forbin des I^ssarts, instantly ascended tlie trib-
une, and demanded the expulsion of the orator
* " Je dcmandaiH Hi on aviiit ouhlic; qu'en France la iiiort
de I'infortuno LouIh XV'l. avail elo precedcn par I'lnter-
vcnlion armeedcs I'runsienH et des Ailtrichiciis, el je rap-
[iclais coninie un fait connu de tout lu mondc que eV.sl alors
(jue lii I-'raiiee rovolutionnaife, scntant le hcsoin de w. de-
liniln- par dc-H forces et une encruio nouvelles." C'csi jci
ipirj'aii ti inlerrompu. .Sije ncl'eussc pas etc. ma phrase
cNl 1 i(pr()nimc(;cainsi— "Alors la France revolutionnairo,
Hi-ntant Ic- Ijcsoin do He defendre par des forces et utie eii-
er^ie nouvellcy, viit rn rnnuvrmint loulc.i Ics mas.irx, rx-
alia limlis Irs jian.tions jmpalidrcs, H amcna aiiisi (If Icr-
rililf.i cxcrs il vnr (Ir/ihirnhlr rntastrnphc nu viiliru it'une
Henircust; risistann:."~M. Manuel an President, 2filll
Feb., 1823 ; Annuaire Jli.it-irii/uf, vi ICH. Monilcur, 27lh
Feb.
41S
II I ST GUY OF EUROPE.
[Chap. XII.
" who \\aA pronounced s>i(li infaniona expres-
sions, sooini^ no rules of proeo.lure eould oon-
Jenin an iissenibly to tlio punishment of hoiir-
iiu; n r.iiin whoso innxiius and sjieeeh reeoni-
juended or justitied retiioide." ^1. JIanuel at-
tempted to justify liiuiself; but ho was again
interrupted bj' the eries of tlie lloyalists, and
the president, hoping to gain time tV)r the pas-
sions to cool, adjourneil the sitting to the fol-
lowing day. l>ut in this hope he was disap-
pointed, as is gonerall}' the ease when consid-
eration succeeds after the feelings have been
thoroughly roused. "What is called reflection
is then only listcninff to the re-echo of passion ;
one onlj- voice is lieard, one only key is touch-
ed, one onl}- sentiment felt. A lover, who is
contending with himself, rises from his sleepless
couch coutirmed, uot shaken, in his preposses-
sions. During the night, a formal motion for
tlie expulsion of the supposed delinquent, for
the remainder of the session, was prepared bj'
il. de la Bourdonuaye, the acknowledged lead-
er of the extreme lloyalists ; and although the
justice or shame of the Chamber permitted M.
Manuel to be heard in his defense, and the de-
bate was more than once adjourned, to enable
the numerous speakers, who inscribed their
names on the tribune, to be heard on the ques-
tion, the torrent was irresistible. The determ-
ination of the Royalists only increased with
the effervescence of the public mind; and,
amidst agitated crowds which surrounded the
Assembly on all sides, and under the protection
of squadrons of cavalry, the expulsion of M.
Manuel, during the remainder of the session,
was voted, oa the evening of 4th
Mai'ch, by a majority of fully two
'A""- JJ^^'- to one, the whole Centre coalescing
Moniteur ' '^ith the Right. The agitation
March 5,' which prevailed rendered it im-
1823 ; Lam. possible to take the vote otherwise
YH. loy, m. ^^^^ ^y acclamation.'
The exclusion of a single member, during the
J.Q remainder of a single session, was no
Dramatic very serious injury to a party, or
scene at his blow leveled at the public liberties;
expulsion, j^^j ^}jq passions on both sides were
so strongly excited by this imprudent abuse of
power bj" the Royalist majority, that the Lib-
erals resolved to resist it to the very uttermost.
It was determined to compel the majority to
use force for his expulsion; and the recollec-
tion of the risk w^hieh ensued to the throne
from the dragging of M. d'Espremenil from the
Parliament of Paris, at the commencement of
J Hist of ^"'^^ ^^^^ Revolution,^ was of sinister
Europe, c. augury as to the effects of enforcing
iii. «^ 107, the present decree by similar means.
The Government, however, was firm,
and resolved, at all hazards, to carry the decree
of the Chamber into execution. Every jjrepa-
ration was accordingly made to overawe, and,
if necessarj', to subdue resistance. The Liberal
leaders, however, were determined to have a
scene, and, instead of yielding obedience to the
decree of the Chamber, M. Manuel appeared
next morning in the Hall, and took his seat.
IVhen invited by tlie president to retire with-
out disturbance, he replied, "I told you yes-
terday I would only yield to force; I come to
roaie good my word," and resumed his scat.
The president then desired the Assembly to
evacuate the hall, and retire into their respect-
ive apartnu'iits, which was immcdiatcl}' done
b}- the whole Kiglit and Centre, but the entire
Left remained in their places, grouped around
Manuel. Presently the folding-doors oj)ened,
and the chief of the bar-oflicers, followed by a
numerous staff of his colleagues, advanced, and
read to Manuel the decree of the Chamber.
"Your order is illegal," replied he; "I will
not obey it." The peace-officers then retired,
and the anxiety in the galleries, and the crowd
around the Chamber, arose to the highest point,
for the 'â– measured step of marching men" was
heard in the lobb}-. Presently the folding-
doors again opened, and a detachment of na-
tional guards and troops of the line, with fixed
bayonets, slowly entered, and drew up in front
of the refractory deputy. The civil officer then
ordered the sergeant of the national guard, M.
Morrier, to execute the warrant; but, overcome
by the violence of the crisis, and the cries of the
deputies around Manuel, he refused to obey.
"Vive la Garde Rationale!" instanti}' burst in
redox'.bled shouts from the opposition benches;
" Honneur a la Garde Kationale!" was heard
above all the din in the voice of Lafayette. But
the difficulty had been foreseen and pro\ided
for by the Government. The national guard
and troops of the line were instantly with-
drawn, and thirty gendarmes, under M. de Fou-
cault, an officer of tried fidelity and courage,
were introduced, who, after in vain
inviting Manuel to retire, seized him igi^'Jgo^."'
by the collar, and dragged him out, Ann. Hist,
amidst vehement gesticulations and vi. 107, 109;
cries from the Left, which were heard i^J"""/^", c'no
,, ,. . , Mar. 5, lb2j.
across the beine.'
These dramatic scenes, so well calculated to
excite the feelings of a people so
warm in temperament as the French, Qg,.,g^^j
might, under different circumstances, tliusiasm
have overturned the monarchy, and e.xcited by
induced i« 1823 the Revolution of t^e^Spanish
1830. They were followed next
day by a solemn protest, signed by sixty depu-
ties who had adhered to M. Manuel in the
struggle, among which the signatures of Gen-
eral Lafayette, General Foy, and M. Casimir
Perier appeared consi)icuous. But no other
result took place. The public mind is inca-
pable of being violently excited by two pas-
sions at the same time ; if the national feelings
have been roused, the social ones are little felt.
It was a perception of this truth which caused
the Empress Catherine to say, at the com-
mencement of the French Revolution, that the
only way to combat its passions was to go to
war.^ The din, great as it was, 2 nist. of
caused by the dragging M. Manuel Europe,
out of the Chamber of Deputies, was 1789-1815,
lost in the louder sound of marching "^^ ^"'' ' '•
men pressing on to the Pyrenees. The civic
strife was heard of no more after it had termi-
nated; nothing was thought of but the ap-
proaching conflict on the fields of Spain. In-
cessant was the march of troops toward Bay-
onne and Perpignan, the two points from which
the invasion was to be made. The roads were
covered by columns of infantry, cavalry, and
artiller}', moving forward toward the Spanish
frontier, in the finest order, and in the highest
spirits; and Ihe warlike enthusiasm of the
1823. J
HISTORY OF EUROPE.
-no
French, always strong, -was roused to the very
highest pitch, by the prospect of viudicating
March 15. the tarnished honor of their arms on
1 Lam. vii. the fields of Castile, and re-entering
A ^' ^H St ^^^'^'"^^ ''^ conquerors. The Duke
vi. 108, 112; of Angouleme set out from Paris,
Moniteur, to take the command of the armj-,
I'soq'^^'r^' '^^ *''® ^■^'^'^ March; and as war was
vii" 120 ^^' "o longer doubtful, the anxiety on
126, 145, both sides arose to the very highest
146- pitch. ^
On their side, the Liberals, both in France
62. and Spain, were not idle. Their
Prepara- chief reliance was on the presumed or
tionsofthe hoped-for disaffection of the French
Liberals to "^ ». .i n ii i
sow disaf- *ii'â„¢y i 'or they were well aware that
fection in if the// i-eraained united, the forces of
the army. Spain, debased by misgovernment,
and torn by civil war, would be unable to op-
pose any effectual resistance to their incursion.
The most active measures, however, were taken
to sow the seeds of disaffection in the French
army. Several secret meetings of the Liberal
chiefs in Paris took place, in order to concert
tlie most effectual means of carrying this de-
sign into execution ; and it was at first determ-
ined to send M. Benjamin Constant to Madrid
to superintend the preparations on the revolu-
tionary side, it being with reason supposed that
his great reputation and acknowledged abilities
would have much influence witli the revolution-
ists in Spain, and be not without its effect on
the feelings of the French soldiery. But this
design, like many others formed by persons
who are more liberal of their breath than their
fortunes, failed from want of funds. Benjamin
Constant, whose habits of expense were great,
and his income from literary effort considerable,
refused to undertake the mission unless not only
his expenses were provided for, but an indem-
nity secured to him, in the event of failure, for
the loss of his fortune and the means of repaii -
ing it, which liis position in Paris afforded.
This, however, the Liberals, though many of
them were bankers or merchants, possessed of
great wealth, declined to undertake ; tlie Duke
of Orleans was equally inexorable ; and the
consequence wa.s, that Constant refused to go,
and the plan, so far as he was concerned, broke
down. All that was done was to send a few
hundred political fanatics and refugees, who
were to be under tlic command of Colonel Fab-
vier, and who, though of no importance as a
military reinforcement, might, it was hoped,
wlien clothed in the uniforni of the Old (luard,
and grouped round the tricolor standard, siiake
the fidelity of the French soldiers on the baidis
of the Bidassoa. Tiieir first step was to issue
a proclamation in tlic name of Napoleon II.
2 L^^ yji to the Frencli soldiers, calling on
195, 1U7 ; them to desert their colors, and
Chateau- join the revolutionary ho.st, a pro-
rone, 1. 252, ted, if it had been required, tlie
254 ; Cap. necessity of the French interven-
vii. 147, 148. ti,,„_a*
While hostilities were thus evidently and
rapidly approaching on tlie Couti- 03
nent, and the dogs of war were held Feelings cf
only in the leash, ready to be let loose '^''"- ''^","
, ■' ^> • i 1 1 i ning and
at a moments warning, to desolate the English
the world, England, indignant and people \t
agitated, but still inactive, remained '^I's crisis,
an anxious spectator of the strife. Never wero
the feelings of the nation more strongly roused,
and never would a war have been entered into
by the Government with more cordial and en-
thusiastic support on the part of the people.
This is always the case, and it arises from the
strength of the feelings of liberty which are
indelibly engraven on the minds of the Anglo-
Saxon race. Their sympathy is invariably
with those whom tliej' suppose to be oppress-
ed; their impulse to assist the insurgents
against the ruling power. They would sup-
port the colonies of all countries, except their
oivn, in throwing off their allegiance to the
parent state : those who attempt the same sys-
tem in regard to their own, they regard as
worse than pirates. They consider revolution
a blessing to all other countries except En-
gland: there the whole classes possessed of
property are resolute to oppose to it the most
determined resistance. Tlie)' think, with reason,
they have already gone through the ordeal of
revolution, and do not need to do so a second
time ; other nations have not yet passed through
it, and they can not obtain felicity until they
have.
Mr. Canning, whose temj)erament was warm,
his sympathy with freedom sincere, .
and his ambition for his country yjews of
and himself powerful, shared to the Mr. canning
very full in all these sentiments, "t this junc-
jS'o firmer friend to the cause of "'^'"
liberty existed in the British dominions at that
eventful crisis, and none whose talents, elo-
quence, as well as political position, enabled
liim to give it such ett'cctual support. In truth,
at that period it may be said that he held the
keys of the cavern of ^Eolus in his hands, and
that it rested with him to unlock the doors and
let the winds sweep round the globe. But
* " VainqiireiirH dc F'lcurus, de Icna, d'AuHtcrlitz, de
Wa^ram, voiis lai.sserez.vous aller a leurH InninuationH
perlides ! Scellerez-vouH de votre Bang, I'lnraniie dont on
veut V0U8 couvrir, et la servitude de I'Europe rntiere ?
Obuirez-vous a la voix des lyrans, pour romhattre conirc
V03 droits, au lieu de les dcfendre ; et ne vjenilre/.-vons
dans nos rangs que pour y apporter la destruction ct la
mort, lorsqu'ils vous sont ouvcrts pour la libertc sainte
qui vous appelle du haut de I'cnseigne trii-olorc qui Ilotte
sur les monts Pyrenees, ct dont clle briile d'ombr.igcr
encore une fois vos nobles fronts converts de tanl d'lionor-
ables cicatrices ? Uraves de toute artne de rarniee tVan-
Caise, qui conservez encore dans voire sein retiiicelle du
feu sacre I c'est a vous que nous faisons un pcnureux
appcl ; embrassc/. nvec nous la cause majcstueuse du
pcuple, centre celle d'uiie poignee d'oppresseurs ; la
I'alrie, I'honncur, voire propre Interut le commandcnt ;
venez, vous trouverez dans nos rangs tout ce qui consti-
tue la force, et des compatriotes, descompagnonsd'arines,
qui jurcnt de defendre jus()u'a la deriiicre goutle de leur
sang, leurs droits, la liberie, I'independance natlonale.
Vive la liberie 1 Vive Napoleon II. ! Vivent les braves I"
— CiiATliAUDniAND, Cnngrcs de Verone, i. 254, 255.
In the Oliservateur K.ipaffnul of Ist Oct., 1822, before
tli(^ Congress of Voroiui was opened, it was said —
" L'epee de Damocles qui est suspendue sur la tele des
Bourbons, va bienlol les atteindre. .Nas nioyens de ven-
geance sont do toute evidence. Outre la valilante armco
cspagnole, n'avons-nous pas dans cettc armee sanitaire
dix mjlle chevaliers dc la liberie, prcts a se jolndre a lours
anciens ollicicTs, ct a tourncr leurs arines contre les op-
prcsseurs
CCS chevaliers dans I'inlerieur dc cc royaume, dont vingt
cinq rnjlle au moins dans rarmce, et plus de mdlc dans
la garde royalo 1 N'avons-nous pas pour nous, cctlc
baine excusable, quo les neuf dixiemcs de la France ont
vouoc a d'exocrables tyrans ?" — L'Vbscrvateur Espagnol,
Ist Oct., 1822.
420
HISTORY OF EUllorE.
[ClIAl-. XII.
tliougli nl>inulftntly impelled (as his private
oouvorsatioiis and oorrespondence at tills j)oriod
deiiioiistrato) by liis ardent disposition to steji
forward as the foremost in this great coiilliet,
vet his experieiiee and wisdom as a statesman,
joined to the intliietieo of Mr. I'eel, w ho threat-
ened to resign if an aetive intervention was
attempted, restrained him from taking the ir-
recoverable step, and preserved the peace of
the world w hen it appeared to be most serious-