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The excessive precautions taken to insure | homage to a man which we are taught to believe purity of choice, betray the extent to which fac- are due only to God, it will be difficult for the tion and corruption must have intruded into these mass to discriminate the nice distinction they elections. In times past the most scandalous would make. Their example, at all events, is so scenes have preceded and accompanied the in- much weight in the scale of idolatry, while their trigues which, despite the severity of the regula- motives are far beyond the capacity of ignorant tions, find entrance into the holy conclave, minds to comprehend. splitting it into unholy factions. During the comparatively recent conclave, which resulted in the election of Pius VI., the cardinals even proceeded to blows, and their excitement rivaled the worst scenes that have ever occurred in any democratic congress.

After his election the Pope selects the name by which he wishes to be known. The Master of Ceremonies then clothes him in the papal vestments, and the cardinals, each in turn, kiss his hands and feet, the Pope giving them upon the right cheek the kiss of peace. They then chant, "Behold the high priest, pleasing to God, and found just!" The guns of St. Angelo thunder forth a salute, every bell of the city augments the joyous clamor, and drums, trumpets, and timbrels, amid the acclamations of the people-if the election be a popular one-complete the noisy chorus. After a special adoration in the Sistine Chapel, the Pope seats himself under a red canopy before the grand altar in St. Peter's, where he receives the adoration of the people. This finished, he is borne in grand procession to the palace which he selects for his residence. In the adoration paid to the Pope enlightened Romanists disclaim, and with justice no doubt, any act of personal idolatry. But while they render the same forms of

During the interval between the death of one Pope and the election of another, the papal functions are administered by an officer called the "Camerlingue," or Cardinal President, of the Court of Rome. He holds one of the three keys of the treasure of the Castle of St. Angelo; the dean of the sacred college another, and the Pope the third.

The unity and policy of the papal court is undoubtedly the same in all ages, so far as concerns its claims to temporal and spiritual power. Were it not counteracted by the spirit of the age, there is no reason to believe it would not now assert its authority as distinctly and frankly as in the thirteenth century, in the mandate of Nicholas III., cited in the ninety-sixth distinction of the canon law, viz.:

"It is evident that the Roman pontiff can not be judged of man, because he is Gop!"

In a bull of Gregory IX., inserted in the Decretals, under the title of "Pre-eminence," we read as follows:

"God has made two great lights for the firmament of the universal Church-that is to say, he has instituted two dignities: these are the pontifical authority and the royal power; but that which rules in these days, that is to say over

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things spiritual, is the greater, and that which | national system of education. Members of vapresides over things material the lesser. There- rious grades and classes in the social scale are fore all should know that there is as much differ-instructed together, in the same schools, in the ence between pontiffs and kings as between the same mode, and on the same subjects, to a desun and moon. We say that every human creat-gree of which we have no example here. If the ure is subjected to the sovereign pontiff, and that peasant, the grocer, or the tailor, can scrape tohe can (according to the decretal of Innocent III., gether a little money, his son receives his traincalled the Prebends), in virtue of his full power ing in the same seminary as the son of the proand sovereign authority, dispose of the natural prietor, whose land he cultivates, whose sugar and divine right." and coffee he supplies, and whose coat he makes. The boy, who ought to be a laborer or a petty tradesman, sits on the same bench, and learns the same lesson, as the boy who is destined for the bar, the tribune, or the civil service of the state. This system arises out of the passion for equality, and fosters it in turn. The result is, that each one naturally learns to despise his own destination, and to aspire to that of his more fortunate school-fellow. The grocer's son can not see why he should not become an advocate, a journalist, a statesman, as well as the wealthier and noble-born lad, who was often below him in the class, whom he occasionally thrashed, and often helped over the thorny places of his daily task."*

At this age of the world we may smile at these doctrines. But the spirit which conceived them still exists, though the power then enforced has departed. The haughty ceremonies that accompanied these assumptions of power are yet in full sway, yearly growing in imbecility, as the authority which alone could make them respected becomes more remote. That which once carried with it terrible meaning has now degenerated into pitiful farce. Spectators now gather to Rome during holy festivals, not to worship or to acknowledge the great head of the Christian church, but to wonder at the debasing shows proffered, and the haughty magnificence displayed by priests who found their creed on a gospel of humility and love. Should these remarks be construed as uncharitable, I can only add that where religion, as I intend showing, is metamorphosed designedly into a mere spectacle, it must expect to be sub-rienne, "might have been supposed to have dejected to the ordinary laws of criticism.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.

BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.

THE CAMPAIGN OF PARIS.

THE
HE war had now become a struggle for the
dethronement of Napoleon, and for the ef-
fectual suppression, throughout Europe, of those
principles of republican equality, to which the
French Revolution had given birth. There nev-
er was a government so popular as not to have
its opposition. In every nation and state allied
to France there were many royalists, ready eager-
ly to join the allied armies. In the triumph of
that cause they hoped to regain their exclusive
privileges. And in all the old aristocracies there
were multitudes, of the more intelligent portion
of the populace, hungering for reform. They
welcomed, with enthusiasm, the approach of the
armies of Napoleon. It was the existence of
this party, in such strength, both in England and
Ireland, which roused the Tory government of
Britain, to such tremendous exertions, to crush,
in the person of the French Emperor, the spirit
of republican equality. The North British Re-
view, one of the organs of the Tory party, in the
following strain, which will certainly amuse
American readers, complains of that equality,
which Napoleon established in France:

"Those who have watched the interior workings of society in France, long and close at hand, are inclined to attribute much of that uselessness and discontent, which is one of its most striking features, and which is the despair both of the friends of order and the friends of freedom, to the

The Allies now advanced triumphantly toward the Rhine. Napoleon roused all his energies to meet the emergence. Though age," says Bour

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prived him of some of his activity, yet, in that crisis, I beheld him as in his most vigorous youth. Again he developed that fervid mind, which, as in his early conquests, annihilated time and space, and seemed omnipresent in its energies." France, from the Rhine to the Pyrenees, assumed the appearance of a vast arsenal. The Council of State suggested to Napoleon that it might not be wise to announce to the people the humiliating truth that the frontiers of France

were invaded.

"Wherefore," replied Napoleon, "should not the truth be told? Wellington has entered the south; the Russians menace the north; the Aus

* It is greatly to Napoleon's honor, that such men as the Duke of Wellington were contending against him. It is, in itself, evidence of the righteousness of his cause. Probably there can not be found in the world a man more resolutely hostile to popular reform than was the Duke of Wellington. He was the idol of the aristocracy. He was hated by the people. They had pelted him with mud through the streets of London, and he had been compelled to barricade his windows against their assaults. Even the soldiers under his command in Spain had no affection for his person; and, notwithstanding all the calumnies of the British press, they loved, around their camp-fires, to tell stories of the goodness of Napoleon. Many, too, of these soldiers, after the battle of Waterloo, were sent to Canada. I am informed, by a gentleman of commanding character and intelligence, that when a child, he has sat for hours listening to the anecdotes in favor of Napoleon which these British soldiers had picked up in the camp. Yet, true to military discipline, they would stand firmly to their colors in the hour of battle. They were proud of the grandeur of the "Iron Duke,” but no soldier loved him. We will imitate Napoleon's magnanimity, in not questioning the sincerity of the Duke of Wellington's convictions, that an aristocratic govern ment is best for the people. We simply state the unde niable fact, that his hostility was deadly to all popular reform.

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trians, Prussians, and Bavarians, are on the east. | warmed them into life. In many districts their Shame! Wellington is in France, and ye have influence over the peasantry was almost omninot risen, en masse, to drive him back. There potent. must be an impulse given. All must march. It is for you, counselors, fathers of families, heads of the nation, to set the example. People speak of peace, when all should echo to the call of

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The Count of Artois, afterward Charles X., hastened to join the army of the Austrians. His son, the Duke of Angoulême, who had married the unhappy daughter of Louis XVI., whose tragic imprisonment with her brother, the Dauphin, in the Temple, has moved the sympathies of the world, hastened to the head-quarters of the Duke of Wellington. The Count of Provence, subsequently Louis XVIII., was residing at Hartwell, England. He was an infirm, unwieldy, gouty old man, of three score years. Unable to make any exertions himself, he sat, lolling in his chair, while the Allies deluged France in blood and flame, to place him on the throne. Talleyrand, the wily diplomatist, clearly discerning the fall of the empire, entered into communication with the Allies, to secure the best possible terms for himself. He did every thing in his power to thwart the exertions of Napoleon, and of the nation. In the Council of State, and

in the saloons of the capital, he incessantly ad- | minority, were ever ready to join hands for his vised submission.

On the 20th of December Napoleon assembled the Senate. He opened the session in person, and thus addressed the members:

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Splendid victories have illustrated the French armies in this campaign. Defections, without a parallel, have rendered those victories unavailing, or have turned them against us. France would now have been in danger but for the energy and the union of the French. In these momentous circumstances, my first thought has been to summon you around me. My heart has need of the presence and affection of my subjects. I have never been seduced by prosperity. Adversity will find me superior to its strokes. I have often given peace to the nations, when they had lost every thing. With a part of my conquests I have raised up monarchs, who have since abandoned me. I had conceived and executed great designs for the happiness of the world. A monarch and a father, I feel that peace adds to the security of thrones as well as families. Nothing, on my part, is an obstacle to the re-establishment of peace. You are the natural organs of the throne. It is for you to give an example of energy, which may dignify our generation in the eyes of our posterity. Let them not say of us, They have sacrificed the first interests of our country; they have submitted to laws, which England has sought in vain, during four centuries, to impose upon France.' I am confident that, in this crisis, the French will show themselves worthy of themselves and of me."

overthrow. The President of the senatorial ccmmission, M. Fontanes, concluded his report respecting the continued assault of the Allies, with the following words: "Against whom is that attack directed? Against that great man who has merited the gratitude of all kings; for he it was, who, in re-establishing the throne of France, extinguished the volcano with which they were all menaced." The people did not relish this declaration, that Napoleon had become an advocate of the rights of kings. Napoleon had achieved all his victories, and attained his supremacy, as the recognized advocate of the rights of the people. His rejection of Josephine, and his matrimonial alliance with the proud house of Hapsburg, also operated against him. They had secured for his cause no monarchical friends, but had wilted the enthusiasm of the people.

France was now disheartened. One army had perished upon the snows of Russia; another upon the plains of Saxony. The conscription and taxation had borne heavily upon all classes. All Europe had been combining in an interminable series of wars against revolutionary France. It seemed impossible any longer to protract the conflict. The majority of the legislative body adopted the report of their committee, containing the following sentiments deeply wounding to the Emperor :

constant execution of the laws, which guarantee to the nation the free exercise of its political rights."

"In order to prevent the coalesced powers from accusing France of any wish to maintain a too extensive territory, which they seem to fear, would it not exhibit real greatness to undeceive At the same time, Napoleon communicated to them by a formal declaration? It is for the govthe Senate and to the Legislative Assembly the ernment to propose the measures which may be correspondence which had taken place with the considered most prompt and safe for repelling the Allies, both before and after the battle of Leipsic. enemy, and establishing peace on a solid basis. He wished to prove to the nation that he had These measures must be effectual, if the French neglected no honorable exertions to arrest the people be convinced that their blood will be shed calamities of war. A committee was appointed, only in defense of their country and of its laws. by both bodies, to examine and report upon the It appears indispensable, therefore, that his Madocuments. The report of the Senate was favor-jesty shall be entreated to maintain the full and able to Napoleon, and yet the influence of that report was to weaken the Emperor's hold on the democracy. He had sought to identify himself with the ancient order of things. It was the policy of his government to conciliate antagonistic principles, to engraft democratic rights upon monarchical forms. He hoped thus to secure popular rights on the one hand, and to abate the hostility of monarchical Europe on the other. This policy might have been unwise; but there is every evidence that he sincerely thought it the best which could be adopted, under then existing circumstances. He knew that France would not submit again to place her neck under the yoke of the old feudal aristocracy. He believed it impossible to maintain republican forms in France, with a Jacobin mob at one extremity of society, with royalist conspirators at the other extremity, and with all Europe in arms against the republic. Though the overwhelming majority of the people of France were strongly in favor of the policy of Napoleon, yet the Jacobins on the one hand, and the royalists on the other, a small but busy

Napoleon regarded these insinuations as peculiarly unfriendly, and ordered the printing of the report to be suppressed. He immediately assembled the Council of State, and thus expressed his sentiments on the subject :

"You are aware, gentlemen, of the dangers to which the country is exposed. Without any obligation to do so, I thought it right to consult the deputies of the legislative body. They have converted this act of my confidence into a weapon against me, that is to say, against the country. Instead of assisting me, they obstruct my efforts. We should assume an attitude to check the advance of the enemy. Their attitude invites him. Instead of showing to him a front of brass, they unvail to him our wounds. They stun me with clamors for peace, while the only means to obtain it is to prepare for war. They speak of grievances. But these are subjects to be discussed in private, and not in the presence of an enemy.

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Was I inaccessible to them? Did I ever show had discovered the fatal effects of your internal myself averse to rational argument? It is time to come to a conclusion. The legislative body, instead of assisting to save France, has concurred to accelerate her ruin. It has betrayed its duty. I fulfill mine. I prorogue the Assembly, and call for fresh elections. Were I sure that this act would bring the people of Paris in a crowd to the Tuileries, to murder me this day, I would still do my duty. My determination is perfectly legal. If every one here will act worthily, I shall yet be invincible, as well before the enemy, as behind the shelter of the law."

Notwithstanding this prorogation, a few days after, on the first of January, a deputation from the legislative body attended court, to present the congratulations of the season to the Emperor. As they entered the room, Napoleon advanced to meet them. In earnest tones, which were subdued by the spirit of seriousness and sadness, he thus spoke:

"Gentlemen of the Chamber of Deputies! you are about to return to your respective departments. I had called you together, with perfect reliance upon your concurrence in my endeavors to illustrate this period of our history. You might have rendered me a signal service, by giving me the support of which I stood in need, instead of attempting to confine me within limits, which you would be the first to extend when you

dissensions. By what authority do you consider yourselves entitled to limit the action of government at such a moment as the present. Am I indebted to you for the authority which is invested in me? I hold it from God and the people only. Have you forgotten in what manner I ascended the throne, which you now attack? There existed, at that period, an Assembly like your own. Had I deemed its authority and its choice sufficient for my purpose, do you think that I wanted the means to obtain its votes. I have never been of opinion that a sovereign could be elected in that manner. I was desirous, therefore, that the wish, so generally expressed, for my being invested with the supreme power, should be submitted to a national vote, taken from every person in the French dominions. By such means only did I accept of a throne. Do you imagine that I consider the throne as nothing more than a piece of velvet spread over a chair? The throne consists in the unanimous wish of the nation in favor of their sovereign. Our position is surrounded with difficulties. By adhering to my views, you might have been of the greatest assistance to me. Nevertheless, I trust that, with the help of God and of the army, I shall extricate myself, if I am not doomed to be betrayed. Should I fall, to you alone will be ascribed the evils which will desolate our common country."

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