. to the throne. His
election was not in conformity to the expectations of the people, and
it disappointed the wishes which had been uttered in favour of the
Empress and her son; yet the choice of the senate was but slightly
opposed, because the recall of Louis seemed to be necessarily the
pledge of peace. And peace was more the object of the public wish than
any other thing. Besides which, the Bourbons followed the wise
counsels which had been given to them. They lost no time in issuing
their proclamations, couched in fair language, in order to calm the
fears and diminish the antipathies excited by their recall.

"We will guarantee," said they, "the rank, the honours, and the
rewards of the military.

"The magistracy and all public functionaries shall retain their
offices and their pre-eminence.

"To the people we promise a total oblivion of their political conduct;
and we will maintain them in the full enjoyment of their civil rights,
their property, and their social institutions."

The French nation, whose confidence is so easily abused, considered
these promises as sacred and inviolable, and they delighted in
repeating the happy reply of the Count of Artois[3], "Il n'y aura rien
de change en France, il n'y aura que quelques Francais de plus."
They, the men, who had banished the imperial dynasty, laboured to
foster the growing confidence of the nation. The press was brought
into full play, and the country teemed with publications in which they
represented the sovereign whom they had brought in, as invested with
those attributes which were calculated to conciliate the nation. The
public were carefully informed, that the king "opened and read all the
dispatches himself. It is he who dictates every answer. Where it
becomes necessary to meet the ministers of foreign powers, he
transacts business with them; he receives the reports of their
missions, which he answers either by word of mouth, or in writing. In
short, he alone directs all the concerns of the government, both at
home and abroad. If his virtues and goodness are such as to cause the
French to know that they will now find a kind and affectionate father
in their King, they may also look with confidence to the future fate
of the nation, relying on his brilliant information, his strength of
character, and his aptitude for business[4]."

[Footnote 3: He arrived at Paris before his august
brother, and by these pleasing expr