y, Joucourt, Boissy d'Anglas, Fouche, and Roederer
form another class,--some of them regicides, others assassins and
plunderers, but all intriguers whose machinations date from the beginning
of the Revolution. They are all men of parts, of more or less knowledge,
and of great presumption. As to their morality, it is on a level with
their religion and loyalty. They betrayed their King, and had denied
their God already in 1789.
After these come some others, who again have neither talents to boast of
nor crimes of which they have to be ashamed. They have but little
pretension to genius, none to consistency, and their honesty equals their
capacity. They joined our political revolution as they might have done a
religious procession. It was at that time a fashion; and they applauded
our revolutionary innovations as they would have done the introduction of
a new opera, of a new tragedy, of a new comedy, or of a new farce. To
this fraternity appertain a ci-devant Comte de Stult-Tracy,
Dubois--Dubay, Kellerman, Lambrechts, Lemercier, Pleville--Le Pelley,
Clement de Ris, Peregeaux, Berthelemy, Vaubois, Nrignon, D'Agier, Abrial,
De Belloy, Delannoy, Aboville, and St. Martin La Motte.
Such are the characteristics of men whose 'senatus consultum' bestows an
Emperor on France, a King on Italy, makes of principalities departments
of a Republic, and transforms Republics into provinces or principalities.
To show the absurdly fickle and ridiculously absurd appellations of our
shamefully perverted institutions, this Senate was called the
Conservative Senate; that is to say, it was to preserve the republican
consular constitution in its integrity, both against the; encroachments
of the executive and legislative power, both against the manoeuvres of
the factions, the plots of the royalists or monarchists, and the clamours
of a populace of levellers. But during the five years that these honest
wiseacres have been preserving, everything has perished--the Republic,
the Consuls, free discussions, free election, the political liberty, and
the liberty of the Press; all--all are found nowhere but in old, useless,
and rejected codes. They have, however, in a truly patriotic manner
taken care of their own dear selves. Their salaries are more than
doubled since 1799.
Besides mock Senators, mock praetors, mock quaestors, other 'nomina
libertatis' are revived, so as to make the loss of the reality so much
the more galling. We have also
|