majority of the people--who upon
the whole prefer that the rule of a man they all dislike should be
perpetuated for years to come.

And there is something in the character of Louis Napoleon which excites
admiration. He is intensely selfish, but he is a very capable man. He
understands the French people thoroughly, and rules them shrewdly. He is
one of the ablest statesmen in Europe, and the world knows that he lead
England in the late war with Russia. Yet he possesses some ridiculous
qualities, as his conduct previous to his last entrance into France
shows. He relies upon his destiny in the blindest manner, and is not
possessed of genuine courage of the highest character. He is so reckless
that he will never flinch from the prosecution of any of his schemes,
either from personal danger or the dread of shedding human blood. He
seems to have no heart, and his countenance is like adamant, for it
gives no clue to the thoughts which fill his brain. He is certainly a
very remarkable character and one worth studying. His early history is
laughable. His various descents upon France were too ridiculous for
laughter, and they only excited the pity of the world. His private
conduct, too, was such as to disgust moral people. There seems to have
come over the man a great change about the time of the Louis Phillippe
revolution. I well remember that in the spring of 1848 I saw him
parading one of the streets of London, arm-in-arm with a son of Sir
Robert Peel, both sworn in as special constables to put down the
chartists should they attempt a riot. It was, on that memorable first of
April, quite fashionable for members of the best families to be sworn in
as special constables to preserve order, and Louis Napoleon who was
living with his mistress and children in London, had so far put away the
democratic opinions which he once held, that he was ready and eager to
show where his sympathies were in the Chartist agitation.

That Louis Napoleon was very shrewd in entering France, and seating
himself in the presidential chair, no one will deny, but it is equally
true that in violating his oath and shooting down the people of Paris as
he did, that he might gain a throne, he also proved himself to be a
great villain. The mere fact that he was successful will not atone for
perjury and murder with people of common morality. But aside from these
atrocities, his shameful censorship of the press, and conduct toward
some of the noblest men of Fra