第28章

DEARSIR——SinceyourfavorofJuly10。minehavebeenofJuly17。23and28。ThelastinclosedabillofexchangefromMr。GrandonTessierforpound46-17-10sterl。toanswerGenl。Sullivan’sbillforthatsum。Ihopeitgotsafetohand，tho’Ihavebeenanxiousaboutitasitwentbypostandmylettersthro’thatchannelsometimesmiscarry。

FromtheseparationoftheNotablestothepresentmomenthasbeenperhapsthemostinterestingintervaleverknowninthiscountry。ThepropositionsoftheGovernment，approvedbytheNotables，wereprecioustothenationandhavebeeninanhonestcourseofexecution，someofthembeingcarriedintoeffect，andotherspreparing。AbovealltheestablishmentoftheProvincialassemblies，someofwhichhavebeguntheirsessions，bidfairtobetheinstrumentforcircumscribingthepowerofthecrownandraisingthepeopleintoconsideration。Theelectiongiventothemiswhatwilldothis。Tho’theministerwhoproposedtheseimprovementsseemstohavemeantthemasthepriceofthenewsupplies，thegamehasbeensoplayedastosecuretheimprovementstothenationwithoutsecuringtheprice。TheNotablesspokesoftlyonthesubjectoftheadditionalsupplies，buttheparliamenttookthemuproundly，refusedtoregistertheedictsforthenewtaxes，tillcompelledinabedofjusticeandpreferedthemselvestobetransferredtoTroyesratherthanwithdrawtheiropposition。Itisurgedprincipallyagainsttheking，thathisrevenueis130。millionsmorethanthatofhispredecessorwas，andyethedemands120。millionsfurther。Youwillseethiswellexplainedinthe`Conferenceentreunministred’etatetunConseillerauparlement’whichIsendyouwithsomeothersmallpamphlets。InthemeantimealltonguesinParis(andinFranceasitissaid)havebeenletloose，andneverwasalicenseofspeakingagainstthegovernmentexercisedinLondonmorefreelyormoreuniversally。Caracatures，placards，bonmots，havebeenindulgedinbyallranksofpeople，andIknowofnowellattestedinstanceofasinglepunishment。Forsometimemobsof10；20；

30，000peoplecollecteddaily，surroundedtheparliamenthouse，huzzaedthemembers，evenenteredthedoorsandexaminedintotheirconduct，tookthehorsesoutofthecarriagesofthosewhodidwell，anddrewthemhome。Thegovernmentthoughtitprudenttopreventthese，drewsomeregimentsintotheneighborhood，multipliedtheguards，hadthestreetsconstantlypatrolledbystrongparties，suspendedprivilegedplaces，forbadallclubs，etc。Themobshaveceased：perhapsthismaybepartlyowingtotheabsenceofparliament。TheCountd’Artois，senttoholdabedofjusticeintheCourdesAides，washissedandhootedwithoutreservebythepopulace；thecarriageofMadamede(Iforgetthename)inthequeen’sliverywasstoppedbythepopulaceunderabeliefthatitwasMadamedePolignac’swhomtheywouldhaveinsulted，thequeengoingtothetheateratVersailleswithMadamedePolignacwasreceivedwithageneralhiss。Theking，longinthehabitofdrowninghiscaresinwine，plungesdeeperanddeeper；thequeencriesbutsinson。TheCountd’Artoisisdetested，andMonsieur[Louis，ComtedeProvence]thegeneralfavorite。TheArchbishopofThoulouseismadeMinistreprincipale，avirtuous，patrioticandablecharacter。TheMarechaldeCastriesretiredyesterdaynotwithstandingstrongsollicitationstoremaininoffice。TheMarechaldeSegurretiredatthesametime，promptedtoitbythecourt。Theirsuccessorsarenotyetknown。M。deSt。PristgoesAmbassadortoHollandintheroomofVeractransferredtoSwitzerland，andtheCountdeMoustiergoestoAmericaintheroomoftheChevalierdelaLuzernewhohasapromiseofthefirstvacancy。Thesenominationsarenotyetmadeformally，buttheyaredecidedonandthepartiesareorderedtopreparefortheirdestination。AsithasbeenlongsinceIhavehadaconfidentialconveiancetoyou，IhavebroughttogethertheprincipalfactsfromtheadjournmentoftheNotablestothepresentmomentwhich，asyouwillperceivefromtheirnature，requiredaconfidentialconveyance。Ihavedoneittheratherbecause，tho’youwillhaveheardmanyofthemandseentheminthepublicpapers，yetfloatinginthemassoflieswhichconstitutetheatmospheresofLondonandParis，youmaynothavebeensureoftheirtruth：andI

havementionedeverytruthofanyconsequencetoenableyoutostampasfalsethefactspretermitted。Ithinkthatinthecourseofthreemonthstheroyalauthorityhaslost，andtherightsofthenationgained，asmuchground，byarevolutionofpublicopiniononly，asEnglandgainedinallhercivilwarsundertheStuarts。Iratherbelievetootheywillretainthegroundgained，becauseitisdefendedbytheyoungandthemiddleaged，inoppositiontotheoldonly。Thefirstpartyincreases，andthelatterdiminishesdailyfromthecourseofnature。Youmaysupposethatunderthissituation，warwouldbeunwelcometoFrance。ShewillsurelyavoiditifnotforcedbythecourtsofLondonandBerlin。Ifforced，itisprobableshewillchangethesystemofEuropetotallybyanalliancewiththetwoempires，towhomnothingwouldbemoredesireable。Intheeventofsuchacoalition，notonlyPrussiabutthewholeEuropeanworldmustreceivefromthemtheirlaws。ButFrancewillprobablyendeavortopreservethepresentsystemifitcanbedonebysacrifisingtoacertaindegreethepretensionsofthepatrioticpartyinHolland。Butofallthesemattersyoucanjudge，inyourposition，wherelesssecrecyisobserved，betterthanIcan。

IhavenewsfromAmericaaslateasJuly19。Nothing