The administration of the Empire was, generally speaking, strong, full of energy and unity of purpose; it was composed of two elements, the ruins of the republican party now rallied around the dictatorship of Napoleon, and became submissive under his iron rule, such as Treilhard, Merlin, and Thibaudeau, and the pure and elevated remains of the old monarchical school, like MolÉ, De Fontanes, and De Narbonne. According to the custom observed in all governments possessed of any portion of strength and intelligence, Buonaparte collected around himself all the persons whose names were honourably connected with past events, or exercised any influence over the present or the past; he indulged neither in fear nor repugnance, because he had perfect confidence in his own power of restraining and managing every thing. Before the revolution of 1789, some parliamentary families existed, who transmitted the highest magisterial offices from one generation to another, forming a sanctuary in which public morals, duties, and learning, were preserved and perpetuated. There were no doubt some little party prejudices among them, together with a tendency towards the feelings of the patricians of Rome; considering themselves to have succeeded to the assemblies of the states-general. But though the parliament sometimes threw difficulties in the way of the executive government, still they maintained the spirit of liberty and probity through the lapse of ages, and people considered them as a political guarantee, upon occasions when a degree of confusion and disorder prevailed in the constitution of the country.

The family of the Pasquiers were descended from Etienne Pasquier, a man of great talent and erudition, author of a celebrated work entitled "Recherches sur la France." His character was very remarkable from the versatility of his talents and occupations; he wrote clever verses, and displayed the greatest ability in the important correspondence in which he was engaged, and during the troubles of the League, he strove to find a middle course from whence he might offer himself as a timid mediator among the opposing parties. In my writings upon the events of the sixteenth century, I have often spoken of that good Etienne Pasquier, with his ingenious talents and the exquisite tact he displayed in the evil times of civil war.

The direct progenitors of the subject of this memoir held an appointment in the parliament, and his father, Etienne Pasquier, councillor in the parliament of Paris, was denounced at the revolutionary tribunal and condemned to death on the 21st of April, 1794. His son was brought up at the College of Juilly, a fine institution, which has produced many distinguished characters. I have always admired the mild and careful system pursued by religious bodies, where the education of the heart and mind is as carefully attended to as that of the head, and which invested each professor with so paternal a character, that even the most ungrateful of his pupils could never entirely shake off the recollection; witness Voltaire and Diderot.

M. Pasquier had scarcely left college before he was appointed to a situation in the Parisian parliament, according to the custom observed in families of the legal profession, where the office of the father was inherited by the son. He did not long continue to wear the parliamentary habit; he was, however, enabled to be present at the solemn debates which took place in that assembly, and were terminated by the convocation of the States-general, and he there received his first lesson in political life. The magistracy were carried away in the general tempest, and the parliaments were destroyed by the revolution; the resistance to the royal prerogative had originated with them, and both were abolished at the same time.

Popular excitement is always ungrateful, and deals its first blow upon those by whom it has been assisted or fostered, thus affording an important lesson to demagogues or flatterers of the populace.

M. Pasquier did not emigrate during the revolutionary troubles; he was proscribed like all persons bearing a historic name, and at the age of twenty-six years he received a summons to appear before the committee of public safety, which was soon after succeeded by his being placed under arrest at St. Lazare, on the evening before the 9th Thermidor. The close of the reign of terror restored him to liberty, and the restoration of the property of condemned persons enabled him to retire to the estates of his family, which like those possessed by all the parliamentary races were covered with thick woods, in whose impenetrable retreats they were accustomed to seek shelter, in the evil days of exile, from their accustomed employments.

When order was restored under Napoleon, M. Pasquier returned to Paris, and appeared in society, especially at the house of M. CambacÉrÈs, who was partial to the old magisterial families, and his remarkable talents soon brought him into notice. At that period the Emperor was desirous of establishing a monarchical system upon elevated principles, and sought every where among men and things the materials for his purpose; every noble or influential name attracted his attention, for he was well aware of the power exercised by hereditary rank, and knew that past recollections have as much influence as present energy in the restoration of States. The Arch-chancellor CambacÉrÈs agreed in the Emperor's sentiments; and he, who was himself one of the enlightened magistrates of the Cour des Aides at Montpelier, suggested the name of M. Pasquier for the situation of Master of Requests. It is rather a remarkable circumstance that the memorial of the Arch-chancellor contained the names of three candidates, MM. de MolÉ, Pasquier, and Portalis; they all received appointments on the same day, and have never been separated in the course of their political life, their career having been facilitated and its importance augmented by the strong political friendship that subsisted between them, in spite of the difference in their age and capacity.

M. Pasquier, while master of requests at the Conseil d'Etat, was distinguished by his laborious attention and assiduity, at the time when improvement had assumed a serious and reflective form; he had passed his fortieth year when he was appointed attorney-general of the great seal, and afterwards Councillor of state. The State council was a powerful and important school; the Emperor, who entertained a strong antipathy towards all bodies that deliberated under the sanction of publicity, had a perfect horror of the representative system, and public speaking; he liked to collect suffrages, to listen to all opinions, reserving to himself the right of deciding upon them, and weighing them against each other in such a manner, that an imperial decree should never sanction an equivocal project or a bad measure. The council of state, composed of very eminent men, was the real corps politique; and even the title of Master of requests was not a common rank granted to aspirants of an inferior grade. In this anxious and laborious situation, the Masters of requests, attached to a section of the council, devoted their existence to it, and the great end and aim of their executive career was the situation of Councillor of state, a title of which the characters best known to fame were ambitious.

This close and incessant every-day application suited perfectly the studious mind of M. Pasquier; a generation of young men had sprung up, whose souls were entirely given up to assiduous attention to business, and who devoted themselves to the active and deliberative portion of the administration. The Master of requests had already received the title of Baron and officer of the legion of honour in reward of his services, when the dismissal of M. Dubois, after the melancholy burning of Prince Schwartzenburg's palace, left vacant the prefecture of police, an appointment originally instituted during the Consulate. The police was divided into two parts:—the political police, which was charged with the general safety of the kingdom and the surveillance of political parties, constantly in a state of commotion even under the heavy hand of Napoleon; it was always intrusted to the minister of a department, and the situation was at that time filled by General Savary; and the prefecture of police, an appointment of a more simple order, circumscribed within the walls of Paris, whose chief had charge of the ÉdilitÉ, that is to say, of the safety and cleanliness of the city and the inspection of the markets and provisions, all duties of considerable importance. The prefect of police also regulated the bulletins concerning the state of the public mind, so as to act as a check upon the minister of police. During the time of the Empire, each of these situations involved serious duties and considerable responsibility.

When appointed to the prefecture of police, M. Pasquier devoted himself entirely to the discharge of his official duties, and voluminous writings still exist upon the provisioning of the capital, and the method of multiplying magazines in the time of abundance; this had now become a question of great anxiety, occupying the serious attention of the government, for in the year 1811, the first symptoms of an alarming scarcity made their appearance. The price of bread had reached an exorbitant height, and people were constantly on the brink of a disturbance owing to the dearness of grain of all kinds. I have perused and analysed with the greatest attention the important writings of M. Pasquier under the empire, deposited in the archives of the prefecture of police.[26]

It must be recollected that Napoleon was then about to depart upon his Russian expedition, and it may easily be imagined that contending parties would give occasion to extreme anxiety during his adventurous campaign: how great was that entertained by the prefect of police! his nights were devoted to quieting the alarms excited by false bulletins, and strengthening the confidence of the people, for the prestige that surrounded Napoleon was beginning to disappear, a certain spirit of independence and animadversion was gradually gaining ground, and numerous caricatures, bons mots, and epigrams, attacked the moral power of the Emperor.

The romantic enterprise of General Mallet took place at this juncture; it was a prodigious act of boldness, shewing how slight was the tenure of Napoleon's power; one hour more, or one man less, and the most powerful empire of modern times would have been at an end! M. Pasquier has been reproached with having allowed himself to be surprised by the insurrection, but, in the first place, he had nothing to do with watching the formation of plots, that duty devolved upon M. Savary, the minister of police; and besides, to do justice to all parties, what vigilance can possibly foresee or control the plans conceived by one man in the silence of a prison? General Mallet was armed with a military power which it was in vain to resist, and M. Pasquier was surprised at the prefecture, hurried into a voiture de place and conveyed to the prison of La Force, with injunctions that he should be detained there until the provisional government was established. He was not liberated until after the suppression of the conspiracy, having steadily refrained from making any concessions to the conspirators, but merely submitting to the fate prepared for him by a military insurrection. A magistrate who gives way to the commands of unlawful authority, is guilty of betraying his trust; he ought to remain steadfast in his duty, even should violence cast him into a dungeon.

Napoleon formed a favourable judgment of the conduct of M. Pasquier, and continued him in his appointment of prefect of police, while M. Frochot, prefect of the Seine, was dismissed by the council of state, assembled to examine into the degree of culpability and negligence, to be attributed to the different functionaries in the sad affair of Mallet. The Emperor viewing matters from his elevated position, judged the prefect of police to be perfectly undeserving of blame or censure, as he had merely yielded to force, and it was utterly impossible for him either to foresee or to prevent a disturbance conducted in so unusual a manner; the most subtle and watchful mind could not have suspected the meditations indulged in by so adventurous a person as General Mallet; besides which, as I said before, General Savary had charge of the political police. This severe trial soon afforded M. Pasquier an opportunity of rendering an important service to the city of Paris, by the creation and organisation of the gendarmerie, which, under a different name, has on so many occasions greatly contributed to maintain the peace and security of the capital. He had before, in the year 1811, remodelled the corps of firemen,[27] whose devotion to their duty and noble courage deserves the highest praise.

The difficult circumstances of the times were increasing; if the management of the Parisian police was a hard task while the glory and prosperity of Napoleon were at their height, how much more delicate, and consequently more odious and watchful, was its office during the season of reverses and misfortune? Parties were now in commotion, people were no longer silent upon their desire of a change, and the probability such might be the case, and the enemy was rapidly approaching the capital: M. Pasquier fulfilled his duties to the very last moment, by the wise and firm administration of his office; he reduced the duties of his prefecture to the maintenance of public tranquillity, and the careful management of every thing relating to the repose and well-being of the city; thus returning to the original charge he had received from the Emperor,—attention to the safety and cleanliness of Paris, which were formerly almost the only duties required from the lieutenant of police.

When the artillery was heard in thunders upon the capital, the senatorial party and Talleyrand invited him to support the political alterations produced by circumstances, but it was not until the evening before the allies entered Paris, that he, like M. Chabrol,[28] prefect of the Seine, joined the movement which led to the restoration. The enemy were about to enter Paris, and it was necessary the public safety should not be endangered by any popular tumult; the influence of the prefect of police was therefore most essential, but it was merely passively exerted with regard to political events; it received an impulse from them, but did not communicate any. Talleyrand had formed a just estimate of the character of M. Pasquier, and attached great importance to obtaining his concurrence. It was he who prepared the proclamations urging the citizens to the maintenance of order; and he entered into a communication with Count Nesselrode and the allied generals, then taking possession of Paris. His connexion with diplomatic affairs dates from this difficult period, as well as his political career under the restoration; and when afterwards appointed minister for foreign affairs, the reminiscences of Paris in the year 1814 rose to his mind and were of great service to him in assisting the diplomatic arrangements of his cabinet.

A conciliatory character was manifested at the accession of the Bourbons, and the police ceased to possess the importance attached to its active administration during the reign of Napoleon; it was no longer a fit situation for a man of such abilities as M. Pasquier, he therefore resigned the prefecture, and was appointed by the king one of the council of state, and received, a few days afterwards, the situation of inspector-general of the bridges and causeways, an active and important appointment in a country where so much remained to be done for the improvement of the roads, and internal communication of the kingdom. He displayed in his new office the activity and laborious attention which characterised the imperial school, and the principal part of the great enterprises with regard to roads were executed under his direction. In France we think a great deal of public speeches and very little of improvement; and it is a singular fact that we, who are the most intelligent and industrious of nations, are at least twenty years behind our neighbours in every thing relating to roads: even Germany and Switzerland are far in advance of us. The commissioners for bridges and causeways, while they spend large sums of money, are faulty in their mode of administration, and do not make the most of their resources; M. Pasquier exerted himself to improve this vast branch of the public service, but his appointment was of short duration, for the march of Napoleon upon Paris put an end to all executive existence, and he was unemployed during the hundred days.

When the white flag of Louis XVIII. floated above the tower of St. Denis, M. Pasquier offered his services to the king; he was included in the first ministry of Talleyrand as keeper of the seals, and exercised at the same time the functions of minister for the interior, an appointment of extreme delicacy and difficulty in the crisis of that period. France was invaded by 700,000 strangers, the public mind was in a state of constant agitation, and the principles of the restoration had excited a deplorable reaction in several of the provinces; it thus became necessary to organise the system of the prefects, to repress the too ardent zeal occasionally exhibited, prevent the sanguinary vengeance of parties, and prepare and advance the election of upright persons of moderate views, in order to heal the wounds of the country. Nothing is easier than to judge people with severity after a lapse of years, and when events are long over; and thus the services rendered by some statesmen in seasons of peril are soon forgotten, or are but imperfectly appreciated by people, who are in the full enjoyment of peace and security, and therefore inclined to exercise a mathematical rectitude in their judgment of facts. If we look back upon the year 1815, after the double invasion and heavy military contributions, we shall see that it was impossible for a government to display more exemplary moderation, before the face of a victorious party, to whose conditions it had been compelled to submit. M. Pasquier followed the fortunes of Prince Talleyrand; he gave in his resignation and was succeeded by M. de BarbÉ-Marbois.

He had however, always been strongly inclined towards the moderate system which gained the ascendant under the Richelieu ministry, and shortly after its formation he was appointed one of the commissioners for the liquidation of the foreign debts; it was a post of great confidence, for if the laws of honesty were set aside, enormous fortunes might soon be amassed. M. Pasquier's integrity was unimpeachable, and he was the worthy colleague of M. Mounier, the most honest man belonging to the noble Richelieu school.

He was elected by the department of the Seine as their representative, and on taking his seat in the chamber of deputies, after the ordonnance of the 3d of September, he was nominated president; from this parliamentary position, he again passed into the ministry in the month of January 1817, the Duc de Richelieu having caused him to be appointed keeper of the seals.

A conciliatory system was predominant in the whole of M. Pasquier's ministerial conduct at this period, and he was the first to enlarge at the tribune upon the principles of the liberty of the press and the responsibility of editors. There was still too much irritation in people's minds, and the country still too much overwhelmed, to allow the independence of the newspapers to be safely established as a principle; books and pamphlets only were free, for a gradual approach was making towards liberty, and the opinions laid down by M. Pasquier are still considered as law upon the subject. The degree of responsibility was perfectly well regulated, and the minister's motives are clearly explained, and expressed with an elevation of principle and closeness of reasoning which distinguish the true parliamentary style. In England statesmen are in the habit of publishing their speeches, because they form the record of their lives.

When the Duc de Richelieu's ministry was dissolved in the latter part of the year 1817, M. Pasquier had no hesitation in retiring from office with the noble negotiator of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. M. Dessolle was at the head of the new ministry, and M. Decaze naturally filled a post of the highest importance in it; but the movement which was about to incline them towards the ideas of the parti gauche was too decided to make it possible M. Pasquier should join them; and it soon became apparent to him that the law of elections, although commendable for its simplicity, was still liable to produce evil results. He possessed very remarkable influence over the course of affairs, in spite of his having retired from office; and one of his political habits was always to compose a memorial upon every situation that occurred, for he liked to observe men and circumstances as from an eminence, so as to enlighten those in authority. In the month of October 1819, he presented a memorial to Louis XVIII. upon the proceedings of the ministry, calling attention to the faults they had committed and the bad effects of the law of elections; and he considered the situation of affairs to be such as to render an immediate change necessary in the government of the country.

Accordingly when the ministry of M. Decaze decided upon modifying the law of elections, M. Pasquier was offered an appointment; he did not resume the situation of keeper of the seals, but undertook the direction of foreign affairs; our situation with regard to our foreign relations having assumed a serious aspect, it was necessary they should be under the charge of a minister quite resolved to resist any tendency towards a spirit of revolution. M. Decaze lost office after the assassination of the Duc de Berry; and on the formation of the second Richelieu ministry, M. Pasquier retained the situation of minister for foreign affairs, only with the proviso that he was to consult the noble duke upon points relating to diplomatic matters. The Duc de Richelieu, from his connexion with the various cabinets of Europe, must have inspired great confidence in diplomatic proceedings of importance.

From this period the existence of M. Pasquier was divided into two distinct portions, the one being passed at the tribune, and the other devoted to business. I am not acquainted with any session when the debates were more violent or more contested than that of 1820; the speeches were remarkable for their eloquence, the names of General Foy, of Camille Jordan, and Benjamin Constant, appeared, beside those of Casimir PÉrier and Lafitte; each question was decided by a small majority, and it was necessary to modify the law of elections, and determine upon measures rendered indispensable by the circumstances succeeding the death of the Duc de Berry. The superiority of M. Pasquier's abilities was evident during this long session, where he was incessantly in the tribune, opposing, in the most decided and authoritative manner, the orators of the liberal party. When an alarming tumult took place in the public square, M. Pasquier appeared at the tribune to denounce the instigators of the disturbances, undismayed by the threats and vociferations of the revolutionary parti gauche. He spoke without disguise or circumlocution, and as to the phrase with which he has been so much reproached, sur l'arbitraire,[29] is it any thing beyond a simple declaration of what the government was desirous of obtaining, and requested from the power authorised to grant it? Every thing that was obtained had demanded incredible efforts, and whatever may have been said of the session of 1820 by those under the influence of party spirit, it was undoubtedly the finest period of the representative system, recalling the times of Pitt, Grenville, and Dundas, opposed to Fox, Erskine, and Sheridan.

M. Pasquier's situation was not less difficult as minister for foreign affairs; for the revolutionary spirit had declared itself almost simultaneously in Spain, Naples, and PiÉmont. France, it is true, adopted the repressive system, and in this respect agreed with the plan suggested at the congresses of Laybach and Troppau; nevertheless the minister for foreign affairs could not overlook the material interests of France; the Austrians, desirous of marching upon PiÉmont and Naples, wanted to occupy definitively both these places, and how was it possible France should not feel uneasy at the sight of the German standards unfurled beyond the Alps, and extending even as far as Savoy? A series of notes passed on this occasion between M. Pasquier and Prince Metternich; and it was positively decided between the two ministers, that if the Austrian occupation should be necessary, it should be strictly limited to such a period, as would neither affect the consideration nor the importance of France. Metternich faithfully fulfilled this engagement, and the evacuation of PiÉmont took place at the stipulated time.

If you consult any of the persons employed in the foreign office, they will speak of M. Pasquier's assiduous attention to his work, and of his perfect capability of bringing a negotiation to the termination he wished; and they will also tell you he shewed extreme judgment, in all the great difficulties incident to a situation so liable to constant change of circumstances.

A complete rupture had taken place with the old liberal system; and to insure success in this enterprise, the Richelieu ministry had been obliged to apply to the ultra-royalist party. At the commencement of the session of 1821, the council decided upon adding MM. de la CorbiÈre, de VillÈle, and LainÉ, to the cabinet; it was a great mistake, it was either granting too much or too little; for, in fact, what figure could they make in the cabinet as ministers without appointments, and yet chiefs of the majority? And what was the consequence? secret dissensions, as might naturally be expected, arose from the very commencement of the attempted coalition; consultations were held in the king's council, after which, MM. de VillÈle and CorbiÈre privately expressed their dissatisfaction, and revealed the designs of the ministry to their colleagues on the cÔtÉ droit in the Piet society; quarrels naturally suceeded, which eventually led to the rupture that took place after the session of 1821.

The royalists, in general, entertained an extreme dislike to M. Pasquier, and a great part of the cÔtÉ droit could could not endure him.[30] All the opposition towards the end of the session was directed against him, till, at last, his patience was exhausted, and he assumed a high tone with the Ultras by openly and unhesitatingly declaring his inclinations and his repugnances, expressing himself with so much boldness and freedom that the whole of the parti droit declared war to him. M. Pasquier wanted to have done with the whole business; his situation fatigued him, and, foreseeing the downfall of the ministry, he obtained a seat in the upper chamber, being made a peer of France in the course of the month of November 1821. The ministry of the Duc de Richelieu had resigned office on the occasion of the address, and the Duc de Montmorency assumed the charge of foreign affairs.

M. Pasquier took his seat in the upper chamber, at that time a powerful institution possessed of hereditary rank, property, and the majorats. The prospects of the young peerage were very great, and evidence was soon afforded of what they were capable of doing, by their constant opposition to the faults and ill-judged proceedings of the restoration. M. Pasquier, placing himself on the same benches as the statesmen of the Richelieu party, made a point of speaking upon every subject that came before the house, and the judgment and deep thought which characterised his discourses, caused them to exercise great influence over the chamber. He spoke against the rights of primogeniture, the creation of the three per cents, and the law of sacrilege; and his speeches were often the means of deciding the question by their influence on the majority obtained. He placed himself in constant and direct opposition to the VillÈle cabinet, which occasioned a strange advance in revolutionary ideas, by the constant injury it inflicted upon the interests and affections of modern France.

There was not quite the same vehemence of debate in the chamber of peers as in that of the deputies, but it attained to more certain results. There was a degree of quiet, and at the same time great political judgment, in the discussions, not allowing themselves to be carried away by the spirit of party, but continuing so steadily to advance towards the downfall of M. de VillÈle's ministry, that we may safely assert, the retirement of the royalist cabinet of the restoration was owing to their efforts. It must be confessed, this opposition was rather against the order of things; an aristocratic power which opposed the elements of an aristocratic constitution, was not in good keeping; but the fault lay with the party of the restoration, which interfered too hastily with the new ideas and prejudices prevalent in France.

The chamber of peers obtained a complete triumph; although weakened by successive promotions,[31] its influence over the elections of 1827 was very great. The Martignac ministry was formed upon the principles of the Richelieu administration, that is to say, with the upright intentions that characterised the statesmen of that noble school. M. Pasquier naturally assumed his proper degree of ascendancy over that administration; the bond of recollections and of similarity of principles united him with M. Portalis, the keeper of the seals; and it was repeatedly proposed that he should resume the charge of the foreign office, his name having even been suggested by the council of the ministers after the retirement of M. de la Ferronays. Charles X. however negatived the appointment when the list of the candidates was presented to him, for he did not wish to have any man of importance in a ministry which could only be of transitory duration; and certain prejudices, dating from the year 1815, which had never been effaced from the king's mind, first made him prefer M. de Rayneval, and afterwards, finding the influence of that able diplomatist upon the two chambers not sufficiently powerful, M. de Portalis was appointed minister for foreign affairs.

The formation of the Polignac ministry occasioned great uneasiness to the political party, which was always composed of men of eminent talents, and desirous of the establishment and preservation of order; they observed with great anxiety the impending crisis, and they dreaded the fatal struggle likely to be attempted by the party of the restoration. All these experienced minds were well acquainted with Charles X.; they knew that with all the advantages of his chivalrous disposition, his undoubted uprightness of mind, his thoroughly French character, he still had an unfortunate inclination for coups d'État, and extravagant actions that might compromise the safety of his government. The corps diplomatique were equally uneasy, and confidential communications took place between them and the political party, expressing their sense of the danger and agitation likely to be caused by a coup d'État; they were consequently less surprised than alarmed by the promulgation of the ordonnances of July. The political party held itself in reserve during the popular crisis, and when order was a little restored, it confined itself to giving a monarchical bias to society, as the only means of preserving France from a foreign or domestic war. As soon as the charter had restored the balance of power, and the monarchical form of government, M. Pasquier was appointed president of the chamber of peers.

He had hardly taken his seat before he had to encounter the trial of the ministers of Charles X., the chamber of peers having been converted into a court of justice. We must look back upon the feelings of that time, and remember the storm of passion that roared around,—the tumult that was excited! Those parties who seek their own advantage in every thing wanted to profit by the solemnity of these trials to occasion disorder; this sovereign people, these heroes of the barricades, thirsted after the blood of the imprudent ministers of Charles X.; shouts and yells were heard recalling the days of horror of the first revolution, the national guard was devoid of energy, and the troops of the line discouraged by the check they had received at the barricades. Matters were in this state, when the chamber of peers was called upon to deliberate in the midst of tumult and disorder, and history will confess that it proved itself worthy of better times, by refusing to sanction the sanguinary vengeance so loudly demanded by the populace. Some degree of strength of mind and courage was required, when crowds of people, agitated like a troubled sea, threatened to invade the Luxembourg and assassinate all the members of the chamber; nevertheless the peers resisted, and a sentence of imprisonment alone was pronounced, which could hardly be considered as a punishment, because in seasons of political troubles, if people escape with their lives, there is no doubt that in due time the popular fury will subside, and permit their restoration to liberty and civil existence. The prudence and talents of M. Pasquier did admirable service to the cause of justice and order at this juncture.

It was no doubt to reward the spirit of moderation evinced by the peers on this occasion, that the parties made haste to deprive them of their right to hereditary succession. The first blow aimed at the importance of this assembly was evidently the clause in the charter, which annulled the peerages created by Charles X. The peerage was thus deprived of its indelible character, it was now no more than an office capable of being revoked, and of which one might be deprived almost like a prefecture; what sort of aristocracy could be formed of such elements? The next step was to take away the hereditary transmission of the peerage, majorats were abolished, it was reduced to a mere office for life, without power or influence upon the government. From the time the peers consented to vote away their hereditary rights, they became a mere council of elders, a kind of chapel of ease to the chamber of deputies; the chamber of peers was converted into a sort of noble hospital, where the wounded among the old political or military ranks might seek repose. The chamber of peers no longer possessed inviolability, hereditary rank, or property; from henceforth it could no longer be an aristocratic body capable of resisting a democratic impulse, but its sole greatness must consist in the superiority of intelligence, the extensive experience, and great political ability it possessed, and which no other body could dispute with it.

Parties were not yet overcome, and a despairing effort had been made by the republican party in the streets of Paris: the sword of justice still hung suspended over many of the accused, and in virtue of the charter all these offences were referred for trial to the chamber of peers. It was said at that time in the newspapers, and even at the tribune, that these trials would not take place; "It was impossible," repeated they, "that the accused should be summoned before an old worn-out body, like the chamber of peers." I must mention that M. Pasquier's personal opinion had in the first instance been in favour of an amnesty, and he wrote a memorial in which his motives were clearly explained, but when the government decided that course to be impossible, he comprehended the full extent of his duty as a magistrate. People may recollect the firmness, the gravity, the patience, even the haughtiness exhibited by the president of the court, during these debates; he retained his superiority over these excited and straightforward minds, and over the hearts of the young men who were animated by patriotism and elevation of feeling. Not a single sentence of death was pronounced, all the punishments were mild, and the prisoners were able to profit by the amnesty shortly afterwards granted to the solicitations of M. Pasquier.

The trial of Fieschi was going on almost at the same time, after the atrocious crime which had filled Paris with horror and bloodshed. History will, perhaps, deprecate the too great consideration exhibited towards Fieschi, and blame the undue attention shewn to that sanguinary mountebank, who declaimed at the bar of justice like a street orator. One of the prisoners alone had something remarkable in his appearance and character; this was the aged Morey, a faithful specimen of the old Jacobins, whose erroneous opinions are deserving of pity, because he sealed them with his blood. This abuse was remedied in the affair of Alibeau, by assigning a subordinate rank to that miserable trial, with which the chamber of peers was burdened. On this occasion the scene was restrained within due proportions, the reward of celebrity was no longer conferred upon all those who dreamed of murder and assassination, and the alteration produced so good an effect, that during the last trial, that of Meunier, public curiosity was scarcely excited, and the crime was abandoned to its proper obscurity.

The great exertions M. Pasquier was compelled to make injured his health, but had no effect upon the great qualities of his mind, or upon the activity and skill in the management of affairs, which always particularly distinguished men of the political party. I believe no circumstance of importance has occurred during the last seven years, upon which he has not been consulted. It is said he exercised great influence on the formation of Casimir Perier's ministry; at all events, his habit of preparing memorials, and of examining closely into all the circumstances likely to produce any striking effect upon public life, has often decided the resolutions of government, and his connexion with the cabinet, and with the principal diplomatic characters, has always facilitated the direction of affairs. He rarely takes them in hand himself, but, like Talleyrand, he makes people act without personally appearing; occupying thus, perhaps, a more elevated position than if he were openly at the head of the government.

He is a man of great experience and of extreme readiness of mind; add to which, I never knew a man more assiduously devoted to his work; and it is worthy of remark, that at the very time he was engaged in taking part in all the most active and violent questions of government, he found leisure to write more than twenty volumes upon the history of his own times. His positive determination not to allow any of his manuscripts to see the light during his lifetime, and even to forbid too early a publication of them after his death, is a sure pledge of the perfect independence of men and circumstances, with which he has devoted himself to so great a work. This constant habit of occupation, and study of facts, enlarges the ideas, and nothing gives a more exalted tone to the minds of statesmen. In the present day we are apt to throw ourselves into political life without any preliminary study; and because we know how to write a few sentences, or that we have uttered a few words at the tribune, we consider ourselves equal to the task of governing a country. Far different is the English method! Political life among our neighbours is a great duty, an entire and constant devotion to the subject; history, diplomacy, administration, in fact every thing must be learned by a public man who aspires to the honour of the ministry, or to a confidential situation for the service of his country.

M. Pasquier had attained his sixty-eighth year at the time he was invested with the dignity of chancellor of France, he had been president of the chamber of peers ever since the revolution of July.

This elevated situation was well suited to a Pasquier, the descendant of a family which had held magisterial office for the last two centuries, and the present chancellor answers perfectly to the idea his ancestors had formed of the office he holds.

There are few men in modern times who, like the magistrates of old, devote a certain portion of their leisure hours to study and to writing; all their country residences and their thick forests are redolent of their recollections and their learning; such are Malesherbes, Baville, and ChamplÂtreux.

M. Pasquier's private life is very simple; he inhabits the apartments of the petit chÂteau at the Luxembourg, leaving the great palace to M. Decaze. No person is easier of access; he speaks rapidly, and apprehends and resolves questions with admirable perspicuity; his habits are very industrious, and reading is his favourite occupation; there is no time thrown away with him, for he contrives to make even his visits a matter of business.

Perhaps he has been appreciated as president of the judicial court and of the chamber. He exhibits the most perfect impartiality in his regulation of the debates in the court of justice. His dislike to useless words and lawyers' speeches, which are of no use either to direct or enlighten, is very great, and he always exercises a degree of firmness without severity, which abridges the proceedings without in any way interfering with the defence of the accused. As president of the chamber, he never separates himself from an idea or opinion in politics: it has been written that the president of a chamber ought not to have an opinion, but I think differently, for he is the expression of a majority, and essentially the man of a system, and therefore I think he ought to form his own opinion; he cannot allow every thing to be said or to be done, and it would be very fortunate if the president possessed authority to put a stop to all idle debates; we sink under the press of words in France, when shall we come to business?

The political school of the restoration, of which M. Pasquier was one of the most eminent chiefs, is gradually disappearing; it was the heir of the moral and intellectual portion of the empire, and must have afforded great strength of support to the Bourbons. Every time that adverse parties have seized the reins of government by means of its expulsion, the most serious catastrophes have ensued; it is fortunate for the existence of kingdoms, and to preserve them from dangers occasioned by the prevalence of excitement, that some men of sense and reflection still exist, of a calm and prophetic turn of mind, who render the transition between one system and another almost imperceptible, and contrive that, in our capricious country, the only definitive system should have been linked with moderation and a constitutional government, which assumes its proper superiority after a long struggle of adverse parties.