Among the admirable works that have emanated from the pencil of Lawrence, the reader must have observed a countenance with a melancholy expression, and a high forehead shaded by locks prematurely blanched; the mild intelligent eyes, delicate nose, and firmly compressed mouth, are indicative of a mind of a superior order, but at the age of scarcely fifty years this countenance, whose nobleness and simplicity of expression are remarkable, conveys the idea of a man worn out with the troubles and anxieties of life; and I may almost add, by whom its vanities and illusions are viewed in their true colours. It is a mixture of the Frenchman of noble descent, and of the highest Russian nobility, who live so fast. This portrait was painted by Lawrence at Aix-le-Chapelle, and the original was distinguished during his childhood by the title of Comte de Chinon; in youth he was called Duc de Fronsac, and he finally inherited the title of Duc de Richelieu.

The political systems of all ages are personified by certain statesmen, who were their representatives. Since the commencement of the eighteenth century, France has been constantly placed between two preponderating interests; these are, 1st, an alliance with England, effected during the regency, and overturned by Louis XV. at Fontenoy; then resumed by the treaties of 1783 and 1785; again broken by the convention, with expressions of contempt and violence, in 1793; renewed for a moment under Talleyrand in 1814, when it was destroyed by the personal influence of the Emperor Alexander; and finally restored for a short time in 1833, by the feeble treaty between France, England, Spain and Portugal. 2dly, the Russian alliance, of more modern date, though naturally very suitable to the interests of France. It was first attempted by means of the embassy of M. de SÉgur, under Louis XVI.; was restored by Napoleon at Erfurt, until the disastrous campaign of Moscow; resumed in 1815, and supported by the ministries of the Duc de Richelieu in 1816, and M. de la Ferronays in 1828, until Prince Polignac brought back the English system. After the revolution of July the diplomatic projects of Prince Polignac were resumed, with this sole difference, that Talleyrand attempted with the Whigs what the ministers of Charles X. had endeavoured to effect with the Tories.

I am about to write the life of the Duc de Richelieu as the personification of the Russian alliance, which I shall consider in all its various stages, from the period of the Restoration; and this is an era of very great importance in diplomatic history, for we are living under the treaties of 1814 and 1815. Those concluded at Vienna, at Aix-la-Chapelle, at Troppau, and Laybach, form the basis of our present relations with the rest of Europe.

Armand Emanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, well known in his early youth under the name of Comte de Chinon, was born at Paris on the 25th of September, 1766; his father was the Duc de Fronsac, son of the old Marshal Richelieu, and his mother was a daughter of the house of Hautefort. Paris was full of the endowments of his ancestor the great cardinal, whose purple robe was the glory of his family; and it was at the college of Plessis, founded by him, that the Comte de Chinon first commenced his education, and was tolerably successful in his studies, especially in acquiring the various languages of Europe; for he learned to speak Italian, German, and English with facility, and at a later period Russian became as familiar to him as French. At the age of fourteen he was married to a daughter of the noble house of Rochechouart, and the young count and his little wife, who was just thirteen years of age, went to travel for some years, according to the custom that prevailed at that time among families of rank: he visited Italy, the country of the fine arts, to admire the works of the old masters, and the ancient cities, whose renown had once overspread the world. On the first breaking out of our domestic troubles the young nobleman hastened to offer his services to his menaced sovereign, and on the 5th and 6th of October, 1789, he proceeded on foot and alone to Versailles, and making his way through the assembled mob of ragged men and women, he went to warn the court of the danger with which it was threatened. As if in anticipation of his future diplomatic career, Louis XVI. employed him a few days afterwards on a mission to Joseph II., a sovereign who patronised reform; and he discharged it with the silent discretion so necessary to be observed in the relations of the king with foreigners, at a time when he was so closely watched and surrounded by the spies of the people. The Comte de Chinon, under the title of Duc de Fronsac, was already distinguished for the uprightness of his character; political intrigues did not suit his frank and open disposition, and he therefore quitted Vienna and hastened to the siege of Ismael, celebrated by Lord Byron in his poem of "Don Juan." Many of the French nobility were serving in the armies of Catherine II., and the Duc de Fronsac fought by the side of Count Roger de Damas at the taking of the redoubt, where, according to the sarcastic rhymes of the poet, the cannon that thundered upon the besiegers were as numerous as the lovers of the licentious empress. The Duc de Fronsac was slightly wounded, and Catherine sent him a gold-hilted sword and the order of St. George. He also accepted the rank of Colonel in the Russian army, when he inherited the illustrious title of Richelieu upon the death of his father.

When Monsieur, afterwards Louis XVIII., made an appeal to the old and noble families among his countrymen, calling upon them to serve under the white banner, the Duc de Richelieu joined the army assembled to fight for the ancient crown of France; and after the unfortunate termination of the campaign of 1792, when the Prince of CondÉ requested an asylum in Russia for the French exiles, he was despatched by the Empress Catherine to arrange with the Prince the plan of a colony, to be established on the shores of the sea of Azof: it was to consist entirely of men of birth, and this idea was of some service when the noble foundation of Odessa took place; but in a military crisis like this, how was it possible to conceive and follow out a project involving a regular system of administration?

At the siege of Valenciennes by the coalesced armies, the Duc de Richelieu commanded a company of men of noble birth. There was something glorious and honourable in this emigration, which followed the fortunes of the royal banner as their ancestors had done that of Henry IV; and we must not judge their proceedings according to our little party prejudices. After the victorious republic had reconquered her frontiers he returned to Russia, and became colonel of a cuirassier regiment; but the Emperor Paul was then on the throne, and with his usual harshness and brutality of disposition he punished the Duke for his personal attachment to the Czarewitch Alexander, by depriving him of his regiment; he even went so far as to forbid him to appear at St. Petersburg: for with a degree of imperial egotism the Czar expected devotion should be exhibited to himself alone. Such being the cause of his exile, it is hardly necessary to say, that on the accession of Alexander he was restored to his former rank, with every mark of the sovereign's favour; and the esteem and confidence entertained for him by Alexander, at this early period, was of the greatest service to France during the events that took place in the year 1815. Even then the Duke was fully sensible of the importance of an alliance between France and Russia, two countries whose interests are constantly meeting without its being possible they should clash; but at this time people could not even dream of the restoration of the royal dynasty—no event could appear less likely to occur.

After peace was concluded with Russia in 1801, the Duke took the opportunity of returning to France and collecting the remains of the enormous fortune of his ancestors, for the sake of paying the debts of his father and grandfather, both of whom had greatly involved their patrimony by their insane prodigality: this was his sole object; and he abandoned the whole of his rights to the creditors, retaining for himself nothing of that immense inheritance. It was certainly giving evidence of a most noble disposition! The Duc de Richelieu, prime minister of Louis XVIII., and great-nephew of the celebrated cardinal, did not himself possess an income of more than 20,000 francs![41]

Buonaparte was at the summit of his consular glory when the illustrious name of Richelieu was presented to him; and he who attached a great value to names of historic celebrity, and who was also a great admirer of the iron-handed minister, offered the Duke employment in his army: but he refused it, and is it possible to blame him for so doing? He was a man of high and ancient descent, warmly attached to the House of Bourbon, and resolved not to serve in a French army except under the royal banner: his refusal, however, rendered it necessary he should immediately quit Paris; and on his return to the Emperor Alexander he was entrusted with the execution of rather a difficult task, being appointed to the government of the southern portion of that immense empire. All the provinces on the borders of the Black Sea had been converted into uncultivated deserts by the ravages of war, and the barbarous ignorance of the Mussulman inhabitants rendered them incapable of repairing the mischief—in fact, the old Roman colonies of the Palus Meotides no longer existed except in name; and in repeopling this desert, the closest and most careful surveillance was necessary for the purpose of introducing European customs and civilisation. In the beginning of 1803, the Duke was appointed Governor of Odessa, and he was afterwards employed in the general administration of New Russia—a country where the climate is mild and genial, and which is like Italy, only devoid of the arts and of cultivation: institutions had been commenced, but nothing was completed, and in a city of considerable extent there were hardly 5000 inhabitants.[42] M. de Richelieu, without the slightest hesitation, had recourse to the measures necessary for improving this state of things, even though he sometimes offended ancient customs and selfish interests; but it is only by means of absolute power that great reforms can be accomplished. Every thing appeared to have received new life; commerce, set free from the bonds by which she was before shackled, made a rapid advance, and the population of Odessa was in a short time doubled. The administration of the governor extended from the vast countries of the Dniester to the Kouban and the Caucasus; and the colonies of German Anabaptists, by whom more than one hundred villages were peopled, first set the example of agriculture upon the most enlightened system, so that, in a short time, immense fields of corn displayed their waving verdure on plains which, formerly, scarcely afforded to the Tartars pasturage for their cattle.

It became necessary to establish a sort of feudal system to defend the country against the invasions of the Circassians, armed, as in the time of the Crusades, with golden helms and knightly mail; and the Duke, brave, devoted to his undertaking, and desirous of glory, became the military chieftain of the colony. It was impossible the establishments on the Black Sea should attain their full greatness until Circassia should have submitted to the Russian government; this conquest the Russian cabinet is at present accomplishing.[43]

To set a limit to the depredations of the Circassians, the governor was repeatedly compelled to penetrate into their mountains at the head of some Russian regiments; he neglected nothing that could lead to the diffusion of the benefits of European society in that barbarous country, and several young Circassians, whom the fortune of war or other events had placed in his hands, were carefully educated under his superintendence, instructed in our arts, accustomed to our manners, and then restored to their homes to dwell among their countrymen, whose customs and habits might be softened and improved by their example: such was the custom of the ancient Romans with regard to their vanquished nations. This active administration continued during the plague which devastated Odessa in the year 1813; and the Duke then displayed the utmost firmness and energy, though he was obliged more than once to have recourse to the military power, which in Russia is always confounded with the civil administration. But it would be necessary to visit Odessa to form a just estimate of all he has effected there; he appeared to have inherited the creative genius of the great cardinal.

A new field soon opened before him. The events of 1814 had brought about the restoration of the Bourbons, and the influence of the Emperor Alexander reigned paramount over the proceedings of the senate which prepared the fall of Napoleon. Louis XVIII., who was a prince of a touchy disposition, and very ceremonious habits, had but very little inclination for the Duc de Richelieu, for he could not forgive his having preferred filling a high and important situation in Russia to the dignity of an attendant upon his exiled person; nevertheless, he restored the peerage to his family, as well as the situation of first gentilhomme du roi. The Duke was not in office during the first restoration, and he employed himself in studying the new spirit that had arisen in his country, after so many domestic troubles; for he was sufficiently aware of the state of affairs to comprehend that events exercise an irresistible power in the modification of the character, and that when a person is desirous of bringing a revolution to a close, it is necessary to make incessant concessions to men and circumstances, and submit to unavoidable acts of necessity: these, no doubt, are painful duties, but are we not all called to wear the crown of thorns?

Totally unconnected with the negotiations of 1814, which were entirely in the hands of Prince Talleyrand, the Duc de Richelieu may be said to have spent the first restoration in renewing his acquaintance with his country. He had quitted it a young man, and since then what marvellous events, what a new existence, had taken place! Property had been invaded, the homes of his forefathers pillaged! The domestic hearth no longer existed—even the tombs were violated and the bones of the dead were cast out; and this in the midst of a revolutionary society, which attached guilt even to the tears of the victims! The events of the 20th of March were caused by a fatal reaction in the minds of the soldiery, and a democratic hatred against the unfortunate nobility of France; and the Duc de Richelieu accompanied the ancient banner of his country into voluntary exile.

On his return for the second time, Louis XVIII. intrusted Talleyrand with the formation of a ministry based upon the English system; nevertheless, the chief of the cabinet was well aware that Russia must necessarily exercise very considerable influence over the negotiations relating to France, and he proposed M. de Richelieu as minister of the king's household, with the idea this choice would be agreeable to the Emperor Alexander: the appointment, however, was not accepted, for the Duke had an extreme repugnance to be seated beside the regicide FouchÉ; besides which, he was well aware that Alexander was displeased at the aspect of a ministry so entirely devoted to England, and which had been formed under the ascendancy of the Duke of Wellington. I have already mentioned the causes that broke up Talleyrand's ministry; after its dissolution, Louis XVIII. considered that the Russian influence would alone be capable of procuring for us some alleviation of the heavy burdens imposed by the invasion, for the Czar was the only party whose interest was not concerned in the affair; and it is necessary to read the diplomatic correspondence of Lord Castlereagh and the German diplomatists to judge how overwhelming were the conditions imposed by the Allies. Their crushing demands, their deplorable ultimatum, had been published; the negotiations did not advance, while, at the same time, the disastrous condition of the country was aggravated by the presence of a million of foreigners. It was in order to obtain the powerful support of the Emperor of Russia that the king appointed the Duc de Richelieu minister for foreign affairs, and president of the council; thus assigning him a double and most difficult office.

Still nobody was better fitted than the Duke to hasten the conclusion of the treaty; nobody had so much reason to hope he might succeed in abating its severity. The Czar felt the utmost confidence in the noble governor of Odessa, and he was not ignorant that France had but little to hope for in point of support from her neighbours, who had been too long irritated by the weight of her power. Russia alone had nothing to claim from her, and she was furthermore inclined to lend her assistance, as to a faithful ally in the south of Europe. The Duke was well convinced of all these circumstances, and he took care to represent to the Czar, that all the importance lost by France would be so much added to the strength and power of her rivals, and would increase the superiority of Austria and Prussia. Alexander's inclinations were favourable to our country, and by drawing out these kindly feelings the Duke was enabled to fulfil the immense task that had been imposed upon him. Let us take a retrospect of the afflicting state of our invaded land in the year 1815. 700,000 soldiers occupied the country, the people of Germany were in a state of extreme irritation, and the remains of the seditious and disorganised army on the other side of the Loire had been disbanded with great difficulty; add to which, the treasury was exhausted, and the course of the contributions interrupted by a long abuse of power. Surely it required a mind of no common energy to grapple with a situation so fraught with difficulty and disaster! In quiet times diplomacy is a work of skill and address, a polished interchange of political generalities, and some plans proposed for future accomplishment; but at this time, when we must recollect that Paris was in the hands of an imperious and vindictive enemy, what could we expect from the magnanimity of conquerors so long humbled and trampled upon by French domination? Under these fearful auspices the course of the negotiation was intrusted to the Duc de Richelieu, just at the decisive moment when, after a most stormy debate, the plenipotentiaries had come to an agreement concerning the sacrifices they were determined to exact from France. The most ruinous projects were maintained by England, Austria, and Prussia, their demands being comprehended between four points, viz. the cession of a territory, including the posts of CondÉ, Philippeville, Givet, Marienburg, Charlemont, Sarrelouis, and Landau, and the forts of Joux and Ecluse; the demolition of the fortifications of Hunningen; the payment of an indemnity of 800 millions; and the occupation of the frontiers by an army of 150,000 men, kept up at the expense of France for seven years. England insisted particularly that the chain of fortresses on the northern frontier should be so closely curbed, that Dunkirk should be the last in the possession of the French. The country was to be restored to the limits it occupied in the days of Henry IV., and a party, dating its birth from the national excitement which roused Germany against Napoleon, considered it undoubted that Alsace and Lorraine were to be reunited to the Germanic confederation. The map which represented France deprived of these fine provinces had already been designed by the German geographers, and it has since been preserved as a glorious trophy in the Richelieu family.

Deeply affected by these resolutions, the minister drew up a memorial addressed to the Emperor Alexander, and expressed with the conscientious energy of an honest man. "France," said he, "in regaining her sovereigns, ought also to recover the territory they governed, otherwise the restoration would be incomplete." The minister depicted, with the fervour inspired by deep conviction, the despair of a great people, and the prospective consequences to be feared from it; for, at the first opportunity, France would again fly to arms. This remonstrance made a great impression upon Alexander, and though it was not possible to induce the allied powers to agree to the general idea contained in it, at least the Duke succeeded in obtaining that the important posts of CondÉ, Givet, and Charlemont, and the forts of Joux and Ecluse, should not be included in the territorial cessions. The pecuniary indemnity also was diminished by 100 millions of francs, and it was determined the military occupation should not exceed five years, and might possibly terminate at the end of three. The French minister signed the memorable treaty on the 20th of November, 1815, and it bears honourable witness to the sadness that oppressed his heart.[44] He had succeeded in obtaining great and noble advantages for his country, but he bore the name of Richelieu, and was the great-nephew of the celebrated cardinal who had so greatly augmented the monarchy, and he could not, without pain and grief, see the smallest particle of its grandeur torn away. The speech he made five days afterwards bears the stamp of patriotic sorrow and dignified resignation, and it was impossible, while listening to it, not to feel that the minister had yielded solely because the conquerors were inexorable, rendering the measure of imperious necessity.

The cares incident to so important a negotiation had not led the Duke to neglect the internal administration of the country; and while the chambers sanctioned the extraordinary powers required by the government to repress the old and turbulent spirit of Liberalism, the ministry was occupied in taking just and solemn measures against those who, by favouring the return of Buonaparte, had led to the misfortunes of their country, and authorised these terrible reprisals. The fatal trial of Marshal Ney was the first that took place; and now that political ideas are clearer, and we are no longer carried away by declamation, the motives of the great debate that ensued are easily explained. The marshal was summoned before a council of war, by an ordonnance signed under the ministry of FouchÉ and Talleyrand; and this council having declared itself incompetent, the marshal ought to have been tried by the House of Peers, this being the natural order of jurisdiction. The Duc de Richelieu, on the 11th of November, 1815, carried to the chamber the royal ordonnance, which constituted it a court of justice, and, with his heart still full of the sad sacrifices that had been exacted from his country, he expressed himself with warmth and firmness against the authors of the revolution of the Hundred Days; for was it not the actions of those people that had brought a million of foreigners into our land? After the condemnation of the marshal, the Duke, desirous of calming the unruly passions that raged in the country, presented a bill for a general amnesty to the two chambers, in which there were no exceptions, except the names contained in a list drawn up by FouchÉ. During seasons of agitation, parties always go beyond the plans proposed by governments, and upon this project the chamber of 1815 established its system of categories; and the regicides were banished the kingdom, contrary to the personal opinion of Louis XVIII. In the course of the discussion it was proposed to confiscate the property of condemned and banished persons, but Richelieu rejected the measure, saying that "confiscations rendered the evils of war irreparable." And how much generosity was exhibited in this conduct, when we consider that the Duke had himself been deprived, by the most implacable confiscations, of all the property of his family!

The finest portion of his life begins from this period. The great object he had proposed to himself was the deliverance of invaded France, overwhelmed by foreign powers; and, at the same time, the situation of the country gave cause for the most serious uneasiness. It was now necessary to levy an army to act as a weight in the European balance of power, and also to fulfil the hard conditions imposed by the treaty of 1815; while, to remove the fears entertained by the different cabinets, the Duke gave them to understand that the divisions arising in the chambers were merely the natural result of the representative system. One ought to remember the miserable years of 1816 and 1817; the dearness of grain, the scarcity, and the revolts in various provinces, the occupations of the strong posts in France by 150,000 bayonets, and a military contribution of 15 millions a month. In the midst of all these disasters the Duke suggested the diminution of the foreign army, thus commencing a negotiation which led to much greater results; and, on the 11th of February, 1817, he came to announce to the chambers that 30,000 men were about to repass the frontier, and that the expense of the army of occupation would be diminished by 30 millions of francs. This relief was owing to the reparative system he had pursued, and to the efforts of France, so fruitful in resources.

We, perhaps, hardly meet, in the whole course of history, with two years more difficult to get over than from 1815 to 1817. An armed invasion, famine, vehemence of parties, factions up in arms; and withal, extreme constraint in the administration, both as a whole and in detail, and a country whose ancient frontiers must be by all means preserved.

The army of occupation having been diminished, it became indispensable to have recourse to forced levies, to secure the safety and the dignity of the country; and a law for that purpose was proposed and accepted at the opening of the session of 1817, as a complete military system: the essentials of this law are still in force.

At this period commenced the intimacy between the Duc de Richelieu and MM. Mounier and De Rayneval, two men of great ability, and who remained faithful to his memory. And let me be permitted to offer a last tribute to both these distinguished persons, then in the flower of their age, and now consigned to the tomb; for men of strong feelings are soon worn out by public life. M. GÉrard de Rayneval belonged to an ancient diplomatic family, whose employment in the foreign office dated from the ministry of M. de Vergennes, and the treaty with the Low Countries. M. Mounier was endowed with a lively and penetrating mind, and possessed immense erudition; he, like M. de Barante, had, in early youth, been thrown into the administration of the Empire, and had filled the situation of secretary to the cabinet; and the Duke conceived a friendship for both these men equal to the confidence he deservedly reposed in them. He had a great regard for honour and probity, and where could it be more fully met with than in people, whose characters remained pure and free from blemish, nay, who retained an honourable poverty, in the midst of the liquidation of foreign debts, amounting to 1700 millions of francs?

When the peace of 1814 was signed, the governments had declared their reciprocal debts at an end; but while they renounced their own claims upon the treasury, they made a reservation in favour of those of private individuals, which had been so violently attacked by the wars of the Revolution and of the Empire. When Europe dictated the implacable treaty of November, 1815, claims poured in on every side; it was stipulated that payment should be effected by inscriptions in the great book of the public debt of France, and 9 millions a-year were at first set aside for that purpose; the time, however, for presenting claims was not to expire until the 28th of February, 1817; and—will it be believed?—the sum total amounted to 1600 millions![45] a sum of almost fabulous magnitude, which surpassed the value of the two budgets of France. It was enough to drive one to despair, especially as each person demanded payment in full. What was to be done under circumstances of so much difficulty? Russia was so situated as naturally to assume the character of a mediator, for she had but few claims; and the Emperor Alexander, convinced that, unless the negotiation were carried on by an arbiter common to all parties, it would fall to the ground before the diversity of views and opinions, proposed, as I have before stated, to intrust it to the Duke of Wellington, making, at the same time, a sort of appeal to his generosity.

The mediator, under the guidance of M. Mounier, and after unheard-of retrenchments, fixed the sum destined for the payment of the debts of France to individuals at 16 millions and 40,000 francs. People are too apt to forget in the present times the extreme difficulties encountered by the public credit of the restoration, during the period of our misfortunes. The Duc de Richelieu very soon came to the conclusion, that a system of well-conducted loans offered the only possible means of fulfilling the obligations imposed by the treaty. During the sway of Napoleon, the credit of the government had been utterly null; confidence had been destroyed by too many violations of the public faith, and too many arbitrary actions, for the Revolution and the Empire were merely the abuse of power; and the events of 1814 and 1815 having compelled the government to increase the public debt to 126 millions, would it be possible to obtain an additional loan? No French house had presented itself possessed of sufficient capital to act upon so vast a scale; their fear of the risk was too great. But the Duke considered there would be an advantage in foreign loans, in raising a competition among all the capitals of Europe, and effecting our deliverance by a mere change of location. The necessary pecuniary resources were found in the opulent firm of Hope and Baring; and, to prepare the departure of the foreign troops, the minister succeeded in obtaining that the sovereigns who signed the treaty of 1815 should assemble at Aix-la-Chapelle, to determine whether the occupation should terminate at the end of three years, or whether it should be prolonged to five, according to the alternative left by the treaty.

This proposal having been accepted, the congress assembled on the 20th of September 1818. All the obstacles had been already overcome by the pacific views of Russia, which had acted favourably upon the scruples entertained by Prussia and England; and on the 2d of October the evacuation of the French provinces was decided upon, and the last traces of the invasion disappeared; besides which the Duc de Richelieu obtained a reduction of part of the indemnity still unpaid. Who does not recollect the proud and natural delight of the French minister on his return? France was no longer a country in the occupation of Europe, but a government admitted into the first rank among nations, with its greatness, its liberty, and its independence. Sufficient justice is seldom rendered to statesmen who restore to a country its dignity and consideration: vulgar history only extols those that destroy.

Another crisis, however, was in preparation. The value of the public securities, owing to excessive speculations, had risen to an immoderate height, which was followed, in 1818, by an equally rapid fall, and the Allies might have destroyed the public credit by rejecting the rentes that had been assigned in payment of the subsidies; but the word of the Duc de Richelieu was sufficient to obtain a considerable extension of the time fixed for the payments to be made to the allied powers: and as great embarrassments still prevailed on the Exchange, he still farther obtained, that 100 millions which were to have been discharged by inscriptions of rentes, and which were included in the payments stipulated by the Allies, should be withdrawn, and in their stead bons on the treasury should be substituted, to become due in eighteen months.

Such was the end attained by the negotiations of the Duc de Richelieu with foreign powers; the great object of his life was fulfilled, for in what a state of misery was France when he assumed the reins of government! 700,000 foreigners, contributions of all kinds, the country placed at the ban of Europe! Now to that country he had restored liberty, he had reorganised her army, had established her public credit, and reconciled France with the world. Before this great result was achieved, the Duke had repeatedly declared to his friends that, as soon as the personal credit he enjoyed with foreign powers was no longer necessary, he should quit the situation he had been compelled to accept, and retire into private life, and accordingly he sent in his resignation; but it was not accepted, for the old liberal spirit had arisen to struggle for victory. Many men possessed of no ability, except for public speaking, had striven to secure the elections, and the result of the proceedings of several of the electoral colleges had caused great anxiety to the friends of government. M. de Richelieu was therefore compelled to remain at the head of affairs; and he returned to Paris for the purpose of concerting the measures rendered necessary by the actual circumstances.

The cabinet were agreed upon the necessity of opposing a barrier to democratic opinions and principles; nevertheless, serious dissensions arose when the electoral system came to be debated; and the Duke, much annoyed by the difference of opinion that existed in the council between himself, M. Decaze, and Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr, returned to his former wish of retiring from office. His example was followed by the rest of the ministers, who gave in their resignation in a simultaneous manner that was very remarkable. It is a melancholy truth, that the statesman who had so powerfully contributed to deliver the territory from foreign occupation, was compelled to retire before the petty intrigues suggested by narrow policy and the Chamber of Deputies. The Duke's opinion of the electoral system was different from that entertained by the partizans of the old liberal school, and he resigned his portfolio to General Dessole.

In spite of all the great affairs in which M. de Richelieu had been engaged, he was in a condition of honourable poverty, and the king conferred upon the retired minister the appointment of Grand Huntsman, in the same manner as he had conferred the title of Grand Chamberlain upon M. de Talleyrand, after his services in 1815. The chambers, however, were conscious that a recompense was due from the country to the able negotiator of Aix-la-Chapelle, and M. de Lally made a proposal that the king should be requested to confer a national reward upon the Duc de Richelieu. The same suggestion was made in the upper chamber, at the very moment when a letter from the Duke declared to the president of the deputies, that he should be proud of receiving a mark of the king's favour, given with the concurrence of the chambers; but that as it was proposed to award him a national recompense at the expense of the nation, he could not consent to see any thing added for his sake to the burdens under which the country was already groaning. Every body was well aware that the Duke possessed no fortune, and that his sole income was derived from his office of grand huntsman; a good deal of littleness, however, was exhibited in the Chamber of Deputies when it was proposed to assign a majorat of 50,000 francs to the heir of the name of Richelieu, as a recompense to the minister who had obtained the liberation of the territory. Are public bodies only capable of great actions when a profit arises from them to the passions by which they are actuated? The proposed majorat was afterwards changed into an annuity; and, out of respect to the king's wishes, the Duke did not refuse this acknowledgement of his services, but he devoted the entire income derived from it to the foundation of a religious charity in the city of Bourdeaux. Such was the personal generosity of this great man, who was desirous of retiring entirely to private life.

Alas! his political career was not yet concluded! The Decaze ministry, on every side inundated by old liberal opinions, was at its last gasp. Advantage was taken of the law of elections against the government, one concession led to another, and the Duke was summoned to the council extraordinary, presided over by the king in person, to advise upon the measures to be pursued in this emergency. The crime of Louvel had filled Paris with grief and horror, and M. Decaze, abandoned by the cÔtÉ gauche of the chamber, who defended the law of February 5th, 1817, rejected by the royalists, who reproached him with not having agreed to the propositions of the Marquis BarthÉlemy, at last sent in his resignation; and at this difficult juncture, the king again placed the Duc de Richelieu at the head of affairs. The most urgent entreaties were required to induce him to accept the appointment, for the situation was melancholy, and the country full of anxiety, while the irritation of parties had reached its highest pitch. The preceding administration had proposed an electoral system, which was distasteful to all parties in the chamber; it had demanded laws arming the government with extraordinary powers; no majority was yet formed, and the ministry were doubtful whether these laws would be capable of overcoming the formidable opposition they would have to encounter; the fears of Europe also had been aroused, and it was necessary to appease them. At length, every thing, however, was provided for, and, at the end of a long and painful discussion, exceptional laws were voted.

But then, who was able to calm the public mind? and what hand was sufficiently powerful to arrest the evil tendency of society? A bias had been given to education in France ever since the revolution of 1789; people were closely surrounded by mischievous opinions and frightful systems; parties considered themselves sufficiently powerful to conspire openly, and intimidate the government by tumultuous meetings. Seditious assemblies took place with a view to political catastrophes, and the slightest hesitation might have given rise to the most dreadful calamities. The command of Paris was now committed to Marshal Macdonald, by the ministers' council, formidable military preparations were made, and proofs were obtained of a conspiracy, involving some names since exalted by another revolution. During the ten days that this state of anxiety and trouble prevailed, they had only to regret the lives of two of the disturbers of the public peace; and now that the ideas concerning government are become more advanced, people will be surprised at the declamations of those who held liberal opinions, against measures which were indispensable for the safety of the country. Has not every government a right to defend itself, and is it not bound to do so?

Europe now began to assume an alarming aspect. The revolt of the Spanish army at the island of LÉon found an echo in a similar movement among the Neapolitan troops. Portugal quickly followed their example; and the seditious, imagining the French army well inclined to imitate the conduct of their neighbours, directed all their efforts towards this end. After having broken all the bonds of civil order, the revolution endeavoured to overturn the principle of duty and obedience among the soldiery. In most of the corps, however, the officers continued faithful to their engagements; a few only were unable to resist the torrent, and a conspiracy was formed in several of the regiments at Paris, extending in its ramifications to various military stations, and it was determined that the rising should take place in the barracks on the 20th of August, 1820. On the proposal of M. Mounier, then director-general of the police, the ministers' council determined upon arresting the conspirators before they had unfurled a standard and actually proclaimed the insurrection. The heads of this military conspiracy are well known at present, and some of them have even been rewarded; but, as is always the case, the plot was denied by the parties engaged in it. The Chamber of Peers behaved with much indulgence, as able and experienced authorities usually do when severity is not indispensably necessary; and the government preferred pardoning many offences, and consigning much to oblivion, to being compelled to authorise the shedding of blood.

The elections of 1820, which had taken place when a favourable impression had been raised by the birth of the Duc de Bourdeaux, gave a powerful and compact cÔtÉ droit to the chamber, and MM. de VillÈle and CorbiÈre, who had assumed the position of its chiefs, ought naturally to have supported the Duc de Richelieu; but, at the very commencement of the session, clouds appeared on the horizon. The cÔtÉ droit of the chambers had hitherto fought by the side of the ministers, and triumphed with them, and consequently they claimed a direct participation in the administration. Negotiations were entered into with them; the Duke would not consent that any of the men who had hitherto governed with him, and preserved the kingdom in its hour of peril, should be excluded from the council; however, two only of the principal deputies on the cÔtÉ droit, MM. de VillÈle and CorbiÈre, were appointed members of the cabinet, with the title of ministerial secretaries of state.[46] M. LainÉ, a man with whose honest and upright character the Duke had been particularly struck, was also a member of this administration.

The political principle of this revised ministry was the agreement of the centre of the cÔtÉ droit, and the droite itself, in one common vote; but the session under this management was long and troublesome, and a tedious and stormy debate took place before the Duke was able to decide upon the execution of his idea of an extended system of canal navigation, like that at present in force. He drew up a plan, inviting men possessed of large capital to take a part in these great works; for at that time the principal part of the capital in the kingdom, was invested in the funds, and enterprises tending to the benefit of industry and the improvement of the country were not popular: many difficulties were encountered, but they were all overcome by means of firmness and determination.

Order was now established in all the departments of government; the restraints formerly imposed upon the action of the municipal authorities, by a system of excessive centralisation, were removed; and in the financial department the most unlimited competition was invited, for the first time, in the sale of stock, and the value of public securities reached its highest pitch. In his foreign policy, the Duke never ceased for a moment to support the idea of the Russian alliance, less from former recollections, and his affection for the Emperor Alexander, than upon the principle constantly expressed in all his correspondence, that the Russian alliance was advantageous to France because it was perfectly disinterested. In fact, what can Russia demand of us? On what point can we clash? Commerce with her can never be otherwise than an equal exchange; the productions of industry in her country are not of equal value with ours; she requires our wines, our fashions, our manufactures, and we, in exchange, require her timber, her copper, and her iron. Her fleets cannot assume any dominion over us, her frontiers do not reach us in any direction, and we are benefited by her influence; whilst, on the other hand, the designs and interests of France are opposed by the English alliance in all questions of importance. M. de Richelieu's system was resumed by M. de la Ferronays in 1828.