54 6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the Orleans branch deeply affects all French politics ; and the un- 

 timely death of the Prince Imperial is a still more important factor in 

 tbem. 



Mr. Huxley, criticising these speculations of Hume in his recent 

 volume, expresses the opinion that monarchies in our day are less 

 likely to fall into discredit through inherent drawbacks or through 

 the competition of republics than through their " tendency to become 

 slightly absurd." The maintenance of kingship is undoubtedly de- 

 pendent in great part on the majesty of kings ; but this majesty is 

 preserved with increasing difficulty. The purple robe has not only 

 become frayed, but the wearer is sometimes under a strong temptation 

 to exchange it for a dressing-gown. It is hard to say what is the 

 safest general behavior for a royal personage. If monarchy retires 

 into seclusion, people nowadays ask what is the good of it, and grum- 

 ble at its costliness. If it associates itself with the tastes which are 

 conventionally regarded as most respectable, by cultivating art, sci- 

 ence, or letters, it incurs the repugnance of the multitude to whom 

 these tastes are a symbol of pedantry or effeminacy. If, on the other 

 hand, it simply enjoys itself, it becomes the prey of that overdone 

 morality which is always affected by the dealers in malignant gossip. 

 No doubt the Prince who died the other day in Paris was a good ex- 

 ample of the class of idiosyncrasy which endangers monarchy. There 

 was nothing remarkable about him save his exceptional rank and the 

 historical dignity of his name. The type is perfectly well known 

 that of the foreign prodigal who wastes his substance in the city in 

 wdiich pleasure has become a business ; and not simply a business, but 

 a business conducted on the strictest commercial principles. But, if 

 the heirs-apparent of thrones were often seen in the circles frequented 

 by the last Prince of Orange, there would be a rapid decline of that 

 kingly majesty which when it wholly disappears leaves (as Mr. Hux- 

 ley justly says) little but absurdity behind it. The question between 

 monarchies and republics would then be reduced to a simple question 

 of their respective convenience ; and, in countries governed as ours 

 is, the question of convenience is very likely to end in turning on a 

 mere calculation of cheapness or cost. 



It is plain from Hume's language that the commonplaces of his day 

 were all in favor of republics. There is in fact hardly a single writer 

 of the time who does not praise them, though they all assume that a 

 superhuman amount of diffused public virtue is necessary for their 

 conduct. As we before said, the only known republics were petty or 

 anomalous oligarchies ; and the eulogies in fashion were in reality 

 taken from classical panegyrics on Greek and Roman republics, pro- 

 foundly misunderstood. There are countries which have severely suf- 

 fered from this enthusiasm founded on ignorance. France owes to it 

 the most fearful as well as the most absurd of her experiences during 

 the first Revolution, and she is hardly free even now from some of 



