628 
THE BOURBONSs: 
He then conversed:for.ia soaidoable: 
time about -the: Bourbons.» ‘+ They 
want,” said; he,: ‘Sto introduce: the; old 
system of \nobility -into) dhe: army.) In-~ 
stead of allowing thessons\of: peasants 
and labourers to be eligible to. he made 
generals, as they were in my time; they 
want to confine it entirely to the old no- 
bility, 10 emigrés like that old blockhead 
Montchenu. |. When you have seen 
Montchenu, you have seen all the old 
nobility of France before the revolution. 
Such were all-the race, and such they 
have returned, ignorant, vain, and ‘arro- 
gant as they left it. Jls n’ont rien 
appris, ils n’ont rien oublié. They were 
the cause of the revolution, and of so 
much bloodshed ; and now, after twenty- 
five years of exile and disgrace, they 
return Joaded with the same vices and 
erimes for which they were expatriated, 
to produce another revolution. I know 
the French. Believe me, that after six 
or ten years, the whole race will be 
massacred, and thrown into the Seine. 
They are a curse to the nation. It is 
of such as them that the Bourbons want 
to make generals, LI made most of 
mine, de la boue. Wherever I found 
talent: and courage, I rewarded it. My 
principle was, la carriére ouverte aux 
talens, without asking whether they were 
any quarters of nobility to shew. It is 
true, that I sometimes promoted a few 
of the old nobility, from a principle of 
policy and justice, but I never reposed 
great confidence in them. The mass of 
the people,” continued he, “now see the 
revival of the feudal times, they sce that 
soon it will be impossible for their progeny 
to rise in the army. | Every true French- 
man reflects with'anguish, that a family 
for so many years odious to France, bas 
been forced upon them over a bridge of 
foreign bayonets. What Iam going to 
recount, will give you some idea of the 
imbecility of the family: “When ‘the 
Count d’Artois came to Lyons; although 
he throw himself on hisknecs before the 
troops, in order’ to ‘induce them to ad- 
vance against me;"he never putvon the 
cordon of the legion oPlhionour, though he 
knew that the sight’ ofit would beamost 
‘likely to excite the minds ofthe soldiers 
in his favour, as ifwas the’ erdersomany 
of them bore on ‘their“breastsjcand» re- 
‘quired nothing but braveryto° obtain it. 
But no, he decked himself out with the 
order of the Holy Ghost; to be eligible 
for which, you must prove one hundred 
‘and fifty years ‘of nobilityy<an. ‘order 
formed purposely to exclude merit, and 
O'Meara’s Voice from St. Helena. 
one which. excited; indignationy inj, the. | 
breasts, of, the old jsoldiers,; 4 We, will, 
not,’ said «they, ‘fight for} orders, dike 
that, mort, for, emignés, like: those,’ heshad ;, 
tenor eleven of these imbéciles.as aidy., 
de-camps..> Instead of shewingyte the | 
troops! some: of those generals pwho had, | 
so often Jed) them, to glory) liesbreught,| 
with him a set of misérables; who, served, 
no other purpose than to recal to the 
minds, of the;,veterans| their former suf- 
ferings under the; «noblesse, jand ithe 
priests. - 291 of dai 
“To give youan jnsiapre ofithe general, 
feeling in Franee.towards|the, Bourbons, | 
I will relate to tyou san: anecdote, On 
my return from Ltaly, while, my carriage 
was ascending the-steep: billiof,‘Parare, I) 
got out and walked ‘up, without any (at- 
tendants, as was.often my, custom... My; 
wife, and my suite, were,at.a little dis- 
tance behind me.,, I.saw, an.old;woman,, 
lame, and hobbling about with, the, help 
of a crutch, endeavouring to ascend the 
mountain. I had: a. great; coat,.on,,and, 
was not recognized...I went, up, to sber, 
and said; Well, ma ‘bonne, where; are, 
you going with a haste which so little 
belongs to your years? What, is) the 
matter? ‘Ma foi,’ replied ethe;ald 
dame, ‘ they tell me the emperonis/here, 
and I want to see him-before; L die:’ 
Bah, bah, said I, whatdo. you wantsto 
sce him for. What have you gained; by 
him. He is a tyrant,as wwelljjas »the 
others, You have only, changed;ione 
tyrant for another, Louis for, Napoleon, 
‘ Mais, monsicur; that maybe; butjafter 
all, he is the king of the people, andthe 
Bourbons were the kings of .the, nobles. 
We have chosen him,:and.if we aresto 
have a tyrant, let him, be one chosen by 
ourselves” There,”, said be; ‘you have 
the sentiments of the: Freneh nation, ex+ 
pressed by an old. womap.”))) od o4 
SOULT He woot 
L asked:his opinion about, Soult, ; ‘and 
mentioned that had heard somepersons 
place-him in the rank next to bimself-as 
algenetalo. He replied, “he! is-an.ex- 
cellent minister- at-waryor major-general 
ofran‘army 2 one wlio. knows much, better 
they arrangement ofan army, thansto 
eommandiunchief.” «! itonm ons 
VANDAMME. oni ain 
Heard a. eurious anecdote of General 
WVandammie: *« When made, prisoner by 
the Russians, he:was brought before the 
Emperor: -Alexander, who's reproached 
himaimbitter terms with being ya robber, 
aiplunderer,; and «a murderer ; adding, 
that no favour contd be granted te,queh 
an -excerable character. )) This was) fol - 
lowed 
7 WS 
UE 
