DK rRKSSENSÉ ON MEN AND PARTIES. 101 



the cardinals, I appeal to their speeches. Are there many en- 

 lightened friends of religion -who -would not ha\'e given sonic- 

 tiling if they never had been delivered ? The sole result of these 

 debates in the Senate against materialism and in favor of the 

 true faiih, has been to give M. Sainte-Beuve a chance, in his 

 fcpirited way, to fly out the flag of free philosophy, and to get 

 the laugh on his side — an easy success in the face of such a 

 blundering enemy. The ^Minister of Public Instruction confined 

 himself to a timid plea of extenuating circumstances, without 

 one moment rising to the discussion of principles. In fact, he 

 could not do this, for he had no more wish for genuine liberty 

 than his antagonists. lie only wanted to get the adoption of a 

 resolution that would not aflcct the situation. 



Nothing remained of all these debates, but irritation and mis- 

 understanding. The anti-religious reaction, alone, found advan- 

 tage in them. This was the fine conclusion of the grand cam- 

 paign commenced by my Lord Bishop of Orleans, at a moment 

 when the Encyclical was enough to discredit Catholicism, and 

 therefore Christianit}- ; for in this free-thinking country, Chris- 

 tianity is always confounded Avith its best known form. 



This deplorable campaign of petition to the Sonate against 

 public education ought not to shut our eyes to the real state of 

 things, which is, all along, a deep division in the midst of French 

 Catholicism. This division manifests itself especially at Paris. 

 On one side are the religious orders — the Jesuit houses which 

 have been considerably multiplied in the course of these few 

 years, thanks to their unciuestionable success in teaching, and 

 cspeciall}' in fitting students for the great military schools of the 

 government. Around the Church of St. Genevieve there is quite 

 a little world of zealous, facile, religious folk — a sort of Roman 

 colony in the midst of Paris, keeping up here the ultramontane 

 and absolutist traditions. At its head are certain monsiynori like 

 :Mgr. de Ségur, e.x-chamberlaiu to the Pope, who for a long time 

 played the part of a sort of legate, corresponding directly with 

 the Vatican, and giving information as to the doctrine of his 



