MY RECOLLECTIONS OF BISMARCK-1879-1881 577 



is held in a strong inclosure, and at a distance from the 

 parts of the body which are most active physically, so the 

 brain of the nation should be protected with the greatest 

 care, and should not be placed in the midst of a great, tur- 

 bulent metropolis. To this I assented, but said that during 

 my attendance at sessions of the French legislative bodies, 

 both in my old days at Paris and more recently at Ver- 

 sailles, it seemed to me that their main defects are those 

 of their qualities ; that one of the most frequent occupa- 

 tions of their members is teasing one another, and that 

 when they tease one another they are wonderfully witty ; 

 that in the American Congress and in the British Parlia- 

 ment members are more slow to catch a subtle comment or 

 scathing witticism; that the members of American and 

 British assemblies are more like large grains of cannon- 

 powder, through which ignition extends slowly, so that 

 there comes no sudden explosion ; whereas in the French 

 Assembly the members are more like minute, bright 

 grains of rifle-powder, which all take fire at the same mo- 

 ment, with instant detonation, and explosions sometimes 

 disastrous. He assented to this, but insisted that the curse 

 of French assemblies had been the tyranny of city mobs, 

 and especially of mobs in the galleries of their assemblies ; 

 that the worst fault possible in any deliberative body is 

 speaking to the galleries ; that a gallery mob is sure to get 

 between the members and the country, and virtually 

 screen off from the assembly the interests of the country. 

 To this I most heartily assented. 



I may say here that there had not then been fully 

 developed in our country that monstrous absurdity which 

 we have seen in these last few years national conventions 

 of the two parties trying to deliberate in the midst of 

 audiences of twelve or fifteen thousand people; a vast 

 mob in the galleries, often noisy, and sometimes hysteri- 

 cal, frequently seeking to throw the delegates off their 

 bearings, to outclamor them, and to force nominations 

 upon them. 



A little later, as we discussed certain recent books, I re- 



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