crosses of honor awarded to us: but the recompense appearing to us above our services, and, moreover, no one of us deeming himself more worthy than his comrades to receive it, we beg permission to decline accepting them.
"There is a favor, however, we desire to ask of you. One of our comrades, Venneau, perished on the day of the 27th: We recommend to your kindness his father, who is in the service of the government, in the collection of the revenue. We recommend, farther, to your kindness, General, another of our comrades, Charras, dismissed from the schools by General Bourdsoulle on account of his opinions. We ask that he may be restored to our ranks, in which he did good service these few days.
"In the name of the Polytechnic school, the two scholars deputed by their comrades,
J. Dupresne,
Ferri Pisani.
August 7th, 1830."
There is no parade here. It is the simple voice of nature, and goes, at once, to the heart of every reader. Such is France: radiant with taste and feeling and generosity in every department of her society: "in war, the mountain storm—in peace, the gale of spring." Long may the sun of liberty gild with his glories her vine-covered hills, her laughing valleys and her splendid cities.
With no pretence of right, and no wish to interfere with the political institutions of other countries, but, on the contrary, holding it to be the right of all to pursue their own happiness, in their own way, and under the form of government which they deem most conducive to that end—yet believing, as we do, that civil and religious freedom are essential to the happiness of man, and to the development of the high capacities, mental and
moral, with which his Creator has endowed him, it is natural for us to rejoice when we see any nation, and more especially one so endeared to us as France, coming, of her own accord, into the fold of free governments. If there be any people who believe that their peace and order and happiness require the curb of a despotic government, be it so: their believing it, is proof enough to us that it is so, with regard to them: And however much we may regret, it is not for us to disturb their repose. Free government is good only for those who understand its value and are prepared for its enjoyment. It cannot be forced, with advantage, upon any people who are not yet ripe for its reception. Nations yet in darkness require, like children, to be disciplined and instructed before they can act with advantage for themselves. Their best instruction from abroad, is the example of other nations; their only proper teachers at home, are their own enlightened patriots; and the wisest process, the gradual diffusion of light among them. That a movement may be premature and end only in abortion and misery, the former example of France has instructed them. That it may be mature, and the deliverance easy, quick and safe, she has now given them a happy and beautiful illustration. It is only by such a revolution as this that the cause of liberty can present an attraction to the world. It is only in such a revolution that the humane and benevolent can take delight.
Charity is due even to the prejudices of princes. They are, probably, as much in the dark on this head, as their subjects. They have been taught from their cradles that they were born to rule, as their subjects have been taught from theirs, that they were born to be ruled. The mistake seems to be mutual, and is, perhaps, equally honest on both sides. Humanity requires that its correction should be attended with as little
violence as possible, and this can be best effected by the gradual diffusion of light. Let us be content with the order of nature, which, however slow, is always safest and best. The sun does not spring at once from the nadir to the zenith. Such a leap would bring on a convulsion of nature and the crash of worlds. No: his ascent is gradual. Our eyes are accommodated, without pain, to his increasing light. The landscape is softly and beautifully unfolded, and the planetary system, in the meantime, maintains its harmonious and salutary action. The seasons revolve in their order; and the earth brings forth her flowers and her fruits, in peace. So let us be content to have it in the intellectual world. Let not vain man presume to be wiser than his Maker, and, in a foolish attempt to force the order of nature, create only misery, where he intended happiness.