Page 1400 - les-miserables

statesman, could be seen at work in perfect peace, on the
public square; equality before the law, liberty of conscience,
liberty of speech, liberty of the press, the accessibility of all
aptitudes to all functions. Thus it proceeded until 1830. The
Bourbons were an instrument of civilization which broke in
the hands of Providence.
The fall of the Bourbons was full of grandeur, not on their
side, but on the side of the nation. They quitted the throne
with gravity, but without authority; their descent into the
night was not one of those solemn disappearances which
leave a sombre emotion in history; it was neither the spec-
tral calm of Charles I., nor the eagle scream of Napoleon.
They departed, that is all. They laid down the crown, and
retained no aureole. They were worthy, but they were not au-
gust. They lacked, in a certain measure, the majesty of their
misfortune. Charles X. during the voyage from Cherbourg,
causing a round table to be cut over into a square table, ap-
peared to be more anxious about imperilled etiquette than
about the crumbling monarchy. This diminution saddened
devoted men who loved their persons, and serious men who
honored their race. The populace was admirable. The na-
tion, attacked one morning with weapons, by a sort of royal
insurrection, felt itself in the possession of so much force
that it did not go into a rage. It defended itself, restrained
itself, restored things to their places, the government to law,
the Bourbons to exile, alas! and then halted! It took the old
king Charles X. from beneath that dais which had sheltered
Louis XIV. and set him gently on the ground. It touched the
royal personages only with sadness and precaution. It was

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