lly that he or his family had thought of or undertaken
any conspiracy with a view to recovering the throne. His children, he
said, had been taught that when their country spoke they must obey, and
that the duty of a patriot was to be ready, whatever she might command.
This they had understood, and in all cases practised. Accordingly they
had always been, and always would be strangers to intrigues.

As for his persistence in keeping the Guizot ministry, that was
commanded by every constitutional principle. That ministry had a
majority in the Chambers as large even as that which overthrew Charles
X.; how then should the King interfere against this majority? Besides,
had not what happened since February demonstrated that he was right? The
policy of every government since June, 1848, had resembled, as nearly as
could be conceived, the very policy of the ministry so much and so
unjustly complained of.

Guizot had in fact promised reform. He had said that the instant the
Chambers should vote against him he would retire, and the first measure
of his successors would be reform. As for himself, said Louis Philippe,
he had understood that this was only a pretext. Reform would be the
entrance on power of the opposition, the entrance of the opposition
would be war, would be the beginning of the end. Accordingly he had
determined to abdicate as soon as the opposition assumed the reins of
government; for he no longer would be himself supported by public
opinion. The want of this support it was which finally caused him to
abandon the throne without resistance. He could not have kept it without
civil war. For this he had always felt an insurmountable horror, and he
had never regretted that in February Marshal Bugeaud had so soon ordered
the firing to stop. Besides, nobody advised him to defend himself, but
the contrary. He had then nothing to do but to follow the example of his
ministers who had abdicated, of his friends who had abdicated, of the
national guard who had abdicated, of the public conscience which had
abdicated. He did not take this step till after the universal
abdication. But if he had fought and lost, and died fighting, who could
tell the horrors that would have ensued? Or if he had triumphed, all
France would have exclaimed against him as sanguinary and selfish, a bad
prince, a scourge to the nation, and ere many months a new insurrection
would have made an end. Victory would have been more disastrous than
exile. He h