s his
falls only in order that he might the more brilliantly tower aloft.
Within three weeks he was hailed as the saviour of the new republican
constitution. The cause of this almost magical change in his prospects
is to be sought in the political unrest of France, to which we must
now briefly advert.

All through this summer of 1795 there were conflicts between Jacobins
and royalists. In the south the latter party had signally avenged
itself for the agonies of the preceding years, and the ardour of the
French temperament seemed about to drive that hapless people from the
"Red Terror" to a veritable "White Terror," when two disasters checked
the course of the reaction. An attempt of a large force of emigrant
French nobles, backed up by British money and ships, to rouse Brittany
against the Convention was utterly crushed by the able young Hoche;
and nearly seven hundred prisoners were afterwards shot down in cold
blood (July). Shortly before this blow, the little prince styled Louis
XVII. succumbed to the brutal treatment of his gaolers at the Temple
in Paris; and the hopes of the royalists now rested on the unpopular
Comte de Provence. Nevertheless, the political outlook in the summer
of 1795 was not reassuring to the republicans; and the Commission of
Eleven, empowered by the Convention to draft new organic laws, drew up
an instrument of government, which, though republican in form, seemed
to offer all the stability of the most firmly rooted oligarchy. Some
such compromise was perhaps necessary; for the Commonwealth was
confronted by three dangers, anarchy resulting from the pressure of
the mob, an excessive centralization of power in the hands of two
committees, and the possibility of a _coup d'etat_ by some pretender
or adventurer. Indeed, the student of French history cannot fail to
see that this is the problem which is ever before the people of
France. It has presented itself in acute though diverse phases in
1797,1799,1814, 1830, 1848, 1851, and in 1871. Who can say that the
problem has yet found its complete solution?

In some respects the constitution which the Convention voted in
August, 1795, was skilfully adapted to meet the needs of the time.
Though democratic in spirit, it granted a vote only to those citizens
who had resided for a year in some dwelling and had paid taxes, thus
excluding the rabble who had proved to be dangerous to any settled
government. It also checked the hasty legislation which had br