hurch. The revolutionary
Rights of Man were held to be inconsistent with the traditional Rights
of God and the monarchy. Moreover, the founders of the third republic
had, with noteworthy exceptions like the devout Trochu, been mildly
anti-clerical. They were for the most part religious liberals and
deists, rarely atheists, but that was enough to array the bishops, like
monseigneur Pie of Poitiers, against them. Indeed, a quick religious
revival swept over the land, as was shown by numerous pilgrimages,
including one to Paray-le-Monial, home of the cult of the Sacred Heart.
France herself should be consecrated to the Sacred Heart, and the idea
was evolved, afterwards carried out, of the erection of the great votive
basilica of the Sacre Coeur on the heights of Montmartre.

The first step toward the restoration of "Henry V" was to persuade the
comte de Paris to make new efforts for a fusion of the two branches.
Swallowing his pride, the comte de Paris generously went to the home of
the comte de Chambord at Frohsdorf, in Austria, in August, and paid his
respects to him as head of the family. As the comte de Chambord had no
children, it was expected that the comte de Paris would be his
successor. But the old difficulty about the white flag cropped up, and
the comte de Chambord stubbornly refused to rule over a country above
which waved the revolutionary tricolor.

Matters dragged on through the summer, during the parliamentary recess,
and the conservative leaders were outspoken as to their plans to
overthrow the Republic. It was hoped that some compromise might be
reached by which could be reconciled, as to the flag, the desires of the
Assembly which was expected to recall the pretender and those of the
comte de Chambord who considered his divinely inspired will superior to
that of the representatives of the people. It was suggested that the
question of the flag might be settled _after_ his accession to the
throne. The embassy to Salzburg, in October, of M. Chesnelong, an
emissary of a committee of nine of the Royalist leaders, achieved only a
half-success, but left matters sufficiently indeterminate to encourage
them in continuing their plans. Matters seemed progressing swimmingly
when, on October 27, an unexpected letter from the pretender to M.
Chesnelong categorically declared that _nothing_ would induce him to
sacrifice the white banner.

The effect of this letter was to make all hopes of a restoration
impossible. E