a _bon menage_'

'To come back,' I said, 'to our Eastern question. What is Baraguay
d'Hilliers?'

'A _brouillon_,' said Tocqueville. 'He is the most impracticable man in
France. His vanity, his ill-temper, and his jealousy make him quarrel
with everybody with whom he comes in contact. In the interest of our
alliance you should get him recalled.'

'What sort of man,' I asked, 'shall I find General Randon?'

'Very intelligent,' said Tocqueville. 'He was to have had the command of
the Roman army when Oudinot gave it up; but, just as he was going, it was
discovered that he was a Protestant. He was not so accommodating as one
of our generals during the Restoration. He also was a Protestant. The Duc
d'Angouleme one day said to him, "Vous etes protestant, general?" The
poor man answered in some alarm, for he knew the Duke's
ultra-Catholicism, "Tout ce que vous voulez, monseigneur."'

[Footnote 1: My conversations with M. de Tocqueville during this visit
were written out after my return from Paris and sent to him. He returned
them with the remarks which I have inserted.--N.W. SENIOR.]

[Footnote 2: Le portrait va plus loin que ma pensee.--_A. de
Tocqueville_. The picture expresses more than my idea.]

[Footnote 3: Cela va plus loin que ma pensee. Je crois que le vote
universel peut se concilier avec d'autres institutions, qui diminuerait
le danger.--_A. de Tocqueville._

This goes farther than my idea. I think that universal suffrage may be
combined with other institutions, which would diminish the danger.]

[Footnote 4: Cela aussi va plus loin que ma pensee. Je crois
tres-desirable le maintien des institutions aristocratiques en
Angleterre. Mais je suis loin de dire que leur abolition menerait
necessairement au despotisme, surtout si elles s'affaiblissaient peu a
peu et n'etaient pas renversees par une revolution.--_A. de Tocqueville_.

This also goes farther than my idea. I think the maintenance in England
of aristocratic institutions very desirable. But I am far from saying
that their abolition would necessarily lead to despotism, especially if
their power were diminished gradually and without the shock of a
revolution.]

_To N.W. Senior, Esq._

St. Cyr, March 18, 1854.

Your letter was a real joy to us, my dear Senior. As you consent to be
ill lodged, we offer to you with all our hearts the bachelor's room which
you saw. You will find there only a bed, without curtains, and some very
shabby furnitu