enes to which his youthful
imagination had been familiarized, by the beautiful fictions of poetry
or romance.

* * *

The Parisian theatres are at all times sources of much amusement and
delight; but at the time of which we speak, they were doubly
interesting, as affording opportunities of seeing the most distinguished
characters of this eventful age; and as furnishing occasional strong
indications of the state of popular feeling in France. The interest of
occurrences of this last kind is now gone by, and it is almost
unnecessary for us to bear testimony to the strong party that uniformly
manifested itself when any sentiment was uttered expressive of a wish
for war, of admiration of martial achievements, and of indignation at
foreign influence, or domestic perfidy, (under which head the conduct of
Talleyrand and of Marmont was included); and more especially, when the
success, and glory, and _eternal, immutable, untarnished_ honour of
France, were the theme of declamation. The applause at passages of this
last description seemed sometimes ludicrous enough, when the theatres
were guarded by Russian grenadiers, and nearly half filled with allied
officers, loaded with honours which had been won in combating the French
armies.

The majority of the audience, however, appeared always delighted at the
change of government, and in the opera in particular, the first time
that the King appeared, the expression of loyalty was long, reiterated,
and enthusiastic, far beyond our most sanguine anticipations. It would
have been absurd to judge of the real feelings of the majority of the
Parisians, still more of the nation at large, from this scene; and it
was certainly not to be wished, that a blind and devoted loyalty to one
sovereign should take the place of infatuated attachment to another; yet
it was impossible not to sympathize with the joy of people who had been
agitated, during the best part of their lives, by political convulsions,
or oppressed by military tyranny, but who fancied themselves at length
relieved from both; and who connected the hope of spending the
remainder of their days in tranquillity and peace, with the
recollections which they had received from their fathers, of the
happiness and prosperity of their country under the long line of its
ancient kings. It was impossible to hear the national air of "Vive Henri
Quatre," and the enthusiastic acclamations which accompanied it, without
entering for the moment into