s, with resolute good
sense, to extract from the measures introduced, a selection conformable
to the true interests of society and the Church. The law of divorce was
abolished. The position of the parish priests, of the assistant
ministers, and of several ecclesiastical establishments received
important amelioration. The scandal of married clergymen still receiving
official pensions ceased. But the proposal of assigning to the clergy
the care of the civil records, and the control of public instruction,
fell to the ground. The University, well defended and directed by
M. Royer-Collard, remained intact. And with regard to the privilege
demanded for the clergy, of receiving every kind of donation without the
interference of the civil authorities, the Chamber of Peers, on a
report, as judicious as it was elegantly composed, by the
Abbe de Montesquiou, reduced it to these conditions,--that none but
religious establishments recognized by law should exercise this right,
and that in every individual instance the authority of the King should
be indispensable. The Chamber of Deputies adopted the measure thus
amended, and from this movement, which threatened to disturb so
completely the relations of the Church and State, nothing eventuated to
infringe seriously either on the old maxims or the modern principles of
French society.

The Cabinet co-operated loyally in these debates and wise resolutions,
but with less decision and ascendency than that evinced by the moderate
Royalists in the Chambers. It brought into the question neither the
depth of thought, nor the power of eloquence, which give a Government
the control over legislative assemblies, and raise it, even in spite of
its deficiencies, in public estimation. The Duke de Richelieu was
universally respected. Amongst his colleagues, all men of high character
and loyalty, there were several who were endowed with rare knowledge,
ability, and courage. But the Cabinet wanted unity and brilliant
reputation; important conditions under any system, but pre-eminently so
under a free government.

Outside the Chambers, the Ministry had to sustain a still more weighty
load than the pressure from within, and one which they were not better
able to encounter. France had become a prey, not to the most tyrannical
or the most sanguinary, but to the most vexatious and irritating of all
the passing influences which the vicissitudes of frequent revolutions
impose upon a nation. A party long vanq