e work was pushed
on until it was suddenly arrested by the downfall of the Empire,
and was left to the great man's nephew to complete. Though it is
possible, as Chaptal avers, that the original design aimed at the
formation of a central fortress, yet to all lovers of art, above
all to the hero-worshipping Heine, the new Louvre was a sure pledge
of Napoleon's immortality.

Other works which combined beauty with utility were the prolongation
of the quays along the left bank of the Seine, the building of three
bridges over that river, the improvement of the Jardin des Plantes,
together with that of other parks and open spaces, and the completion
of the Conservatoire of Arts and Trades. At a later date, the military
spirit of the Empire received signal illustration in the erection of
the Vendome column, the Arc de Triomphe, and the consecration, or
desecration, of the Madeleine as a temple of glory.

Many of these works were subsequent to the period which we are
considering; but the enterprises of the Emperor represent the designs
of the First Consul; and the plans for the improvement of Paris formed
during the Consulate were sufficient to inspire the Parisians with
lively gratitude and to turn them from political speculations to
scenes of splendour and gaiety that recalled the days of Louis XIV. If
we may believe the testimony of Romilly, who visited Paris in 1802,
the new policy had even then attained its end.

"The quiet despotism, which leaves everybody who does not wish to
meddle with politics (and few at present have any such wish) in the
full and secure enjoyment of their property and of their pleasures,
is a sort of paradise, compared with the agitation, the perpetual
alarms, the scenes of infamy, of bloodshed, which accompanied the
pretended liberties of France."

But while acknowledging the material benefits of Bonaparte's rule, the
same friend of liberty notes with concern:

"That he [Bonaparte] meditates the gaining fresh laurels in war can
hardly be doubted, if the accounts which one hears of his restless
and impatient disposition be true."

However much the populace delighted in this new _regime_, the many
ardent souls who had dared and achieved so much in the sacred quest of
liberty could not refrain from protesting against the innovations
which were restoring personal rule. Though the Press was gagged,
though as many as thirty-two Departments were subjected