DUMONT'S RECOLLECTIONS OF MIRABEAU.
THE occurrence of such works as this, forms the real relief of a critic, engaged in the arduous and often tedious task of reporting in detail upon the progress of literature. We begin to read in the capacity of judge, and quickly lapse into that of scholar. The subject of this book is ostensibly the character of MIRABEAU, and it is indeed admirably depicted ; but the most important matter relates to the Revolution itself, of which MIRABEAU was, in its early stages, the hero and champion. M. DUMONT was peculiarly well qualified to form a sound judg- ment respecting the spirit and conduct of the French Revolution. His political knowledge was extensive; he was familiarly ac- quainted with the revolutionary leaders ; he was a foreigner, yet speaking the language of the country ; and in addition to great moderation of character and acuteness of judgment, he was remark- ably destitute of either vanity or ambition. That such were his characteristics—joined to benevolence of heart, simplicity of man- ners, high principles of integrity, and a pleasant wit—is well known to many of the most distinguished members of society in England; to which he was much attached, and where he spent a consider- able portion of his life. His indifference to public applause might indeed be inferred, from the humble yet most efficient manner in which he lent his talents to the preparation of Mr. BENTHAM'S works for the world : the raw material was supplied by the philo- sopher, but the process it passed through might give the reclacteur a claim to consider himself in the light of the manufacturer. M. DUMONT was, however, without pretension, and simply enjoyed the satisfaction of having been instrumental in spreading know- ledge of a kind highly influential upon the happiness of mankind. This absence of vanity is still more remarkably displayed in the history of M. DUMONT'S cooperation with MIRABEAU, and some other of the distinguished orators and writers of the Revolution. He was the author of many of the speeches and papers which gave fame to others; and yet no nforement, no hint, no accidental or deliberate imprudence, betrayed what he scarcely considered a se- cret,—so little importance did he attach to the fact of the aid having come from him, though he, like any other man of discern- ment, well knew its value.
The details of the assistance rendered by Dustosrr to MIRA- BEAU, during his efforts to establish himself in the Constitutional Assembly, and after he had become the popular favourite and the depositary of influence and power, form a very interesting part of the illustration of MIRABEA.U'S character. MIRABEAU, like SO many other persons and things of the French Revolution, has been grossly misunderstood in England. It was the policy of our Government to involve every person and every act of that crisis in obloquy ; and few reputations were more open to misrepresenta- tion than that of MIRABEAU. The sympathy exhibited by our powerful aristocracy for the fallen nobility of France, nurtured a standard body of calumniators of every thing connected with the Revolution: the feeling was aggravated by the Government, who lived in horror of the spread of similar principles in England, and were anxious to surround our island with a cordon sanitaire partly composed of prejudice and partly of arms. Unhappily, the mis- conduct of this Revolution, and the fatal errors into which it fell, made the business of calumny easy, and almost praiseworthy. But neither prejudice nor misrepresentation can long withstand the • mild force of such works as this of DUMONT. It is no defence of MraanEan,—whose vices and loose principles DUMONT himself detested ; but it is an exhibition of the real being, who, on the ap- plication of the touchstone of truth, in this instance as in every • other, ceases to be a monster, and stands before us a thorough man, —actuated by various passions, gifted with various powers, guided by different objects of ambition; but whose course is perfectly clear, when the map is traced by a hand intimately acquainted with the subject.
The portrait of MIRABEAU, as drawn by DUMONT, is a most interesting and instructive study. His mixture of charlatanism , and genius—his enormous activity, and his want of profound knowledge of any one subject—his lost moral fame, and his stu- pendous political power—all, in turn or in contrast, become curious subjects of description. MIRABEAU, it seems, was a man who pro- duced a tremendous effect by adopting and fathering the produc- tions of others: he seems to have turned all his friends to account, and kept all their -heads at work, that he might reap and apply the fruits of their labour: and this was done, not in the sneaking ,manner of a plagiarist, but with the careless openness of a man -absorbed in a great purpose, and who was indifferent to the im- putation of a want of originality, provided the argument or the '.eloquence was of a kind to aid the great work in hand. In this light,. lemay be considered as agreat manufacturer,who,though he does not labricate himself, procures and applies the labour of production, and 'then distributes the thing produced over the four quarters of the globe. But MIR.ABEAU lent more than capital : he not only stimulated the genius of all around him, but clothed all he received from .others with the brilliant colours of his own imagination. He was a grBat'Orfit4P-119t beCallgt he could write good speeches, but be- cause, whether the matter was hi own or another`s,le could pit,- duce an electrical effect on the assemblyhe wished to mould to his own views. He had that facility of comprehension—that liveli- ness of imaginationand at the same time a warmth, a vigour, an energy of manner—that gave every word he uttered not merely the appearance, hut the reality of being at that moment recon- ceived in his brain. He furnished all of his speech but the argu- ment : the epigrammatic turn, the touch of fancy, the playful allusion, the imperturbable temper, the powerful and well-modu- lated voice, the figure of a Hercules, and the lightning flash. of the awful eye,—all these were qualities he could not borrow, and he had them in perfection. It must be allowed that the matter of' a speech is something : but where there were a -hundred men who could write an oration, there was not one who could speak it like MIRABEAIL His power was the power of oratory alone. His character was despised, if hot abhorred; his fortunes were in the extremest state of' dilapidation; and it was only by the exertion of intrigue that he couldget a place in the States-General,—where his name on being called over was received with universal hoot- ing ; and yet here in a very short time he established his throne— the turbulent spirits of the National Assembly he quieted with a look, and ruled the whole of its proceedings with a word. His name resounded to the most distant extremities of France ; he was adored by the people, while he was considered at the same time the only stay and prop of a monarch who a few months before would not have admitted him into his presence. So much for the power of oratory.
The history of the rise of Miaans AU'S power over the National Assembly, is told in very interesting detail by M. Dumostr ; who during the whole period was a witness of it, and a collaborateur, though by no means the only one. There are many amusing anec- dotes of the difficulties into which the orator fell by depending upon others for his supplieS. Two of the most curious are the anecdotes of CASEAUX and of PINEL. In the first, MIRABEAU took into the Assembly, without reading, a speech written for him by a visionary; which astonished none so much as himself when he came to deliver it. Such was the effect of the mystification, that he was every now and then obliged to lay down his manu- script and extemporize. The favourable effect of his own eloquence was instantaneous; but as soon as he raised the manuscript again, a leaden weight seemed to fhll upon the Assembly. This was at- tributed to profound art: it was, however, the blunder of a careless person, so confident in his powers as never to be abashed at any mistake. The other case was one in which his speech was written by an understrapper of talent, but of low character : the speech was answered by Abbe Mauav, and thoroughly refuted : MIRABEAIT, who knew nothing of the subject, had not a word to say in reply —but he procured an adjournment. The speechmaker was found with difficulty ; and, what was worse, had not been present to hear MAURY'S attack. MIRABEAU was in a violent rage, and treated his unhappy subaltern with gross indignity—he even beat him. PIXEL, it is to be supposed, had been accustomed to this sort of discipline, for it does not appear to have discomposed his wits : the next morning he produced an excellent reply to the refutation of the Abbe MAURY ; which was duly spoken by MIRABEAU in the National Assembly, with triumphant success. Seine of MIRABEAVS most remarkable efforts were prepared for him by M. DUMONT, who with the greatest candour states the circumstances under which they were produced. In MIRABEAIA society, a man of talent was stimulated to the production of ideas which he probably never would have arrived at without similar excitement ; and when they were elicited, no man could so soon master them and make them his own, or, when the time came for their delivery, wield them with a similar effect.
The authority of DUMONT has been perverted to the uses of the Tory writers of this country, who are just now occupied in endea- vouring to show that we are on the brink of a revolution, and that this revolution is to resemble the French, more particularly in its spoliation of property and its destruction of life. Neither the opinions of DUMONT nor the facts he states can be fairly adduced as a testimony against the justifiableness of the first steps of the French Revolution; nor can they be with any manner of justice brought to bear against the wishes of the English people for a Re- formed Parliament. On the contrary, a warning may be gathered from the acute and striking observations in this work, against the danger of a selfish delay in complying with the just desires of an united people. DUMONT clearly shows, that the revolution of France was in the hands of the King, from the first movement down to a very late period ; and that the monarchy was lost by his vacillation and imbecility of conduct. That other monarchies may be also lost in a similar manner, is true : a shortsighted And violent faction, rushing in the face of a people's wishes, had they a direct and powerful influence on a King's council, might involve him in their fall. But very different is the ease of England : the King, his Government, and the People, are all drawing to- gether; the obstacle is an interested Aristocraey,—universally supposed to be mere self-seekers, or, on the other hand, mere im- beciles,—who are frightened out of their poor propriety by the fear of change, the bugbear of revolution. DUMONT records, as all others who have written of the French Revolution have done, the hasty surrender of all their privileges, at one sitting of the As- sembly, by the nobility who had joined the commons. This only proves that those who do not give a little in season, may have to give all out of season; and may be taken as a hint by those who will surrender nothing to the demands orthe country. The French Revolution turned out ill—and as much is to be gathered from Dumoair—in consequence, first, of-the wretched bad faith, the miserable imbecility, and the selfish violence of the Court; next, from the utter inexperience in the country of the working and management of a representative government. There -was no pervading sympathy in France : the head was indeed on -the shoulders of the nation, but it had no more nervous connexion with the rest of the body than the capital of a column with its pedestal. Its leading men were alike ignorant of the manner of conducting business in a deliberative assembly; and the.confusion- that arose, which drowned reason and justice, gave an opportunity for the most unscrupulous opinions and the strongest voices to make themselves heard. France, by a long course of oppression and absolutism, was unprepared to take the management of its own revolution into its own hands, into which it was thrown- by the misconduct of the Court. If, as DUMONT shows, the King had the power to stem the current of revolution at any one point, and failed to do so from bad counsel, then the obloquy of the Re- volution ought to fall upon him. It is not, however, in our nature to visit mischievous weakness with the same severity as we do mischievous force; otherwise the good-natured Louis the Six- teenth would be classed among the worst tyrants that have heaped calamities on their subjects. If the floodgates of a sluice gave way before a weight of water, they would be considered very wretched workmanship, and universally condemned as floodgates; though some good-natured people might point out that the wood at least was of the best quality, and would have served some other purposes with great efficiency. . It appears from usiONT, that the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic were no part of the intention of any of the great leaders and movers in the commencement of the Revolution, nor until it was actually forced upon them by the conduct of the King. When, after the King's disgraceful escape .and capture at Varennes, DUCHATELET placarded a proclamation for a republic, he was thought mad. Evesi SIEVES would not hear of it. We should like to know how such twisters and adapters of authority as the writers of the Quarterly Review bring this fact to bear on the history of British Reform. But the matter may be easily summed up in few words. In France, the King temporized with a dangerous malady until it got completely ahead : in Eng- land, the King is applying a decided remedy, which will immedi- ately reduce the bin-noun; and obstructions of the system ; and he is opposed and hampered by a parcel of quack s, who make some- thing by the continuance of an old chronic complaint.
Previous page
