This man, who had been compelled to conceal himself during the first
Restoration, knew only too well, that the returned _emigres_ had learned
nothing and forgotten nothing.
The Duc de Sairmeuse was no exception to the rule.
He thought, and nothing could be more sadly absurd, that a mere act
of authority would suffice to suppress forever all the events of the
Revolution and of the empire.
When he said: "I do not admit that!" he firmly believed that there was
nothing more to be said; that controversy was ended; and that what _had_
been was as if it had never been.
If some, who had seen Louis XVII. at the helm in 1814, assured the duke
that France had changed in many respects since 1789, he responded with a
shrug of the shoulders:
"Nonsense! As soon as we assert ourselves, all these rascals, whose
rebellion alarms you, will quietly sink out of sight."
Such was really his opinion.
On the way from Montaignac to Sairmeuse, the duke, comfortably ensconced
in his berlin, unfolded his theories for the benefit of his son.
"The King has been poorly advised," he said, in conclusion.
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