[The Idler in France by Marguerite Gardiner]@TWC D-Link bookThe Idler in France CHAPTER XXVI 12/16
Although liberty appears to be with him a monomania, the warmth with which he advocates it in conversation never urges him beyond the bounds of good breeding. It is a strange infatuation to suppose that as civilisation extends its influence, men will have faith in the Utopian schemes of well-meaning visionaries, and risk evils they know not, in exchange for a state which, if not quite faultless, has at least much of good.
How many brave and honourable men become the dupes of heated imaginations and erroneous opinions, which, urging them to effect an amelioration of some grievances, incur the penalty of imparting greater ones! General Peppe is liked by all who know him, though all lament the monomania that has gained such an ascendency over his mind.
His brother, General Florestan Peppe at Naples, whom we esteem so much, is one of the most excellent men I ever knew. The Duc de Guiche has returned to Paris, after having seen the royal family safely embarked at Cherbourg.
The departure of the aged monarch presented a melancholy scene.
At his time of life, he can never hope to behold his country again, and the sudden change from the throne of a great kingdom to a compelled exile in a foreign land is a reverse of fortune that demands a philosophy to support, with which few are blest. There is something touching in the attachment of the Duc and Duchesse de Guiche to this unfortunate family, and above all, to the Dauphin and Dauphine.
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