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olemnquestion；asitregardstheverificationofgodsimpartiality。
july8th；noon鈥斺�攊wentthismorningtocalluponafriendfromthesameprovinceasmyself；whoisthefirstusher…in…waitingtooneofourministers。itookhimsomelettersfromhisfamily；leftforhimbyatravellerjustefrombrittany。hewishedmetostay。
〃to…day；〃saidhe；〃theministergivesnoaudience：hetakesadayofrestwithhisfamily。hisyoungersistersarearrived；hewilltakethemthismorningtost。cloud；andintheeveninghehasinvitedhisfriendstoaprivateball。ishallbedismisseddirectlyfortherestoftheday。wecandinetogether；readthenewswhileyouarewaitingforme。〃
isatdownatatablecoveredwithnewspapers；allofwhichilookedoverbyturns。mostofthemcontainedseverecriticismsonthelastpoliticalactsoftheminister；someofthemaddedsuspicionsastothehonoroftheministerhimself。
justasihadfinishedreading；asecretarycameforthemtotakethemtohismaster。
hewasthenabouttoreadtheseaccusations；tosuffersilentlytheabuseofallthosetongueswhichwereholdinghimuptoindignationortoscorn！liketheromanvictorinhistriumph；hehadtoenduretheinsultsofhimwhofollowedhiscar；relatingtothecrowdhisfollies；hisignorance；orhisvices。
but；amongthearrowsshotathimfromeveryside；wouldnoonebefoundpoisoned？wouldnotonereachsomespotinhisheartwherethewoundwouldbeincurable？whatistheworthofalifeexposedtotheattacksofenvioushatredorfuriousconviction？thechristiansyieldedonlythefragmentsoftheirfleshtothebeastsoftheamphitheatres；themaninpowergivesuphispeace；hisaffections；hishonor；tothecruelbitesofthepen。
whileiwasmusinguponthesedangersofgreatness；theusherenteredhastily。importantnewshadbeenreceived：theministerisjustsummonedtothecouncil；hewillnotbeabletotakehissisterstost。cloud。
isaw；throughthewindows；theyoungladies；whowerewaitingatthedoor；sorrowfullygoupstairsagain；whiletheirbrotherwentofftothecouncil。thecarriage；whichshouldhavegonefilledwithsomuchfamilyhappiness；isjustoutofsight；carryingonlythecaresofastatesmaninit。
theushercamebackdiscontentedanddisappointed。themoreorlessoflibertywhichheisallowedtoenjoy；ishisbarometerofthepoliticalatmosphere。ifhegetsleave；allgoeswell；ifheiskeptathispost；thecountryisindanger。hisopiniononpublicaffairsisbutacalculationofhisowninterest。myfriendisalmostastatesman。
ihadsomeconversationwithhim；andhetoldmeseveralcuriousparticularsofpubliclife。
thenewministerhasoldfriendswhoseopinionsheopposes；thoughhestillretainshispersonalregardforthem。thoughseparatedfromthembythecolorshefightsunder；theyremainunitedbyoldassociations；buttheexigenciesofpartyforbidhimtomeetthem。iftheirintercoursecontinued；itwouldawakensuspicion；peoplewouldimaginethatsomedishonorablebargainwasgoingon；hisfriendswouldbeheldtobetraitorsdesiroustosellthemselves；andhethecorruptministerpreparedtobuythem。hehas；therefore；beenobligedtobreakofffriendshipsoftwentyyearsstanding；andtosacrificeattachmentswhichhadbeeasecondnature。
sometimes；however；theministerstillgiveswaytohisoldfeelings；hereceivesorvisitshisfriendsprivately；heshutshimselfupwiththem；andtalksofthetimeswhentheycouldbeopenfriends。bydintofprecautionstheyhavehithertosucceededinconcealingthisblotoffriendshipagainstpolicy；butsoonerorlaterthenewspaperswillbeinformedofit；andwilldenouncehimtothecountryasanobjectofdistrust。
forwhetherhatredbehonestordishonest；itnevershrinksfromanyaccusation。sometimesitevenproceedstocrime。theusherassuredmethatseveralwarningshadbeengiventheministerwhichhadmadehimfearthevengeanceofanassassin；andthathenolongerventuredoutonfoot。
then；fromonethingtoanother；ilearnedwhattemptationscameintomisleadoroverehisjudgment；howhefoundhimselffatallyledintoobliquitieswhichhecouldnotbutdeplore。misledbypassion；over…persuadedbyentreaties；orpelledforreputationssake；hehasmanytimesheldthebalancewithanunsteadyhand。howsadtheconditionofhimwhoisinauthority！notonlyarethemiseriesofpowerimposeduponhim；butitsvicesalso；which；notcontentwithtorturing；succeedincorruptinghim。
weprolongedourconversationtillitwasinterruptedbytheministersreturn。hethrewhimselfoutofthecarriagewithahandfulofpapers；andwithananxiousmannerwentintohisownroom。aninstantafterwardhisbellwasheard；hissecretarywascalledtosendoffnoticestoallthoseinvitedfortheevening；theballwouldnottakeplace；theyspokemysteriouslyofbadnewstransmittedbythetelegraph；andinsuchcircumstancesanentertainmentwouldseemtoinsultthepublicsorrow。
itookleaveofmyfriend；andhereiamathome。whatihavejustseenisananswertomydoubtstheotherday。nowiknowwithwhatpangsmenpayfortheirdignities；nowiunderstandthatfortunesellswhatwebelieveshegives。
thisexplainstomethereasonwhycharlesvaspiredtothereposeofthecloister。
andyetihaveonlyglancedatsomeofthesufferingsattachedtopower。
whatshallisayofthefallsinwhichitspossessorsareprecipitatedfromtheheightsofheaventotheverydepthsoftheearth？ofthatpathofpainalongwhichtheymustforeverbeartheburdenoftheirresponsibility？ofthatchainofdecorumsandennuiswhichenpasseseveryactoftheirlives；andleavesthemsolittleliberty？
thepartisansofdespotismadherewithreasontoformsandceremonies。
ifmenwishtogiveunlimitedpowertotheirfellow…man；theymustkeephimseparatedfromordinaryhumanity；theymustsurroundhimwithacontinualworship；and；byaconstantceremonial；keepupforhimthesuperhumanparttheyhavegrantedhim。ourmasterscannotremainabsolute；exceptonconditionofbeingtreatedasidols。
but；afterall；theseidolsaremen；and；iftheexclusivelifetheymustleadisaninsulttothedignityofothers；itisalsoatormenttothemselves。everyoneknowsthelawofthespanishcourt；whichusedtoregulate；hourbyhour；theactionsofthekingandqueen；〃sothat；〃
saysvoltaire；〃byreadingitonecantellallthatthesovereignsofspainhavedone；orwilldo；fromphilipiitothedayofjudgment。〃itwasbythislawthatphilipiii；whensick；wasobligedtoenduresuchanexcessofheatthathediedinconsequence；becausethedukeofuzeda；whoalonehadtherighttoputoutthefireintheroyalchamber；happenedtobeabsent。
whenthewifeofcharlesiiwasrunawaywithonaspiritedhorse；shewasabouttoperishbeforeanyonedaredtosaveher；becauseetiquetteforbadethemtotouchthequeen。twoyoungofficersendangeredtheirlivesforherbystoppingthehorse。theprayersandtearsofherwhomtheyhadjustsnatchedfromdeathwerenecessarytoobtainpardonfortheircrime。everyoneknowstheanecdoterelatedbymadamecampanofmarieantoinette；wifeoflouisxvi。oneday；beingathertoilet；whent