Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 1.djvu/349

 BETWEEN THE CZAB AND THE SULTAN. 307 as by fastening upon all who stood up against chap. them the name of the hated sect, they caused it '__ to be believed by thousands, and perhaps by J^Jtol'e millions, that they were engaged in a valorous %£*£££ and desperate struggle against Socialism. In Socml,sm - proportion as this pretence came to be believed, support 11 r thus ob- it brought hosts of people to the support of the tained. Executive Government ; and there is reason to believe that, even among those of the upper classes who seemed to be standing proudly aloof from the Elysee, there were many who secretly rejoiced to be delivered from their fear of the Democrats at the price of having to see France handled for a time by persons like Morny and Maupas. The truth is, that in the success of this specula- tion of the Elysee many thought they saw how to escape from the vexations of democi'acy in a safe and indolent way. When an Arab decides that the burnous, which is his garment by day and by night, has become unduly populous, he lays it upon an ant-hill in order that the one kind of insect may be chased away by the other ; and, as soon as this has been clone, he easily brushes off the conquering genus with the stroke of a whip or a pipe-stick. In a lazy mood well-born men thought to do this with France ; and the first part of the process was successful enough, for all the red sort were killed or crushed or hunted away ; but when that was done it began to appear that those whose hungry energies had been made use of to do the work were altogether unwilling to be