3118. FRANCE, The Allied Powers and.—
The sufferings of France, I sincerely
deplore, and what is to be their term? The
will of the Allies. There is no more moderation,
forbearance, or even honesty in theirs,
than in that of Bonaparte. They have proved
that their object, like his, is plunder. They,
like him, are shuffling nations together, or
into their own hands, as if all were right
which they feel a power to do. In the exhausted
state in which Bonaparte has left
France, I see no period to her sufferings,
until this combination of robbers fall together
by the ears. The French may then
rise up and choose their side. And I trust
they will finally establish for themselves a
government of rational and well-tempered
liberty. So much science cannot be lost; so
much light shed over them can never fail
to produce to them some good, in the end.—
To Albert Gallatin. Washington ed. vi, 500.
(M.
Oct. 1815)
