I hope, too, that the willing homage I pay to
the high and ruling virtues which distinguish your Imperial Majesty, and
which form the felicity of so large a part of the world, will not be
looked upon as the language of adulation to power and greatness. In my
humble situation, I can behold majesty in its splendor without being
dazzled, and I am capable of respecting it in its fall.
It is, Madam, from my strong sense of what is due to dignity in
undeserved misfortune, that I am led to felicitate your Imperial Majesty
on the use you have lately made of your power. The princes and nobility
of France, who from honor and duty, from blood and from principle, are
attached to that unhappy crown, have experienced your favor and
countenance; and there is no doubt that they will finally enjoy the full
benefit of your protection. The generosity of your Imperial Majesty has
induced you to take an interest in their cause; and your sagacity has
made you perceive that in the case of the sovereign of France the cause
of all sovereigns is tried,--that in the case of its church, the cause
of all churches,--and that in the case of its nobility is tried the
cause of all the respectable orders of all society, and even of society
itself.
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