DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

the royal prerogative. In France we find the converse of this. From the earliest days of her history, the nobility and the middle class assisted in building up the autocracy of the crown, partly from a mistaken sense of loyalty and a want of political discernment, partly from selfishness and greed. The more absolute the king, the more assured were they of the maintenance and the extension of their numerous privileges at the expense of the people. As early as 1752 the Marquis d’Argenson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote these prophetic . words :—‘The evil results of an absolute monarchy are succeeding in convincing France and the whole of Europe that it is the worst form of government. I hear all the philosophers saying that even anarchy would be preferable. Public opinion, however, is growing, and may lead to a national revolution.’ Singularly enough public opinion emanated from a quarter from which it was least expected. It eman- ated from the nobility. Unlike the nobility of Eng- land, which was always a small and compact body, recruited from, and returning to, the middle class, the old nobility of France consisted of a gigantic network of many thousands of families. Surrounded by insurmountable barriers of caste and prejudice, it extended octopus-like its ten- tacles over the whole country. It held three-