Beaumarchais and the war of American independence . seen so violentagainst Beaumarchais, they had taken up their functions. The dissenting princes demanded to be taken back intofavor, the dispossessed magistrates of the dissolved parlia-ments consented to the liquidation of the charges againstthem, the pamphlets diminished, and things came back totheir ordinary course. Maupeou held himself assured ? oftriumph and vaunted that he had saved the crown from theregistrar. But he had deceived himself. When any large part of anation, honest and intelligent, feels itself wounded in itsdignity, though
Beaumarchais and the war of American independence . seen so violentagainst Beaumarchais, they had taken up their functions. The dissenting princes demanded to be taken back intofavor, the dispossessed magistrates of the dissolved parlia-ments consented to the liquidation of the charges againstthem, the pamphlets diminished, and things came back totheir ordinary course. Maupeou held himself assured ? oftriumph and vaunted that he had saved the crown from theregistrar. But he had deceived himself. When any large part of anation, honest and intelligent, feels itself wounded in itsdignity, though the wound may close in appearance, it doesnot heal; that which was in the beginning a flame became asmouldering fire, which hidden under the ashes of an appar-ent non-resistance was in reality but waiting an opportunityto break forth into a devouring element. It was reserved for Beaumarchais to fan this into aflame with a suit for fifteen louis, and to destroy both Mau-peou and his parliament. It was then to this parliament and Maupeou that the. MADAME DTT BABRT The Parliament Maupeou 177 Comte de la Blache made his appeal. The institution wasthe more to his liking, since at its head presided a certaincounsellor by the name of Goezman who seemed especiallymade for his purpose. We shall have much to say of this same Goezman in a suc-ceeding chapter when it comes to the question of the famouslawsuit concerning the fifteen louis. At this time, however,Beaumarchaiss case was very strong and none of his friendsseriously supposed that the count would be able to turn thesuit against him. It was at this crisis that a circumstance, one of the mostbizarre of all the strange happenings in the life of Beaumar-chais, suddenly placed him at the mercy of his bitterestenemy. For a minutely detailed account of this incident we haveBeaumarchaiss own account as rendered to the lieutenant ofpolice after the matter had been taken up by the authori-ties. While Gudin on his side, who, as we shall see
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