THE FUNERAL COACH OF M. FAURE.

(Accompanied by Ministers.)

this advance weighed on his mind and spirits. He never sat down to table without being haunted by the notion of a sudden attack on the eastern frontier, and the loss of invaluable time on the French side in waiting for the Chambers to vote mobilisation. It is curious that the dinner table should have called up in a particular degree this notion. Perhaps it was due to some association of ideas. M. Faure may have first heard of the danger at a repast where the head of the Russian General Staff, or General Dragomiroff, or General de Boisdeffre was a guest. He had daily accustomed himself, he informed M. Leroux, to the idea that to save France he must, without waiting for a parliamentary vote, commit the illegality of ordering the mobilisation himself.

The late President had the usual cares from which in modern times no ruler is free. His life was twice attempted by anarchist assassins, but fortunately he escaped. On how many other occasions his life was aimed at no one knows, but it is probable that the two which came to the knowledge of the public form but a small proportion of the plots which were detected by the vigilance of his police. Speaking of M. Faure as a man, M. de Blowitz

says:

He

M. Faure's habits were those of a robust man. He rose all the year round at five, took a bath, and at once set to work, though he did not require his secretaries to begin the day so early. He answered all letters on the day they arrived. After a ride in the Bois he lunched with his family at noon and had a good appetite, but he was no epicure. If the weather was fine he then walked with his family in the Elysée grounds, and at two or three o'clock, if not prevented by business, drove out, rode, or walked. After dinner his daughter played the piano, for he was fond of music, and at eleven he retired to rest. was a great smoker, an expert fencer, and an ardent sportsman. In spite of all these habits, M. Faure's death was no surprise to his physicians. Ten months ago he was treated for arthritis in the knee, the result of a fall long ago, and Dr. Lannelongue detected symptoms of an affection of the arteries. He then underwent electric treatment for two months, but, to prevent exaggerated reports, this was concealed from the public, to whom M. Faure, with his tall stature, fine figure, and ruddy face, appeared the picture of health. He had a slight limp on the left side, which accounted for his almost constant use of a walking stick.

His death may have been hastened by overwork and overworry, but it ultimately came from overindulgence. Of the tragic circumstances of his sudden death I do not speak. His last days were troubled by his knowledge

of the fact that General Mercier had owned up before the Criminal Chamber that the condemnation of Dreyfus was really obtained by submitting to his judges a secret document withheld from the knowledge of the accuseda breach of legality for which President Faure shared the responsibility. It is, however, too much to say, as some have said, that the Dreyfus affair killed him. It was altogether another Affaire. For some time past he had been subject to fainting fits, and his attendant was always equipped with ether and smelling-salts in order to bring him round. He was very fond of riding, and was not so careful of avoiding exposure as he might have been. On the Sunday before his death he went at seven o'clock, on a bitterly cold morning, to the studio of a painter who was busy with a picture depicting the Tsar's visit to the Hotel de Ville. He then visited a hospital at Sèvres, and returned on foot through the Bois de Boulogne, when it came on to rain. He was drenched before he reached home. Nevertheless, on Monday and Tuesday he rode out again, but on Wednesday complained much of being tired, and on Thursday morning, almost for the first time, he countermanded his horse, as he felt too tired to ride. He came downstairs to his study at seven o'clock, read the telegrams and the papers, attended a Cabinet Council at nine, lunched at noon, returned to his study at two, and between five and six, when in company with an intimate acquaintance, he suddenly fell ill. At ten o'clock he was dead. So passed away the sixth President of the Third Republic, a man who, although he had not attained to the highest rank, nevertheless set before France a spectacle of the energetic and industrious citizen who, starting on the lowest rung of the ladder, makes his way to the top and maintains himself there with dignity and honour. His ambition may not have been the highest, and his name would probably have shone brighter in history if he had shown any desire to secure the triumph of justice in the Affaire Dreyfus. But notwithstanding that defect, he will be gratefully remembered as the man who, excepting for the dark shadow that overhangs the close of his career, acquitted himself not discreditably in the foremost position in France.

the Presidential election both began life as articled clerks in the office of the same solicitor. M. Loubet and M. Méline, who began life together, did not even allow their rival ambitions to interfere with their lifelong friendship. Both wished, it is said, to have resigned in favour of the other, but there can be little doubt that the election of M. Loubet was a much more satisfactory result than the election of M. Méline would have been. M. Méline is a fanatical protectionist, and had behind him all the enemies of Dreyfus. M. Loubet, on the other hand, is one of those citizens whose emergence at such crises is one of the most reassuring incidents in the history of modern democracy. He is not a brilliant man, and has never made any pretensions to being a genius, but he is admitted, even by his enemies, to be an honest man, and the story of his career as it is told in the papers reminds us of the narratives of the evolution of an American President. It is a story of how a simple citizen of common average ability rises step by step by his own integrity and industry until the Chief Magistracy of the nation is thrust upon him almost without his wish. At one time it was thought that M. Dupuy, the present Prime Minister, would be a formidable candidate for the the Presidency. But in politics, as in gaming, the superstition of luck weighs much in men's minds, and it was remembered against him that his ascendency in the State had been marked by a singular series of misfortunes. He was President of the Chamber of Deputies when Vaillant the anarchist flung the bomb which created such havoc. He was Prime Minister when President Carnot was assassinated, again Prime Minister when M. Casimir Perier resigned, and again when Félix Faure died. The prejudice against him on this and other grounds was so strong that he withdrew in favour of M. Loubet. Much the most interesting things printed about M. Loubet are the stories about his family. The interviews which were published with his mother and his brother-inlaw give an almost idyllic picture of the social milieu from which the new President has sprung. It is possibly that as much as anything else which has contributed to convince Englishmen that the French citizens are not likely to be such fools as to destroy a constitution which enables such a man of the people to attain the first place in the State. If the Orleanist or the Bonapartist conspiracy succeed, the first position in France becomes the monopoly of a single family, whereas there is no peasant in the Republic who may not hope to see his capable son elevated to the supreme rank. Mme. Loubet, the President's mother, an old lady of eightysix, still manages the farm on which her son born. Mrs. Crawford described her as dressed in one of those close caps of thick white muslin with gauffered

was

border, a black handkerchief worn shawl-wise, with the front ends crossed, and a wide check apron with deep pleats that nearly covers the black skirt. In wet weather she tramps about in wooden shoes, and although she is no longer able to knead her bread, she allows no one else to bake it. She is a regular country-wife of the old school, who gets up early in the morning to feed her chickens, and who has never in all her life visited Paris. The farm, she thinks, could not get on without her. When he was elected, her son sent a telegram to tell her what had happened to him, saying quite truly that it would be more worry than honour and more tinsel than true glory. Mme. Loubet was by no means enthusiastic concerning her son's elevation to the supreme post :

The representative of the Matin visited the aged mother of the President at her farm. Mme. Loubet, he says, received the news with regret. "Oh, my poor Émile!" she cried. 'As it was I saw but little of him, and now that he has gone still higher I shall no longer see him at all. Oh, mon Dieu, mon Dieu!" He describes the old lady as follows: "We found ourselves face to face with an old peasant woman. Her face was sunburnt, and of the texture of parchment owing to the misiral. But the features have a finesse which is striking. It is, indeed, the face of the new President of the Republic. You must be very happy, madame.' Mme. Loubet raises her eyes to the sky and utters a 'h'm, h'm,' which shows that her happiness is not so complete as we fancy it. Then she asks us, pointing to a portrait of M. Auguste Loubet on the wall: No doubt you knew my deceased husband.' On the chance we answer yes, and she adds: He was bien brave homme. In my old age I have the happiness of thinking that my son resembles him." After a big sigh, she continues: 'Oh, I am well aware that I shall no longer see him. It is like that in life. We bring up our children, and when they are grown up they cease to occupy themselves with us.' She was evidently not well, and we left, not venturing to question her further."

The same correspondent of the Matin also called upon the President's brother-in-law, M. Frédéric Denis, who is now proprietor of the ironmonger's shop where, in 1867, M. Loubet, then a rising young barrister, wooed and won Mademoiselle Marie Denis, who now as Madame Loubet is first lady in France. M. Denis" account of his brother-in-law is very pleasant reading :

"M. Emile Loubet," said the brother-in-law, "has always been what is called a bûcheur. Up at six o'clock in the morning, he never goes to bed before 11 p.m. Nothing extraordinary has ever happened to him, but you can say that he is a good fellowand an honest one. His father was a simple peasant who worked by the sweat of his brow. The farm where my brotherin-law was born is four kilomètres away, at Marsanne. His father is dead, but Madame Loubet still lives there. She is eighty-six years old, the brave femme, and I assure you she is still a good walker and has a clear eye. She wants to do everything herself, but, naturally, a woman of her age cannot, like a woman of twenty, keep her eye on everything. He has been brother-in-law has passed through all the grades. Municipal Councillor, Arrondissement Councillor, Conseiller Général, Deputy, Senator, Minister, Prime Minister, President of the Senate, and now President of the Republic. The only thing that troubles us is that he can no longer come Montélimart as in the past, and that with the Protocol it will be much more difficult to get at him.

My

to

"I am delighted at what has happened, but you have no idea what a bore it is to have a member of your family something in

But

the Government. A lot of people come to see you to get them places. Only this morning I had four letters from people wanting to be recommended to my brother-in-law. ironmonger I am, and ironmonger I mean to remain. I have to work to live, for we are not as rich as people think. My brother-in-law, moreover, must keep to the rules of order and economy which have brought him to his high position or he will soon be ruined. The family is not poor, but it is not rich either, and I doubt if M. Loubet can spend much money in excess of his official income as President and in addition to the sum allotted him for entertainment. He has a son and a daughter. The former is his private secretary; the latter, named Marguerite, is twenty-seven years of age and is married to M. Soubeyran de Saint Prixe, at present a magistrate at Marseilles."

These details may be of small importance to the politician, but they invest the new President with a strong human interest, and help to bring home to every Frenchman the fact that their new ruler is emphatically one of themselves. M. Loubet appears, like his predecessor, to be not without honour in his own country. When the news arrived of his election, the town of Montélimart blossomed out into tricolour flags, and every one was delighted at the honour which had befallen their beloved townsman. He had served as Mayor and for years had been the chief political man in the town. He "theed " and "thoud" every one, and every one "theed" and "thoud " him. His

grandfather could neither read nor write, but from his childhood upwards young Émile Loubet had been known to be a youth of character and of energy. He was a boy at school when the coup d'état took place, and he vented his indignation at the crime of Napoleon with such vehement cries of "Vive la République!" that he was severely lectured and punished by the usual deprivations which follow insubordination in a French seminary. Shortly afterwards he showed considerable presence of mind in extricating some travellers from a diligence which had been overturned on the road. He was very, very fond of music, and the village folks still tell how the young Émile used to go through the village on holidays in the uniform of the band—a blue blouse and gilded helmet; and it is even added that he not only played in the band, but distinguished himself so much as to compose by way of amusement oratorios and marches for the edification of his fellowstudents. When he grew up he was sent to Paris, where he studied in the Latin Quarter. He took his degree of Doctor of Law, returned to his own country, and started in business as an advocate. He still speaks with a Southern accent, that of Montélimart. Judging from all the reports which have appeared about him in the papers, he is an estimable citizen, a devoted husband, and an affectionate father. He lives simply, and has very little taste for the state ceremonies and the pomp of office which fascinated his predecessor. M. de Blowitz says:

M. Loubet is a well-read man, and familiar both with ancient and modern literature. He is fond of music and an admirer of painting. His eldest daughter is married to a magistrate, and one son is studying law, while the other is still at school. Like his predecessor, he is a great smoker, but not an equestrian. All agree on the affability of his manners, his kindly disposition, and his indifference to pomp or ceremony.

Another correspondent says:

M. Loubet is not a book fancier, but he is fond of choice editions of his favourite authors. They are La Fontaine,

Regnier, Molière, St. Evrémond, and certain tragedies of Racine, Paul Louis Courier, and Thiers. The new President is a thorough provincial. He knows nothing foreign, countries or literature, but, though not at all Clerical, finds in himself an affinity with the Latin world. The Drôme was colonised by Roman legionaries, and is on the road that Hannibal took on his way to Italy. M. Loubet has the solid, steady air of the Roman citizen who did not drape himself in the Grecian style. The nose, one would say, was originally a strong aquiline, but pressed back until it retained at the bridge only the original curve. He must have a strong vein of poetry and tenderness, but to judge from his appearance the practical side of his disposition is the domi

nant one. His accent is strongly Southern, and he thinks it incurable, which no doubt it is. In Paris he eschews garlic, but one of his pleasures in returning to Montélimart is to eat dishes highly seasoned with that condiment, without fearing to offend anyone's nostrils.

On the whole, it is a pleasant picture which we have thus afforded us of the French

man who has so suddenly and unexpectedly been made the Seventh President of the Third Republic.

II. THE NEW
PRESIDENT'S
POLICY.

President Loubet was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies when he was forty, and became a Senator when he was fortyseven. He belonged from the first to the group of the Republican Left. As Deputy

was when Prime Minister that he sent Admiral Gervais with a fleet to Cronstadt, and paved the way for the Franco-Russian Alliance. His wife was Madame Carnot's best friend, and it was Carnot who made him Prime Minister. During his term of office was celebrated the centenary of the proclamation. of the Republic, but it is more remembered because of the crime of the anarchist Ravachol, and of the great strike at Carmaux. During that strike he acted as: arbitrator, and directed the return to employment of all workmen except those who had been sentenced for

he did not make much mark, but was a useful, hardworking member of Parliament, chiefly devoted to financial questions and those public works which are so closely connected with the affairs of the budget. His position was so far secured that he was elected to preside over the Republican Left. In 1885, after he became Senator, he had not long to wait before he was taken into the Cabinet. In the Ministry of M. Tirard he became Minister of Public Works, and in that capacity he carried out a great scheme for conveying the sewage of Paris to the forest of St. Germaine. On the 18th February, 1892, he became Prime Minister, holding the two portfolios of President of the Council and Minister of the Interior. It

ex

violence. The miners, however, refused to go back to work until all their comrades. were released, and M. Loubet offered to pardon them for the sake of peace, and was rewarded by the explosion of a bomb left at the door of the Paris Office of the (Carnot) Company, which, when it was carried to the police headquarters, ploded and killed five policemen. He then brought in and passed the anti-anarchist law, but ten days later his Cabinet was upset on account of the Panama scandals, in which, however, he was not personally implicated. The worst that was said against him is that he was responsible for the delay which gave Baron Reinach time to commit suicide. It was this which led M. Déroulède and his friends to de

nounce the new President as a Panamist, an accusation which is easily brought against any public man who held office at the time of that great exposure; but even his worst assailants do not pretend that he has had a personal share in that great swindle. Of his attitude on the Dreyfus affair nothing can be said, except that he has never identified himself either with one party or with the other.. This in itself is sufficient to expose him to attack on the part of the enemies of Dreyfus, who consider neutrality in such an issue as the worst of crimes. For the last three years M. Loubet has presided over the Senate, a post which necessitated his acting as presiding officer when the vote was taken which elected him to the Presidency. It is