THREE YEARS From September 3, 1914 to September 3, 1917 By BARR FERREE A chronological survey of the bombardment of Reims from September 3, to September 3, 1917, giving the details of the bombardment day by day for entire period of the siege. This is the first book in any language dealing with bombardment of Reims in its entirety, and presents a remarkable picture of life at Reims under the shells. The book includes a general introduction on the bombardment, a sketch of history of the cathedral, churches and other notable buildings, and a histo the destruction of the cathedral and other important structures in Reims. Price, post-paid, $2.00 LEONARD SCOTT PUBLICATION COMPANY 249 West 13th Street, New York THE QUARTERLY REVIEW. No. 453.-OCTOBER, 1917. Art. 1.-THE PRIVATE PAPERS OF M. THIERS. THE private papers which M. Thiers bequeathed to his sister-in-law, Mademoiselle Félicie Dosne, were handed by her to the Bibliothèque Nationale, on the understanding that they were not to be accessible to the public until ten years after her death. I was able to examine these papers last year, and I have since published important extracts from them in some of the Paris newspapers, such as the Journal des Débats' and the 'Temps,' and in some of the French reviews. I am now preparing for publication a special study of these papers, which I believe will be found to contain matter of the highest interest to the historical student. The legacy of Mademoiselle Dosne comprises twentyseven volumes of original letters of various kinds, and over fifty other volumes in which are included many documents, the greater part of which have already been made known to the public, being included either in a collection of extracts made under the direction of the donor and published in five volumes for private circulation among her friends, or in official documents or in certain special works, like M. Doniol's 'La Liberation du Territoire.' The documents to which I refer deal with M. Thiers' diplomatic tour through Europe in 1870, to the evacuation of French territory, to the commercial negotiations with England, to the return to France of our military prisoners, to the reconstitution of our finances, to the reorganisation of the Army, to the defence of Paris against the Germans, to the second siege of Paris during the Commune, and other matters. I propose in this article to present to the readers of Vol. 228.-No. 453. T the 'Quarterly Review' a number of unpublished extracts from the correspondence of M. Thiers, while at the same time retracing the personal characteristics of this illustrious statesman and briefly recalling the salient events in the life of an historic personage whom I had the privilege of observing at close range during the period when I filled the office of Keeper of the Records of the Assemblée Nationale at Bordeaux and at Versailles. The portrait of Thiers made long ago by Lamartine still remains the most faithful of all: 'He was,' Lamartine wrote, 'a little man, naturally well-knit, active, perfectly poised in every member, as if he were always ready for action, the head well balanced on the neck, the face stamped as that of a man of varied capabilities, the eyes clear, the mouth firm, the smile shrewd, the hands short but well formed and ever open, as in those who, according to the common expression, carry their hearts in their hands. The common herd might have considered the physiognomy of Thiers plain, or even ugly, but for my own part this mistake was impossible. It was an instance of intellectual beauty of features forcing a rebellious body to express the splendour of the mind. The mind of Thiers, like his body, was perfectly poised in all its aspects, vigorous and active. He was, perhaps, as a Southerner, a little too much inclined to assert himself. Modesty is either a northern virtue, or the fine flower of one's education. He was the first to speak, and the last; he scarcely listened to what other people had to say, but he spoke with such precision, such assurance and such a fertility of ideas that one willingly forgave him his volubility. . . . His phrases, moreover, were neither pretentious nor eloquent; they welled smoothly from his mind and his heart.' Such is the portrait of Thiers which Lamartine drew in 1846. Astonishing as it may appear, this portrait needs very little retouching to-day. My recollection of M. Thiers is as he is marvellously presented in the celebrated portrait by Léon Bonnat-the hair short and clustered in a little tuft on the top of the head, the face clean-shaven, the forehead broad and almost without a wrinkle, while between the well-curved eyebrows were two deeply-cut furrows strongly characteristic of will and obstinacy; the eyes malicieux and alert, twinkling behind gold eye-glasses; the nose slightly curved and inclined towards the mocking lips; the chin firm, and resting on a stiff collar; the figure comfortably enclosed in a well-fitting frockcoat, while the small but plump hands indicated a peculiar strength and energy. I seem still to hear his clear, distinct, precise voice, his fulltoned accent, which nevertheless had nothing of the South about it, his persuasive and commanding style. I can still recall that natural eloquence, full of logic, of balance and good sense, of shrewdness and scholarship, and the wonderful charm which it produced upon the most refractory auditors. The astonishing fact for those who are able to recollect the events of the war of 1870, the Commune, the Peace of Frankfort and the liberation of the territory, is that Thiers, for over two years, as reorganiser and master, in the midst of unexampled difficulties, directed the highly complicated affairs of France and marched triumphantly over apparently insurmountable obstacles, after having had to combat the incessant demands and bad faith of the foreigner, the violence and the crimes of insurgents at home, the multiple and irreconcilable exigencies of political parties-a redoubtable host of adversaries, in short, both at home and abroad. Though seventy-four years old, he dominated the natural fatigue of old age by a vivacity, a versatility and a strength of soul and mind and body that were without parallel. In the course of the almost unknown address which was prepared by Emile Ollivier for the reception at the Académie Française of the historian Henri Martin as the successor to the fauteuil of Thiers-the delivery of which, by the way, the Academy, on May 29, 1878, decided to postpone, on the ground that, in their opinion, it appeared likely to reflect on the memory of the illustrious statesman-there is to be found a very accurate portrait of Thiers and a brilliant appreciation of his oratorical style which reveals a master-hand. 'Those who had not previously listened to the wonderful eloquence of M. Thiers,' wrote Emile Ollivier, 'experienced at first a slight feeling of disappointment. He possessed, as a matter of fact, none of those outward advantages to which so many celebrated orators have owed an appreciable part of their success. His brain was remarkably well equipped, as a result of his insatiable curiosity; the eye sparkling with a luminous vivacity, the lip whimsical and firm, the features full of expression and glowing with intelligence. Owing to his small stature, barely half his figure could be seen above the front of the rostrum. His voice, which was lacking in musical tones, was incapable of grave or pathetic inflexions, and at the outset one had some difficulty in catching his words. This first impression, however, was soon dissipated, as the enchanter rapidly brought his seductive powers into action. He never attempted any of those powerful appeals to the feelings which carry hearers away and leave them breathless with emotion. His method was rather to lead up to his point by a series of small but effective efforts, made with rapidity and precision. There was no attempt at formal oratory during the opening passages of his speeches, which at first took rather the form of delightful causeries, sprinkled with witty touches which pleased by expressing all that is the most intelligent, the most sprightly and the most Attic in the French language. Little by little, however, the speech took a broader development; repetitions became less frequent and the style more impressive. A suffused fervour animated, carried along and impelled the reasoning. The voice became vibrant, the gestures dominating, and the causeur was transformed into an alluring orator who swept his hearers off their feet.' This portrait is entirely lifelike if one adds the essential fact that Thiers, when carried away by the greatness and importance of his subject, had the gift of suddenly calling up moving recollections, daring phrases, forceful expressions, solemn accents, original and pathetic exclamations and unexpected touches calculated to reach the most unimpressionable minds and hearts. Thus I remember and shall ever remember the sittings of the Corps Législatif in July and August 1870, in which Thiers had to struggle against the unrestrained passions of a furious majority, and where, almost single-handed, he revealed the awful perils into which a war, for which the country was badly prepared, was about to precipitate France. I can still see him at the tribune, dominating by his voice, become vibrant as a trumpet, the violent objurgations of Clément Duvernois, Jerôme David and Cassagnac. He unveiled the perfidy of Bismarck, and deplored the fact that, above all others, the Premier and the Minister of Foreign |