Roger's forehead creased in a puzzled frown, and he murmured: "I still do not see . . ."
"It is quite simple, Mr. Brook. The appreciation which you gave me when we last met of future political trends in France has, God be thanked, proved wrong. But your pessimistic views about the war showed an uncanny foresight and have proved terribly correct. I make no promise to follow your advice; but I desire you to tell me what, were you in my place, you would do now?"
"Really, Sir!" Roger's face showed his astonishment. "You rate my abilities far higher than they merit Besides, how can I even venture an opinion, when I have been out of touch with events in Europe for so long?"
"You know the broad picture, and that is sufficient for our purpose. During the past eight months the Grand Alliance has fallen in pieces about our ears. In February Tuscany caved in and the Netherlands Army collapsed. In April we lost Prussia, till then our most potent ally, together with Westphalia and Saxony. In May the Dutch went over to our enemies. In July the Spaniards too betrayed us, and since then Hesse-Cassel, Switzerland and Denmark have all sued for peace. It is true that Catherine of Russia has now made a pact with the Emperor and promised to send him some support; but she is old, ill and has little to gain, so I doubt if she will despatch more than a token force; and in the meantime our Austrian allies are near played out Everywhere the armies of the French Republic are victorious, and with the destruction of the Quiberon expedition there disappeared our last hope of striking a blow at its heart."
Roger considered for a moment, then he said slowly: "There seems nought for it, then, but to initiate measures which, while safeguarding the interests of such allies as are left to us, might bring us an honourable peace."
Mr. Pitt raised an eyebrow. "Knowing your hatred of the Revolutionaries, Mr. Brook, I had never thought to hear you advocate such a policy."
With a shrug, Roger replied: "As long as I live, Sir, I shall feel a loathing for the men who must still make up the bulk of the Convention. But it would be wrong to allow one's sentiments to influence one's judgment on such an issue. If there is no longer any hope of our emerging victorious from the war, its continuance can result only in a profitless (draining away of our country's resources. Therefore, the sooner we can negotiate a reasonably satisfactory peace, the better —and it would be better still if some formula could be found to bring about at the same time a general pacification of Europe."
"Well said, Mr. Brook; well said!" The Prime Minister smiled. "Although I challenged you, I am entirely at one with you in this. As you must know, I have always regarded war as senseless, barbarous, and the worst scourge that can afflict the people of any nation. Although under great pressure, I succeeded in restraining our country from entering the present conflict until the French declared war upon us; and, just as our cause is, I would give much to put an end to it, providing that can be done with honour. The problem is, how can we set the stage for an accommodation which I believe would now be as welcome to the war-weary French nation as to our own?"
"You tell me, Sir, that 1 proved wrong in my prediction that the terrorists in Paris would continue to cut one another's throats, and that the survivors would preserve in their policies of greed, ruthless repression and determination to spread their nefarious doctrines by force of arms. I still find it hard to believe that they have acted otherwise. May I ask your grounds for believing that these leopards have changed their spots?"
"They are numerous, and I think sound. During the months following Robespierre's fall many laws restricting the liberty of the subject were repealed, and the public journals were again given a substantial degree of freedom. Last November that hotbed of iniquity, the Jacobin Club, was closed. In December the seventy-three deputies whom the Terrorists had expelled from the Chamber were welcomed back to it, thus greatly strengthening the hands of the Moderates. In March then* return was followed by that of such of the Girondins as survived the Terror, either in prison or as hunted outlaws. This spring, too, the sons-culottes, furious at the turn things were taking, twice endeavoured to overthrow the Government, but on each occasion both the National Guard and regular troops sided with it; so these revolts were swiftly crushed. By summer a degree of religious toleration had been granted, and in almost every village the Mass was again being celebrated. Lastly, since June, the French journals have carried many reports of minor Terrorists being lynched by the people they once persecuted. Is that enough for you?"
Roger smiled. "All of it is most excellent news; but I pray you tell me this. Do the names of Billand-Varennes, Collot d'Herbois, Fouché, Tallien, Fréron, David, Amer, Rewbell, Merlin of Douai, Bourdon of the Oise, Cambon and the Abbé Sieves, still appear as those of active deputies in the reports furnished you of proceedings in the Chamber; and does the real power still lie in the hands of the Committee of Public Safety?"
"The first two you mention were among a group of Jacobins sentenced to transportation after the revolt last May; but, as far as my memory serves me, most of the others are still leading figures; and although the powers of the Committee have been much curtailed, it remains the executive body through which the nation is governed."
"Then, Sir, I must confess that I am a man who 'convinced against his will is of the same opinion still'. Yet it seems that pressure of public opinion has forced these monsters to disguise their true feelings for the tune being; so advantage might be taken of that while it lasts. What is to prevent you from putting out peace feelers to them through diplomatic channels in some neutral country?"
"Should we do so and they are met with a rebuff, we would have only encouraged our enemies by disclosing signs of weakness; and my agents in Paris inform me that there is little hope of such overtures being received favourably."
"That, Sir, as you may recall, was my own opinion; but you maintain that during the past year matters have changed. It can hardly be doubted that after all the French people have suffered during the last six years they must crave beyond all things a cessation of strife. Indeed, it is computed that not less than a mMon of them have died in massacres, purges, revolts and the Vendeean wars; universal conscription has brought ruin to their industries and agriculture; they have lived on the verge of starvation since '93 and the war continues to put an appalling strain upon their man-power. Therefore, admitting your contention that since the fall of Robespierre sheer weight of public opinion has forced his successors to give the people a much greater degree of freedom, surely that same weight of opinion might result in compelling them to give favourable consideration to overtures for peace?"
Mr. Pitt shook his head. "It is not as simple as that. Peace would inevitably lead to a further relaxation of the stranglehold that they still exercise on the nation. Such has been the change of sentiment in France recently that fresh elections would result in the return of a Chamber overwhelmingly in favour of the restoration of the Monarchy."
"The. reaction of which you speak was sooner or later inevitable; but I am a little surprised to learn that you think such a volte-face already assured of the support of the masses."
"I am certain of it. They have come to look back on the ancien regime as an era of peace and prosperity. Of course, they would not agree to the re-establishment of an aristocracy; but nine-tenths of them would favour a Limited Monarchy based on the Constitution granted by Louis XVI in '91. The Girondins, and other excluded deputies who have returned to the Convention, still exercise caution in their pronouncements, but I have reliable information that the majority of them are only waiting their chance to bring about a Restoration."