This is from a serial of Hortense’s explanation why she broke the law. Previous entries can be found here.
The previous excerpt was about how after the fall of Napoleon, the aristocrats became utterly ruthless so they wouldn’t “lose” their power again.
…….
So a new king must at all costs attract this confidence and only show himself to defend the honor and freedom of France, deposited with so much abandon in his hands. It is so easy, moreover, to win the affection of the people. They have the simplicity of childhood!
If he sees that the King is helping him, the public lets it go. It is only when he believes there’s betrayal or injustice that the public revolts, and it is always generous when victorious.
There is everything to expect from a population that was as admirable as that of Paris in the those days [of the July Revolution]. It was with pride that I said to myself: "This is my country.” These are my compatriots. Besides, as an almost disinterested spectator in everything that was going on, I attempted to judge events with impartiality, and I enjoyed being no longer an actress in the great drama unfolding before me.
Why did fate hold me to play such a fatal role? The Pope [Pius VIII] fell ill and died. He was loved and respected. If he had lived we would no doubt have remained quiet. This interregnum seemed a favorable moment to this youth full of ardor, to shake off the yoke of a government which offered them nothing, since any career in Rome, apart from that of the Church, was forbidden to them.
