The Innocents Abroad


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to such a degree that figures can hardly compute it. He has rebuilt  
Paris and has partly rebuilt every city in the state. He condemns a  
whole street at a time, assesses the damages, pays them, and rebuilds  
superbly. Then speculators buy up the ground and sell, but the original  
owner is given the first choice by the government at a stated price  
before the speculator is permitted to purchase. But above all things, he  
has taken the sole control of the empire of France into his hands and  
made it a tolerably free land--for people who will not attempt to go too  
far in meddling with government affairs. No country offers greater  
security to life and property than France, and one has all the freedom he  
wants, but no license--no license to interfere with anybody or make  
anyone uncomfortable.  
As for the Sultan, one could set a trap any where and catch a dozen abler  
men in a night.  
The bands struck up, and the brilliant adventurer, Napoleon III., the  
genius of Energy, Persistence, Enterprise; and the feeble Abdul-Aziz, the  
genius of Ignorance, Bigotry, and Indolence, prepared for the Forward  
--March!  
We saw the splendid review, we saw the white-moustached old Crimean  
soldier, Canrobert, Marshal of France, we saw--well, we saw every thing,  
and then we went home satisfied.  
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144 145 146 147 148

Quick Jump
1 187 374 560 747