It is， accordingly， almost the entire elite of old France which is wanting in the new France， like a limb violently wrenched and half-detached by the unskillful and brutal scalpel of the revolutionary "sawbones"； for both the organ and the body are not only living， but they are still feverish and extremely sensitive； it is important to avoid too great irritation； inflammation of any kind would be dangerous. A skilful surgeon， therefore， must mark the places for the stitches， not force the junctures， but anticipate and prepare for the final healing process， and await the gradual and slow results of vital effort and spontaneous renewal. Above all he must not alarm the patient. The First Consul is far from doing this； on the contrary his expressions are all encouraging. Let the patient keep quiet， there shall be no re-stitching， the wound shall not be touched. The constitution solemnly declares that the French people shall never allow the return of the émigrés，[17] and， on this point， the hands of future legislators are already tied fast； it prohibits any exception being added to the old ones. - But， first， by virtue of the same constitution， every Frenchman not an émigré or banished has the right to vote， to be elected， to exercise every species of public function；consequently， twelve days later，[18] a mere order of the Council of State restores civil and political rights to former nobles and the ennobled， to the kinsmen and relations of émigrés， to all who have been dubbed émigrés of the interior and whom Jacobin intolerance had excluded， if not from the territory， at least from the civic body：
here are 200，000 or 300，000 Frenchmen already brought back into political communion if not to the soil. - They had succumbed to the coup-d'état of Fructidor； naturally， the leading fugitives or those transported， suffering under the same coup-d'état， were restored to political rights along with them and thus to the territory - Carnot， Barthélémy， Lafont-Ladébat， Siméon， Poissy d'Anglas， Mathieu Dumas， in all thirty-nine， designated by name；[19] very soon after. Through a simple extension of the same resolution， others of the Fructidor victims， a crowd of priests huddled together and pining away on the Ile-de-Ré， the most unfortunate and most inoffensive of all.[20] - Two months later， a law declares that the list of émigrés is definitely closed；[21] a resolution orders immediate investigation into the claims of those who are to be struck off the list； a second resolution strikes off the first founders of the new order of things， the members of the National Assembly "who voted for the establishment of equality and the abolition of nobility；" and， day after day， new erasures succeed each other， all specific and by name， under cover of toleration， pardon， and exception：[22] on the 19th of October 1800， there are already 1200 of them. Bonaparte， at this date， had gained the battle of Marengo； the surgical restorer feels that his hands are more free； he can operate on a larger scale and take in whole bodies collectively. On the 20th of October 1800， a resolution strikes off entire categories from the list， all whose condemnation is too grossly unjust or malicious，[23] at first， minors under sixteen and the wives of émigrés； next， farmers， artisans， workmen， journeymen and servants with their wives and children and at last 18，000 ecclesiastics who， banished by law， left the country only in obedience to the law.
Besides these， "all individuals inscribed collectively and without individual denomination，" those already struck off， but provisionally， by local administrations； also still other classes. Moreover， a good many emigrants， yet standing on the lists， steal back one by one into France， and the government tolerates them.[24] Finally， eighteen months later， after the peace of Amiens and the Concord at，[25] a sénatus-consulte ends the great operation； an amnesty relieves all who are not yet struck off， except the declared leaders of the militant emigration， its notables， and who are not to exceed one thousand； the rest may come back and enjoy their civic rights； only， they must promise "loyalty to the government established under the constitution and not maintain directly or indirectly any connection or correspondence with the enemies of the State." On this condition the doors of France are thrown open to them and they return in crowds.
But their bodily presence is not of itself sufficient； it is moreover essential that they should not be absent in feeling， as strangers and merely domiciliated in the new society. Were these mutilated fragments of old France， these human shreds put back in their old places， simply attached or placed in juxtaposition to modern France， they would prove useless， troublesome and even mischievous. Let us strive， then， to have them grafted on afresh through adherence or complete fusion； and first， to effect this， they must not be allowed to die of inanition；they must take root physically and be able to live. In private life， how can former proprietors， the noblesse， the parliamentarians， the upper bourgeoisie， support themselves， especially those without a profession or pursuit， and who， before 1789， maintained themselves， not by their labor， but by their income？ Once at home， they can no longer earn their living as they did abroad； they can no longer give lessons in French， in dancing， or in fencing. - There is no doubt but that the sénatus-consulte which amnesties them restores to them a part of their unsold possessions；[26] but most of these are sold and， on the other hand， the First Consul， who is not disposed to re-establish large fortunes for royalists，[27] retains and maintains the largest portion of what they have been despoiled of in the national domain：