YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of the
Center Church

SECEET HISTOBY OE THE KEVOLUTIONS OF 1848.

MEMOIRS

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE,

EX-PREEECT OE POLICE, AND REPRESENTATIVE OE THE PEOPLE.

' It is for slaves to lie, and for freemen to speak truth." — Montaigne .

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON :
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
\3uhlifit)tT in ©rtttnarg to %er JWajaSts.
1848.

LONDON :
Printed by Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street.

PREFACE.

To my FELLOW-ClTIZENS !
Called by my political opinions to take
an active part in the events which preceded
and followed the Revolution of February, I
have thought it expedient and proper to
supply a correct account of those with
which I was more or less concerned.
I have endeavoured to adhere to the
truth in this narrative; at the same time,
that I have wished to make known my
impressions, and to point out the demo
cratic principles which actuated me. a 2

IV PREFACE.

I have felt it my duty not to leave
any further opening to calumny, after this
exposition of my acts.
A victim of odious imputations, I may,
nevertheless, say, that I do not even yet
relinquish the hope of serving a cause
which, in common with many thousands, I
have at heart, and which is that of the
Republican Democratic and Socialist people.
I shall not pollute the pages of this book
with scandalous revelations, for above all
things, I wish to preserve intact the dig
nity of the Representative of the People.
Too many resentments and grovelling
passions have agitated the men of the day.
I shall not seek to add to their number
by divulging the deplorable cases of private
dishonesty that have come under my
knowledge. Let them remain hidden.
If I do accuse, my denunciation shall
only be of that policy, and of those men,

PREFACE. V
who first misled and then thwarted the
revolution. Surely they cannot expect me
to praise them.
This book, therefore, is not to be re
garded as proceeding from the petulance
or vindictive feelings of an exile.
My object in writing it has been to
throw some light upon the strange history
of a sudden revolution, which already is
almost effaced. I have also deemed it
necessary to explain the labours of my
administration, and the reforms I endea
voured to introduce.
If I did not succeed in doing all the
good I wished, it is because I had not
the necessary time. My intentions at
least were always honest and sincere, and
in harmony with my principles.

London :
November 25, 1848.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME.

Preface 
The Monarchy in 1847
The Ministry and the Opposition
The Revolt of Paris ....
The 24th of February

1
15
3146

CHAPTER I.
My impressions on entering the Tuileries — Souvenirs
of 1834 — Oblivion of old enmities— The people appoint
a Provisional Government — I am made Prefect of Po
lice — Departure from the office of the Riforme — My
picturesque costume — State of Paris — Entrance into the
Prefecture of Police — Sobrier and Cahaigne — My connexions
with my predecessor — M. Delessert and Saint Napoleon —
Suit of Ledru RoUin before the Court of Cassation — The
chest at the Prefecture — The apartments of M. Delessert —

viii CONTENTS.
Precautionary measures— Visit to the vaults— The fire-
brigade— Revolutionary proclamations— Character of the
Republican police — Organization of the different branches
of the public service — The provisions of Paris — Bread,
wood, and lights — Sobrier falls sick, and leaves the Pre
fecture — The leaders of the barricades — Re-establishment
of circulation — Washing of the streets— Night adventures
— The Prefect of Police a prisoner — Crowds of informers —
Robbery of arms and plate by a fencing-master — The red-
belts — Republican capacities — All men are brothers — The
tricolor flag — The horses of the Municipal Guard — Address
to the Paris Commissaries of Police  .... 61

CHAPTER II.
Visit to the Provisional Government — The sabre with the red
knots and the fighting-cap — The balustrade of the H&tel
de Ville — The Bee-hive — A turbulent crowd — An assault —
Elbows and shoulders — The crush — The Tower of Babel
— The Prefect of Police robbed — Sharing like brothers —
Strict orders — Ledru Rollin not admitted — The workmen of
the Moniteur — The green cloth — General Thiard, MM. Re-
curt, and Flottard — The table of the Government — Heaps
of papers — The moderate party and the democrats — Gamier
Pages and Flocon. — Eternal discussions — Flocon succumbs
to his exertions — A man can only get on with his own
fellows — Albert wishes to resign — Great marks of superiority
— The love of talking — What do they wish to make of me ?
— Five hundred pupils of St. Cyr — Bread and wine— He
who brings is always welcome — Chaos in the streets and in
the Council — The Left of the Government — Here comes the
Prefect ! — Hum ! — What an appearance ! — Five feet ten
inches — White linen — Magisterial dignity .... gg

CONTENTS. IX
CHAPTER III.
Magnanimity of the Revolution of February — Louis Philippe
and his Ministers — Orders for the arrest of MM. Guizot.
• and Perrot Duchatel — Citizen de Chezelles — Orders of
arrest a gainst the other Ministers — Informations — Golden
dreams — Saint-Just and M. Lamartine — First decrees of
the Provisional Government — Poor and rich — Patrols and
night-robbers — Liberated galley-slaves and filles pulliques —
The safety-brigade — Organization of the Montagnards —
Their uniform — La garde en sabots — Suggestions of
Blanqui— Order with disorder — Promises of February — The
prisons of Paris — Sainte Pelagie, La Force, La Roquette —
The cellular system and penitentiary reform — Prisoners for
political offences set at liberty — Fete at the Prefecture — The
Prefecture turned into a Court of Justice  96
CHAPTER IV.
Schism in the Provisional Government — The Hotel de Ville —
The National and the Riforme — Projects of a Regency —
The, Duchess of Orleans — Letter from M. Gamier Pages
to M. de Malleville — The Mayor of Paris — My corres
pondence with Gamier Pages — Monopoly of situations —
M. Armand Marrast — Visit of Gamier Pages and Recurt
to the Prefecture of Police — Recurt appointed to succeed
me— My position as delegate is sanctioned — I take the title
of Prefect of Police — The staff of the National Guard —
Courtais, Guinard, Saisset — The Mayors of Paris and the
Banlieue — Anxiety of the Population — Alarming rumours
— Proclamations of the Prefect of Police — The state of
Paris — The Carnival, masked balls, and theatres — Aspect
of Paris at the commencement of March .... .... 107

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.
The funeral solemnities — The 4th March — The Church of the
Madeleine — Decorations — The cortege — The Car of the
Republic — The hearses— Speeches of the members of the
Government — The 27th February — The Column of the
Bastille— Old Europa — The victims — The mission of
France — The glory of arms — Literary genius — Social
genius — Ancient days — Reflections — Opinion of M. Gamier
Pages — The popular ceremonies — Festival of the dead —
Community of the living — New consecration of the Re
public  120

CHAPTER VI.
The Duchess of Orleans at the Invalides — The Chateau of
Neuilly — Incendiarism — The Gendarmerie — The Bank of
France — Arrest of deserters — M. de Girardin — Masters and
men — The coachmen's strike — Strike of the washerwomen —
The Chateau of the Tuileries — The insurgent garrison —
The conditions on which they would give up the Palace —
Proces-verlal of their capitulation — The Chateau of Vin-
cennes — Destruction of artillery — Bands in the forest —
Prudence and firmness of the Montagnards  132

CHAPTER VII.
The Archives of the Prefecture of Police — M. de Sartine and
his successors — Documents of the first Revolution  Register
of the butchery of September — Maillard — The secret police of
the last Government — List of all the secret agents  Private

CONTENTS. XI
police of the different ministries — The numberless reports
signed Pierre — Lucien Delahodde — An episode of the 23rd
February — Curious letter of a spy — Night-sitting at the
Luxembourg — Proces-verbal and condemnation — A signed
confession — Delahodde at the Conciergerie — M. Pinel and
M. Chenu — Robbery and desertion — Eight years at the gal
leys — M. Allard, chief of the safety-police — The commission
of inquiry and the galley-slave — Informations, the order of
the day — The police of the Monarchy and the police of the
Republic .... .... .... .... .... .... 141

CHAPTER VIII.
The right of assembling — The clubs — The popular Republic —
Socialism— The tribunes of the Faubourgs — Commission
established to watch the proceedings of the Government — So-
brier's club — The revolutionary commission — Club des Clubs
— Clubs des Droits et des Devoirs — Central Republican Society
— Club de la Revolution — Societe des Droits de l'Homme —
Barbes, Raspail, Cabet, Sobrier, Blanqui — Clubs St. An-
toine — Influence of the clubs of the people — The clubs of
the aristocracy — An insidious question — Do you wish for a
monarchy ? — Mourir pour la Republique / — The ministers
of the present and of the past— The plebeian press t Le
Representant du Peuple of Proudhon, the Vraie Rgpublique
of ThoreY L'Ami du People of Raspail, Le Commune de
Paris of Sobrier and Cahaigne, Le Populaire of Cabet — Le
Pere Duchesne — The Napoleonist journals — The Royalist
journals : L'AssembUe Nationale, La Libert^ — La Presse
and M. de Girardin — Le Constitutionnel, La Patrie, Le
Journal des Debats — Le National and La Rtforme —
The Counter-revolution  158

xii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.
The 16th March — Protest of the bonnets a poil — 6,000
Grenadiers and Voltigeurs — MM. Marrast and Arago — The
Lion-tamers — The Journee des Manchons — The people and
the Sun — The Luxembourg and the Clubs — The 17th
March — The Champs Elysees — Procession of the people —
From the Louvre to the Hdtel de Ville — Address to the
Provisional Government — Sending away of the troops —
Adjournment of the elections — Intrigues of the Royalists —
Mistake of the people and fault of the Government — The
condemned of February — Republicans necessary to constitute
a Republic — Attitude of the people — Louis Blanc and Ledru
Rollin — Cabet and Sobrier — Not to all! — Grandiloquent
language of Lamartine — Promises and avowals — No more
troops at Paris — The eighteenth Brumaire of the people —
The Minister of the Interior — Majesty of the Sovereign —
General Courtais — Two hundred thousand brothers — The
Column of the Republic — Social war — The eighteenth Bru
maire of despotism — Coups d'etat and coups de sabre — The
Commission of Inquiry — The Dictatorship and the state of
siege  168

CHAPTER X.
Union and Fraternity — Le droit de la blouse — The Marseil
laise of Mdlle. Rachel — Gratuitous representations — The
song of the Girondins — Trees of Liberty at the Prefecture
of Police, the Opera, &c. — The orchestra and the clergy.
— Speeches of Ledru Rollin and Caussidiere — After the
Gironde, the Montagne — No more acts of violence — One
murder in three months— Statistical return of thefts— The

CONTENTS. Xlli
Safety Brigade — M. Allard and M. Eloin — Thieves and
receivers of stolen goods — Arrest of a galley-slave — Rob
bery of a jeweller by himself — Secret gambling-houses —
License and debauchery in Paris — The Hfitels garnis —
Strangers at Paris — Commerce and the alarmists — Torch
light processions — Des Lampions — The Holy-week and the
Montagnards — Solicitude of the Prefecture .... .... 183

CHAPTER XI.
The revolution in Europe — Addresses of the different nations
to the French Republic — Foreign patriots in Paris — Depar
ture of Polish, Italian, and German expeditions — Commer
cial crisis — Rivalry between French and foreign workmen —
Revolutionary projects in Belgium — Pressing demand of
Blervacq to the administration — Neutral position of the
Ministry of the Interior — Citizen Fosse at the Hdtel de
Ville — M. Buchez gives him money — Parts acted by different
members of the Provisional Government in this affair —
MM. Lamartine, Marrast, and Bastide — Permission of
departure — The Belgian expedition at the railway — The fight
at Risquons-tout — Killed and wounded — Snares and trea
chery — Revelations on these events .... .... .... 196

CHAPTER XII.
The counter-Revolution — The financial question — MM. Goud-
chaux and Gamier Pages — Fear of capitalists — Threats of
bankruptcy — M. de Rothschild — The Chaussee d'Antin —
Conversation between M. Rothschild and the Prefect — The
merchants — The Faubourg St. Germain — Its intentions
and its acts — A white flag burned by the people — Distribu-

xiv CONTENTS.
tion of money to the Municipal Guards — The moustachioed
sister of charity — Coin bearing the effigy of Henry V — The
secret service money. The Ministry of the Interior and the
Mayor of Paris — The Republican guards and the spies —
Anecdote of two secret agents — The Legitimists in La
Vendee. — Advice of M. de Metternich — Paris under the
Seine — Henry V. and the Count de Paris — Advice to the
Government .... .... .... .... .... .... 207

CHAPTER XIII.
Paris without an army — Organization of the National Guard —
General election of the officers — Proclamation to the people
—The Garde Mobile— The Garde Marine— The Garde de
l'H8tel de Vilie — Colonel Rey — Grande cuisine — The table
of the Prefecture — The Garde Republicaine ; its leaders —
Police of conciliation — The two squadrons of horse — Detach
ment of Lyons — Colonel Mercier — Blanqui's men — Uniform
of the Garde Republicaine — The fire brigade — IE-will of
the Government — Promises of July — Expenses of the H8tel
de Ville — MM. Gamier Pages and Marrast — The game at
rackets — Republican fraternity  217

CHAPTER XIV.
Attacks of the reactionary journals — The Bank of France— Its
notes and its shares— Discount and circulation of bills-
Proposition of the Reforme— Guarantee establishment in
Holland— Advantage of such an establishment— Capital
of one hundred millions— The speculators— Financial and
commercial crisis— Manufactories and shops— Purchases
and sales— Export orders— The rich and the poor-
Napoleon and the English traders —Protest and bank-

CONTENTS. XV
ruptcy — A million for a hundred thousand francs — The
flags of misery — Bread or lead ! — Labour and not alms ! —
Delicacy of the workmen — It is only those who do nothing
that do not make mistakes — The journal La Presse —
mob round its offices — M. de Girardin — A bas La
Presse — The liberty of the press — Popular eloquence of
the Montagnards — The elections — The clergy — the army —
Power of the Provisional Government — The right to Labour
—Agricultural colonies — Property — The soil constitutes the
true riches of a country .... .... .... .... 229
CHAPTER XV.
The Commission of the Luxembourg — Louis Blanc and Albert
— Master and man — Threatened disturbances — The tailors
and outfitters — The hackney coachmen — Five thousand
bakers — Paris starved — The stone-cutters — Moderation of
the workmen — The advertising offices — The April term —
Landlord and tenant — The black flag — Notice of the Prefect
of Police — Le quartier des Quinze-vingt — Amicable settle
ment — Buried alive or hanged — Honesty of the poor — The
state of siege — General Cavaignac and the ushers — L'ordre,
lafamille, et la proprie'te  246
CHAPTER XVI.
Meeting of the Commissaries of Police — Speech on the union
of citizens — The incorrigible discontents — The people and
the bourgeoisie — Appeal to fraternity — The Commission of
Inquiry — Return towards the past — M. Odilon Barrot and
the banquets — M. Bauchard and the Commission of Inquiry
— Address of the Commissaries to the Prefect — The Royalists
and the Republicans — Charges — The personnel of the Cabi
net — M. Allard — The agens de Siirete'— Disguises — Poli
tical spies — Charles Marchal and M. Cremieux — Number

xvi CONTENTS.
580 — A million to assassinate the Duke of Bordeaux —
Indignation of M. Delessert — Brochure against Louis
Philippe — Les gardiens de Paris — The London police —
The magic wand — The French character — The real Ca
vaignac — Emancipation of man — The false Cavaignac and
socialism — The ex-sergens de ville — M. Marrast — Attempt
at jugglery — Good faith of the Mayor of Paris — M. Ledru
RoUin — The Constitutional  .... 258

CHAPTER XVII.
Review of the Revolution since February — Let us not allow
ourselves to be robbed as in 1830 — Disunion of the Provi
sional Government — The King and the Regency — Is the
Republic necessary ? — Abolition of stamps and of the laws
of September — The press, the clubs, and the workmen —
The right to labour — Decree of the 25th February — A
stormy scene — The Ministry of Progress — MM. Gamier
Pages and Lamartine — M. Arago and his white hairs —
Invention of M. Marrast — The Commission of the Luxem
bourg — Frankness of M. Lamartine — The decree of the
workmen — It is very strong ! — Louis Blanc and Albert —
The place of the Peers of France — Reduction in the hours
of labour — The national workshops — M. Marie imitates
Penelope — Financial measures — The bank, the woods and
forests of the State, the import duties — The tax of 45
centimes — Protest of Dupont de l'Eure — Reply of M.
Gamier Pages — The Government and the army — M. Ca
vaignac and his campaign of June — Foreign policy — M.
Lamartine's manifesto — The massacres of Milan and Vienna
— Electoral law of M. Cormenin — Universal suffrage — The
old Constitution — From bad to worse — Four months after
February ....  272

THE MONARCHY IN 1847.

Until the commencement of 1847, the
monarchical power seemed gradually to have
gained in strength, and to the superficial obser
ver appeared firmly established in France. Suc
cess apparently had crowned all its efforts in
every combination of its policy and dynastic
interests. With the exception of one blow,
struck by the hand of fate, which suddenly
carried off the heir to the throne, the dauphin
of the junior branch, fortune had in no measure
thwarted the projects and the good luck of the
aged monarch, whom his courtiers, anticipating
history, designated by the most glorious titles.
Did not his very ministers, in the curious letters
discovered in February, place Louis Philippe
far above Louis XIV, and Napoleon ?
vol. i. • B

2 THE MONARCHY IN 1847-
Thus the system, as it was first called, grew
apace, and by degrees the mask was withdrawn
that concealed its ulterior views. Audacious
impudence was substituted for the wily policy
of fifteen years.
At home dynastic interests governed every
negotiation, and this selfish conspiracy se
conded the influences of an absolutist diplomacy
against the interests of the nation.
To compensate for the Spanish marriages,
which brought to the House of Orleans a pre
sent dowry of thirty millions, with a probable
crown in reversion, the other powers were
allowed in the first instance to efface the last
vestiges of Poland, and French arms were freely
given to the Jesuits of the Sonderbund.
As regards the foreign relations of our country,
the king had concentrated every influence in
his own family, and had prematurely divided
between his sons the government of France.
The future regent had been made a sort of
Lord High Constable, a commander-in-chief of
all the armies ; the Duke d'Aumale had been
constituted Viceroy of Algeria, which was now
a fief of the crown ; the Prince de Joinville

THE MONARCHY IN 1847. 3
had been appointed Lord High Admiral, and
commander of the navy ; the Duke de Mont-
pensier supreme commander of the artillery in
the fortress of Vincennes, an arsenal ready
furnished with materials for the fortifications.
Royalty in thus seizing upon the military power,
flattered itself with the belief that it would be
able to domineer over the destinies of the
French people.
At the same time, the court, the ministers,
the inferior functionaries, the aristocrats, swal
lowed up the financial resources of the nation.
The civil list laid a heavy hand on the domains,
and carved broad acres out of the forests of the
state ; the budget was so modified as to satisfy
the cravings of the servants of the home
government, and the Red-book displayed to
our view the spectacle of marquises, ambassa
dors, generals, countesses, and millionaires
eating up the secret service money. The public
offices, commissariat, national institutions, were
made the objects of shameful corruption ; and
thus venality, which had' its source in the
cabinet of the ministers, spread in many streams
through all the ministerial branches, and only
b 2

4 THE MONARCHY IN 1847.
stayed its course at the extreme verge of this
political hierarchy. The most scandalous ap
pointments, the monopoly of public offices by
privileged families, and an almost hereditary
claim favoured by the Government in the high
elective offices, — everything tended to encou
rage at the core of the official world, corrup
tion, sordid passions, and vulgar instincts.
The princes had resuscitated the frightful
morals of the Regency or of the Directory.
Each of them was surrounded by a petty court
of his own of intrigans and roues. There were
royal hunts and races at Chantilly or Com-
piegne; days of gallantry and nights spent at
the card table ;" Venetian festivities on the very
ground of Canonville which was prepared to
receive the grape-shot of the forts.
And on the morrow all these sons of sin
went to receive the communion at St. Roch,
with the devotees of the old regime. Hypocrisy
was the bosom friend of Immorality, and never
did the juggleries of the old faith stand higher
in favour than in these days of dissolution. The
youth of the Faubourg St. Germain aped the
Court, and crowded round the priests and

THE MONARCHY IN 1847. 5
Jesuits : and Paris, to its great astonishment,
beheld monks of all kinds proposing to confess
the women, direct the men, and educate the
children. The deputies speculated with their political
functions ; peers of France patronised gambling
in the funds ; bankers monopolized the press,
which had been already decimated by the laws
of September. The Jew of kings and king of
Jews had gained over the leading periodicals,
and the voice of journalism was stifled at the
same time as that of the French tribune.
Thus, all the higher classes abandoned them
selves, in their fear of public opinion, to the
study of their material interests, a study inocu
lated by the perversion of the monarchical
system. France, however, was suffering in the very
heart and soul of her existence. The land of
enthusiasm and generous impulses thus de
praved in her customs, wounded in all the
normal conditions of a great nation, could not
support this fatal oppression much longer,
and fate itself seemed to assume the task of
putting an end to it.

6 THE MONARCHY IN 1847-
The evil suddenly manifested itself externally,
and seized hold upon those who had hoped to
profit by it. A terrible crisis in the finances,
the obviously impending ruin of every branch
of industry, aroused at once capitalists, specu
lators, manufacturers, and merchants from their
lethargy. The result of the most desperate gambling in
railway scrip, which had renewed the follies of
the Rue Quincampoix in the time of Law, was,
that though some skilful financiers had realized
millions, the Bank, the brokers, and all those
blind individuals who had lost their way in
this foret de Bondy, found themselves ulti
mately thrown pell-mell upon each other.
With the exception of two or three directors of
the Northern Railway, who had doubled their
capital, and of Madame Adelaide, who — if
report speaks true — cleared twenty millions, the
remainder of the railway speculators were
sooner or later involved in utter ruin by the
varying chances of the game. The very pro
vinces were deeply compromised ; Lyons was a
loser to the amount of something like fifty
millions, whilst Bordeaux, Alby, and other

THE MONARCHY IN 1847. 7
cities of the south, were unable to meet their
engagements. The circulation of a paper
currency was all but put a stop to, and from
Paris bankruptcy spread to the departments.
All the great centres of commercial activity
were moreover depressed. The manufactories of
Lyons, Nimes, Mulhouse, Roubaix, Rouen,
&c, were overstocked, without any home-
market for their goods, in consequence of the
depression of commerce in general; and the
export market was closed to them by foreign
competition, which was favoured by the heavy
customs' duties. Many manufacturing cities
found themselves compelled to give up the fabri
cation of certain wares, and to abandon specu
lations that entailed risk, and yet, in the very
midst of this long-engendered though latent
crisis, the number of speculators aspiring to
visionary wealth had increased in an absurd
proportion, when compared with the com
mercial necessities, the increase of the popu
lation, and the consequent demands of con
sumption. Indeed, so greatly had their_ number
enlarged, that their blindfold and insensate
competition had caused a reduction in the

8 THE MONARCHY IN 1847-
wages of the workman, and consequently
frequent strikes, poverty among the labouring
classes, the ruin of the manufacturer — in a
word, universal misery, alike to master and to
operative.
^And how did the Bank of France act under
these circumstances? It reduced its rate of
discount and increased its rate of interest, in
direct opposition to the avowed object of the
institution ; and this was done for the benefit
of shareholders, at the cost of universal dis
comfort and public distress.
It was even rumoured, that instead of coming
to the aid of industry, commerce and financial
operations, a portion of its capital had been
employed, in conjunction with the Court, in
speculating in foreign grain. For the failure
of the crops and the fears of a famine had
arrived to increase the amount of existing
calamities. As^d_been_the casein 178.8, on the eve of
the firat-xesolution. France was obliged to buy
ber^^yojdsioiuujoX^rjaJin^ from the foreigner.
Three hundred millions of specie left France in
this manner, never to return. Speculation was

THE MONARCHY IN 1847.
not behindhand in turning to account this
national misfortune. Scarcely had they cast
anchor in our southern ports, when these vessels
freighted" with grain were quoted on 'change,
and their cargoes were not landed for consump
tion until a host of speculators had made tlieir
profits out of them. As an instance, we may
cite the arrival of a vessel at Marseilles, in
November 1847, the cargo of which passed
through the hands of ten different buyers. The
price of the grain imported was thus raised, in
a factitious manner, to an enormous height, and
this at a time when the small landed proprietors
and farmers, allured by the prospect of great
profits, or deterred by the fears of a famine,
refused to send their grain to the market.
The consequence ^wasj_ that the greatest
agitation manifested .itself in some of the
departments. The working classes, both in
town and country, were thunderstruck, at the
apathy or carelessness of the government in
this difficult crisis; threats were soon fulmi
nated by the poorer classes against the fore
stalled and hoarders, and an excitement almost
general led to the most terrible scenes in some
b 3

10 THE MONARCHY IN 1847-
districts, where the people were clamouring for
bread. The Government replied by bayonets, by
judges and jailors, and, alas, be it said, by the
executioner ! With its hands already stained
crimson, royalty unscrupulously shed the blood
of the operatives of Buzancais.
But Providence seemed to take a pleasure in
putting to the test by a series of disasters, the
old monarchy, which deserved to bear the re
sponsibility of them. In addition to the famine,
came the inundations of the Loire, partly caused
by landslips, partly by the faulty construction
of the embankments and the want of canaliza
tion ; accidents on railways, abandoned to the
avidity or negligence of private companies;
conflagrations, provoked, perhaps, by misery,
or effected, as was the case at Mourillon — so at
least it M'as said — by hands interested in con
cealing the plunder of the provisions of the
nation. In Paris, in other cities, and even on
the highways, bands of brigands were formed
to the detriment of public safety, and against
the property and life of citizens ; brokers were
assassinated in their counting-houses in open.

THE MONARCHY IN 1847- 11
day. For the sum of thirty sous, carriers were
murdered in their waggons. Men who had
fallen by their own hands were laid side by side
with those who had died of hunger, and every]
species of crime cried aloud against the corrupt
tion of private morals, and the deterioration of/
national prosperity under this government
privilege, of selfishness, and of corruption.
Signs of a more striking character came to
the condemnation of the monarchy, and as
sisted in tearing away what remained of the
veil which for seventeen years had hidden the
criminal oppression of the French people.
The most significant revelations rapidly
succeeded each other ; the most unforeseen
accidents caused consternation among public
opinion ; and the gangrene of the social sys
tem, even as the king, the court, and the
aristocracy had effected it, appeared in all its
fearful reality.
A minister, a peer of France, and a mil
lionaire, were dragged before the tribunals, and
found guilty ; a prince was convicted of forgery;
an aide-de-camp of the regent was banished as
a swindler ; an ambassador of the king com-

12 THE MONARCHY IN 1S47-
mitted suicide under the most mysterious cir
cumstances ; another ambassador attempted to
draw a razor across the throats of his children ;
a secretary of the minister and a peer of
France were convicted of selling public offices
for gold. In the commissariat department of
war and marine, the agents of the king em
bezzled the finances or the property of the
state, and committed every species of fraud ;
and when the public voice endeavoured to
make itself heard, the ministers denounced
from the tribune as calumnies, facts which were
afterwards verified by judicial investigation.
The ministries were the foci of all these
shameful transactions: theatrical privileges
were sold for the maintenance of shameless
journals, or for the propagation of immoral
publications, which bore the stamp of the
princes. Large sums were raised on every
side to be distributed in favours which public
honesty repudiated. Equivocal anecdotes were
repeated respecting personages in high station,
some of which told of intestine dissension in
the family of the king.
At the same time the halls of the public

THE MONARCHY IN 1847. 13
tribunals resounded with celebrated trials, in
which friends of the Chateau, the favourites of
the princes, figured in duels and bacchanalian
orgies, carried on in a world of Greek gentils-
hommes with elegant manners and great vices.
And in this gallery of royal notabilities, swindl
ing attorneys, members of holy institutions
accused of rape and assassination, galley slaves
in kid gloves, and decorated thieves, found a
place. One of these trials was especially and
severely felt by the court and by the aristocracy.
A minister of the king, a peer of France, was
sentenced to imprisonment. Shortly after
wards, a chevalier of the queen, a peer of
France, was condemned as a murderer, and
committed suicide by poison, with the assist
ance, or at least the tacit connivance of his
friends, that the blood of a noble duke might
not flow on the same scaffold as that of the
martyrs of Buzancais.
Such was the state of society under the
monarchy in 1847, which the reactionists
pretend to be able to reinstate, in despite of
the Revolution.
All these terrible symptoms, however, were

14 THE MONARCHY IN 1847-
true indications to the clear-sighted, that the
old social order was crumbling to pieces, and
that it was the duty of France to undertake
her own regeneration. Were not these dis
asters, these crimes, this prostration of the
French character, so many timely warn
ings to the people, and at the same time a
punishment to royalty and to those besotted
classes that supported it? What needed it
more to brand that system of cunning and
selfishness, which certain parties had mistaken
for policy and skill ?
The Court was in consternation, and as the
avenging power struck it like a thunderbolt —
whilst the people were dying of hunger — on
the 31st December — the companion of old
Philippe, who had often acted as a guide to
him through his long and tortuous career, the
sister of the king, was breathing her last at the
Tuileries, from which the Orleans family were
shortly to be driven for ever.
It is said that the king shed tears over that
corpse. He also shed tears on the death-bed
of his friend Talleyrand.

THE MINISTRY AND THE OPPOSITION.

The political situation of France was as
wretched and menacing as its moral condition.
For many years the Government had been in
the hands of men odious to the country. The
prime minister was a man who, in speaking of
the slavery of the people, said, " Labour is a
check." The junior monarchy might boast of its
Polignac. The other ministers, especially those of the
Interior and Justice, were indebted for their
places to their absolute devotion to the personal
system and to the readiness they had shown to
support a policy of corruption and tyranny.
TKe one was known by his immense fortune,
his scepticism, and his skill in handling the
administration and the electoral influences ;
the other by his violence against the press and
against liberty, and by his invention of compli
city morale ! Both of them, all three of them,
were deterred by no sacrifice of the national
prosperity at home, or the national dignity
abroad.

16 THE MINISTRY
Politics had become a delusion, a falsehood
— merchandize to be bought or sold — France a
shop in the hands of dishonest traders. All
generous tendencies, all intelligent aspirations
were crushed; the lectures on history, litera
ture, and philosophy, the delight of youth, were
suspended; the journals and all independent
characters were persecuted ; the hatred felt for
the people of the Revolution was openly avowed
in the tribune, at court, and in the mercenary
journals. And the consequence was, that all classes of
the nation began gradually to awaken from the
lethargy into which they had fallen. The elec
tors, the bourgeoisie, the shopkeeper, and the
merchant, hitherto the accomplices of this
odious regime, became at length aware that it
was absorbing all the sources of the public
wealth, and that it turned only to the profit of
the intriguers that swarmed in the train of the
Government. The National Guard showed
indications of a smouldering hostility, so much
so that the Government might have been defied
to order a review. The split between the
dynastic opposition and the majority became

AND THE OPPOSITION. 17
gradually wider, and numbers of the old con
servative party daily joined its ranks. Many
eminent men of both chambers were seen
suddenly converted, and attacking with extreme
violence the ministry and the Court, of which
they were previously the most zealous defenders.
The Government thus became gradually isolated
in its selfishness, and the Court was shortly
to find itself alone, opposed face to face with
the constitutional country, from whose eyes the
bandage had been removed, and of the people
who had always protested by murmurs against
the monarch, and who nourished in their hearts
the hope of the dawn of liberty and of justice —
a democratic and social republic.
At the conclusion of the session of 1847, the
dynastic opposition, and the committees estab
lished by the fraction who demanded electoral
reform, met, by way of a great public demonstra
tion, at the Chateau Rouge, where fifteen hun
dred citizens, deputies, electors, journalists,
and officers of the National Guard, proclaimed
reform, and denounced the policy of the
Chateau. The agitation soon spread through
out France, and patriotic banquets were held in

18 THE MINISTRY
most of the departments. The deputies pre
sent rendered an account of the session which
had just closed, and of the indignation felt
at Paris. The population crowded from all
quarters to these meetings, where the general
sentiment manifested itself in the expression of
a vague desire of reform. The public honour
was vindicated by this general enthusiasm, and
in a few months a sort of secret league existed
in the nation against its oppressors.
Two distinct characters were however visible
in this great popular commotion. The party of
the people, which had lent its support to the
deputies of the left, and which had often been
compelled to hear hypocritical toasts in honour
of the king and monarchy, given at the same
board where toasts were proposed in honour of
the sovereignty of the people and of liberty; — this
republican party had its banquets,, its speakers,
and its triumphs. Whilst M. Barrot and his
adherents made vows and offerings at Bethune
and other places, of their devotion to constitu
tional royalty; — whilst they made subservient to
their own passions and interested ambition the
nobler agitators of the country, the true patriots

AND THE OPPOSITION. 19
hitherto scarcely represented in the Chamber
and in the public press, found warm and numer
ous supporters in the departments of the North,
East, and South. At Lille the Royalists were
obliged to retreat before the Republic. At
Dijon, Chalons, Toulouse, and Limoges, royalty
was completely effaced at the prospect of poli
tical and even of social reform. The great
junction, hallowed by French tradition, of
Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, suppressed
for half a century, gradually raised its head, and
reasserted the full consciousness of its power,
in the van of resuscitated freedom.
At the opening of the following session, the
Court and the ministry found the whole of
France prepared for a struggle, the issue of
which was even then evident. But royalty,
blinded by a success of seventeen years, en
couraged by a corrupted majority in both
Chambers, cajoled by the flatteries of its
organs and its accomplices, and having the
weakness and undeniable incapacity of the bour
geoisie of the Opposition, flattered itself that
it could stifle the national sentiment. It
reckoned upon the popular element, which,

20 THE MINISTRY
however, on the day of battle, picked up the
sword cowardly cast away by the friends of the
dynasty, and at one tremendous blow made all
the enemies of the future bite the dust.
The royal speech, at the opening of the
Chambers, had the audacity, in a memorable
paragraph, to attribute the commotion in France
to blind and hostile passions , (passions aveugles
et ennemies) ; but nothing was more true, for
those two words were most justly applicable to
the dynastic opposition which was preparing
without knowing, and without deserving it, a
popular revolution ; and they were equally ap
plicable to the Republican party, now solely
occupied with the overthrow of the monarchy.
History does not perhaps offer a more re
markable feature than the reply made to the
king in the two projects of address of the
Chamber of Peers and of the Chamber of
Deputies. The Chamber of Peers said : — " Noisy mani
festations, blindly blended with vague ideas of
reform and of progress ; passions hostile to our
constitutional monarchy ; opinions subversive of
social order, and detestable reminiscences, have

AND THE OPPOSITION. 21
caused anxiety rather than alarm in the public.
The Government has found it necessary to take
notice of these. We are persuaded that such
agitation, tolerated by a regime of liberty, is
powerless against public order. Yes, sire, the
union of the great powers of the state, the effi
cacy of the law, and the common sense of the
public, will suffice to preserve the tranquillity
of the country, to call back -the misguided, and
to dissipate insensate hopes. Finally, the
seventeen years during which our beloved
country has enjoyed at the same time order
and liberty, are something more than a phasis
of our revolutions. This period is the com
mencement of a lasting era, and will bequeath
to future generations the maintenance of the
Charter, the blessings of your rule, and the
glory of your name."
The Chamber of Deputies added, with as
much foresight : — " Sire, by devoting yourself
to the service of our country with that courage
which nothing daunts, by consecrating your
life, and that of your children, to the care of
our interests, of our dignity, you consolidate
each successive day the edifice you and our-

22 THE MINISTRY
selves constructed. Count upon our support
in assisting you to defend it." " Agitation,
which has given birth to hostile feelings
and blind aberrations, will fall before the
common sense of a public, enlightened by
our discussions, and by the free utterance of
all legitimate opinions. In a constitutional
monarchy, the combination of the great powers
of the state overcomes every obstacle, and
allows all the moral and material interests of
the country to be satisfied. By that union,
sire, we will maintain social order and all its
attributes; we will guarantee public liberty and
all its developments. Our Charter of 1830,
transmitted by us to the generation that will
follow us, as a sacred deposit (inviolable depdt),
will ensure to them the most precious inherit
ance which it is the lot of nations to receive,
— the union of order and liberty."
One month afterwards, that " sacred de
posit," that " precious inheritance," which was
to be handed down to future generations, had
disappeared in the tempest, and the glorious
monarch fell a miserable victim of public
contempt !

AND THE OPPOSITION. 23
These beautiful themes of MM. Barante and
Vitet gave rise to very violent discussions
in both Chambers. The Chamber of Peers,
wonderful to relate, resounded with praises of
the Convention, and denunciations against the
tyrants of Europe; but the Address was voted
by a majority of 144 votes against 23. Thus, in
that Chamber of illustrious names and sage old
men — the re-establishment of which is even
now demanded as a necessity by the counter-
revolutionists — 144 great politicians were found
to proclaim the blessings of an execrated reign,
and to affirm its duration.
This took place on the 18th of January. In
the Chamber of Deputies the discussion ex
panded over a wide extent of debateable
ground. The right of holding meetings was
defended with brilliant eloquence, by men
who have since abolished, not only that, but
the right of combination, and who have closed
the Clubs; that is to say, by MM. Duvergier
de Hauranne, Remusat, Dufaure, and Malle-
ville; by M. Marie, who was at the time ac
cused of attacking I'ordre, la famille et la
propriete; by M. Odilon Barrot, who com-

24 THE MINISTRY
menced his speech with the following words:
— " It is sad, painful, humiliating, to be obliged
in 1848, seventeen years after the Revolution
of July, to have to contend against a govern
ment, the offspring of that Revolution, for the
possession of a right which we enjoyed under
Charles X.;" by M. Ledru Rollin, who traced
back the right of holding meetings (le droit de
reunion), to 1791, and the right"bf combination
to the storming of the Bastille; by M. de La
martine, who reproached the Government for
" placing the hand of the police on the mouth
of the country," as the present Government
places the hand of the military upon it.
MM. Hebert and Duchatel, on their part,
contested the legality of the droit de reunion,
as did M. Guizot in the Chamber of Peers.
Grounding their arguments on a law passed
in 1790, they declared that they should in
future oppose any political banquet; and the
dynastic opposition had not the courage to
reply to this challenge, by announcing from the
tribune its resolution to exercise a right sanc
tioned by the voice of the whole nation.
After this fine passage of words, the right

AND THE OPPOSITION. 25
was abolished, and the hundred deputies who
had participated in the banquets, were stigma
tized as blind and factious, by a vote of 223
Conservatives on the special motion, and by
241 on the bringing up of the address.
The question, nevertheless, remained in
abeyance ; there was a question of fact beside
the question of right, which the majority of
the Chamber had solved in so contradictory a
manner. The series of banquets was to be
closed by a grand banquet, to be held in the
twelfth arrondissement, under the patronage of
the deputies. The day had been fixed before
the parliamentary discussion, but the Prefect of
Police had placed his veto upon it; and in the
interpellations made in the two Chambers, the
ministry declared that it took upon itself the
responsibility of that interdiction, and that the
banquet should not take place.
The hundred stigmatized deputies had not
resigned, with one exception, and contented
themselves with promising to attend the ban
quet of the twelfth arrondissement; for the
committee of the banquet, consisting of electors
and journalists, had persevered in organizing
vol. i. c

26 THE MINISTRY
this pacific manifestation. But on both sides, oil
the side of the ruling power as well as on that of
the dynastic opposition, fear, which gradually as
sumed the form of terror, was awakened. The
ministry now would willingly have made some
concessions, and the royalist members of the
committee, of their own accord, sought to alter
the character of the banquet by indicating for
its place of meeting a private house, outside
the twelfth arrondissement ; by withdrawing the
cards of invitation already issued ; by limiting
the number of guests, and by doubling the
price of the tickets; a deputy was even found
ready to propose the king's health. They
hoped in this manner to elude the threats of
the Government, and to replace the popular
by an aristocratic element. It has even been
ascertained beyond a doubt, that at one mo
ment the ministry and the opposition agreed
to get up a little comedy, which was to save
the honour of both parties, and give a seeming
s atisfaction to public opinion. A commissary of
police, a proces-verbal, a protest of M. Barrot,
a court of justice, and a bench of lawyers, —
such was the programme, which, however, was
soon modified by the force of events.

AND THE OPPOSITION. 27
The banquet, originally fixed for Sunday, the
20th of February, had been postponed to Tues
day, the 22nd, by fresh hesitation on the part
of the deputies. Negotiations were a second
time set on foot, to obtain the retirement of
the Guizot ministry, on condition of re
nouncing the projected manifestation. But the
Government, as the day of strife approached,
recovered all its audacity. It fancied itself
secure of effecting energetic repression, and the
journals in the pay of the Court redoubled
their attacks upon liberty in every shape, at
the same time that the faithful servants of the
king rallied round his person — as, for instance,
MM. Bugeaud, Mole, de Broglie, and Mon-
talivet. The Duke of Nemours sought to con
ciliate the officers of the army ; the Minister of
the Interior stimulated the public functionaries
and their agents; everything was prepared for
violence. Paris and the departments contemplated these
preparations, and this crisis, which was per
haps to decide the fate of the monarchy. Most
of the provincial towns organized banquets for
the same day, the 22nd of February, and
c 2

28 THE MINISTRY
appointed delegates to represent them at the
banquet in Paris. Tj^n^pjmsibjbty of all the_
preparations fell entirely upon the dynastic op-
T^JBimZIiraE^SS^O^ity and murage it,
displayed will be shortly seen.
Oh" MonaayT^ "the 21st, the independent
journals published a manifesto of the committee
of the banquet, explaining the object of that
great pacific protest, and regulating the order
of the ceremonies. Ninety-three deputies,
three peers of France, a great number of magis
trates, officers of the National Guard, members
of the Conseil-General, the central commis
sion of electors of the opposition, a great
number of journalists, delegates from the
departments, and from the schools of law
-and medicine, had sent in their adhesion, and
¦were to take their place in the cortege, which
was to start at eleven o'clock from the Place
de la Madeleine.
In the sitting of the Chamber, M. O. Barrot
timidly interrogated the ministry respecting
its intentions ; he reduced the question of right
to a simple question of administration and
police; he disavowed the manifesto of the
morning; and M. Duchatel, encouraged by this

AND THE OPPOSITION. £9
cowardice of the opposition, declared in a tone
of insolence that the banquet should not be
held, and that steps would be taken to prevent
a breach of the public peace. It was evident
to all that the opposition had encountered a
signal defeat.
In the evening the walls of Paris were covered
with official placards : " Order of the day of
General Jacqueminot to the National Guard,
commanding it to abstain from participating
in the manifestation." "Ordonnance of 1831
against public assemblages." " Proclamation
of the Prefect of Police," accompanied by a
decree, formally prohibiting the meeting and
the banquet.
These placards of a detested authority caused
the liveliest excitement. Crowds assembled at
the corner of every street to read the decree
forbidding public meetings ; and by the glare
of torches men and boys were vociferating at
the top of their voices the principal articles of
these new ordonnances of July. Public opinion
was indignant at this insensate provocation, and
thousands of citizens encouraged each other in
resistance. The dynastic opposition had meantime accom-

30 THE MINISTRY AND THE OPPOSITION.
plished its shameful treachery. After having
invoked all the strength of the country to this
patriotic struggle, it cowered before the menaces
of the ministry and of the police — before the
inflexible determination of the Court. At ten
o'clock at night a new manifesto was drawn up
in the house of the arch-agitator Odilon Barrot,
which will be recorded in history as the last
act of ignominy of that incapable and cowardly
dynastic faction, which royalty always made use
of as an engine fatal to France.
In this document, published the following
morning by the journals, it was stated, that the
Government having declared its resolution to
prevent by force all assemblages or public
demonstrations, the opposition renounced the
proposed banquet, not to expose the citizens to
the consequences of a struggle so detrimental to
order and to bberty; and that by waiving the
exercise of the right of pubbcly meeting, the
dynastic deputies performed a great act of
moderation and humanity. The position of
affairs was thus greatly simplified by this defeat
of the opposition. It was the people alone
that now^gmaineiLin, open opposition to-the
monarchy.

THE REVOLT OF PARIS.
WJTrhS'r tlii? TYnjmni^y ^nr, thni pnrWvmir-
ing to inthnidataifca-a^ve'-siiffiftiV all the revolu-.
tionary p^^pntRjylprp-,f^rTTlf1''^T1g in PflT,is
In the very ranks of the perplexed opposi
tion, some deputies formally adhered to the
protest. At a meeting held during the night
at M. de Lamartine's, fourteen deputies and
peers of France, out of the sixty persons who
were present, declared their intention of attend
ing the banquet, in despite of opposition, and
of retiring only before bayonets. Whether they
were present on the following day on the field of
battle it matters not to inquire ; the committee
of the banquet, M. Barrot and the other ori
ginal members having abstained from appearing,
there was no rallying point to proceed to.
Everything was left to chance, right and the
future having been abandoned to the caprice of
fate. The popular party, however, and a fraction
of the middle classes (the classe moyenne)

32 THE REVOLT OF PARIS.
roused to indignation at the corruption of the
men in power, were disposed to pick up the
gauntlet which the dynastic opposition had
declined. The secret societies and the fau
bourgs, the (then) true republican journals, the
Reforme and the National, the schools, and
groups of patriots in the different arrondisse-
ments, were deliberating how they should act
on the morrow, to respond to the provocation
offered by the ministry.
The secret societies had never ceased to
exist, in spite of the check they received on the
12th May, 18.38. This free-masonry of devoted
men had maintained itself almost unchanged
~wataLl&£6^ Their " ordres du jour" published
at Brussels, and often secretly in Paris, sus
tained their zeal. But the frequency of these
proclamations, which sooner or later fell into
the hands of the pobce, made it dangerous to
issue them. The relation consequently be
tween the leaders and the other members
became limited, when in 1846 a reorganization
of the societies took place, and preparatory
steps were taken.
Paris was the centre from which the different

THE REVOLT OF PARIS. 33
branches radiated into the provincial towns.
These military bodies were all animated by the
same sentiment, and were more bent on revolu
tionary action than on social theories ; muskets
were oftener spoken of than communism, and
the sole formula unanimously accepted was the
declaration of the rights of man of Robespierre
The real strength of the secret societies lay
in the working classes, who possessed a certain
disciplined force, always ready for action at a
moment's notice. They never failed in a single
political movement, and they were to be found
the foremost on the barricades of February.
In the evening of the 21st they resolved to
proceed on the morrow to the place of meeting,
without arms, in small detachments, and to take
advantage of circumstances, and, if possible, to
make a day of it against royalty.
The meeting which had the most influence
on the turn of events was that convoked on the
Monday evening in the bureaux of the Reforme.
At this meeting a hundred citizens of tried
courage and unflinching character, loudly dis
cussed the chances of a revolution. There
were present Flocon, Baune, Etienne Arago
c 3

34 THE REVOLT OF PARIS.
and the whole editorial staff of the journal;
Caussidiere, and other representatives of the
secret societies ; Louis Blanc, Thore, and other
journalists of the same opinions ; Delecluze, of
the Impartial du Nord; Pont, of the Haro de
Caen, and other provincial journalists; La
grange, Rey, Albert, and a host of brave con
spirators and men well known in the different
guartiers of Paris.
At about 10 o'clock, d' Alton Shee and Ledru
Rollin arrived from the meeting held at Lamar-
tine's, and made known what had been decided
upon there.
The sitting was most animated. Some con
tented themselves with an energetic protest
against the king's ministers. Others urged
that immediate preparations should be made to
oppose force by force. The latter maintained
that an insurrection was unavoidable, that one
hundred thousand men well affected to the
cause would present themselves in the morning
in the public streets, and that such a splendid
opportunity was not to be thrown away. The
former feared a defeat, which the Government
would doubtless take advantage of, to crush by

THE REVOLT OF PARIS. 35
new and oppressive laws all possibility of meet
ings being held in future, all liberty of the
press and propagandism, and the little that
still remained of political rights and means of
emancipation. It was, however, finally resolved that each
man should betake himself separately, and with
his hands in his pockets, to the Place de la
Madeleine, to watch the course of events, and
to gain over public opinion against royalty.
In case of an outbreak, each member was to
repair immediately to the office of the Reforme,
to organize the movement with vigour, and to
give it a republican character.
The offices of the National were thronged
during the whole of the evening by processions
of citizens, who came to demand leaders and a
mot d'ordre. But the National, in that waver
ing spirit which has always characterized it,
hesitated to renounce a portion of the left and
of the opposition, for whose acts it had almost,
especially of late, rendered itself responsible
by its cautious and timid policy. Sincerely
desiring a certain nominal republic, — a deceitful
semblance of a reality — which we to-day see

36 THE REVOLT OF PARIS.
exemplified under its editors, it shrank back
from all revolutionary demonstrations. It re
garded the state of public feeling as sufficient of
itself to overthrow the Guizot ministry, and to
give a lesson to the Court; but the National
entertained neither the hope nor the wish to
goad Paris to open revolt, to the overthrow of
the throne, and the restoration of democracy.
In 1830, the revolution occurred in precisely
the same way ; soaring above — or perhaps better
— diving below the leaders of Liberalism; as
suredly without them, and almost in despite of
them. Around the National, however, the re
publican bourgeoisie, the officers of the National
Guard, the representation of industry and com
merce, wounded to the quick by a pernicious
regime, and irritated against the insolence of the
Court, shared the feeling of the people, and
until past midnight, dense crowds thronged the
boulevards and the adjoining streets. The air
was impregnated with revolutionary matter. An
electarj,c_^iaxLaL erijthusiasm seemed to glow in
the breasts of all. Orators in blouses, mounted
on steps, and cast flashes of light upon the
jnovmgand stormy mass beneath them; there

THE REVOLT OF PARIS. 37
was every indication that a tempest was brewing
for the morrow.
And in fact, on the morrow, Tuesday, from
ten in the morning, immense bodies of citizens
kept streaming into the Place de la Madeleine
from the streets that lead to it, filling the square
part of the Boulevards and the adjacent streets.
Before noon more than fifty thousand persons,
 | ,in,||| i hi ¦¦¦¦ » " "~J""l«il  I  ullii  ¦
men, wonien^janclchjdib-en^jjb^
as far as the Place de la Concorde, shouting
without intermission, " ^£jgj[g^3?. '"^-JItL,
bas Guizot .'" They expected every moment
the arrival of some of the leading reformers and
originators of the banquet. Until the last
moment the people had hoped that the deputies
of the opposition would have had the honesty
to bring their inviolable attachment to the cause
of reform into the midst of the masses aroused
by their fine speeches. Great astonishment
was also evinced that the Government had not
taken the military precautions which had been
announced the day before. No attempt had
been made to prevent the people from proceed
ing to the Place de la Madeleine, and not a
single uniform was to be seen. In accordance

38 THE REVOLT OF PARIS.
with the perfidious custom of despotic govern
ments, the ministry encouraged the movement,
relying on its strength to put it down when it
thought fit, and thus to exhibit some plausible
reason for reactionary measures.
As no one arrived — neither deputies nor the
committee of the twelfth arrondissement — the
crowd became impatient, and not even aware of
the precise locality fixed upon for the banquet,
began to move towards the Place de la Con
corde. A body of the people, headed by
students and workmen, led the wav, singing the
Marseillaise, with thepurpose of filing off in
front of the Chamber of Deputies. The en-
trance to the bridge was occupied by a division
of Municipal Guards on foot, about fifty strong,
which drew back to allow a free passage, and
the people were soon at the steps of the Palais
Bourbon. The iron grating was closed. Some hundred
illustrious gamins scaled them, and penetrated
inside. Finding the Chamber empty, they
immediately withdrew, without interference from
the officials on duty.
But the ministerial tactics had succeeded.

THE REVOLT OF PARIS. 39
The people had been drawn into the snare, and
were surrounded. The military gradually made
its appearance on every side. Dragoons and
Municipal Guards on horseback drove back
the people to the other side of the bridge ; a
regiment of Chasseurs was drawn up in front
of the Chamber, and a regiment of the line
closed the entrance to all the adjoining streets,
as far as the H6tel des Invalides. Strong
reserves were posted along the quays, with
mounted artillery. At the same moment, charges
of cavalry began to sweep the Place de la Con
corde, and the Rues de la Madeleine and St.
Honore; Municipal Guards gallopped under
the arcades of the Rue de Rivoli and the Rue
de la Paix ; inoffensive pedestrians, women
and National Guards, received sabre-cuts. In
the Rue de la Paix a superior ofiicer of the
Municipal Guard, who had urged his horse
almost into a doorway, cutting with his sabre
at the crowd, was seized and disarmed, but was
finally rescued by some guards on foot, who
drove back the people with blows from the butt
ends of their muskets, and at the point of the
bayonet.

40 THE REVOLT OF PARIS.
The deputies advanced in deep silence through
the midst of these deplorable scenes, to attend
the sitting in the Chamber. Some of them were
recognized, stopped, and eagerly questioned.
They replied that they purposed impeaching
the ministry. An impeachment before that
corrupt majority which had denounced them by
the opprobrious titles of aveugles and ennemies !
In the Champs Elysees the collision between
the troops and the people continued for some
hours. Some victims fell, trampled under the
feet of the horses, cut down by the sabre, or
pierced by the bayonet. Stones were hurled at
the soldiery ; the lamps were smashed ; a de
tached guard-house was burnt ; chairs, boards,
and branches of trees were made available, to
orm barricades. At the corner of the Ministry
of the Marine, the iron palisades were wrenched
out, and a barricade was commenced in the Rue
St. Florentin.
The military had already so well performed
its duty, that an ambulance was organized in
the Rue St. Honore to receive the wounded.
Two women were reported dead, and a number
were grievously wounded.

THE REVOLT OF PARIS. 41
As yet the population, generally speaking,
had preserved a calm and reserved demeanour ;
but disquietude spread gradually through
Paris — the insurrection spread apace. Near the
Ecole Polytechnique the people were attacked
by the Municipal Guards. At four o'clock the
shop of Lepage, the gunsmith, was broken
into, and similar acts occurred simultaneously
in other quartiers; the proletaries began to
erect barricades, and to shoulder their muskets;
at five o'clock the drum might be heard beat
ing through the streets of Paris, but the
National Guard scarcely responded to the call.
The main arteries of the city were scoured by
patrols of Municipal Guards, and cavalry in
every direction maltreated the groups assem
bled in the footpaths, but passed the barri
cades without notice. It seemed as if royalty,
more blind, in its turn, than the royalist oppo
sition, desired to drive disorder to the extreme
limits of a serious peril. Could it suppose
that this crisis which it had provoked was to
become a revolution ?
There was, however, that evening, between
the Rues St. Denis and St. Martin, the com-

42 THE REVOLT OF PARIS.
mencement of a sanguinary struggle. A sharp
firing was kept up in the Rues Transnonain
and Bourg l'Abbe, barricaded by paving stones
and carts ; but the people were badly provided
with ammunition, and the barricades were
carried by storm before midnight.
The aspect of Paris on the day following was
far more threatening. The audacity of the
ministry and the obstinacy of the Court excited
the greatest astonishment. The hatred ex
pressed against MM. Guizot and Duchatel
reminded one forcibly of the execrations uttered
in 1830 against Polignac and Peyronnet. All
classes of the nation felt the necessity of uniting
to break down the agents or tools of the per
sonal government; and the republicans, who
had a higher aim in view, thus acquired for a
time the aid of the National Guard, the bour
geoisie, the electors, and that constitutional
country, on which the monarchy had placed
its reliance.
Preparations for resistance were therefore
continued, chiefly in the popular quarters, with
the firm resolution of not succumbing to the
king. The drums never ceased beating the

THE REVOLT OF PARIS. 43
rappel. The National Guard assembled at the
mairies and on the public squares, but only to
shout " Vive la reforme .'" Whole companies of
them paraded the streets, crossed the barri
cades and fraternized with the people. The
Third Legion marched through the whole of
the Rue Montmartre and the Boulevards, sing
ing the Marseillaise; the people mingled in its
ranks, bearing flags and all sorts of heteroge
neous weapons. The most active patriots
visited every quarter of Paris, and kept alive
the agitation. It now became a question of
going to the Tuileries.
Partial collisions took place in the vicinity of
the Rue St. Martin, of the Hotel de Ville, and
of the Bastille; and a general struggle was
seen to be inevitable at night, when the report
was spread that the ministry had been over
thrown. M. Guizot had, in fact, himself tendered his
resignation from the tribune of the Chamber
of deputies. The personal government had
fallen. A general feeling of unbounded jpy pervaded
Paris at the news of the dismissal of M.

44 THE REVOLT OF PARIS.
Guizot, and the' dynastic opposition doubtless
congratulated itself upon obtaining its ends,
without having compromised itself in the eyes
of the Chateau. Its obedience and its retreat
in the hour of danger would surely not be
overlooked. M. Barrot and his friends had thus become
possibles by a throw of chance, and France
was to be made over to their government, — the
government of M. Thiers, their leader, the
former colleague of M. Guizot, and the old
and faithful servant of Louis Philippe.
The republicans alone were not satisfied
with the joox.,ancLinsui£cient .xesult of this
generous and patrioJtac_^agii^lMiru-__ Far from
accepjmg^the^simple retirement of a corrupt
ministry^ replaced by servile royalists, the
rep ublicans did not,_c^a^e_Jheir_conflict with
thejnonarchy ; they retained their weaponsand
thgirhopes. But, alas! Paris, intoxicated with this tri
umph over an abhorred ministry, forgot its
other grievances against the Court and its insti
tutions. The National Guard fixed bouquets
of flowers instead of bayonets in their muskets ;

THE REVOLT OF PARIS. 45
the population thronged ihe illuminated streets
as if to celebrate some festival, and Louis Phi
lippe doubtless consoled himself with the
thought that, after all, he had only changed
his confederates.
Sjaddenly a thrill of horror ran through this
joyous city at the sound of a sharp fire of
musketry. It was the massacre of the Boule
vard des Capucines. Men, women, and chil-
dren assassinated by the ^military for no cause
whatever, without provocation, — the ground
covered with the dead and dying! The wounded
were carried to the surgeons and nearest houses ;
the slain were placed in two open carts and
dragged by the people to the faubourgs, amidst
cries and lamentations. This blood quenched
at once the flaming symbols of rejoicing. Illu
minated Paris became mournful and silent,—
chance had revived the drooping revolution.

THE 24th OF FEBRUARY.

All that evening, and the night between
the 23rd and the 24th of February, bore a sus
picious aspect. The work of the insurrection
was carried on with extraordinary activity, in
silence, and without any military force attempt
ing to oppose it. Paris had become one mass
of barricades from the Boulevard de Gand to
the Bastille, from the Porte St. Denis to the
Seine. The insurgents were in the streets with
the implements of labour in their hands, which
were to be laid aside for the musket on the
morning; the beautiful trees along the boule
vards were, alas! sawed down; the railings
round the public monuments were pulled up;
the lamp-posts, fountains, sheds, — anything of
a nature to obstruct the advance of the troops-
were seized upon, and devoted to that purpose.
The scaffolding and masonry of houses in course
of construction or under repair, were cast into
the middle of the road ; rafters, blocks of stone,
wheelbarrows, were all jammed between for-

THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY. 47
midable walls of paving-stones. The blows of
the axe and the falling of trees as their branches
crashed in their fall, interrupted the silence of
the night. At intervals were heard the clanking
of cold steel on the pavement, the rattling
sound of arms, the solitary report of a musket
in the dark night, and the monotonous sound
of the tocsin on the night breeze. The barri
cades were soon occupied and guarded by sen
tinels, and, around glowing braziers of charcoal,
groups of 'men might be observed kneeling,
casting bullets, tranquilly smoking their pipes,
at this extraordinary bivouac in the centre of
the great city, furrowed, as it were, to receive
the seed of liberty.
,?^H^SiflSjJJ£fi3to£auJ9?e^ers jaLgejBret
societies, all men of generous hearts and sym
pathies, were courageously active duririg_thafc
memorable night. Some went from barricade
to barricade already proclaiming the fall of the
king; others collected arms and ammunition.
Everywhere an indomitable determination was
visible, with the almost certain hope, that at
last the hour of triumph had arrived for that
republic, until whose advenff the people had
suffered so much.

48 THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY.
As the dawn broke, Paris arose in open in
surrection, and the timid or the neutral who
had passed an anxious night in their beds, must
have been surprised at the more than human
power of that laborious people, who, in a few
hours, had thus transformed an elegant and well-
arranged city into a field of battle, with trenches,
battlements, and fortifications.
The whole centre of Paris was in revolt, over
a space of ground of at least a league square, be
tween the Rue Montmartre, the Rue St. Antoine,
the Quays and the Boulevards. The passage of
the Porte St. Denis was stopped by a huge
barricade, and the principal entrances to the
camp of the insurgents were defended in a
similar manner by insurmountable barricades.
In the small streets of the centre, such as the
Rues Beaubourg, Transnonain, des Gravilliers,
and others, barricades were erected at every ten
yards, and the combatants hovered about them
with enthusiasm. In this labyrinth of small
citadels all communicated with each other, and
with the neighbouring houses.
To behold the exultation of the people who
had thus assured the inviolability of their own

THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY. 49
firesides, — to listen to the cries of " Vive la Re-
publique!" shouted by men, women, and chil
dren ! It was quite evident that the revolution
was on the eve of accomplishment, and that
at worst it was now merely a question of time.
The Court was not idle during that glorious
night. A Mole ministry had been announced
the evening before, to replace that of Guizot ;
but since the massacre on the Boulevard des
Capucines, since the revolt had taken so deter
mined and general an aspect, new concessions
appeared inevitable.
Nearly the whole of the night was passed by
the king in secret council with his ministers
and intimate advisers. Marshal Bugeaud, whom
it was proposed to make military dictator, en
couraged Louis Philippe not to give way, and
on his demand that he should be entrusted with
unlimited powers over Paris and the insurrec
tion, — " not yet," replied the king. The Mar
shal of the Rue Transnonain, proposed, doubt
less, to erect bastilles for the occasion, and the
king, without being averse to this proposition,
which he kept in reserve, did not however think
VOL. I. D

50 THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY.
that the moment had yet arrived for him to
burn — his ships.
In the course of the evening, M. Thiers had
been sent for, as also some of the editors of the
dynastic journals. The king recoiled from the
idea of a ministry selected from the opposition,
and from electoral reform, even of the most mo
dified kind. And yet all that was asked was the
addition of some civil privileges to the electoral
body, and the incompatibility of certain monar
chical functions with the post of deputy, was
hinted at. M. Thiers, moreover, who had
served the king so well on former occasions —
M. Barrot, who had just tendered so striking a
proof of respect for the royal will, how could
they inspire fear to the Court ?
At 3 o'clock in the morning, old Louis
Philippe, worn out by fatigue, consented to a
ministry consisting of Thiers, Odilon Barrot,
and Bugeaud. It was resolved that innumerable
placards should be immediately posted up on
the walls of Paris, that the mighty influence of
the names of these three great citizens might
save the monarchy, by at once appeasing the
popular tempest.

THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY. 51
Shortly after, another councillor of the king,
M. de Girardin, entered the chateau of the
Tuileries, to inform his august friend that royalty
was at stake, nay, that the dynasty was lost,
unless an abdication and a regency were pro
claimed. Thus, in this singular and imminent crisis,
all these men of the ancien regime, reputed so
skilful; all these professors of rouerie politique,
had no idea of the real state of affairs. It would
be difficult to say who was most blind, M. Bar
rot, or his friends, M. Guizot or M. Duchatel,
M. Thiers or the king. Real skill, tact, and
foresight — the genius of the statesman — are in
separable from good faith and a principle of
justice. It has been said, that at each crisis of
the drama, the king always advanced precisely
too late. He did not expect the people so soon.
It was curious to observe the reception
MM. Thiers, Bugeaud, and Barrot met with on
the morrow. To M. Bugeaud the people re
plied " Transnonain,-" to M. Thiers, "Bastille,
and the laws of September;" to M. Barrot it
replied, " desertion."
The consequence was, that M. Bugeaud was
r> 2

52 THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY.
almost immediately replaced by another faithful
general, M. de Lamoriciere, upon whom the
favour of the king had but recently conferred
the title of grand-officer of the Legion of Honour.
For a full hour longer, the opposition was
still blind enough to fancy itself as lucky as it
presumed itself to be skilful, imagining that
this great commotion having produced a ministry
so long and so vainly attempted, all was now over.
Mayors, police officers, and some National
Guards, for the second time with bouquets in
the muzzles of their guns, made the tour of
some of the quartiers, proclaiming the good
news. But the population was mute ; a portion
-of the National Guards found themselves once
more deceived, and the insurgents shouted, " A
bas Louis Philippe! Vive la Republique!"
M. Barrot who hid himself on the day of the
banquet, flattered himself that the leader of the
opposition would be sunk in the minister. He
mounted on horseback, accompanied by his
colleague, M. de Lamoriciere, some royalist
deputies like themselves, and a staff of officers.
The cortege advanced triumphantly along the
fashionable Boulevards, but as they approached

THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY. 53
the Boulevard Montmartre — a barricade at the
entrance of each street, — they were greeted
with murmurs anything but reassuring. On
arriving at the barricade of the Porte St. Denis,
they were stopped short by the insurgents, who
presenting a file of bayonets, shouted " Vive la
Republique!" The illusion of the dynasties was not there
fore of long duration. The Republic was de
cidedly in number and in strength in the insur
rection. Whilst the royalists withdrew in consterna
tion ; whilst regiments of the line stationed
along the Boulevards, fraternized with the
people, whilst the insurgents awaited the attack
behind their barricades, large bodies of armed
workmen, and boys carrying flags of their own
device, mingled with the columns of the National
Guard, which were still hesitating between a
neutral position and open revolt. Since the
morning, one exclusive idea occupied the minds
of the people; it was to march on the Tuileries,
as in 1830. The instinct of the people is always
true, and goes straight to the goal. Its irritation,
shared by a certain number of National Guards

54 THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY.
and officers, gained over whole companies, and
this revolutionary tide rolled onwards from all
sides, towards the centre of tyranny.
Dense masses advanced in this manner
tumultuously towards the Tuileries, from the
Faubourg du Temple, from the Faubourg St.
Antoine, from the Faubourg St. Marceau, from
nearly every quarter of Paris ; and this motley
army advanced its ranks, augmented by thou
sands of combatants, armed with sabres and
axes, pistols and clubs. Many who were un
armed joined the ranks, shouting " Vive la
reforme!" a cry drowned by the louder shout
of " Vive la Republique !"
And as they advanced, posts were carried by
storm, troops fraternized with them, and now
and then a volley was given and received, but
with little loss of life. No serious engagement
took place till they reached the Chateau d'Eau.
At about half-past 12 the various streams
of people arriving by the Rue de Valois or the
Rue Richelieu found the court-yards of the
Palais Royal and the Chateau d'Eau, occupied
by the military. The court-yard of the Palais
Royal was soon entered,. but upon the guards

THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY. 55
on duty at the Chateau d'Eau refusing to give
up their arms, a terrible conflict ensued. The
citizens intrenched themselves behind the colon
nades of the Cour d'Honneur, and the barricade
of the Rue de Valois kept up this heroic
struggle for more than an hour. The royal
carriages having been dragged into the middle
of the court-yard were set fire to, and in the
midst of this conflagration, which spread gra
dually to the Chateau d'Eau, the people and
the National Guards, chiefly of the third and
fifth legions, carried by storm the post so
bravely attacked and so bravely defended.
A portion of the crowd burst into the apart
ments of the royal palace of the Orleans, and
threw everything they could lay their hands on
out of the windows upon the still smouldering
fire below. Others rushed at once towards the
Tuileries. That palace had meantime been taken by
storm, almost without resistance; although
drawn up within the grille there were a body
of 3000 infantry, six pieces of artillery, and
many squadrons of Dragoons, and Municipal
Guards on horseback. But legions of the

56 THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY.
National Guard and the people arrived from
every side and surrounded the Place du Car
rousel and the Rue de Rivoli. After exchang
ing a few shots, the military withdrew with
their staff through the Pavilion de l'Horloge,
leading into the gardens.
It was now nearly half-past 1. At 11 the
king, in his slippers, was receiving his intimate
friends and advisers, so little did he suspect the
real state of Paris, and the triumph of the
revolution. The king, the queen, the princes, and
princesses, made their escape by the terrace
which runs parallel with the river. Out at the
small iron gateway of the Pont-tournant which
had served Darmes to lean against, Louis
Philippe and his wife entered a voiture de place
which took the road to Neuilly. No one
thought of pursuing them.
The Duchess of Orleans and her young son,
accompanied by M. de Nemours and deputies
and officers, proceeded to the sitting of the
Chamber of Deputies, where three or four
royalists stammered forth a regency. But the
people were advancing fast, and every one

THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY. 57
endeavoured to secure the retreat by a secret
passage, of the woman and the child, who
remained concealed at the Invalides till the
evening. The second pretender to the regency, Mon-
seigneur le Due de Nemours, grand constable of
all the armies of the kingdom of France, of
Navarre, and of Algeria, made his escape in
another direction, after having exchanged his
general's uniform for the simple dress of a
republican National Guard.
Thus royalty, regency, the whole of the
ancien regime had vanished ; the people were
masters of Paris, and France had to decide for
the future.
At the Chamber of Deputies, in the midst of
the most fearful tumult, the extreme left pro
posed successively the more popular names of
its members, to organize a provisional com
mission to provide for the exigencies of the
moment. Some of these names were applauded
by the crowd that filled every part of the
building. At the same time a list of names to conciliate
the people was being drawn up at the National.
d 3

58 THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY.
At the Reforme, where the prmcipal leaders of
the insurrection had rallied after the victory,
a Provisional Government was also nominated,
and it was the Reforme that had the honour of
proposing a workman.
These three groups soon met at the Hotel de
Ville. The square was one dense mass of human
beings, who filled the vast halls of the temple
consecrated by all our revolutions.
And on the Place de Greve, on the bloody
barricades, in the uptorn streets, from the
windows of the houses, there was one exulting
shout of victory : —
"Vive la Republique !"

MEMOIRS

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE.

PART I.
THE PREFECTURE FROM THE 24th FEBRUARY
TO THE 15th APRIL.

CHAPTER I.
My impressions on entering the Tuileries — Souveniri
of 1834 — Oblivion of old enmities — The people appoint
a Provisional Government — I am made Prefect of Po
lice — Departure from the office of the RS/orme — My
picturesque costume — State of Paris — Entrance into the
Prefecture of Police — Sobrier and Cahaigne — My connexions
with my predecessor — M. Delessert and Saint Napoleon —
Suit of Ledru Rollin before the Court of Cassation — The
chest at the Prefecture — The apartments of M. Delessert—
Precautionary measures — Visit to the vaults — The fire-
brigade — Revolutionary proclamations — Character of the
Republican police — Organization of the different branches
of the public service — The provisions of Paris — Bread,
wood, and lights — Sobrier falls sick, and leaves the Pre
fecture — The leaders of the barricades — Re-establishment
of circulation — Washing of the streets — Night adventures
— The Prefect of Police a prisoner — Crowds of informers —
Robbery of arms and plate by a fencing-master — The red-
belts — Republican capacities — All men are brothers — The
tricolor flag — The horses of the Municipal Guard — Address
to the Paris Commissaries of Police.
Like many others, I arrived at the Palais
Royal with a musket in my hand, and after the

62 MEMOIRS OF
Chateau d'Eau had been carried by assault, I
entered the Tuileries, astounded at the feeble
resistance that had been made by the defenders
of royalty. Like others, I stopped before the
steps of the throne, and my thoughts wandered
to my poor brother, murdered at Lyons in
1834. It was on the steps of the altar of
Christ that he fell, struck by three balls, with
sixty-four bayonet wounds in his body; and
his corpse, relinquished as a prey to a mad
dened soldiery, was soon bttle more than a tissue
of bloody shreds.
I also thought of you, my poor and worthy
father, known for your proverbial probity,
and whose whole life had been one unbroken
chain of devotion to the holy cause of the
people. You were condemned to die by inches,
without beholding the sunrise of political reli
gion. At this moment, I feel inclined to say,
it was perhaps as well ; for you died with your
illusions still entire and undisturbed.
The aspect of the people who had just
expelled their ruler, threw me into serious
meditations. I saw the utter vanity of the
pride of man. The Tuileries became the grave

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 63
of my animosity. I forgot the long and fever
ish nights I had passed in prison, to think
only of the new duties imposed on all citizens,
the friends of order and democratic institu
tions. — -
On leaving the Tuileries, I proceeded to the
offices of the Reforme newspaper, where a great
number of insurgents were appointing a govern
ment. When those citizens who had been
nominated for the provisional power installed
themselves at the Hotel de Ville, there were
still two important offices which demanded
immediate attention, the direction of the Post
Office, which was at once entrusted to Etienne
Arago, and the Prefecture of Police. I pro
posed Baune for the Police department; he
declined. Several other citizens likewise re
fused. All who were put in nomination
declined so difficult a post. Flocon and Baune
then proposed me, in conjunction with Sobrier.
At first I would not accept the offer; but the
entreaties of the people, and the knowledge that
I should have Sobrier for a colleague, induced
me at last to accept it. I did so against my
will, but with the firm resolve to devote the

64 MEMOIRS OF
utmost care, and all the energy necessary for
the fulfilment of the duties of so important a
post. I, however, inwardly resolved to resign
my revolutionary functions as soon as there
should be a well-organized power at the head
of the affairs of the country.
It has always been my real and sincere
intention to keep aloof from all the trammels
of place. For seventeen years I had been one
of the foremost in the breach, without any
ulterior views of personal advantage. I may
honestly say, that I made every possible sacri
fice to my cause. The realization and adoption
of my political principles were in my eyes the
noblest recompense.
I proceeded to the Prefecture, accompanied
by Sobrier and Cahaigne, without any acces
sion of self-esteem, but also without any
mistrust of myself.
I gave my musket and my pistols to Sobrier
and Cahaigne, who had already laid aside their
arms, and only retained my sabre, which was
fastened round my body by a red sash. It was
the sword of honour of my father. I had a
cap on my head, a coat all bespattered with

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 65
mud, a pair of black trowsers, and a pair of
boots worn into holes from four and twenty
hours' incessant scrambling over barricades,
I had about a hundred francs in my pocket.
As I walked along, I had plenty of opportu
nities of remarking how necessary it was to
take vigorous measures to place Paris in decent
order. All the streets were cut up by barri
cades ; and yet the town was far from having a
mournful appearance. Every man was walking
about as if it had been a holiday. Cares for
the future had not yet clouded their faces.
The present was everything, and the citizens
willingly undertook the expense of lighting the
city, each man lighting his own house.
As I entered the principal court of the Pre
fecture with my two comrades, all was disorder
and confusion. The ground was strewed with
helmets, horses' saddles, and military accoutre
ments. About 2,700 men, Municipal Guards
and troops of the line, had just evacuated the
Prefecture. A company of the 11th Legion
alone appeared in anything like military order.
It was the officers of this company, seconded
by Adjutant Caron and M. Carteret, who, to

66 MEMOIRS OF
avoid a conflict, had induced the Municipal
Guards and the line to withdraw. A great
number of citizens, more or less armed, and
still intoxicated by a success obtained without
the effusion of blood, were walking up and
down the courts shouting " Vive la Libert e!"
" Vive la Republique /" and singing the Mar
seillaise hymn. The coup-d'oeil was extremely
picturesque ; it had all the effect of the wildest
dream !
I requested the captain of the National
Guard to call his men together ; and in a short
address I announced my provisional nomina
tion to the Prefecture, and exhorted all the
citizens present to lend me their assistance
towards the re-estabbshment of order, and the
providing against the most urgent demands
of the moment. They promised with enthu
siasm that they would do so, and kept their
promise with zeal and intelligence.
I then ascended, still accompanied by So
brier and Cahaigne, to the apartments of the
Secretary-General, where I found only two
employis and two bailiffs, who had remained at
their posts.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 67
I remembered how often I had been ordered
to appear in that very room, when under a
rigorous surveillance as condamne politique; for
the jealous watchfulness of the Secretary-Gene
ral and of the Prefect himself was continually
excited by the reports of the secret police.
On one occasion in particular, when I was
summoned before my predecessor to defend
myself against certain false or- exaggerated im
putations, he gave me some well-intentioned
advice, the friendly tone of which I attributed
to the high esteem he professed to entertain for
my uncle Spreafico. It was through the exer
tions of M. Spreafico, assisted by his friend
M. Lingay, that I obtained permission to reside
at Paris after I was let out of the prison of
Doullens. At a later period M. Pinel ordered
me to leave Paris within twenty-four hours, on
the ground that I was always dabbling in
poUtics, and that they knew me to be in con
nection with some conspirators, whose proceed
ings they were watching narrowly. M. Deles
sert granted me a respite of eight days, to put
my affairs in order.
At that time I really was no conspirator, for

68 MEMOIRS OF
the whole of my time and attention was directed
towards the fabrication of a waterproof cloth,
the result of which experiment, after sinking
the greater portion of my capital, was a loss of
60,000 francs, in debts and otherwise, which
placed me in a position very similar to that of
Job upon his dunghill.
On this occasion, M. Lingay again interceded
with M. Delessert, to obtain the revocation of
this decree of banishment, and he gave me a
written report of what passed between them.
It was asserted that, at a Republican banquet, I
had made use of language that compromised
me, and that under Saint Napoleon, I should
have been locked up in the Bastille for the rest
of my days.
" And moreover," M. Delessert was stated
to have said, pointing to a report, of which the
ink was scarcely dry, "at this very moment,
while you are here soliciting permission for
M. Caussidiere to remain in Paris, he is, with
other Republicans, at the Royal Court of Cas
sation, attending the trial of M. Ledru Rollin."
I had, however, no difficulty in proving that
I had only fulfilled a duty of gratitude and

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 69
affection towards the man who had formerly
defended me before the Court of Peers, and
who had only recently made himself answerable
for me to the amount of 25,000 francs. There
was nothing to justify the steps taken against
me, and I was allowed to remain in Paris.
It was with such reflections that I took pos
session of an hotel, from which, but a few hours
previously, a warrant of arrest had been issued
against me.
I placed my sword upon a desk, Sobrier did
the same with his pistols, and we set to work
at once.
The heads of the municipal police and the
other superior employes being absent, M. Core,
the cashier of the Prefecture, alone presented
himself, and informed me that there were about
200,000 francs in the chest, which he placed at
my disposal, for the necessities of the service.
I replied that at present no money was required,
but that he was not to dispose of any funds,
without a written order from me to that
effect. The warder came in his turn, and he was
ordered to lock up all the rooms of the second

70 MEMOIRS OF
story, which had been occupied by my prede
cessor, who, so precipitate was his flight, had
taken nothing away with him.
I did not take possession of the second floor
until a week had elapsed, and then only after
the servants of M. Delessert had removed every
article that belonged to him.
M. Delessert expressed his thanks to me
shortly afterwards, in the following letter : —
London,. 29th April, 1848.
" Monsieur le Prefet,
" I have just been informed by my Paris
friends of the kind manner in which you ex
pressed yourself respecting the very short
sojourn which Madame Delessert made at Passy,
and the regret you evinced that she had not at
once addressed herself to you. Allow me to
express my thanks to you.
" I do so with the greater empressement, that
it gives me the opportunity of telling you how
grateful I feel for all your proceedings in our
case ; in allowing, so handsomely, all our pro
perty, horses, and other articles, the private
property of myself and wife, to be removed

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 7l
rom the Prefecture of Police. I am happy,
Monsieur le Prefet, to express to you my very
sincere and cordial gratitude.
" I have the honour to beg of you to receive
the sentiments of my high consideration.
" Gabriel Delessert."
The captain of the 4th Legion, above men
tioned, and the Adjutant Caron commenced the
organization of a military force, which was
joined by some friends, and a considerable
number of insurgents, more or less regularly
equipped. Sentinels were stationed, patrols
paraded the streets; and having explored the
subterraneous passages and sewers which branch
out from the Prefecture, I was satisfied that no
invisible danger threatened us.
The director of the express courier depart
ment was sent for, and ordered to obey my
instructions. His brigade consisted of eighteen
men, but I increased it to twenty-four, in con
sequence of the urgency of the moment.
The service of the fire-brigade was not inter
fered with. A conflagration at the Palais Royal
was prevented from having a serious termination,

72 MEMOIRS OF
through the intelligence and devoted zeal of
this select corps.
The whole time until the following morning
was passed in taking these necessary prelimi
nary steps. Sobrier shared all my labours, and
conjointly with him I issued the following pro
clamation :
" In the name of the Sovereign People!
" Citizens: " A Provisional Government has been esta
blished. It consists, by the will of the people,
of Citizens F. Arago, Louis Blanc, Marie,
Lamartine, Flocon, Ledru Rollin, Recurt,
Marrast, and Albert (ouvrier mecanicien).
" To see the decrees of this Government
carried into effect, the will of the people has
also selected for the department of Police, Citi
zens Caussidiere and Sobrier.
" The same sovereign will of the people has
nominated Citizen Etienne Arago, Postmaster-
General. " As the first act of obedience to the orders
of the Provisional Government, it is ordered
that all bakers and vendors of provisions do

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 73
keep their shops open for all those who stand
in need of them.
" The people are earnestly requested not to
lay down their arms, or abandon their positions
or their revolutionary attitude. They have
been too often deceived by treachery: it is
necessary to provide against all terrible and
criminal attempts.
" To satisfy the general wish of the sovereign
people, the Provisional Government decided
upon, and has effected, with the aid of the Na
tional Guard, the liberation of all our brothers
in prison for political offences; but at the same
time, with the like meritorious assistance of the
National Guard, all persons convicted of crimes
against persons or property have been detained
in confinement.
"The families of the citizens who have fallen
or have been wounded in the defence of the rights
of the sovereign people, are requested to notify
to the Prefecture without delay, the names of
the victims of devotion to the public cause, that
their most pressing wants may be provided for.
" The Delegates of the Department of Police,
" Caussidiere and Sobrier."
vol. i. e

74 MEMOIRS OF
On the next morning nearly all the chefs de
division and chefs de bureau were at their post.
Some of them requested an interview, which
was immediately granted. I urged these gentle
men to be doubly zealous in their duties, as
the government of the people stood in need of
the devotion and of the activity of all its agents.
" If one of you," I added, " should be guilty
of treason, I shall have him instantly shot in
the yard of the Prefecture."
This is the only revolutionary threat I made
use of during the three months I was in office,
and I should not have hesitated to carry it into
execution, had the case required it. Might I
not reasonably consider myself as surrounded
by enemies or evil-disposed persons, when they
accepted against their will the new master set
over them by the popular will ?
On the other hand, I endeavoured at once
to gain the esteem, if not the sympathy, of the
different employes of the Prefecture, by always
treating them with consideration and affability,
whatever their position. I recommended an
observance of the same line of conduct in all
the bureaux, as a practice worthy of a Repub-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 75
lican government, towards all persons who came
on business to the Prefecture. It was for the
Republic, misunderstood and calumniated, to
show itself great, powerful, and magnanimous.
It was its duty especially to raise the confidence
of the poorer citizens who stand most in need
of its protection and goodwill.
It was with these fraternal feelings that the
bureaux of the Prefecture were opened on the
25th February, with the exception of the pass
port department, respecting which I still awaited
the orders of the government.
I had a report made of the stores of corn and
flour. Though it proved satisfactory, I sent
some friends to Etampes and Blois, to make
purchases ; this enabled me to reduce the price
of bread on the 2nd of March following. This
step triumphantly succeeded in dispelling the
panic which had been got up by the alarmists.
An ordonnance, which appeared on the 25th
of February, enabled the bakers to procure
fire-wood with greater facility. Orders were
given to see that the sewers were properly
cleansed. It was also necessary to provide for
the lighting of the city, a measure which was
e 2

76 MEMOIRS OF
quite out of the question during the first few
days. On the evening of the 26th my colleague
and friend, Sobrier, was attacked by a violent
fever; he had passed many nights without sleep,
and his strength was exhausted. I met few
men so ready, and so willing, to act for the
general good. My robust constitution, and my .
habit of allowing myself very little sleep, en
abled me to support these interminable labours
so contrary to my temperament, which requires
a great deal of exercise in the open air. Every
minute brought its work with it. I had every
thing done upon the spot, and urged on the
slow bureaucratics, those plagues to private
individuals, and who are always detrimental to
the public service.
The barricades all this time remained. A
well-founded distrust kept the insurgents at
"their posts. The great arteries which lead to
that vast reservoir of the provisions of Paris,
called the Marche des Innocens, being inter
cepted, it was necessary to obviate this incon
venience at once, so as to open to the popula
tion the means of procuring the food of which

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 77
it stood in need; The arrival and departure of
the mails had already been looked to.
I sent for some of the commanders of the
barricades, and requested them to throw open
the main arteries of communication, informing
them that every moment I was receiving the
adhesion of the principal towns to the Govern
ment of the Republic, which was everywhere
hailed with enthusiasm. I assured them that a
watchful eye would discern and prevent any
attempt on the part of the enemies of the
revolution. On the following morning, thanks to their
good will and assistance, nearly all the barri
cades had been removed, and the sanitary con
dition of the capital might now be attended to;
accordingly I issued a proclamation, recom
mending cleanliness, and a free passage for the
population. It was necessary to see to the pavement of
the streets. They who have not witnessed those
mounds of paving-stones, heaped up by the
revolutionary spirit, cannot form an idea on the
matter. Engineers and paviours were put in

78 MEMOIRS OF
requisition, and a notable improvement was
soon apparent.
The repaving of Paris recalls to my mind a
ittle anecdote, which some estimable gentle
men, not over-well inclined towards myself,
distorted, by pourtraying it under false colours.
The facts are as follows :
Cuni, one of my fellow prisoners at Doullens,
had arrived in Paris ; his first visit was to me.
He came in the uniform of an artilleryman,
and he waited till nearly two o'clock in the
morning, until I was at liberty to have a chat
with him. I offered to accompany him to his
hotel, in the Rue Beauregard, wishing at the
same time to visit the quartiers St. Denis, which
I was told had been neglected. Pools of stag
nant water had been reported to me, and I was
desirous of seeing how far my orders had been
obeyed. My head was aching, and I was fatigued
from eighteen hours' incessant labour, and con
sequently I felt a great want of fresh air. We
walked along conversing on the topics of the day
until we reached the top of the Petit Carreau,

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 79
where we met a patrol of National Guards,
commanded by a lieutenant, whose name I
have never been able to ascertain. A " qui
vive," in a sonorous voice, occasioned probably
by Cuni's uniform, and followed by " passez
au large," made us turn into the Rue Bourbon-
Villeneuve, where we stopped to take leave of
each other. I was turning my steps in the
direction of the Prefecture, when the same
patrol came up, and asked me if we had any
orders of free passage. I showed them mine,
which ran as follows: — " Laissez-passer le
citoyen prefet de police — Caussidiere. Signed
by the Secretary of the Prefecture of Police."
Whether from distrust, or a fear of deception,
I know not, but he requested me to follow him.
On arriving at the guard-house in the Rue
Mauconseil, three of these gentlemen offered
to accompany me to the Prefecture. On our
way there I was recognized by an officer, who
thought I had an escort, whilst, on the con
trary, I was a prisoner.
At the principal gate of the Prefecture the
lieutenant wished to retire with his men, but
I requested them to enter, and once in my

80 MEMOIRS OF
cabinet I said, " You are my prisoners, gentle
men, and cannot leave me thus."
An usher brought in two bottles of wine and
some biscuits. After having touched our glasses
in honour of the Republic : — " You have taken
a noble revenge," said one of them, and they
withdrew. Thus, because I repaid by an act of polite
ness an error of over zeal, it was imputed that
I had been taken up drunk by the patrol.
Good men, who live upon calumnies, if I was
your friend, I could only wish your heads were
as clear and as little affected as mine was during
the exercise of my duties.
Like all true democrats, I renounced all feel
ings of animosity in the Tuileries, and I refused
to look at the informations which poured in
upon me, in shoals, as soon as I had entered
office. I had far more important matters to
attend to, God knows, than to run after M.
Hebert and his accomplices ; it was necessary
to establish unity between all classes of society,
and to make sure of the frank and devoted co
operation with the Government of all by all.
It was with this object that I surrounded mvself

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 81
with a certain force, which might — as will be
seen in the sequel, — by giving weight to my
authority, enable me to avoid having recourse
to violent measures to ensure the execution of
my orders.
From the very first I was admirably seconded
by my friends and some of my colleagues. With
the exception of the affaire Delahodde, and an-
incident which I am about to relate, I had to
deplore very few acts of insubordination.
It was on the 29th February that Souchet,
who acted as chief armourer, remarked that a
valuable rifle was missing. I also missed a
pistol, and some other articles. Calling all my
officers together, I said: "There is a thief
amongst you, he must be discovered. Make
no remarks, but watch." Half an hour after
wards the thief was found, arrested, and con
victed. He was an old frequenter of the Hotel,
where he gave fencing lessons to M. Pinel.
Favoured by his uniform of the National Guard,
he pretended to be very zealous, and entered
everywhere. In addition to the arms and other
articles which he had carried away, and which
were found in his rooms, he had persuaded
e 3

82 MEMOIRS OF
M. Delessert's confidential servant to conceal
the plate, telling him that it was not safe under
the care of the republicans on duty at the Pre
fecture. The plate in question was estimated
at 100,000 francs. He himself assisted the
servant in concealing the plate in a closet, which
he opened by means of a picklock. But he was
arrested before he had completed his razzia.
Two silver dishes were found at his house,
which, with the arms, were returned to their
lawful owners.
I cannot express how vexed I felt at this
theft, or how I was rejoiced to learn afterwards
that the malefactor was not a republican de la
veille, as they were called by the republicans
du Lendemain.
To distinguish those of my men at the Pre
fecture who were on military service, I made
them wear a red sash and a brassart. The bras-
sart was a distinction of authority.
This red colour alarmed many timid persons,
who always pay more attention to the form
than the substance. Some distinctive sign was
necessary, to avoid blunders, and the intro
duction of dishonest men amongst our body.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 83
Red, the symbol of unity, did not mean that
we had sanguinary views. Except when in the
combat, I have generally found republicans
men of humane and gentle manners, whilst
many who adopt white for their colour, often
conceal under that pure and snowy covering,
vindictive and cruel passions. Read history.
However this may be, I never looked to the
colour of the garb, the position or fortune of
citizens, when justice was to be rendered to
them. I never forgot this precept: "All men
are brothers." Wherefore otherwise should
we have restored that glorious device so often
effaced by tyranny: "Liberty, Equality, Fra
ternity ?" three words which correspond to the
idea of a democratic and social Republic.
The tricolor flag of the old Republic was
adopted and replaced on all the public edifices.
I prohibited the sale of arms and ammunition,
unless the names both of the seller and buyer
were inscribed on a special register. It was
also necessary to collect the horses of the old
Municipal Guard, which were scattered and
stabled all over Paris; and after active researches
259 horses were recovered, and were made

84 MEMOIRS OF
available for the service of the Republican
Guard. A number of Municipal Guards, prisoners in
the barracks, had hitherto received only enough
bread to keep them alive. I ordered the regular
soldier's allowance to be given them ; and in a
few days they were set at liberty.
A list was kept by my orders, of those citizens
who, since the 24th February, had been on duty
at the Prefecture.
On the third day after my installation, some
twenty Commissaries of Police, of the different
quartiers, came to receive my instructions. I
bade these gentleman walk in, who seemed to
take me for Sancho Panca in his island.
Each of them submitted to me the wants
and disorders of his district. They all spoke
at once, and endeavoured to disconcert me. I
perceived what they were aiming at, and passing
them in review with a glance, I ordered them
to speak only when I questioned them : " I
know what you are capable of," I said, "I hope,
as far as many of you are concerned, the future
will make me forget the past. A new era com
mences. Be humane and conciliatory; lend

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 85
me your assistance towards the re-establishment
of order, and do not forget that your first duty
is to prevent theft and pillage, under whatever
shape they may appear. In default of sergens
de ville, you may call in the assistance of the
guard stationed in your respective districts ; I
am sure they will stand by you. Keep an eye
on the haunts of thieves, and do not meddle
with politics, it can only be a source of trouble
to you."
These gentlemen withdrew in silence, after
protesting their devotion, which for some time
they gave me little opportunity of appreciating.

CHAPTER II.
Visit to the Provisional Government — The sabre with the red
knots and the fighting-cap — The balustrade of the H8tel
de Ville — The Bee-hive — A turbulent crowd — An assault —
Elbows and shoulders — The crush — The Tower of Babel
— The Prefect of Police robbed — Sharing like brothers —
Strict orders — Ledru Rollin not admitted — The workmen of
the Moniteur — The green cloth — General Thiard, MM. Re
curt, and Flottard — The table of the Government — Heaps
of papers — The moderate party and the democrats — Gamier
Pages and Flocon. — Eternal discussions — Flocon succumbs
to his exertions — A man can only get on with his own
fellows — Albert wishes to resign — Great marks of superiority
—The love of talking — What do they wish to make of me ?
— Five hundred pupils of St. Cyr — Bread and wine — He
who brings is always welcome — Chaos- in the streets and in
the Council — The Left of the Government — Here comes the
Prefect ! — Hum ! — What an appearance ! — Five feet ten
inches — White linen — Magisterial dignity.
Whilst I was finding my way, as best I
could, in this labyrinth of affairs of every des
cription, I only received indirect intelligence of

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 87
what the Provisional Government was doing in
its sittings at the Hotel de Ville.
I therefore resolved, on the evening of the
26th February, to go and, pay them a visit, so
as to inform myseK on various subjects. I set
out, accompanied by a guard of twenty men.
I had no time to change my dress, and had
by my side my sabre with the red knots, a
brace of pistols in my sash, and my fighting
cap. We arrived at the balustrade in front of the
Hotel de Ville, through innumerable guards
and challenges of " qui vive" and were obliged
every moment to give the pass-word.
I can compare the entrance of the Hotel de
Ville to nothing else than a bee-hive.
An armed and turbulent crowd thronged the
steps. Those under the peristyle were on duty,
and continually drove back the crowd which
stopped up the staircase.
To obtain an entrance it was necessary to
make a regular assault, and bring into play
both elbows and shoulders, at the risk of losing
a limb or two.
I was obliged to leave my escort behind and

88 MEMOIRS OF
to try and force my way, accompanied by my
lieutenant only.
Twice I was driven back with loss, but,
thanks to my vigorous efforts and to my being
recognized by some citizens, I succeeded, with
my lieutenant, in reaching the staircase of the
first story.
The leader of the escort, whom I had taken
in tow, was a sprightly student, who was all
but stifled in the crush.
The mass of armed and unarmed citizens
that occasioned this confusion were there to
see and hear what was going on ; perhaps, also,
to claim service at the Hotel de Ville.
It was the Tower of Babel on a small scale.
If I did not lose one of my limbs in this
rough passage, I lost one of my pistols. To
save my amour propre as Prefect, I have always
endeavoured to persuade myself that in the
scuffle it fell out of my belt, but the fact is it
was snatched out. I cannot say precisely at
what moment ; some honest citizen, doubtless,
who had no arms, was of opinion that I did not
need two, and that like good brothers we ought
to go shares.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 89
I was somewhat disconcerted at it, as in
critical moments like these, a man is glad to
have his weapons at hand.
On the landing-place of the first floor I
encountered similar obstacles to impede my
progress to the Provisional Government. Its
orders were so strict, that when one of its
members presented himself alone, he had equal
difficulties to contend against.
The evening before, Citizen Ledru Rollin
had been refused admittance, and it was
with great difficulty that he rejoined his col
leagues. Although the first floor swarmed with
citizens and pupils of the Polytechnic School,
the crowd was not so dense as below.
In about an hour I at last reached the door of
the council chamber. In a long gallery, through
which I had to pass, the printers of the Moni-
teur were busy printing the decrees which left
the council chamber. A somewhat disorderly
activity was visible everywhere. Every man
seemed aware of the necessity of getting through
his work as fast as possible.
All the members of the Provisional Govern-

90 MEMOIRS OF
ment were seated round a large table with the
indispensable green cloth.
General Thiard, Recurt, Flottard, and other
citizens were also seated at the governmental
table. These gentlemen were literally buried
alive in a heap of torn papers, which inundated
the floor of the room, and reached up to an
ordinary man's waist.
A heavy and oppressive atmosphere weighed
upon this assembly. I approached a windpw
which was half open, my sabre under my arm,
and awaited the termination of a discussion
that was going on.
I thus was a witness how the affairs of the
Republican Government were managed. They
commenced drawing up a decree, which was soon
torn up, the fragments being sent to increase the
heap upon the floor, and then all was commenced
over again. The warfare between the moderate
and democratic parties, existed there in full
force. Flocon and Gamier Pages appeared to
me the two most doughty champions, the one
for energetic, the other for the most dilatory
measures. I shall not relate word for word all that

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 91
came to my ears, lest haply I should commit an
error of memory.
I shall only add, that a decree was under
discussion, and that it was to be drawn up. It
was quite evident that Flocon was dead beat
from exertion, and he soon fell sick, and lost
that warm enthusiasm which animated him
during the first days of the Revolution.
He has repeatedly told me since, that they
took a pleasure in working him to death, and this
is much to be regretted, for he might have been
of essential service to the cause of the revolu
tion. His opinions will doubtless again carry
him fresh into the lists, but with the conviction
that revolution is only possible with its origina
tors, and that a man can only get on with his
own fellows.
Let him mark well that, this advice is dictated
by my head and by my heart.
Whilst I was looking on at this decree-
making, Albert joined me at the window, and
said: " Matters don't go on well, here ; I look as
if I was one too many. I feel greatly inclined
to tender my resignation."

92 MEMOIRS OF
" Do nothing of the sort," I replied, " unless
it is necessary to recommence the struggle. The
people must have in this Government repre
sentatives selected from their own body; be
firm, and oppose yourself energetically to any
reactionary measures. The people have paid
with their blood for the right of having their
own delegates here; they are victorious, your
power is consequently great; speak in the
name of the people, and you will be listened
to." It was not from a sense of his own inferiority
that Albert wished to retire, but he was hurt
by the airs of superiority which some of his
colleagues assumed towards him, who under
valued the intelligence and practical common
sense of our friend.
The love of talk ruled supreme there.
After waiting for an hour, till the debate
concluded, I stated the object of my visit.
It was necessary to take some administrative
measures; it was necessary, therefore, that I
should be in more frequent communication
with the Government, that there might be a
community of action.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 93
What did they wish to make of me ? They
replied that they were about to take steps to
regulate the different functions, and they re
quested me to continue my endeavours to
re-establish order.
At this moment the Provisional Government
were informed of the arrival of the pupils of
St. Cyr, to the number of five hundred.
They had forcibly resisted the authority of
their commanders, and had proceeded in a
body to offer their services to the Republic.
The Provisional Government thanked them
for their zeal, and lodged them in some of the
large apartments of the hotel. As they were
worn out from fatigue and long fasting, it was
necessary to provide them with food, but there
was not a loaf to be had at any of the bakers'
in the neighbourhood, and since eleven o'clock
at night all the shops had been closed.
What was to be done ?
" Don't be concerned about it," said I, step
ping forward ; " in half an hour they shall have
enough to eat and drink."
I called my escort, and proceeded to the
faubourg St. Germain; two bakers provided

94 MEMOIRS OF
me, for a receipt, with five hundred pounds of
bread. Sausages, cheese, and three hundred
bottles of wine, procured in other quarters,
formed this improvise' banquet. My men re
turned to the Hotel de Ville with loaves stuck
on their bayonets, the rest being carried in
baskets. Some workmen made a show of seizing the
bread, but when I explained to them that it
was destined for citizens who had had a long
day's march, and had eaten nothing during the
day, they at once relinquished the idea, and
formed themselves into a guard, to oppose any
attempt to prevent the provisions arriving at
their destination.
Thus chaos still prevailed in the street and
in the council.
Diligence and perseverance, however, might
still restore harmony ; judicious decrees might
give confidence to the revolutionary portion of
the population, and with these reflections I
placed my trust in the Left of the Provisional
Government, although it was inferior in number.
Had it not the victorious people to sup
port it ?

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 95
On leaving the Hotel de Ville, I heard a
pupil of the Polytechnic School observe to one
of his comrades, pointing me out with his
finger : —
" There goes the Prefect of Police." —
" Hum !" said the other, " quelle tournure .'"
The fact is, my appearance was certainly sin
gular enough. My clothes were bespattered
and torn, and my face was flushed from many
nights passed without sleep. My sabre is
large one, the blade as broad as a man's hand ;
I had a red sash round my waist, with a pistol
stuck in it ; add to which, a height of five feet
ten inches, French measure, and my appearance
may be easily concluded to have been decidedly
eccentric. On my return to the Prefecture, I immedi
ately ordered fresh linen to be brought me, and
a change of clothes, that I might not com
promise my magisterial dignity, the more so as
I am of the opinion that a man should pjways
be as well-dressed as possible.

CHAPTER III.
Magnanimity of the Revolution of February — Louis Philippe
and his Ministers — Orders for the arrest of MM. Guizot
and Duchatel — Citizen Perrot de Chezelles — Orders of
arrest against the other Ministers — Informations — Golden
dreams — Saint-Just and M. Lamartine — First decrees of
the Provisional Government — Poor and rich — Patrols and
night-robbers — Liberated galley-slaves and filles publiqv.es —
The safety-brigade — Organization of the Montagnards —
Their uniform — La garde en sabots — Suggestions of
Blanqui — Order with disorder — Promises of February — The
prisons of Paris — Sainte Pelagie, La Force, La Roquette —
The cellular system and penitentiary reform — Prisoners for
political offences set at liberty — Fete at the Prefecture — The
Prefecture turned into a Court of Justice.
The revolution of February, magnanimous
as all popular revolutions are, perpetrated no
acts of vengeance on the late oppressors of
France. The king and the princes were allowed
to depart without any notice being taken of
them. Time was also given to the ministers to
allow them to gain the frontier in safety.
It was not till the 2/th of February that I

MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 97
received instructions from the Government at
the Hotel de Ville to issue warrants for the
arrest of the Sieurs Guizot and Duchatel, at
the request of Citizen Perrot de Chezelles and
Citizen de la Haye. Warrants were also issued
against M. Hebert, ex-Minister of Justice and
Public Worship; the Duke of Montebello,
ex-Minister of Marine; the Sieur Trezel, ex-
Minister of War; the Sieur de Salvandy,
ex-Minister of Public Instruction; the Sieur
Dumon, ex-Minister of Finances; the Sieur
Cunin-Gridaine, ex-Minister of Agriculture and
Commerce ; and the Sieur Jayr, ex-Minister of
Pubbc Works.
Informations innumerable were brought to
me respecting these men, whose flight I could
easily have prevented; but, like the people, I
had golden dreams, and only sought compensa
tion for our past misfortunes in the liberal
institutions which the Republic seemed to have
in store for us.
Alas ! Has the Republic kept its promises ?
"As long as one poor man remains in the
state," said St. Just, "you will not have esta
blished a veritable Republic."
VOL. I. F

98 MEMOIRS OF
"As long as you are deficient in one single
truth," said M. de Lamartine, "as long as
there are truths in the hands of your enemies
which you do not adopt, you will not be able
to sleep in peace."
We have proofs already of the justness of
those words. The liberties we gained in Febru
ary have been torn from us. We are refused
the possession of rights, on the plea that the
principle of them is misunderstood ; and already
our oppressors, notwithstanding their hundred
thousand bayonets, — notwithstanding the state
of siege and the slavery of the press, cannot
go to rest with any certainty of what the
morrow will bring forth.
The Provisional Government published,
during the first days of their rule, some decrees
which were well received by the people ; and
for my part, I endeavoured to re-establish at
the same time physical order and moral har
mony, and by these means consolidate the revo
lution. I was at that time well seconded by all
classes of the citizens. One common feeling
seemed to actuate all. Whilst a free circulation

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 99
was being re-established, the traffic on the river
was resumed, the markets were stocked with
provisions, and poor and rich alike enrolled
themselves as military defenders of the public
safety. Numerous patrols paraded the streets
all the night, and prevented housebreakers from
following their pursuits. This state of things,
however, could not last long. The citizens,
worn out by fatigue, gradually relaxed their
voluntary service. It was time to think of
organising some regular and permanent force,
that they might take charge of the prisons, and
do duty where dangerous collisions threatened
the safety of the Republic.
Representations of every description poured
in upon me. Malefactors and the galley-slaves
who had escaped were not sufficiently watched;
the conduct of the filles publiques was beyond
restraint, and many of the prison authorities
demanded my interference to aid them in keep
ing down the insubordination and attempts to
escape made in their respective establishments.
I therefore set to work to reorganize the
police and safety brigades, of which I shall have
to speak hereafter; at the same time that I
f 2

100 MEMOIRS OF
established the body of Montagnards, which
consisted partly of workmen out of employ,
who had given proofs of courage and patriotism
on the barricades.
Some well-known patriots were charged with
the immediate organization of the Garde du
Peuple. The first claim to form part of this
body was a certificate that the bearer had been
imprisoned for political offences ; the second a
certificate that he had fought in February ; and
the third that the applicant was a well-conducted
man, and that he had served honourably in the
army. It was laid down that all grades up to that
of captain inclusively, were to be decided by
election .
Four companies were formed immediately.
The Montagnard, the Company of Saint Just,
«the Company of February, and the Lyonnaise.
"These four companies, consisting of about six
hundred men, were reinforced afterwards by
other companies, in the barracks of Tournon
and the Celestins, under the name of Garde
Republicaine, and mustered in horse and foot
about two thousand seven hundred strong.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 101
This primitive guard had regular pay, dating
from the 1st of April, each citizen receiving
2 francs 25 centimes per diem, without distinc
tion as to his grade.
Their uniform consisted at first of a red
cravat and a sash of the same colour ; a blouse
was afterwards added. I ordered a distribution
of boots and shoes to those who stood most in
need of them ; and certainly they wanted them,
for many of them mounted guard for many
days in wooden shoes, or sabots.
For six weeks these brave men slept on
camp beds. Slept! I should rather say were
to have slept, for they were on foot day and
night, never once shrinking from a single duty
imposed upon them. They appointed their
own leaders, and regulated all their own affairs.
I may add, that for a fortnight I had no occa
sion whatever to inflict a punishment. Their
independent spirit often urged them to breaches
of discipline, but, nevertheless, in no case did
they refuse to sanction an act of justice.
Until the second week in April not the
slightest jealousy or rivalry was visible in the
ranks of the Montagnards. It was then only,

102 MEMOIRS OF
when their numbers had greatly increased, that
certain suggestions by Blanqui gave rise to some
discord. In truth, we were establishing exter
nal order with internal disorder.
And to-day what has become of those brave
men ? Pursued by an insensate and unreason
able hatred; hunted down everywhere, many
of them are driven, as the only resource to save
them from starvation, to seize their rifle, the
last argument of the proletary reduced to the
state of a Paria.
I promised them, and my promise was a
sincere one, made as it was in the name of the
Government, of whose wishes I was the inter
preter, that those who could not take service
should be provided for. Promises of July
repeated in February !
But now those that have returned to their
homes are under the strict surveillance of the
police, who would only be too glad to excite
them to some act that might entail imprison
ment upon them. In the course of the month
of August last, M. Carlier, head of the pohce
of the Home Office, ordered his agents to
ascertain the occupations, and the places of

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 103
meeting of all of these victims. His sole
object must have been to sacrifice them.
Surrounded by some intelligent comrades,
whose popularity and practical common sense
were of the greatest service to me, I was en
abled to establish a regular force in the prisons.
By these means attempts at escape were put
down at Ste. Pelagie, La Force, and La Ro-
quette, by the firmness of the directors and
the brave men I had sent to their assistance,
the prison of La Roquette especially, often the
scene of uproar on account of their work being
stopped, and the bad quality of the bread,
which I ordered to be changed. A constant
inspection of the provisions distributed to
prisoners cannot be too strongly recommended
to all inspectors.
Idleness in prisons is also most pernicious.
I visited the cells of all prisoners condemned
to solitary confinement, and found that many
of them were in a state of idiotcy, from the
want of some daily occupation.
I had not the time necessary to make many
reforms in the organization of the prisons
where so very many are requisite. Are not

104 MEMOIRS OF
these reforms necessary for public mora
lity? Our first act at the Prefecture was to set at
liberty all those citizens who had been im
prisoned by the monarchy for political offences;
and one morning they waited upon me in a
body, a drum at their head, and bearing a flag,
the emblem of their wretched fate as political
prisoners. With what joy I embraced those
noble victims! How many old faces did I
recognise, furrowed and care-worn by long im
prisonment, but their spirits were as youthful
as ever. Many of them entered the ranks of
the Montagnards. It was a touching scene
that, within the sad and mournful walls of the
Prefecture. Many of these brave Republicans had been
incarcerated for ten years. We embraced them
as brothers risen from the grave. We ques
tioned them on their sufferings and their pre
sent confidence and courage. This scene of
fraternity was one of my few happy moments
at the Prefecture. It encouraged me in my
labours. I saw a rose-coloured, not a red or
a white republic. But my illusions were

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 105
shortly to be trodden under foot by the ene
mies of the revolution !
For I had to contend against secret, yet to
me visible schemes, which often paralyzed my
efforts. I found it necessary to have recourse
to the greatest prudence to avoid falling into
snares which were constantly set for me. I at
once decided upon taking the most determined
steps to put down all revolutionary attempts.
My duty was, wisely to provide for the
interests of all. Placed as an arbitrator be
tween the interests of the master and the work
man, I was, to use a common expression, be
tween the hammer and the anvil. As a citizen,
my sympathies were with the weak and the.
helpless ; as a magistrate, it was my duty to-
listen only to the voice of justice and common
sense, and to put a stop to discord by peace
able means.
In these earlier days of this social revolution
the Prefecture was not restricted to the issue of
decrees, — it was a permanent court of justice.
Its quality of oppression was modified by one
of conciliation.
I was in an excellent position to observe the
f 3

106 MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE.
movements of the human heart, and it was
with a feeling of utter disgust that I took up
the perfidious and anonymous informations and
accusations which seemed to fall from the
ceiling of my cabinet upon my desk, endea
vouring to excite my suspicion against the
men that surrounded me. My distrust was
constantly excited; and the men of the Na
tional, my enemies, endeavoured to make me
credit their calumnies. Every day in their coun
cil, MM. Gamier Pages and Pagnerre de
manded my dismissal from my post at the
Prefecture, and then came sneaking to me
with protestations of sympathy. I, however,
was entirely absorbed in the execution of my
many duties, in directing the different branches
of the service, in organizing a military force, in
receiving all Paris, in providing for the public
safety. I had scarcely three or four hours left
me for sleep, and I usually dined whilst reading
the reports brought in to me. But the Future
of the Republic, and the desire to contribute to
the prosperity of my country, sustained my
strength in this dangerous and difficult task.

CHAPTER IV.
Schism in the Provisional Government — The Hotel de Ville —
The National and the Reforme — Projects of a Regency —
The Duchess of Orleans — Letter from M. Gamier Pages
to M. de Malleville — The Mayor of Paris — My corres
pondence with Gamier Pages — Monopoly of situations. —
M. Armand Marrast — Visit of Gamier Pages and Recurt
to the Prefecture of Police — Recurt appointed to succeed
me — My position as delegate is sanctioned — I take the title
of Prefect of Police— The staff of the National Guard —
Courtais, Guinard, Saisset — The Mayors of Paris and the
Banlieue — Anxiety of the Population — Alarming rumours
— Proclamations of the Prefect of Police — The state of
Paris — The Carnival, masked balls, and theatres — Aspect
of Paris at the commencement of March.
The first obstacles I encountered came from
the Hotel de Ville. The heterogeneous com
position of the Provisional Government was
not of a nature to restore regularity in public
business. Its internal dissensions were felt
out of doors.
Chance, the inseparable companion of revo
lutions, had thrown together in this dictatorial

108 MEJIOIRS OF
commission, the most opposite and decidedly
hostile elements. One party represented more
particularly the National and the bourgeoisie ;
the other the people and the citizens of the
barricades. Whilst the latter proclaimed the
Republic, the other party endeavoured to re
suscitate all sorts of combinations. The sound
of the musketry had scarcely ceased under the
windows of the halls of St. John, when M. Gar-
nier Pages and his friends endeavoured to get up
a regency. The Duchess of Orleans had not yet
come to any decision, and awaited the course
of events ; but the great mass of the citizens
who returned from the conflict would not hear
of a restoration in any shape, and the men who
had proposed gottingup a regency were obliged
to relinquish the idea.
It was on this occasion that M. Gamier
Pages is said to have written the following hasty
note, on the 24th February, to his friend Leon
de Malleville, ex-vice-president of the Chamber
of Louis Philippe :
" The fools, you must know, have just pro
claimed a republic. Prevent the Duchess of

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 109
Orleans from appearing. The moment is not
propitious  " Tout a vous, mon bon."
It was evident that the two factions of the
Government never could agree.
When M. Gamier Pages was appointed
Mayor of Paris, I was informed that it was his
intention, which had been approved of by a
a portion of the new Government, to place the
Prefecture under the orders of the mayoralty.
This immense administration, which from 1815
to 1821 had been constituted a ministry, de
pendent only upon the king, was thus to be
reduced to a mere commissioner ship.
Already under the preceding regimes the
Prefecture of the Seine had attempted to seize
upon the municipal police, to lessen the import
ance of the Prefecture of Police. But these
attempts always foundered when practical ex
perience was brought to bear upon them. I
had not then sufficient insight into the question
to discuss its merits. My duty was to assist
the Government, and I was ready to resign as
soon as it was firmly established.

110 MEMOIRS OF
I accepted, therefore, the title of delegate,
which was for the moment to replace that of Pre
fect. But my position was an unpleasant one.
The Mayor of Paris had inherited the spirit of
opposition which formerly animated the Prefect
of the Seine against the Prefecture of Pohce ;
and this feeling was increased by the ascen
dancy acquired by that fraction of the Repub
lican party of which the mayor was a member.
It was resolved to annex the Prefecture of
Police simply as a branch establishment of the
mayoralty. It followed that I -was recognized at first
only as a delegate in the department of the
pobce. But a delegate of whom? The Pro
visional Government had not placed itself in
direct communication with me ; and from the
very first my position caused me so much
disgust and embarrassment that I thrice sent
in my resignation to the Hotel de Ville. It
was in consequence of this anomalous position
that the Honiteur, under the pretext that it
could only insert the decrees of the recognized
Government, refused to open its columns to
a decree I sent to it This refusal caused me

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. Ill
an oppression of the heart, which with me is
always the precursor of anger, — a passion I
have succeeded in mastering after many years'
struggle against it. I saw at once it was ne
cessary that my position should be distinctly
recognized or that I must leave it, for I fore
saw all the difficulties I should have to contend
with. I therefore wrote the following letter to
the Mayor of Paris : —
" Paris, 26th February, 1848.
"I beg of Monsieur le Maire de Paris to
have the kindness to come to the Prefecture,
and at the same time to see my position pro
perly regulated with respect to the official
organs of the Government.
" I cannot accept the responsibility of my
office, if I have to struggle against other admi
nistrations that do not recognize my quality of
delegate. "Consequently, I beg of you to have this
state of confusion put a stop to, and count
upon the zeal of " Voire tout devoue,
"Catjssidiere.''

112 MEMOIRS OF
I immediately received the following reply :
"As soon as I have a moment to spare, I
will come and see you.
" Bon courage,
" Garnier Pages.
" Everything is going on well."
I was, however, informed from all quarters,
that the men of the National — that is to say,
the friends of Marrast — were endeavouring to
monopolize all the public offices, and that I
was to be replaced by one of their set. I
did not hesitate, but immediately sent in my
resignation. I had scarcely done so when I received a visit
from MM. Garnier Pages and Recurt. The
latter came to supersede me, and had a govern
ment order to that effect. I endeavoured to
place him au courant of the business, and he
saw at once the immensity of the labours, and
the responsibility he would have to encounter.
Moreover, the evident dissatisfaction manifested
by all the persons employed at the Prefecture,
added to the conviction that he was about to
do a bad action, induced him to tear his warrant
to pieces.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 113
Before leaving, Garnier Pages, perceiving
what effect his visit had made, and fearing lest
the Montagnards should smell a rat, as regarded
his democratic views, endeavoured to reinstate
himself in their good opinion, by one of those
strange speeches which he alone has the happy
art of making.
" My son," he said to them, " my own son
is a grocer's boy in the Rue de la Verrerie !
The son of your mayor a grocer's shop boy ! ! !
We are all of us workmen ; my son is a work
man in the grocery line ! — " Here he stopped
short ; whether that he was too much overcome
by emotion to continue his speech, or whether
the smile visible on the countenances of his
audience, warned him that he was on the wrong
tack, I do not know. He perceived, however,
that it would be dangerous to dismiss me at
that moment, and he joined Recurt in solicita
tions to me to remain in office. I consented;
but on the express condition that my nomina
tion should be officially announced in the
Monileur of that day.
Within an hour afterwards, I received the
following letter : —

114 memoirs of
"French Republic.
" Provisional Government.
" The Mayor of Paris decrees,
" Monsieur Marc Caussidiere is appointed
provisional delegate of the Mayor of Paris in
the administration of police in the department
of the Seine, " Garnier Pages, Mayor of Paris.
"Paris, 26th February, 1848."
But no announcement appeared in the Moni-
teur. Now I did not care a straw for a pri
vately guaranteed appointment; to act with
any degree of authority, it was necessary that
the public should be made acquainted with my
powers. It was, therefore, necessary for me to
remind the mayor of his promise of the evening
before. If I enter into these details, it is
because they are necessary to explain the com
mencement of the struggle I had to maintain
for nearly three months.
"Paris, 2j th February, 1848.
" I have the honour to remind Citizen Gar
nier Pages of the promise he made to me yes-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 115
terday to have my appointment inserted in the
Moniteur. For the tranquillity of the city, for
a perseverance in the line of conduct which
you yesterday pronounced good and exemplary,
for a continuance with efficacy of the work
commenced, it is absolutely necessary that I
should not be disavowed every day by the
journals, who designate M. Recurt as delegate
of police. " Caussidiere."
Different members of the Provisional Govern
ment who had called upon me, testified at the
Hotel de Ville to the activity I had shown, and
the order I had established at the Prefecture,
as also to my incessant efforts to provide for all
that was necessary. They determined to con
firm me in my office, making a virtue of neces
sity, and on the following day the mayor came
and confirmed my nomination as delegate, in
presence of all the chefs de division of the
Prefecture. This state of things lasted till the 13th March
following, when I was officially proclaimed
Prefect of Police.
From that time the Prefecture resumed its

116 MEMOIRS OF
plenary functions as determined by the decree
of 12 Messidor, Year VIII of the Republic.
The staff of the National Guard had just
been organized. The commander-in-chief,
Courtais, belonged to the party of the National,
who had entrusted this important post to him.
The second in command was Guinard, with
the title of general of the staff. Colonel
Saisset took upon himself the task of organiz
ing this force. Until the National Guard had
named its officers, these functions and the staff
were filled by pupils of the Polytechnic school,
and of the college of St. Cyr. I was always
on excellent terms with the staff. I may say
the same of the twelve mayors of Paris and the
Banlieue, who had often need of my assistance.
Notwithstanding the victory of the people,
and the retreat of the troops from the capital,
the public mind was constantly agitated by-
fears of reaction and nocturnal assaults. In
addition, men who had property to lose, were
in dread of pillage. I caused the most minute
inquiries to be made, and convinced myself
that there was no foundation for these alarms,
which were purposely propagated. I therefore

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 117
regarded it as my duty to issue a proclamation
refuting those reports. I also took every pre
caution to prevent the circulation of false
rumours, and saw that the condition of Paris
was properly attended to in every respect.
The following is the proclamation I issued.
"French Republic.
" Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.
" Alarming rumours, circulated by timid or
evil-disposed persons, and perhaps too easily
credited, "yesterday caused a certain panic
amongst the population.
" Rumours of projected attacks against pro
perty, and of devastations, aroused the fears of
those who fancied themselves threatened by
them. " On the other hand, the people of the barri
cades are agitated by reports of monarchical
reactionary attempts.
" The police has directed its attention to
these strange rumours, and has taken every
necessary step to ascertain how far they were
founded. " The Delegate of the Department of Police

118 MEMOIRS OF
is happy to have it in his power to state to the
citizens of Paris and the Banlieue, that after the
most minute investigations, it is his conviction,
that the rumours in question are entirely devoid
of foundation. " Vigilance, Energy, Devotion.
Paris, 27 Feb., 1848.
" The Delegate of the French Republic of the
Pohce Department, "Caussidiere."
The carnival was approaching, and although
the public mind was not in a masquerading
humour, nevertheless, to prevent immorality
and turbulence, decrees were issued for the pre
servation of public order.
The public balls took place without the
slightest disturbance, notwithstanding the total
absence of the spies and police of the former
government. Volunteers of the National Guard
were on duty at the balls at the Opera House.
For the theatres I organized a force of my
faithful Montagnards, who performed their
duty to the satisfaction of the managers and of
the public.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 119
Thus, gradually, the traces of the great con
vulsion of the revolution disappeared. Every
man returned to his occupation and his busi
ness. The Boulevards were crowded as usual;
carriages drove up and down the Champs
Elysees ; the working-classes placed their trust
in the promises of the Government, and every
thing seemed to indicate a prosperous future.

CHAPTER V.
The funeral solemnities — The 4th March — The Church of the
Madeleine — Decorations — The cortege — The Car of the
Republic — The hearses — Speeches of the members of the
Government — The 27th February — The Column of the
Bastille — Old Europa — The victims — The mission of
France — The glory of arms — Literary genius — Social
genius — Ancient days — Reflections — Opinion of M. Garnier
Pages — The popular ceremonies — Festival of the dead —
Community of the living — New consecration of the Re
public. Whilst the new Republic was endeavour
ing to consolidate its internal organization, and
whilst its Minister of Foreign affairs, M. de
Lamartine addressed a pacific circular to the
different diplomatic agents abroad, which indi
cated the unhappy path on which we were
ultimately to enter. The Republic was also

MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 121
occupied with the care of burying the dead who
fell in its cause upon the barricades.
A funeral procession, such as Paris had never
seen the like within her walls, took place on
the 4th of March.
The people had furnished their contingent
of dead to the cause of liberty, and they were
not backward in paying a last tribute to the
manes of their brothers.
From ten o'clock in the morning the Boule
vards, the neighbourhood of the church of
the Madeleine, the Place de la Concorde, and
the Place de la Bastille, were thronged with
National Guards, with troops of foot and
horse, political corporations, and workmen's
associations. The church of the Madeleine was hung in
black cloth, decorated outside with flags and
wreaths of immortelles. Above the porch were
the words :
" To the Citizens who fell for Liberty."
The interior of the temple was hung in black
drapery with white borders.
A superb catafalque of granite was erected in
front of the altar. This catafalque represented
VOL. I. G

122 MEMOIRS OF
an ancient funeral temple, on each side were
the words :
"They died for Freedom !"
The service was performed by the clergy of
the Madeleine.
Under the peristyle of the temple there was
a chorus of vocal singers, to sing the national
of the best masters.
From the Madeleine to the Bastille festoons
of drapery of the national colours hung from
lamp to lamp and tree to tree, in one unbroken
line. A few guards only were on duty at the
corners of the streets, to prevent carriages from
passing through the crowd ; no accident, how
ever, occurred, on many miles of ground densely
covered with human beings.
On the Place de la Bastille, on the summit
of the column which serves as a pedestal to the
genius of Liberty, two immense oriflammes
displayed their folds, the one was black with
silver stars, the other was the national colours.
At the base of the monument twenty ancient
tripods sent forth flames of blue and green fire.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 123
The enclosure was hung with the tricolor
colours. At half-past twelve the Provisional Govern
ment, and the different established authorities
and deputations, entered the temple of the
Madeleine, and the service commenced, which
lasted an hour.
A symbolic car, as high as the third story of
the houses, was crowned with a statue of the
Republic. Each corner was hung with tricolor
flags. A mass of branches of laurel and of oak
were strewed upon it. In the front, in letters
of gold, were the words, " Vive la Republique •"
on each side, " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."
Two clasped hands in bronze represented the
unity of the nation.
This car was drawn by eight milk-white
horses, richly caparisoned.
The immense cortege of 200,000 citizens
advanced along the Boulevards through 500,000
spectators, singing national and patriotic hymns.
National Guards on horseback, Dragoons,
Cuirassiers, National Guards on foot, Garde
Mobile, Volunteers, Sapeurs-Pompiers, the
pupils of the Polytechnic School and of St.
G 2

124 MEMOIRS OF
Cyr, the whole magisterial corps, the decorated
of July, all the established authorities, the lie-
tors of the Republic, the wounded of the three
days, bearing colours, preceded the funeral car,
which was followed by the Provisional Govern
ment, and the Mayors and Adjutants of the
twelve arrondissemens of Paris.
The cortege was concluded by the Polish
-emigrants, corporations, battalions of all arms.
For three hours, and a half it advanced between
two living hedges.
A brilliant sun poured down its rays upon
this act of popular piety, and engendered in
the hearts of all, hope, that last religion of
man. As the hearses approached near the column,
the relations of the deceased rushed towards
the vaults. Hereupon the Secretary-General
of the Provisional Government advanced
towards them, and addressed them as follows: —
'" Citizens, " Family affections, however sacred they may
~be, must make place to-day to those of the
country. "The relations you have lost, the children

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 125
for whom you weep, who have died for the
Republic, are, above all things, the children of
the Republic; it is for it to glorify their
funeral. Leave to the Provisional Government
the pious mission of expressing at once the
anguish of private grief, and the profound
sentiment of public gratitude and sorrow."
The relations of the victims, with touching
resignation, retired to make room for the Pro
visional Government, who now stood upon the
old foundations of the Bastille. Reiterated
shouts in honour of the Republic for a long
time prevented the voice of Dupont de l'Eure
from being heard.
When silence had been restored, the Presi
dent of the Provisional Government spoke as
follows : —
" Citizens, " I am deeply afflicted to speak on the sub
ject which brings us together.
"No one is more desirous than myself to
pay to the unhappy victims, the glorious victims
of our noble and last revolution, the tribute
of gratitude which is due to them; but my

126 MEMOIRS OF
strength will not allow me to make myself
heard. Some of my colleagues of the Provi
sional Government purpose addressing you,
and they will speak to you better than I could
respecting the great and mournful ceremony
that has called us together at the foot of this
monument. Let me, however, place this crown
of laurel and immortelles on the coffins of those
who will soon be placed side by side with our
brothers who died for the cause of Liberty in
1830." " Vive la Republique .'"
Loud and unanimous acclamations hailed
this speech, and from all sides one mighty
shout of " Vive la Republique .'" rent the air.
Citizen Cremieux, member of the Provi
sional Government, then spoke as follows : —
"The government that has just fallen was
established for the purposes of one man.
" To the will of that man it sacrificed the
honour, the glory, the dearest interests of
France. The career of those sad powers has
has left ineffacable traces; they live only by
corruption, and by corruption they die; the

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 127
government you have expelled endeavoured to
sow corruption and seduction in the hearts of
all that approached it. After an ephemeral
success of a few days, the public conscience
rose in a body.
" Our proud France launched a unanimous
cry of reprobation against him, and he dis
appeared. " On these ruins, which the hand of time
will never raise again, took for its motto the
eternal symbol of the Revolution, ' Liberty,
Equality, Fraternity !'
" Liberty, Equality, Fraternity ! — Behold
there, citizens, the condemnation of the past,
the work of the present, and of the future.
Let one sole aim henceforth be our only means
of government : morality, purity of heart, and
justice." An immense shout of " Vive la Republique"
was the funeral prayer pronounced by the mul
titude on the tomb of their brothers, and every
man returned to his home, with the calm con
science of having done a good action.
Already on the previous Sunday, the 27th
of February, the Provisional Government had

128 MEMOIRS OF
paid a visit to the Column of July, to inau
gurate the Republic, and the people then heard
speeches from MM. Arago, Dupont de l'Eure,
and Cremieux. The religious solemnity of the
4th of March was a new consecration of the
republican future, conquered by the barricades.
The idea triumphed ; it had struck deep roots
in the hearts of the people.
Whatever future reactionary attempts were
in store, the Republic had been adopted; its
development might be quick or slow, and pro
gress with more or less labour, but the prin
ciple had been understood, and was soon to
shake old Europe to its very foundations.
" Glory to you, generous victims of liberty,
your blood shall not have sprinkled the arid
soil in vain. The people, our neighbours, have
been startled at the sound of the voice of
France. Who knows, and I have a presenti
ment that it will come to pass, soon these new
sons of democracy will out-do their elders in
the path of progress, the greater the struggle
they will have to maintain, the greater will be
their efforts, and the more radical will be the
solution.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 129
" For a long time France has taken the lead
in social progress. May internal dissensions
and personal ambitions not impede her in her
mission of teacher of the people; she would
lose the noblest flower in her chaplet.
" After having acquired a renown in the field
of arms and of literature, let her place herself
in the first ranks by her social genius and her
love of mankind. That is an ideal worthy of
the aspirations of a great nation !"
Such were the thoughts that flitted rapidly
across my mind as I witnessed this ceremony ,-
which bore upon it the stamp of by-gone times-
I said to myself, men, whose days are so few
upon this earth, ought they to pass them in
tearing each other to pieces ? Let us rather
endeavour by our deeds to cause the triumph
of the true principles of order ; that is to say,
the spirit of fraternity, without which no real
state of society is possible.
It was these ideas that engendered the wish
within me, to make the Prefecture, which had
hitherto only caused fear, an instrument of
conciliation and fraternity. G 3

130 MEMOIRS OF
There were great obstacles to overcome, but
I had a firm will to succeed.
At this moment it was in the power of the
Provisional Government to attempt radical re
forms, which would have been accepted by the
people. M. Garnier Pages expressed himself as fol
lows in this respect, on the evening of the 4th
of March. " The results of the day's proceed
ings are immense for the Republic. It has
been proved that the general sympathy was
favourable to the Revolution."
He also was a better Republican on that day
than he was on the 24th of February !
These ceremonies, in which the people are
called upon to take a part, enlarge the ideas at
the same time that they purify the heart. They
create devotion and give birth to a spirit of
concord, which unites men in closer bonds
together. In beholding the solemn and enthusiastic
harmony which presided over this festival of
' the dead, where is the man in whose heart all
his nobler feelings would not have stirred, and
made him promise to exert all his efforts hi

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 131
the common cause? Even those least gifted
by nature were at this moment perhaps moved
by a sentiment of fraternal love.
This festival, in fact, rallied many citizens
round the members of the Provisional Govern
ment, whose attitude was modest and dignified
throughout the whole of the time that the
ceremony lasted.
Myself, elated with this unanimous accord
ance, I returned to my labours more confident
in the destinies of our Republic.
The people had once more sanctioned it on
the tomb of its martyrs !

CHAPTER VI.
The Duchess of Orleans at the Invalides — The Chateau of
Neuilly — Incendiarism — The Gendarmerie — The Bank of
France — Arrest of deserters — M. de Girardin — Masters and
men — The coachmen's strike — Strike of the washerwomen —
The Chateau of the Tuileries — The insurgent garrison —
The conditions on which they would give up the Palace—
Proces-verbal of their capitulation — The Chateau of Vin
cennes — Destruction of artillery — Bands in the forest-
Prudence and firmness of the Montagnards.
By organizing the Montagnards, I surrounded
myself with intelligent comrades, sincerely
devoted to the Republic, and they constituted
an active force capable of keeping in awe all
disturbers of the peace. Their services were
appreciated after the 26th February.
It was reported that the Duchess of Orleans,
who had left on the evening of the day before,
was still concealed at the Invalides. The
people would not credit her departure, and
threats of setting fire to the Hotel circulated in
the neighbourhood. I immediately sent Citizens

CIIIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 133
Cahaigne and Lacombe there, with a detach
ment of thirty men, and their firm, and at the
same time conciliatory attitude, disarmed the
population and saved the Hotel des Invalides.
On the evening of the same day, I was
informed that there was a plan on foot to pro
ceed to Neuilly and destroy all the buildings
belonging to the civil list. Citizen Louchet
proceeded there at once at the head of a
hundred men. Many of these brave men had
only wooden shoes, but they understood how
to do their duty when the Republic was in
danger. Their prudence, and their constant
presence as patrols with loaded muskets, inti
midated the delinquents, and the Chateau of
Neuilly was saved for the present.
Early in March the station of Rueil was
burnt down, and the rails were torn up from
Rueil to Nanterre. Citizen Faucher, Juge
d'Instruction, proceeded to the spot with a
detachment of Montagnards commanded by
Mercier and Caillaud. The investigation lasted
for three days, and resulted in the arrest of
twenty-nine individuals, who were locked up
in the Conciergerie.

134 MEMOIRS OF
I also caused visits to be made to different
quartiers of Paris and the Banlieue ; such visits
tended to calm the anxiety caused by false
alarms, purposely spread by the enemies of the
revolution. My agents also often brought in
guns and sabres which served to equip our
recruits. My companies of republicans interposed at
all times and places where public order was
likely to be disturbed. Occasionally they con
ducted prisoners from the Banlieue, where the
local police was not strong enough; at other
times they assisted the National Guard in pro
tecting the Bank, and other public establish
ments (the National Guard often refused to act
unless supported by the guard of the people).
At other times they searched the town for
criminals ; for instance, on the 3rd March, they
arrested thirty-seven deserters from the army
and navy, who were handed over to the military
and naval authorities. At other times they
protected the printing-presses and machinery
which were open to the attacks of misguided
men. It is to their zeal that M. de Girardin is
indebted, in some measure, for the preservation

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 135
of his printing materials, and, perhaps, even his
life. They almost always succeeded in dis
persing tumultuous assemblages, and so pre
vented collisions. The conciliatory language of
these soldiers, still dressed in the garb of the
workman, had a magic effect upon the people.
Sometimes the leaders had to settle dis
putes and decide between master and men. It
was thus that Morisset and Mercier put a stop
to the strike of the coachmen and omnibus con
ductors, who demanded an increase of twenty-
five centimes a day. A short time afterwards,
Mercier and Caron put an end to the strike of
the washerwomen at Puteaux, who wished to
have their hours of labour reduced according to
the decrees at the Luxembourg.
The number of officers and men increased,
and wherever they could be of service, they
were sure to be on the spot.
An expedition of theirs which excited great
interest at Paris, was one I sent on the 6th
March ; the object being to dislodge a number
of insurgents who, since the 24th February,
had taken possession of, and established a
regular garrison at, the Tuileries. The Govern-

136 MEMOIRS OF
ment had in vain, and repeatedly ordered this
disorderly band to evacuate the Chateau.
The conditions on which they consented to
leave were stated to be, certificates of patriotism
and good conduct, an annuity of 1200 francs to
each of them, and a promise not to search them
on leaving. Within the Chateau they per
formed military duty, in common with the
Governor Saint Amand and some National
Guards, but they obeyed no one, and were a
source of alarm to the neighbourhood.
I also learnt that several costly articles had
disappeared from the apartments, and some of
trifling value were even brought to the Prefec
ture. My agents of safety had not been allowed
to place their seal upon the principal articles,
or to remove those of great value. It was time
to put an end to this forcible possession, which
had lasted too long already.
I therefore sent to the Tuileries a detachment
of 150 men, commanded by Citizen Caillaud,
who rendered me an account of his mission, in
the subjoined proces-verbal : —
"Citizen Prefect,
" I proceeded according to your instruc-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 137
tions, with 150 men, to the Palace of the Tuil
eries, to turn out the individuals who for eleven
days refused to obey any authority, and who,
it must be added, were the terror of the dis
trict. " On arriving at the Palace, they refused me
an entrance, as they had done only two hours
previously to 200 pupils of Saint Cyr.
" After some difficulty however, I succeeded
in entering alone, to deliver your letter to the
citizen governor, who refused to have anything
to do with it, for fear of a conflict, and who
proceeded to the head staff of the National
Guards, where I was sent for a few moments
afterwards, and authorized to carry out your
instructions. I then went to the wicket, and
demanded entrance for my troop.
" The first answer was a shot, fired, as it was
said afterwards, by accident, but I may be per
mitted to doubt it.
" One of their leaders came to the wicket, and
announced their determination to resist. Whilst
this parley was going on, two of their band came
up to get admittance, and the door was opened
for them. I endeavoured to turn this to account,

138 MEMOIRS OF
and a struggle ensued, the result of which was,
that a pupil of the Ecole Poly technique, a lieu
tenant of the National Guard, whom I found
there by chance, and myself, were shut in be
tween the gate and the inner railing. The
pupil of the Ecole Polytechnique made a thrust
with his sword, through the bars of the railing,
at the band on the other side, who endeavoured
to lock themselves in. I succeeded in getting
this young man away, otherwise his life would
have been in imminent danger.
" After some energetic summonses, they
finally decided to let me enter the court yard,
where I drew up my men in bne. At this
moment General Courtais arrived, at the head
of the pupils of Saint Cyr, and inspected all
the men who since the 24th of February had
occupied the Tuileries. They made him a
promise to withdraw the following morning,
on receiving certificates from the Governor.
" Salut et FraterniU,
" Caillaud."
" March 6, 1848."
On the following morning, according to their
word, they left the Tuileries in military array,

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 139
with their muskets shouldered, and proceeded
in regular order to the Hotel de Ville, where
refreshment was offered to them. My agents
recognized some of them as men of a more than
suspicious character. About thirty desired to
be employed at the Prefecture. Dormes was
at their head, and they were admitted without
difficulty, but in the end, not being satisfied
with many of them, I was obliged to dismiss
them. It was necessary also to protect the Chateau
of Vincennes from depredations, which were
attempted every day. Since February the park
of artillery had been constantly plundered in
the Polygon ; the National Guard, not too
favourably inclined towards the Republic, never
tried to prevent these robberies. The damage
thus done was estimated at 80,000 francs.
On the 15th of May a body of Montagnards
scoured the forest of Vincennes in every direc
tion, laid an ambush for the thieves, and caught
twenty-six at once, many of them with stolen
goods on their persons. Nine of them only
were given up to justice. This vigorous pro
ceeding prevented farther depredations.

140 MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE.
It would take too much time to relate the
many incidents of a similar description, in which
the Montagnards conducted themselves with
prudence and skill. It is my duty to render
justice to men who have been calumniated, and
most of whom would have rendered great ser
vices, if they had not been shamefully disbanded.

CHAPTER VII.
The Archives of the Prefecture of Police — M. de Sartine and
his successors — Documents of the first Revolution — Register
of the butchery of September — Mail lard — The secret police of
the last Government— List of all the secret agents — Private
police of the different ministries — The numberless reports
signed Pierre — Lucien Delahodde — An episode of the 23rd
February — Curious letter of a spy — Night-sitting at the
Luxembourg— Proces-verbal and condemnation — A signed
confession— Delahodde at the Conciergerie — M. Pinel and
M. Chenu — Robbery and desertion — Eight years at the gal
leys — M. Allard, chief of the safety-police — The commission
of inquiry and the galley-slave — Informations, the order of
the day — The police of the Monarchy and the police of the
Republic. The most interesting and curious documents
of the Prefecture are the archives. They are
kept with the greatest care imaginable, by M.
Labat, who for many years has been entrusted
with the classification of the different documents,
which would furnish materials for history much
better than those commonly resorted to, the
exactitude of which may often be questioned.

142 MEMOIRS OF
All the proces-verbaux and acts of the first
Revolution are there entire. The secret reports
on remarkable personages, dating from M. Sar
tine ; the register of persons incarcerated, all
the ordonnances of the different Prefects, down
to the present day, are registered in due order.
An amateur of scandal might revel in them for
a long while. Every time I took a glance at
these memorials of dishonesty, I turned away
with disgust. The reports of spies and in
formers are arranged with as much neatness as
if they were the Bucolics of Virgil.
I read through the famous register of the
days of September, which contains the names
of all the actors in those scenes of bloodshed.
Each perpetrator of that butchery received
eighty francs for his bloody work. It was
speaking of them, that Maillard expressed him
self as follows : " Give drink to those children ;
they have deserved well of their country."
Many men of our own time would feel little
flattered at finding, in that blood-bespattered
manuscript, the names, surnames, residence,
and profession of their fathers.
If I had wished to set Paris in an uproar, I

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 143
need only have made public two or three docu
ments contained in those archives, as some men
wished to do who do not see beyond their
noses. I issued the most strict orders that no one
should be allowed to touch the archives. The
numerous denunciations which had been made
since 1830 had roused the indignation of many
citizens. Accusations and the disgraceful title
of spy were suspended over many who had
borne a part in the Republican movement. It
was important to ascertain the names of the
authors of these informations, who, keeping the
Government always au courant of our projects,
enabled it to thwart them.
It was also necessary to tear off the mask
from the ex-agents and instigators, and make
an example of the traitors employed against us
by the power we had overthrown.
I had the christian and surnames taken of all
who applied to serve in the secret pohce. I
found the names and the pass-words of two
hundred agents belonging to every class of
society, from the noble to the galley-slave. All
of them strengthened their applications by pro-

144 MEMOIRS OF
fessing a concern for the public welfare, and
boasted of their excellent station in society, or
of some position of a nature to obtain for them
the public confidence. I had a list made of all
their names, and it is in safe keeping.
By other means I learnt the names of the
agents in the secret pay of the different minis
ters, and in some instances I made use of those
men to procure information of what was going
on in the higher ranks of society.
In the midst of these reports, addressed by
different spies of the police, there was one
voluminous folio, the dates of which went back
to 1838. More than one thousand informations
signed " Pierre," commencing from the affair of
May, revealed every act, great or small, relative
to the Republican party.
The informations were exact, everything was
passed in review, — the army, the press, the
secret societies. The character and habits of
the men informed against were given with the
most perfidious nicety. The miserable being
had not spared his own friends ; and those who
rendered him services were the first denounced.
He had succeeded in insinuating himself into

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 145
the very heart of the secret societies, and as
member of the committee, he was au courant
of everything that took place. A contributor
to the Charivari and to the Reforme, he was in
the secret of all the intentions of the opposition
press, and he sold their secrets to our enemies.
Lucien Delahodde, for we must speak of
him by name, never gained my sympathies.
But I was often thrown in his company. I
even passed a portion of the days of February
with him. On the 23rd of February we had
to decide on some central point of insurrection ;
the Carre St. Martin, branching out from thence
to the different quartiers where our men were
placed, was selected. I remember well, that
in the evening he proposed to establish our head
quarters on the Place des Chevaliers du Guet,
where we could have been more easily sur
rounded and massacred. However, to avoid
creating suspicion, he agreed to our rendezvous,
and was to meet us there at the hour appointed.
On the following day at noon I repaired to
the spot, accompanied by Albeit, Commandant
Vallier, and other Republic.ms, but we had
scarcely left the Rue Grenetat to enter the Ru3
VOL. I. H

146 MEMOIRS OF
St. Martin when we were suddenly fired upon
by a detachment, and the man at my side fell
dead. On turning round I perceived another
detachment, about one hundred yards off, which
also fired a volley. The whole quarter was
surrounded by the Municipal Guard.
Perceiving at once that we had been betrayed,
Albert and myself endeavoured to make good
our retreat by the Rue Grenetat, when we saw
another division of Municipal Guards advancing
towards us. We hardly had time to rush down
the alley of the .Cafe Marchetti, which we
had scarcely entered when we heard the balls
rattling against the door, soon followed by the
blows of the butt ends of the muskets of the
guards. We little thought then, either of us,
that on the following day we should both of us
be members of a new Government In half
an hour the Municipal Guards withdrew, and
we were enabled to join our friends.
Delahodde did not make his appearanoe at
the Carre St. Martin. When he came on the
following day to make an offer of his services
to me at the Prefecture, he said that he had
taken a different road, and that like ourselves

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 147
he had been prevented from reaching the
appointed spot. He then very coolly took his
place at the desk of the Secretary-General
Pinel, who had fled. Thus I had given wel
come to a miserable wretch, who, for ten years,
was in the secret pay of our enemies. Nay,
more, he was in a position of confidence, which,
sooner or later, would have enabled him to
destroy all traces of his infamy.
Three or four days after the discovery of
the folio in question, I identified the hand
writing of Pierre with that of Delahodde. I
was convinced of his guilt at once, when what
should turn up but the following letter, beauti
fully signed, with address, date, and all his
oaths.
" To Monsieur le Prefet de Police.
" I have the honour to request admission
into the administration you direct.
"lama native of Wimille, near Boulogne-
sur-Mer, in the department of the Pas de
Calais, and my family is well known in the
county. My father and many of my relations
are electors. Since the revolution many of
h 2

148 MEMOIRS OF
them refused to take a share in the balloting ;
but proceedings, in which I bore a principal
part, made them better appreciate the import
ance of their electoral rights, and I doubt not,
that, in the coming election, they will make
use of them in favour of the candidate who
solicits their vote, and who in every respect is
so worthy of it.
" It was my intention, on arriving at Paris,
to turn my thoughts to literature, and even now
I write occasionally in La Presse; but the profits
arising from my pen being too small, and my
own resources insufficient, I feel myself under
the necessity of throwing up my literary career,
or, at any rate, of making it only a secondary
occupation. "The department I should prefer, M. le
Prefet, in your administration, would be that
-of the secret police. It would suit my cha
racter and my active mind, and the prejudices
^against such an occupation have no weight with
me; for I believe that every profession has its
morality, and I do not think ill of that of
which the object is to ensure the tranquillity of
the country, and the citizens cannot be wrongly

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 149
esteemed by wise men, who only look at the
end and not the means.
"Like many young men, I have been the
victim of that political exaltation which so sadly
signalized the first years of the Revolution of
July. In 1832 I was introduced to the society
of the Droits de l'Homme. Shortly afterwards
I entered the army as a volunteer; I entered
the 38th regiment of the line, and I acquired
a certain celebrity by having represented at
the theatre of Soissons, a play in which there
were political allusions, an act which my supe
rior officers punished very severely. I was after
wards brought to trial at Laon, but I must pro
test; that the pohtical charges brought against
me were without foundation. The verdict of
the jury moreover proved it. The sort of repu
tation I acquired from these two circumstances,
placed me in connexion with the principal
leaders of the Republican party ; I was looked
upon as all powerful in the regiment, and M.
Marrast, of the Tribune, endeavoured at various
times to persuade me to attempt a demonstra
tion, which he said would shake the whole army.
" I left the army in 1835, and passed one
year at Paris studying the law. At this period I

150.. MEMOIRS OF
! was made a member of the Sociite des Families,
about which I could give some information if
required. I then returned home, and it was
then that it stmck me that I had too long
allowed myseK to be the instrument of men,
most of whom were ambitious, or of disap
pointed expectations, and the remainder men
who had run wild, and wished to induce others
to follow their example, — and I foreswore the
principles of blood and destruction which once
I had the folly to adopt. Daily contact with
men of the world and my own experience, have
since dissipated many of my youthful illusions,
and it is because of this rapid descent from
belief in appearances, that I shall be enabled
to shake off from the employment that I solicit
those prejudices that surround it.
" I must confess, Monsieur le Prefet, that I
look to your kindness for the success of my
application, and more upon my ardent desire
to be of service than on the real claims I have
to offer. M. Boutmy, who is well acquainted .
with me, undertook to present you with a sketch
of my life, as also to say a few words in my
favour. I trust that he has done so, and that
the details I have just submitted to you, are

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 151
already in part known to you. M. Francois
Delessert, to whom I had the honour to write
some time back on the subject of his election,
has made inquiries concerning me, which I
believe were not unfavourable. If you think
it advisable, and will deign to take that trouble,,
it is in his power to give you the necessary
information. " I conclude, Monsieur le Prefet, by asking
your pardon for having said so much about
myself, and by appealing to your kindness to
take my request into consideration.
" I have the honour to be with respect, Mon
sieur le Prefet, your very humble and very
obedient servant, (Signed) "L. Delahodde,
" Rue Coquenard, 9.
" Paris, 25th March, 1838."
I made Monier acquainted with the affair,
an old friend of mine, of twenty years' standing,
on whom I could rely, and whom I afterwards
made secretary-general, as a recompense for
his intelligence and zeal. He wrote to some of
the patriots, whose names figured in the in
formations, to meet him at nine o'clock the

152 MEMOIRS OF
following day at the Luxembourg, and I wrote
to Albert, who lent us his room, not knowing
for what it was required.
I did not wish Delahodde to be tried at
the Prefecture, where the Montagnards would
have torn him to pieces, if they got wind of
what had occurred, and it would have been said
that we murdered him out of a fear of his dis
closures. He dined at my table, as did some other
secretaries and extra employes. He sat oppo
site to me, and I was constrained to gulp down
my indignation. I could not have stood this
long, and immediately after dinner I told him
we were to meet at Albert's rooms to discuss
some serious business. We left together, and
as we walked along he vaunted his ability to fill
the office of chief secretary.
We arrived at last at Albert's rooms, where
I had taken the precaution to forward all the
proofs of his guilt. Including Delahodde
there were sixteen persons present. The sit
ting at once became solemn; Grandmesnil took
the chair, and I explained the object of the
meeting. Delahodde, not being aware that we had

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 153
proofs, commenced by reminding us of his
republican principles for the last seventeen
years. On bringing forward some of his reports
he still denied his guilt, and demanded that
his handwriting should be proved.
The exasperation of all present having
reached a climax, they thundered forth proof
after proof against him, and read the original
letter given above. The accused then confessed
his guilt, and declared that in a moment of
despair he threw himself into the arms of the
police; that he made reports, but that he was
never un agent provocateur, or provocating agent,
and that he could not reproach himself with
the arrest of a single republican. Some of his
former friends, present at this dramatic scene,
requested him to blow his brains out. He
contented himself with writing the following
letter. " I declare that all the reports signed Pierre,
were written by me.
"L. Delahodde.
" Paris, this 14th March, 1848."
A proces-verbal of the meeting was made on
h 3

154 MEMOIRS OF
the spot, and signed by G. Grandmesnil, Ti-
phaine, Monier, Boguet, Pilhes, Lechallier,
Bergeron, Louchet, Albert, Caillaud, Ch. Rou-
venat, Mercier, Caussidiere, and — Chenu. The
signature of the latter was scarcely legible.
Delahodde was immediately taken to the
Prefecture, and from thence locked up at the
Conciergerie, in soUtary confinement, for hav
ing, after the 24th February, kept up a cor
respondence with the agents of the fallen Go
vernment. A few days after I left the Prefecture, he was
set at liberty by an ordonnance of non lieu !
He at once left for London, where he attacks
the Republic and the Republicans in a little
journal. This new trade, worthy of his ante
cedents, will doubtless in the end entail upon
him the due reward of his misdeeds.
A few days afterwards, different spies were
pointed out to me, amongst others M. Chenu.
He had managed to slip into the ranks of the
Montagnards, whom I wished to preserve as
pure as possible. I had him up before me in
the presence of Captain Morisset only. I told
him I was convinced he had acted a most in-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 155
famous part toward his comrades, which he
commenced by denying. " I am sure of what
I say," I added ; " and, as you refuse to con
fess I will hand you over to my Montagnards,
who will decide upon your fate."
He then confessed that M. Pinel had taken
advantage of his position as a deserter to tie
him hand and foot, and make not only a spy
of him but an agent provocateur of the repub
licans. He did not say, however, that he had
been forgiven eight years of hard labour at the
galleys for desertion and theft. He promised,
if means were given him, to proceed to Bel
gium, to work at his trade of a cobbler, and to
turn honest. He blubbered, and repeated the
same pantomime as his colleague Delahodde,
at whose trial he was present. Morisset un
dertook to see him off. But a few days after
wards I was told he had returned, and that he
uttered threats of vengeance against me. I
was obliged to order his arrest. On being
locked up, he gave M. Allard, the head of the
Police of Safety, the names of many of his
fraternity, made excuses for having returned
from Belgium on the grounds of being without
the means of procuring food, and entreated

156 MEMOIRS OF
permission to accompany the expedition into
Germany, promising never to show his face
again in Paris.
"He is a sad and dangerous villain," said
M. Allard to me ; " get rid of him." " Let him
go to the devil," I replied ; " but don't let me
hear of him again !"
In fact he did go to Germany, but he re
turned to calumniate and denounce again.
Thus the bouquet of the report of the Commis
sion of Inquiry is nothing more nor less than
the deposition of a galley slave, of an agent
provocateur, who led astray many a poor devil
into illegal acts ; amongst others into the hand-
grenade business, which cost some of them
many years of imprisonment. Emulating his
colleague Delahodde, he selected his victims
out of those who had done him acts of kind
ness, and he made an attempt to murder one
of his friends named Javelot.
I have in my possession a proces-verbal,
signed by eleven witnesses, stating that Chenu
had declared that he made denunciations to
revenge himself upon Grandmesnil and myself,
who had exposed him, and laid his character
open to the public. At this very moment

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 157
Chenu is in the enjoyment of his liberty, and
congratulates himself in comfort on the result
of his denunciations.
If I dwell upon all these facts, it is to point
out to the working-classes how guarded they
must be, and of what great importance it is to
them to ascertain the moral worth of those
who seek to lead them into the path of danger.
At this time spies and informers are the order
of the day. An efficacious police is neces
sary, no doubt ; but a pohce which incites to
insubordination only to apprehend the offender,
bears a stamp which dishonours those who
make use of it. It is indispensable that the
ruling powers should know what is going on
around them; but let them not get up con
spiracies. This system succeeded at times, it
is true, under the fallen monarchy, and it has
obtained repressive laws. Will the Govern
ment of the Republic in its turn make use of
such infamous means to stifle liberty ?

CHAPTER VIII.
The right of assembling — The clubs — The popular Republic —
Socialism — The tribunes of the Faubourgs — Commission
established to watch the proceedings of the Government — So-
brier's club — The revolutionary commission — Club des Clubs
— Clubs des Droits et des Devoirs — Central Republican Society
— Club de la Revolution — Societe des Droits de 1' Homme —
Barbfes, Raspail, Cabet, Sobrier, Blanqui — Clubs St. An-
toine — Influence of the clubs of the people — The clubs of
the aristocracy — An insidious question — Do you wish for a
monarchy ? — Mourir pour la Republique I — The ministers
of the present and of the past — The plebeian press : Le
Representant du Peuple of Proudhon, the Vraie Republique
of Thor6, L'Ami du People of Raspail, Le Commune de
Paris of Sobrier and Cahaigne, Le Populaire of Cabet — Le
Pire Duchesne — The Napoleonist journals — The Royalist
journals : V Assemblte Nationale, La Liberty — La Presse
and M. de Girardin — Le Constitutional, La Patrie, Le
Journal 'des Debats — Le National and La Riforme —
The Counter-revolution.
One of the causes of the movement of Febru
ary, was the droit de riunion, or right of
assembling. The citizens wishing to commu-

MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 159
nicate with each other, resolved unanimously
to establish political clubs. After March, Paris
swarmed with clubs of every shade of politics.
The royalists, however, thought it prudent to
wait a little, before bringing themselves under
public notice.
The first clubs, established by men of, the
barricades, were consequently all of them the
expression of the popular Republic. The Re
volution and socialism reigned supreme.
Successively every class of citizens, every
corporation — in a word, all who had common
interests to move them — formed themselves into
associations ; for instance, the wounded of Feb
ruary, the pohtical prisoners, the decorated of
July, the old soldiers, the artists, the men of
letters, the citizens of the same department,
and foreign refugees, &c. The members of the.
late electoral committees, the patriots of each
arrondissement of Paris, formed cercles de re
union and of propagandism. The different corps
d'Etat, workmen of every trade, formed them
selves into societies ; finally, the people, who,
in the faubourgs especially, were, excellent re
publicans, held their meetings, where Liberty,

160 MEMOIRS OF
Equahty, and Fraternity, were often illustrated
by genuine bursts of eloquence.
Almost at the same time, the committee
established to watch the acts of the Govern
ment, and the honesty of its functionaries, the
Club des Droits et des Devoirs, La Societe
Republicaine Centrale, La Societe des Droits de
l'Homme, and some other clubs, manifested
the character of the revolution.
The committee established for the surveil
lance of the Government, whose white placards
made such a great display on the walls of Paris,
was the origin of the Club of Sobrier, of the
Club de la Revolution, of the Commite Revo-
tionaire, and of the Club des Clubs.
The Club des Droits et des Devoirs, which
held its first sitting on the 2nd of March, at
the Ecole de Medecine, at the instance of the
Prefecture of Police, with Grandmesnil in the
chair, co-operated at a later period with the
Societe des Droits de l'Homme, and other clubs
of the quartier Latin.
La Societe Republicaine Centrale, founded by
Blanqui, immediately on his return to Paris,
published as soon as the 6th of March, an

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 161
address to the Provisional Government. Its
bureau consisted at that time of Blanqui, Xavier
Durrieu, editor of the Courrier Franqais, Raisan,
and many others who soon left it.
The Club de la Revolution elected Barbes its
President, and Thore was made Secretary, the
other members being Pierre Leroux, Proudhon,
Bac, Etienne Arago, and other representatives
of the people.
Cabet and Raspail presided over their respec
tive clubs, which were numerously attended.
The well-organized and numerously attended
Societe des Droits de l'Homme, and those clubs
of Barbes, Sobrier, Raspail, Cabet, and Blanqui,
assumed at once a great importance, and they
constantly stood prominent in all the move
ments of the first months of the Revolution, as
also some dozen other clubs of the quartier
St. Antoine, Popincourt, and of the Banlieue.
The influence of the popular clubs on public
opinion was immense; as also on the elections
of the National Guards, and of the Constituent
Assembly. In addition to the clubs already enumerated
there were hundreds of others in every quartier

162 MEMOIRS OF
of Paris. The public buildings were given up
by the authorities, the concert and other assem
bly rooms, unoccupied shops and warehouses,
and dwelling-houses were turned into club
houses, where the spirit of the people was
enlightened by animated and original debates,
and where their enthusiasm glowed for the
great Republic so recently achieved.
The number of the clubs soon exceeded
three hundred, and their titles alone would
\form a curious document. Every pohtical
term, all the souvenirs of the old Revolution,
were employed as watch-words, which were
often deceptive enough. There were aristo
cratic clubs which styled themselves clubs of
Fraternity and, Equality !
The former National Guards especially endea
voured to form parties in the different legions
to strive against the popular influence ; and in
certain clubs of the Bourgeois, under the pre
text of a national sovereignty, the restoration
of royalty was hypocritically suggested.
It was in these reactionary clubs that the
mot d'ordre was given to put the following
insidious question : — " If the Constituent As-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 163
sembly reinstated royalty, how would you act ?"
to the candidates for the Constituent Assem
bly, and to the officers of the National Guard —
a question which greatly puzzled many naive
orators amongst them.
And if a republican replied that he would
die for the Republic, the Bourgeois did not fail
to put the question to the vote by universal
suffrage, which they had opposed for seventeen
years, and to appeal to the inviolability of a
sovereign assembly. The royalists already
pondered upon stifling the revolution with the
instruments of that revolution itself. They
calculated — and the result has proved that
their calculations were just — that the Bour
geoisie, still all-powerful in most of the pro
vinces, would mislead the populations of the
small towns and of the country, and that all
their leaders would find themselves in great
strength at the Constituent Assembly.
To-day, when France is given up to the men
of the old regime, when the ministries are
occupied by the ministers of Louis Philippe ;
to-day, when we are " within sight of the ports
of monarchy," to quote the words of the pro-

164 MEMOIRS OF
clamation of the deputies of the extreme left,
the real republicans might in their turn put
these questions to the people: — "Do you wish
for the monarchy and the old regime? Do
you wish to see the Republic effaced ?"
We have no clubs now ; we have not, alas !
any liberty to reply as we ought to reply to
MM. Cavaignac, Lamoriciere, Dufaure, and
Vivien, who are bringing about a new restora
tion. With the clubs a plebeian press sprang into
life on the morrow of the barricades. Lamen-
nais published Le Peuple Constituant ; Proud-
hon, Le Representant du Peuple; Thore, La
Vraie Republique, with Barbes, Pierre Leroux,
and George Sand for contributors; Raspail,
I' Ami du Peuple; Sobrier and Cahaigne, La
Commune de Paris ; Cabet continued Le Popu-
laire ; Le Pere Duchesne followed.
These were the only republican journals
that attained celebrity and popularity, and
which have left some traces behind them in the
movement of the revolution.
There were, however, many others of every
description, of every shade of opinion, and of

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 165
every size. Most of them fell to the ground
after a few numbers, some for want of funds,
most of them from want of talent. Many of
them were speculations in the hope of gain,
others feeble attempts to uphold ridiculous,
ambitious or insensate projects. All of them
proclaimed themselves Republicans. A little
later, a swarm of Napoleonist journals made their
appearance, but they were soon either looked
upon with indifference or forgotten altogether.
The royalists, like the rest, took advantage
of this moment of liberty, when the press (free
of stamp-duty) caution money, and judicial
inquiry, relied solely on public opinion.
Shortly after February the bourgeoisie had
wrought so well against the revolution, that the
Assemblee Nationale and La Liberte reached a
daily circulation of more than forty thousand.
Of the popular journals, La Vraie Republique
and Le Pere Duchesne alone reached that
number. But the journal which, thanks to the skill of
an active editorship, was most widely circulated
in Paris, was La Presse of M. de Girardin. It
will be remembered what a violent onslaught

166 MEMOIRS OF
he made upon the revolution, with such perfi
dious logic and foresight attacking the Republic
through the false republicans, and making it
responsible for the vices of an incapable or
traitorous Government. The circulation of La
Presse reached seventy-five thousand copies
a-day. At the same time, Le Constitulionnel, Le
Siecle, La Patrie, and the Journal des Debats,
which, at first struck dumb with terror, had
observed a prudent silence, soon regained
courage on beholding the revolution compro
mised by the Provisional Government and its
agents. The National and the Reforme, whose editors
held the reins of power, had become nnnisterial,
the latter, however, still preserving its inde
pendence and the energetic spirit of the Re
public, the former disgracing itself then and
afterwards by a servihty scarcely equalled by
the Journal des Debats, whether under the
restoration or Louis-Philippe.
jfln the press, as in the clubs, the revolu
tionary and the conservative factions were
astir with equal energy. But during these

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 167
days of enthusiasm and civic greatness, the
people were still masters of the common
country, and its very enemies themselves had
not the audacity to hope for so speedy and so
melancholy a counter-revolution.

CHAPTER IX.
The 16th March — Protest of the bonnets a poil — 6,000
Grenadiers and Voltigeurs — MM. Marrast and Arago — The
Lion-tamers — The Journee des Manchons — The people and
the Sun— The Luxembourg and the Clubs — The 17 th
March — The Champs Elysees — Procession of the people —
From the Louvre to the Hdtel de Ville — Address to the
Provisional Government — Sending away of the troops —
Adjournment of the elections — Intrigues of the Royalists —
Mistake of the people and fault of the Government — The
condemned of February — Republicans necessary to constitute
a Republic — Attitude of the people — Louis Blanc and Ledru
Rollin — Cabet and Sobrier — Not to all! — Grandiloquent
language of Lamartine — Promises and avowals — No more
troops at Paris — The eighteenth Brumaire of the people —
The Minister of the Interior — Majesty of the Sovereign —
General Courtais— Two hundred thousand brothers — The
Column of the Republic — Social war — The eighteenth Bru
maire of despotism — Coups d'etat and coups de sabre — The
Commission of Inquiry — The Dictatorship and the state of
siege. On the 16th of March, for the first time
since the revolution, the two elements that
divided Paris were openly opposed to each
other.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 169
A circumstance, of little significance in itself,
having occasioned a counter-revolutionary pro
test, which was suppressed by the peopie^tlie
result was that on the day following, a body of
200,000 men made a pacific demonstration, by
proceeding to the Hotel de Ville, to proclaim
again the democratic and social Republic.
The Provisional Government, by a decree of
the 14th of March, had abolished all distinctive
signs in the select companies of National Guards.
From that day the grenadiers and the voltigeurs
were to relinquish the bonnet a, poil, or bearskin
helmet; and all the companies were to be
dressed alike, without distinction of rank or
privilege. This decree caused the privileged
companies to murmur. The 1st and 2nd Legion
especially, and some companies of the Banlieue,
manifested great irritation. Five or six thousand
National Guards met in consequence, on the
16th of March, and proceeded to the Hotel de
Ville, to require the Provisional Government
to withdraw the decree issued in favour of
equality. This small column, hostile to the Revolution,
was stopped by the people two or three times,
VOL. i. i

170 MEMOIRS OF
on its march, and on arriving in front of the
Hotel de Ville, it found the square densely
thronged by workmen and young men. Words,
and even blows were exchanged. The bonnets
a poil could not obtain admission to the Govern
ment, and it was with great difficulty that some
of their deputation succeeded in gaining entrance
to the Hotel.
They were received by MM. Marrast and
Arago, to whom they made their complaint,
with violent invectives against M. Ledru-
Rollin. M. Marrast replied that the object of
the Government was unity and fraternity be
tween all citizens, and to establish the principle
of Republican equality. M. Arago added, that
this proceeding on the part of the conservators
of privileges, would have the "regrettable result"
of provoking a demonstration of the working
classes, and that they should not arouse the
Hon, which those three men of the Hotel de
Ville wished to lull asleep.
On the next day the Provisional Government
completely changed its tone. That "regrettable
result," so much feared by M. Arago the
evening before, had become " an important and

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 171
magnificent manifestation ;" for it had consoli
dated the power of those who were then looked
upon as the representatives of the Revolution.
I had been informed of the step projected by
the meneurs of the select companies, and had
notified to the Minister of the Interior, on whom
they seemed to attach the responsibility of the
decree against privileges, more than on his
colleagues. The only measure of precaution I
took was, to send a detachment of Montagnards,
without their arms, to the neighbourhood of
the Hotel de Ville. The rest of my troops
were kept ready for action at the Prefecture. I
did not fear an attack upon the Government,
but a conflict between the National Guards and
the people.
All however passed over peaceably enough,
and with the exception of a few cuffs, order was
maintained. This expedition of the 16th of March was
nicknamed lajournee des Manchons.
But towards evening a great commotion was
visible amongst the people, who wished to make
.an immediate and practical reply by a general
1 2

172 MEMOIRS OF
demonstration. From all sides I was waited
upon for my advice and assistance.
" It is in broad day-light," I said to them,
" that a free people should testify its adhesion
to the acts of its Government. Let one hundred
thousand of you meet to-morrow before noon
on the Place de la Concorde ; and come in an
orderly manner to proclaim your attachment to
Republican institutions. This great but pacific
step will at once annihilate the enemies of
equality." I added, that equally as I should oppose any
demonstration by night, so equally was I ready
to favour that which I announced for the mor
row. It was therefore resolved that every means
should be employed to calm the excitement of
the people that night, and that on the next day
they should meet on the Place de la Concorde.
I immediately sent special messengers into
the different quartiers of Paris, and of the Ban
lieue, to announce that on the 17th of March
the people were to proceed to the H6tel de
Ville, to congratulate the Provisional Govern-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 173
ment on the decree it had promulgated, and to
promise it support whenever its efforts tended
to promote democratic institutions.
The Luxembourg on its side, and the clubs
of the people, advised the workmen of what
was about to take place, and every class of the
citizens of the revolution was thus made ac
quainted with what was to be done on the
morrow. On the 17th of March, at 9 in the morning,
the great avenue of the Champs Elysees began
to fill with living myriads, and a mighty column
was formed, in the most perfect order, which
stretched from the Arc de Triomphe, to the
Chevaux de Marly.
Each corporation and each club were pre
ceded by their standard, bearing an appropriate
inscription. Before twelve, the immense procession crossed
the Place de la Concorde, and filed off along the
quays in the direction of the Hotel de Ville.
When the foremost ranks arrived in the square
before the Hotel de Ville, the last ranks were
at the Louvre, and new phalanxes continued

174 MEMOIRS OF
streaming from every side to join this patriotic
army which silently filled the square.
During the triumphal march of the people,
I received every moment reports that tranquil
lity prevailed. I had requested some of my
friends, and a certain number of Montagnards,
to place themselves at the head of the cortege,
so as, if necessary, to form a sure and devoted
body-guard to the Government.
I was convinced that no man could be so
mad as to attempt to cause disorder in a meet
ing inspired by such universal enthusiasm;
nevertheless, I wished to be free of all anxiety
as to the results of the day's proceedings.
A deputation of some forty delegates of the
corporations and of the clubs was admitted to
an audience of the Provisional Government, and
a citizen read aloud an address, in which, after
protesting against the menacing manifestation
of the grenadiers on the previous day, they
requested that the troops that had been recalled
should be ordered out of Paris, and that the
elections for the National Assembly should be
adjourned till the 31st May.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 175
For, at the same time that the people ex
pressed their revolutionary ardour and sym
pathy for the Government of February, they
felt some anxiety on account of the dissensions
which were known to exist amongst the mem
bers of the commission, and they apprehended
the intrigues of the royalists in every part of
France. They thought that, by adjourning the
elections for a time, the republican sentiment
would have time to strike deeper root, that the
composition of the National Assembly would
acquire an access of energy, and that the
Assembly itself, when constituted, would re
spond better to the exigencies of the situation.
It was a mistake of the people, who, to be
sure, little expected to see the revolution so
perfidiously thwarted and perverted by the
majority of the very men who had been en
trusted with its defence. The Government also,
by proroguing the elections, committed a grave
error. The conservatives derived greater ad
vantage from this step than the popular party,
and the men condemned by February reap
peared almost to a man to constitute a republic
to which they had always been opposed. The

176 MEMOIRS OF
result has but too well proved that to establish
a republic, republicans are necessary.
The Government was very much embarrassed
by the attitude assumed by the people, and
requested time to deliberate on their proposi
tions, which they would do in council only.
The true representatives of the people addressed
the people on this occasion. Louis Blanc, espe
cially, showed great dignity and true eloquence.
He declared that it was the decided wish of the
Provisional Government to go hand in hand
with the people, to live for them, and if neces
sary, to die for them ! His address was inter
rupted by bursts of applause ; but at the
request of some members of the clubs, Ledru
Rollin added, that he had consulted the com
missioners of the departments, and that he
awaited the reply of France, and that the
solemn and definitive establishment of the
Republic proclaimed on the barricades was at
stake. These words, warm from the heart,
excited anew the approbation of the people.
Cabet and Sobrier then implored the Govern
ment to watch over the public welfare ; and as
the latter proclaimed the confidence of the

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 177
people in the provisional dictators, — "Not in
all!" — exclaimed a voice from the multitude.
Those words are quite characteristic of the
movement of the 17th March, which was
purely revolutionary and republican.
Another delegate put an interrogatory to
M. Lamartine. M. Lamartine replied obscurely
enough, in his grandiloquent style. He dwelt
especially upon the dismissal of the troops,
assuring his hearers that there were no troops
in Paris, and that they had never even dreamt
of recalling them to the capital.
" The Government," he said, " would be out
of its senses after what has occurred, when
fallen royalty has beheld 80,000 men dissolve
like air before the unarmed citizens of Paris, to
think of awing you by a few scattered battalions
animated by the same spirit of republicanism,
and to impose upon you a will hostile to your
own and to their independence; we have not
thought, we never will think of it. The
Republic wishes for no other defender from
within than the armed people. That is the
truth. Tell it to them."
And yet it was M. Lamartine, who, shortly
I 3

178 MEMOIRS OF
afterwards, as he declared before the Commis
sion of Inquiry, did all in his power to effect
the return of the troops to Paris, that he might
oppose them to the republican people.
Sharing the aversion of M. Arago to popular
manifestations, M. Lamartine concluded as
follows : —
" Beware of assemblages of this description,
however beautiful they may be. The 18th
Brumaire of the people might bring on, against
its will, the 18th Brumaire of despotism."
The deputation withdrew. The workmen
assembled in the square, and demanded that
the Government should appear on the steps of
the Hotel de Ville. Their appearance was
hailed with renewed acclamations, and Louis
Blanc again addressed the multitude; for in
these first revolutionary days, there were two
men, who have since been continually attacked
by their colleagues, were always thrust
forward when it was necessary to calm the
people and shield the Provisional Government.
The column of workmen filed off during two
hours, taking the direction of the Bastille.
A body of workmen, about ten thousand

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 179
strong, proceeded to the Ministry of the Inte
rior, where M. Ledru Rollin endeavoured to
cause them to look with complacency upon the
army, which was in fact already returning, by
small detachments at a time, to the capital, for the
protection and satisfaction of the conservatives.
On the following day the Provisional Go
vernment prorogued the elections of the
National Guard, which implied also the proro
gation of the elections of the Constituent
Assembly. It eluded altogether the question of
the army. The following passage was re
marked in the proclamation : —
" The Provisional Government feels it to be
its duty to thank you for the noble spectacle of
the magnificent demonstration you made yes
terday. " Proclaimed, as it were, under the fire of the
conflict, and in the very moment of victory,
the Provisional Government beheld its powers
confirmed yesterday by two hundred thousand
citizens, organized like an army, marching with
the calm confidence of power, and who by their
acclamations have added to our temporary

180 MEMOIRS OF
authority, the moral force and the majesty of a
sovereign power.
" People of Paris, in this manifestation, so
regular and so well organized, you have shown
yourselves as great as when you gave proofs of
courage on your barricades !"
On his part, the Commander-in-chief of
Paris congratulated the people in an order of
the day.
" Citizens, "You have risen to celebrate the triumph of
the Republic. This spontaneous demonstra
tion, this burst of enthusiasm, inspired by a
love of your country, honours you and honours
France. "What other country in the world could
present the spectacle of two hundred thousand
men, united like two hundred thousand
brothers, marching with greater dignity in the
assurance of their independence ? This is truly
the majesty of the people !
" In the midst of your patriotic songs you
called for arms ! To what hands more worthy
of bearing them could they be intrusted ? You

CITIZEN. CAUSSIDIERE. 181
V
shall have arms ! The National Guard thus
augmented will become the strongest pillar of
our young Republic."
Alas ! who more promptly sowed dissension
in the population of Paris for the purpose of
goading the citizens into a fratricidal war ?
Where is the Samson that shook this column
of the democratic temple ?
In less than three months this majestic
people, which was an honour to France, was
forcibly driven back to misery, and given a
prey to the military. Despotism has "had its
18th Brumaire," to quote the expression of
M. Lamartine. But the coups d'etat and the
coups de sabre, which inflict wounds on justice,
have not, for all that, annihilated the future.
The Commission of Inquiry accused me of
having taken an active part in the events of
the 17th March. Far from denying my co
operation in that popular demonstration, I
glory in having done so ; first, because of its
results, and again, because the people assembled
in a body are always great and generous.
Their only vengeance, on the 17th March,
was to give a second proof of their fraternal

182 MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE.
unity and of their power, which some had
begun to doubt.
If an attempt had been made to suppress
the movement, divers and sanguinary colHsions
would have been the result in France ; the
suppression of the sense of right and justice
can never be attempted with impunity. Truth
and justice wiU, sooner or later, by a violent
reaction rise to the surface under the very
hand of the oppressors.
What do you think to-day of the dictator
ship of the military commissions and of the
state of siege ?

CHAPTER X.
Union and Fraternity — ie droit de la blouse — The Marseil
laise of Mdlle. Rachel — Gratuitous representations — The
song of the Girondins — Trees of Liberty at the Prefecture
of Police, the Opera, &c. — The orchestra and the clergy.
Speeches of Ledru Rollin and Caussidiere. — After the
Gironde, the Montagne. — No more acts of violence. — One
murder in three months — Statistical return of thefts — The
Safety Brigade — M. Allard and M. Eloin — Thieves and
receivers of stolen goods — Arrest of a galley-slave — Rob
bery of a jeweller by himself — Secret gambling-houses —
License and debauchery in Paris — The Hdtels garnis —
Strangers at Paris — Commerce and the alarmists — Torch
light processions— Des Lampions — The Holy -week and the
Montagnards — Solicitude of the Prefecture.
Notwithstanding the recent shocks, not
withstanding the uncertainties and divisions of
the Government at the Hotel de Ville, there
were stiU hopes that a spirit of union and fra
ternity would put down the popular agita
tion. The bourgeoisie seemed inclined to make

184 MEMOIRS OF
concessions to the " droit de la blouse." Evil
passions were on the decrease. Paris had a
certain festive air about it ; some of the the
atres presented patriotic plays; the song of
the Marseillaise repeated night after night at
the Theatre National, by the energetic talent
of MademoiseUe Rachel, excited a holy en
thusiasm. The people were invited as guests
to behold the master-pieces of Corneule and
of Voltaire. It may be said that never did the
Theatre National boast of a more attentive or
better-conducted audience. It was the least
that could be done to mitigate their sufferings
by a few hours of honest and elevating amuse
ment. The song of the Girondins blending with
the Chant des Montagnards, was like the pro
phetic announcement of a fusion of all interests,
of all shades of opinion, which in its action
was to destaoy for long years to come, all feel
ings of hatred and enmity.
Paris breathed freely. Trees of liberty
were planted in every district. The bour
geoisie, the National Guard, and the workmen,
figured in these processions. The clergy were

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 185
always invited to attend, and speak words of
peace and of conciliation. Bands of military
music and choral singers added to the splen
dor of these popular ceremonies. It seemed
as if the tree of liberty was never more to
be sprinkled with blood.
Sad illusions, too soon destroyed '. The
Prefecture of Police inaugurated one of the
first trees of liberty. My speech to the en
thusiastic multitude that crowded around me,
if not spoken in set phrases and choice sen
tences, came directly from my heart. Like the
priest of the Redeemer, I also preached fra
ternity, that I might assure them that the
Prefecture, formerly a place of terror to the
people, was henceforth the sanctuary of per
manent justice, and could in future inspire
fear only in those who should break the laws
of the land. The most ardent indications of
sympathy, the deepest emotion and promises
of fraternity, hailed my words. Those men of
the barricades swore, with tears in their eyes,
to contribute towards the police of conciliation
I was endeavouring to establish, and they en
couraged me in the fulfilment of the duties

186 MEMOIRS OF
imposed upon me by my sense of duty and the
public exigencies.
A few days afterwards I was invited to at
tend with a detachment of Montagnards the
planting of a tree of liberty in the court-yard
of the Opera House. The orchestra and cho
ruses of this theatre were assembled, and per
formed various patriotic airs during the cere
mony. The clergy had been invited to be
stow their blessing upon the tree. A nume
rous and brilliant company, grouped in the
windows of the surrounding houses, formed a
rich frame to the scene in the court-yard. A
portion of the enclosure was occupied by a
detachment of National Guards and my Mon
tagnards, who had made themselves a Httle less
warlike in appearance than usual.
Ledru RoUin, at that time Minister of the
Interior, made a speech in praise of the arts,
and on the necessity of their co-operating in
the work of the Republic, a speech which was
loudly applauded, and followed by the chorus
of the Girondins.
Desirous of addressing the assembly like
wise, I did so, and commenced as foUows : —

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 187
" Apres la Gironde, la Montague ,-" " After the
Gironde, the Mountain." I pointed out what
best beseemed a republican nation; I showed
them that the loyal co-operation of all classes
was indispensable ; I reminded the wealthy of
the day upon which they would hold out a
fraternal and not wave a scornful hand to
the disinherited of society, and by so doing
prove that they were worthy of the favours of
fortune ; at the same time, I added, "the people
must not attempt to extort by violence the co
operation of the rich; the aristocracy of strength
being the worst of all aristocracies." This expose
of republican sentiments in the presence of
many who had only an imperfect idea of them,
produced a good effect.
The capital had meantime resumed its ordi
nary tranquil aspect. The streets were safe at
night, and during the space of three months I
had only to record one murder, which was com
mitted at the door of a house of ill fame.
Cases of robbery were rare, and from statistical
returns published at the time, a great reduction
was visible, in comparison with preceding
periods. It must not be supposed, however,

188 MEMOIRS OF
that the thieves walked about with their hands
in their pockets because the Republic had been
proclaimed. In accordance with my instructions, M.
Allard had doubled the number of his safety
brigade, and had his active and intelhgent men
constantly on the track of evil doers. I had
increased the pay of the brigade of M. Eloin,
the head of the Municipal Police.
Safety brigades render great service when
properly directed. They know the haunts of
thieves, who are invariably and fatally attracted
back to the same place. The attention of the
police should always be especiaUy directed
towards the destruction of the associations of
thieves, as also to another dangerous class, the
receivers of stolen goods, who, under the mask
of fair trading, purchase the spoil, and are thud
the accomplices and instigators of theft. In
the proportion of eight out of ten, the arrests
were made by the safety brigades. In the first
fortnight of March, a razzia of escaped galley-
slaves was made, and of dangerous vagabonds
who had designs on foot to plunder private
property. A certain Michelot, who acted the

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 189
part of a furious democrat in the clubs of Paris,
was recognized and arrested by an agent. He
had effected his escape from the galleys, and
the police had long been on the look-out for
him. He was returned to the galleys. This
Michelot had recently come over from Eng
land, where he had been residing for some
time, and where he had assumed a certain
importance. He was member of some political
societies in London, and had affixed his name
among those of some honourable citizens to
addresses to the Provisional Government of
France. The chiefs and agents of the public safety,
thus made aware of my perseverance, redoubled
their zeal, and besides these the Montagnards,
made the fulfilment of their duty a point of
honour, and by their alacrity they prevented
numerous disorders.
At times, hostile or misinformed journals
attacked most unjustly the surveillance of the po
lice; — for instance, on the following occasion : —
A jeweller informed the Commissioner of
Police of the quartier St. Honore, that he had
been robbed to a considerable amount in plate

190 MEMOTRS OF
and jewels. He estimated his loss at 30,000
francs. He said the thieves must have entered
his shop during the night, and he pointed out
an iron bar which had been very neatly sawn
through. M. AUard and myself having exa
mined this alleged poof of robbery, we were
both of us convinced that the proprietor of the
shop could alone have done the work so neatly.
In fact, he at length confessed, that to conceal
the bad state of his affairs he had robbed him
self and hidden his property in a hay-loft,
where it was found by the poHce.
The journals were obliged to acknowledge
that on this occasion, as on many others, the
police gave proofs of great sagacity.
As it was my constant aim to vindicate and
secure the morality of the RepubHc, I put
down crime and disorder under whatever shape
it appeared. The clandestine gambling-houses
had hoped to take advantage of the revolution to
carry on their illicit operations. I had a num
ber of the proprietors of such estabUshments
arrested and put in prison.
I held also frequent conferences with M.
Farou, who had the superintendence of the

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 191
dispensaries and of the abandoned women. After
the days of February their license knew no
bounds. It was necessary to enforce the regu
lations respecting them.
In the months of February and March, the
cases of disease, the inevitable result of a relax
ation of inspection, were much more numerous
than in April and May. M. Denis, the head
surgeon of the dispensary, informed me that
the average number of cases was 1 in 280. This
is a low average, if compared with the returns
for July and August. This proves that after I
had left, the police authorities were less careful
of the public health.
I shall not dwell further on a subject that
should be effaced altogether from civilized
society. I shaU only add, that to diminish as
much as possible the fearful results of the actual
state of things, the police ought to take active
measures to prevent profligacy, by placing cer
tain establishments under the sanction of the
laws, and submitting them to regular and strict
inspection. By these means they would put a
check to private profligacy, which is the most
dangerous of aU. They should also prevent

192 MEMOIRS OF
the appearance of unfortunate creatures in cer
tain parts of the capital.
Whilst many rich families were driven away
from Paris by fear, the varying population of
the Hotels garnis increased in an immense pro
portion. They were chiefly strangers, some
attracted by the creation of the ateliers nationaux,
others by the hope of fishing up something
from the troubled waters. I instructed my
agents to be very strict in examining the pass
ports of these people.
Having been informed that an emigration
from Belgium on a large scale, threatened to
inundate the capital, I had proclamations posted
up in all the frontier towns of the North, and
in all the principal towns of France, enjoining
the authorities to prevent such bodies from
entering our territory.
Work began to fail, and in some of the work
shops the presence of foreign workmen gave
rise to complaints ; many of them not having
families, accepted work at very low wa°res.
Commerce also was in a bad way, although
Spring ought to have had a beneficial effect:
but the alarmists and ill-disposed persons seized

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 193
upon the slightest pretext to spread the most
absurd reports, which were calculated to destroy
confidence. Some torch-light processions especially,
alarmed the trading community; I therefore
called upon the working classes to abstain from
them, and issued the following proclamation :
" Great patriotic demonstrations, which are
the expression of the sovereign will of the
people, ought to be respected by all ; no one
has a right to stifle that powerful voice which
was loud enough to overthrow a throne, in the
short space of a few hours. But if every one
ought to hail with joy, in the open daylight,
these imposing manifestations of a whole people,
it is also the duty of every good citizen ener
getically to protest against those partial demon
strations which are made at night, and which
only tend to alarm the city, and to engender
culpable hopes in the breasts of the enemies of
the Republic. When the citizen is alarmed,when
the enemy rejoices and hopes, the workman
beholds a want of confidence, and a diminution
in the demands for labour. The workman who
VOL. I. K

194 MEMOIRS OF
allows himself to be led into these nightly
processions, loses a part of the present, and
generally wastes the whole of the next day.
" Let us, by the sobriety of our proceedings,
second the efforts of the Government, whose
constant care is devoted to the working classes,
but which at the same time needs their co
operation to consolidate its work. Far be ^it
from us to misinterpret the intentions of the
citizens who took part in those partial and
nightly manifestations ; but the more pure and
upright were their intentions, the more readily
will they understand sincere and patriotic
language. We will therefore say to them: fLet
us be on our guard against that pretended zeal,
which will not wait for the daylight to show
itself. Let us, above all, fear lest those who
meditate in the dark, criminal projects against
our glorious Revolution, should take advantage
of this example, to disturb the tranquiUity of
the Republic'
" Let us keep ourselves reserved for the hour
(which with God's blessing will never come,)
when the Republic shall be in danger. Then
will be the moment to act by torchlight and by

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 195
daylight, but until then let us remain calm, in
the confidence of our strength.
" The Prefect of PoHce, "CAUSSIDIERE.
"Paris, 3lst March, 1848."
At the same time numerous patrols paraded all
the streets, to prevent the letting off of crackers,
and the shouts of "Des Lampions!" "Des
Lampions !" which children, and men — greater
children still — amused themselves with bawling
in the evening. If these means of conciliation
had not the desired effect, arrests were to be
made. The vespers, the solemnities of the Holy-
week in the different churches, were protected
by detachments of Montagnards, whose zeal
and good conduct extorted universal praise.
The above will prove that the solicitude of
the Prefecture of the Police did not overlook
anything, or intermit its duties at any time.

k 2

CHAPTER XI.
The revolution in Europe — Addresses of the diiferent nations
to the French Republic — Foreign patriots in Paris — Depar
ture of Polish, Italian, and German expeditions — Commer
cial crisis — Rivalry between French and foreign workmen —
Revolutionary projects in Belgium — Pressing demand of
Blervacq to the administration — Neutral position of the
Ministry of the Interior — Citizen Fosse at the H6tel de
Ville — M. Buchez gives him money — Parts acted by different
members of the Provisional Government in this affair —
MM. Lamartine, Marrast, and Bastide — Permission of
departure — The Belgian expedition at the railway — The fight
at Risquons-tout — Killed and wounded — Snares and trea
chery — Revelations on these events.
"The revolution of February in France was
like a sacred promise of the emancipation of
every people in Europe ; and Europe, in fact,
was soon agitated by a sympathetic convulsion.
Whilst every nationaHty rose against its op
pressors, whilst enthusiastic addresses poured
into the H6tel de Vine from every quarter of
the globe — from Italy, from Germany, from

MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 197
America, and even from England and Ireland,
the foreigners resident in Paris, clubbed toge
ther, and formed projects for the regeneration of
their respective countries. Italy beheld her en
franchisement, Poland her resurrection, Germany
her unity. Each nation founded its hopes on
the liberal assurance of a revolution, the cha
racter of which appeared universal.
Thus, not a day passed that the Provisional
Government did not receive deputations, wait
ing upon it to request its assistance in arms,
and means of action in favour of liberty.
Exiled Poles, proscribed Italians, Germans,
and Belgians succeeded each other. The men
of the Hotel de Ville replied always by high-
sounding and evasive phrases, and did not
know how to turn to account this republican
ferment. However, some Polish bands started
for their promised land ; Italians crossed the
Alps to commence a patriotic struggle for
liberty ; and the Germans returned to their
country to work for the common cause of
emancipation from tyranny.
There was another cause for the migration of
foreigners from Paris. The greater number of

198 MEMOIRS OF
the Germans and Belgians were workmen, who
could now scarcely find employment in France,
in consequence of the prevailing commercial
crisis. The want of work in the ateliers often
gave rise to dangerous disputes between the
French and foreign workmen. It became,
therefore, a matter of necessity to faciHtate as
much as possible the departure of those men,
who, sooner or later, might be the cause of
scenes of violence and disorder. It was to the
Government as much a question of social and
economical foresight, as an affair of poHcy and
revolution. The Belgians, especially, numbered strong in
Paris, and they soon resolved to return to their
country in armed bands to propagate repubHcan
principles. Belgium seemed half inclined to
follow the example of France, and to estabhsh
a democracy. Citizen Blervacq assembled together about
two thousand of his compatriots, who inces
santly requested means to enable them to
depart. I notified to M. Ledru Rollin the
Minister of the Interior, the importunate soli
citations to which I was exposed, He told me

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 199
that he should consult his colleagues, for that
he could do nothing without their consent.
Some days passed. The Belgians became
more pressing than ever in their demands to
obtain a decision from me. The minister at
length declared that the French Government
could not bind itself to take any steps of a
nature to excite alarm in Belgium, with which
state they entertained amicable relations ; that
the utmost they could do was to give a gratui
tous passage to all such as were desirous of
returning to their country ; but that they would
have nothing further to do in the matter.
I had proposed to M. Ledru Rollin, in case
the council should have approved of and en
couraged a revolutionary movement, to give the
Belgians the auxiliary aid of 2,000 Municipal
Guards, who were excellent soldiers, and quite
ready to march.
In fact, the ex-Municipal Guards, reduced
to the rations I had allotted them, and execrated
by the people of Paris, would have been only
too glad to wipe out the recollections of the
past by some brilliant exploit. They had
nothing to do, and two or three of their officers

200 MEMOIRS OF
to whom I broached the subject, assured me of
their readiness.
I communicated the resolutions of the
Government to the Belgian deputation, stating
my inability to assist them. I must frankly
avow that personal feelings far more strongly
inclined me energetically to protect this expe
dition than to refuse assistance to it.
The deputation withdrew, very little pleased,
and some days elapsed without my hearing
anything further respecting it. I looked upon
it as a failure, and thought no more about it,
when I was waited upon by Citizen Petiot,
Head Engineer of the Northern Railway. He
came to tell me that a certain Fosse demanded
a special train for that very evening, to take
him to Mouscron. He said that he was pro
ceeding with a detachment of Belgians to pro
claim the Republic in Belgium.
I advised M. Petiot not to do anything of
the sort, unless he received direct instructions
to that effect from the Prefecture of Police. I
also gave immediate orders to Citizen Mercier
to seek out Fosse and to bring him to me.
Mercier found Fosse at the Hotel de Ville

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 201
in conference with M. Buchez, the mayor's
assistant, in a large room where many persons
were busy writing.
Citizen Mercier addressed Fosse as follows : —
" I am sent by the Prefect of Police to tell you
that unless you follow me immediately to render
an account of the object of your journey, he
will prevent your departure."
At these words, Citizen Buchez said to
Mercier ;
" Hush! not so loud, I entreat you!"
It is worthy of remark, that as Mercier en
tered, M. Buchez gave Fosse two bank notes,
and a letter of credit on a Brussels' banker from
M. Lamartine.
Moreover, whilst Fosse was on his way to
the Prefecture, he told Mercier that he had the
support of MM. Lamartine and Marrast to
organize this movement. Perhaps the news of
the insurrection at Berlin, where it was said
the Republic had been declared, had moved
the Hotel de Ville.
It appears besides, that aU the agents of the
Hotel de Ville were aware of this expedition.
As they were leaving the Hotel de Ville, Mer-
k 3

202 MEMOIRS OF
cier and Fosse met Colonel Rey, the governor
of the Hotel, and Fosse asked him if he could
not provide him with muskets. Citizen Rey
seemed by no means astonished at the request,
but simply replied that he had already distri
buted all the weapons at his disposal, and that
consequently he could not at present give
him any.
The Sieur Fosse made similar statements to
myself, adding that he had had an interview
with M. Bastide, and had obtained his consent.
He showed me the letter of credit he had
received from M. Buchez, and renewed his
request for a special train. He had to meet the
Belgians that very evening at the railway
station, where he had appointed to join them,
and he desired absolutely to start that very day.
I told him to return in two hours, and had
all his movements watched. I wished to con
sult the Minister of the Interior, but he was at
council, and I could not obtain anything from
him. At the appointed hour Fosse returned
once more to request permission to leave. I
scarcely knew how to act, so I took Fosse along
with me to the Minister of the Interior. After

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 203
waiting an hour, M. Ledru RolHn's secretary
informed me, that the members of the Govern
ment were to attend a popular representation
at the Thiatre National, and that I should
probably find the Minister of the Interior
there. I was now at last obliged, for fear of counter
manding orders beyond my jurisdiction, to
grant the permission required. Mercier, whom
I had instructed to keep an eye on the railway-
station, came and informed me that the depar
ture bell had rung, and that the station was
crowded with Belgians. A train had been pre
pared for the two detachments. I say two,
because the fifteen hundred Belgians who left
were divided amongst themselves, those com
manded by Blervacq accusing Fosse and his
party of having sold themselves to the Prince
of Orange; these, on the other hand, declared
that Blervacq and his companions supported
the bad cause. A violent dispute arose, and
it was with difficulty that a fight was prevented;
they threatened to set fire to the station, and
called out for separate trains.

204 MEMOIRS OF
Citizen Mercier, in the presence of the prin
cipal director of the railway, addressed a few
energetic words to them, and whether from
their fear or their good sense, these men, so
loud in their demands but a few moments
before, agreed to leave in the same train. A
second detachnent left on the following day.
The details of that adventurous expedition
are well known. The Belgians procured arms
on their way as soon as they had left Lille
behind them. The muskets in their possession
had been almost all captured by them, and
were destined to arm the National Guards of
the frontier. On the evening of the 28th of
March, a column, about 1100 strong, took the
direction of Menin, purposing to enter Bel
gium by Courbecque; but whether from un
foreseen difficulties, treason, or fatality, they
retraced their steps in the direction of Mous-
cron, a passage well defended by the royalist
troops. In open daylight they entered and searched
the custom-house, which was deserted; and
they had the audacity to enter the Belgian ter-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 205
ritory, when a regiment of infantry, of light-
dragoons, and artillery, suddenly appeared and
opposed them.
A brisk fire was kept up on both sides for
more than an hour, although the brave work
men isolated, were compelled to separate and
fight as sharpshooters, to avoid the ravages of
the grape-shot.
They regained the French territory, leaving
about a dozen of the enemy dead, and about
as many of their own party on the field, with
about five-and-twenty wounded on both sides.
They had in fact fallen into a regular snare.
Fosse accuses Blervacq, O'Spilton, and Deles-
tres with having acted the part of agens provo
cateurs, but they are in prison, and under a
sentence of capital punishment, nor is it usual
for governments to give salaries to agents whose
position might compromise them, and lead to
revelations. We do not, however, mean to imply that
Fosse was guilty of this crime; it is much more
probable that some secret agent, whose name
has not transpired, had informed the Belgian

206 MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE.
Government of what was going on, and that
the latter had taken its measures accordingly.
However this may be, the remnant of this
melancholy expedition returned to Paris in a
much more pitiable plight than they left it.
They were lodged for a few days in the Caserne
des Gres, where rations were allowed them.
Thus ended this affair, the responsibility of
which still hangs over other heads than those
of the real instigators.
If I had been caUed upon to give my assist
ance to this expedition, I should have preferred
sending a large military force to co-operate
with it, and I could have relied upon the sup
port of the populations of the Borinage, where
the inhabitants are much more inclined towards
democratic principles than those of the cities
of Brussels or Gand. They did the thing
hastily, that they might reap all the honour
of success — the result was cowardice and
treason.

CHAPTER XII.
The counter-Revolution — The financial question — MM. Goud-
chaux and Garnier Pages — Fear of capitalists — Threats of
bankruptcy — M. de Rothschild — The Chaussee d'Antin —
Conversation between M. Rothschild and the Prefect — The
merchants — The Faubourg St. Germain — Its intentions
and its acts — A white flag burned by the people — Distribu
tion of money to the Municipal Guards — The moustachioed
sister of charity — Coin bearing the effigy of Henry V — The
secret service money. The Ministry of the Interior and the
Mayor of Paris — The Republican guards and the spies-
Anecdote of two secret agents — The Legitimists in La
Vendee. — Advice of M. de Metternich — Paris under the
Seine — Henry V. and the Count de Paris — Advice to the
Government. The Government had frittered away most
valuable time in internal dissentions, half mea
sures, and dangerous hesitations.
The counter-revolutionists, stunned at first,
soon began to breathe again. For some time
after the Revolution, it might have been said

208 MEMOIRS OF
as in the caricature of 1830, "Please, sir, will
you show me a royalist ?" But gradually,
without actually making themselves conspi
cuous, they regained their courage, and recom
menced their secret intrigues.
The financial questions so feebly dealt with
by MM. Goudchaux and Garnier Pages,
created an excellent opportunity for them. By
acting silently on financial men, the reaction
startled capitalists, and kept up a disastrous
anxiety. Many of the first banking-houses
would, it was currently reported, stop payment.
M. Rothschild, it was added, was sending over
gold and silver in bars to foreign countries,
concealed in dung carts, with the intention of
afterwards declaring himself a bankrupt.
These reports, canvassed by the very men
whose greatest interest it would have been to
stifle them, were a continued source of per
plexity to me. I trembled for the effect they
might have on the people who tolerate million
aires with resignation, if not with complacency,
when so many labourers are starving in misery,
and worn out by privations, but who at times
make an example of hoarding capitalists.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 209
A strict surveillance was consequently kept
up on the quartier inhabited by the bankers
and by M. Rothschild, by sending patrols and
guards of safety there.
At this juncture M. de Rothschild, que je
tenais en filature, (in other words, who had the
eye of a secret agent upon him,) informed of the
reports circulated respecting him, came to the
Prefecture of Police. He entered the bureau
of M. Chayet, chef de division. An usher
requested him to come into my cabinet. I
told M. Rothschild of the suspicions that rested
upon him, and of the watchful measures I had
thought fit to take ; at the same time that he
himself was under a sort of surveillance, occa
sioned by the reports in question.
M. Rothschild replied to me as follows: —
" People suppose me loaded with gold, and all
that I possess is scrip. My fortune and my
ready money are all converted into shares,
which at the present moment are valueless.
It is not my intention to declare myself a
bankrupt, and if I am to die, I am quite pre
pared ; but I should regard flight as cowardly.
I have even written to my relations to send me

210 MEMOIRS OF
funds to enable me to meet my engagements;
should you desire it I will present my nephew
to you to-morrow."
" I should be happy," I repHed, " to assist
you in reassuring your family; and you have
nothing to fear from the people of Paris.
Though poor, they are honest, and if at times
rogues assume the blouse of the workman, we
soon set things to rights."
In the course of conversation I asked him
to aHow the firm of Lacrampe and Co., the
printers, who employ one hundred and fifty
workmen, to open a credit with him. He
regretted that it was not in his power to grant,
my request ; but he came to me again the next
day, accompanied by his nephew, and placed
in my hands two thousand francs, to be dis
tributed as I might think best. I immediately
ordered them to be divided between the fa
milies of the combatants of February, who
had been on duty at the Prefecture without
having received any regular pay, since Feb
ruary. The Messrs. Rothschild left me much more
at ease, and convmced that the RepubHcans

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 211
were much better than they had been repre
sented to them by their enemies.
I was also waited upon by some of the
leading merchants, and tranquillized their fears
by assuring them of the protective character
and intentions of the Republic.
It is evident that France owes a portion of her
prosperity to her manufactures, which doubles
that of her agricultural produce. Our country
seems to have been destined for a Republic by
its geographical position, and is, at the same
time, agricultural, industrial, and commercial.
The Faubourg St. Germain had also its
share of the alarm that infected Paris. It was
said that the nobility were drawing in their
expenses, selHng their houses, and dismissing
their servants, with the advice that they should
seek food from the Republicans. They were
also accused of distributing money amongst
the Municipal Guards, to gain them over to an
attempt in favour of Henry V., whose acces
sion to the throne — desired, they said, by all
good citizens — was sure to succeed the present
state of things.
A white flag, with the fieurs de lis embroi-

212 MEMOIRS OF
dered on it in gold, was found, nobody knows
how, in a large timber-yard, and where a hun
dred and fifty hands are employed. They
brought the flag to me in a body, and then
proceded to the place of the Hotel de Ville,
where they burned it with shouts of " Vive la
Republique .'"
A M. de Caumont was accused of distri
buting ten francs a-head to a certain number
of Municipal Guards. He avowed the fact,
but declared that the money was for the fa
milies of those Municipal Guards who were
married, and that it was the produce of a sub
scription set on foot by the noble ladies of the
Faubourg. I advised him, as a measure of
personal safety, — he, a major with moustaches,
— to abstain in future from assuming the part
of a sister of charity.
These, and many other incidents that came
to light, — the circulation of one franc pieces
bearing the effigy of Henry V., the schemes
of the vanquished party, — all combined to keep
the public mind in a state of continual and
feverish excitement. This gave rise to the
formation of a new brigade of prudent and

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 213
intelligent agents, under my sole direction,
whose reports enabled me to assure myself of
the accuracy of the reports of my men, and by
their means not allow the secret service money
to be squandered. It now often happens that
an agent acts as a spy for both parties, and
receives pay from both.
It was thus that I often received reports
that had been already made to other adminis
trations, and had been paid by them. In this
manner Dormes and Considere reported to
M. CarHer at the Ministry of the Interior, and
to M. Marrast, the Mayor of Paris, everything
they thought they had discovered at the Pre
fecture. One of them even gave Marrast dif
ferent versions of the affair of the 15th of May.
He was detected, and turned out of the Pre
fecture, which had a thorough hatred of spies.
Before the events of June there were four
different branches of the pohce, which were
badly enough organized. That of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, of the Ministry of the Inte
rior, of the Hotel de Ville, and of the Pre
fecture. After June the number of secret
agents was estimated at 1,500. They were,

214 MEMOIRS OF
generaUy speaking, badly paid, and fully earned
their money. This reminds me of a little anec
dote that occurred at the time.
A secret agent had instructions to arrest an
individual, who was said to be very dexterous,
and difficult to catch. The agent managed
however to get hold of him, and got him into
a cab. As he searched his pockets in vain for a piece
of coin to pay the coachman beforehand, the
prisoner offered his purse, saying that he would
put it down in his bill of expenses.
" What do you mean ?" asked the astonished
agent. " It's simple enough," replied the other ;
"like yourself I am an agent, and my outlays
are made good to me at the end of every month."
An explanation took place before the proper
quarters, and the warrant was annuUed; the
two spies, astounded at having mutually arrested
each other, went and had a breakfast together,
at the expense of the state.
I was convinced from the enquiries I set on
foot, that there was little to fear from the Le
gitimist party. During the months of March

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 215
and April its conspiracies were limited to the
most absurd projects; for instance, to renew
the Capitaineries of La Vendee; to come to
an agreement with Russia, Prussia, Austria,
and England ; in case of success in a civil war,
to federalize France, and to put an end to Paris
and its aimables faubourgs (according to the
advice of Mettemich, who was said to be con
niving with them,) to turn the course of the
Seine, and overflow the capital, which was
regarded as the hot-bed of anarchy and of
insurrection. I was told afterwards, by persons in a position
to get correct information, that a treaty of
alliance had been ratified at Forkrop, between
the senior and junior branches of the Bourbons.
The Republic being annihilated, Henry V. was
to ascend the throne of his ancestors, and as
he has not, and never will have issue, the Count
de Paris having grown up in the interval, would
naturally succeed his cousin, by right divine.
It is for the present Government to investi
gate how much probability there may be in
these revelations, and to keep a good account

216 MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE.
of them, if it has any democratic spirit left in
it. But it is not the former ministers of Louis
Philippe, now in power, who could thwart the
project of a restoration.

CHAPTER XIII.
Paris without an army — Organization of the National Guard-
General election of the officers — Proclamation to the people
—The Garde Mobile— The Garde Marine— The Garde de
l'H6tel de Ville — Colonel Rey — Grande cuisine — The table
of the Prefecture — The Garde Republicaine ; its leaders —
Police of conciliation — The two squadrons of horse — Detach
ment of Lyons — Colonel Mercier — Blanqui's men — Uniform
of the Garde Republicaine — The fire brigade — Ill-will of
the Government — Promises of July — Expenses of the Hdtel
de Ville — MM. Garnier Pages and Marrast — The game at
rackets — Republican fraternity.
In consequence of the revolution, all the
troops had been sent out of Paris ; and al
though one portion of the Provisional Govern
ment desired the recall of the army, that they
might be at hand to serve a tortuous policy,
they dared not, at first, do more than hazard
the introduction of a few soldiers to be on duty
at the barriers.
The National Guard was to be organized on
VOL. I. L

218 MEMOIRS OF
the plan of the new decree, which admitted
every citizen to the right of bearing arms : the
force of the National Guard might thus be
increased to 300,000 men, that is to say, the
number of men capable of doing duty was
increased more than five-fold. The election of
the officers was fixed for the 18th March, and
the citizens were invited to put down their
names at the mayoralty, that they might parti
cipate in this general election. But it was
necessary to induce the people to make use of
this precious right, and to put them on their
guard against a dangerous indifference. I
therefore issued the following proclamation : —
" Under existing circumstances, when the
people are called upon to decide by the elec
tions upon the greatest questions that have
ever been brought forward, it would be giving
proof of a culpable indifference, not to avail
ourselves of the rights which we have just
recovered. It is necessary that all citizens, the
working classes in particular, who have hitherto
been deprived of these rights, should fully
understand the mission they are called upon to

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 219
fulfil. It does not suffice to have gained the
victory, it is necessary to know how to turn
that victory to account ; nothing is done so long
as there is still something to do. It would be
not to comprehend the immense revolution
which is now in course of accomplishment, to
remain idle spectators, when the question is to
consecrate it by that most solemn act — the act
of election.
" Let all citizens then prepare themselves to
take a share in this great manifestation of the
sovereign will of the people. It is not only a
right to be exercised, but it is a duty, — 'a duty as
absolute as that of fighting for liberty and for
our country — that is to be performed.
" We therefore call upon all patriots, more
especially upon those whom a haughty despot
ism had attempted to deprive of the title of
citizens, and who did not even possess the
right to defend their own hearths, to put down
their names without one moment's delay in the
list of National Guards, that they may thus be
enabled to take part in the general elections
which wiU be held on the 18th instant.
"To facilitate the inscription of signatures,
l 2

220 MEMOIRS OF
the offices of the different mayors will be open
till midnight. " The Prefect of Police,
"CAUSSIDIERE.
" Paris, ISlh March, 1848."
The people, however, generally neglected
taking any share in the elections, and reac
tionary names in many instances came out of
the electoral urn, — names of men who would
not have been elected, if it had not been for
the apathy of the working-classes.
The National Guard at first did nearly all
the duty in the different branches of service,
which was, however, gradually shared by the
different bodies established for the safety of
the capital, of which the following are the
names at the commencement of April.
The Garde Mobile, which was originally to
nave consisted of twenty-four battalions of one
thousand men each, was at that time being
organized under the orders of General Duvi-
vier*. * This body, which is much below the mark in dress and
cleanliness, receives one franc fifty centimes pay per diem.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 221
It was also projected to organize some squad
rons of cavalry, but they were never mounted,
and part of them were disbanded.
At a later period, the intrigues of the Hotel
de Ville succeeded in establishing, in despite of
my opposition, a Garde Marine for the internal
navigation of Paris. This executive corps cost
one million, which might surely have been
better employed. The workmen at the dif
ferent ports had moreover offered to register
themselves as National Guards, and to under
take that duty. But the fact that that simple
measure was proposed by a democrat was quite
sufficient to cause its rejection.
A guard of eight hundred men commanded
by Colonel Rey was destined for the special
service of the H6tel de Ville ; and was often
detained whole days there. The men had their
board and received 1 franc 50 cents a-day;
they kept a splendid table.
The day's wages of a head cook were twelve
francs. Accordingly those employed by me to
cook for the Prefecture soon demanded ten
francs a-day. I paid their bills, and told them
to go to the Hotel de Ville where they would
be better remunerated. I dismissed them that

222 MEMOIRS OF
very night. Their demand did not seem to me
in harmony with democratic principles, espe
cially when so many poor devils were on foot
day and night, with a musket on their shoulder,
who scarcely received enough to procure them
food. But, as I remarked before, whilst endea
vouring to establish external order by internal
disorder, I felt every moment the weakness of
my powers of action. The number of posts to
be occupied, the numberless corvees and patrols
to be renewed every night, rendered the
number of the Montagnards insufficient.
I therefore presented to the Minister of the
Interior the project of a Republican Guard,
twelve hundred strong of foot and three hundred
horsemen, their numbers to be increased should
circumstances require it. To avoid the risk of
creating a Pretorian Guard, it was necessary
that the command of these troops should be
entrusted only to energetic leaders, deeply
imbued with democratic principles ; these men
selected from the ranks of the commonalty
were to protect it, and enlighten it on its path,
instead of thinking how they might one day
become its executioners.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 223
The application of this moral system is not
so difficult as it may appear at the first glance,
and I had the satisfaction of seeing it very
frequently carried into practice, by the Mon
tagnards first, and by the Garde Republicaine
afterwards. I was desirous of establishing a
police of conciliation, which would have relied
chiefly on the respect and affection it inspired
to all. But this guard of the people was not
to have power or authority until it had been
subjected to severe discipline.
The Government gave a verbal authorization
to effect the formation of a body of twelve
hundred foot and two squadrons of cavalry.
The ranks were open to patriots and old
soldiers who could produce good certificates.
Two hundred and fifty horses of the Municipal
Guard, which had been collected in the dif
ferent faubourgs, served to mount the two
squadrons, which soon excited the admiration
of all who beheld them on the Boulevards and in
the streets. My brave fellows, with their simple
bourgeron and red ke"pi*, which constituted their
* Bourgeron the half jacket, and kepi the red cap, of the
African soldier.

224 MEMOIRS OF
uniform, had a singular and martial appear
ance, which at once denoted that they were
not novices in the art of war.
It was agreed that this guard should be put
on the army list, each man being bound for
three years, and in case of neglect of duty
liable to the army regulations. The election of
their officers, up to the rank of captain, was
made by each company, with the view of
excluding incapacity.
The decree legally constituting this corps
never made its appearance; to this mauvais-
vouloir of the authorities may in some measure
be attributed the events of the 15th May; but
we shall not say more upon that affair just
now ; that shall be explained later.
Shortly afterwards the Ministry of the Inte
rior sent me a body of Lyonnese, about six
hundred strong, with directions to incorporate
them in the Republican Guard. Numbers of
citizens likewise requested to be enrolled. A
committee was appointed to examine the claims
and certificates of each individual.
That committee was presided over by Citizen
Mercier, whom his ten years' service as an

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 225
officer, and his zealous and intelligent patriot
ism, made me propose for the rank of colonel.
If by this act I infringed upon the regulated
gradation of military advancement, it was at all
events against the will of Mercier, who refused
to accept the promotion ; but I began to detect
the germs of disorganization, and the effects of
underhand intrigues to sow division among the
republicans of the Prefecture. Blanqui found
a fissure wherein to introduce hisj/'
The dress of the Republican Guard was at that
time a blue uniform turned up with red, and a.
hat similar to the guards of the Consulate, with
red hanging aigrettes. Those who have seen
detachments of these men, will allow that they
had a very fine and imposing appearance.
My successors have altered the uniform ;.
the red has been replaced by blue, and we
shall probably shortly see it transformed into
white ; — then it will become indispensably ne
cessary to return to the red.
To alleviate the duties of the National Guard,
in concert with the staff, I had it replaced at
different posts by the Republican Guard, which
l 3

226 MEMOIRS OF
zealously performed its duties till the 15th of
May. The vigilance of the fire brigade had not
relaxed since the 24th of February, and the
number of their stations had been greatly aug
mented since then.
Called upon by the high post I filled in the
magistracy, to be their immediate chief, all my
solicitude was due to their interests.
This military, courageous, and intelligent
body had hailed the advent of the Revolution
with an enthusiasm which rendered its members
still more dear to me. I recognised in them
honest citizens, capable of doing great things.
I therefore presented to the Minister of the
Interior a project for the formation of a new
company, that it might alleviate the fatigues of
a continual and laborious service imposed upon
so small a number as six hundred. My demand,
though reasonable enough, was rejected, on the
ground that it was impossible to make an ad
dition to the budget which had been already
voted. They promised to take my proposal
into consideration next year.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 227
I also endeavoured, but in vain, to obtain the
former pay, that is to say, ten centimes ad
ditional per diem, making a sum of twenty-four
thousand francs for the remaining months of
the year.
This increase had been solemnly promised to
me, and I had intimated that official promise
to this respectable corps, which may have sup
posed that I had flattered it with false hopes,
when I was but the organ of a Government
already gone back to the errors of July ; — many
promises, but no fulfilment of them.
Thus, whilst ten centimes a-day were refused
to useful citizens, enormous sums were allowed
to be squandered with impunity at the Hotel
de Ville. The daily expenses at the Hotel de
Ville amounted to the sum of seven thousand
francs. They also refused to give me vouchers
for the sums necessary to pay the employes in
my administration. I laid a complaint on the
subject before the Council, in which M. Garnier
Pages, then Minister of Finances, and M. Mar
rast, the Mayor of Paris, mutually shoved upon
each other the task of filling up the vouchers ; —
it was a regular game at rackets. I was con-

223 MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE.
sequently compelled, a few days afterwards, to
solicit from M. Buchez a republican bene
volence of five or six thousand francs for the
Montagnards, who could not understand why
my coffers should be empty.
Such was the state of the public force up to
the 15th of May in Paris, which was almost
without one really organized corps.
And yet order was maintained by the sole
power of republican fraternity: and not one
single drop of blood fell to stain that agitated
epoch, when society was struggling to emanci
pate itself.

CHAPTER XIV.
Attacks of the reactionary journals — The Bank of France — Its
notes and its shares — Discount and circulation of bills —
Proposition of the Reforme — Guarantee establishment in
Holland — Advantage of such an establishment — Capital
of one hundred millions — The speculators — Financial and
commercial crisis — Manufactories and shops — Purchases
and sales — Export orders — The rich and the poor —
Napoleon and the English traders — Protest and bank
ruptcy — A million for a hundred thousand francs — The
flags of misery — Bread or lead ! — Labour and not alms —
Delicacy of the workmen — It is only those who do nothing
that do not make mistakes — The journal La Presse — A
mob round its offices — M. de Girardin — A bas La
Presse — The liberty of the press — Popular eloquence of
the Montagnards — The elections — The clergy — the army —
Power of the Provisional Government — The right to Labour
— Agricultural colonies — Property — The soil constitutes the
true riches of a country.
Already the reactionary journals, La Presse
among others, accused the Government of neg
lect, and outvied each other in their clamours
on the financial crisis — the result of a want of

230 MEMOIRS OF
confidence — which brought business for the
moment to a stand-still.
An ill-judged measure taken by the Provi
sional Government with regard to the repay
ment of certain interests by the Bank of
France, threw discredit on the bills, at the
same time that it increased the value of shares.
The result was, that for many days there was
a run upon that establishment ; holders of notes
kept hurrying to the Bank to get coin in ex
change for them : to such an extent was this
carried that the directing committee would only
authorize the payment in specie to the admi
nistrations, and even then with certain restric
tions. Capitalists refused to cash commercial
bills, for fear they might be dishonoured when
they fell due. These plausible reasons admitted
of no refutation.
Among the various practical means imagined
to restore confidence, the journal La Rtforme
proposed one which had the merit of having
previously succeeded in Holland, in a financial
crisis analogous to that of France after the
Revolution of February.
Holland had created and endowed a gua-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 23 L
rantee establishment, which did not discount
paper, but which stood security for its pay
ment in case of non-payment by the original
acceptors. To this end there were established in the
different towns where the guarantee establish
ment had its branch banks, a committee of
inspection, consisting of men of the locality,
best adapted to recognize and estimate the
genuineness and solidity of the scrip which
was to be guaranteed.
This commission decided upon the accept
ance or rejection of the paper presented, and a
stamp or endorsement of guarantee was put
upon such as were received at a certain fixed
per centage.
The scrip having thus a legal value, circu
lated through the country without any diffi
culty, and the capitalists, far from refusing,
eagerly accepted it.
The results were of such a nature that in a
few months the crisis was completely at an end.
Not only was the capital with which the gua
rantee establishment had been called into
.operation not lost, but the subscribers and

232 MEMOIRS OF
persons who had an interest in it received large
dividends. That national bank, somewhat similar to the
project of establishing discounting banks in each
arrondissement of Paris, with a committee of
inspection selected from the shareholders them
selves, was to have been realized with a capital
of one hundred millions. This sum would
have sufficed to guarantee a hundred times that
amount of commercial value.
This would have restored circulation. The
hundred millions to endow the establishment
were to be procured as follows : —
1. A reduction of all salaries paid by the
state to functionaries of every description,
in the following proportion, and for the space
of one year : —
On salaries of 1000 francs and downwards,
no reduction ;
On salaries varying from 1000 to 4000
francs, one-tenth;
On salaries varying from 4000 to 8000
francs, one-fifth ;
On salaries above 8000 francs, one quarter.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 233
It was calculated that these reductions would
raise a fund of fifty millions.
2. The then present tax of forty-five cen
times per franc on patents, to be increased
to fifty centimes, which would procure a fund
of twenty-five millions.
3. Twenty-five millions might be raised on
the forty millions destined to establish banks
of discount in the departments, which would
be rendered unnecessary by the proposed
measure. 4. This capital would be increased by the
premiums raised on the guarantees given.
I have cited this project because I think it
applicable. When it was adopted by Holland
it succeeded completely.
If ill-will, and a resort to petty measures
had not contributed to the general stag
nation of affairs, confidence would have been
more speedily restored. The active minds of
speculators regard a state of stagnation as the
greatest of calamities.
The briskness of operation on the Bourse
becomes a second nature to them ; it is a
species of game that procures them all the

234 MEMOIRS OF
excitement of lansquenet, an excitement which,
after a certain time, they cannot exist without.
This financial crisis fell heavily on commerce,
which was already suffering, and in danger
from other causes.
Thus the evil which existed before February
continued unabated.
The spring season, which usually brings
large orders to the manufacturer, and conse
quently purchases and sales to the tradesman,
had not its customary result. We will give
the reason for this. With the manufacturers
it was want of orders from foreign purchasers.
Tissues, articles of dress of every description,
are always ordered in the winter, before All
Saints' day, so that they may be ready for
Easter, at which period all the new fashions
come out, and when all the most important
purchases are made; this is also applicable to
all the goods fabricated at Paris, such as works
in bronze and ivory, shawls and knick-knacks,
— in a word, to the thousand other articles
made for Paris and the departments.
The exportation of these articles takes place
at a longer or shorter time before the two periods

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 235
I have indicated as the time for making sales ;
thus the goods destined for America are dis
patched six weeks beforehand. The orders
given in November and December 1847 were,
generally speaking, below the usual average of
former seasons, for which reason there was a
glut of merchandize in those houses, which
fabricate in anticipation of orders, in other
words, which count upon the demands of the
season. This occasioned a dismissal of hands in the
different workshops, and the consequent ina
bility of those thrown out of employ to pur
chase new clothing, &c. The large commer
cial firms temporarily restricted their business
sooner than risk their capital. From great to
small, all acting upon this principle, commercial
affairs were brought to a stand-still.
The rich on system, the poor from neces
sity, deprived the tradesmen of their daily sup
port. The result to the manufacturers and
the shopkeers who sell by retail to the public,
was a prolonged slackness of trade, which
caused many bankruptcies.
However, every five or six years commerce

236 MEMOIRS OF
has to suffer from a dead season, and business
only becomes the more brisk afterwards.
The Government, doubtless, never supposed
the stagnation would last, otherwise it might
have caused the exportation of the goods on
hand, in the manufactories and shops, to be
made on account of the State. These goods
would have been offered at prices to tempt
foreign purchasers ; that is to say, at a reduc
tion of 5, 10, or 15 per cent., according as the
case might require it.
This national balance, besides restoring credit,
would have dealt a heavy blow to foreign com
petition, for the foreigner can only compete
with us by lower prices.
(Napoleon ordered English merchandize, to
the amount of thirty-five millions, which had
been seized by the French revenue officers, to
be burnt.)
This system would not have entailed any
great expense. The sums spent on the national
workshops would have almost sufficed to make
up the balance.
The payment would have been guaranteed by
bills at twelve and twenty-five months' sight,

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 237
and bearing interest at 3 per cent. Advances
would have been offered at a small discount, to
the manufacturers who were worst off.
By the application of such measures, com
merce would have taken an interest in the pro
sperity of the Republican Government.
Should it be objected, that the sale of these
goods, at a reduction of 15 per cent., would
have caused a fall in prices for the future? I
answer, every one is^ aware how at present our
manufactories are overrun with foreign agents,
who come to purchase wholesale at 30 to 40
per cent, discount; and this takes place in
merchandize of the first quality.
A manufacturer has heavy bills falling due ;
he has more merchandize than capital on hand;
payment must be made ; he must therefore
provide himself with good bills or coin to meet
the demand; there is no time to be lost; a
sacrifice must be made, or the inflexible notary
will knock at his door with protested bills, ruin
his credit, and make him a bankrupt.
The agent is up to affairs of this description ;
he sees his man, and pretends not to be in
want of anything, that he may screw him at

238 MEMOIRS OF
pleasure; thence arise those sales at dirt-prices,
which bring disorder into commerce, and ruin
the manufacturer, whilst the man that lives by
his wits makes a fortune !
These disastrous facts are unhappily not ex
aggerated: what I have just set down is but a
feeble sketch of what takes place every day.
There is no arguing about the giving of
capital, of the amount of credit necessary, nor
of the embarrassments which these operations
of bargain and sale would cause to the state.
Has the state less resources at its command
than a private individual, who, with a hundred
thousand francs, transacts during the year busi
ness to the amount of a million ?
Does this same individual know the cost-
price of the merchandize he buys and seU?
At need has he not especial agents to examine
the intrinsic value of the articles he wishes to
purchase ?
By thus facilitating commercial transactions,
labour would have been provided for the work
shops, and the straight-forward and honest
workman, whatever his calumniators may say
to the contrary, would not have been forced

CITIZEN CAUSSINIERE. 239
upon the barricades, with a piece of bread at
the end of a pole for a standard ; he would not
have chosen as his battle-cry, that fatal shriek
of despair, " Bread or lead !"
I remember that one day a workman called
upon me, to ask for employment at the Pre
fecture. He told me that he had fought in
February, and showed me a scar scarcely healed,
on his right arm, with a certificate of the fact.
He added, that he was the father of a family,
and that his wife has been just confined of her
third child.
I offered him twenty francs, telling him that
I should not forget him. He thrust back the
money, and with tears in his eyes, said :
" Do you take me for a mendicant, that you
offer me money ? It is work I seek, and not
alms." " I did not wish to offer you alms," I replied
" by humiliating you I should have demeaned
myself; take this loan, you can dispose of it
afterwards, in favour of some unfortunate, when
work shall have enabled you to render a service
to some one."
With great difficulty I prevailed upon him

240 MEMOIRS OF
to accept the twenty francs. A few days after
wards I procured him a situation.
I could narrate many incidents of deHcacy of
feeHng and disinterestedness on the part of the
working classes. Thank God, such feeHngs
are too habitual to them to need their being
held up to admiration.
To return to the principal subject of this
chapter. More decisive measures might have
been taken to restore activity to the finances,
and to restore work to the manufacturer; per
haps they feared to apply them, perhaps also
they escaped the foresight of the Provisional
Government, which having to do so much,
seized upon the means nearest at hand.
It is however easy to detect faults after they
have been committed, and to apply a remedy ;
it is another thing to foresee them. As the
old proverb says : " It is only those who do
nothing, that make no mistake."
Unhappily the reactionary journals would
Hsten to nothing, and if they exaggerated the
faults committed, they however did not point
out the remedy.
The journal La Presse, carried its strictures to

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 241
such a pitch, as to excite against it the indig
nation of a great portion of the people. It
employed the liberty of the press with such
hostility, that for some evenings tumultuous
crowds assembled near its offices.
I was already informed of these rumours,
when three persons came and acquainted me
with a singular speech enough, as narrated at a
wine-shop, by one of the printers of La Presse.
According to this man, M. de Girardin, aware
that an attack was premeditated, to destroy his
type, is said to have remarked: "Well, so
much the better; let them come and destroy
and pillage the type — it is what I desire. We
will burn them afterwards — that we will."
I took measures to deprive M. de Girardin
of the pleasure of seeing his type destroyed,
and of a pretext to revenge himself at his
ease upon the violence of the republicans.
In the evening more numerous and more
violent groups assembled, crying: "a bas la
Pressel A detachment of National Guards,
which endeavoured to disperse the crowd, was
driven back.
I had sent some forty citizens, on whom I
VOL. I. M

242 MEMOIRS OF
could rely, to the spot, with instructions to
disperse all assemblages by the voice of per
suasion, and should they not succeed, to form
in the court-yard of the establishment, and
to defend the entrance at the risk of their
lives. A certain number of Montagnards were, as
it were, casually hanging about the Place de la
Bourse, ready to advance to the aid of their
comrades, at the first signal.
It was urgent above all things to protect the
dwelling of the citizen, and not to allow any
precedent for violence.
It was the duty of the Republic to protect
the liberty of the press, of whatsoever shade of
opinion, that the magistrates might not be
accused of tolerating dangerous illusions.
Such were the reasons I expounded to the
citizens whom I entrusted with this mission,
leaving to their inteUigence the care of ex
plaining them to the crowd, should any excesses
be attempted.
An agent shortly afterwards came to inform
me, that the Montagnards had shown such
zeal, and displayed so much popular elo-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 243
quence, that they had succeeded in dispersing
the crowd without resorting to force.
When their leaders afterwards rendered me
an account of their mission, they appeared as
happy as if they had just gained a victory on
the barricades.
M. de Girardin moderated the tone of his
leading articles, and the crowds around his
office ceased.
Thus, at this period, from many causes, the
financial and commercial crisis was at its height.
The reactionary journals raised their heads, and
attacked a Government of six weeks' standing,
with more acrimony than the RepubHcans them
selves had attacked the Government of seven
teen years.
The elections had just been adjourned to the
23rd of April. The position of affairs seemed
to become more and more complicated. It was
high time to adopt firm and decisive measures.
The people alone offered its cordial support to
the government of the barricades, on condition
that it would foUow out the line laid down by
the 24th of February.
A portion of the lower clergy seemed in-
M 2

244 MEMOIRS OF
clined to rally round the Republic, but the
majority of the ecclesiastics were hostile to it,
thus returning ingratitude for the liberty which
had been conceded to it by the Government,
and for the wise protection it had extended to
the free exercise of worship.
The army might be gained by a change in
the grades ; the most lively sympathy for the
Republic existed in the ranks of the subalterns
and privates; all that they desired was to
march to the assistance of their brothers in
Poland and in Italy.
The Government, therefore, had immense
power. It ought, on the one hand, by re-
estabHshing credit to have renewed confidence,
and brought the larger capitals into play ; and,
on the other hand, to have restored activity
to commerce by lending a willing hand to it ;
to have provided for the wants of the people
by the organization of the right to labour, and
finally, as a last measure, to have organized
civil colonies for the most necessitous families.
The possession of the soil should have been
made the property of those who cleared it
and cultivated it, on the payment of an equit-

CITIZEN- CAUSSIDIERE. 245
able proportionate rent, which would reimburse
the State for its primary expenses in supply
ing agricultural tools and building materials.
Colonies of this description, conducted with
prudence, cannot fail to succeed. They would
tend to recall a portioh of the population to
agricultural labours, which have been so long
neglected and so badly managed : no citizen can
fall into abject poverty with five or six acres of
land to cultivate.
The soil, cultivated with industry, constitutes
the real wealth of a country.

CHAPTER XV.
The Commission of the Luxembourg — Louis Blanc and Albert
— Master and man — Threatened disturbances — The tailors
and outfitters — The hackney coachmen — Five thousand
bakers — Paris starved — The stone-cutters — Moderation of
the workmen — The advertising offices— The April term —
Landlord and tenant — The black flag — Notice of the Prefect
of Police — Le quartier des Quinze-vingt— Amicable settle
ment—Buried alive or hanged — Honesty of the poor — The
state of siege — General Cavaignac and the ushers — L'ordre,
lafamille, et la propriite'.
Whilst the commission of the Luxembourg
was endeavouring to regulate the hours of
labour and the salaries of the workmen, the
latter often manifested their impatience by
assemblages which at times bore a threatening
aspect. Louis Blanc and Albert enjoyed their
full confidence, and warded off or calmed many
dangerous agitations. It is partly to their
influence that must be attributed the magnani-

MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 247
mous and tranquil conduct of the working
classes during the first days of the Revo
lution. But the secret hostiHty of the other members
of the Government against the Luxembourg,
continually threw fresh obstacles in the path of
the two young reformers.
Having to contend in the Council, against
their colleagues out of it, against the alarmed
bourgeoisie, against the difficulties of a pre
carious position which beset them on all sides ;
finally, without the financial resources necessary
for such a crisis, Louis Blanc and Albert were
powerless to dispel, or to mitigate, in any great
degree, the misery of the working classes.
The different bodies of the State therefore
continually turned their thoughts to the Pre
fecture, and came to demand my interference.
In most instances I succeeded in effecting an
amicable settlement between master and man.
At times the irritation grew into a riot, which
my popular and Republican police always suc
ceeded in putting down.
There existed, long before the Revolution, a
rivalry between the tailors and the outfitters,

248 MEMOIRS OF
the latter ruining the trade of the former by
selling their goods at a very reduced price. At
the commencement of March I was informed
that many thousand tailors' apprentices pur
posed pillaging the warehouses of the outfitters.
In fact, they began to assemble in the Rues
Montesquieu and Croix des Petits Champs;
the shops were closed, and it was only by numer
ous patrols and pacific remonstrances that the
storm was averted. It was even necessary to
send as mediators some brave patriots of the
same trade, who obtained a hearing, and no
act of violence had to be regretted.
In the strike of the hackney coachmen, after
many disputes, both at the Luxembourg and at
the Prefecture, between the masters and the
delegates, they at last came to terms, and in a
notice, published on the 13th of April, there is
the following paragraph, addressed to the men
they represented : —
"We inform you that at an interview we
had with the Prefect of Police, that magistrate
requested us to recommend you to be civil,
honest, and courteous towards the public, and
to live in harmony with foreign coachmen,

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 249
especially with those who have applied to be
naturalized Frenchmen. We have promised it.
" Your delegates,
(Signed) "Rondineau. "Boisgontier. " DUTRON."
The bakers' apprentices, who worked sixteen
or seventeen hours out of the four-and-twenty,
had most justly demanded a reduction in the
hours of labour. On the 26th of March they
struck work, to the number of four or five
thousand. Having been sent from the Hotel
de Ville to the Luxembourg without being able
to obtain any decision, they rushed to the
Prefecture, followed by a number of deputies,
who had been chosen by the master bakers.
Some twenty bakers' apprentices and the
deputies were shown into my cabinet, and the
basis of a code of regulations was decided upon,
which was to be published the next day.
When the crowd of workmen who were waiting
in the yard below and in the adjacent streets
got a glimpse of the first articles, they were
m 3

250 MEMOIRS OF
about to vent their anger in blows upon their
delegates, crying, "Down with the traitors."
The Montagnards prevented for the moment
an exchange of blows. But the situation was
serious; they threatened to bake no more
bread, and incited each other to wreak their
vengeance upon the master bakers.
Hereupon I descended into the court-yard,
and ordered all those who were outside the
Prefecture to be brought in ; their faces were
flushed with anger.
"You speak," I told them, "of ceasing to
work and starving the capital ; you talk of ill-
treating the master bakers; you tear to pieces re
gulations you have been endeavouring to obtain,
and you accuse of treachery those who have
drawn up conditions to your advantage ! That
is not the behaviour of good citizens ! Now,
mind, if you become riotous, and withhold
your services, we will make bread without you.
To-morrow, however, the whole of the city will
learn that you have rendered yourselves un
worthy of the name of RepubHcans.
" The anger and the contempt of twelve hun-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 251
dred thousand souls will fall upon you, and this
general indignation wiU completely crush your
outbreak, which is entirely individual.
" You taut of ill-treating and taking ven
geance upon your employers ! Are you then
robbers and assassins ? You will strike me
also, for it is my duty to defend them. And
yet I am convinced there are no assassins here.
I would enter amongst you without fear. You
accuse your delegates of betraying you, and I
also am a traitor towards you; for I assisted
them in drawing up the regulations which
reduce your hours of labour, and secure to
you higher wages. The regulations are ready;
but for your sakes, and for the dignity of the
RepubHc of which you form a part, it shall
not appear till next month; you would not
wish your enemies to have it in their power to
say that force usurped the place of justice.
You have a good cause, — endeavour to place
yourselves in the list of prudent and laborious
citizens, and the RepubHc will neglect no
means to alleviate your grievances."
This speech, of which I only give the sub
stance, caUed forth a thunder of applause and

252 MEMOIRS OF
repeated cries of " Vive la Republique !" which
were followed by a solemn promise to resume
their work quietly.
In fact they returned quietly to their work,
and Paris was never short of bread.
I had much greater difficulty in settling the
differences of the men employed at the Halle,
or Corn Exchange. Although from the very
first they consented to my jurisdiction, it was
very difficult to content them. For a whole
month they put my patience to the proof.
The (so-called) forts, about one hundred in
number, enjoy certain privileges ; the porters,
who are not so well paid, amount to about
fifteen hundred. They demanded that one
hundred of their number should be enrolled
into the ranks of the privileged corporation.
Neither party would listen to reason. As they
were honest men all of them, I wished, as
much as possible, to satisfy them ; and, tired
of the dispute, I made them accept of regula
tions which at least served the interests of the
majority. The applications of discontented workmen
at the Prefecture were almost incessant. At

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 253
one time it was the men employed on the rail
ways, who were opposed to foreigners being
employed ; at another time it was the stone
cutters; then again it was Paris and the Ban
lieue, that demanded the organization of la
bour, the interference of the Republic in com
mercial matters, and the reHef of the poorer
classes. It was necessary to use not only entreaties,
but threats to prevent an outbreak. But
thanks to concessions on the part of the em
ployes, and moderation on the part of the men,
aU graduaHy settled down.
One of the chief causes of complaint was
the bureaux de placement, or offices for pro
curing situations, which levied a heavy per
centage on several classes of tradesmen, such
as cooks, restaurants, bakers, shoemakers, and
hairdressers. I put a stop by proclamation to
all these taxes upon the workman.
But the crisis which threatened most the
tranquiUity of certain quartiers, and the good
understanding between citizens, was that of
the rents at the commencement of April.
Rent-day was approaching. How was it pos-

254 MEMOIRS OF
sible to pay when nothing had been received,
when the work was stopped in nearly all the
timber-yards, when the population, which lived
from hand to mouth, had with difficulty pro
cured enough to keep soul and body together ?
The excitement was great in the faubourgs
and the streets inhabited by the working-
classes. Evil-disposed persons encouraged
them not to pay their landlords. Numerous
tumultuous meetings were held, and a black
flag was hoisted on some of the houses. I
confess I felt some anxiety.
I found it necessary to take prompt and
efficacious measures, and I commenced by pub
lishing the fonowing proclamation, which was
universaUy approved : —
"Paris, 27th March, 1848.
" The Prefect of PoHce, informed that many
individuals have uttered threats against the
landlords who refuse to relinquish their claims
of rent due in April, feels it his duty to call
upon his fellow citizens to respect every just
claim. " Landlords, Hke other citizens, have to sup-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 255
port the taxes imposed upon them. How can
they do so if the rents, on which they relied,
are not paid to them ?
"The contract between landlord and tenant
must be respected ; and it is necessary that the
whole population should be made aware, that
the authorities wiU watch over the safety of
aH, and, if necessary, suppress any disturbances
which evil-minded persons may excite.
" Doubtless, the common sense of the pubHc
will render it needless to have recourse to such
extreme measures. "The Prefect of Police,
"CAUSSIDIERE."
At the same time, I sent delegates into the
faubourgs Saint Antoine, du Temple, Saint
Martin, Saint Marceau, the Marais, and else
where, to endeavour by pacific means to recon
cile the landlords and tenants.
On both sides these steps were weU received,
and my republicans succeeded in bringing to a
proper understanding the rich and the poor.
In the quartier des Quinze-vingt, Com
mandant Caillaud had greater difficulty. The

256 MEMOIRS OF
March6 Noir was thronged by a vast multitude,
and black flags were hoisted over the doors of
most of the houses. The workmen were in
such a state of excitement, that the Commandant
kept his men at a distance and entered alone
into the crowd.
He first demanded that the flags should be
taken down and destroyed, and after three
hours' persuasion he succeeded in effecting an
amicable arrangement, all persons shaking hands,
and shouting " Vive la Republique /"
But the bourgeoisie had received a severe
shock, and for some days terror reigned in the
houses of the landlords. Commandant Caillaud
mentions in his report one old lady who
attempted to burn herself alive, to escape being
hanged. Her husband and some of her friends
were obliged to keep watch over her during the
day. The in-born honesty of the poor contributed
to bring this affair to a termination, which was
a question I always considered one of the most
delicate, and most important to public order to
be settled amicably.
To-day, under our happy state of siege, the

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 257
miserable furniture of the poor workman is
seized and sold, and his naked and wretched
family is turned into the street. This is what
General Cavaignac styles the protection of
I'ordre, la famille, et la propriite.
I leave it to others to judge of the sympathy
which such a fraternal system excites in the
hearts of the unfortunate.

CHAPTER XVI.
Meeting of the Commissaries of Police — Speech on the onion
of citizens — The incorrigible discontents — The people and
the bourgeoisie — Appeal to fraternity — The Commission of
Inquiry — Return towards the past — M. Odilon Barrot and
the banquets — M. Bauchard and the Commission of Inquiry
— Address of the Commissaries to the Prefect — The Royalists
and the Republicans — Charges — The personnel of the Cabi
net — M. Allard — The agens de Surety — Disguises — Poli
tical spies — Charles Marchal and M. Cremieux — Number
580 — A million to assassinate the Duke of Bordeaux —
Indignation of M. Delessert — Brochure against Louis
Philippe — Les gardiens de Paris — The London police —
The magic wand — The French character — The real Ca
vaignac — Emancipation of man — The false Cavaignac and
socialism — The ex-sergens de mile — M. Marrast— Attempt
at jugglery — Good faith of the Mayor of Paris — M. Ledru
Rollin — The Constitutional.
Until the month of August the Prefecture,
notwithstanding the embarrassments attending
its new position, arising from the revolution of
February, continued its functions regularly as
a part of the administrative machinery, and as

MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 259
a moral power. Business was transacted with
promptitude and exactness. Within three
weeks eight thousand permissions of natural
isation were issued, which were rendered neces
sary by the decree relative to the general
elections. ConciHatory measures, which are
the more efficacious when backed by the con
sciousness of power to act upon them, were
always employed by my agents. Each division
gave proofs of equal intelligence.
The Commissaries of PoHce alone, whose
important functions were called greatly into
play by the new impulse given to the people,
showed some hesitation. I found it necessary
to quiet their apprehensions, and to appeal to
their good sense and patriotism, in which most
of them were not wanting.
I convoked a meeting of them towards the end
of April. Of forty-eight, forty-five came. My
address to them, on this occasion, was perhaps the
best and the most conclusive that the Republic
could have inspired. I pointed out to them
the necessity of the most untiring watchfulness
and zeal to put the people on their guard against
the provocations of their enemies. I told them,

260 MEMOIRS OF
that all the projects of destruction and incen
diarism which kept anxiety aHve, had not their
seat in the hearts of the working classes, but only
in the minds of some incorrigible malcontents ;
that the former might be brought to a sense of
reason by pacific remonstrances ; that we were
the guides and not the oppressors of the people.
I enjoined them to invite the bourgeoisie to
prudence and moderation in their acts and
relations with the working classes. I recom
mended firmness and decision in the fulfilment
of their duties, and the employment of con-
ciHatory measures to encourage those whom
misfortunes had soured, and to recommend the
privileged classes to fraternize with those that
were suffering.
On the deposition of Sieur Troessard, who
after being dismissed, proposed to give me secret
information, which I declined, as also his ser
vices as Commissary of PoHce, the Commission
of Inquiry endeavoured to cast a censure upon
me, upon the above speech, which they mis
represented and garbled. Since they must needs
return to the past, it would have been more
reasonable to have censured the speeches of

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 261
M. Odilon Barrot at the banquets. It is true
that the patron of M. Bauchard was a member
of the Commission of Inquiry. If political
passions had not entirely blinded them to all
sense of justice, the perusal of the following
document would have convinced every one of
the purity of my intentions : —
"Citizen Prefect,
" Your reception of the manifestation we had
the happiness to make you, has fined us with
gratitude. " We shaU always tell you truth, because we
are aware that we address ourselves to a man
with a good heart. We co-operate with you in
making the Republic beloved.
"Your subordinates have given proofs of
courage and feeling; they will endeavour to
promote everything that appertains to real fra
ternity ; such also are our intentions, and we
shall fulfil them.
" You will find us devoted to our country,
whenever the Government of the RepubHc
shall be in danger ; be assured that we speak
from our sincere conviction.

262 MEMOIRS OF
" We are proud to serve under the orders of
a man always ready to hear truth, whatever it
may be, and who holds in little estimation the
qualities of the flatterer. " We wiU love you !
"Paris, the 29th of April, 1848.
"The Commissaries of PoHce, delegated
by their colleagues,
"A. Gabet.
" Gille.
" YVER.
"A. Doussaux.
" Brtjncamf.
"BOUILLE."Desvignes. " Pannier.
" Chayetjx.
"A. Lalmand.
" Bravieux.
" Ruonnie."
Another letter, dated 23rd August last, signed
by MM. Nusse and Jennesson, contained the
following : —
"The impression made upon us by your

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 263
words is, that through the medium of the Com
missaries of Police we should exhort the popu
lation to mutual concessions, and to abstain
especially from anything likely to give rise to
ill-blood." Different commissaries of police offered to
come forward to testify in favour of my upright
intentions. Wherefore? The royalists, Odilon Barrot,
Bauchard, and others, sought by every means
in their power to strike at the republican.
Will they have any just right hereafter to appeal
to the clemency of the people?
The different branches of the public service,
reorganized since the 25th of February, had
undergone but little change. A smaU number
of employes took a share in politics; the
personnel of the cabinet alone underwent a
complete change.
If I had remained at the Prefecture, I should
have dismissed men only for incapacity or
treachery. I had intended proving my gra
titude to M. Allard, by appointing him to the
head of a commissariat ; in those days of diffi
culty, all his youthful energy had returned. The

264 MEMOIRS OF
services rendered by his safety-brigades are
unquestionable. Before February his men,
generally entrusted with the most perilous en
terprises, did not exceed forty, or five-and-
forty ; at my departure the number was doubled.
With one hundred active agents, and other
means at the disposal of the police, which
have been proved by the test of experience,
the complete safety of the capital may be
provided for.
The agents must be men of a robust frame,
clear-sighted, sagacious, and expert at adopting
aU sorts of disguises : I have seen some dis
guised with such skin, that it was impossible
for their most intimate acquaintances to recog
nise them. By practice they acquire the per
severance and, it would seem, the scent of the
bloodhound. They take as much pleasure in
an arrest as other men would in a party of
pleasure; they regard every dangerous enter
prise that may faU to their duty, as a piece of
good luck.
To the eyes of men of common sense, the
services they render entirely exonerate them
from odium, whilst the political spy is despised

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 265
and execrated by all. How many are there,
bearing the form and aspect of men, who shake
you by the hand, and who deserve to have theirs
crushed in a vice. The Salle des Pas Perdus,
or ante-room of the National Assembly, swarms
with political agents, and many of them are
decorated. They endeavour to scrape acquaint
ance with the republican representatives, and
having done so, they carefully note down every
thing that is said for or against men in power.
They importuned me incessantly, and at times
I found it necessary to tell them I saw through
them, — to some I even told their official
number. One of the most impudent of them, Charles
Marchal, arrested after the events of the 15th
of May, was brought before M. Cremieux, and
set at liberty on his denial that he acted as a
spy. He was always to be found in the Salle
des Pas Perdus, and entered familiarly into
every conversation.
One day he came up to me, desirous to enter
into conversation.
"You are Charles Marchal?" I said.
" I am," he replied.
VOL. i. n

266 MEMOIRS OF ]
I
" You are number 580. Be off then as soon
as possible."
I warned M. La Rochejaquelin two or three
days afterwards, to be on his guard against the
officiousness of this amiable citizen, who en
deavoured to pump and then to betray him.
Under Louis Philippe, Charles Marchal ten
dered his services to M. Delessert, then Prefect
of Police. He offered to assassinate the Duke
of Bordeaux for a million of francs.
" I am a man," he writes, " of good educa
tion and engaging manners; I shaU live in
grand style — on an aristocratic scale — and shall
get introduced to him. I shall by degrees be
come intimate with him. Opportunity and my
own courage will do the rest."
On the margin of this letter, I read the fol
lowing note in the hand-writing of M. De
lessert : —
" If this viuam repeats his demand, have
him arrested immediately."
My reason for making this revelation is, that
Charles Marchal had the impudence to solicit
the post of secretary at the "Prefecture, and to
demand a pension from the HauonaX Assembly

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 267
on the plea of having been imprisoned for
political offences, and for having rendered, ser
vice to the cause of the republic.
It is true that he was sentenced to imprison
ment for publishing a pamphlet against Louis
Philippe, but his trial proved that he was in
the pay of the Court.
This attack against his royal protector origin
ated in a refusal to give him a sum of money
he had demanded.
In order to complete the police of safety,
it was proposed about this time to organize a
body of men on the same principle as the
London police force. The project was sub
mitted by the Minister of the Interior to the
Government, who accepted it. A small cut
lass was, however, to be substituted for the
" magic wand " of the policeman ; the sarcas
tic turn of mind of the people might have
turned that symbol into ridicule; and, more
over, our natures are less pacific than those of
our neighbours across the channel.
In this respect our civilization is much be
hindhand. The French character does not
submit itself so easily to the authority of the
n 2

2G8 MEMOIRS OF
law, which has been hitherto represented by
monarchy. But the day doubtless will dawn
when the real representatives of social order
will no longer stand in need of an armed force
to have their mandates executed. Then, as
said the real Cavaignac — our friend Godefroy —
— instead of losing his time by watching a wall
with a musket on his shoulder, every man in
his turn will be called to superintend ma
chinery that liberates the arms of man. The
political aspirations of the existing Cavaignac
are not exactly of a nature to predispose us in
favour of the socialist theories of his brother.
A few days only had elapsed, when four
thousand men applied to serve as Paris police
men. A commission was appointed to exa
mine their claims, the preference to be given
to such patriots as had suffered from political
causes, and all were to be free from any crimi
nal impeachment. No ex-sergent de ville was
allowed to enter this honourable body.
The commissaries had already selected some
hundreds; their uniforms were ordered, and
some already performed duty under the Com
missaries of Police, when I was informed that

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 269
M. Marrast had opened offices at the Hotel
de Ville for the same purpose.
And yet M. Marrast was aware that this was
a duty which devolved upon the Municipal
Police, and that the organization of this force
was attended to with zeal.
I put a stop to this attempt at jugglery by
publishing a decree, to the effect that I should
cause to be arrested and punished according to
the civil code, all persons appearing in the
public thoroughfares under false names and
performing duties not prescribed to them.
Fully determined to act energetically, I
transmitted this order to the Commissioners of
Police. At the same time I notified my reso
lution to the Minister of the Interior, who
explained the affair to the Mayor of Paris.
M. Marrast pleaded ignorance. He said that
he had imagined that the Paris guardians came
under his administration, and did not seem
inclined to give up his assumed right. The
discussion was an animated one. The erroneous
pretensions of M. Marrast were looked upon as
dishonest, and the minister came and informed
me that this body of men should remain — as

270 MEMOIRS OF
they ought to remain — under the orders of the
Prefecture of Police.
The idea of organizing this police force
originated with M. Ledru RoUin, who was
aware also that it was high time to put a stop
to the proceedings of the Sergens de Ville.
At the same time that they were a check upon
thieves, these policemen were an efficient body
to queU a riot; for popular excitement, when it
has not arrived at insurrection, is easily aUayed
by pacific means. I never had resort to any
others during nearly three months, and they
always succeeded.
The Prefecture of PoHce had, in fact, acquired
such means of assuring pubHc security, that all
parties complimented me upon it ; and even the
Constitutionnel, whose editors are certainly
no friends of mine, pubHshed the following
note : —
"Each successive day the streets of Paris
become more tranquil. We see no more pro
cessions headed by flags and drums : no more
crackers; no more songs at public meetings.
The thoroughfares are no longer obstructed.
We sincerely congratulate Citizen Caussidiere

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 271
on this marked progress in public order. Let
him persevere, and he will contribute more than
is supposed towards the re-establishment of
confidence and of credit."

CHAPTER XVII.
Review of the Revolution since February — Let us not allow
ourselves to be robbed as in 1830 — Disunion of the Provi
sional Government — The King and the Regency — Is the
Republic necessary ? — Abolition of stamps and of the laws
of September — The press, the clubs, and the workmen —
The right to labour — Decree of the 25th February — A
stormy scene — The Ministry of Progress — MM. Garnier
Pages and Lamartine — M. Arago and his white hairs —
Invention of M. Marrast — The Commission of the Luxem
bourg — Frankness of M. Lamartine — The decree of the
workmen — It is very strong ! — Louis Blanc and Albert —
The place of the Peers of France — Reduction in the hours
of labour — The national workshops — M. Marie imitates
Penelope — Financial measures — The bank, the woods and
forests of the State, the import duties — The tax of 45
centimes — Protest of Dupont de l'Enre — Reply of M.
Garnier Pages — The Government and the army — M. Ca
vaignac and his campaign of June — Foreign policy — M.
Lamartine's manifesto — The massacres of Milan and Vienna
— Electoral law of M. Cormenin — Universal suffrage — The
old Constitution — From bad to worse — Four months after
February. The Revolution of February, effected by
the people for the people, did not long

MEMOIRS OF CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 273
maintain its original character. Although the
victorious people continually exclaimed, both
upon the barricades and into the ears of their
improvised dictators, " Let us not allow our
selves to be robbed, as was the case in 1830!"
it was easy to foresee, even in the very first
days of the Republic, that the perfidious intri
gues of false republicans and of the bourgeoisie
would gradually operate a change.
In fact, the composition of the Provisional
Government was so heterogeneous, that the
struggle commenced on the 24th of February
between two quite distinct parties who met at
the Hotel de Ville, elected by the people and
by the Chamber of Deputies. Those who
came from the Chamber, with the exception of
Ledru Rollin, never dreamt of a Republic, and
were greatly surprised, on arriving at the Place
de Greve, to hear that unanimous shout of the
combatants. Most of them hoped to termi
nate the Revolution by a regency, and they
were actually on the point, as is known, of
proclaiming the Count de Paris at the Palais
Bourbon. A most violent discussion consequently
N 3

274 MEMOIRS OF
arose upon this point, which had already been
decided out of doors by the real power. MM.
Arago and Dupont de I'Eure especially, pro
tested loudly against proclaiming a RepubHc.
Others hesitated, and screened themselves
behind MM. Dupont de I'Eure and Arago, in
opposition to MM. Louis Blanc, Ledru Rollin,
Flocon, and Albert, so much so, that the very
first words of the Provisional Government were
deceitful, not to say treacherous. The mani
festo placarded on the walls, and published in
the first number of the Republican Moniteur,
simply declared that the Provisional Govern
ment desired a Republican form of government,
the final decision, however, to depend upon the
deliberations of an assembly.
But the majority of the council were obliged
to give in the very next day to the unanimous
voice of the people, and a new decree officially
proclaimed the Republic.
It was all of a piece — every successive act of
the Provisional Government, which always
commenced by opposing the popular senti
ment, and sometimes ended by allowing itself
to be carried away by it.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 275
Thus, for many days, the Minister of Finance,
M. Garnier Pages, under pretext of want of
funds, refused to sanction the abolition of
stamps and caution money on newspapers,
although vindicating the liberty of the press.
It was not till the 5 th March that public opi
nion compelled the Government to abolish the
stamp duties, and till the 9th of March that it
obtained the abolition of the laws of September.
What the counter-revolution feared most
was the public press, the clubs, and the de
mands of the people for the organization of
labour. Whatever may have been said after
wards to the contrary, the salient feature of the
Revolution of February was social reform, and
within twenty-four hours after the victory, the
Government was obliged solemnly to proclaim
the rights of labour.
"French Republic.
"Paris, 25th February, 1848.
"The Provisional Government of the French
Republic engages to guarantee the existence of
the workmen by labour.
" It engages to procure work for all citizens.

276 MEMOIRS OF
"It recognizes the right of workmen to
associate between themselves, that they may
the better enjoy the fruits of their labour.
" The Provisional Government will return to
the workmen, to whom it belongs, the milHon
which falls due to the civil Hst."
It was on this occasion when the problem of
labour, suddenly proposed on the barricades,
came to be mooted, that a most stormy scene
took place in the council chamber, which
clearly defined to every man who had his eyes
about him what each member of the Govern
ment was.
The people were not satisfied with a simple
declaration of the rights of labour, but desired
to see it put into practice immediately.
The different trades, with banners bearing
for a device, " Egalite, abolition de V exploita
tion de I'homme par I'homme" (No Hving upon
other men's labour), presented themselves at
the Hotel de Ville. Their delegates, on being
admitted, demanded the estabHshment of a
ministry of labour, that is to say, a ministry of
progress. The people were waiting below, with muskets

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 277
in their hands, in a calm but determined atti
tude. The council entered upon the discussion
at once. MM. Garnier Pages and Lamartine
spoke with extreme violence against the claims
of the workmen, and intrenched themselves
behind a general reserve, seeking to blink the
great question at issue. They maintained that
the Provisional Government should carefully
avoid solving any question whatsoever ; that it
had neither the right, the duty, nor the power
to do anything; that everything was to be
referred to the decisions of the National Assem
bly, and that their functions ought to be
restricted to the simple duties of a commmis-
sary of police.
Louis Blanc, on the other hand, contended
that it was their duty to reform the old system
with the least possible delay, and to establish
at once the political and social Revolution ;
that the future Assembly would act when it had
met, but that the authority with which they
bad been invested by the people, conferred
upon them the constituted power; that the
Revolution was made by and for the working

278 MEMOIRS OF
classes, and that their first step should be to
proclaim the abolition of the proletariat, and
to establish the most important ministry of
the Republic — the Ministry of Labour.
He moreover tendered his resignation if the
wishes of the people were not compHed with.
M. Arago, turning towards his young col
league, addressed him as foUows : —
"Who has fulfiUed the duties of a father
towards you ? I entreat you, in the name of
my white hairs, to renounce this idea of the
organization of labour. Do not separate your
self from the Provisional Government. Do
you wish us all to have our throats cut ?"
The people all this time were awaiting below
stairs the reply of their dictators.
MM. Garnier Pages and Marrast had with
drawn to a corner of the room, where they
concocted together a sort of evasive concession,
which doubtless appeared to them of little
consequence. " Instead of a ministry," said one of them,
"let us establish a commission of inquiry,
which will examine into the question, and

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 279
appease the people. A ministry implies action
— a special commission simply prepares mate
rials for the future."
The presidency of this commission — without
power, without a budget, or any available
means — was offered to Louis Blanc. He
-stoutly refused it, insisting that attention
should be paid to the demands of the people.
M. Arago repeated his prayer over again,
and offered himself as vice-president.
M. Marrast offered a palace : Louis Blanc
still refused ; and the people below grew impa
tient, and made the butt-ends of their muskets
resound on the pavement.
The other members interposed; and it was
finally decided to establish a commission of
workmen, to sit in the Palace of the Luxem
bourg, with Louis Blanc for president, and
Albert the workman for vice-president.
The delegates of the people were once more
admitted; and after hearing what they had to
say, M. Lamartine, declaring, that as far as he
was concerned, he never understood what So
cialism meant, announced to them nevertheless

280 MEMOIRS OF
the resolution of the Provisional Government,
and the famous commission of workmen, in
Heu of a ministry of progress.
On the foUowing day the decree of this
social institution was drawn up by Louis Blanc.
It is the brightest page of the Revolution of
February :
French Republic !
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity !
" Considering that the Revolution made by
the people, ought to he for the people ;
"That it is time to put an end to the long
and iniquitous sufferings of the working classes;
" That the question of labour is of supreme
importance ;
" That there is none greater, or more worthy
of the soHcitude of a Republican Government;
" That it is the special mission of France to
study deeply, that she may solve a problem
put to-day to all the commercial nations of
Europe ;

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 281
"That it is necessary to concert measures
without delay, to guarantee to the people the
legitimate fruits of their labour.
" The Provisional Government of the Repub
Hc decrees —
"A permanent commission, to be called a
Commission of the Government for the Work
ing Classes, is to be appointed, with the express
and special mission of providing for their
wants. "To show the importance the Provisional
Government of the Republic attaches to the
solution of this great problem, it has appointed
as President of the Commission of the Govern
ment for the Working Classes, one of its own
members, M. Louis Blanc, and for Vice-Presi
dent, another of its members, M. Albert,
workman. " Workmen will be chosen to form part of
the commission.

282 MEMOIRS OF
"The commission will hold its sittings at
the Palace of the Luxembourg.
(Signed) " Armand Marrast.
"Garnier Pages.
" Arago.
"Albert.
" Marie.
" Cremieux.
"Dupont de l'Eure.
" Louis Blanc.
"Ledru Rollin.
"Flocon." Lamartine."
When M. Marrast took the pen~to~sign this
revolutionary decree, he exclaimed, " It is very
strong ! It is very strong !"
It was M. Marrast who drew up the other
special decree, granting the Palace of the
Luxembourg to the commission of workmen.
The workmen called upon to take a share in
the commission, did not evince the slightest
astonishment, but very coolly took the seats
formerly occupied by the Peers of France.

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 283
M. Arago was present at this solemn instal
lation. The first demand of the workmen was a
reduction in the hours of labour, and the aboli
tion of the system of doing work by the day.
They founded their demands on the fraternal
consideration that the longer the day is, the
fewer workmen are employed, and that the
workmen engaged deprive their " mates " of a
portion of their work, which might be divided
between a greater number of them. They
denounced excessive labour, as an obstacle to
education, and to the inteUectual developement
of the people.
The history of the Luxembourg is known,
where the workmen gave proofs of so much
zeal and sobriety of mind, and Louis Blanc
and Albert of so much devotion. Besides the
services it rendered in that revolutionary
period, the commission of the Luxembourg
had the honour of inaugurating the social
question, and of giving a precise definition to I
the character of the new Republic.
About the same time, the Provisional
Government decreed the establishment of the

284 MEMOIRS OF
national workshops, probably as a counter
poise to the Luxembourg.
It was M. Marie, who, in his quality of
Minister of Public Works, organized the
national workshops. It was he also, in his
quality of member of the Executive Committee,
who ordered their dissolution, for most of these
men hastened to undo the little work they had
done while under the influence of the people.
The financial measures, so incomplete and
so timid, and at times so contrary to the
democratic sentiments, or to the destinies of
the revolution, gave especial rise to violent
discussion. It was the Bank which M. Garnier Pages
took under his protection, and he issued vari
ous decrees in its favour. It was next the
woods and forests of the State, which the
Minister of Finance wished to seU or cut down,
without a thought about devastating the surface
of our fair France. It was taxes on the food
of the poor; the barrier duties on wine or
meat, of which the majority of the Govern
ment demanded the maintenance. But, in a
word, it was the fatal tax of forty-five centimes

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 285
which deprived the RepubHc of the sympathy
of the country.
Louis Blanc, Albert, and Dupont de I'Eure,
alone protested against this exorbitant tax,
which fell equally upon the poor and upon the
rich, upon the small and upon the great. They
demanded, at least, a line of demarcation to be
drawn, below which the tax was not to be
applied. M. Garnier Pages answered, that
when put into operation, the poor would not
be called upon to pay, but that it was desirable
not to alarm the rich.
One of the subjects that most anxiously
occupied the attention of the Government,
was the military. It regretted that the army
was no longer at its call; but it paid compli
ments to its officers. And, on the 28th of
February, as though by a presentiment, it
elevated M. Cavaignac to the rank of General,
and soon after he was called to the Ministry of
War. After the 25th February, he created the
Garde Mobile, to enlist and discipline the
gamins of the barricades.
The army, however, was still kept at a dis-

286 MEMOIRS OF
tance from Paris. It was well said in a pro
clamation to the soldiers :
"Liberty wiU not demand other services
from you than those you will rejoice to per
form for her sake, and by which you will
glorify yourselves before her enemies."
But the counter-revolutionary majority of
the Hotel de Ville would not have been sorry
to have had the protection of a few regiments,
and by degrees it kept bringing the troops
nearer to the capital, notwithstanding the
opposition of the public press and of the
clubs. We have seen in June, and since the glorious
services which the Executive Commission and
the state of siege have demanded from the
army, how French soldiers, employed by M.
Cavaignac, have had occasion to rejoice in the
presence of Liberty!
The foreign policy was as perfidiously con
ducted as the rest by the Provisional Govern
ment. After the eloquent manifesto of M. Lamar
tine, men of discernment saw at a glance,

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 287
that the inactivity of the French Republic
would lose the Revolution in Europe. Alas !
the successors of M. Lamartine, improving
upon this cowardly policy, have abandoned to
their fate the people who rose against their
oppressors. Who, alas! will be responsible to
posterity for the evils that have befallen Italy
and Germany, Prussia and Austria; — for the
massacres of Milan and of Vienna ? Surely
not revolutionary France, but the unworthy
Government, which, like the monarchy, has
betrayed the cause of humanity — of human
freedom. The greatest fault committed by the Provi
sional Government in its internal affairs, was
the adoption of the vicious electoral system,
which it received from the hands of M. le
Vicomte de Cormenin.
If the only fruit of our victory, which they
have not dared to deprive us of, is universal
suffrage, the organization of that suffrage was
so falsely combined, that its results jarred upon
the public opinion of the nation. The princi
ple of the sovereignty of the people is adopted;
but the manner in which it is applied, is 'far

288 MEMOIRS OF
from responding to a sincere expression of that
sovereignty. By degrees, also, the Constituent Assembly
has aboHshed, one by one, all the popular
measures which emanated from the Hotel de
ViUe, whilst it was under the influence of the
first effervescence of February.
If the democratic and social party already
demanded the revision of a constitution only
eight days old, it will have to revise more
especially, or rather to create, an electoral law,
which wiU guarantee the true and fuU expres
sion of the collective sovereignty.
Thus, beginning with faults and pursuing
them, the Provisional Government compro
mised daily the Revolution which had entrusted
its destinies to their safe-guard.
Indifference or cowardice without, hesitation
or treachery within, incapacity everywhere, the
Provisional Government abandoned more and
more a glorious cause, for which France had
already fought so often and suffered so
much !
Only six weeks after the fall of Royalty,
royalists, conservatives of the old regime, aris-

CITIZEN CAUSSIDIERE. 289
tocrats of every description, already threatened
the security of the Republic.
We arrive at the 16th of April, where, for
the first time since February, reaction assumed
the upper hand, and brought to the direct
question the character of our democratic and
social revolution. How long will it be ere it
reassume its legitimate preponderance ?
Four months after February, day by day
Paris was in a state of siege, and liberty was
abolished !
France was kept down by brute force, and
the late councilors of Louis Philippe came
forward to seize upon the ministries of the
Republic !

end of vol. i.

LONDON :
Printed by Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street.

_a 390 02. 003598175b