YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Bought with the income
ofthe
'ALFRED E. PERKINS FUND

A REVIEW
OF THE
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.

REVIEW

FRENCH REVOLUTION

1848:
EROM THE 24th OE FEBRUARY TO THE ELECTION
OE THE EIRST PRESIDENT.

BY CAPTAIN CHAMIER, R.N.

VOL. I.

LONDON:
REEVE, BENHAM, AND REEVE,
KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND.
1849.

PRINTED BY REEVE, BENHAM, AND REEVE,
¦ HEATHCOCK COURT, STRAND.

PREFACE.

During the year 1848 we never quitted Paris for one
day. We were familiar with every scene, and assisted
at every Fete. We passed days and days in the
National Assembly, and watched, without being pre
judiced, the great phases of the Revolution. We are
averse to all changes which are crude and undigested,
being well convinced that nations arrive at true liberty
and greatness when reason and reflection are con
sulted. The French Revolution was never contem
plated : it arose from the mere circumstance of an
ovation for M. Odillon Barrot, and a cry for reform —
against Guizot. The first circumstance occasioned
the gathering of the people, and the second and third
were clamoured for when the banquet was given up,
and Odillon Barrot not to be found.
It will be seen that we look with apprehension to
the conclusion of this madness ; and M. Guizot, in

VI PREFACE.
his work, " De la Democratic en France," seems en
tirely of our opinion. " Although," says Dumas, in
reviewing the above work, " the word is not men
tioned, yet we feel that there hovered on Guizot's pen,
' Desespoir.' "
We believe that there is no word in our work which
we cannot prove, or satisfy the most incredulous that
we have drawn from authentic sources. History is
but a compilation of facts, and we have generally con
sulted the official papers of the Government.
We look with fear to the future. Until the different
parties can amalgamate, we see no prospect of a firm,
steady, well-supported government in France ; but we
sincerely hope our gloomy forebodings may not be
realized, — and that France will remain at peace with
all the world, her finances be recruited, and prosperity
restored. It will be remarked that the title of this work is
' A Review of the French Revolution,' &c. This we
have chosen, to avoid the gravity of the historian. -Our
intention was to have concluded the work with the
election of the first President of the Republic; but
as the Constitution was not complete until the Vice-
President was also elected, we carried the work on to
the 31st of January, 1849.

THE

FRENCH REVOLUTION

1848

CHAPTER I.

State of Paris on New Year's Bay, 1848 — Unpopularity of the
King and M. Guizot — False Security of Ministers — Bisaffec-
tion of the National Guard — Paris and the Parisians — Im
provements in Paris — M. de Rambuteau — Monetary Crisis —
A Prophecy — The Banquet postponed — The 22 nd of 'February
— Precautionary Measures — First Collision — Barricades
erected — Violence ofthe Mob — Houses plundered — Befective
Military Arrangements — Guizot resigns.
When Madame Adelaide died, we heard a French
gentleman remark — "Thank God, death is in the
palace !" — On our venturing humbly to ask why he
was so pleased at an event which seemed to cast a
gloom over France, he answered : " We have had quite
enough of Louis Philippe and his family, and — il
faut que nous soyons debar asses de cette canaille :"
We thought, we replied, that all Europe bore testi-
VOL. I. B

2 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
mony to his great talent, his disposition to maintain
the peace of the world, to uphold the grandeur of
France, to forward the arts and sciences —
" Ah, bah !" he ejaculated, and walked on.
We soon found that this was not a singular view
of the question. The king had become unpopular;
every fault committed by others seemed concentrated
on him. It was declared he connived at the pecuniary
indiscretions of Monsieur Teste, and that he had shel
tered the Due de Praslin : in short, whenever the
Funds rose, it was a trick of the king in conjunction
with Rothschild, and whenever they fell, the king was
realizing. The poor old king who had been shot at about
once a year, and who was reported on all occasions
to have manifested the greatest courage and greatest
coolness, and who was regarded, even by his enemies,
as the most talented sovereign in Europe, was, on
the first of January, 1848, complimented as usual, and
when the Chambers had assembled, Vive le Roi, was
the general shout. But Guizot — Guizot was awfully
unpopular, and had he properly appreciated the pres
sure from without, he would have resigned ; the
monarchy would have been saved, and the unpopular
minister of February would have returned to power
six months afterwards.
On the 20th of February, a gentleman, holding one
of the highest situations under the French Govern
ment, was sitting by the fire-side of an English officer,
when the following conversation took place.

FALSE SECURITY. 3
" The clouds appear gathering, Monsieur de R — ,
this banquet will be productive of great mischief? "
" The necessary precautions are all taken ; I will be
answerable for the perfect security and tranquillity of
Paris." " Security and tranquillity controlled by the bayonet
are but a sad remedy for a popular disorder. What an
opportunity the king has now of making a great coup
d' etai, and becoming a thousand times more popular
than ever he has been !"
" How?" asked Monsieur de R — .
"By merely dismissing Guizot, and introducing a
new ministry, who should take office under the advice
of the king, to extend the electoral franchise."
" It has been extended two or three times, and,
to use a term in your language, the more you give
the more you may give."
" It is better to give with a willing hand, than to
be robbed of all you possess."
" There is little fear of that. The banquet will
pass off quietly; indeed, I doubt if Odillon Barrot
has the moral courage to carry out his own plan ; but
I confess to you one thing, I hope this weather will
continue." (The weather previous to the banquet
had been very rainy, cold, and disagreeable.)
It must be admitted that this last remark savoured
somewhat of apprehension, and we believe the remarks
of the French gentleman may be taken as the general
feeling of the Guizot administration. That ministry
imagined themselves firm in their majority : they
b 2

4 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
believed the electoral reform a mere cheval de bataille,
the banquet as an insignificant popular demonstration,
and that the crown and the country could rely upon
the National Guards; but, like Monsieur de R — ,
they wished the weather to continue bad.
The common observer saw through this error. The
National Guards were more disaffected than the
inhabitants of the hot-bed of French revolutions, the
Faubourg St. Antoine, and as they paraded the streets,
(soldiers only as regards their uniform,) they, instead
of awing the turbulent by the silence and resolution of
their manner, they — they, the supposed protectors of
Paris, they, the brave National Guard ! were loudest
in their shouts of " a bas Guizot, — vive la Reforme /"
We are informed by Monsieur Caussidiere, in his
work on the French Revolution, that now the higher
order of revolutionists met together, and agreed that
the opportunity was too good to be lost, and that by
creating the confusion, they could benefit by the
tumult. But here we would fain recall the memory of Paris
during, the time of Lord Granville and Lord Cowley.
Those who frequented this gay capital can call to mind
the thousands of equipages which drove through the
Champs Elysees to the Bois de Boulogne. The
myriads of well dressed, elegant women who, in the
full tide of prosperity, frequented the public walks
and gardens of this pleasant metropolis. The galaxy
of beauty seen at the theatres, and at the balls and
soirees of the opulent ; whilst the thriving tradesman,

PARIS AXD THE PARISIANS. 5
the industrious mechanic, and the sturdy labourer,
having earned the full reward of their day's labour,
devoted the evenings to amusement, in which as much
order and decorum were visible as in the higher circles
of society. It was then that the head sparkled with
diamonds, that jewels were proudly paraded, and
neither riches nor property were considered a theft. A
due deference was paid to the aristocracy : it was
believed that superior talent, superior wealth, and
superior station, entitled the possessor to common
respect ; and throughout the whole civilized world, no
city surpassed Paris in the luxuries and elegancies of
life, and for those votaries of pleasure, who spend their
time in search of excitement, this metropolis was pre
eminent. A Frenchman is altogether an indescribable animal ;
his heart is in his heels. Nature formed him for
a caperer ; he appears quite incapable of sincerity and
will swear fidelity and allegiance to half a hundred
kings, without the smallest intention of keeping his
promise. Amongst the young and the giddy, the Chaumiere,
the Bal Mabille, Chateau Rouge, or even Valentino,
can lure them from all domestic happiness, and they
may be seen flinging about their legs and arms in
attitudes which might astonish a backwood savage at
a war-dance ; indeed, the gentlemen brought from
those settlements, and exhibited at Valentino a few
years ago, had much more respect to decency and ele
gance in their savage war-whoops, than some of the

6 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
most accomplished and refined people (that is, if we
believe their own account of themselves) in the whole
world. Still, all was the result of luxury, of riches ; every
man had something to spend, and the following day,
after the night's fatigue of legs and arms, the prospect
of recruiting his finances by exertion of another
kind, and making the head of some use to his em
ployers and himself, gave a fresh impulse to industry.
Besides this flamingo amusement, which after all
did no harm to any but the victim himself, there was
another recreation of a more dangerous kind, and this
was "political discussions." The French believe
themselves to be the cleverest people in the world;
their national conceit on this point is extraordinary :
there is not one itinerant spouter of the commonest
tirade against royalty, who does not consider himself
equal to the heavy task of governing his ungovernable
countrymen. The debates in the Chambers were dis
cussed again and again by these semi-politicians, and
one proof of this came under our own notice of so ex
travagant a kind, that it conveys at once the character
of the people. Some repairs were requisite in a church,
and seeing the door open we walked in; here we
found about twenty work-men standing in a circle,
with one in the centre, a political pivot; instead of
this ruler giving any orders as to the work to be ex
ecuted, he was loudly applauding the king for having
out-manoeuvred the English ambassador in regard to the
Spanish marriages, and every one present was as well

POLITICAL WORKMEN. /
aware of the contents of the published dispatches as
Lord Palmerston himself. One might safely risk a con
siderable sum that in many parts of the English me
tropolis the workmen, never to this day, heard of these
marriages. Here, then, is the difference of the two
countries. A Frenchman knows every body's busi
ness but his own ; an Englishman knows his own,
and seldom troubles himself about his neighbour's : —
in this last description I omit the ladies.
Every Frenchman mingles in politics ; the affairs of
Queen Pomare are as much canvassed as his own mise
rable bread and onions, or his domestic difficulties.
When the men amuse themselves with politics and
public balls, the wives are not very often more chaste
than their husbands. " The streets of Paris," said an
old diplomatist, " are paved with deceit and falsehood,
and every step a man takes in this city of vice, is on
the path-way of dishonesty and deception." With a
population of this description, where every man be
lieves himself out of his proper sphere, and where
every man declares himself quite competent to take
the situation of minister of finance, or of public works,
and what is still more deplorable, where every man is
m6re or less a soldier, one cannot wonder that such
sudden changes should occur as those we have lately
witnessed. On the 20th February, 1848, in spite of the mone
tary crisis, Paris was a city of opulence. Foreigners
from all nations flocked to this abode of pleasure and
of vice, of luxury and of folly : the man whose spirits

8 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
required relief, was sent to Paris ; the man in sound
health betook himself to Paris for enjoyment; the
merchant came hither for relief from the cares of life ;
the newly-married flew to Paris on the wings of love,
and the desire of toilette; the soldier strutted in all the
gaudy embellishments of uniform ; the young hastened
to Paris in search of pleasure, and the old as a relief
from pain. It was one blaze of dissipation ; the wealth
of the world found its way to the mayazins on the
Boulevards, and Paris was a centre of general resort, as
its language was the means of European communica
tion. It was in those bright days that the Restaura
teur reaped his golden harvest, and that the sublime
art of cookery enticed the most morbid to the feast.
The day was spent in one great speculation, and the
night in one round of amusement.
From one o'clock to three all Paris gambled. The
Bourse was the resort of the ruined and the blind
followers of fickle fortune. Every man played and
played deeply; few thought of the future in the
chances of the present. Bankers and bankrupts joined
in the game, until, when the crisis came, the two
mingled into one, and those who but a few hours
before rolled leisurely in their equipages, or lolled on
the soft sofas of luxury, found themselves penniless
and undone, when the fatal word Republic was men
tioned and declared.
Such was Paris in January, 1848 ; one great collec
tion of the idle and the dissolute, the philosopher and
the legislator, the banker and the bankrupt. The

IMPROVEMENTS IN PARIS. 9
chevalier d ' industrie exercised his calling with sure
profit; every man was prepared to become suddenly
rich, and money was easily found either for dissipa
tion or a railroad ; in fact, the country, in spite of the
deplorable state of the public finances, was rich and
flourishing ; trade prospered, the rich revelled in enjoy
ment, and the poor were relieved by the city funds.
Neither must we omit the immense strides in the im
provement and the embellishment of the capital. If its
inhabitants were the most civilized people of the earth,
they were lamentably deficient in comforts, until that ex
traordinary man, Monsieur de Rambuteau, became Pre
fect of the Seine: under his fostering care Paris began to
know the blessings of comparative cleanliness (for it is
yet far — far behind London in this necessary luxury) ;
the streets became well paved, the trottoirs grew in
size, the miserable, dingy oil lamp swinging from houses
on each side, and dangling over the swollen gutter
which ran down the centre, was replaced by the bright
burning gas. New and most elegant streets were
made, and one, now the most remarkable in Paris,
bears the name of the prefect to whom that capital is
indebted for a thousand comforts and improvements.
The Place de la Concorde sprang up from a dirty space
to rival, nay to be superior to, any opening in any city
in the world. Fountains were built in every direction ;
water was conducted to the houses, the thorough
fares were widened, the public places of amusement
improved. Magnificent structures began to replace old
and miserable abodes ; streets of former insignificance

10 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
rose to rival their prouder neighbours; the gutters
in the centres were removed ; the Quais by the river
side enlarged and rendered more durable. The popu
lation were made comfortable and secure, and the city
of Paris afforded no less a sum than one million francs
and a half a month to relieve the poor of the metropolis.
The Rue Rambuteau still, in spite of the Provisional
Government, records the name of the kindest, most
intelligent and active prefect, that ever occupied the
Hotel de Ville. That superb structure was embellished
under the eye of Monsieur de Rambuteau, and those
who partook of his hospitality, and enjoyed his friend
ship, may well bewail the sudden change which obliged
the Prefect of the Seine to stand as a common soldier,
sentinel at his own door !
In the beginning of February, although the mone
tary crisis had been much felt, receptions, balls, and
all the interchanges of social life, which mark an opu
lent population, were in full force. Every man seemed
either in reality or in fiction, a duke, a count, a baron,
or a prince ; and they were jealous of these real or
assumed titles. Large arms were emblazoned on the
panels of the thousand carriages which not unfre
quently reached from the Champs Elysees to the Bois
de Boulogne, whilst hundreds of suspicious broughams
gave a doubtful morality to the society of the most
elegant people of Europe. Even the National Guards,
that supposed bulwark of royalty, played at soldiers
with becoming gravity. France was prosperous and
powerful ; the king, firmly seated on his throne ;

A PROPHECY. 11
his sons in command of the army, the navy, the artil
lery; and any man who, on the 1st of February, had
predicted the total change of the picture above faithfully
painted, would have been considered a fool or a
madman. On the :20th of February, we attended a concert given
by a person of great opulence ; here Alboni, Ronconi,
and Bettini sang, and here, also, were congregated
several ministers of foreign countries. Little did any
one imagine how soon the cloud was to burst and ruin
society. The conversation w7bich gave rise to some
httle difference of opinion, originated in a remark that
" eveiything was far from tranquil." A very great
authority, from his pre-eminent situation, ridiculed
the notion of any serious disturbance, and in this in
stance he certainly did not exercise the usual diplomatic
precaution of saying one thing and looking another ;
this time his face was the index of his mind.
The next day we heard a conversation in which it
was very loudly predicted that within a week the king
would lose his throne, and embark at Havre : turning
suddenly to the speaker, we remarked that he was a
National Guardsman, and of course he would protect
the king.
" Indeed, not I," he replied ; " if the rappel beats
to-morrow, I certainly shall not shoulder my mus
ket." "And are there many more who think as you
do?" " Yes, and will act as I do ; we may appear with our

12 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
arms, but to fire on the people, to preserve the king,
— that indeed ! — we have had quite enough of him."
" But who will you have in his stead? "
" I neither know nor care, but this I know, that the
sooner he goes, the better for us all,"
" You wear spectacles," was said jestingly ; "you
are consequently a short-sighted mortal."
There was a ball for the English charity on the 15th
of February at the Jardin d' Fiiver, and here we met
a very celebrated republican. In conversing with him
on the signs of the times, he said, with a peculiar em
phasis : — " Wait patiently until Thursday next, at
12 o'clock; by that time you will be satisfied how
quietly the manifestation and the Banquet will have
passed over ! there will be no longer political parasites
shouting Vive le Roi."
It was now most evident that a very serious demon
stration was organized.
The Banquet was fixed for Tuesday, 22nd February ;
the night previous we had reconnoitred the ground
where these noisy patriots were to assemble : sufficient
would have been the punishment had they been allowed
to parade the Champs Elysees to the muddy enclosure,
and there in all the dignity of dirt, surrounded by their
brethren en blouses, had they drunk sour wine for
electoral reform. The weather and the wine would
have saved the crown. Frenchmen, like cats, abomi
nate wet weather ; they seem much more afraid of a
coup d' air than a coup de sabre, and we question
much if forty of the most furious republicans would

THE TWENTY-SECOND OF FEBRUARY. 13
face a shower of rain and hail, in Februaiy, even to
gain their point.
Early that morning the troops occupied the Champs
Elysees, the careful shopkeepers put up their shutters,
and the Boulevards presented one living rush of man
kind towards the Rue Royale. Here it was supposed
that Monsieur Odillon Barrot and tbe other deputies
who had signed their names in adhesion to this banquet
would address their misguided votaries, and have ani
mated the doubtful spirits of the mob by some electric
discourse. In vain they waited, in vain a pack of ragamuffin
bovs shouted the Marseillaise, or every now and then
the duped democrats screamed for Odillon Barrot : he
was not forthcoming, his courage had oozed from his
fingers' ends, like Bob Acre's valour, and a modest
affiche announced that the banquet would not take
place. The good temper manifested by the populace con
vinced all the cool observers, that a httle shouting and
noise, if uninterrupted, would finish the day ; but this
unfortunately was not the case. Some of the mob
walked arm-in-ai*m, making a considerable noise, up
the Champs Elysees, whilst others assembled on the
Boulevards, in the vicinity of the Ministere des Affaires
Etranyeres. On a balcony exactly opposite the garden
we watched events, feehng perfectly confident that if
no shot was fired, the crowd would grow hoarse and
cold before sunset, and the night would be passed in
our usual tranquillity. A strong guard had been placed

14 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
round the ministere, and the first act of aggression
was on the part of the government.
The Boulevards are a public thoroughfare, and
thousands of pedestrians were in motion ; some indeed,
nay many, stopped to shout "a bas Guizot! " and so
little did that statesman seem to heed the warning cry,
that he came out in his garden in his dressing-gown,
looked at the clouds, not as in fear of anything but the
weather, got into his carriage, and went to the Cham
bers. Certainly Monsieur Guizot can never be ac
cused of want of courage, however much his want of
prudence may be questioned.
The soldiers were directed to keep the trottoir clear
which is by the side of the garden wall, the conse
quence was, that like a rock in a tide-way, the people
were forced round the promontory. This made a great
accumulation in the streets, to obviate which, and to
" keep moving" the people, a company of the Muni
cipal Guards a cheval, walked leisurely up and down ;
this again drove the people on the opposite trottoir,
and thus occasioned, exactly underneath the balcony,
a choice collection of the human species, some wishing
to walk on, and some determined to stand still and
shout "a bas Guizot!"
Like the opposition ofthe sea to the outset of a river,
•when the latter is arrested and deposits its sand, cre
ating in time an insuperable bar, so these stationary
men, by degrees arresting hundreds of others, com
pletely choked the thoroughfare.
A company of infantry came across to clear the

THE FIRST COLLISION. 15
way, the officer was laughed at, and the men mocked ;
upon which, 'and certainly without any orders, the
word was given to charge bayonets. The drum beat
the charge, and the soldiers advanced ; then, indeed,
was confusion worse confounded, and although every
thing was done with great forbearance on each side, and
no accident occurred; yet no sooner was the path cleared
and the soldiers had returned, than the same mob,
but more angrily disposed, for a stone or two began
to be thrown, returned also, becoming more clamorous
in their shouts, and certainly more disposed to mis
chief. At that moment we ventured an opinion that a re
volution was at hand, although there appeared no mis
chievous intention ; again and again the same pretence
at a charge occurred. The Municipal Guards now began
to trot their horses, the mob was more suddenly dis
placed, until both parties seemed tired of the game of
changing places, and the mob and the soldiers withdrew.
We returned home by the Champs Elysees, and here
saw the first slight collision that occurred.
A lancer, on a very tired horse, was trotting be
tween the trees, making a straight course to his desti
nation ; no sooner was he espied, than a shout was
raised, and a collection of low vagabonds went in pur
suit of him. The jaded animal felt the spur and
quickened its pace, the stones began to fall in showers
around them ; in vain the poor horse, seemingly aware
of his master's danger, tried its utmost strength, and
in vain did the rider, as he saw his desperate pursuers

16 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
gain upon the wearied animal, ungenerously use the
spur. The mob were close upon him, when on a
sudden a detachment of the fine, which occupied a
guard-house on the other side of the Champs Elysees,
appeared advancing at the charge, and saved the
lancer's life, although he had received one or two
severe wounds from the stones ; we never before had
felt so much interest in the fate of a stranger. The
pursuing ruffians would have torn him to pieces, and
we are convinced the poor brute, which tried its ut
most to save its rider, could not have continued at a
trot two hundred yards further.
The mob thus baffled vented their rage on the
soldiers by hurling stones, and although once or twice
the latter turned round and pointed their muskets
(which was quite sufficient to put these vagabonds to
flight, without firing), no actual collision, besides the
capture of one man and the throwing of the stones,
occurred. Whilst this scene was enacting, another party had
stormed a guard- house in the Avenue Matignon, cap
tured it, and set it on fire ; it was blazing as we
passed, no one attempted to extinguish it, but many
looked on as the work of destruction continued. We
passed between these idle and useless spectators and
the fire ; no one made a remark, they were looking on
in solemn silence, apparently undetermined how to
act ; one or two boys cut down some slender trees and
fed the flames, and these little urchins seemed the
only actively employed persons in the vicinity.

BARRICADES CONSTRUCTED. 17
The city by this time was in considerable confusion
— that awful word to French ears — barricades — had
been used, and the increasing number of Municipal
Guards, who were very foolishly kept trotting up and
down the streets at a full pace, contributed to dismay
the populace, and to tire their horses. In the mean
while barricades began to be erected. Carts were
seized and upset. Omnibusses were added, and the
active yamin de Paris began his uninterrupted work
of picking up the pavement. Two boys, certainly
neither of them seventeen years of age, made the bar
ricade at the corner of the Rue Montaigne.
No sooner had the leaders of this revolution and
these makers of barricades seriously set to their work,
than a troop of the Municipal Guard or the Cuirassiers
would come thundering up the Faubourg St. Honore ;
as the point to which these revolutionists attached
some consequence was the junction of the Rue de la
Pepiniere and the Rue d' Angouleme, the first leading
to a considerable barrack, and the second to the
Champs Elysees. On the approach of the soldiers the
work was deserted, but the instant they retired
towards the Elysee Bourbon, every house seemed to
discharge a host of young vagabonds who immediately
returned to the barricade. Again and again the military
advanced, and in a moment not a soul was to be seen ;
yet instead of stationing small piquets at the different
points, the whole body was kept together, and clattered
over the pavement. It served no useful purpose, and very
shortly completely tired the heavily appointed horses.
vol. I. c

18 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
It had now become a very dangerous emeute ; the
mob, under the pretence of obtaining arms, broke into
different houses ; from some they took wine, money,
and arms ; from others only arms, and although they
broke into our house, we escaped with the honours of
war, preserving our arms, wine, money, and munitions.
Some of our neighbours were not quite so fortunate ;
but the plunder was very trifling, and the excesses
were moderate. No sooner was a house robbed — for
robbery it was — of its arms, than it had registered on
its door the he and the cowardice ; the words " Armes
donnees" were on every tradesman's shutter and almost
every porte-cochere in Paris.
No one attempted any resistance ; bands of about
eight or ten, sometimes more and sometimes less,
forced their way by that useless cerberus of Paris
houses, — the porter — mounted the stairs, and took
just what they chose to take. In a house in the Rue
d'Angouleme they required and obtained four hundred
francs and forty bottles of wine, and they quietly sat
down to regale themselves without a fear of interrup
tion, although, as yet, the police existed, and the mili
tary seemed inclined to uphold the proper authorities ;
indeed, so well were the military supposed to be posted,
that in spite of the barricades, many declared that the
morrow would see such an example made of the
emeutiers, that the affair would be crushed in its
infancy. Af dark a certain tranquillity prevailed in some
quarters, but at Monceaux the National Guards were

MILITARY PREPARATIONS. 19
forced into collision with the mob ; a regular firing
occurred, and consequently the first killed was in this
affray ; and here, so badly provided were the National
Guards, either from distrust or negligence, that no
man had more than three rounds of ball cartridge.
The mob, however, although ultimately repulsed, had
manifested their delight in mischief and fire-works,
and had burnt the Octrois at the Faubourg du Roule
and Monceaux.
So badly had precautions been taken, and so very
negligently had the troops been stationed, that in
reviewing the Champs Elysees early on the morning
of the 23rd, the horses and men which had bivouacked
the whole night in the open space in front of Franconi's,
were more hke the rear-guard of the Emperor's army
in his retreat from Moscow, than a regiment of troops
to begin an attack. The. horses were covered with
mud, and the riders evidently little inclined to refresh
them by cleanliness ; they were yawning and stretching
themselves with becoming French discipline. On the
opposite side a regiment of the line offered a more
imposing appearance, and farther down, towards the
Place de la Concorde, a clean set of horses and riders
gave a good military coup d'ceil. It seemed that as
they advanced towards royalty, they advanced also in
cleanliness and discipline.
This day Guizot resigned, and so little did we
apprehend anything like personal danger, that we
walked to the house of a foreign minister, where we
dined ; and afterwards, as no barricades were erected
c 2

20 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
then on the Boulevards, we drove to the French opera,
which we found closed. The Rue de la Paix was
illuminated : thousands and thousands walked quietly
up and down, and so close were the mob, that we had
great difficulty in crossing the street. But all was
exceedingly quiet ; the resignation of Guizot was con
sidered the end of the emeute*; no evil disposition was
manifested until ten o'clock, when the unfortunate
fusillade at the Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres
changed events.

21

CHAPTER II.
Pistol-shot at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Consternation
in Paris — The Rappel beaten — The King reviews the National
Guard- — Inactivity of Sebastiani and Jacqueminot — Marshal
Bugeaud named Commander of Paris — Thiers appointed
Prime-Minister — The 24<th of February — The Breakfast at
the Palace — Alarm — Incapacity and Irresolution of Thiers —
¦ The King abdicates — Marshal ,Gerard — Feeble Opposition to
the Insurgents — Louis Philippe quits the Tuileries—r-Bast
Sitting at the Chamber of Beputies — Appearance of the
Buchess of Orleans and the Comte de Paris — Regent and
new King acknowledged — Confusion — Firmness ofthe Buchess
— Provisional Government proposed — Speeches of MM. Marie,
Cremieucc, Odillon Barrot, Ledru Rollin, and Lamartine —
Irruption of the Mob into the Chamber — Provisional Govern
ment named.
It is now, we believe, perfectly established that it was
no accidental shot which occasioned that fusillade at
the Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres. Monsieur Caus-
sidiere gives us clearly to understand that the chance
of a revolution was not to be thrown away, and that it
was agreed to seize upon any event to continue the

22 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
emeute. Now at nine o'clock on Wednesday, the 23rd
of February, the town was illuminated, and it was
considered by many that from the fall of Guizot and
the certainty of Monsieur Thiers and Odillon Barrot
accepting office, electoral reform and an extended
franchise would follow as a matter of course. The
point then was gained, " Vive le Roi" resounded, the
political National Guards were contented, and the
hurricane was over. There was still excitement enough
left to fan up the dying embers, and La Grange, a
desperate republican, availed himself of the opportu
nity as he, in company with about two hundred rag-
gamuffins, walked by the Ministere des Affaires Etran-
geres, to fire a pistol the ball of which struck the horse
of the commander of the force, consisting of a detach
ment of the 14th regiment of the line. This shot was.
instantly returned by a volley ; it is said about fifty-
two of the mob were killed or wounded; the rest
retreated towards the hot-bed of all ententes in Paris
— the Faubourg St. Antoine — shouting: "~We are
betrayed, aux armes, aux armes ! "
At daylight of the 24th of February, the rappel
was beaten all over Paris, and the consternation was
excessive ; from every window peeped a head, and not
very actively did the National Guards assemble. It
requires a vast deal of patriotism to turn out of a
comfortable bed and home to be shot at on a cold
miserable February morning ; these heroes of romance,
had been long accustomed to a quiet life ; now and
then a review gave them an opportunity of playing at

THE NATIONAL GUARD. 23
soldiers, and they were enchanted; now, barricades were
erected, and death was in every street ; a determined
struggle was imminent; the wife and the children
must be kissed, perhaps, for the last time ; the shop
must be shut, and loyalty severely tested.
The worst of all guards is a National Guard ; an
armed population is the most fatal barricade against
true liberty ; they are as often used to suppress, as to
support it, and when these feather-bed soldiers become
a political body, they are as dangerous to the state as
a revolutionary army. Fortunately, as two French
men seldom have any confidence one in the other, the
one half are at variance with the other half, and hence
the civil discord in the days of June to be mentioned
hereafter. The National Guards of Paris declare them
selves the living representative will of all France ; and
as Paris is France, and they might, if united, most
certainly rule Paris, there is some truth in the asser
tion. But what can be more fatal to industry and
commerce than taking away the head of a manufac
tory, or half the servants of a large concern, to stand
sentmel at the gates of the Tuileries Gardens, to keep
out dogs not en laisse, and boys wearing casquettes, or
carrying bundles. The Government of France will
one day find out that a good efficient paid police, such
as protects London, and a considerable army, are the
best safeguard they can have. Had the Republican
Guard, which now exists, existed in February, the
barricades could not have been raised as by enchant
ment; the cavalry and the Municipal Guards would

24 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
have come forth untired; and the Revolution of
February might have been nipped in its bud, and
never grown to its fatal blossom.
The drums kept incessantly beating the rappel;
" the brave din, the noble clank of arms," began to be
heard; the regular troops were at their posts; and
every now and then a very eager looking National
Guardsman emerged from his house, and stopped at
every door to enter into conversation — thus appearing
active, but courting delay.
That morning Louis Philippe reviewed, in person,
several divisions of the National Guards. The " divi
nity which hedges in a king," seemed to have dulled
its halo, for when his Majesty approached these de
fenders of their country, their king, and their faith,
a cry was raised of " Vive la Reforme ! " His Ma
jesty with considerable coolness added : — " Messieurs,
vous I'aurez " upon which a degree of loyalty seemed
suddenly injected into the turbid blood of these half
rebellious citizens, and the cry was changed to " Vive
le Roi ! " To have heard it, and to have been unac
quainted with these people, it would have sounded like
sincerity. The drums beat, the review was over, the
last echo of " Vive le Roi " was lost for ever, and two
hours afterwards his Majesty was a fugitive — an abdi
cated, a dethroned monarch.
It is credited by all, that the king was grossly
deceived — that he was led to believe the emeute was
silenced (although he must have heard the sharp firing
at the Chateau d'Eau), and it is said that he himself

SEBASTIANI AND JACQUEMINOT. 25
recommended the withdrawal of the troops, so as to
calm the excitement. The entrance of Monsieur Emile
de Girardin dispelled that hope ; his Majesty was in
formed of the actual state of affairs ; he offered to
mount his horse and face the rebels ; and instead of
thus gloriously conquering or falling, he listened to
the voice of a doubtful friend and agreed to abdicate.
During this time where was that man, who, when
peaceable parades amused the public, proudly rode
with his staff, and looked a very Hector in the field,
where was Monsieur Tiburce Sebastiani ? where was
the commander-in-chief of the first division ? Mon
sieur Sebastiani was at breakfast at the Hotel de Ville,
after which luxurious repast he amused himself reading
the papers, and actually so cool and collected was this
veteran warrior of reviews, that he quietly consigned
himself to a chair, and allowed a barber to exercise
his skill on his chin ! Has any body ever heard of
this general since? Did any body get a cheering
glance of his warrior eye during the instantaneous
conquest ? Did any soldier hear his command to fix
his bayonet, or to charge the foe ? Was he near his
sovereign ? did he aid him by his counsels, or await
his commands ? And where was General Jacqueminot,
the commander-in-chief of the National Guards ? It
is said that every one looked to the Duke de Nemours,
but the Duke de Nemours gave no orders, and, perhaps,
had no authority to give any. The reason why he
gave no orders, and took no part in the melee will
be seen hereafter.

26 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
These questions are answered by Monsieur A.
Dumas, who says : — " The first of these, frightened at
the weight of his own responsibility, took but half
measures, hesitated, and was totally ignorant of the
war of barricades, for which no military school has, as
yet, given rules and instructions ; that General Jacque
minot, still suffering from illness, and scarcely re
covered from a very serious malady, hearing in the
National Guard a murmur of opposition, which only
awaited the decisive moment to break out, took no
measures whatever, and remained satisfied with hearing
reports, and silently pondering over them."
At one o'clock in the morning of Thursday, the
24th of February, the tocsin was sounded, which called,
according to Alexandre Dumas, " the people to arms,
and God to support the people." The king waited
the arrival of Monsieur Mole, and Monsieur Mole did
not appear. Guizot was still with the king, still
faithful to his master, still resolved to follow his
destiny. Sebastiani and Jacqueminot were found un
equal to their commands, and General Bugeaud was
appointed commander-in-chief of the troops : the king
signed, and Guizot countersigned the order. As
Monsieur Mole had not appeared, Thiers was sent for :
at a quarter past one he was announced, and Monsieur
Guizot retired ; they met at the door, and saluted each
other with becoming politeness. The order appointing
Bugeaud to the command was lying on the table, and
Thiers accepted it on condition that no barricade was

THE THIERS MINISTRY. 27
to be attacked, and that Odillon Barrot should join
him in the ministry.
The king consented, and Monsieur Thiers began
his short-lived authority by writing immediately a
proclamation, thus : — " Citizens of Paris, an order is
given to cease all firing. We are commanded by the
king to form a new ministry. The Chambers are to
be dissolved. General Lamoriciere is appointed to
the command of the National Guards of Paris. Mes
sieurs Odillon Barrot, Thiers, Lamoriciere, and Du-
vergier de Hauranne, are the ministers. Liberty,
order, union, reform !" This proclamation was sent
to the police, with orders to publish it all over the
city during the night. Having done this Thiers
retired to his bed, perfectly convinced that the names
of Odillon Barrot and Thiers would quiet any insur
rection. As he withdrew, Guizot re-entered, but
this time they did not meet; the king awaited his
friend in his cabinet.
During the night barricades had been raised in every
quarter, and Monsieur Thiers awoke to the music of
a fusillade. His proclamation had never been signed,
nor had it been sent to the Moniteur ; it was, conse
quently, believed a false report, and was torn down as
soon as read. To re-assure the populace it was pro
posed that Odillon Barrot should mount a horse, and
as he rode through each street, he should proclaim the
truth ; but Monsieur Odillon Barrot, although a great
lawyer, declared he was no cavalier, and quietly re-

28 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
fused the invitation, which, however, he ultimately
accepted, having two men to lead the horse, like kings
of former days, especially on the stage. Paris is a
stage ; there everything is acted : there is no sincerity,
no reality. Monsieur Guizot now left the Tuileries,
not to be heard of again, until his arrival in England.
At seven o'clock the new ministers arrived at the
palace ; they consisted of Thiers, Cremieux, Lamori
ciere, Duvergier de Hauranne, Remusat, Beaumont,
and Lasteyrie. Their first act was to revoke the order
relative to Bugeaud, and to command the troops to
cease firing, but to remain in position. The Tuileries
at this time were protected by three thousand troops of
the line, and six pieces of artillery; the populace
had penetrated as far as the Rue de Rivoli, and the Rue
de 1' Echelle, and were gradually advancing upon the
palace. In other parts, Paris was in the liveliest ex
citement. The National Guards were under arms,
and in the streets, but for any opposition they offered
to the insurrection, they might quite as well have
remained in bed, as many of them did, and just as
effectually have served their sovereign, and themselves.
At half-past ten the royal family met as usual at
breakfast ; short was that repast, and grievously de
ceived was the king. He is reported to have entered
the Salle de Diane with a cheerful countenance, but
the noise of musketry must have been heard, as the
Duchess of Orleans, previous to this family union, had
sent her children from her apartment, which overlooked
the Rue de Rivoli, to the queen. Besides all this, every

THE KING AT BREAKFAST. 29
window in the palace would have given ample view
for the confusion which was everywhere.
The repast was begun, but shortly interrupted by
the unceremonious entry of Monsieur de Remusat and
Monsieur de Duvergier de Hauranne, who were ushered
in unbidden or uninvited by the orderly officer, Mon
sieur de Laubespin. Kings are not disturbed at their
repasts without an urgent necessity, and the pale, nay
livid countenances of the above-named ministers
heralded their gloomy communications. By way of
less alarming the ladies, the ministers desired to speak
to the Duke de Montpensier, which might better have
been communicated by a letter given by even a ser
vant. In a moment the royal family rose from table,
and the king insisted upon knowing the cause of this
unusual violation of all etiquette."
" Your Majesty," said Monsieur de Remusat, " ap
pears ignorant of what is passing around you."
" And what may that be ?" asked the king.
" Already have the dragoons surrendered their
sabres, and the soldiers their arms, within sight of the
Tuileries, on the Place de la Concorde, for I saw it
myself," said Monsieur de Laubespin.
The King appeared thunderstruck : he had believed
in his security, protected by the shield of the opposi
tion into whose treacherous arms he had surrendered
himself; for a moment he hesitated, and then, taking
the Duke de Montpensier, he left the Salle de Diane,
but not before the queen, whose courage grew with
the danger, had implored her husband to mount his

30 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
horse, and fight for the crown, or to die in the attempt.
The king did mount his horse, and reviewed the 3,000
men, as before mentioned, who were placed for his pro
tection, to whom had been added two battalions of the
National Guards. He was received with a shout of
" Vive le Roi /" as short as it was treacherous. The
queen overlooked the review from the windows of the
palace, with a calm, determined countenance ; neither
did the king betray then the least timidity, and from
those who were reviewed we have heard, that no fear
blanched his cheeks, and no hesitation bespoke alarm.
The review was over, and Monsieur Thiers arrived :
his courage had already forsaken him ; here was a
minute to make a minister an emperor ; it was now
that the true and loyal subject would have offered his
body as a rampart of protection to his sovereign ; now
was the moment for decision ; a hundred resources
might have presented themselves. The king might
have imitated Charles X., and retired, with his army
to Versailles ; he might have thrown himself into
Vincennes. The fortifications round Paris might have
been garrisoned by the faithful and determined sup
porters of the crown. Bugeaud was alive, Lamori
ciere was at hand, it wanted but the advice of the
minister, and the crown of France was saved. Mon
sieur Thiers, shrinking from the responsibility which a
Clarendon would have courted, and a Grey demanded,
begged that " Monsieur Odillon Barrot might be pre
sident of the Council !"
History has already pointed to this sad dereliction

IRRESOLUTION OF THIERS. 31
of duty, and after such a lapse of time, all per
sonal rancour must have been extinguished. In the
Presse of the 26th of January, 1849, nearly a year
after the event, we find these words : — " Take part
with Monsieur Thiers, who, whenever there is danger,
is the first to fly ! Take part with Monsieur Thiers
who hides himself when a revolution appears ! Take
part with Monsieur Thiers, who, on the 24th of
February, instead of persuading the king to remain,
asked permission to cower in his carriage, so com
pletely had fear overcome him ! Take part with Mon
sieur Thiers, who, although named by four depart
ments for the national assembly, during the days of
June, instead of gallantly offering his talents at the
Tribune, skulked in the couloirs ! " And again, said
the Presse .- — " Did Monsieur Thiers save the king ?
No ! he saved himself."
A report soon spread, that Odillon Barrot, although
his horse was led by two of the National Guards, had
failed to pacify the insurgents ; it was no service of
pleasure, and when he found himself coldly received,
he considered the trial sufficient, and retraced his
steps. The king took his pen to sign what Monsieur
Thiers demanded, which was nothing more or less
than to put the burthen he was loath to carry on the
shoulders of another just as incapable as himself, and
who was absent.
At this trying moment the king had near him one
gallant heart, and had General Lamoriciere even then
received his orders, he woidd have gallantly done his

32 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
duty. The Duke de Montpensier, Monsieur de Re
musat, and Monsieur Thiers were also present. Time
so exceedingly precious was lost in the absurdity of
discussion, until a volley of musketry, which was
fired from the Chateau d'Eau, and close to the Tuil
eries, awoke all present to the awful danger of the
position. It has been asked, where was the Duke de
Nemours ? The following anecdote has been related
to us as authentic, and we hope and trust it is
true, for the duke never to our knowledge exhibited
fear. On the morning of the 24th of February, and some
time previous to the abdication, the Duke de Nemours,
who too well knew the danger of the moment, and the
importance of the conflict, approached the king, and
in language, rather unaccustomed, spoke of the danger
of the position, " that the emeute was growing into a
revolution, that a conflict was inevitable, that Paris
was one'general insurrection ; Sire," he continued, " I
shall mount my horse, and place myself at the head of
the troops !" The king, whose countenance grew
more animated as his son spoke, suddenly stopped him,
and said : — " Sir, you are not yet regent, wait my
orders." The duke, hurt by the apparent reproof,
retired to his apartments, and this may explain his
absence, on other occasions, which some have attri
buted to another and a less pardonable reason.
Monsieur Emile de Girardin now entered the royal
presence with all the confidence of true courage : he
was slightly agitated, but no man would attribute that

THE ABDICATION. 33
to fear in Monsieur de Girardin ; he has given ample
proof that his heart may beat quickly and strongly,
but that it will never flutter from fear.
" Sire," said Monsieur de Girardin, " what, are your
Majesty's intentions ?"
" To give the presidency to Monsieur Odillon Bar
rot," replied the king."
" It is too late," said Monsieur de Girardin ; " it is
not now a change of ministry that will suffice ; it is
an abdication !" (The king started.) " Abdicate, Sire,
or in one hour there will no longer be king or people."
Louis Philippe let the pen fall from his hand, which
had been dipped in the ink to sign the presidency
for Odillon Barrot ; Monsieur de Girardin, with his
usual coolness, took it up and replaced it in the king's
hand. " One minute's delay, Sire, and all is lost."
The king looked around him for advice and sup
port : — not a soul — not even Monsieur Thiers — offered
a council, or cheered the dying embers of royalty : — ¦
but Emile de Girardin had taken the place of minister
and king ; and he produced a printed placard, already
consummated ; it was from the pen of that clever writer,
and was not encumbered with a superfluity of words :
— " Abdication of the king ! Regency of the Duchess
of Orleans ! Dissolution of the Chambers ! General
Amnesty !" He knew that legally the Duke of
Nemours was the regent ; but the duke was so un
popular that his name to the regency would have made
matters, if possible, worse.
VOL. i. d

34 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
The king hesitated, when his son — can history pen
this truth, and the dark hue of the ink transmit it to
posterity — yes, his son, the Due de Montpensier,
instead of having gathered courage from his mother,
said : — " In the name of France, Sire, abdicate !"
" Be it so," said the deserted monarch ; " be it
so ; I abdicate."
" Your word," said Monsieur de Girardin.
" It is said," replied the king.
Monsieur Girardin hastened to arrest the civil war
on one side, whilst General Lamoriciere and the son
of Admiral Baudin took other directions. The king .
wrote : — " I abdicate in favour of my grandson, the
Comte de Paris, and I hope he will be happier than
myself." At this trying moment, the old and gallant General
Gerard came to the aid of his sovereign, and had he
been fortunate enough to have arrived some hours pre
viously, he might have saved the throne : he came un
bidden ; he thought the crown was in danger, and like
a soldier and a subject of the good stamp, he came to
his king and his master.
" Oh! my brave marechal," said the king, trembling
with emotion, " none but yourself can save me now."
"I have nothing," replied the brave old man,
" but my life to offer you, and it is instantly at your
service." " Go to those people (ces yens-la), and tell them
that I abdicate."
" A horse, your Majesty ;" and Gerard mounted

MARECHAL GERARD. 35
the one caparisoned for the review, and on which the
king rode ; instead of an olive branch he carried a
cypress. He was saluted by the crowd with " Vive le
Marechal Gerard!" and to his confirmation of the
abdication he was only greeted with the tumultuous
shout of " Vive le Marechal Gerard!" as the mob ad
vanced upon him, and forced him back into the Place du
Carousel from which he came. The soldiers who had oc
cupied the open space ofthe Place du Carousel retreated
as the crowd approached, and finally got within the iron
railings which enclose the palace, shut the gates, and
awaited events.
The haste already manifested towards every wrong
step, and the slowness of any advance in the right
direction, was still evident; not an effort had been
made to check this insurrection ; about three hundred
men had begun it, and as victory attended their
steps, their numbers increased. Where there is no
danger, there will always be recruits ; on they came
unopposed, until the little fortification of the Chateau
d'Eau arrested their progress; and had that spirit of
resistance been shown elsewhere, Louis Philippe would
now have been upon his throne. It is true Caussi-
diere says, (when speaking of a remark made by La
moriciere, at a dinner given by Cremieux, and which
remark was : — that had he received orders, he would
have arranged the affair without a republic,) that one
hundred thousand men were ready and armed to op
pose the troops, — yet Monsieur Caussidiere labours
under the imputation, very common to his countrymen,
d 2

36 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
of being a little inclined to broder, and not a soul who
witnessed, as we did, every phase of this revolution,
believes one word of the assertion. The whole was
the effect of chance ; the most sanguine of the re
formers, the most desperate of the insurrectionists,
never contemplated this result.
It began as usual at the hot-bed of all revolts, the
Faubourg St. Antoine, and the insurrectionists marched
down, singing their revolutionary songs and flourishing
their flags, unimpeded and unrestrained. At the
Hotel de Ville the brave Municipal Guards stood firm,
as they did also on the Place de la Concorde, where
they received a volley from the troops, but as for any
other opposition, there was positively none, and the
list of killed and wounded is the best criterion. This
list we shall give hereafter.
It was now that royalty began to doff its robes;
the king laid aside the useless emblem of war, the
uniform of a general of the National Guards, and
which, if he had known the disloyalty of that body, he
would never have worn ; he placed his sword on the
table, was dressed as a private gentleman, and seemed
at once anxious to escape personal danger, and be re
lieved from the unthankful task of being a king. • Not
so the queen : that excellent, benevolent, kind, affec
tionate wife and mother grew bolder as the danger
approached, and showed that the Bourbon blood was
not entirely watered by cowardice. With her eye
bright with true courage, her head erect, and with a
firm and unfaltering voice she approached and said to

THE KING AND M. CREMIEUX. 37
Monsieur Thiers : — " This is your work, sir ; it is you
who have done all this." It is said that Thiers, from
respect to her Majesty, remained silent ; the ex-minister
of the minute might have found it a difficult task to
deny the charge ; for whilst the prime- minister slept,
the kingdom was lost !
" Bring the carriages," said the king. The horses
which had been put to had, with the groom, been
shot, and this unwelcome tidings reached the king's
ears. " What then," he continued, " we have no car
riages !" There were two small carriages, citadines
in reality, only bearing the higher title of remises,
which some kind person had hired, and these were
standing by a small door communicating with a sub
terranean passage in the garden of the Tuileries.
" Let us go," said the king ; but previous to his
departure, he opened a drawer as looking for some
thing, and then, with a disordered manner, he gave
the key to his secretary, and desired him to await his
orders. At this moment another person appeared, who seemed
to have come unbidden to the palace, to mock, with
his republican presence, the last moments of the king.
Monsieur Cremieux said : — " Of course, Sire, the
Duchess of Orleans is the regent ?" We draw parti
cular attention to this question, as it will be found a
little farther on that Monsieur Cremieux began his
speech in the Chamber of Deputies, by declaring that
" at such a moment as this, it is impossible that all
the world with one accord would proclaim the Duchess

38 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
of Orleans regent, and the Comte de Paris king. The
population would not accept such a proclamation ! "
The king replied : — " There is a law by which the
Due de Nemours is regent ; you may violate the law
if you like — come, come," he continued, " let us de
part, let us go :" and taking the queen by the hand,
he made his last false step and descended the great stair
case of the Tuileries. Passing along the subterraneous
passage above alluded to, and arriving at an exit
called the Pont-Tournant, here he found himself in the
midst of his once faithful subjects, mingled with his
(two hours past) faithful troops, all of whom would
have shouted " Vive le Roi ! " The fallen monarch
leaned heavily on the queen, who, with her noble head
still erect, seemed proud to face the danger, and ready
to share all its consequences.
" Make way for the unfortunate," said one. The
king was recognised, but there was no compassion for
the unfortunate ; some shouted " Vive la Reforme ! "
some " Vive la France ! " and one or two, let us hope
with all sincerity — for at such a moment a mockery
would have been a crime — " Vive le Roi! " He ad
vanced to the centre of the Place de la Concorde ; on
this spot his father had been executed. Is it astonish
ing that the king faltered ? but he recovered himself
sufficiently to say, as he raised his hat from his head :
— " I declare that I abdicate in favour of my grand
son, the Comte de Paris." During this short interval
of time, the queen was separated from the king ; some
one advanced to offer her assistance ; but she was a

THE KING DEPARTS. 39
queen to the last, and said in a firm tone •.— " Leave
me alone."
The king and queen now entered these miserable
carriages. The Duchess of Nemours and her chUdren
were in the second. The Duchess of Montpensier
was left behind : such was the unfortunate haste,
such the disorder, such the cowardice of the flight !
The carriages drove off; it is said that two muskets
were fired at retreating royalty, but we cannot confirm
this report, and we sincerely trust that, like many
others, it is destitute of foundation . Some one seeing
Monsieur Cremieux on the Place de la Concorde, and
no doubt astonished at meeting him, a deputy, in such
a concourse of people, asked him what he was doing
there ?
" I have just put royalty into his carriage," replied
this good subject ; it is worth the reader's while to
compare this flippant remark with the accomplished
lawyer's speech given at the end ofthe chapter.*
* The retreat of the king, so variously related, we believe to have
been as follows, although it differs materially from the foregoing,
narrated by Monsieur Dumas : — It is well ascertained that he es
caped by the subterraneous passage by the river-side, and emerged
into the Place de la Concorde by the gate called the " Pont-tourn-
ant." Close to this outlet had been stationed ever since the morn
ing a small, low carriage painted a dark colour. It is strange that
such a precaution should have been taken, whilst so many others
were neglected.
The thickening crowd forced its way from the Boulevards, and
the Quais towards the Chamber of Deputies. It was evident that
here would be the struggle. The government, if government it could
be called, had placed troops in this direction, mingled with some
detachments of the National Guards ; one company of the second

40 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
The flight of the king had been so sudden, that no
precautions had been taken for the household. The
Duchess of Orleans and her children remained ; but
the old and tried friend and companion of the queen,
Madame de Dolomieu, was left to make her own way
from the scene of disorder. She was found, crying
bitterly, as she walked towards St. Cloud, by a gentle-
tleman who at once distinguished real sorrow and
legion, commanded by Monsieur G — , an avoue of the Tribunal
Civil de Paris, occupied the space by the Pont-tonrnant, with orders
to check the progress of the crowd, who, apparently led by the scent
of blood, for three bodies were lying inside the garden, slightly
covered with sand, (and amongst which was afterwards found that of
the unfortunate Monsieur Jollivet, a deputy,) pressed forward in that
direction. One obstacle greatly obstructed the movements of Monsieur G — ,
and that was the little carriage before mentioned. Fearing the people
might upset it to begin a barricade, for the crowd in those days seized
all chances, Monsieur G — desired the coachman to retire, when sud
denly the king, and those who accompanied him, appeared emerging
from the Pont-tournant. The king was calm and collected, but the
features of the queen were, en the contrary, impressed with a sort
cf stupor : her walk, commonly firm, had something hasty and un
certain ; she looked behind her frequently, as if fearing pursuit,
and at one moment indicated a disposition neither to go forwards
nor to retreat. When Monsieur G — gave the order for his
company to open their ranks, the queen was remarked to hesitate :
she seized the king's arm with a kind of despair, and refused, with
the last spark of royal hauteur, the assistance respectfully offered hy
Monsieur G — . The carriage advanced; the royal fugitives took
their seats without the slightest obstacle, and drove off escorted by
a piquet of the cavalry of the National Guards, commanded by Mon
sieur de M — , the colonel, and drove towards St. Cloud.
Nearly at the same time, the Duchess of Orleans, surrounded by
several officers, mentioned elsewhere, took her sorrowful way to the
Chamber of Deputies.

LAST SITTING OF THE DEPUTIES. 41
fallen greatness. He immediately offered her shelter,
but she only knew that the queen was gone to St.
Cloud, and thither she was resolved to go also. A
cart with dirty linen happening to pass, she was placed
in that, and reached her destination.
The Duchess of Montpensier, who was born and
bred amidst emeutes in Spain, seemed imbued with
the courage of her mother, and very quietly retired
to her rooms, to pack up her valuable articles. It
appears marvellous that no precautions of any kind had
been taken : the flight seemed unpremeditated ; it was
the thought of a moment, nobody opposed it, no
kind voice hinted the possibility of a safe retreat with
some of the troops ; and when this melancholy corteye
set out on its desperate retreat, not a soul inquired for
Madame de Dolomieu; not one person missed the
duchess, and amongst all those who have carefully
treasured up last words of royalty, and last acts of
courage in princes, we cannot find out what became
of the Duke de Montpensier !
We are arrived at the last stage of this eventful
monarchy : history records the following, principally
gleaned from the Moniteur of Friday the 25th, and
Saturday the 26th of February.
The Chamber of Deputies met for the last time on
the 24th of February. The sitting is thus described: —
Monsieur Sauzet took his seat at half-past twelve
o'clock, and after some preliminary regulations, he
addressed the assembly. It is well to observe how
that great assembly conducted itself in the crisis, and

42 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
to remark how fleeting are even the charms of royalty
when fear — to use a mild expression — usurps the place
of lukewarm loyalty. The president gave the reason
why he called the members from the Bureaux, excusing
this interruption of their labours in consequence of the
grave circumstances which threatened the capital of
the country.
Monsieur Charles Lafitte proposed that the Chamber
should declare itself " en permanence ." To this wise
admonition Monsieur Dutier opposed a milk-and-
water modification ; namely, " that the seance should
be continued, and that the Chamber would hereafter
take such determinations as the exigencies of the cir
cumstances might require."
Monsieur Cambaceres proposed that the Chamber
should declare its sittings permanent " until the crisis
was over."
The president said there was no question oi perma
nence necessary, the seance was opened, and so it
would remain until he closed it: and here he sus
pended it.
Now it was that an extreme agitation prevailed :
the floor of the house was crowded with deputies ; a
loud conversation ensued ; the name of Odillon Barrot
was on every lip, until a graver subject occupied atten
tion. It was rumoured that the king had abdicated,
and had declared the Duchess of Orleans regent;
nearly one hour was lost, whilst the firing of musketry,
the roar of voices, and shouts and fierce menaces were
heard without.

THE DUCHESS OF ORLEANS AND THE CHAMBER. 43
At half-past one it was announced that the Duchess
of Orleans, with the Comte de Paris, was on the road
to the Chambers, and scarcely had this intelligence
been circulated, when the duchess entered, holding by
the hands the Comte de Paris and the Due de
Chartres. She was received with loud acclamations,
and surrounded by members of all parties, enthu
siastically shouting " Vive la Duchesse d ' Orleans !
Vive le Comte de Paris ! Vive le Roi ! Vive la Re-
yente ! " The duchess and her children took their seats
at the foot of the tribune. The Due de Nemours
accompanied the Duchess, of Orleans, and several
officers of the National Guard, in uniform, served as
the escort. The sanctity of this precious chamber was
here violated, for several persons, not members, had
already forced their way into the assembly, and refused
to withdraw, although invited to do so by the presi
dent. An indescribable anxiety prevailed, and silence,
that most requisite of all requisite things, could with
great difficulty be obtained. Monsieur Lacrosse de
manded that Monsieur Dupin should address the
chambers on the subject of the arrival of the duchess
and her family. Monsieur Dupin said he had not
asked to speak, but numerous voices loudly urged him
so to do, and thus he delivered his short, but pithy
oration :—
" Gentlemen, you are aware of the situation of the
capital and of the numerous public manifestations
which have taken place. The result of these manifes-
tions has been the abdication of his Majesty Louis

44 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
Philippe in favour of the Comte de Paris, with the
regency of the Duchess of Orleans (here the orator was
interrupted by loud acclamations and shouts of ' Vive
le Roi! Vive le Comte de Paris ! Vive la Reyenfel'j.
Gentlemen," he continued, " those shouts, those accla
mations, so cheering to the new king and the regent,
are not the first which have welcomed their ears. As
they walked from the Tuileries and passed the Place de
la Concorde, escorted by the people and the National
Guard, the same sounds saluted them, whilst the re
gent expressed her determination to administer the
public affairs in accordance with the public interest,
the national wish, and for the glory and prosperity of
France." Monsieur Dupin having descended from the tribune
and taken his place, spoke thus : — " It appears to me
that the acclamations we have heard are unequivocal,
and should be recorded." Those who were royalists
for the moment, shouted " oui, oui " but the cloven
foot began now to be shown ; the extreme left cried
" non, non, let us await the arrival of Odillon Barrot,"
whilst others pronounced those fatal words, " a Provi
sional Government !" This again aroused Monsieur
Dupin, who saw at once the danger which hovered
over France, and attempted to avert it : "I de
mand," he said again, " that in the absence of the act
of abdication, which will, most probably, shortly be
brought to the Chamber by Monsieur Odillon Barrot,
that the Chamber insert and record in the Proces
Verbal, the acclamations which have accompanied here,

THE DUCHESS AT THE CHAMBER. 45
and saluted in the midst of us all the Comte de Paris
as King of the French,. and the Duchess d' Orleans as
regent" (oui, oui ! bravo ! non ! followed by universal
agitation). The president now attempted to favour the demon
stration of loyalty ; but he was frequently interrupted
by the left, who evidently feared that any such decla
ration would amount to a real proclamation. No
sooner had the president . uttered these words : —
" Gentlemen, it appears to me that the Chamber, by
its unanimous acclamations" — than the interruption
was decisive. It was now that Monsieur Lamartine
appeared in the debate : he spoke from his place and
said : — " I demand Monsieur le President to suspend
the sittings solely from motives of respect (!) which
the presence of the august princes in this place of the
national representation naturally inspire."
The president availed himself of this opportunity of
declaring the Comte de Paris king in these words : —
" The Chamber suspends its sittings until the Duchess
of Orleans and the new kiny retire." Here the Duke
de Nemours and several of the deputies approached
the duchess and pressed her to retire, but she was
resolute ; she knew well the character of the French,
as variable as the wind, and equally inconstant ; and
Monsieur L'Herbette expressed her determination
aloud. " Monsieur le President," he said, " the duchess
is desirous of remaining here." A loud burst of in
describable noise succeeded the declaration, which in
duced the president again to interfere. " Everybody

46 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
without distinction of persons, must be well aware
that in the presence of the duchess and her son, silence
and respect are the duty of all."
Monsieur Marie now occupied the tribune, whilst
the Duchess of Orleans, standing and surrounded by
some of the deputies, remained apparently firm of
purpose. General Oudinot spoke : —
"The princes, we are told, walked unattended
through the Tuileries and the Place de la Concorde,
amid the public enthusiasm. If she desires now to
retire, let the doors be opened, and our respect shall
surround her, as she was surrounded on her entry by
the respect of the city of Paris ; let us accompany her
wherever she wishes to go. If, on the contrary, she
desires to remain here, let her remain, and she will
be right in so doing, for she shall be protected by our
devotion to her."
The president again vainly endeavoured to clear the
Chamber of the strangers who had entered, and during
this interlude the Duchess of Orleans, preceded by the
Duke of Nemours, and followed by her children,
mounted the steps of the Chamber by the centre pas
sage which leads to the door under the clock. On her
arrival at the last row of the centre yauche, she seated
herself, surrounded by the same cortege : the Cham
bers were loud in their acclamations; but it was
observed that the deputies of the extreme left remained
steadily in their places, unawed by the supposed divi
nity which hedged the king, whilst numerous strangers
and National Guards, with their (useless) arms, crowded

M. MARIE'S SPEECH. 47
into the passage. Even the republican Marie seemed
shocked at the intrusion, and addressing himself to
the National Guards who were armed : — " Go out,
gentlemen, and leave the Chamber to its deliberations."
Monsieur Marie, who lost the throne by his legal
quibbles, was just as unsuccessful as the president.
The National Guards and the strangers remained.
At last, the long lost Monsieur Odillon Barrot ap
peared : he was surrounded instantly, some wished to
glean intelligence, others to know his intentions, and
again others called out, " let Monsieur Odillon Barrot
speak from the tribune ;" but here again the minister
of disorder, Monsieur Cremieux, who feared Odillon
Barrot's remarks, and whose purpose miyht have been
thwarted by the supposed loyalty of this great orator,
said -. — " Let Monsieur Marie speak ; he is in posses
sion of the tribune, and Monsieur Odillon Barrot
can follow ;" whereupon Marie delivered himself of the
following Jesuitical speech, the last words of which
was the end he sighed to obtain, and the sole object
he had in view.
" Gentlemen," he began, " in the present situation
of Paris, you have not a moment to lose in taking
measures which may exercise authority over the popu
lation. Since this morning, the evil OO has made im
mense progress, and if you delay still longer to take
the necessary measures, by entertaining useless de
liberations, it is impossible to define to what extent
the mischief may be carried. It is, then, requisite to
do something. But what is to be done ? The regency

48 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
of the Duchess of Orleans has been proclaimed ; but
you have a law by which the Duke of Nemours is de
clared regent. You cannot now declare a regency,
you must obey the existing law. You must have, to
rule the capital as to rule the kingdom, a powerful
government. I demand that a Provisional Govern
ment be established (bravo, bravo !) ; when such a
government is constituted, it can consult with the
Chambers, and it will have authority in the country.
Let this step be taken and instantly made known in
Paris. It is the only method of tranquillizing the capi
tal. We must not fritter away the time in useless
discussion. Here, gentlemen, is my proposition : I
demand that a Provisional Government be instantly
named." This speech lost the crown ; and it was followed by
another turbulent lawyer making the debate more
serious, occupying the time, and thus gaining time.
It is inconceivable that any but a lawyer could have
the bare-faced impudence to make such a speech;
far better would it have been had M. Cremieux an
nounced the truth, that he was a republican ; that the
oath he had taken to Louis Philippe, he was about to
violate ; and that he would accept the situation of
Minister of Justice, which he sighed to obtain.
As this speech is one of those specimen-pieces of
oratory in which the mask always conceals the inten
tion until the last word, (and then the flimsy covering
is withdrawn, and the devil in all its ugliness is re
vealed,) we give it entire : —

SPEECH OF M. CREMIEUX. 49
" At such a moment as this, it is impossible that all
the world with one accord would proclaim the Duchess
of Orleans regent, and the Comte de Paris king. The
people would not accept such a proclamation. In
1830 we .were too hasty, and now, in 1848, we have
to begin again. We do not intend, gentlemen, this
time to be in a hurry ; we intend to proceed regularly,
legally, and strongly. The Provisional Government
which you will name will not only maintain order, but
will bring to us such laws as will protect the whole
population, such as were promised, but never promul
gated since 1830. I declare to you I have the most
profound respect for the Duchess of Orleans. I con
ducted but a short time ago, — yes, I had that sorrowful
honour, — the royal family to the carriayes, [M. Cre
mieux might have said the citadines,~\ which carried
them on their journey. I did not fail in this duty,
and I shall add, that the entire population spread over
the road they took, manifested their sympathy for the
unfortunate king and his unfortunate family. But
now, gentlemen, the generality of the inhabitants of
Paris and the faithful National Guard [this is the un-
kindest cut of all,] have issue known their lawful
opinion, and the proclamation you would make at this
moment is a violation of that law. Let us name a Pro
visional Governmen t — just — firm — vigorous — friends
of the country, to whom it can speak and make it un
derstand that if that country has rights, which we
bestow, it has duties that it should fulfil. Believe us,
we gain to-day what the revolution of July ought to
VOL. i. e

50 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
have given us. We do not want only the change of
men. Let us profit by the present events, nor leave
our children the task of resuscitating this revolution.
I demand the nomination of five members to form a
Provisional Government !"
M. Odillon Barrot at last spoke : —
" Never did we require more coolness, more pru
dence. Are you not able to be of one mind and save
the country from the most terrible of all terrible events,
a civil war ? Nations never die, but they may become
enfeebled by internal dissensions, and never did France
require more than now, all her greatness and all her
force. Our duty is traced out for us. It is so simple,
that the nation must comprehend it. It addresses
itself to its courage and its honour. The crown of
July rests upon the head of a child and of a woman,
[the Duchess of Orleans and the Comte de Paris
rose and saluted the assembly,] I make a solemn
appeal — " here M. de la Rochejacquelin interrupted
M. Odillon Barrot, and said : — " You know not what
you are doing."
The Duchess of Orleans now rose to speak,* hut
M. Odillon Barrot continued : — " It is in the name of
* The speech the duchess intended to make was written by
Monsieur Cremieux, and the following is a translation: — "It is
from the National Will that my son and myself wish to receive our
powers. We await with confidence, — I the widow of the Duke of
Orleans, my son the orphan,— the resolution which may be taken.
That which is certain is, that I will bring up my son in the liveliest
sentiments for the love and the liberty of the country." It is quite
impossible to comprehend M. Cremieux, but it must be allowed,
that had the duchess repeated her lesson, it might have had the best
possible effect.

TUMULT IN THE CHAMBER. 51
political liberty, in the name of order, in the name of
union, in such times of difficulty that I call upon the
country to rally around these representatives of the
revolution of July, to support its purity and inno
cence. For myself I will gladly dedicate my existence
and the faculties I possess for the success of this cause,
which I believe to be the main-spring of liberty to my
country." Such is the outline of this orator's speech ;
it was, of course, interrupted by the approbation of
one party, and the dissent of the other. M. de la
Rochejacquelin followed, but he was interrupted by the
sudden rush of the armed mob — National Guards,
students, workmen, and all sorts and conditions of
men, with all descriptions of arms, and carrying flags,
and shouting vehemently " Down with the king, down
with the king, vive la Republique ! "
At this sudden irruption, the members of the lower
benches retreated to the upper ones, and the duchess
and her suite made their exit by the door immediately
in front of the tribune — we shall return to this retreat
presently. When the tumult had partially subsided, one
M. Chevalier escaladed the tribune. It was quite in
vain that opposition was made to his address, as he was
not a member of the House ; one half of the members
had deserted the cause, and at the instigation of M. de
Mornay, the president put on his hat saying ¦.—" II
n'y a point de seance en ce moment." Whatever was
done afterwards was clearly illegal, unconstitutional,
and rebellious.
M. Chevalier recommended "that the Duchess of
e 2

52 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
Orleans and the Comte de Paris should, under the
protection of the National Guards, march up the
Boulevards, and show themselves to the people." The
Duchess of Orleans had left the chamber, but she
knew very well how little confidence could be placed
in such protection. Confusion was worse confounded,
some endeavouring to escape, hundreds forcing their
way into this wreck of a legislative assembly; the
most vehement cries, shouts, curses, anathemas mingled
with the screams of youth, and the sudden exclama
tions of the timid.
In the midst of this scene of disorder, one Dumoulin,
in the dress of a staff-officer of the National Guard,
mounted the tribune and planted a tricolor flag thereon,
vociferating in a voice of thunder, " The people this
day have again gained their independence as in 1830.
You know that the throne has been broken to pieces
in the Tuileries and hurled from the windows."
Lamartine, Cremieux, and Ledru Rollin simulta
neously rushed to the tribune, whilst the insensate
mob vociferated, " No more Bourbons, down with all
traitors ! a Provisional Government directly !" Ledru
Rollin now came forward: — "In the name ofthe French
people," he began, " whom you represent, I demand
silence." Some in the mob answered : — " In the
name of Ledru Rollin, silence ! "
Ledru Rollin continued: — "In the name of the
people in arms and masters of Paris, I protest against
the government which was named at this tribune
(alluding to the regency of the Duchess of Orleans).

SPEECH OF LEDRU ROLLIN. 53
In 1842, on the discussion of the Regency Bill, I de
clared, as I declare now, that such a regency could only
be acceptable after an appeal to the country. Two
days have we been fighting for our rights ; if you
resist those rights, and if you pretend that a govern
ment, declared by mere acclamation, a government
burdened with revolutionary hatred exists, we will
still fiyht in the name ofthe Constitution of 1791, which
now hovers over the country, and we will force an
appeal to the nation before the regency is adopted.
Thus no regency is possible. How ? you, the majority,
without allowing us to deliberate, dare to violate the
very law you made against our consent in 1842. In
the name of our common rights, — rights respected
even in revolutions, for we are strong, only because we
•are right — I protest, again, in the name of the people
against this novel usurpation of our rights and
liberties. — "
A voice here interrupted this formerly masked re
publican, and said: — "You spoke of order, of the
flow of blood !" — and Ledru Rollin instantly followed
the hint. "Ah !" he continued, " the effusion of blood
touches us all, for we have been as near to it as any
body ; only let it be proclaimed that such effusion of
blood will continue until our rights are maintained, and
those who have fought to-day will fight again to-night,
until our point is gained, our liberties assured."
It was now M. Berryer was heard to say to Ledru
Rollin, "Press the question, finish your speech; a
Provisional Government directly !" and Ledru Rollin,

54 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
after invoking history, which M. Berryer (the royalist !)
assured him everybody remembered, concluded thus :
"I demand a Provisional Government; not one
formed by the members of this Chamber, but by
the people. A Provisional Government, and an im
mediate appeal to a convention which may establish
the rights of the people."
He was succeeded by Lamartine : the flowery
eloquence of the poet must naturally lose by a transla
tion : — " Gentlemen, I have, in common with all as
sembled, the profound sensation which agitated all
present at the most touching, the most affecting sight
visible to human nature — that of an august princess
defending her infant child, and coming from a deserted
palace to throw herself for protection in the midst of
the representatives of the nation. But if I partake oi*
such emotions which soften the heart at the sight of
the greatest of all human catastrophes, I partake, also,
the respect which is due to a glorious people who, after
three days' fighting against a perfidious government,
are resolved to found an empire of order and an em
pire of liberty. I shall make no allusion to what has
occurred in this tribune. I do not believe that a
spontaneous acclamation torn from the spectators by a
sudden emotion, can constitute a right or a govern
ment for thirty-five millions of population. I know
that what one acclamation confirms, another acclama
tion may sweep away ; and that whatever may be the
government which it may be in our wisdom or interest
to declare in the crisis in which we are, "it behoves the

SPEECH OF M. DE LAMARTINE. 55
people of all classes to form a popular, solid, and irre
sistible government. But how is this to be done?
How, amidst the surrounding elements, in this tempest
which has swept all before it, and where one wave
rises to predominate over the wave which bore us to
this assembly — how, I ask, from such elements can
such a government be formed ? only from the voice of
the country, from which source flow order, truth, and
liberty— I am well aware of the necessity of such a
government; one which will guarantee public order,
staunch the blood now flowing, and arrest the progress
of civil war."
Here a man, standing beneath the tribune, sheathed
his sword, crying, " Bravo, bravo, bravo !"
M. de Lamartine continued his flowery oratory, until
a general cry for a Provisional Government was again
raised, and a list was presented to him, who, raising
his hand, said : — " Wait a little. The Provisional
Government will have for its principal duties, first, to
establish a truce, and peace ; secondly, to prepare in
stantly necessary measures for the convocation of the
whole country ; to consult it, to consult the National
Guards, for all who are men have the rights of citizens.
One word more " — Here loud rapping was heard at
each door ; the mob outside strove to enter, the doors
soon gave way to repeated strokes from the butt-ends
of the muskets, and a heterogeneous mass of patriotic
citizens, the lowest of the low, with the National Guard,
rushed headlong in, shouting, " Down with the Cham
bers, down with the deputies !" One man levelled his

56 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
musket at the tribune, with the intention of stopping
all oratory, but the cry of " It is Lamartme ! do not
fire, do not fire," arrested the intention of that cowardly
assassin in mind.
Until this moment the president remained in his
chair ; he now rang his bell, and vainly endeavoured
to get a patient hearing, but finding that quite im
possible, he said, " Since I cannot obtain silence, je
declare la seance levee," and he left the chair and the
Chamber. From this moment all- was illegal — but
revolution heeds not the law. The president had re
tired, the sitting was closed ; but the people armed
with gims, swords, pikes, &c, mixed with the National
Guards and also a certain number of deputies of the
Left, remained.
" Another president, another president," vociferated
this heterogeneous mob. "Dupont de l'Eure!" and
this old man, who must have been familiar with a
former revolution, took the chair, supported by M. Car-
not, and surrounded by a number of self-elected depu
ties, now about to legally legislate for all France !
" The names, the names of the Provisional Govern
ment," was the cry ; here one paper was handed to
Lamartine, who having run his eye over it, said : —
" I cannot read this, as my name is here mentioned."
Another list was handed to Cremieux, who said, "I
shall not read this, my name is not mentioned."
The noise was beyond all description, and the con
fusion was the height of disorder. In vain Lamartine
declared he was about to read the names ; for one

PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT NAMED. 57
man, close to the president, roared out with stentorian
lungs, " That Dupont was the president, and that he
would nominate the government." He also was unsuc
cessful in obtaining silence, but a fierce-looking per
sonage with a musket succeeded better ; in fact, he
appeared very disposed to silence, for ever, one of the
brawlers. The shouting soon recommenced. "The
names, the names," was the cry, and Lamartme at
last managed to be heard. He said " the proposition
he had made was about to be carried into execution,
and a government named." " Vive la Republique,"
shouted some ; " Vive Lamartine" another ; " a, bas
tout le monde" a third; and during this scene of
anarchy and disorder, M. Dumoutier, standing on the
desk of one of the secretaries to the Chamber, at last
obtained a momentary cessation of cries, groans, and
murmurs. Thus Dupont (de l'Eure) read — "Arago,
Lamartine, Dupont (de l'Eure), Cremieux," — at this
last name even the traitors to their king seemed
ashamed, and a violent tumult arose.
Lamartine now spoke : — " Silence, gentlemen. If
you wish the Provisional Government you have named
to accept their mission, it is at least necessary that a
proclamation should be made. Our honourable
friend cannot make himself heard in this tremendous
noise." The Moniteur here gives the first indication of a
republic, by saying, " Un citoyen observed, — It is
necessary to be known that the people will have no
more kings. A republic ! "

58 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
" Let us take it into deliberation," shouted some
few ; whilst another would-be ruler said — " Let us
take the places of those who have been bought and
sold." At this proposition, men, school-boys, National
Guards, Polytechnic scholars, who, until now, had
stood, made a rush to the benches, and occupied the
seats of the deputies, laughing and declaiming from the
ministerial seats in noisy mockery of their prede
cessors. The debate began by one of the rebels waving a
flag and proposing — " No more Bourbons, a Provi
sional Government, after which, a declaration of the
republic :" more matter, easily condensed, is not to be
found. The proposition was seconded thus, by a gen
tleman with a musket : " No more Bourbons, the
elder and the younger branch included — The Provi
sional Government ! "
The President now read for acceptance, by the self-
elected people, the following names : —
" Lamartine," — oui, oui.
"Ledru Rollin," — oui, oui.
"Arago," — oui, oui.
"Dupont de l'Eure," — oui, oui.
Here some one proposed M. Bureaux de Pusy, but
this gentleman refused the honour !
" M. Marie." — oui, oui ; — non, non.
Several voices shouted for George Lafayette, but
the Noes predominated ; whilst many roared " The
republic, the republic for ever."
A citizen now succeeded in making himself heard,

PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT NAMED. 59
and proposed, — " That the members of the Provisional
Government should cry, Vive la Republique ! before
they were definitively accepted." Another proposed
to carry the government to the Hotel de Ville, declaring
that the general wish was for a wise, moderate
government, no blood, and a declaration of the
Republic. M. Bocage— " To the Hotel de Ville, with Lamar
tine at our head;" and instantly the future Secretary
of Foreign Affairs left the Chamber for the scene of
his future difficulties, followed by all the strange mix
ture of people who had shouted in approbation.
The great star having retired, Ledru Rollin became
in the ascendant : he was quite aware that his voice
would have been stilled had the government named
been preserved ; he therefore now spoke : —
" Citizens, you are of course aware of the gravity of
the act you have committed in naming a Provisional
Government ; [here several people, instantly alarmed,
cried out — " We do not want a Provisional Govern
ment, we will not have one ; " whilst other hardy
traitors overwhelmed the frightened royalists, and de
clared one to be necessary ;] at any rate, listen to me,"
continued the future Minister of the Interior. " As I
read the names, you will either sanction or disapprove
by the words, yes, or no ; and in order that we pro
ceed regularly and efficiently, I beg the reporters for
the Moaiieur to make a note of the names and yom
approval of them, because we cannot present this go
vernment to the population of France, without their

60 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
names are approved of by you ; " he then read the four
names already mentioned, and added those of Gamier
Pages, Marie, and Cremieux ; saying, " those who are
against these names will hold up their hands," (some
shouted "no, no;" others shouted "yes, yes;" and
the farce terminated by the declaration of M. Ledru
Rollin, who was neither president nor even in the tri
bune of the presidence, that the names were accepted.
He added, that " the government just named had im
mense duties to perform, that consequently he should
declare the sitting closed, and should, with the newly-
made ministers, join their colleagues at the Hotel de
Ville, in order to take measures to suppress the effusion
of blood, and to consecrate the rights of the people."
A terrific shout was now set up for the Republic,
and to the cry of " Long five the Republic and Ledru
Rollin !" the latter prudently retired, whilst some
small eggs of treason, newly hatched, occupied the tri
bune, screaming " Down with the Civil List, down with
all Royalty ;" and pointing to the picture placed be
hind the chair of the president, which represented
Louis Philippe, said — " Tear that picture to pieces,
destroy it :" and in an instant several men mounted
the tribune to cut it with their swords. A workman
in the centre of the Chamber called out, " Stand aside,
and I will shoot that Louis Philippe," and he fired
two shots instantly at the picture. Another workman
instantly rushed to the tribune and obtained silence,
as if the genius of mischief was even in this minute to
be calmed by the voice of order and prudence. —

REFLECTIONS. 61
" Respect all public monuments, respect all property,"
he began, " why would you destroy, why fire at that
picture ? We have shown how necessary it is to guide
the storm, let us show the people that we respect all
property, and thus do honour to our victory."
It is said that these words were uttered with great
energy and true eloquence, and were vehemently ap
plauded. Such is the French people ! one word, happily
expressed, can quell the fiercest riot, and one word
uttered with eloquence may tumble a monarch from
his throne. The crowd now departed, and the Cham
ber of Deputies, under that denomination, no longer
existed. It is impossible in reading the foregoing, not to be
struck by the extraordinary contradictions between
the words of the speakers and their acts. The nation
was to decide, and yet the Provisional Government
were named — or named themselves — in the presence
of about five hundred people at the most, out of thirty-
five millions, and took especial good care to call that
election, "the universal opinion of the country."
Wherever there is treason, there also is the National
Guard ; those of that mis-named civic force who are
of good intention, are slow to protect ; those who are
discontented and mischievous, are ever ready to destroy.
Paris will never enjoy the quiet and protection which
are necessary to such a city, until this half-traitor force
is abolished, and a proper police instituted.

62

CHAPTER III.
The Duehtss of Orleans at the Tuileries— Loyalty of the Palace'
Guard — The Buchess and her tiro sons at the Chamber of
Deputies — Inexplicable stupor of the People — Desertion of
the Upper Classes — Comte de Paris acknowledged King —
Uproar — The Duchess quits the Chamber — The loyal National
Guardsman — The Duchess takes refuge at the In rai ides — Is
compelled to leave — Flight ofthe King — Escape from Havre
The mob plunder tlie Tuileries — Masquerade — Quiet state of
the City — Private Property respected — Wanton destruction
at the Palace.
When the king made his unfortunately rapid retreat,
he left the Duchess of Orleans and her children to
represent monarchy, and to still the storm of revolt.
The duchess was surrounded by faithful friends, true
of heart, and perfectly aware of the danger of the
situation. We gladly record the names of Marshal
Gourgaud, the Duke d'Elchingen,the Count Willaumez,
MM. de Montguyon, Asseline, and Boismilon. In
such times of treason, it is very rare to find men in
France firm to their oath of allegiance ; the French

FIGHT AT THE TUILERIES. 63
are so accustomed to frame constitutions and change
their allegiance, that an oath or two, more or less, is
considered a virtue rather than a crime.
The mob at the Chateau d'Eau having set fire to
that well-defended guard-house, pushed forward into
the Place du Carousel, and came in sight of the palace.
The Duchess of Orleans and her brave defenders were
on the rez-de-chaussee of the palace, in a room
which separates the Pavilion Marsan and the gallery
of Diana, whence they watched with excessive eagerness
the movement of the crowd, which gradually grew
denser and denser.
The soldiers, uninformed of the flight of the king,
resolved to defend the palace and their sovereign, and
when Marshal Gerard retired and the armed mob
rushed into the open space, two pieces of artillery were
discharged and the whole line of troops opened fire.
It had the effect desired ; in a second, apparently, the
whole place was vacated, excepting the wounded and
the dead ; the mob, brave when unopposed, took to
flight directly they were resisted. The Duchess of
Orleans, who at this time was ignorant of the king's
departure, desired Marshal Gourgaud, who was in
uniform, to give orders that the troops should cease
firing, saying she had heard the king give such com
mands. Marshal Gourgaud gave the order; the artillery
men extinguished their matches, the men piled their
arms, resistance was over, and the kingdom was lost !
It was now that a huissier entered the apartment
and announced the flight of the king.

64 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
" It is impossible," said the Duchess of Orleans.
" The king gone ! utterly impossible !"
" It is the truth," replied the huissier. " His Ma
jesty has abdicated, the Comte de Paris is king, and
your Royal Highness regent."
" And his Majesty could find no other person than
yourself to announce this intelligence ?" said the
duchess ; and at the request of her Royal Highness
the palace was examined, and reported " deserted."
The duchess now declared that she would, with her
children, take her seat under the picture of her hus
band, and that there she would remain ; but she was
soon convinced this was no time for inactivity. The
crown had fallen from the king's head and rested, for
the moment, on the brow of her son ; and the duchess,
whose courage was undeniable, resolved to make every
exertion to maintain it. M. Dupin confirmed the in
telligence of the huissier, and recommended the duchess
instantly to place herself and her children under the
protection of the Chamber.
There was no time for much consideration. The
Due de Nemours, who had just arrived, urged also
an instantaneous departure. The people finding no
resistance from the troops had again fearlessly ad
vanced, and as this last remnant of royalty left the
Tuileries by the garden-side, the insurgents broke
through the iron railings on the side of the Place du
Carousel, and the duchess was not a footstep from the
palace before it was invaded by the mob. She led
the Comte de Paris by the hand, while the Due de

UNIVERSAL TERROR. 65
Chartres was carried. It is mentioned, on good au
thority, that so quickly had all these scenes passed,
that the servant had not time to tie the Comte de
Paris' shoe-strings, and that in crossing over the Pont
de la Concorde, he trod upon the loose end and fell
down, — a sad omen, too shortly to be fulfilled. They
reached the Chambers as we have related in the
preceding chapter.
The historian in vain asks, where was M. Thiers,
on whose name and reputation the king had falsely
counted ? where was he, a minister, (although he had
placed M. Odillon Barrot in advance,) — where was he,
when the Duchess of Orleans, thus entirely unattended
by the ministers of the crown, entered the Chambers ?
and how is it that throughout the long, noisy, turbu
lent, intriguing debate, recorded nearly word for word
from the Moniteur, that no one heard the voice of
M. Thiers ? Had that great and powerful orator pro
posed the regency, and had he offered MM. Marie and
Cremieux places in the administration, the legal
quibbles would never have been raised, and the ylorious
Republic might never have existed.
Never had any word such terrific effect as the word
Republic. From the moment it was mentioned, all
courage in this great nation seemed stifled : men spoke
with hesitation and with caution ; the guillotine was
before their eyes, ruin stared them in the face ; and
yet they bowed their heads, cried "Vive la Republique,"
and bared their backs to the severe lash about to be
inflicted. In after years this will appear incredible.
VOL. i. f

66 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
A nation, famed for its valour — a nation which, under
Napoleon, conquered the vast extent between the Py
ramids and Moscow, whose very name created fear and
alarm throughout Europe, to whom kings bowed and
emperors capitulated — that such a nation could be
frightened at a word !¦ — that all the provinces should
accept what they all feared — that a street emeute in
Paris, and a declaration made in noisy acclamations
by, at the most, five hundred men, should be unresist
ingly accepted, with the consciousness of ruin, by
thirty-five millions of people — this is a cowardice of
which the history of the world can give no parallel.
Where were all the nobility of this great country ?
people proud of their rank and privileges — men of
fortune, of talent, of supposed courage — where were
the mass of independent citizens who existed but by
order, and whose growing riches marked the increase
of commerce and the tide of prosperity — and where
were the National Guards of Paris, a body composed
of all the householders and shop-keepers who grew
opulent by the influx of strangers and the allurements
of the court ?
The Republic was accepted as if it were the greatest
gift a kind Providence could bestow, and men of the
stamp of Marrast, Flocon, and Caussidiere, were taken
from their poor callings to govern what the French are
pleased to call the most accomplished people of the
earth. We begin to credit the remark of an old diplo
matist, " ceux que la France proteye, le diable emporte."
Strange it is, and melancholy to relate, that instead

THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. 67
of the upper classes and those in affluence forming
instantly a strong body to resist this ruinous innovation,
the rich deserted their country, the nobility silently
and unresistingly were shorn of their honours, and the
ruined tradesman and the intelligent mechanic looked
on at their growing ruin, and answered all reproaches
with the words — "Enfln que voulez-vous."
We have mentioned that the Duchess of Orleans,
when the crowd broke into the Chambers, shouting
that they would have neither king nor regency, at
first was disposed to remain; but no sooner was
that thunderbolt to French ears uttered, — the word
Republic, accompanied by the tumultuous exclama
tions of these variable people, than the duchess, listen
ing to the voice of prudence, rose to retire. The
Chamber was at this moment completely in the pos
session of the mob, and one villain pointed his musket
at the president. Fortunately M. Sauzet saw it, and
dropping from his seat, disappeared like a ghost
through the trap door of a stage. M. Dumas in his
spirited and satirical style remarks : — " Let us make
mention of this disappearance, as in all probability it
will be the last political act of the honourable pre
sident." It was now not an easy task for the duchess to
retire, and a scuffle ensued between some of the in
truders, who placed themselves as guards at the door,
and the faithful few who remained in attendance on
the royal party. In this confusion the duchess was
separated from the Comte de Paris, each party taking
f 2

68 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
a separate course, but following the circular corridors
which led to the entrance of the Chambers in the
Place Bourbon. The Due de Nemours found it impru
dent to preserve his uniform, and pale and half-naked
was seen exchanging his trousers and his coat — those
badges of royalty, when youths are made marechals —
for the commonest garb which could be procured.
Sad change ! the gaudy dress, the haughty look, a cer
tain expression of contempt, which was formerly visible
on the duke's countenance, were now converted into a
disguise for flight, and the strong expression of emotion
and fear. The Comte de Paris was seized by one of
the National Guards, a man of herculean stature, who
pressed the young count so closely to him, that in those
moments of anxiety, it was difficult to say whether the
intention was to save or destroy him ; but Hubert, the
king's valet-de-chambre, who had, like the faithful
servant he was, followed this sad wreck of royalty,
stepped forward and begged that the child might be
given to him.
" I have sworn to save him," said the man who
carried him, " and I will keep my word at all risks."
The door by which this brave fellow resolved to
pass was found closed, nor could it be forced; the
window became the' only exit. In a moment the
bearer of the count mounted on the sill with the in
tention of jumping from the height, certainly not less
than eight feet, but Hubert again interfered, and pro
posed that the generous saviour should leap first, and
then that he should drop the child into his arms.

ESCAPE OF THE COMTE DE PARIS. 69
"You swear," said he to Hubert, "that you will
restore me the count?"
" I swear," replied the valet.
In an instant the stout man leaped from the window,
the count was dropped into his arms, and Hubert and
the rest of the followers availed themselves of this exit,
keeping close to the child.
The Due de Nemours had disappeared in disguise.
The Duchess of Orleans had made good her retreat to
the house of the president, M. Sauzet ; the Due de
Chartres had been picked up as the poor child fell by
a huissier, and the Comte de Paris was safe ; — such was
the confusion of this escape, that not one remained
with the other. It is said that the Duchess of Orleans,
when she was forcibly separated from the Comte de
Paris, said to one of the mob : — " Infamous coward !
but the blood of my children shall fall upon your
children — " and she would, have continued thus to
have spoken, but the more prudent followers forced
her onwards and saved her. Throughout the whole
of this scene, trying under any circumstances, but
doubly so to a mother, the duchess behaved with
such courage, that every witness to the transaction
has done ample justice to her firmness and resolu
tion : had others imitated her example, the Due de
Nemours might have preserved his uniform, the Due
de Montpensier might have protected his wife, the
king might have retreated as a sovereign, and the
crown of France might have been preserved in the
Orleans branch of the family.

70 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
The Duchess of Orleans was now advised to retire
from the vicinity of spouting treason, illegally consti
tuted. A carriage was found — again a citadine — the
Comte de Paris had joined his mother, and they both
sought an asylum at the Hotel des Invalides. General
Petit commanded this worthy imitation of Chelsea, and
with the welcome of a soldier he received the duchess.
" Fear not," he said, " my brave veterans will de
fend you to the last; they would rather be cut to
pieces than that the Duchess of Orleans, having sought
their protection, should be in any way harmed." The
general spoke only his belief ; there is no nation in the
world more generous of its blood on behalf of the
ladies than the French.
The duchess now became anxious for the fate of the
Due de Chartres, and insisted upon the brave general's
making some inquiries. The child was seen under
the protection of the huissier, and the man was known
to be a staunch royalist. General Petit set forth on
his expedition, leaving the duchess and the Comte de
Paris under the safeguard of the veterans, whose cou
rage was as unquestionable as their gallantry. It is
said that the young prince was found dressed as a girl,
in a small apartment belonging to the huissier. This
man had a daughter about his age; he sent his
own child to a relative, and retained the duke to repre
sent it.
In these hours of tumult a child was easily con
cealed, and few had much time to consider a likeness ;
the popular excitement was so great that individuals

THE DUCHESS AT THE INVALIDES. 71
escaped, and this is evident from the flight of the
ministers, the concealment of the Duchess of Orleans
afterwards, and also of one of the ministers, who- en
deavoured to supply the wants of the king, and to
whom Louis Philippe wrote the day after his flight
from Paris.
The Comte de Paris and the Duchess of Orleans
soon found the Invalides no place of refuge ; the in
furiated mob pushed forwards in that direction, armed
with muskets, sabres, scythes, and every imaginable
offensive weapon ; the veterans could make no stand
against such a torrent, and prudently never offered any
resistance. The duchess and her son were again con
veyed to another asylum, and when General Petit
returned from his honourable and loyal embassy with
the child, the mother and the brother had found a
safer retreat than even the Invalides, although they
never could have a host more resolutely devoted to
their service than General Petit. It is said the duchess
remained three or four days in Paris after that fatal
twenty-fourth of February. The Duchess of Mont-
pensier's escape would make an excellent romance.
It was about three o'clock when the king, escorted
by some of the cavalry of the National Guards and dra
goons, arrived at St. Cloud, where the escort left
him, but not before they had circulated the news of
the abdication, and the royal fugitives proceeded
to Versailles after the delay of nearly an hour.-
The queen, the Duchess of Montpensier, and the
Duchess of Nemours and her children accompanied

72 THE ERENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the king, who availed himself of a pubhc conveyance
as no horses were to be had. Before he left St. Cloud,
he declared aloud, " that he had been most infa
mously deceived " and there is not the least doubt
of the truth of such belief. It is evident he was most
infamously deceived ; nay, it is well authenticated that
his valet, Provost, not having the fear of monarchy
before his eyes, ventured to suggest to his Majesty
that some concession to the popular clamour was abso
lutely necessary, and having implored the king not
to turn a deaf ear to the demand, he was answered :
— " It is merely a got up affair of some coffee-house
politicians ; it is nothing at all, and everything will be
quieted in a few hours." It is clear beyond dispute,
that the king never was informed of the extent of the
insurrection, and when he became aware of it, his cou
rage forsook him, and in the first panic, he fled.
The royal fugitives still continued to fly when they
might most leisurely have walked, for in the excite
ment of Paris, not a person troubled himself about the
king; they arrived at Dreux at half-past eleven at
night. They had travelled unsuspected, having only
two female attendants and one valet-de-pied ; the
incautiousness of this servant, who mentioned the
title of the king, discovered the retreating monarch.
At one o'clock in the morning, the Due de Montpen
sier arrived, and his intelligence threw a new gloom
over the royal family. It was announced that the
reign was over, the claims of the Comte de Paris
unregarded, and that a Republic was declared. That

FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 73
word was sufficient, a fresh flight was meditated, and
at nine o'clock, on the 25th of February, all symbols of
royalty were discarded, the liveries were laid aside, and
the day following the ex-king arrived at Honfleur.
Although as yet we have only spoken of the royal
family, it must not be supposed that the king was de
serted by everybody. Those who have the honour of
General deRumigny's* acquaintance, know well enough
he would not desert his master in affliction ; to the name
of the general must be added those of M. Matthieu
Dumas and M. Dupuis de Paulignes, — these were the
only remaining crew which still clung to the wreck of
royalty. In the meantime Louis Philippe disguised
himself as best he could ; his whiskers were shaved off,
he wore green spectacles, covered his face as much as
possible with a handkerchief, and spoke in English.
The fugitives took refuge in a small house which
belonged to a M. de Pertuis, formerly an aide-de-camp
to the king ; it contained but four rooms : the lower
ones were occupied by the royal family, and the rest
of the attendants slept in the straw in the yrenier or
garret. M. de Pertuis himself came to the aid of his
master, but the wind was so high, and the coast so
dangerous, that all thought of embarkation was aban
doned. Racine, a servant of M. de Pertuis, was
despatched to make an arrangement with any master
of a vessel to cany an American, with his family, to
England, who had left Paris, frightened at the revo-
* General de Eumigny died in May, 1849, having survived his
wife, who expired of the cholera, only four days.

74 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
lution. This was a reasonable mask, for when the
revolution broke out, numerous English families be
took themselves to flight, and suffered grievous incon
venience and danger to escape what they believed
greater in Paris. The burning of the bridges on the
Rouen railway and the destruction on the Northern
line stopped that torrent of retreating English.
Racine met the royal party on their road to Trouville,
and informed them that he had engaged a vessel
to take them to England for five thousand francs, and
that a Doctor Biard would receive them, the doctor's
house being well situated for an embarkation. The
weather still continued boisterous; it blew a very hard
gale of wind, and even the sea, which was sought as a
refuge, appeared for the moment more dangerous than
the Republic. An experienced sailor, named Victor
Barbet, was consulted ; the sea had no terrors for him,
and he declared he would conduct the American and
his family in safety to England. When brought into
the royal presence, he remarked some mystery, and
said . — « 1 don't want to know your secrets, I will risk
my life to place you in England/' The king, overcome
by the generous offer, discovered himself and embraced
the old sailor, who declared it possible to embark if
the vessel was in the open roadstead, but if she was
shut up in the harbour it would be impossible to
get out.
It so happened that Halley's vessel was in the river
Tongue, which may be called the harbour of Trouville,
whilst Barbet had a vessel in the offing. Hence

FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 75
it became necessary to annul the first bargain, and
Racine was sent to offer two thousand five hundred
francs. Hafley on being asked to receive that sum,
said at once : "I will have the whole amount, it is
the king who wishes to escape." Racine returned
breathless with haste and alarm, whilst Halley, equally
vigilant lest his prey should escape, gave notice of his
suspicions to the authorities, who placed a guard along
the coast. The king, on being informed of Halley's
discovery, returned directly to Honfleur, whilst the
commissary came to the house now deserted by all but
M. Pertuis, whose self-possession disarmed suspicion ;
and when the commissary departed, this gentleman
took a short road and arrived at his house as soon as
the king.
No sooner was he convinced of the safety of his
Majesty than M. Pertuis set out to Havre. Here he
found the Express steam -boat, which had been sent
across to receive any of her Majesty's subjects inclined
to run away. As the king could not embark at Havre,
the passage-boat between Havre and Honfleur was
hired by M. Pertuis for a hundred and twenty francs.
The captain of the Express was given to understand
that some passengers would arrive when he was clear
of the port ; the king and the royal family embarked
in the small steamer, the Express went out of the har
bour, and within sight of the pier the king and the
royal family were transferred from one boat to the
other, and the royal family were in security.
Throughout this flight the king never contemplated

76 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
a return to power ; it was a characteristic feature of this
revolution that the heads of royalty bowed down before
the "fait accompli!' The Duchess of Orleans alone
• showed less resignation or pusillanimity ; to the last
moment she retained some faith in the good sense of the
people and the fidelity of the army. The king only
sought to recover sufficient funds to pay his expenses.
It appears that a correspondence was established on
this subject between him and one of his former minis
ters, who remained in Paris, and who immediately
placed himself in communication with the Provisional
Government, not to reclaim the crown, but to solicit a
paltry sum of money, which was refused! It was
M. de M — t — 1 — v — t who received the first inti
mation of the wants of the king, and who made the
request to M. de Lamartme ; and here is a little anec
dote which we guarantee exact. It will show that
M. de Lamartine was cautiously watched in all his
movements.* * On the 25th of Februaiy, about noon, a gentleman and a lady
arrived at the Hotel of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and de
manded to see the minister. The sentinel of the outer gate was
one of those curious productions of the Eevolution, half-clad, with a
bright musket, and forming, to look at him, an excellent representa
tion of the body-guard of the Governor of St. lago. The gentleman
asked if the minister had arrived, to which our newly-made soldier
answered thus : — " I beg your pardon, citoyen and citoyenne, he is
not as yet arrived. The citoyen minister played us false, he pro
mised to sleep with us last night, but it appears his other occupa
tions prevented him ; we are waiting for him, and expect him to
shake us by the hand. Go into the porter's lodge, citoyenne, and
the citoyen minister will soon be here."
This was a polite citoyen soldier, but the conversation was over-

THE MOB AT THE TUILERIES. 77
It is impossible to do justice to the devotedness of
M. Pertuis, General de Rumigny, and the other gentle
men who attended the king to the last : they did their
respective duties like firm friends and generous and
devoted subjects. Had others in Paris, who pretended
the deepest obligations, raised their voices an^d their
arms in his defence, the ignoble flight here recorded
would never have occurred. Certainly the annals of
history can scarcely parallel a crown so lost, without
even a struggle, — a flight so ignominious and dis
graceful, — a nation so disloyal, — a panic so universal,
— a king so disguised, — or a people so treacherous.
The Duchess d' Orleans was scarcely clear of the
threshold of the Tuileries, before the mob, having
forced their unopposed way by the Place du Carousel,
broke into the sanctuary of royalty. Some few armed
themselves from the piles of muskets now deserted
by the soldiers ; but the generality made a rush at
the palace, mounted the great staircase, and began
heard by a sinister-looking personage, who seemed to' exercise con
siderable control ; he came forward and desired the lady and gentle
man to withdraw. " I have a rendezvous,'' said the lady, " fixed
for this hour with the minister." " Sentinel," said this ruffian,
" turn these citoyens out, and if they give any trouble, use the
bayonet." The witness to this scene recognised in the lady and
gentleman two members of the family of the Intendant General of
the Civil List. The sinister gentleman recognised them, also, and gave
them this barbarous reception, having some suspicion of the object
of their interview •. he seemed at once the guardian of the minister,
a chief of the Eepublic, and an enemy to all that had once been great
and respected.

78 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the grand scene of destruction which ensued. We,
who were eye-witnesses of what we relate, can safely
vouch for the truth of all that follows.
Directly the people were in possession of the palace
a sudden change came over them: it appeared no longer
a dangerous revolution, but a masquerade. Some of
the sovereign-people, for they soon usurped that appel
lation, placed themselves as sentinels, having apparently
tasted the contents of the cellars before they mounted
guard. " Entrez, Messieurs" said one, " entrez, vous
n avezpas besoin d'une carte d 'admission" and crowds,
succeeding crowds, invaded the palace. Some sat down
to finish the breakfast which the royal family had
left ; others rushed to the private apartments, from the
windows of which came a regular snow-storm of paper.
These were shreds of valuable records, destroyed with
out being read, and thrown not by handfuls but basket-
fuls into the inclosed garden which fronts the palace.
Whilst this scene of destruction was going on in the
second story of the Tuileries, the cellars invited many
spirited republicans to a Bacchanalian revelry. " Ah
que le vin est bon!" we heard ; " et le champayne!"
shouted another ; " au diable le vin," cried a third,
already a king in idea, and reeling under the property
of royalty, and declaring with a becoming oath, that
" the brandy was good, but the rhum excellent." The
reader need not imagine that each of these self-invited
guests required a cork-screw ; nor need they believe
that the old command of " eat fair but pocket none,"
was strictly adhered to. We saw many heavily laden

THE MOB AT THE TUILERIES. 79
with bottles, forsake the cellar for their homes, no
doubt to return and continue this trading voyage.
The god of mischief presided at this unhallowed
orgie. The valuable china was broken to atoms, not
a plate remained entire ; never was destruction more
rapid or more certain. All the collection of Sevres,
valuable as chef d'ceuvres of art, were smashed, and
the noise of one tremendous crash only provoked
another. In the rooms of state destruction necessarily
followed the admission ofthe sovereign people, who took
possession of their palace with rather confused ideas.
The bedroom of the queen soon became the resort of
one or two of those ladies who are foremost in a
masked ball or a Parisian emeute ; we cannot repeat
what passed in that chamber : it appears that the pre-
cints of royalty added a charm to licentiousness.
Whilst the interior of the palace presented this ex
traordinary scene of ruin and riot, destruction and
prostitution, the exterior was not without its masque
rades. The scene cannot be more aptly compared
than to a tree attacked by wasps. On the summit of
the palace, where the flag flies, about a- dozen men
were screaming and shouting, and going through fan
tastic attitudes, the results of long apprenticeship in
those semaphorical exhibitions so conspicuous in
French gesticulation ; legs and arms seemed doing the
work of the telegraph. Hundreds crawled over the
roof, some sliding down, some clambering up.
On a parapet fronting the garden, there walked in
most majestic and solemn step a man — a sovereiyn —

80 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
dressed up in robes which, from the short distance,
appeared to us as really robes of state ; he held in his
hand a most uncommon sceptre, a broomstick, and
was followed by a regular yamin de Paris, who bore
his train. The king, in all his mimic pride, walked
with great stateliness and steadiness, whilst the train-
bearer, at every step, raised the train, and made a sem
blance of performing a very familiar act, known most to
cheats, swindlers, and cowards ; certainly, if it is as
Hudibras says, "just on the spot where honor's
placed," his Majesty must have felt the plebeian foot
most uncomfortably : it was a sad satire on royalty,
and performed in a palace. Those who witnessed this
curious scene, which certainly lasted half an hour,
were convulsed with laughter.
Another facetious fellow possessed himself of the
Prince de Joinville's hookah, and although the day
was not well warmed, threw himself in a reclining
position in the gardens, whilst a little boy kept bow
ing and pretending to light the pipe, which had
evidently fallen into strange hands. The gardens
rang with shouts of laughter, and but for the hundreds
who crawled over the palace, the destruction visible
from the windows, the loud smash, and the hum of
a thousand voices, with the occasional discharge of
fire-arms, no one would think that a king had been
dethroned, and a nation ruined. It was much more
like a masquerade scene. It must not be thought
from the foregoing that all were bent on mischief ;
many gave up all revolutionary feelings for amuse-

GOOD HUMOUR OF THE POPULACE. 81
ments, while others endeavoured to stop the strong tide
of destruction. A crucifix was borne in true religious
pomp from the palace to the church of St. Roch, the
crowd uncovering their heads and bowing as it passed
along. Others seized a bonnet, believed to belong to
the queen, and carrying it through the streets, danced
like our chimney-sweepers on the first of May : others
again, bundled the throne disrespectfully from the
windows, and followed by an immense crowd took it
to the Place de la Bastille, where it was burnt.
There was not the least appearance of any violence ;
all authority was at an end, the sovereign people be
came the sovereign judges, and it is highly to the
credit of the Parisians, that during their reign fewer
crimes were committed in Paris, than ever were known
under the Prefect of Police. Thousands of muskets
were discharged in the air, and after the first hour
from the attack on the Tuileries, only timid old ladies
and the pigeons which frequented the palace gardens
appeared frightened. We met many ladies in the
palace and in the streets and gardens ; their curiosity
overcame their fears. Nor was the masquerading
scene alone devoted to the palace and its vicinity.
On the Boulevards the French liveliness of character
was also seen. A boy had dressed himself in the royal
liveries, and the coat, which had belonged to a tall ser
vant, trailed along the ground : in spite of the crowds
of people, this urchin continued his course, saying
with a most piteous voice : — " My master has gone
away, and left me behind ; can any one tell me where
VOL. I. G

82 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
is my master ? " Every person who saw the youngster
forgot the scene of the day, and joined in the hearty
laugh he occasioned.
During the whole of this time the National Guards
were under arms. They crowded about the Rue Cas-
tiglione, Place Vendome, and the neighbourhood of the
palace. They were all aware of the ruin which would
overtake them, but there they stood as striking a pic
ture of the inutility of this apparently imposing force
as could be imagined. Some of this body had occa
sioned the ruin : the mimic soldiers in the ranks might
as well have mimicked discipline and have forborne to
cry " Vive la Reforme ! "
In the meantime nobody appeared to know what
was doing, or what was going to be done. The scene
going forward (and which we have related) in the
Chamber of Deputies was unknown without its walls ;
reports were circulated, of course, — the Parisian public
yield to no nation on the face of the earth in the manu
facture of reports ; and if they could but export them
with the most trifling duty, it would form the best
item in their national revenue. But although this
scene of good humour was everywhere, and no armed
mob stood ready to resist the slightest encroachment,
it never occurred to any division of the National
Guard to support the Chamber of Deputies, or to en
deavour to check the inroad of destruction. So per
fectly quiet and safe was any movement in the streets,
that we ourselves walked out to dinner, with two
spaniel dogs, and returned at ten o'clock at night

STATE OF PARIS. 83
without the slightest molestation or alarm. It is true
that throughout the night many persons disturbed our
slumbers, and that frequently muskets were discharged,
to the no small alarm of some individuals, who knew
that no government existed, and that the commissaries
of police were all absent, or too frightened to preserve
the slightest authority. The people were now the
sovereign, and to them we must have looked for either
alarm or defence ; but those who looked calmly on
this extraordinary revolution saw, in the very men
from whom pillage was apprehended, the best security
against it. " Mort au Voleur " was written on every
corner, and in the garden of the Palais Royal two
bodies were exposed, each having on its breast a large
card with the word " Voleur " written thereon.
The work was accomplished, the yamins de Paris
had again made a revolution, there was not the slightest
fear of a re-action ; from all the provinces the news
arrived — "La Republique a ete proclamee partout au
milieu des vivats universels." Criminals going to exe
cution might as well have shouted — " Vive les bour-
reaux : we can imagine one being just as acceptable as
the other. And now the yamins de Paris made another
change in their Proteus life : Paris, from daylight to
dark, became a kind of musical academy ; it was not
confined to a few, but everybody seemed suddenly in
oculated with a desire of excelling in the performance
of the Marseillaise and the Girondins ; other songs of
course were added, but the Chant du depart, the Mar
seillaise, and the Girondins, with its eternal " Mourir

84 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
pour la Patrie," were the stock-pieces of this musical
repository. Ten or twenty boys, holding each others'
hands, and occupying the breadth of the road,
screamed these exciting songs, whilst many people, who
casually met them, joined in the chorus. It was never
ending, and what was most marvellous, it appeared
never to injure their throats. Awake when you would,
that song was to be heard ; every little urchin who
walked along the streets was either whistling or singing
it, and such was the eternal repetition, that in spite of
our hatred of all revolutions, not founded in justice,
or the result of crushing tyranny, that we even have
caught ourselves most involuntarily joining in the
chorus. All, however, were not quite so innocently em
ployed. The burning of Neuilly and of Rothschild's
house at Surenne, does not reflect much honour on
the perpetrators of those crimes ; still it must be ad
mitted that with a country in such a state, with a popu
lation suffering excessive hardships and privations, the
circumstance that no further enormities were committed,
reflects the highest honour on the national character.
We have often heard people remark, " Why praise
them for being honest, ought not every man to be
honest ?" It is well to say this, but should we find pri
vate property almost universally respected in any other
city with a million of inhabitants, without police and
without control : for three days and nights this was
the case in Paris, and we cannot . record one act of
theft. Nay, the mob broke into the apartments of the

GENEROSITY OF THE MOB. 85
widow of a general officer in the Palais Royal : this
lady, not accustomed to such irruptions, exhibited the
fear any one might show without an imputation of
cowardice. She told who she was, and showed the
furniture of her apartments. " At any rate you have
some money," said one, " and we are starving ; our
wives and children are in distress." The widow gave
forty francs — her all— and no sooner had this band
left the room with their plunder, than they considered
the act unjustifiable, returned, and restored the
money. Nor is this a singular case ; the desire of
possessing money occasioned two or three similar de
mands, and after having touched the coin, the mob
returned it to the owner, believing that by retaining
it they were guilty of theft.
The pens of all the writers in creation cannot bestow
sufficient praise on the Parisians in this respect, their
conduct is unrivalled in the world. Compare them
with the inhabitants of Vienna, Berlin, Rome, Florence,
or Naples ; they stand forth a model to mankind.
II f aut etre juste. No other nation ever exhibited this
fact : a revolution formed, fanned, and executed by
the lowest of the population, fear having so possessed
the inhabitants of the city, that a flight gives but a
vague idea of the hurried escape — every man prepared
for a reign of terror — the slightest rap at the door
occasioning its opening instantly, — and the victors over
their sovereign and the aristocracy, becoming instantly
victors over themselves, and the judges and the
executioners of crime ! We have rendered, willingly,

86 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
this homage to their virtue ¦. we will as fearlessly de
nounce their cowardice.
Return we to the Tuileries — even here, as at Neuilly,
the apartments of the Duchess of Orleans had been
respected, and not even the toys of the infant princes
were injured ; there was a silent reverence the instant
her apartments were entered, whilst outside was one
reign of destruction and tumult.
The duchess had preserved the hat and whip of her
husband under a glass-case, and no one dared profane
the relic by a touch ; it was looked at with respect
and reverence. The books she had been reading still
lay open, and even the curious seemed to imagine that
she would return, and left, undisturbed, the leaves
of the " Consulat " of Thiers. We have recorded her
just reproach to that statesman, and it is a strange
coincidence that she had been perusing this work but
a quarter of an hour previous to her denouncement
of its writer.
In the king's apartments a considerable destruction
took place, and the sovereign people looked upon many
articles of value, which did belong to the king, as their
own property, and we cannot say that some spoons
and other articles of great value were not purloined.
Whilst the carriages were burning outside, and some
really exalted patriots were singing the Marseillaise
within, the quiet pickpocket and scientific extractor
conveyed away articles which very soon found an in
trinsic value in the crucible. The theatre was nearly
torn to pieces. Pictures were cut and fired at ; chan-

THE TUILERIES PLUNDERED. 87
deliers and articles of costly furniture were demolished,
and all we can say is, that if it was a virtue not to
plunder, it was evidently patriotism to destroy. Even
the dresses of the princesses did not escape, nor did
the inexpressibles of either royalty or its servants
rest undisturbed in the drawers. It was a scene of
confusion, anarchy, and destruction, that passed all
belief, and we must take the plunderers as the excep
tions, not as the rules. It was a tempting moment
for the victorious thief, and we cannot wonder that in
his new dress of soldier and conqueror, he did not en
tirely forget his former dishonest but lucrative em
ployment. We leave this scene of riot and disorder, aware that
no adequate description can be given of it. As we
turned away at the moment — so we do now — regret
ting that the king abandoned his palace without a
struggle, leaving his kingdom to as ruthless destruction
as his apartment, and wondering that he who wore a
crown could, without one effort, become a wanderer
and a disguised outcast in his own country.

CHAPTER IV.
The Republic — General Apathy— First Proclamation of the
Provisional Government — The Chambers dissolved — State of
Paris  Fears of tlie Inhabitants — Newspapers and Pla
cards — Street Scenes — The City before and after the Revo
lution — Causes ofthe Revolution — Lamartine on Republics —
Government Proclamations — Walls placarded — Rumours.
Ox the morning of Friday the 25th of February,
France was to all intents and purposes a Republic. It
is true that it had been proclaimed, but under the
conditions that it should be accepted by the country.
At the moment of its proclamation in the Chamber of
Deputies, had there been a secret ballot for the form
of government, and had the brave people retained
their supposed courage, we are ready to stake our ex
istence that out of the thirty-five millions of inhab
itants, not twenty thousand would have voted for the
Republic; but the word had been uttered at the
desire of a ragged set of raggamuffins, the courageous
Lamartine and the proud Ledru Rolhn had declared
it, the electric shock was communicated, and not

ENFIN QUE VOULEZ-VOUS ? 89
a royalist of yesterday dared utter his sentiments
to-day. Every man in the country was paralyzed ;
the National Guards gave up their useless arms,
every shop was closed, and on every shutter was to be
seen " armes donnees." Oh, poor France ! — out of the
many thousands who daily vaunt your courage, — out
of the millions who daily declare you the greatest and
most civilized of creation, could not one hand be
found, could not one voice be heard to warn you of
the destruction come upon you, and arm a few
generous people to resist your ruin ? Those fatal
words, descriptive of passive resignation common to
all France, " Enfin que voulez-vous," passed from
mouth to mouth with the usual appropriate shrug of
the shoulders.
All nations have peculiar expressions, this one is
fatal to France. During the hottest of the 24th of
February, we found, as we before mentioned, the
useless National Guard occupying the streets in their
uniform. We endeavoured to rouse them to action,
to defend the crown, and to save the inevitable ruin.
" If a Republic is declared, the nation is lost. March
like the brave soldiers of France, imitate Suwaroff,
and if you have no ammunition trust to the bayonet.
Remember the former revolution, — the guillotine, —
its murders, massacres, and ruin." We spoke to deaf
ears : the nominal soldiers looked at each other and
said, " Tout cela est bien vrai, mais enfin que voulez-
vous r
" Remember, " we continued, " the pillage, — the

90 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
violence, — the rape, — the murder which may follow
this hstless indifference of yours ? Who is to defend
you if you do not defend yourselves ? You are reported
two hundred thousand strong, — the army will follow
your steps, or lead you to the assault, — already a Pro
visional Government is proposed in the Chamber of
Deputies ! now — now is the time, and not a moment
is to be lost, march at once and restore order." " C'est
triste tout cela, mais enfin que voulez-vous ? "
The Provisional Government, illegally constituted,
knew well that a sudden burst of authority was requi
site to inspire the childish terror which would bow
down the heads of the proud. Thus came one of its
first thunderbolts. — " Le Gouvernement Provisoire ar-
rete .• — La Chambre des Deputes est dissoute ; il est
inter dit a, la Chambre des Pairs de se reunir ! " It
was read by the deputies and by the few peers who
remained; it was acknowledged the result of an illegally
constituted usurping government, but who would resist?
it was a usurpation ! " mais enfin que voulez-vous ! "
Is it not shocking to think that in this great country
— for great it may be in spite of the cowardice which
it displayed — is it not shocking to think that when
the darkness set in, if the daylight was inconvenient,
no re-union of the nobility, no remnant of the de
puties, met to save their country? No, a general
" sauve qui peut " succeeded the declaration of the
Provisional Government, and those who could not fly
changed their abodes. Neither was this puerile fear
only visible in the French ; we know many English

TERROR OF THE HIGHER CLASSES. 91
who believed that they were either condemned as rich
(alas ! how soon some of these became poor), or because
they had insulted their porters, or been uncivil to their
tradesmen. Meurice's Hotel became a refuge for the
destitute ; many resorted to disguises, and we saw a
duke of great fortune dressed in a blouse, and walking
arm-in-arm with about as desperate a ruffian in ap
pearance as even a French revolution could produce.
Liberty, Fraternity, and Equality seemed at once
translated : — Liberty, the sacred privilege of telling
lies; Fraternity, a kind disposition to relieve your
neighbour of some of his superfluous wealth; and
Equality, the state of the nation's and individuals'
funds. Not a voice was raised in defence of the
monarchy. Every man expected to find the guillotine
mounted by the morning of the twenty-sixth of
February, and to see carts loaded with the con
demned going slowly to execution. Red became the
fashionable colour ; women wore red caps and sashes,
and red handkerchiefs succeeded the black cravat.
Some took refuge behind shop counters; others dressed
themselves as servants ; the paint brush removed all
armorial bearings from the carriages. The plate was
either buried or sent away ; some melted it down :
all the packers of Paris were employed, indeed this
was the only trade which flourished, and the nobility
sneaked out of the capital.
The Northern railway was not available beyond
Pontoise, on the Paris side, as the stations had been
burnt, and the rails taken up by the sovereign people

92 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
desirous of retaining their friends in the metropolis.
On the Rouen railway the bridges were burnt, and the
road rendered useless. This made moving hazardous,
more especially as some of the new sovereigns, under
the fraternal system, occasionally reheved travellers of
any superfluous articles which might encumber their
vehicles. Everybody set his house in order. Servants
were discharged, and those who but a few days pre
vious rolled in carriages and revelled in luxuries, con
descended to walk under the protection of a blouse,
and to live retired, — all society seemed lost in frater
nity and equality. Clubs sprang up to replace the
theatres, and if the latter were opened, they were but
slenderly attended. Old ladies became very hysterical ;
careful husbands collected what gold they could, to be
ready for a start, and money became the rarest of all
useful commodities.
The lively city we described previous to the revolu
tion, had now entirely changed its aspect. A heavy
gale of wind continued to blow, and those versed in
" wise saws and modern instances," drew conclusions
from former circumstances of this kind. Not a shop
was opened ; men came and went, and passed here
and there in solemn silence. The new sovereigns
changed the decent garb many of them used to wear
for blouses; they were never silent. The eternal
Marseillaise and the " Mourir pour la Patrie," were
to be heard in every step ; every man as he walked
beat time and marched to them; but it was, after all, tlie
heavy footstep of care, the uncertain tread of dismay.

PARIS AFTER THE REVOLUTION. 93
One or two carriages moved slowly about, the remises
usurped the places of the fiacres, or drove leisurely
along soliciting custom.
It was too aristocratic to ride, and many gentlemen
considered a great coat a dangerous covering, as it was
not fraternal for one man to wear two coats, whilst
equality shivered in a blouse. The only persons who
thrived were the packers ; opposite their establishments
the trottoir was not available. The once great and
happy seemed now particularly small and sorrowful ;
no one thought of remedying the evil, the only chance
was to guide the storm, or entice it, as warmth does a
current of air, into a new direction. A thousand
tongues, bellowed forth a thousand newspapers ; every
man seemed to have set up for himself in the news
fine, and those who could not afford the luxury of the
lies, for not one, from the Debats to the Lampion,
wrote one word of truth, looked over, or fraternaUy
shared the news with his neighbours. The people
collected in various knots, and any person joined in
the conversation : if three friends met and talked, the
sound drew around them strangers, who quietly and
very orderly mingled in the debate.
It was a strange sight ! Four days had as com
pletely changed Paris as if a general bankruptcy had
arrived : many who, previous to the twenty-fourth of
February, could have commanded any sum of money,
now found themselves without a farthing, and to
borrow was not an easy method of getting supplies.
Some began to apprehend starvation, others a violent

94 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
re-action. Others again had not lost the apprehen
sion of a reign of terror, and at night the whole city
seemed to have emptied its contents of inhabitants on
the Boulevards ; very few felt inclined' to sleep, and if
the politician did not slumber until he had read the
periodical productions of the day, he must have been
fortunate to have closed his eyes at four in the morning,
to begin his long task again at seven. The firing in
the streets was stopped by a gentle remonstrance of
the Provisional Government, who began first by issu
ing their proclamations in the name of the sovereign
people, which they very shortly abandoned for "Au nom
du Peuple Francais."
In the meantime the walls of Paris resembled
a thousand specimens of paper-hanging. Every
man in the country seemed to have hit upon some
grievance to be abated, and some means to avoid ruin.
Some of these placards were not very moderate in
intention ; others again had a ready made education
for everybody ; plenty looked fiercely for a reduction
of taxes, and as no shops were opened, and every
person thought only of himself, and discharged his
various assistance, the tide of human beings seemed to
increase at every step.
As the shopkeepers did nothing, an opposition was
got up to them by hucksters, who spread out then-
wares on the pavement. It required great care to
pick one's steps through the heterogeneous mass of
articles thus exposed for sale. Everything, from a
looking-glass to a bandana handkerchief, was exhibited ;

CAUSE OF THE REVOLUTION. 95
it appeared as if all the pots and pans of Paris had re
volted against their imprisonment, and taken posses
sion of the highways. There was no police ; it was
an evil to be got rid of by rain and cold ; and Nature,
which seems to have protected the French revolution
from its beginning, did her work, and at last washed
the pavement of these rags and tatters. There were
no soirees, no petits soupers, no dinners, balls, routs,
or masquerades ; no carriages enlivened the streets ;
dirty fellows, linked together, shouting and screaming,
relieved the monotony of the scene ; whilst intense
anxiety occupied every mind. Paris was an inhab
ited tomb -. such was the difference between the
capital before and after the revolution.
When a nation revolts, dethrones its monarch, and
becomes a Republic, it is natural enough to suppose
that such a change is the result of one energetic con
vulsion by which the slaves emancipate themselves
from the shackles of oppression, and walk proudly over
the ruins of tyranny.
It became now one of the most difficult tasks to
suggest why this revolution had taken place at all.
Nobody ever dreamt of such a result ; a considerable
agitation, to turn out some minister who enjoyed the
loaves and fishes of office, was natural enough. No
Frenchman likes to see his neighbour above him, and
every Frenchman believes himself quite capable of
being prime-minister.
To make a man unpopular in France, he has only
to be successful, when all the vipers of creation encircle

96 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
him, to strangle him. Let any man in France succeed
by quiet, steady means in obtaining a pre-eminence of
wealth, and the day after he would not believe in the
history of himself, recorded by his friends.
Who was a wiser monarch than Louis Philippe?
who was called the Napoleon of Peace ? who was ever
surrounded by braver sons, or more virtuous daughters?
The Due de Nemours was to rival Wellington, and
the Prince de Joinville was the French Nelson ; all
Frenchmen spoke in these terms : they might quarrel
about the policy of the Spanish marriages, or hint
that his Majesty gambled at the Bourse, but still he
was the greatest, wisest, and best beloved monarch in
Europe. No sooner had he taken his departure in that miser
able citadine, than every report was circulated to
render him the best abused man on the continent.
They even said he never paid his fare, and swindled
the coachman who saved him ! He was declared the
most infamous sovereign that ever reigned ; he had
purloined the treasure of the state and invested it in
Foreign funds — his reign had been one long day of
treachery and deceit — his sons were all cowards, and
his palace a hot-bed of lewdness and debauchery.
At any rate, it would never do to let the public be
lieve that they had made a revolution without a griev
ance. It was called the ylorious revolution— the holy
cause— the sacred achievement ! and hke the lawyer
who painted his client's case in such glowing colours,
that the client himself expressed his astonishment at

lamartine's republic. 97
the cruelty he had experienced; so every man who
wrote a line endeavoured to persuade the populace
that they had existed under the most tyrannical of all
governments ; that there was no law for the poor, no
justice but for the rich ; that the nobility were thieves
and murderers, the deputies a pack of hirelings, the
people slaves ! Solitary unfortunate cases were brought
forth as evidence, and the emancipated mob rejoiced
at the idea of being the sovereign people.
Here is a portion of Lamartine's famous speech
when the mob believed, or feigned to believe, that
the Provisional Government were about to deceive
them, and maintain the regency : — " No ! not a repub
lic like that of Rome, embracing aristocrats and ple
beians, masters and slaves. No ! not a republic like
the aristocratic republics of modern times, embracing
citizens and proletary, the great and the small before
the law, a people and patricians, — but a republic of
equality; where there is neither aristocracy nor
oligarchy, neither great nor small, nor patricians, nor
plebeians, nor master nor slaves in the eye of the law
— where there is but one people, composed of the uni
versality of citizens, and where the rights, and the
power, emanate solely from the vote and the rights of
each individual of which the nation is composed —
making thus one sole collective power, called the go
vernment of the republic, and returning in wise laws,
popular institutions and consummate advantages to
the people from which such power emanated."
An ignorant person reading this. flowery hallucina-
VOL. I. H

98 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
tion of the poet's brain, very naturally concluded that
he had lived a slave, and regenerated himself into free
dom. He continued : — " If we had promised you
these benefits three days ago, you would have discre
dited us, and said — it will require three ages. But
that which you believed impossible is accomplished.
Behold our work ! — behold it now in these tumults —
in these arms, — in the bodies of your martyrs, — and
you murmur against God, and against us ! " and thus
the grievances were established.
It was quite clear from these extracts, that the
French had lived under the most rigorous tyranny ;
that the rich and the great alone obtained verdicts ;
that the law and the judges slumbered when poverty
appealed to Justice ; that masters and slaves existed ;
in fact, that Lafayette's model government of a re
public with a king was a monstrous deception ; that
all the fetes of July had only registered more indelibly
the servile cowardice of the nation, which had now
burst its bonds, and acquired a free and a permanent
government. It was evident that the Provisional Government
must set earnestly to work to keep up the de
ception. Very free people like a peculiar freedom
from taxation : to have a government, and not to see
every five minutes some change from the old system,
would excite suspicion. Railway legislation, as the
words were once applied to an English chancellor,
soon became manifest. These laws were promulgated
by placards, and as every man had become his own

ABOLITION OF TITLES. 99
bill sticker, and the walls were so covered, that the
government notices stood a good chance of being
unobserved, an order was issued that the sovereign
people should give forth their luminous ideas on any
coloured paper they preferred, but that white paper
was reserved for the government. The two which evi
dently were best received were those which abrogated
the sentence of death in political matters, and the
arrest for debt. This last was hailed with considerable
applause, especially as money was scarce, and debts
inevitable. The law which swept away nobility and
its titles had a good effect, for previous to the revolution,
every French chevalier d' Industrie, before he started
on his piratical errands, always figured as a count, or
baron, and sometimes, when the plunder was large, or
an English lady to be ensnared, a dukedom was
liberally bestowed by the chevalier himself ; nay, we
are acquainted with several yentlemen who, previous to
setting out on a matrimonial voyage of discovery were
only Monsieurs, and very respectable Monsieurs too,
were suddenly changed when they landed in England
into counts and barons.
It will, hereafter, be seen how much of the rail
way legislation survived the year. The nobility looked
unshaken at the placards which levelled them with the
chiffonier ; nor did they, indeed, in the month of
November, show many symptoms of disgust when
Article 10 of the Constitution was voted thus : — " Sont
abolis a toujours tout titre nobiliere, toute distinction de
naissance, de classe, ou de caste ! "
h 2

100 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
In the midst of this universal levelling, it is quite
refreshing to relate one act of courage. Amongst the
thousand placards for the nation's benefit, came forth
one, proposing " as all nobility was abolished, and as
no caste or distinction remained, that the Legion of
Honour should be abolished also." Ha ! the blood of
all the knights of France fired at the proposition !
Men who consented to be ruined without a murmur,
would not consent to forego a piece of red ribbon in
the button-hole, and which was worn by twenty
thousand gallant and worthy citizens, — some for great
and worthy deeds of arms ; others for having fiddled
well, others for being secretaries to railroads, or ad
ministrators ; many for having been prefets or
painters. The men who had benefited science, or
added to their nation's renown, joined with the inferior
knights, and resisted this ruthless attack ; and later,
when M. Clement Thomas called this red insignia of
honour, the " hochets d'humanite," many a gallant
heart resisted the attempt to deprive him of his ribbon.
It was the only placard within our knowledge which
was torn from the walls, and the red ribbon rose in
value as other articles were depreciated. It was the
only act of courage since the twenty- fourth of February.
In the meantime, some would-be Ministers of Fi
nance put forth many modes of replenishing the
exchequer : some proposed that the rich should be
forced (here was liberty !) to pay a milliard ; others
that the good old revolution should be followed, and
that assignats should be legal tenders ; others directed

POPULAR RUMOURS. 101
the attention of the public to education ; and it would
be about as impossible a task to number the hairs of
a man's head, as to record the multitudinous proposi
tions which were plastered on every eligible spot in
the metropolis. In the Faubourg St. Antoine, papers
of a different kind appeared, recommending the stern
republicans to preserve their arms and keep their
powder dry ; but in the more gentlemanly quarter,
moral legislature prevailed.
To look for news in the French papers was now a
waste of time. Every falsehood which ingenuity could
invent was published : — Belgium was declared in full
revolt, and Leopold gone to England. This was
believed by many, as the vicinity of the two countries
became a kind of electric telegraph ; but the following
was a more splendid invention : — " England is in a
state of revolution. A republic has been declared in
London. The queen has left the Isle of Wight, and
has landed at Havre ; we trust every true republican
will show due respect to a woman, and a fallen
sovereign." This was balm to the souls of the afflicted ; it was
the wish of many that such a calamity might befall
our happy island ; and even those who knew that
Englishmen were not very likely to look quietly on
whilst ruin and desolation were at hand, actually took
a savage pleasure in retailing the palpable falsehood.
On one placard we saw that the queen was to be
housed at the Hotel de Ville.
As fast as it was supposed that couriers could come

102 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
and go was news created. Every monarch, from the
Czar to the King of Naples, was dethroned. The
European world was one great republic. Liberty,
equality, and fraternity were the pass- words to peace
and prosperity. The suns of royalty had set for ever;
tyranny was trodden under foot ; and by way Of totally
forgetting that the free French ever submitted to the
galling yoke of tyranny, it was proposed to burn the
palaces, in order to efface the existence of a record
where a king once lived.
The Provisional Government on the 25th of February,
in order to stop these bonfires, put forth with their usual
veracity, a placard in which they " begged leave to recall
to the brave republicans that such edifices belonged
to the nation, and that in accordance with a resolution
taken by the Provisional Government, the palaces were
all to be sold, and the money given to soothe the afflic
tion of the relatives of the victims who had fallen in
the glorious revolution, and also to relieve the neces
sities of those who had lost in commerce, or from the
want of work :" and then followed the usual clap-trap
which enchants a Frenchman. " The Provisional
Government invites all good citizens to remember that
these edifices, are placed under the protection of the
people." It served its end. Neuilly was burnt, and the
Tuileries was turned into a hospital. Then came a
huge white paper law, and time will show the result
of this legislation. "Royalty under every form is
abolished. No Bonapartism— no Regency — The Re-

PROVISIONAL LEGISLATION. 103
public is declared ; the people are united, &c." Then
came one altering the flag, by making the fly part
white, the colour being blue, red, and white ; but this
looked so uncommonly like a flag at a fair, that it was
soon changed ; and in the same legislative act the Pro
visional Government adopted all the children whose
parents fell in this glorious revolution ; and at the end
of seventy-two hours, that indefatigable Provisional
Government had passed twenty-seven laws, and the
inventive genius of the newsmen had killed the king
of a fit of apoplexy, and had upset every throne in
Europe ; but had forgotten to tell us that the bridges
of Asnieres, Rueil, Chalon, and Besons, had been
burnt by the sovereign people.

104

CHAPTER V.
Fete of Proclaiming the Republic — Urbanity and good Order
of the People — Speeches at the Column of July — Number
of killed and wounded in February — Stagnation of Trade —
The Luxembourg Commission — Louis Blanc and Albert —
Changes in Street Nomenclature — Imprisonment for Bebt
abolished — Barbes appointed Governor of the Luxembourg.
An awful lesson has been given by the French revolu
tion. The discontented of other countries, by tracing
its results, may be convinced of the inefficacy of sudden
changes. France was now in the hands of strange
governors ! Who had ever heard of Flocon, Albert, and
others of this stamp ? The art of governing like that
of cooking requires a long education.
The Provisional Government were quite aware that
the children required amusement, and consequently on
the 27th of February, a grand comedy was enacted,
called the " Proclamation of the Republic at the foot
of the Column of July." The principal actor in this
farce was Dupont (de l'Eure) ; Arago and Cremieux
taking the minor parts.

FETE OF THE REPUBLIC. 105
It is one blessing in France, and which seems to
increase annually, that a fete for whatever event is sure
to be an accepted invitation for this easily amused
people. Everybody attends, and thus they get rid of
their sorrows, and shut their eyes to the folly which is
around them.
On this day all those who fought turned out with
their arms, and all those who had not fought (the
National Guards, for example) joined in this leviathan
demonstration ; the one actuated by a reasonable
desire to maintain the fear which they had instilled,
and the other party to show a great willingness to
fraternize and to avoid a rencontre.
The glorious people wore principally blouses, car
ried every species of arms, from a crow-bar to a
musket, and looked savagely suspicious. The more
respectable warriors had muskets, which formerly be
longed either to the army or the National Guards ;
whilst the last mis-named force came forth in parti
cularly clean dresses, by no means blackened by gun
powder. The whole body fraternized, the real republicans
taking good care to intermix with the National Guards,
and both parties singing of course that spirit-moving
song, " Mourir pour la Patrie." From the Bastille to
the Madeleine was one mass of people : at intervals
there were regimental bands, almost always blowing
the same tune, and every youngster of Paris seemed to
have inflated his lungs with an extra proportion of air
to join in the chorus, and to shout " Vive la Republique."

106 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
The French are not sparing of their criticism of
other countries : they call themselves the centre of
civilization, the sanctuary of the arts and sciences,
the nest of poetry, and the consummation of chivalry ;
yet they drive about a fat ox, have a pack of half-
naked women and savages hopping about the animal,
and retain in this wonderful refuge for the destitute
all the folly of a nation of heathen times. As for their
chivalry, the twenty-fourth of February is quite suffi
cient proof of that.
The French must not be astonished if they them
selves are severely criticised, since day after day they
" play such fantastic tricks before high Heaven," as
makes quieter nations doubt much if France, instead
of being the birth-place of the arts, is not one large
national Charenton.
We were present at this/efe, aud here we would do
justice to the civility and protection a woman always
receives ; indeed, in this strange abode, a woman is a
much better safeguard than a musket, and we would
much sooner be under the shield of a woman than
behind a barricade. " Place aux dames " is no fic
tion, excepting always at a supper table, where the
smell of truffles lures the invited ; then it appears
from the rush, is " every man for himself."
We were, on this great and solemn occasion, pro
tected by two ladies, one of whom sat on the seat with
the citoyen cocher, and the other stood up in the small
carriage called a mi-lor, which is nothing but a
cabriolet on four wheels.

FETE OF THE REPUBLIC. 107
The coachman was a republican of the day, a man
not easily diverted from his course ; hundreds of times
as we slowly crept through the ranks, was he told to
turn round and take a particular street ; he had a
ready answer, " The ladies were anxious to see the
ceremony ¦. there were barricades in such and such
streets. He drove no aristocrats, not he, but these
were foreigners of the right sort, and go on he would,"
and he did.
During the long, tiresome walk of the horse, not
one word which could be construed into levity or
insult was uttered ; but several compliments, by no
means disagreeable for any lady to hear, were fre
quently paid. Some yamins got up behind, and hung
on by the roof of the carriage, they only excited merri
ment ; and one red republican stood on the step, and
gave every information which we required, without for
a moment overstepping the bounds of the most orderly
behaviour. M. Dumas remarks on the occasion of the fete,
which, after all, was nothing but a considerable mass
of soldiers and people huddled together — a few bands
blowing the same tune — and a few men making the
same ridiculous speeches — that " every face bore the
impress of real joy and confidence : not a light, frivo
lous joy, but a serene, a heart-felt joy." We can only
remark that the French people seem very happy under
national affliction. In the meantime the usual farce
of making speeches was going on : Arago assured
the open-mouthed republicans that when Dupont

108 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
addressed them, " eighty years of pure and patriotic
existence spoke" — upon which, of course, the usual
uproar of " Vive Dupont " resounded. Cremieux, who
was now in the ascendant, spoke of the brave men who
gained the revolution of July (which this revolution
overturned), and after some few warm expressions,
General Courtais, who was commander of the National
Guards, began to get rid of the ceremony by marching
off his men ; the bands played the same tunes, the
people sang the same words, the yamins shouted " Vive
la Republique," and all the world were contented.
M. Dumas says, that " the people who three days
before were animated with all the heat of conquest,
— opposed to each other, — now united, expressing
universal concord and love, and felt assured that at
any rate this time their confidence and their hopes
would be realized."
As the Column of July seems the universal sepulchre
of any body who has the ill luck to be shot for a
French revolution, and as this had been of so decided a
character, the rising generation may hereafter ask how
many hundreds of thousands of the brave and resolute
destroyers of royalty and upholders of true liberty
perished in this wonderful event, and sleep the sleep
of death under the revolutionary column. Alas ! the
exact number of the killed was never accurately re
corded, but in rummaging all the hospitals of Paris
we have, counting men, women, and children, the
gross amount thus : — " In all 42S wounded, of which
350 were civilians, and 78 soldiers."

NUMBER OF VICTIMS. 109
It is a very rare circumstance to find the killed more
numerous than the wounded, but if we were to credit
the generahty of the French, who feel rather ashamed
that such a revolution should have occurred without
greater resistance, we should hear of thousands and
thousands killed ; but as nobody ever saw the funerals,
and when the great stalking car, which never got be
yond the Madeleine, gave up its bodies of heroes,
only twenty-five could be counted, it is fair to pre
sume that if we allow an equal portion of dead to the
wounded, we shall, we are confident, very far exceed
the actual amount. Let us be generous, 428 dead,
and 428 wounded, out of a population of one million !
And this is the result of the contest ! and out of this
number only 78 soldiers ! Henceforth let no man
believe in the oath of allegiance to a sovereign ! A
kingdom lost — a dynasty destroyed — a nation ruined
— and all the resistance and aggression summed up in
428 dead, and 428 wounded! And we are gravely
told that France is a great nation — a wise and a
brave people, — and yet they shout Vive le Roi in the
morning, and Vive la Republique after dinner.
The heroes of the day were in reality the sovereign
people ; no one thought of resistance. The ship was
wrecked, and the crew had deserted it. The National
Guards being disarmed, the new sovereign feared no
re-action ; the streets soon began to assume their
usual appearance ; the trees, cut down for barricades,
were given to the bakers for theh ovens ; the pavements
were replaced, but all the charms of civilized life were

110 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
banished, a heavy calamity seemed settled upon Paris,
which even the everlasting Chant du depart could not
relieve. But although the sovereign people had now become
the masters, they found that they had lost their em
ployments. All shops, magazines, ateliers, &c, were
closed, every penny became of value ; the idle and the
dissolute had hitherto behaved admirably. Great in
their conquest, they were honest in their victory : no
plunder or pillage, no rape, fire, murder, or assassina
tion had taken place ; but it is decreed that " man
shall live by the sweat of his brow," and the Provi
sional Government soon saw that occupation must be
found, or that confidence could not be restored.
Two thousand workmen had paid a visit to the
Government, and the Government, after deciding "That
the question of work was of supreme importance,"
decreed, " That a permanent commission should
be instituted, of which Louis Blanc should be presi
dent, and Albert (always styled a workman), the vice-
president." The seat of the commission was fixed at
the Luxembourg.
This was the tub thrown out to the whale ; it was
to work out one of Louis Blanc's wild ideas, and to
satisfy the sovereign people that their welfare was his
object. In a few years it will be difficult to understand the
history of Paris. For a republic to keep the slightest
reminiscence of royalty seemed absurd, and conse
quently ingenuity was set to work to alter the names

STREET NOMENCLATURE CHANGED. Ill
of the streets, colleges, &c, and here it must be re
marked that the then most popular man in France,
Lamartine, was more scurvily used than could have
been contemplated. The Rue Coquenard, a most in
significant street, was changed to the Rue Lamartine ;
the Rue Roy ale, Rue Joinville, &c, gave way to the
Rue de la Revolution, and the Rue du Circle ; whilst
M. Carnot, the self-elected Minister of Public Justice,
obliterated, as far as he could, the record of ages. The
College of Louis le Grand was called Lycee Descartes;
the College of Henry Quatre, Lycee Corneille ; the
College of St. Louis, Lycee Monye ; the College
Bourbon, Lycee Bonaparte. The Academie Royale
was transformed into the Theatre de la Nation ; and
the Theatre Francais into the Theatre de la Republique,
where Mdlle. Rachel, the pet of royalty, was to be seen
waving a tricoloured flag, and reciting the Marseillaise.
A man required a mental remembrancer to ask his way
about Paris. It was one universal change, and in the
midst of all, on the 29th of February, came out a decree,
stating that as equality is one of the great principles
of the French republic, every body should be equal,
and all styles and titles should be abolished.
It will be curious to observe after the lapse of one
year's excitement, how many of the decrees of the
Provisional Government remain : they were issued
with a vengeance, the most popular of all being the
abolition of imprisonment for debt. It was quite
useless to ask a man and a free republican to pay his
debts ; nobody paid ! And here we would remark on

112 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the unjust inequality of the law of France. This
decree was soon reversed by the National Assembly,
and the law was modified. How? why thus. A
Frenchman can only be placed in goal for three years,
but a foreigner, — the poor foreigner, who is not
destined to share in this liberty, equality, and fra
ternity — may rot in a prison for ten years. The very
people who are implored to return to this prostituted
country — the very people who it is acknowledged pour
in their wealth and support this frivolous nation, — are
not even allowed to participate in the fraternity and
equality of misfortune. Our ambassador may be
charged to communicate some trifling event to the
Provisional Government, or now to the President, but
this unequal and iniquitous law is passed without a re
monstrance. We have known this harsh law held out
to an Englishman to force him to pay what he was not
legally bound to pay ; the very fear of ten year's impri
sonment drove him from the unjust country.
Everything kept equal pace. Barbes, a man who
had committed a murder, and who had endeavoured to
assassinate the king, was named governor of the Lux
embourg, and thus verified the parody on Cobbet's
style of writing, that " when the political pot boils,
the scum rises." The ministers of Louis Philippe
were to be prosecuted legally ! and M. Barbes, rose
to power and to patronage. France was equally
fortunate in the nomination of her ministers to foreign
courts. There never was a degradation more merited
or more complete.

113

CHAPTER VI.
The Republic, a mystification — Armand Carrel and Emile de
Girardin — First symptoms of a Re-action in the National
Guard — Funeral Ceremonies ou the Fourth of March — Stale
of Trade — Failure of the Banks — Bifficulties of the Provi
sional Government — Characters and Influence of its Members.
The French never do things by halves, especially in
revolutions. They had now proclaimed the republic,
although in the Chamber of Deputies they had
promised not to do so, until the voice of France was
consulted. It was, as the Viscount d'Arlincourt said
in his excellent work Dieu le Veut, " a ridiculous
mystification." The people had thus early been tricked
out of their sovereignty. They now went invoking the
spirit of Armand Carrel. M. Marrast played a chief
part in that ceremony, and in his speech was rampant
about the precious liberty gained by republics.
It is useful to watch the words and the deeds of
these folks. Marrast declared at the tomb, that his
work was " to preach union and concord, and to show
the world that France was composed of an undivided
VOL. I. I

114 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
people ! strong in their rights, and resolved to uphold
the rights of all those who fought for liberty, either in
Switzerland, Italy, Spain, or Poland" Upon this
patriotic declaration all the Poles tossed up their hats
and shouted " Vive la Republique" — a state we are
extremely happy to say, we do not think they are likely
to attain.
When Armand Carrel lived, he was not a very
popular character. M. de Girardin had the misfor
tune to shoot him in a duel ; now the victim was to
be deified, and even his bones and his statue were to
have been carried to the Pantheon, but the Provisional
Government had so much to do that they had not
time to arrange the affair, which M. Marrast said
was " a duty deferred."
M. Emile de Girardin expressed his sorrow at
having killed his man, all of the enthusiastic as usual
cried "Vive la Republique" and the orator finished a
very feeling address by saying that the Provisional
Government, which had already covered itself with
glory by the abolition of capital punishments, might
complete the great work by for ever abolishing duels.
After this, everybody kissed M. Girardin, and he kissed
everybody ; M. Marrast and M. Girardin shook hands,
" emotion was on every countenance," tears bedewed
some republican cheeks, and the farce was played.
When some wag asked, " Why Cobbet brought Tom
Paine's bones to England ?" he was answered, " to
make a broil." We suspect that this deification of the
defunct republican had much the same object.

SYMPTOMS OF RE-ACTION. 115
The remaining gentlemen of Paris now began to see
that to maintain order they must show themselves,
and consequently the ranks of the National Guards
gradually increased in number. The parade was a
motley group ; some came to the ground with double-
barrelled fowling-pieces, some with a brown barrel and
a polished bayonet ; a vast number dressed in blouses,
and the whole affair looked pre-eminently absurd.
But there was a good feehng now beginning to mani
fest itself ; it was true the mischief was created, but it
became evident that by a steady manifestation of de
termination, a repetition of '93 would be avoided, pro
perty protected, and tranquillity restored. The sea
rolls heavily after a gale of wind, and it is long before
the perfect calm is established. The gale was the hope
of the red republican, the calm the prospect of the
royalist, who shouted "Vive la Republique?' By cry
ing "Vive la Charte," Charles X. was displaced; with
" Vive la Reforme" Louis Philippe became an exile ;
and to the shout of "Vive V ' Empereur," the republic
will be interred. Constitutions are playthings in
France, where nothing is permanent, for there is no
foundation on the solid rock of religion and of truth :
the former is ridiculed, the latter despised.
It was now requisite to get up another exhibition,
for republicans must be amused, and consequently on
the 2nd of March a grand programme was published,
giving directions as to the funeral procession in honour
of the brave citizens who died in obtaining liberty !
The ceremony took place on Sunday the fourth.
i 2

116 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
We extract from our Diary of that day : " Out to see
the grand show of the interment of the dead who were
killed in the revolution. The church of the Made
leine, that marvel of modern structures, was hung
with black. The words Aux citoyens morts pour la
Liberie, stood conspicuously legible in white letters.
Liberty is a fine word, but it is rarely understood and
appreciated. We must be just, or of what use is our
diary. Never was there seen so orderly a mob. Mob
it is unjust to call it ; it was a collection of at least
one hundred thousand persons, and nothing occurred
which could have scared a child. All the National
Guards were out, the dead were conveyed in six
hearses, three in each ! The Provisional Government
attended ; immense masses joined in the spirit-stirring
song of the Marseillaise. Band after band played this
exciting air. A car bore the representation of the
genius of the republic, (to be sure it looked like an
ornamental twelfth cake) : from the Madeleine to the
Bastille was one thick mass of human beings, and not
one petty larceny was committed, not one man ar
rested, not one shout of defiance hurled. If this great
assemblage of persons was awed by religious feeling,
or by fear, it amounts to the same thing. Honesty
had actually triumphed without the fear of the law for
an assistant, and although thousands and thousands of
rogues and vagabonds were present at this great Parisian
show, they suspended their usual avocations and kept
their hands in their own pockets."
On the second of March, we gave ourselves some

STATE OF TRADE. 117
trouble to ascertain the state of trade in Paris. In one
of the largest shops in the Rue de la Paix, where the
empty chairs were placed in double line, we saw the
proprietor asleep on his counter. In the Passage du
Panorama, one of the greatest thoroughfares in Paris,
and where the shops generally realize a great profit,
we ascertained the sum taken in all of them for two
days; that sum was 317 francs, not quite equal to
ten sous, or five-pence for each shop, and yet almost
every one of these men attended the funeral cere
mony and vigorously shouted " Vive la Republique."
Such were the fruits of a glorious revolution — the city
a bankrupt — commerce crushed — confidence lost. This
is no over-drawn picture, for on the sixth of March the
banks began to fail, and one followed the other with
fearful rapidity, the panic was universal, the prospects
of the future most gloomy and awful.
Although nothing had occurred since the 24th of
February to make apprehension worse, yet no one
could disguise from himself the difficulties of the
government ; it was requisite to appear to yield to the
popular wish, whenever that wish was proclaimed by a
demonstration. The Hotel de Ville was surrounded
daily by a dense mass of people, and from morning to
night a continual stream of petitioners circulated through
the crowd. Either Lamartine or Ledru Rollin was
obliged to be continually answering addresses, and
every now and then the Provisional Government ap
peared at the windows to answer a kind of summons
" to show themselves."

118 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
Although much — very much had been done, a great
deal remained unachieved ; amongst others, the ejection
from the Tuileries of a handful of men who, in spite
of all threats and all entreaties, still kept possession of
the palace, and declared they would not vacate it
without they had a sum of money given at once, and a
promise of a pension for life. On the 7th of March,
however, they were dislodged, and if any pen dared
to record the indecencies which occurred in that palace,
no female eye would scan the page. The scenes which
took place in the bed-room of the queen must be con
cealed for ever. Suffice it to say that atrocities were
committed that the worst pages of Roman history
cannot parallel. Republicans are not necessarily
virtuous. When a nation is convulsed — a government over
thrown — a king dethroned — all eyes busily search out
the rising star. It is in these convulsions that a master
mind appears, and seizes the sceptre. Strange to say
this genius did not come forth. Lamartine, a man well
known to all lovers of literature, was the hope, the
main-stay of all, but' he did not arise from the volcano ;
he was known long before, and his capabilities accu
rately ascertained.
The National Assembly was directed to meet on the
20th of April, the elections to take place on the 9th,
and naturally the name of every candidate was care
fully examined ; no man stood so high as Lamartine.
"Happy is the man," says Mirabeau, "who after
enjoying popularity dies horizontally in his own

LEDRU ROLLIN S CIRCULAR. 119
bed ;" had Lamartine died now, he would have been
deified. The circulars of Ledru Rollin made him detested
and despised by all who disclaimed pillage and murder.
" Liberty, equality and fraternity," to follow his cir
culars, would amount to this : —
Liberty ; — the triumph of despotism, and the reign
of terror : under this triumph and this reign, shops
are shut, not opened.
Equality ;— the right of displacing your neighbour
and placing yourself : in familiar language, " get out
of the coach and let me ride."
Fraternity ; — the general want so frequently felt by
the poor, to pillage the rich, and if requisite, to kill
him : and this is a faithful translation of a Republican
Catechism, put forth since the 24th of Februaiy.
Ledru Rollin' s circular to his Commissioners — "your
powers are without limit," comprehends the whole
translation. The Minister of Finance, M. Gamier Pages, seemed
inclined to carry out the fraternity part, as Ledru
Rollin's circular did the equality. It was proposed to
violate all contracts made with companies; for the
government to seize (they being excessively poor) the
wealth of the railroads, and to pay the shareholders,
with their own money, a proportion only of what was
in hand, and to convert the remainder, with all the
plant, &c, to the account of the state. Insurance
offices were to share the same fate ; all private banks
to be abolished, and even the Saving's banks to undergo
a gentle plunder.

120 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
To most of these wild buccaneering projects it was
considered that M. Lamartine was opposed ; nor has
it escaped observation, that in spite of his new harle
quin dress of the republic, and his consenting to the
abolition of all ranks and grades in society, he always
signed his name de Lamartine, the de being a mark
and symbol of superior birth and grade ; he was be
lieved, and is still believed, to be a most honourable
upright man, forced, in a moment of convulsion, to put
himself forward, but unable to check or totally resist
the red republican power of Ledru Rollin.
Unfortunately no master-mind arose; the Provi
sional Government were a motley crew, not one, if wo
except Lamartine, being the least above the level of
the most ordinary minds.
It is impossible to listen to these aspiring republi
cans and not be convinced of the fact. The only
chance Cremieux ever has of being remembered, is by
his letter to Lord Brougham refusing to naturalize
him, and by the impression left on any one of the
audience who has witnessed the representation of
" La Propriete, c'est le vol."
Louis Blanc fell into such complete ridicule, that
the less said to resuscitate him the better. His
theories and his ateliers, nay even his speeches at the
Luxembourg, are cumbersome monuments erected
over a grave in a desert.*
* M. Louis Blanc has declared the national ateliers the creation
of M. Marie ; — be it so — but Louis V>lanc had better read over again
(Iliat is, if he has time and patience) his own speeches in the Lux-

THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT. 121
Flocon survived to amuse the National Assembly by
his pretensions.
Marrast managed better than any, and kept his
place and his emoluments ; we remember seeing this
sturdy republican arrive at the great opera with a
clean white waistcoat, a remarkably elegant tie, and
bright yellow gloves. The phantom of elegance
frightened the whole pit ; they rose, looked astounded
at the spectre, gave one short convulsive laugh, ejacu
lated "c'est Marrast! " and sat down. We never saw
the human countenance so puzzled to express the
feelings of the miud. It was impossible to say if the
excessive paleness, or rather yellowness, proceeded
from fear, hatred, despair, or disdain ; we were in the
next box and required no opera glasses.
Albert flourished as the rotten walking-stick of
Louis Blanc.
Marie died gently away like the breeze upon the
ocean, scarce leaving a ruffle ; and Arago went to the
stars when his family set out for Lyons and Berlin; he
was lost to human sight directly the sun began to shine
over the National Assembly. Can any one wonder
that poor Republican France, with all its liberty,
equality, and fraternity, was obliged to hark back,
and find a new government and a new ministry in
those who served Louis Philippe and a constitutional
sovereign.embourg. AVe should be very sorry to wade through them a
second time, but we will undertake to say that if M. Marie invented,
M. Louis Blanc tried to work out the invention.

122

CHAPTER VII.
The Clubs — Instituted to watch the Government — Blanqui's
Club — Character of Blanqui — The Ladies' Club — The Chif
foniers' Club — Barbes' Ckib — Secret Organization of the dis
contented — Contradiction in Words and Acts — Errors of
the extreme Republican Party — Lamartine' s Nomination —
Fickleness ofthe French Character — M. Guizot' s Remarks.
A revolution has always something beyond common
excitement. Fear, however easily communicated by a
panic, has a great counteraction, and those who were
the most afraid, become sometimes the most cou
rageous. We are acquainted with ladies who, having
bedizened themselves in red ribbons in compliment to
the guillotine party, and who had actually made ar
rangements to stand behind counters to sell milk, or
work with the needle to avoid the suspicion of being
aristocrats, — who, seeing that their lives were spared
and no violence offered to their purse or person, be
came suddenly brave, and could comprehend no ex
citement like the clubs.
Clubs sprang up instantly, of course ; the Provi-

THE CLUBS. 123
sional Government stood god-father at the baptismal
font of these insurrectionary assemblages, and Ledru
Rollin told the deputation of these clubs to watch over
the actions of the Provisional Government, and to
assist them with their deliberations. " L' insurrection
est le plus saint des devoirs " we are told, and conse
quently the clubs from their birth followed up the
holy device.
Everything now was fairly " sotto sopra." Young
gentlemen of the Polytechnic School, holy agitators in
blouses, and National Guardsmen in uniforms, occu
pied the king's boxes at the various theatres. Here
the Marseillaise was sung, and the audience joined in
the chorus. People shouted with acclamation " Vive
lapeste" in the midst of the desolation it occasioned.
Strange people ! — incomprehensible people ! — to re
joice at their own ruin, and sing in the loud chorus of
anarchy !
The theatres were thinly attended ; gradually even
these fantastic people began to consider that money
must become excessively scarce, and that it was better
retained to satisfy the hungry mouths of their children
than spent in listening to music, or feasting their eyes
on lascivious dances. Had not the Government come
to the assistance of the various theatres, these innocent
resorts must shortly have been closed, and the wonder-
loving people driven to the clubs for more dangerous
excitement. It seemed a matter of the greatest indifference to
the chiefs of the clubs what places they selected for

124 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
their holy deliberations. One club took the Church
of St. Hyacinthe, close to the Assomption, for its
resort, and where the altar once stood, was a small
table, round which sat the bureau, that is, the presi
dent, vice-president, secretary, &c.
Blanqui's club seized the Conservatoire de la Mu-
sique, which is in the shape of a small theatre. The
stage was occupied by Blanqui and his immediate re
publicans ; the pit was the abode of the subscribers :
the boxes were filled by the curious, who sometimes
had to wait an hour, forming the queue as it is called
(or taking their turn by standing in a line). Ladies,
who are after all the real sovereigns of France, who
were aware of their charms, and who felt secure in the
gallantry of the people, avoided this long line of patient
attendants, and took the liberty to ask for Blanqui or
Lagambre. The sovereign people who guarded the
doors always allowed the ladies to pass, and the front
row of the boxes was generally well adorned. When
the doors were opened, although everybody was ad
mitted by a ticket, the rush was awful. We have
seen ambassadors, ministers, charges d'affaires, and con
suls, all hustled in the heterogeneous mob, and all
carrying little tri-coloured cockades for fear of being.
mistaken for gentlemen, and subjects of constitutional
government ; here also assembled most of the resident
foreigners in Paris. The theatres were awfully dull ;
the Boulevards crowded with most suspicious republi
cans, and therefore the clubs, if people would not stay
at home, became the principal resort.

BLANQUl's CLUB. 125
Blanqui had the reputation of being the most exalted
of all republicans, an uncompromising agitator, one
who had every chance of dying on the floor of the
National Assembly ; his admirers were the most despe
rate of insurgents, and amidst the thousand exciting
scenes that we have witnessed, we have seldom beheld
more to excite than at Blanqui' s Club. The president
of this club is very far from an interesting-looking
gentleman ; on the contrary, he is about as common a
personage as could be met with in any public place of
resort ; he was neither clean nor elegant, and always
wore dirty gloves, but he spoke well, with great fluency,
and some of his remarks told with considerable effect.
Blanqui was a candidate for the National Assembly,
and from the instant he saw Barbes more successful
than himself, he began to entertain ideas not at all
consonant with the dignity of that assembly — the
result of universal suffrage. Once during a discussion,
one of those bursts of indignation and riot, so common
in French debates, where everybody will speak and
nobody will listen, took place. In vain Blanqui endea
voured to calm the troubled assembly ; they shouted,
they stamped, they stretched out their arms, they
grinned, they yelled. Blanqui stood the very picture
of patience, occasionally moving both his hands with
a kind of " pray-be-quiet " motion, whilst " Vive la
Guillotine !" " Vive I'Enfer /" and several other
equally promising hopes were pronounced. At last
even tumult began to tire ; the sounds of " Vive la
Republique democratique et sociale" grew fainter, and

126 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the thin voice of the president had a chance of being
heard : — " Citizens," he began, " this tumult is exces
sive ; I regret to say you are nearly as riotous and
indecorous as the National Assembly ,¦" in a moment
the fury subsided, and a loud burst of laughter suc
ceeded. Blanqui knew well how to keep up an ex
citement as well as to soothe it ; when the affair at
Rouen took place, he took care to have a young woman,
and by no means an ugly one either, brought before
the club, to which she gave an animated and highly ex
aggerated account of the cold-blooded murders com
mitted by the National Guards at Rouen. Although
nobody in his senses believed one word of this fair
liar's speech, she had plenty to listen and applaud, for
all France was mad at that time.
Astonishing was the patience with which the club
listened to some tedious debaters, and the most whim
sical of all things was the examination of a candidate
for admission into this honourable society ; if a candi
date did not appear in person, he was sure to be re
jected, and the most certain maimer of getting ad
mitted was to declare a perfect conviction that kings
were all tyrants, aristocrats all thieves, and the people
the only sovereigns of the earth. In conclusion, such
cries as " Vive le diable," " Mort aux riches," with a
gentle allusion to the guillotine, would insure the
candidates success by unanimity.
In this club we have listened to discourses from
people of the lowest class which astonished us, and
always gave the impression that the blouse was a dis-

barbes' CLUB. 127
guise, and the speaker an educated man ; but it is
a fact, that generally speaking all Frenchmen are
fluent, and express themselves well, not much to the
point, but always in good language — correctly and
without hesitation.
There were clubs of every description : the Ladies'
Club, the Chiffonier's Club ; in the former there was
a certain regard paid to dress, and in the latter was
written (it is said) " Les invites sont pries de laisser
leurs sabots a la porte, et les Dames de ne pas tremper
leurs peiynes dans I'huile" — si non e vero, e ben trovato,
— we never read the words, but we have heard them
frequently repeated.
Barbes' Club was another violent assembly. The
president was envious of Blanqui's notoriety, and
hence, according to Lamartine's evidence at the trial
at Bourges, the failure of the attack on the National
Assembly in May. Everybody wished to be first, and
consequently no confidence existed. Barbes wanted all
the credit, — so did Blanqui, so did Flotte, — and in
this general wish to be first, and to succeed without
the aid of other parties, all failed. Both Blanqui and
Barbes seem to rejoice in incarceration, and we sin
cerely wish them a close residence at the expense of
France for the remainder of their natural lives.
It was very shortly visible to those who looked
calmly on events, that these clubs would be more diffi
cult to manage than all the army and navy put
together ; they overlooked and scrutinized every act of
the Provisional Government, they exaggerated every

128 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
event, and the minister who smiled at the birth of these
bantlings would gladly have poisoned them all. Secret
organization went on ; there were captains of tens, and
captains of twenties, and frequently before the delibera
tions of theclubs took place, these captains were desired
to attend at certain hours to receive their orders.
It was quite evident that the republic, as it was, did
not at all come up to the expectations of these demo
cratic and social performers. The rich still existed,
aristocracy only hid itself in a blouse ; a far more
exterminating sword was in preparation. Royalty had
been dethroned, but who had benefited? neither
Barbes, Blanqui, Hubert, nor Flotte had become Pre
sident of the Republic, and consequently the country
was badly governed. Secret conspiracies soon began;
it was in vain that the government solicited a patriotic
loan, and two or three hundred francs, the result of
hard begging, were put into a box covered with
flowers, preceded by the sovereign people, and de
livered with great pomp and parade at the palace of
the Elysee Bourbon.
In vain the papers gave flourishing accounts of the
liberality of the people, and the anxiety of France to
uphold the republic. The clubs contributed but very
little to this national loan, and day after day, and
night after night, the deliberations became more
serious. What had France gained as yet ? The liberty
of the press, and the non-imprisonment for debt : for
anything else these club republicans cared very little,
excepting always that different classes still existed;

DOCTRINES OF THE CLUBS. 129
they called each other citizens, but it is quite obvious
that the designation was by no means welcome, and it
was very certain, that many men had large fortunes
whilst some were starving. This ought not to be ;
they were all brothers, — and some of them excessively
dirty brothers — why should one have more than
another ? The earth was given by God to man for his
nourishment, why then should some men possess acres,
and other men nothing ? The spontaneous gift of
God could not be alienated. Property was a theft,
and the clubs were exactly the sort of jurors to place
all this on a right and equitable footing. It was mar
vellous to hear the cheers which welcomed such doc
trines and such propositions of wholesale robbery.
"A bas les aristocrats" was a very popular cry, and as
these savage yells were uttered, some of the members
of Blanqui's club in the pit seemed by the eager direc
tion of their eyes to the boxes, to be quite ready to
execute judgment.
But there was a strange contradiction between the
words and the acts. We always drove to the club in
a private carriage, and came away with the members,
but never once were we insulted, nor, outside of the
clubs, although many saw us take our seats in the car
riage, did we ever hear one word of reproach. We
had the best shield in France — we were in the company
of ladies.
It was not unusual for the members of the club to
attend with concealed arms, but in the midst of the
most furious uproar we never witnessed any act to
VOL. i. k

130 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
cause fear. The fantastic antics occasioned by ex
citement were more like the exhibition of legs and arms
at the Bal Mabille or the Chaumiere : the clubbists
looked and grinned like exasperated monkeys, and like
certain dogs, they barked very loud but did not bite.
Whilst these clouds were gathering, and whilst
every one foresaw that the storm would burst, no one
apparently took measures to meet the emergency of
the case. The clubs always insisted and carried their
point that the troops should be withdrawn from Paris.
The Garde Mobile remained, and we remember Blan
qui' s saying, in an animated discourse when he ful
minated his thunders against the National Guards and
the army, for the affair at Rouen, that "The army
are all butchers who execute the stern command
against their inclination ; the Garde Mobile will never
execute any butchery, they are too near the source
from which they emanated, — the people, the only
sovereigns ; they will embrace us like brothers, and
fight with us for the glorious and sacred cause of
freedom." M. Blanqui, although at Vincennes in
June, was made to comprehend the error of his judg
ment. Still, although thousands attended these clubs,
and passed from one to another, France had very few
republicans; those who attended, attended through
curiosity, and it was quite clear that a sneer of con
tempt was on every honest man's countenance. The
levelling system was not in accordance with the ideas of
any man who had anything to lose, and although all the
propositions were adopted with loud exclamations, no

KRRORS OF THE EXTREME PARTY. 131
one entertained the least notion of their being carried
into execution. The fact is, that these most exalted
republicans committed as many errors as the Provi
sional Government ; they never struck whilst the iron
was hot. Had Blanqui, Barbes, Flotte, and others
followed up the success of the 24th of February, by
instilling that terror in the capital which Ledru Rollin
sought to do in the provinces, the result would have
been very different ; and had the Provisional Govern
ment called together the National Assembly within a
fortnight after the 24th of February, they would have
ruled the destinies of France now, for all the stern re
publicans would have been elected. Barbes would have
had a good snug berth under the Provisional Govern
ment, and Blanqui, Flotte, Lacambre, Herbert, and
others might have gone on diplomatic missions, and
represented France just as well and as worthily as some
others who gained those places, and, like all other
patriots, they would have been soothed into tyranny by
the sweets and emoluments of office.
The great error of France was again enacted, — they
talked excessively, and did very little ; they made a
few useless demonstrations, paraded the streets in
great numbers, roared " Vive la Republique," whilst it
was gradually undermining itself, and in the evening
talked and talked again. But by these dilatory measures
they allowed the higher classes to recover from their
first panic, and make a great stand at the elections ;
and most fortunately did it so occur, for so frightened
were these classes that not one would have re-
k 2

132 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
mained to fight the battle of his country, and France
would have been involved either in an exterior or in
terior war.
We have all been taught the necessity of prompt
measures to insure success, and the French Revolution
of 1848 confirms in every line this great truth, At
the beginning the least promptitude would have
crushed the emeute, and afterwards the least efforts of
the red republicans would have placed them in autho
rity. Who can doubt this fact ? Had Lamartine in
the zenith of his well-earned popularity pushed his
success, would be not have been received by all France
as the President of the republic ? Was there ever a
man who rose so suddenly and so deservedly, and who
fell so instantly and so suspected?
Every one knew that the honesty, the integrity, the
courage, and the eloquence of Lamartine saved Paris
from being deluged in blood ; on him all eyes were
turned, all confidence reposed ; he was known to be
an upright, honest man, forced from circumstances to
usurp a temporary power, and only anxious to control
the power of others less scrupulous and less honest ;
and hard and difficult as was the task, he did it cheer
fully and boldly. Before him Ledru Rollin, Albert,
Flocon, and Louis Blanc sank into insignificance, and
amid the internal dissensions of the Provisional
Government, the hints of the necessity of a bankruptcy
to save the state, Ledru Rollin's suggestion of an in
crease of one franc instead of forty-five centimes on
the mobilier tax, paper currency, and every other re-

THE FRENCH CHARACTER. 133
publican and unscrupulous proposition, Lamartine stood
firm, repressed this exuberant legislation, and calmed by
his eloquence this rising ruin, — this levy on the rich, —
this unequal taxation. There was no secret hidden from
the clubs ; Duclerc's ideas of spoliation were as much
canvassed in Blanqui' s assembly as in private houses ;
and it must be confessed that in these republican
abodes the successor of Gamier Pages acquired consi
derable honour, not for his talents, (for they are of a
very inferior description,) but for that republican rapacity
which extends its claws to grasp the golden prey.
By degrees the clubs became partially deserted :
nothing outlives three months in France ; she is a
fickle female, ever changing, inconstant in her govern
ments as in her affections, and this arises from that
envy, hatred, and malice against all who succeed. A
Frenchman can pardon anything in his friend, but
success ; let a man arrive at riches, greatness, and
power, and every poodle in Paris will howl at his
heels, and snap at his shoes. Her best government
is a tyranny, — the best security for Paris is a state of
siege. Liberty is the most extreme of all possible
possibilities : it is a word frequently used, and never
understood. The liberty of the press, for example, is
another chimera; the liberty of the person another.
The liberty to assemble, doubtful ; the liberty of
opinion, quite impossible. We are told in every street
in Paris, that the French are the most educated, the
most inventive of mankind ; that genius resides iu the
Valley of the Seine, — and yet behold its works.

134 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
In vain M. Guizot may write about the necessity of
order. This is the new word, and will last about
three months ; even this great statesman either does
not know, or feigns to know, the character of his own
countrymen when he says : " Verite dans le present,
liberie dans l'avenir; a ces deux conditions, 1 'union
serieuse de tous les elements du parti de l'ordre est
possible ;" it may be possible, but never was there
anything more improbable. The legitimist may pre
tend to be excessively friendly with the Bonapartist,
the Philippist with the republican, but you may
equally as well endeavour to mix oil with water as to
unite these people in sincerity. Every one accepted
the republic, almost all believing that for France it
was the worst of all governments. If we are right,
what a pretty future may be drawn from the words of
Guizot: — "Tous les elemens du parti de l'ordre,
Bonapartistes, legitimistes, Orleanistes, conservateurs
de toute date et de toute nuance, tous ont besoin, ab-
solument besoin les uns des autres. Unis, ils auront
beaucoup a faire pour vaincre. Desunis ils seront infail-
liblement vaineus." The odds are enormous agamst
order. Imagine M. Emile de Girardin assisting
Cavaignac, and d' Alton Shee caressing M. Baroche,
and then fancy might picture out a real friendship
between M. Proudhon and Henri Cinq, and a decided
affection between Louis Napoleon and Louis Philippe ;
even Barbes and Blanqui could not agree, and Flotte
and Raspail quarrelled !

135

CHAPTER VIII.
M. d'Arlincourfs ' Bieu le Veut' — His prosecution and ac
quittal — Clubs less frequented — Trees of Liberty — Religious
Ceremonial — The Cure of the Madeleine — Address of
M. Buchez — Outbreak against Foreigners and foreign Servants
— A Protestant Blessing — Public Money squandered on
Trees of Liberty.
We have spoken yenerally of the French people. In
dividually there are among them many of the finest of
mankind — men of the highest honour and repute ;
brave, chivalrous, generous, real patriots ; — men who
really and sincerely say, "La France avant tout" and
who would support her with their best blood ; but even
these were swept along with the torrent, and could
make no resistance to the overwhelming cataract.
The sword was powerless ; not so the pen. M. d' Ar-
lincourt came forward, when the republican fury some
what abated, and in the boldest manner portrayed the
miseries of France. He was prosecuted of course : he
defended his opinions in words as warm as those he

136 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
had written, and the jury acquitted him ; but we are
advancing too quickly.
The clubs became disagreeable as the weather be
came warmer. Republicans smell very strong, and as
all was equality, — whatever might be said of liberty
and fraternity, — a dirty fellow would take his seat by
the cleanest of the clean, and exude a pernicious per
fume. It became, therefore, necessary to have a little
out-door recreation, and the trees of liberty began to
appear. Let it not for one moment be believed that the
people who tore up these poplars by the roots, and
carried them along the streets, followed and preceded
by hundreds of the idle, cared one straw about the
trees of liberty. No, they thought much more of the
water, or rather the means of procuring the water, to
sprinkle the roots when the tree was planted.
The planting of the tree of liberty in the Place de
Beauveau, was made the pretext for a gentle plunder.
We are acquainted with a young countess who at that
time was seriously indisposed ; the patriots took the
liberty to enter her house. Her servants asked
their wish.
" The countess," said they, " must come and assist
at the planting of this tree."
" She is very ill, confined to her bed, and unable to
move." " We shall ascertain the truth of that declaration,"
which they unceremoniously did by venturing into her
bedroom.

TREES OF LIBERTY. 137
"Madame est malade c'est vrai, mais elle peut
donner quelque chose pour arroser I'arbre de la
liberie," and they in the most obliging manner con
descended to take forty francs, to buy, we presume,
the watering-pot. Neither is this a singular circum
stance, we could mention many, many others.
The republicans made this, besides the plunder, a
religious ceremony, and the priests of the respective
quarters were summoned to attend. It is easy to
conceive how insincere must have been the prayer,
since the church of France is far from republican ;
there may be, and there are, some of the French clergy
who perhaps are very liberal in their political tenets,
but generally speaking, they are far from being up
holders of revolt and anarchy. They behaved admirably
during the trying time of the revolution, and managed
by their piety, firmness, and eloquence, to maintain
some power over the minds of these republicans.
" Dieu est infame," says M. Proudhon : the words
of the clergy had more effect than those of the socialist
leader. Before the tree was upraised and planted, every girl
and boy in the neighbourhood tied small pieces of tri-
coloured ribbon to its branches ; some placed only the
pure red ribbon, the symbol of the democratic and
social party ; others white, the secret emblem of Henri
Cinq ; others blue only : but when the tree did get
upright, it looked like a tall bastard daughter of the
Mumbo Jumbo tribe. The Mumbo Jumbo is gene
rally a cotton tree, and a most respectable one it is ;

138 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
but the poplar, in winter, is a very miserable emblem
of anything like stability, and with all these rags
and tatters blowing from its branches, it appeared the
most ridiculous of all ridiculous trees, more espe
cially as it was generally crowned with a red cap of
liberty. The Cure of the Madeleine was one of those worthy
prelates who evidently did not fast much; without, in
deed, as is said in the play, " fasting is a windy re
creation," and he was, as the sailors have it after a
feast, " blown out." He measured more in the round
than half a dozen trees of liberty, and it required more
strength to move him, than to carry the gaudy em
blems of French liberty. As this poor fat man walked
with considerable difficulty, he was lifted into a, fiacre,
and drawn to the corner of the Rue Neuve Saint
Augustin, where a tree was to be planted. To get
the fat gentleman into the hackney coach was a work
of some trouble and personal strength ; he was forced
in, and down he sat, puffing and blowing like an infu
riated grampus : but now came the difficulty to get
him out again, as it was requisite he should walk
round the "poplar deception," as a witty writer
termed those trees. ' In vain the willing priest endea
voured to squeeze through the door, — he stuck halfway,
and apparently could neither advance nor retreat, whilst
the coach heeled over like a ship in a strong breeze. It
became necessary to dislodge this pious person, and
some republicans, who certainly had not much respect
for the representative ofthe church, got into the carriage

SPEECH OF M. BUCHEZ. 139
by the opposite door, and in the midst of roars of
laughter, the firing of muskets, and shouts of the
boys, out came the cure with considerable force, and
nearly upset the whole group, which had placed them
selves in the best position to resist the enormous
weight. The ceremony proceeded with due gravity, —
some of the principal planters supported the priest
in his perambulations, and ultimately again crammed
him into his fiacre, and gave him a considerable cheer
at his departure. How he ever got out again is uncer
tain, but never was there a more pitiable object than
this excellent man in his prison, and never was there
a greater farce than the whole proceeding.
On the 25th of March, an imposing ceremony took
place in front of the Hotel de Ville, where another of
these miserable lanky trees was stuck up in honour of
liberty ! This, however, was planted on the spot
where four sergeants, called, wherefore we know not,
" Les Seryents de la Rochelle " perished. The cure
of Saint Gervais attended, and pronounced a " touching
allocution," as M. Dumas is pleased to term it ; there
was not a little political fire in this address, and as
soon as he had done, M. Buchez took the opportunity
of declaring that France had gained her liberty and
would keep it. He gave a kind of panoramic view of
Europe, and announced that all the civilized world was
resolved to follow the good example France had set.
Palermo had separated from Naples; the king of
Bavaria had abdicated ; Vienna, Berlin, Milan, Turin,
were in a blaze; all the world had groaned under

140 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
tyrannies: but now — the chain- was broken, and
liberty and the tree existed !
The example having been set, every band of idlers
amused themselves by planting these ridiculous trophies,
and some staunch republicans kept watch over them
by night for fear any re-actionary madman should cut
them down, which any strong man might have done
with a single blow of an axe.
These nuisances were to be seen everywhere. In
front of the Madeleine had they planted a real cotton
Mumbo Jumbo tree it would have looked insignifi
cant, but the poor miserable skeleton which was stuck
up in front of this most magnificent of edifices, ren
dered the whole affair contemptible. We should have
imagined that some of the good sense which we so
often hear talked about, would have kept sacred the
Place de la Concorde from such violation ; but there
also a lop-sided tree swings to and fro in the wind,
like the yard of a lateen-rigged vessel sailing before
the breeze. The fountains looked ashamed of their
companion, and the whole effect was destroyed by this
profanation. Behind the Madeleine the enthusiastic
admirers built a trellice work, and planted some
flowers around the tree. The flowers grew, flourished,
and blossomed, but the tree very shortly died ; it
did not even outlive the tyranny of the " state of
siege." At the planting of all these trees we always heard a
great deal about the old song— liberty, equality, and
fraternity, but no sooner was the ceremony over, than

FOREIGN WORKMEN DRIVEN OUT. 141
these fraternal gentlemen insisted that all foreign
servants should be sent out of the country, and gentle
men who retained them were threatened with uncom
fortable visits. Even the poor Savoyards who clean
shoes at the corners, and who run on errands, were
declared interlopers and consumers, and we have our
selves had to protect some of these little fellows from
most unprovoked attacks.
" Why should these people remain ? " was asked ;
" do they not eat what belongs to us ? Before long we
shall be in want of food, and we shall have to starve
in order that they may live."
It never occurred to these brothers that they had
themselves brought the ruin so near ; and that their
ridiculous revolutions had plunged the country into
this desperate difficulty. The blindest of men is an
infuriated patriot !
In the meantime the engine-drivers on the different
railroads had notice to quit, or to prepare to defend
themselves. English coachmen and servants were
glad to escape from the fraternal threat, and as every
man reduced his establishment to avoid the dreadful
imputation of being a gentleman, a general departure
of the foreign servants was the consequence. In vain
did some writers declare that the threat was never
executed, in vain did they write : — " A report is cir
culated that all foreign servants and labourers are
to be sent out of France. This would be a most
culpable act. The Republic declares itself as inaugu
rating an era of peace and fraternity on the earth,

142 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
and beyond our frontiers the world has saluted it
with cries of joy."
It is scarcely conceivable that educated men could
have written such palpable falsehoods, when they read
in the English papers of subscriptions raised for the
very persons who were forced to leave fraternal France,
and who in some cases anived in England not only
pillaged but maltreated.
It is very certain no foreigner reposed in peace
under the pleasing shade of the trees of liberty ; they
were planted, watered, blessed, and protected ; the sap
was partially up when the ceremony took place, so
that a few sickly leaves appeared in due season, and
as Providence most especially favoured this country by
a season of general plenty and salubrity, the trees of
liberty appeared to revel in the luxury of adoration ;
the flowers at their roots blossomed, and all appeared
as if that blessing of liberty, unknown in France, had
taken root with the revolution, and that a new era
was about to dawn.
We are told of a Protestant clergyman of great
celebrity and consummate eloquence having been
forced to attend the planting of one of these mis
named trees; he went very unwillingly, and was
called upon to bless the lanky staff. To this he re
plied : — " That according to his notions of religion,
trees were not objects on which to implore a bles
sing ;" but he continued, " I have a higher and a nobler
blessing to ask, and that is, that God may bless you
all, and instil into your hearts a true and sincere desire

a Protestant's blessing. 143
for that liberty, equality, and fraternity of which im
properly you boast ; that also that great Providence
may guard the world in peace and happiness, and so
guide and direct you all, that from this revolution
may spring a lasting government not to be again
overthrown ; that France may rise to her former
greatness and power, the rich be protected, and the
poor nourished and reheved. And now upon you,
my brethren, [and here the crowd knelt down] I im
plore the blessing of God in all sincerity — God prosper
you, God bless you, and God pour out that spirit
which may make you good citizens and good subjects."
The crowd arose and bowed to him as to a divinity ;
they came to scoff, and they remained to pray.
The mercurial disposition of these people occasions
the various excesses into which they are either led or
fall ; here the best feeling had been instilled, but no
sooner had the clergyman retired than some ribald
jest effaced his words, and when the evening set in,
we have not the least doubt that every one of them
who was not in attendance at the clubs, frequented
the street, bellowing out — "des lampions, des lam-
qions," disturbing the quiet citizens, of which they did
not form a part ; and finishing the evening with the
everlasting song of the Marseillaise.
We remarked that all these planters of trees, who
were the lowest of the low, the general idler, and
the tattered vagabond, had all plenty of money.
Now amidst the many secrets divulged concerning the
Provisional Government, and although the accounts,

144 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
according to M. Goudchaux, have been examined
and found correct, no item appears such as " general
expences for amusing the idle by planting trees, called
trees of liberty," yet we are pretty certain that money
was supplied in that quarter, and that all the plunder
for the watering of these stalks, never realized
one sixteenth of the sum this starving population
squandered in cabarets, fetes, and frolics.

145

CHAPTER IX.
The Sixteenth of March — Demonstration ofthe National Guard —
Resisted by the Mob — Deputation of Workmen — Reception at
the Hotel de Ville — Caussidiere named Prefect of Police —
Absence of Great Men — The Republican " Happy Family '.'
— Mob enmity against England — Demonstration in favour of
Ireland, Germany, and Poland — Disunion in France, the
cause of most of its Evils.
On the 1 6th of March we had a grand display of the
National Guard : they met unarmed, and convinced
every spectator that if they acted in unison, there
never would be a revolution in Paris.
The opposite party immediately declared that this
was a re-actionary movement in favour of Henry V.,
or of the house of Orleans ; we conscientiously believe
that not more than two hundred out of the one
hundred thousand reported to be present, knew what
they met for. But the revolutionary party are quite
aware that these veteran soldiers did not meet without
an object, and in a moment they resolved to oppose
them. VOL. I. L

146 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
We were present at the whole affair ; we reviewed
the troops on the Boulevards, and afterwards went to
the Place de 1' Hotel de Ville, occupying a front
window and commanding a good view of the exciting
scene. Whatever the National Guards intended, it is quite
evident the sovereign people meant business, and con
sequently there was great bustle and animation.
As everybody in those days appeared to have taken
out a licence to shoot, and walked about some with
double-barrelled guns, and some with military muskets,
we were not at all surprised to see a little preparation
for action, such as lashing on a bayonet to a fowling-
piece, and occasionally the right arm making a certain
perpendicular motion indicative of examining the con
tents of the barrel.
It is true that Ledru Rollin's circular had excited
general apprehension and reprobation, but this gentle
man, as he afterwards explained, was quite aware that
the provinces did not wish to accept the republic, and
that therefore it was necessary to instil a little fear by
sending proconsuls to change the magistracy, upset
the prefects, &c, and to place in their chairs a real
good unquestionable red republican. Ledru Rollin was
perfectly right in all his ideas ; he knew his country
men well, the proconsuls appeared, and " Vive la Re
publique " re-echoed in France.
The demonstration of the National Guards might
have been to protest against a repetition of such fra
ternal authority ; and the Provisional Government seem

THE SIXTEENTH OF MARCH. 147
to have believed this the object, for on that day they
issued a circular, declaring that " no magistrate was to
be removed by Ledru Rollin's commissaries, but that
a report should be made to the Minister of the Interior,
who was to refer the complaint to the Minister of
Justice." Others maintain that this demonstration took
place in reference to a regulation abolishing some dif
ference of dress in the National Guard, and others
again believe that it was got up in favour of order, and
was intended to show such an imposing force as
would satisfy the most sceptical, that united these men
could save Paris.
At last, after the most exemplary patience, the
National Guards began to march towards the Hotel de
Ville, the news of which soon reached that rendezvous
of all rioters. A great stir was manifest ; and shortly
afterwards some very determined looking republicans
advanced to meet the approaching citizens, posting some
of their party in the Place du Chatelet, whilst a strong
body proceeded to the Pont Neuf.
The National Guards kept moving forward, and the
opposite party still increased its numbers. Suddenly
General Courtais, who at that time commanded the
National Guard of Paris, emerged with his staff from
the Hotel de Ville, and rode towards the foremost
body whom he ordered to halt ; he addressed several
companies, some of whom expressed great discontent,
but the burthen of the argument was this : — " that if
they advanced a collision was inevitable, the mob were
resolved that the National Guards should not proceed,
l 2

148 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
and he, General Courtais, fearing the consequences,
desired them to retire."
Although in a former part of this work we have
strongly reprobated the conduct of this civic guard,
yet it must not be believed for a moment that we im
puted their conduct to cowardice ; we distinctly said
it was to disaffection, and to the want of any authority
of any kind. On the 24th of February, we never
could find the commander-in-chief of the National
Guards, neither were they supplied with ammunition ;
the consequence was a general inactivity in those who
would have acted, and a very reasonable excuse for
those who would not have acted. There is plenty of
the bravest blood amongst those men, but they must
be well commanded, or they would most uselessly en
cumber the streets. If their general forsakes them,
they become instantly a confused mass, impeding the
regular troops, and frustrating all the movements of
the army.
After a parley of some minutes, and after, it is said,
some violent reproaches fulminated against the general,
a few of the National Guards were allowed, as a depu
tation from the whole, to advance towards the Hotel
de Ville, whilst the mob in surly silence permitted them
to pass unmolested; another serious altercation took
place, after which the National Guards retired.
Whatever idea some men formed of this demonstra
tion, it was entirely effaced by that of the following
day. The mob had again gained the ascendant ; they
placed themselves in an offensive position, and de-

DEPUTATION D'OUVRIERS, 149
ploring, as every one did, the effusion of blood, it was
obvious, that the National Guards intended going to
the Hotel de Ville, and that they had been frustrated in
their endeavours by the mob. They lost their object,
and consequently the other party claimed success.
On the 17th a demonstration of what M. Dumas
modestly calls "une deputation d'ouvriers" took
place ; it is quite true that some had banners indi
cating a mass of tinkers, tailors, and shoemakers, but
there were plenty of other brothers who seemed to
belong to any profession to which they might acci
dentally be called. In these ranks we observed many
priests, who from the faint manner they shouted "Vive
la Republique," were evidently forced to " march
through Coventry " with their brethren.
This demonstration was declared to be in favour of
Ledru Rollin, and met with a very different reception
from the National Guards the day before; for on its arri
val at the Hotel deVille,it was received at the entrance by
Messrs. Lamartine, Gamier Pages, Ledru Rollin, Louis
Blanc, Cremieux, and Marie. Louis Blanc addressed
the multitude, and his speech was most vehemently
applauded although not a hundred could hear what
was said. Immense cheers were given for Ledru
Rollin, and as the thousands retired they continued
shouting the name of their favourite, and after the
" Vive la Republique," they added "a bas les Car-
listes!" We remarked in this demonstration more angry
feeling than in any other. Although we never profess

150 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
to dress in that degree of fashion which might entitle
the lounger to general observation or admiration, and
although, if the truth must be told, since the 24th of
February, a rather slovenly demeanour was most in ac
cordance with the general fashion of the day, yet were
we saluted many times by angry ruffians, who shouted
" a, bas les aristocrats ; " and once or twice the sema
phorical display of arms seemed to indicate a certain
propensity to carry out the threat of " a bas les
Anylais," which followed the chorus of " Mourir pour
la Patrie," which of course was bellowed by every
brat in the crowd.
The immense numerical force of these working
classes, honourable and dishonourable, seemed the
most overwhelming proof that the demonstration of
the National Guards had in no way damped the
ardour of the republicans. This was got up, it was
asserted, to support Ledru Rollin, Louis Blanc, and
Albert, who, justly or unjustly, were supposed the sup
porters of the red republic. The condemnation of
M. Louis Blanc by the high court of Bourges seems
to justify the suspicion : at any rate the republican
party gained strength by this demonstration, and
added a reward to one of the most ardent insurgents,
by appointing M. Caussidiere as Prefect of Police on
the 21st of March. Four months previous to this,
M. Caussidiere might as well have aspired to the situa
tion of President of the Chamber of Peers, as to that
of Prefect of Police.
The republic soon exhibited great signs of weakness

THE HAPPY FAMILY. 151
in its men and its government. No phcenix arose from
the ashes of royalty : indeed, so few were the men who
appeared trustworthy in the eyes of the Provisional
Government, that we find one family usurping half
of the power. M. Arago, for instance, now held the
portfolio of the Ministers of War and Marine, com
manding both the army and the navy. M. Etienne
Arago was Post-master General, and M. Emanuel
Arago was sent to Lyons to organize a second Luxem
bourg job ;— this was the " Happy Family " of the
republic !
In the meantime the assertion of Lamartine, " that
when Providence wishes to set the world in a blaze,
the thought is engendered in the heart of a French
man," seemed realized. Italy was fairly on fire ; so
were Germany, Austria, Prussia, and Naples. Sicily
had a Ruggiero Settimo, and even a miserable depu
tation of Chartists from England had come over to
applaud the revolution of February. The French
papers occasionally asserted that Queen Victoria had
abdicated, and that news seemed the most welcome of
all. To have revolutionized England — to have muz
zled that tremendous lion, would indeed have been a
daylight song for the Gallic cock ! It was marvellous
how such reports were credited, and with what de
light they were received, and yet at that moment
England seemed inclined to strengthen her bonds of
amity with her treacherous friend. In vain these
complaisant conspirators said — " France and England
united, and we rule the world." In vain they gave

152 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the fraternal hug ; — they like us not, and like us less
now, than ever. The steady greatness of the country,
the determination to preserve order, and to suppress,
if only by special constables' staffs, all rebellion and
revolution, can never be pardoned by the party in
France who act ; the party who speak will give as
much praise as words can convey.
We particularly notice this, because in the midst of
the apparent enthusiasm of friendship for the once
perfidious Albion, we were present at a ragged demon
stration which formed in the Place de la Concorde,
and over the heads of which floated the flag of Ireland
and its harp. Ah ! here, indeed, was something like
the beginning of a disorganization of the British em
pire ! Of all the miserable failures which afterwards
happened to that unfortunate country, this was the
greatest. We were present at the muster, and we can
assert that not one hundred people formed that demon
stration, and one half of those were Frenchmen ; but
it was the manner in which this mob was received, —
the loud acclamations which welcomed the ragged
school of republicanism, — which struck us forcibly,
and convinced us that whilst the hand of fraternity was
extended, the heart of hatred beat quickly. The
German demonstration was on a better scale. The
Polish was an accumulating tide, and every now and
then a very kindly disposed mass of people, with the
resolution to revolutionize the world, shouted out in
loud chorus, " Vive T enfer, Vive la yuillotine" and
" a bas tout le monde" These were sweeping reformers

WANT OF UNITY. 153
with a vengeance, and had harnessed themselves to
the car of disorder, resolved to drag it through all the
blood of Europe.
It must be well understood that all these demon
strations were got up by the lowest, rabble. France
has as many gentlemen, and is as civilized a commu
nity as any nation : these men avoided such folly, but
they never resisted it ; they shrugged their shoulders,
— declared it was a "fait accompli" — that " il faut
attendre," — and finished the whole, after deploring the
ruin of their country, with the everlasting termination
of every remark, — "Enfin que voulez-vous."
There is no unity amongst the higher classes in
France; all are playing their own games. A house
divided against itself cannot stand ; it was in this
delight of the legitimist at seeing the house divided,
and the fear of the Orleanist party less the legitimists
should gain the ascendancy, that like the vulgar fable
of the two dogs quarrelling for the bone, the republi
cans walked away with it, and afterwards destroyed it
themselves with their usual indiscretion.

154

CHAPTER X.
Effect of Ledru Rollin's Circular — Numerous resignations of
Public Officers — Extensive bribery of Voters — Patriot Purity
— Alleged Plot to blow up the Hotel de Ville — Republican
Commissaries — Division among the Provisional Government
— Postponement of the Elections — Polish Deputation and
Lamartine's Speech — Two classes only, gainers by the
Republic.
We have said that the republicans destroyed their own
work, and we repeat it. The circulars of Ledru Rollin
scared every man, and the idea of a reign of terror
became common enough amongst the timid.
Men holding high situations began to give in their
resignations. M. Keratry led the van ; M. Duplessis,
Juge d'instruction at Meaux, followed, giving as a
reason for his resignation, that he would not have
spies placed upon his actions. M. Montjau positively
refused to hold office under a dictator. M. d'Assailly
declared he believed himself in a dream when he read
Ledru Rollin's circular, and although a republican, he
could not divest himself of the idea that in a sweet

REPUBLICAN CORRUPTION. 155
slumber he had been carried to the government of
some Eastern Satrap, and that he saw before him the
Felta of a Vizier. Colonels of long standing, prefects
of irreproachable character, judges and mayors, — all
resigned as they read the despotic circular which
emanated from a soi-disant republican.
Whilst the country became alarmed, the cause of
all this disturbance became the subject of universal
reprobation. Amongst other absurdities, the produc
tion was attributed to a lady who writes under the
masculine denomination of George Sand ; but it was
from the dictation of the would-be dictator, and the
odium of the document must for ever rest upon the
head of the Minister of the Interior.
On the 24th of February there was a sum amounting
to eight millions of francs in the treasury. The loaves and
fishes were irresistible, and here we see again that the
most furious republican out of office — the man who in
the senate raises his voice against bribery and corrup
tion, — the pure patriot in words, becomes the means of
the greatest corruption and profligacy when seated in
the comfortable abode of the Minister of the Interior.
The best way to test a patriot is to offer him some
temptation. Men who are purer than the rest of the
world in their words, are generally the most depraved
their actions. The old saying is realized every day of
our fives : " When a man boasts of his honesty, put
your hands in your pockets ;" it is borne out to
the fullest extent by the patriots who upset the
monarchy.

156 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
For a long time M. Ledru Rollin had electrified the
French Chamber of Deputies by his flaming elocution
in favour of purity of election. Universal suffrage
(that premium upon lying) was the panacea, and no
man thundered his anathemas against corruption more
loudly, or more vehemently, than Ledru Rollin. Be
hold now this patriot in office — behold him governing
the destinies of France as her Minister of the Interior,
and as we gently lift up the curtain, we show how the
tongue and the hand can vary.
As it was quite evident that republican France
had no republicans, it was requisite to make them
either by fear, or bribery ; and M. Ledru Rollin
having tried the first, now had recourse to the second.
It is attested by official documents that this pure re
publican sent into the provinces no less a sum than
123,000 francs to bribe the voters ! aye, it is attested
by official documents that this money was sent by the
pure, unspotted patriot, the Minister of the Interior,
to bribe the voters ! and he has survived the shame
and the discovery !
It is true, thousands of exaggerated reports were
spread about the purity of this minister. It was de
clared that a celebrated French actress lent her
avaricious aid to plunder the property of France ; and
curious anecdotes concerning certain diamond neck
laces, armlets, &c, were on every tongue. The patriot,
who it was reported was in excessive difficulties
before the revolution, suddenly became emancipated
from the touch of the bailiff, and revelled in every

REPUBLICAN COBRUPTION. 157
luxury ; orgies were spoken of quite in conformity with
the satrap customs, and in fact, by some unaccount
able good fortune, it became manifest that there was
no need for the law immediately passed against
" arrest for debt," so far as the patriot was concerned ;
— his debts were paid, he was free as air.
Tbe good fortune of Ledru Bollin led to some sus
picion amongst his honourable fraternity, and we find
the second model of purity, M. Marrast, coming out
strongly in the patriot line. Heaven only knows how
many — many lines of the National M. Marrast had
written against everything like bribery, corruption, or
dishonesty. No man was quicker than this fortunate
gentleman and citizen in detecting corruption in
others. We beg leave to introduce M. Marrast to the
world as the Prefect of the Seine, under the first Go
vernment of the glorious and holy republic !
There is a law in France that no man can receive a
salary for more than one situation ; it is a law against
" cumulation " as it is termed. Now the least we could
expect to find, would be, that so able a writer, and so
pure a patriot, as Citoyen Marrast would naturally con
form to this law ; and if he must plunder the state, he
would do it by that quiet abstraction which could be
put down to " bribing voters," or " making republi
cans." The golden apple was too tempting to be
resisted, and hence we find by official documents that
M. Citoyen Marrast not only received a salary as
Prefect of the Seine, as a member of the Provisional
Government, but also as holding two other situations.

158 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
And what is the excuse for this violation of the law, —
this plunder of the innocent republic ? This : — " That
it became necessary for Citoyen Marrast to get money
by any means, in order to pay spies to watch the move
ments of LedruRollin ! " Nay, Citoyen Marrast declares
that owing to the vigilance of those spies paid to
watch his particular friend, he discovered and averted
" a plot to blow up the Hotel de Ville !"
We naturally pause at these assertions ; can it be
true, that the exemplary patriot Ledru Rollin con
templated the numerous murders which must have
occurred had the Hotel de Ville, at that time gar
risoned it may be said by at least one thousand
persons, and surrounded by three thousand more, been
suddenly blown up ? Is it possible, we ask, that such
an infernal thought, in comparison to which Fieschi's
infernal machine was but a pop-gun, could ever have
been engendered in the breast of a pure republican ?
and if there is no truth in this official assertion of
M. Marrast, why is it not contradicted ? But be it
true, or be it false, it is evident that the Provisional
Government of France was, three days after its as
sumption to power, divided against itself; that the
more moderate, such as Lamartine, Dupont de l'Eure,
and Gamier Pages trembled for every act which the
Minister of the Interior might perform ; and that no
one could say what excesses so pure a republican
might not venture to attempt.
But whilst this httle plunder and slight violation of
the law were going forward at the Hotel de Ville and

DOINGS OF THE PATRIOTS ! 1 59
at the residence of the Minister of the Interior, a
similar scene was enacted on a larger scale in the
provinces. Everybody seems to have made himself a
commissary ; in some departments three gentlemen all
claimed to be the officially appointed commissaires, and
received pay as prefets ! In some department the
Inspectors General were hunted by bailiffs, and the
whole record of the Provisional Government bears out
the former assertion, " that patriots out of office with
iron bars between them and the mint, and patriots in
office, with the bars removed, are very different
people." Nay, so very far was bribery carried, that a
few superior artists, who from the revolution became
impoverished, and were obliged to enter the national
ateliers, were solicited to become — not the gentle
advocates of republican doctrines, — but actually the
bullies to force the waverers to vote and act as was
desired. These gentlemen refused to a man, and even
the golden lure, resisted with so much difficulty, was
in this case spurned and despised.
For our own part we do not hesitate to say, we
have an unmitigated horror of patriots, and of all
people who pretend to be either more patriotic or
pious than their neighbours. A good opportunity of
plunder, or a gentle inducement to a pleasurable sin,
is sure to detect the wolf in the lamb's comfortable
clothing ; but it was never more distinctly discovered
than in the affairs of the Provisional Government.
Nothing can more faithfully delineate the split in
the cabinet than this circumstance, that while M. de

160 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
Lamartine's circular to the diplomatic corps was read
and admired by every one, when non-intervention and
war were equally reprobated, M. Caussidiere, the Pre
fect of Police, was busily engaged getting together
some fire-eating republicans, and arranged for (but
forgot to pay) the transport of these gentlemen into
Belgium. It would appear the more the secrets are
revealed, that from the first moment of power, there
was a division in the camp, and it is now evident that
the security of property, the escape from a forced loan
and assignats, were entirely owing to the firmness and
moderation of Lamartine and his friends.
We shall see shortly how this Government was de
stroyed, and see also how discretion and coolness abro
gated every law made in haste and timidity. One
thing, however, is certain, that the words of Danton
were not realized : — " En revolution, l'autorite finit
toujours par appartenir au plus scelerat." So far as the
Provisional Government was concerned, this was not
the case ; and, indeed, how should it have been ? did
not Lamartine say : — " Le 24 Fevrier a place la Re
publique dans une des plus belles situations ou la
France (poor France !) se soit jamais rencontree. La
Providence a ete son Ministre des Affaires Etranyeres."
Considering that Lamartine was himself the Minister
of Foreign Affairs at the time, thus being the incarna
tion of Providence, it was out of the question to ima
gine that the "plus scelerat " would have the upper
hand ! " Words, words, words," — these are the curse
of France.

ELECTIONS ADJOURNED. 161
Not a little surprise was occasioned by the adjourn
ment of the general elections ; and here again the red
republicans threw away a chance, for the longer the
elections were deferred, so much the more certain
would be the re-action. The panic was fast vanish
ing, the order and honesty observed by the lower
classes began to inspire some confidence, and when on
the 27th of March the elections were postponed until
the 23rd of April, many who had fled on reading
Ledru Rollin's circular, returned and held up their
heads. The day appointed for the first meeting
of the National Assembly was the 4th of May, and it
was fixed for that day in pious remembrance of the
States General in 1789 ; there is nothing like fol
lowing a good example !
Although the stream ran apparently pretty quietly
on its surface, having only now and then a slight
ruffle occasioned by a suspicious breeze, yet the under
currents were getting strong, and men began to foresee
a storm. The Poles, who have so frequently tried all
Europe to back them up in a rebellion, thought that
Republican France would gladly aid them in obtaining
liberty. Poland, indeed, has been for years a kind of stalk
ing horse to kick at any ministry : now of course
Poland's emancipation was at hand, and therefore a
deputation of these everlasting Poles paid their respects
to M. de Lamartine. M. Godebski was the orator, to
whom Lamartine answered, — his speech blew hot and
cold, very poetical at times, very promising, and at
VOL. I. M

162 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
others very deceptive ; but the finale was in these
words: — " et la France ne se souvient que de son amour
pour la Pologne." The future will show how despe
rately inconstant France was to every country which
had the misfortune to trust in her love and her pro
mises. In vain all the Poles tossed up their hats for
the republic, and in vain some equally silly Frenchmen
believed in the words of the Provisional Govern
ment. The French Republic had a grand opportunity of
proving how much more they honoured agreements
than the government of the monarchy. The poor
benighted Abdel Kader was a prisoner, in violation of
the most sacred promise, — aye, a promise ratified by a
royal prince. Little did he know how hollow, how
insincere, were all French promises ; he was actually
absurd enough to give credit to the word of honour
of France, pledged by a general, and ratified by a
royal prince, and has, in consequence, inhabited a
French prison ever since. And how did the republican
government act — the very people who had taunted the
monarchical government with this breach of faith ? why
they were very sorry, very much ashamed, but sent
orders that Abdel Kader should be as closely watched
as before, and that the chateau at Pau should be pre
pared to receive the credulous Emir, his family, and
forty of his attendants ! In prison will that poor
Emir die ; he may look out of those barred windows,
and sigh for his tents and his people, and as he ex-
claims' — " God is great, God is just," he may see in

THE PREFECT CAUSSIDIERE. 163
the downfall of Louis Philippe the truth of his
ejaculation. In the meantime Paris had begun to assume some
little life. M. Caussidiere, who has lived to hear of
his name being stuck upon the pillory, as they could
not get his person, took the resolution of keeping order
in the capital, and saved us from the nocturnal visita
tion of a pack of boys and girls who forced every one
to illuminate, shouting out — " des lampions, des lam
pions!" Directly those words were heard everybody
lit his grease-pot, and great was the light and the
stench of Paris.
Whatever blame may justly or unjustly have fallen
upon M. Caussidiere, no one will deny the immense
service he did to the peaceable inhabitauts during the
time he filled the office of Prefect of Police ; under
his sway, all those attroupements were frustrated ; the
firing of muskets in the streets (by no means an un
common event) was prohibited, and the independent
republicans were desired not to walk about with
double-barrelled guns.
In carefully reviewing the past, we can only discover
two sets of people who up to this time had benefited
by the total overthow of order, confidence, and loyalty,
— " the murderer and the swindler ;" one no longer
feared the guillotine, or the other the bailiff; and these
gentlemen cared very little if M. Arago earned his pay
of Minister of Marine, who, no doubt thinking it im
perative to do something, issued at last an ordonnance
by which he changed the title of a midshipman from
m 2

164 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
" eleve de la marine" to the more republican one of
" aspirant?' No man knew better the value of the
word than the Minister of Marine. The public
swindler, and the Provisional Government continued
their onward course, knowing very well, that do what
they would, the gentle, kind, considerate people woidd
only shrug their shoulders, and say — "Enfin que
voulez-vous ? ' '

165

CHAPTER XI.
Outrage at the Office of the Presse Newspaper — Preparations
for the Elections — Unpopularity of the Commissaries — Inti
midation in the Departments — Orleans Railway seized by
Government — Continued distrust — Theatres thrown open to
the Public — Rachel and the Marseillaise — Recall of the
Troops to Paris — Working -men' s meeting of the Ytth April
— Manifesto of MM. Louis Blanc and Albert — Disturbances
in the Provinces — Montauban, St. Etienne, Lyons, Bordeaux
— Fete de la Concorde — Quiet demeanour and good-humour
of the Spectators
On the 29th of March, chance took us to the Rue
Montmartre. We found ourselves in the midst of a
very agitated mob, and on inquiry learnt that the
public were discontented with some articles published
in the Presse newspaper, and therefore resolved to
take the law into their own hands, and show their
respect for the liberty of the press, by destroying the
papers as they were issued from the office.
This outrage gave the Societe Centrale Republicaine
an opportunity of mingling in the fray. M. Dumas

166 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
thus remarks upon the event : — " The liberty of the
press might have perished in this first affair, it came
out victorious ; all true republicans, whether those of
to-day, or yesterday, must feel happy at the result."
Very short indeed was the happiness ! M. de Girardin,
the editor, lived to inhabit the Conciergerie, and three
months after this event, the \>oov Presse was the greatest
and most servile slave in Christendom — gagged most
thoroughly, even to suffocation.
The Provisional Government had now arrived at the
pleasant amusement of mischievous boys : they had
taken the watch to pieces, and found themselves inca
pable of putting it together again ; they therefore pre
pared to hand over that task to the National Assembly.
But the National Assembly, although the result of
universal suffrage, was not allowed to be elected
without the most infamous bribery and intimidation.
The emissaries of Ledru Rollin left the Hotel in the
Rue de Grenelle with orders siyned by the Minister of
the Interior, which authorized the commissary to im
pose his own election, or any other person's he chose to
name ; bribery and corruption, backed by a little red
republican intimidation, were the order of the day : the
clubs became more violent, and a child could predict
the forthcoming storm ; all was confusion and dis
content. In some departments the arrival of the new com
missaries was the signal for a demonstration against
the Government. This particularly happened in the
Department of Aisne, where the whole population rose

RAILWAY SEQUESTRATION. 167
to retain M. Champvans, and some time afterwards
the commissary sent to Bordeaux was glad to escape
by the door, as he was threatened to be thrown out of
the window. It was a business of some danger accept
ing power from the Provisional Government, and
even higher offices than those of prefects and com
missaries were frequently refused. Thus General
Cavaignac refused the situation of Minister of War,
as did Generals Oudinot, Changarnier, Schramm, and
Preval, so that M. Francois Arago, of the " Happy
Family," filled that office, and General Gazan, who
exercised the functions of Directeur du Personnel,
handed over his charge to the fortunate and omni
present Arago.
The intimidation in fhe departments was sufficiently
alarming, but it was a trifle in regard to the first great
preparatory step to the confiscation of private property.
On the 5th of April, the Government placed under
sequestration the Orleans and the Vierzon railways ;
this was done in order, as it was said, " to ensure the
regularity of the trains," but the fact was, that actual
money was a very rare commodity, and as travellers
paid in specie, the Government got some little assist
ance. The sequestration was ordered without the
consent of the proprietors, for we find the following
resolution taken by the administrators: — "That the
abandonment of the sequestration in the shortest pos
sible delay, should be reclaimed from the Govern
ment." It had this good effect, that other railway
companies began to apprehend the irreligious and

168 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
grasping claws of M. Duclerc, and to make prepara
tions for resisting all violation of private property.
The clubs always advocated the necessity of the
state becoming the possessors of the railroads, and of
course those gentlemen who were socialists thought
not of the means, so long as they could gain their
ends. Not all the Gardiens de Ville, a new guard,
distinguished by a copper badge on the arm, and
amounting to two thousand, would have been sufficient
to arrest the public robbers, who, under the specious
name of fraternity, were prepared to plunder all pro
prietors. Such spoliation as this was not likely to
restore confidence.
In spite of the eloquence of the first workman in
France (a title Louis Blanc gave himself), the work
men did not return to their labour. The wants of the
people increased daily ; the circulars of Ledru Rollin,
and his pompous parades through the national ateliers,
failed to produce the slightest beneficial effect. Neither
confidence nor credit could be restored, the people saw
the despot in every action, and read tyranny in every
word. The ship had been entrusted to a drunken
pilot, who disregarded the shoals and quicksands, the
currents and the rocks which surrounded her, and
carried a press of sail when the squall was the nearest.
When people are idle, they are always mischievous ;
in order to amuse, since they could not employ, the
lower orders of Paris, the theatres were thrown open
gratuitously. Since the 24th of February, so very
few attended these places of amusement, that even the

RACHEL AND THE MARSEILLAISE 169
promissory payment of the Provisional Government
was a chance for the directors not to throw away.
The object was to revive some excitement in favour
of the republic, and as novelty is ever charming, the
great tragic actress came forth to siny the Marseillaise;
we confess wTe have never witnessed any exhibition
more likely to draw forth a momentary applause than
the unparalleled energy of this great performer. We
cannot believe that she is a republican, but when she
wrapped herself in the tri-coloured flag, and knelt as
she sang the words of the most spirit-stirring song ever
penned, we felt ourselves borne away by the universal
enthusiasm, and forgot all the miseries of the republic
in the glow of animation we experienced. Neither
were we, — firm, stern, unflinching royalists as we
are, and have ever been, — the only victims of Rachael's
power ; by our side sat the Turkish ambassador, and
he, the representative of true despotism, could not
refrain from joining in the universal applause. It was
what is vulgarly called a hit, and to the shout of
" Vive la Republique " the Provisional Government,
represented by Lamartine, Ledru Rollin, Dupont,
Louis Blanc, Marrast, and Carnot, bowed as the Che
valiers de Lustre (as the claqueurs are called) roared
of course, "Vive le Gouvernment Provisoire."
In 1830, we remember at Dieppe being present
when this song was sung at the theatre, and when all
the spectators rose and joined in the chorus — " Aux
armes, Citoyens," and the enthusiasm of that moment
was obliterated by the greater shout of applause that

170 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
welcomed the talented actress. Scandalous babblers
declared that Rachael came forth in this unusual cha
racter at the request of one who was supposed to pro
tect her, and who had been accused of squandering
the nation's money to cover her with diamonds.
For a moment it revived the drooping spirits of the
auditors. Frenchmen cannot withstand a, pirouette or
a chorus ; they are the most elastic-minded people
alive, who always accept a "fait accompli," and look
on at ruin, disorder, and a republic, with — " Enfin
que voulez-vous?" Whatever other nations may do,
France cannot be said to profit by example.
The Provisional Government having now nearly sur
vived a month's existence, began to wish for the pre
sence of the troops, all of whom the red republicans
had managed to get sent out of Paris. On the 15th of
April, the 61st regiment was ordered to enter Paris ;
it was the wedge by which the road would be opened
to others. The red republicans made a show of oppo
sition, and as the troops approached the Barriere du
Trone, a rencontre seemed very probable. The soldiers
marched up with their bayonets fixed, and the mob
advanced. The coolness of the colonel saved any
effusion of blood. The mob insisted that the troops
should halt, and halt they did.
"Now," said the colonel with great calmness, " will
you be kind enough to answer me one question ? "
" Certainly," was the reply.
" Pray then," continued the colonel, " tell me, is
the Provisional Government overset ? "

RE-ENTRY OF THE TROOPS. 171
" Most certainly not," answered the mob.
" Oh, very well, then, "said the cool commander ;
" then of course you will let me pass, for here are the
orders for me to enter Paris ! "
In an instant the crowd shouted " Vive le Colonel,"
the passage was opened, and the troops entered. No
thing shows the French character more than this anec
dote. The crowd all knew the Provisional Govern
ment had given orders to the soldiers to enter Paris ;
they went resolved to oppose the entrance, a few words
with a certain degree of cleverness changed their
opinion, they embraced the people they came to fight,
and when afterwards rebuked by their brother repub
licans for the change, they replied — " The colonel
made us laugh, et enfin que voulez-vous ? "
The 17 th of April was a day of some anxiety in
Paris, and we heard the " Prends ton sac," the rappel.
An immense crowd of workmen had assembled in the
Champs de Mars with banners and flags : the favourite
motto was — " Abolition de 1 'exploitation de l'homme
par l'homme, organisation du travail." Innocent as
this looked, it was reported that several members of
the clubs had mixed with the workmen, and were
busy in instilling those delightful socialist doctrines by
which the idle are to live at the expense of the
laborious — doctrines which are sure to take root every
where, although those who have wealth will be found
by no means inclined to share it without a consi
derable resistance.
General Duvivier had, however, organized with sur-

172 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
prising celerity that praetorian guard, " La Garde Mo
bile." We, who watched every change in this strange
revolution, saw nothing more rapid than the conver
sion of a dirty set of boys into highly-disciplined and
effective troops, in the space of a few days.
It is true they were drilled morning, noon, and
night, but they all seemed to like it, and after a few
hours of that intellectual amusement, the goose step,
they marched admirably, and became a most imposing
and well disciplined corps.
On the occasion of the above assemblage of work
men, a division of this force first appeared as the
maintainers of order •. there was hardly a man amongst
them who had not contributed to create the disorder ;
they were the real yamins de Paris, and some of
them were not as tall as their muskets. The demon
stration was allowed to proceed, and was received by
Lamartine and Marrast, but the National Guard,
nearly led to a collision by their intemperate cries of
" a bas les communistes, des fauteurs du desordre."
This was ill judged, but the appearance of the Garde
Mobile kept any turbulent spirit quiet, and after a
day of some excitement and apprehension, the evening
closed calmly and silently.
The walls of Paris had presented an extraordinary
appearance ; the ten thousand plans for raising money,
educating the poor, and governing the world, were
now pasted over by the profession of faith of the can
didates for the National Assembly. To read all these
affiches was impossible, but we read quite enough to

ELECTION PREPARATIONS. 173
see that according to these professions, every man
welcomed the republic, and every man was resolved to
be the purest, the most honest, the most upright and
patriotic citizen ; and the Government by way of
throwing a tub to the whale, declared the tax on salt
should be abolished on the first of January, 1849,
thereby legislating in advance for the National As
sembly. It was a mere election manoeuvre, and
served its purpose.
Everybody was prepared to govern the country ;
every man thought himself perfectly capable of con
ducting the crazy vessel of the state, and both
MM. Louis Blanc and Albert had the same idea, for in
one of their manifestoes, they say — " We wish to have
elected for the National Assembly vinyt ouvriers, out
of the thirty-four to be named representatives for
Paris." We should always be inclined to imagine
that shoemakers, tinkers, and tailors, would be much
more efficient members of their respective trades, than
as the gentlemen valets of a Government ; the ten
articles published by Louis Blanc and Albert are of
such a nature, that if acted upon, the free exercise of
opinion, as regards the voters, would be annihilated.
The very people who bawled the loudest for universal
suffrage, were the very people who endeavoured to rob
the voter of his right to vote for the man he would
select !
Whilst Paris was getting into a very unwholesome
state of excitement, in preparation for the elections,
the provinces were anythmg but quiet. In Mont-

174 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
auban, M. Sauriac, one of Ledru Rollin's commissaries,
was obliged to leave the town four hours after he had
entered it, and in revenge resolved to humble the
rebel city ; by way of establishing order, he returned
at the head of two batteries of artillery, and a strong
detachment of the 1 1th Chasseurs. M. Sauriac was
informed that his entrance would be disputed; on
wards he came with intemperate zeal, but a steady
opposition had been formed. The drums beat, the
National Guards flew to their arms, the artillery was
seized in the Faubourgs, and the 11th Chasseurs fol
lowed their leader close enough to hear him give his
resignation, when the whole world seemed risen against
him. At St. Etienne, the ladies got up a revolt : they
declared that the nuns robbed them of their food by
working, and selling their work. The convents were
attacked and a most serious collision took place ; blood
was shed, and the nunneries sacked and burnt. The
women were much more desperate than the men, it
cost the fives of several of the National Guard, and
was altogether a most serious and deplorable affair.
Day after day brought intelligence of fresh dis
turbances, and although the newspapers made light of
their very frequent occurrence, yet it was well known
that the glorious republic had occasioned the loss of
many lives ; and however admirably the population of
Paris had hitherto behaved, the rural districts had ex
hibited on many occasions a degree of exasperation
which foreboded no good for the general elections.
Lyons was, of course, in continued revolt ; a city of

FETE DE LA CONCORDE. 175
that magnitude, with thousands and thousands of un
employed, must necessarily be the focus of discontent ;
besides which, Lyons had its clubs, its socialists, its
red republicans, and order was with great difficulty
maintained within its walls. At Bordeaux, the head
quarters of the Legitimists, the murmurs were both loud
and deep. Every party had contributed to upset the
throne, it now became requisite to wear out the re
public, but not to do it suddenly ; the elections united
those who still looked forward to see the white flag
flying on the Tuileries, and although the supposed
leader of that party urged every one to accept the
republic, they accepted it with so very bad a grace,
that they had better have cast off the mask at once
than worn so flimsy a covering.
Whilst everything was thus in a glorious confusion
in the provinces, Paris was about to waste plenty of
the remaining money in fetes, amusements, fireworks,
and follies. The triumphal arch was crowded by work
men all preparing for the 20th of April, when the
world was promised a review of 300,000 men, and
an harmonious reunion of the army, the National
Guard, and the Garde Mobile. At that moment the
army hated the Mobile, because the Mobile had more
pay, and the National Guards hated them both. It
was called the Fete de la Concorde.
The 20th of April dawned unpropitiously, for it rained,
and no nation in the world appears so much afraid of
wet jackets as the French. Petion remarked : — " II
pleut, il n'y aura rien," but fetes and emeutes are dif
ferent affairs.

176 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
All Paris began to be in motion by seven o'clock.
The rappel had beaten its ominous sound, and army,
Mobile, National Guards, and spectators, were on the
move. We are somewhat averse to these matutinal
perambulations, and those startling sounds which, in
times of such fearful agitation, awaken the slumberer
to sudden alarm. It was all very well to call this
grand fete " La Fete de la Concorde :" men's minds
were by far too separated in opinion to have much
concord. We took our seats on a sloping platform erected in
front of the Triumphal Arch ; behind us were benches
rising one above the other, occupied by ladies, each
having a tremendous bouquet. When the umbrellas
were lowered, it looked like Flora's palace ; between
these masses of flowers were bright eyes and charming
faces, whilst rich dresses (and what nation in the world
can compete with France in the elegance of the toilette?)
added another attraction to the scene. The French
group admirably, they have a wonderful tact in deco
rations ; give a Frenchman a paint brush and a red
curtain, and he will make a garret appear habitable.
Before us was seated the Provisional Government,
and behind them all the high officers of state ; be
hind us was Flora's palace, resting on that magnificent
structure the Triumphal Arch. The long avenue of
the Champs Elysees to the Tuileries was already
crowded with troops, and as occasionally a gleam of
sunshine glanced upon the bayonets, they resembled
a bright, quick, flowing stream, slightly agitated by

LA FETE DE LA CONCORDE. 177
the breeze, with a high bank of trees on each side. On
the left was a regiment of lancers with their gay and
gaudy flags, and handsome attractive uniforms ; ou
the right was a regiment of cuirassiers. Caussidiere
rode at the head of the mounted police, and seemed,
with his republican hat, the personification of a
republic. It was ten o'clock before the first regiment passed
and received its colours, and others followed in suc
cession, each receiving its respective flag. Bands
played, drums beat, the trumpets sounded, and all
was animation, order, and concord.
We soon got tired of seeing the same play enacted,
so we left our good seats and wended our way
down the Champs Elysees. It was a magnificent sight,
made more agreeable by the good humour every
where displayed. It was obvious that it would be a
long day's work; two or three hundred thousand
men were to pass the Triumphal Arch, and as each
regiment on receiving the colours received also a
speech, noon had struck before many regiments got to
their barracks.
It had rained during the night, and the centre of
the Champs Elysees was consequently wet and muddy,
but in this wet and mud regiment after regiment
marched and halted, without uttering one word of
complaint. The bands of this mighty host played
continually the Marseillaise, the Girondins, and Chant
du depart, whilst occasionally the whole mass of people
would sing the songs. It was a general fraternization.
vol. i. >*

178 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
The Garde Mobile mixed with the line, seeming
anxious to be considered real soldiers ; whilst the
National Guard mingled with both. It was one con
tinual display of banners, helmets, and plumes. Almost
everv- man had fastened a small tri-coloured flag on
his bayonet ; some, indeed, more careful of the com
missariat department, had a less decorative article in
the shape of a loaf of bread ; few — very few — had
meat; but very many had small nosegays emerging
from the muzzle of the barrel. There they stood in
the wet for hour after hour, singing, with lungs appa
rently inflated for the purpose, for they never seemed
to tire, those everlasting songs which, since the 24th
of February, had been dinned into our ears. There is
no denying the spuit-stirring enthusiasm to be derived
from those songs. No one can listen to, or read the
words —
" Mourir pour la Patrie,
C'est le sort le plus beau, le plus digne d'envie,"
without being more or less moved by the beauty and
the patriotism of the sentiment, but it is very possible
to have even too much of this good thing, especially
when five or six hundred people are singing it consi
derably out of tune, and marvellously out of time.
The fifth or sixth rank would begin just as the first
and second would be half way through the air ; nor
was this all, for often it would please one or two ranks
to vociferate without any regard to music — " Vive la
Liyne," "Vive la Garde Mobile," "Vive la Garde
Nationale," making the most infernal charivari. Some-

LA FETE DE LA CONCORDE. 179
times one company would sing the Marseillaise, whilst
the next would take a fancy to the Chant du depart ;
neither party would give way, and the consequence
was a higher pitch of the voice, a good-natured laugh,
or a most discordant screech. The birds were
frightened at the sounds, and seemed as much puzzled
as the poor pigeons in the Tuileries during the fight
and the firing of the 24th of February.
The view was as variable as the songs. Here
strutted a gay Vivandiere, in the attractive dress of
those feminine militaires ; neat always is the figure to
which the boddice closely adheres, whilst the boot so
admirably made is sure to lure the eye of the spec
tator. The troops occupied the centre of the avenue,
the mass of Paris moved with difficulty along the
walks, every house had given up its tenants. The
old and the young, the infirm and the infant, were all
out to see the show : it reached from the Triumphal
Arch to the Bastille, and during the whole day this
immense mass of people continued singing and roaring
either a song or " Vive la Republique?'
It was a peculiar feature in this revolution that the
more violent old republican songs were not sung.
The Marseillaise and the Chant du depart are splendid
specimens of poetry, whilst the Carmaynole, not so
elegant or so mild, we never heard but once, and that
was at a theatre.
Throughout this long day, we did not hear one word
of complaint, pne cry likely to raise discord, or one
remark to engender dispute ; it really seemed as if all
n 2

180 THK FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the Parisian world had sworn to make themselves
agreeable for one day : even towards five o'clock in the
afternoon we heard companies of the National Guard,
at last released from service saying with much good
humour, — " Now let us go to breakfast."
As all the descriptions in the world could never give
the faintest idea of the scene ; we change it to that
which occurred after night had begun.
The city was illuminated, and in a manner different
from the ordinary way : almost every man carried a
lighted candle in his musket, and certainly for the first
time in our life we saw hackney coaches illuminated.
The Boulevards were one moving mass of fire ; crowds
upon crowds succeeded, the Cafes were full, the streets
were full, the houses were full, and it was nine o'clock
before the last regiment passed the Triumphal Arch,
and eleven before all the troops had returned to their
barracks. Kfete such as this has seldom been witnessed. It
is not every man, though he is a soldier and may
have served many years, that has seen a review of
300,000 men, nor is it every man who has seen that
number heaped and massed together, without some
slight discord. This was by far the most brilliant fea
ture of the revolution ; and agitated as men's minds
were, and various and discordant as were the senti
ments in almost every rank of that enormous army, it
is almost incredible that at such a time, no low mur
muring growl was heard, or no curse of the republic
which had ruined the half of that population, which

FRATERNITY WITHOUT UNITY. 181
joined in the cheers of excitement and fraternity.
" During twelve hours (remarks a French writer) the
troops defiled, and everywhere they were saluted with
rapture and enthusiasm, as the men on whom the
French republic has the right to reckon for being
great, strong, and just." The French republic had to
fight against a considerable number of these troops, as
will hereafter be seen. But still the sight was im
posing, and gradually as the night began to wear away,
the busy hum of men grew fainter and fainter, until
about one o'clock in the morning, when the lungs were
fatigued, at last silence was restored, and the capital
at rest.
It is worthy of remark that at this national show,
although there was enormous fraternity, there was no
unity. In the breasts of some of these men burnt with
inextinguishable ardour the desire of levelling the
aristocracy, whilst in many, many others, the true
steady flame of royalty warmed their hopes and their
ambition. The red republican and socialist sneered at
the demonstration ; the republican of the day — those
who accepted what they never desired, — and the royalist
who carefully concealed his wishes, lest an infuriated
people should again erect the guillotine, saw in this a
strong manifestation of a return to order, or at least the
power of enforcing it. The Garde Mobile held up
their boyish heads and laughed at the veteran soldier,
— the first had thirty sous a clay, the latter one ; it was
a strange gratitude of a new country, which pre
tended to found its stability upon justice. The old

182 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
soldier naturally looked at the new sprouts of the
republic with envy ; whilst the National Guards,
heartily ashamed of their former inaction, and by this
time well assured that intestine wars are prejudicial
to trade, began to declare that if an opportunity
occurred they would recover their lost fame. Yet all
this heterogeneous mixture produced for the moment
a friendly effervescence in public ; whilst in the retire
ment of their chambers curses upon the republic were
as loud, and much more sincere, than was the fear-
extracted chant of the Marseillaise, or the enthu
siastic " Vive le Gouvernment Provisoire" of the open
air. To wind up the affair with some degree of so
lemnity, a few prisoners for minor offences were re
leased, and thus ended the show and the sincerity.
In the provinces fetes, of fraternity had no charms.
At Amiens the commissaries of Ledru Rollin, Leclanche
and Lefevre, were very unceremoniously expelled ; and
at Cambrai, Nevers, and Lille, emeutes took place,
which so far paralyzed trade, that scarcely one manu
factory continued its operations. Lyons was in a
most agitated state, it was impossible to foresee the
events of twenty-four hours in that hot-bed of sedition
and revolt. At Perrache the workmen openly seized
the ammunition destined for the troops, and served it
out amongst themselves.
The bulletins of the Minister of the Interior began
to soften down a little, but still intemperate and ill-
advised language appeared occasionally ; thus the one
of the 21st of April mentions the necessity of " crush-

M. DUBOIS OF LILLE. 183
iny the enemies of the republic," and this language, so
consonant with the wishes of the more violent, was
everywhere strongly reprobated by the press, which
still retained courage enough to give an example of
moderation and of order.
Amongst the many instances of just opposition to
the mandates of the dictators of the provinces, the
manly behaviour of M. Dubois, a judge of the Tribunal
of Lille, must not be omitted. It appears that one
M. Blervacq, somewhat compromised in the ill-ar
ranged attack upon Belgium, was detained as a pri
soner at Lille, where M. Delescluze, the commissary
of the Minister of the Interior, exercised his sovereign
power. M. Delescluze liberated M. Blervacq ; M. Du
bois wrote to the commissary to desire that M. Bler
vacq might be again consigned to his prison, and also
that all the evidence taken before the Juge d' instruction,
should be forwarded to him. Upon this M. Deles
cluze became the dictator, and suspended M. Dubois
from his functions ; but the latter was not so easily to
be disposed of, and he refused to resign, saying — " he
was appointed by the Minister of Justice, and to his
authority alone would he bow." The people took
part with M. Dubois, and this gentleman took his seat
in court as usual ; the members of the bar joined in the
applause bestowed upon the judge for his courageous
conduct in such times, and the Minister of Justice
confirmed him in his situation. This was the first
determined opposition to these commissaries from a
person occupying a conspicuous situation which oc-

184 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
curred, and the courage of M. Dubois was much praised
in the metropolis, and it was deeply regretted that no
person of his coolness was to be found elsewhere. At
Toulouse, for instance, at a club called " La Voix du
Peuple" the following scene occurred. In all these
clubs Liberte, Eyalite, Fraternite, were conspicuously
painted, and under these beautiful words was the tri
bunal from which the orators, as the French always de
signate the speakers, harangued. " Citizens," began a
red-hot republican, "I demand that all aristocrats should
be executed, and that we share their wealth amongst
ourselves. Let us go to their houses and execute jus
tice. Are you ignorant how to consummate this act. If
there is an aristocrat amongst us, let him advance,
and I shall merely do this, [here he drew a poignard,]
and he would be a corpse at my feet in a moment. It
is so we should act with all aristocrats, priests, and
bad citizens ; this is my idea, and I propose to follow
it up." Another equally ambitious person succeeded
the last orator, who retired amidst tremendous ap
plause. " Citizens," said the second gentleman, " a
sergeant has been unjustly punished and I know it ;
he has been arrested : firstly, I demand that he should
be set at liberty, and secondly, that the captain who
gave this order should be brought before us ; that he
should be instantly torn to pieces, and that each of us
should take a morsel of the tyrant and preserve it in
his house ; this is the motion I have the honour to
make." The most vehement cheering followed the
proposition, and some kindly disposed people went in

THE GATHERING STORM. 185
search of the victim in order that the liberty, equality,
and fraternity propositions might be carried out.
It is from such pictures as these that we arrive at
the truth. The nation was divided against itself, and
it was evident, however much the moderate might desire
order, justice, and regularity, that it was only to
be obtained by an appeal to arms, either sooner or
later ; that a civil war was inevitable, and that whilst
the grand fete of fraternization was going on in Paris
— in this case Paris was not all France — an evil spirit
was abroad, — an evil spirit, bold to propose, and by
no means deficient in the requisite barbarity to act
up to its proposition, should an opportunity unfortu
nately occur.

186

CHAPTER XII.
The Elections — Intimidation and Bribery — M. Prudhon — La
Propriete, c'est le Vol — Tranquillity of Paris during the
Elections — Outbreak at Rouen — Bisturbance at Limoges —
Popularity of Lamartine — Language of the Newspapers —
Decree respecting the Costume of the Representatives — The
gathering Storm — Blanqui's Letter to the Provisional Go
vernment — Excitement in the Clubs — Tampering with the

The elections for the National Assembly began on the
25 th of April. Every species of intimidation had been
used in the provinces, and in Paris it was publicly
rumoured that if the vote was not believed to favour the
republican party, the ballot boxes would be seized and
the votes destroyed. In the provinces the commissaries
published lists, signed with their names, and gave gentle
hints thus : — The commissary of the Haute Garonne,
one M. Joly, threatens the electors in these words : —
" If you do not elect the person whom I propose to
you, beware of another repetition of the bloody days
of the 10th of August, and the 2nd of September."
M. Bergeron, in the department of the Somme, gave

ELECTORAL CORRUPTION. 187
Out a list of gentlemen " who were in perfect accordance
with the Provisional Government, and the only people
who ought to be elected." At the bottom of this he
had the audacity to stamp, as giving an official cha
racter to the paper, " Prefecture de la Somme." At
Marseilles, M. Olivier threatened to dissolve the Cham
ber of Commerce if they did not vote for his list of
candidates, and at Rouen a democratic list was pub
lished, and every other one destroyed.
It is pretty evident from these facts, that a republic
and universal suffrage do not always mean purity of
election, and when a decree of the Provisional Govern
ment came forth opening a credit for five hundred
thousand francs for " extraordinary expences for the
public security," it was rumoured freely enough that
this sum, however insignificant in England, was an
enormous outlay destined for bribery and corruption,
and so it turned out to be. The very patriots who
had vituperated the fallen monarch for his bribery and
corruption at elections, — if not by money, by a piece of
red ribbon, which was worth as much to the lovers of
les hochets de la vanite, — were the very men who
became the great corruptors, and who have satisfied
the whole European world, that republican virtues
very closely resemble monarchical vices. It is quite
obvious that if in a change of Government you change
for the worse, it would be much wiser to leave the
change alone ; at present it is impossible to discover
one benefit which the republic had conferred on the
people, excepting, indeed, this ; — that as all had votes

188 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
they might all be bribed by the pure and patriotic
governors. The Provisional Government had grasped
the power, — they now were not more scrupulous of the
means by which they intended to preserve it.
It would reasonably be expected that at the first
election of the National Assembly a great excitement
would prevail, and every citizen having acquired the
fancied blessing of the suffrage, would be eager to avail
himself of his right. Believing in this natural conse
quence we repaired to the several polling places, but
our astonishment was extreme when we found the
places nearly deserted — no excitement, no eagerness,
and very few voters. The higher classes mostly ab
stained from voting, fearing, perhaps, that worse days
were yet to come, and the aristocracy yet further to be
humbled. The red republicans clung together, and
the socialists began to show in some force. Various
were the election manoeuvres, and great was the suc
cess of the Provisional Government, but no candidate
had the daring of M. Proudhon, who, in a letter pub
lished in his paper, Le Representant du Peuple, boldly
answers his own question of " Qu'est-ce que la pro
priete ?" thus — " La propriete, c'est le vol" and he
declares in that letter that nothing can be done to
ameliorate the condition of the working classes, " sans
abolir, de fait et de droit, la propriete." Of course
M. Proudhon was elected; his generous sacrifice of
the rich was duly approved of by his supporters, but
we are ready to believe that had M. Proudhon at that
time seen a piece under the denomination of La

ELECTION RIOTS. 189
Propriete c'est le Vol played at the Vaudeville, he
would have been frightened by the broad caricature of
his infamous idea, and been glad to conceal himself
from the public ridicule and contempt. What can be
more natural than that those who have nothing, should
wish to possess themselves somehow of the property of
others? Hunger and want are evil councillors, and it
is most difficult to be very poor and very honest.
The tranquillity of Paris during the elections was
not shared by the provinces. At Rouen a regular
outbreak occurred, and troops were dispatched from
the surrounding places to quell it. The Garde Mo
bile here made their first campaign, and quite dis
proved the assertion which Blanqui made in his club —
" That the Garde Mobile would never fire upon their
brethren, they were too close to the source from which
they sprung ;" those young soldiers, however, seemed
very intent upon obeying all orders, and went to
Rouen resolved to quell the emeute.
At Limoges things wore a much more threatening
aspect. When the socialists found that none of their
number were elected, a numerous mob invaded the
places where the elections went on, seized the ballot
boxes and the proces verbaux, broke the one and de
stroyed the other. The National Guards assembled
to preserve peace, but their colonel gave orders for
them to retire and even to be dissolved. A committee
was formed, a kind of Provisional Government, and
Limoges seemed to declare itself independent of the
republic. In the midst of this rising, public and

190 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
private property was respected, but universal suffrage
was evidently useless, it was a minority which resorted
to arms, against a majority given to words ; one acted,
the other spoke.
We find it recorded by M. Dumas, that " from all
the departments came the nomination of their members
for the National Assembly ;" but he adds, " every
where there have been scenes of intimidation and of
violence, of collisions and terrible disorders :" it is
therefore quite evident, that bribery at elections was
not destroyed by that unreal mockery, universal
suffrage. By the first of May the elections were terminated,
and in no instance on record is there a greater proof
how fleeting is popularity. It was to be expected that
in such a universal panic — in such a complete boule-
versement of all society, that men unknown to fame
and now seeking fortune should be returned. The
scum of the political pot of course rose to the surface,
and it is nothing very astonishing that after such
people had floundered out of their depth, they
should sink to rise no more ; but from this we must
exempt Lamartine. A poet, scholar, legislator, a
man of unflinching courage — he alone who saved
France from the horrors of a civil war, and the more
desperate destruction which would have followed the
red flag of socialism — Lamartine was the idol of
France, the most popular man at that moment in
Europe, — the hope, the main-stay of his country — and
in the enthusiasm of the minute, he was returned for

LAMARTINE'S POPULARITY. 191
eleven different places. One year after — so fleeting
is popularity — M. de Lamartine was not returned to
the Legislative Assembly, even for Macon, near which
he resided, and where he had been almost deified.
Louis Blanc, and that more fierce republican Caussi
diere, lived to read that their popularity had so vanished
that their names were publicly exhibited at the pillory,
and Blanqui and Barbes very shortly after became
state prisoners.
It was evident the Provisional Government did
nothing to stop all the bribery and intimidation here
only partially recorded. In vain the public papers
fulminated their harmless thunder.
"What, M. Ledru Rollin," said one, "has become
of your energy ? How is your love of order, M. de
Lamartine, vanished ? How is it, that both of you have
forgotten your republican motto of liberty, equality,
and fraternity ? The voice which the people found
so eloquent, when you held up to scorn the abuses
under royalty — has that lost its force and its charm ?
How often have you said, ' respect the will of the
people, respect the votes given unintimidated by the
citizens of France.' But you have allowed unrestrained
bloodshed and murder. Look at Limoges, with its
population stung to madness ; forty wounded are now
in the hospital at Rouen, and eleven citizens have been
killed by their brethren. At Elboeuf constant collisions
of the inhabitants, the National Guards, and troops of
the line continue. At Nantes, at Castel Sarrazin, at
St. Girons at Amiens, —everywhere, in short, those

192 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1S4S.
sent to execute your commands have sown the seeds of
discord, and provoked the people to disorder." The
Provisional Government had in three months outhved
its popularity ; in vain they had reduced taxes, and
shortened the hours of labour ; in vain eloquence had
been used to declare the French republic a great good,
 a national blessing, — a step towards perfection.
The very agitators were tired of such rulers, and those
who were henceforth to legislate and make another
constitution, began by ridiculing and disobeying the
last decree of the Provisional Government. It is almost
incredible that people who declare themselves firm
worshippers of the goddess of liberty, should have
issued the following order to their future masters.
"The Provisional Government considering that the
principle of equality implies a uniformity of dress in
citizens called to perform the same functions, decrees,
— " That every representative of the people shall wear
a black coat, a white waistcoat with a thrown back
collar, black trousers, and a tri-coloured sash adorned
with gold fringe. They will wear at their left button
hole a red ribbon, on which will be worked the emblem
of the republic. Done at the Council of the Govern
ment, the 30th of April, 134S."
It is scarcely credible that men not being of Cha-
renton, should have issued such an absurd decree ; the
very ridicule of the act rendered it abortive. We who
witnessed the attempted solemn walk of the Provisional
Government, as they sadly wended their way to give
up all power and authority to the National Assembly,

THE IMPENDING STORM. 193
could scarcely refrain from indecent laughter at behold
ing senators, historians, and poets, dressed in this absurd
costume, and looking ashamed of their own act. The
National Assembly perhaps thought that as they were
destined to make laws, they might ' regulate the cut of
their own waistcoats, and not ten out of the nine
hundred appeared in the uniform of Louis Blanc and
Ledru Rolhn ; we never remember to have seen a
more ridiculous attempt at gravity in our lives.
The storm was now fast gathering : the red republi
cans required something more exciting than decrees
about the dress of the members of the National As
sembly. The elections were over, they had gained the
day, and now of course became impatient for some
other movement; the most violent language rever
berated through the clubs, and it was quite evident
that the republic, somewhat tempered by Lamartine,
was by no means the republic wished for by the demo
cratic and social republicans.
The communists were masters of Limoges, the
National Guards were disarmed, the self-elected
committee had made a forced loan of 700,000
francs; only one newspaper was allowed to be pub
lished, and if these blessings had been gained at
Limoges, why should the socialists be less successful
in Paris ? The very mention of Limoges fired the
bosoms of these insatiate disturbers of order with
fresh hope and fresh zeal. They resorted to every
means at the clubs to instil an equal frenzy into the
minds of their members. They placed women on
vol. i. o

194 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the stage, and made them tell the hundred times re
peated tale of massacre and rape, and when the proper
moment had arrived, and the cry of " aux armes " re
sounded, the revolutionary Blanqui would console his
auditory with hopes, that the day was not far distant
when Paris, by another and more democratic govern
ment, would consolidate the republic. On the 3rd of
May, Citizen Blanqui, with the vote and approbation of
his club, sent the following curious document to the
Provisional Government.
" The Society of Republicans to the
Provisional Government.
" Citizens — A counter revolution has bathed itself
in the blood of the people. Justice — immediate justice
upon the assassins ! We demand, 1st, The dissolution
and disarmament of the National Guards of Rouen.
2ndly, The arrest and prosecution of the generals
and officers of the National Guard and troops of the
line, who ordered and directed the massacre. 3rdly,
The arrest and prosecution of the self-styled members
of the Court of Appeal, named by Louis Philippe,
who acting in the name and for the victorious royal
faction, have imprisoned the legitimate magistrates of
the city, and filled the prisons with republicans.
4thly, The immediate removal from Paris of all the
troops of the line, who at this moment are preparing
at their fratricidal banquets a St. Barthelemy of the
Parisian workmen. For the Society of Republicans.
"L. A. Blanoui, President.
" Lacambre, D.M.P., Vice-president."

VIOLENCE OF THE CLUBS. 195
From this may be gleaned the state of Paris on the
eve of the day of the first meeting of the National
Assembly. Not only was Blanqui's club in this
excitement of rabid revolution, but that of Barbes, and
all the other democratic and socialist clubs were equally
violent. Blanqui had, perhaps, some just reason to be
again a conspirator, for he had failed in his election ;
but Barbes had shared in the good things of the re
public, was the Governor of the Luxembourg, and a
member of the National Assembly. The great object
was the removal ofthe troops from Paris ; they had been
sadly disgraced in the days of February, and it was
well known that they were eager to regain their laurels.
Both Blanqui and Barbes were fully aware also of
the reviving courage of the National Guards ; and the
Garde Mobile, although so very near the source, had
given proofs of their soldierlike disposition to order.
Whilst the troops remained in Paris any revolt must
be hazardous; it therefore became most important
that they should be removed, and to gain this object
the most infamous falsehoods were constantly propa
gated, and the fidelity of the army was constantly
questioned.

o 2

196

CHAPTER XIII.
Opening ofthe National Assembly — The Fourth of May — Pro
cession of the Provisional Government to the Chamber —
M. Audry de Puyraveau, President d'dge — Resolution of
M. Chdteau-Renaud — Scene in the Assembly — Beranger —
Speech ofBupont de l'Eure — Change of people and occupation
— M. Thiers on Guard — His unpopularity — Analysis of the
National Assembly — The majority Royalists a heart — Over
powered by the energy of the Republicans — The Provisional
Government still cling to power — Republican version of
Liberty — Judge Burand removed by Commissary Joly.
The National Assembly met for the first time on the
fourth of May, and we were present at the opening.
Although the streets were lined with troops, there was
no particular excitement.; the day was oppressively
hot, and an unusual calm prevailed. The Provisional
Government marched in a kind of irregular procession,
Louis Blanc being one of the foremost. They had
been worn out in the public estimation, and although
some had laboured hard to keep an external and in
ternal peace, yet, spoken of collectively, the expressions
were not the most complimentary.

THE FOURTH OF MAY. 197
Lamartine's popularity was slightly on the wane,
Ledru Rollin was feared more than respected, and the
rest were unceremoniously classed as imbecilles, or
worse. By ten o'clock the different legions of the National
Guards, batallions of the Garde Mobile, the Republi
can Guard, horse and foot, and the four regiments
called the Garrison of Paris, took up the various posi
tions to which they were assigned. The greatest pos
sible order prevailed, excepting when an impatient
person endeavoured to obtain a passage through the
streets in the immediate vicinity of the National As
sembly. These streets and bridges were kept clear
for the members of the Assembly, and those who had
cards of admission, or had a certain right as ambassa
dors, the press, &c, occupied the favoured spots.
There was an immense crowd of persons, but all evi
dently eager to see the members of the National
Assembly in the ridiculous costume before mentioned,
and once more to cheer their favourites in the Provi
sional Government. The deputies were distinguished
by the gold fringe at the button-hole, and the specta
tors were evidently annoyed that the programme of
the fete had been abandoned, and that the deputies
should have preferred wearing their ordinary dresses
instead of the appointed uniform. The National As
sembly felt the reins of government in their hands, and
considered that order as trifling with their dignity.
The Provisional Government met at the Ministere
de la Justice in the Place Vendome, and set forward

198 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
to the National Assembly about noon. It was parti
cularly remarked, as a sign of how much popularity
had been lost, that the cries were " Vive Lamartine,"
and only a faint echo ofthe 24th of February, in "Vive
la Republique," was occasionally heard. A band of
music preceded the self-elected of February. General
Courtais, at the head of the first legion of the National
Guards, and attended by his staff, led the way on foot,
passing up the Rue de la Paix, and then by the
Boulevards to the Place de la Concorde.
It was observed that the difference of opinion which
prevailed in the cabinet was to be distinguished in this
corteye. Evidently the most revolutionary, the most
ambitious, and the most resolute, were Ledru Rollin,
Albert, Flocon, and Louis Blanc. They were well
known to entertain opinions far more advanced than
the sober Lamartine and others ; thus at the head of
the procession, as if ever anxious to be the first,
marched those four republicans, but they were not
enthusiastically received ; the cry was " Lamartine,"
and it was evident that the object of so much enthu
siasm was very particularly affected by the com
pliment. Throughout the whole passage we hardly heard one
cry of "Vive Ledru Rollin," and the shout of " Vive
la Republique," was as rare as it was insincere.
Lamartine had timidly played his game ; after his cou
rage in defending the flag of France had placed him
on the pinnacle of greatness, had he possessed the
ambition of a Napoleon and dared to act, he might

PROCESSION TO THE ASSEMBLY. 199
have been proclaimed president on that day ; but his
was a vacillating policy, and proved the truth of the
old fable, that by endeavouring to please everybody he
pleased nobody, and lost his situation in the bargain.
The country would gladly have placed supreme power
in the hands of one who had used it with such discretion,
and France was well convinced that had others in the
government been able to prevail over the temperate,
moderate, and discreet counsels of this great man,
scenes of desolation, terror, ruin, rape, and rapine
would have followed the overthrow of Louis Philippe.
But Lamartine had either not the ambition to reign,
or he had not the courage to grasp at the power.
The rear of the corteye was brought up by a thick
crowd of officers of the National Guards and military
schools ; there seemed very little order or regularity
observed by these followers, and one or two enjoyed
their cigars as if released from all military discipline.
But in spite of this apparent melanye, the sight was
very imposing. The terraces of the gardens of the
Tuileries were crowded, and some eager sight-seers
actually sat at the windows in the Place Bourbon, in
order to witness the last parade of the Provisional
Government. The National Guards, aware that no
attempt to disturb order would take place, carried
bunches of lilac in the muzzles of their guns, and
everything denoted the most perfect harmony.
Whilst this scene was going forward, the members of
the National Assembly, to the number of five hundred,
met in the Hall of Conference, and there selected the

200 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
president, taking the oldest of the Assembly to fill that
hazardous and difficult situation, and naming, gene
rally, the youngest as secretaries. The President was
M. Audry de Puyraveau, and at a quarter to one
o'clock that gentleman took possession of the chair, in
which he was scarcely seated before he found himself
in an awkward position.
A certain number of the National Guards, evidently
recollecting that they lived under a republic, endea
voured to force their way into the hall of meeting by
a door which was preserved for the deputies. M. Cha
teau Renaud, the governor of the palace, opposed him
self to this rush, saying — " It is not permitted, gentle
men, for any to enter here, especially with arms." The
rebuke was not very favourably received, and a slight
inclination to advance made the governor aware that a
more resolute course must be adopted. " None will
enter here," he said, " but those who pass over my
body !" It had the effect : even the turbulent were
silenced, and the President was relieved from his
painful and difficult position.
Everybody who could obtain admission did so,
and the various tribunes were crowded to excess ; that
destined for the Foreign Ministers was full, but it was
remarked that Russia and Turkey were not repre
sented. Until the government arrived, M. Beranger,
the soul-stirring poet of France, was the principal
object of attraction ; he looked old and care-worn, and
appeared to answer the evident congratulations on his
unsolicited candidature, as if it were an honour he could
easily resign.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. 201
At last the sound of the cannon was heard, the prin
cipal actors were about to appear, and Caussidiere,
dressed in the uniform directed by the Provisional
Government, entered the House. He became the sub
ject of much scrutiny -. his most vehement enemy could
not but admit that he had done great service to his
country. During his Prefecture of Police the capital
had been kept tranquil without any appearance of
soldiers ; but every one knew that, whilst in office
M. Caussidiere would ensure order, out of it he was
a dangerous conspirator. There is a rough coarseness
about the man, and he is too sincere not to allow that
he is, in heart and soul, a republican; there was
scarcely time to scrutinize his features before M. Du
pont (de l'Eure), leaning on Lamartine on one side,
and Louis Blanc on the other, two most unequal sup
porters — one tall, the other excessively diminutive —
one the popular man of France, the other the most
fallen in public opinion — entered the Chamber. Loud
cries of " Vive la Republique," and a few complimen
tary shouts of " Vive le Gouvernment Provisoire," re
sounded through the tribunes. The President imme
diately declared the " Seance ouverte," and gave the
parole to the President of the Provisional Government,
who, enfeebled by age and fatigued by his late exer
tions, tottered to the tribune ; whilst those who, with
him, had usurped the authority, stood at the foot of
the tribune, surrounded and supported by the officers
of the National Guards and of the line, who had, in
their turn, usurped the places they occupied. For

202 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
once a perfect silence was observed : those who, like
ourselves, have witnessed the stormy debates of this
heterogeneous mass, may well record the fact that for
once a perfect silence was maintained.
M. Dupont (de l'Eure) thus spoke in the treble pipe
of old age.
" Citizens, representatives of the people, the Provi
sional Government bows to the expressed wish of the
nation, and renders due homage to the supreme power
with which you are invested. Elected of the people,
welcome to the capital. Depositaries of the national
sovereignty, it is for you to found our new institu
tions on the broad and firm basis of democracy, and
give to France the only constitution which would bene
fit her — a republican constitution" — (here, of course,
the poor old man was interrupted by the most vocife
rous bello wings of "Vive la Republique ;" it is so very
easy to be patriotic at the expence of a httle breath,
that we believe every man — member or no member —
joined in the shout.) The President of the Govern
ment concluded thus : — " The moment is arrived for
the Provisional Government to place in your hands
the unlimited powers with which the revolution in
vested it. You know if this dictatorship has been
used otherwise than as a moral power through the
difficult circumstances which have surrounded us. In
accordance with our thoughts, our promises, and our
personal convictions,- we have not hesitated to declare
and proclaim to the world the French Republic. This
day we inaugurate the National Assembly with the

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. 203
cry which should ever be its rallying words — * Vive
la Republique? "
The honourable gentleman ceased speaking, the
Assembly again accepted the "fait accompli ; " every
man shouted " Vive la Republique" although few
wished it, and the eternal " enfin que voulez-vous "
finished the affair.
The Provisional Government feared excessively that
the destinies of France would be taken from their
hands, and they sat rather uneasily on the ministerial
benches which they themselves had selected. They
sat on the left of the tribune, and took their places
thus : — Louis Blanc, Ledru Rollin, Flocon, Albert,
Bethmont, Marie, Arago, Lamartine, Dupont (de
l'Eure), Marrast, Gamier Pages, and Pagnerre.
M. Cremieux, the Minister of Justice, still thought
it requisite, although the Provisional Government had
resigned its powers, to maintain its authority a little
longer, and therefore said : — " Citizen representatives,
In the name of the Provisional Government your
labours have commenced. The National Assembly
begins this day. I beg the provisionally elected Pre
sident of this Assembly to invite the members to retire
to their respective bureaux in order to verify their
elections : " — and thus terminated the first meeting of
the National Assembly.
As we shall have occasionally to detail the labours
of this body, it would be well to analyse a little its
component parts, mentioning that such was the change
of people and occupation, that as the former Prefect of

204 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the Seine had stood sentinel at his own doorway as a
common soldier, so on the fifth of May, the great
genius of France, — the man who had written so much,
and who had so often been listened to in that chamber
of the State as an oracle, but who certainly had done
nothing to avert all the present calamities — M. Thiers
stood sentinel as a common soldier of the National
Guard, at the Mairie of the second Arrondissement.
M. Thiers actually carried a musket and looked the
personification of the farce he was enacting. Not even
could his great genius penetrate the public feeling, and
no man alive could foresee what the morrow would
bring forth. Those who believe M. Thiers to be a re
publican can know very little of the man ; if by any
chance he could manage to rise to the presidency,
then we do not hesitate to say, the weathercock politi
cian would instantly veer to the wind, and he would
declare aloud the Republic of France as the only pos
sible government. So fleeting was the popularity of
this greatest of orators in France, that he was not
elected for any one place, and whilst men now governed
the state — men unknown to either fortune or fame —
M. Thiers was performing the difficult duty of walking
up and down before a door, to keep out dogs, and to
admit the whole republican fraternity, to answer to
the appellation of citizen, and to forget all the charms
of royalty in a guard-house, over which was written
" Public Property, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity."
It is almost impossible to imagine a greater change of
situation and circumstances.

ANALYSIS OF THE ASSEMBLY. 205
The whole elected of the national sovereignty, the
result of universal suffrage, had one and all cried with
powerful lungs, "Vive la Republique," and yet it was
well known that at least six hundred and fifty out of
the nine hundred and fifty, were firm believers that
the republic could not last, and that a return to royalty
was inevitable. Whilst therefore their voices shouted
for a republic, their hearts beat quicker for royalty,
but they dared not manifest the slightest feeling in
that respect ; for the opinion of the clubs was well
known, the populace were still armed, and the Fau
bourg St. Antoine was " ripe for revolt, and ready for
reward." The minority ruled, and the majority ad
mitted they had accepted, although they never wished
for, the republic.
It would be an almost insurmountable task to detail,
exactly, how the Chamber was constituted. It was
confidently believed that the Carlist party had fa
voured the revolution, in order to march over its ruin
to a restoration ; it would naturally be their object to
prevent the republic from taking a firm root, and how
ever much they might deplore the civil war which
occasionally broke out in the provinces, yet they were
not sorry to see France a prey to anarchy and dis
cord. They had profited by former experience, and no
people were more quiet than the Vendeans, and no
person, apparently, was more sincere in his declara
tions than the ruler of that party.
On the other hand, the shipwrecked mariners ofthe
Orleans dynasty saw, with dismay, that all disorder

206 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
kept them further and further from power ; they were
reviled, abused, insulted ; they had occasioned all the
woes of France, and certainly had not been liberal of
their blood when their idol was assailed.
The king, and the princes then in France, had sadly
compromised their position from the want of common
energy and daring ; and whilst many declared that if
the Prince de Joinville had been in Paris, although he
was a sailor, a very different turn would have been
given to the revolution, yet one and all fell under the
national anathema, and the Orleanist party was evi
dently discomfited, broken, and despised.
The republicans, although few in number, held the
reins, and commanded the exchequer. ; they were quite
aware how insincere was the royalists' cry of "Vive
la Republique " they knew that in every house where
a whisper was confidential, they were termed canaille,
voleurs, briyands, and other equally dishonourable
epithets. Risen from the dregs of society, they found
themselves at its head ; they saw the timid wavering
of their opponents, who feared that the mild sway of
Lamartine might in a moment be overthrown, and
worse disorders ensue.
The red cap was not yet laid aside, and Blanqui,
Barbes, and Flotte (the latter of whom was spoken of
as the president), could in one minute change a mild
republic into a reign of terror. The republicans, there
fore, became the stronger party, not only on account
of the evident split between the Orleanists and the
Carlists, which disunited their natural enemies, but

CONDITION OF THE REPUBLIC. 207
from the very fear that another street fight might be
followed by the introduction of the guillotine. Already
in the clubs, the cries of " a bas les riches — vive le
diable — vive V enfer — vive la yuillotine" had fre
quently been heard, a forced loan had been suggested :
the nobility and its titles had been destroyed, and it
required very little more to act upon the hint, once
so significantly given, of taking off the heads of the
tallest flowers.
The republic ruled by fear, but the republicans had
to contend against each other. The democratic and
social republicans were fast increasing in numbers, and
it was quite evident that in the eyes of this latter
division they had not acquired anything at all by the
revolution, excepting that any change and any disorder
in the state favoured their hopes and determinations.
It was impossible that such a heterogeneous mass
could deliberate in harmony : every man was against
his neighbour, every one said we must maintain order,
and every one appeared to rejoice in the profoundest
disorder. The whole population seemed fearful of the
coming day, nothing was stable, nothing was certain ;
and living as we did in the midst of these people,
we had ample proofs how hollow, how insincere, was
every wish to maintain the republic. Immense sums
were squandered to make this jubilee of fools, and the
government seemed anxious to draw men's minds
from the consideration of events by a flourish of fire
works, or a childish procession ; whilst every now and
then some order emanated from a person in authority

208 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
which made the wavering republican, who held office,
tremble at the insecurity of his tenure. The fol
lowing is not a bad sample of this ready tyranny.
" Attendu que le Citoyen Durand, Juge au tribunat
de premiere instance de Villefranche, a mis en doute la
yrandeur, et la stabilite de la Republique. Le suspen-
dons de ses functions.
" Le Commissaire General pres les departements de
la Haute Garonne, Lot et Garonne, &c.
" Joly."
Talk of liberty in a republic, and behold M. Joly,
one of Ledru Rollin's selected tyrants, displacing a
judge, for having dared to express an opinion about the
grandeur of a state, declared even by one of the Provi
sional Government to be on the verge of bankruptcy,
and by another as only to be upheld by a forced loan
of enormous amount ! or of its stability, when the tot
tering edifice was ready to fall from its own'weakness
and insecurity.
It is perfectly true every Frenchman expressed
himself in violent language at this unprovoked and
unprincipled tyranny, but M. Joly's powers were
illimitable, and he could displace a judge, or manu
facture a bishop at his discretion. He was the
sovereign of the district over which he ruled, and con
sulted only his own wishes and desires.
But now the National Assembly had met, the Pro
visional Government had retained its power, although
it had tendered its resignation ; any further inquiry
had been cut short by M. Cremieux, and the prospect

WANING POPULARITY. 209
of a few more francs cheered the hearts of these
energetic republicans. Public opinion was strong
against them ; not one could boast of popularity but
Lamartine, and the frequent whispers, and the loud
assertions that the ultra party had at last frightened
him into concessions, considerably damaged his repu
tation, and his stability.

vol. r.

210

CHAPTER XIV.
Sitting of the Sixth of May — Enquiry into the Elections of the
Lozere — Affair of M. Schmidst — Speech of Lamartine — Cause
and consequences of the Revolution — Speeches of Ledru
Rollin, Louis Blanc, and Caussidiere — Proposed remodelling
of the Government — Alarming state of Paris — Sitting of the
Eighth of May — M. Bornes' Three Propositions — Uproar in
the Assembly — Barbes' violent Speech — Bescription of the
Assembly — Beranger's Resignation ¦ — Threatening language
of the Clubs — M. Bornes' first Proposition carried — Violence
of the Republican Commissaries — Four Judges suspended at
Castellane.
This slight description of the state of parties must
prepare the reader for the violent and disgraceful
scenes afterwards to be enacted in the National As
sembly. It would be a somewhat difficult task for the
most enthusiastic admirer of French manners and
politeness, to reconcile their words and actions with the
reputation of being the most polished nation in the
world. We are arrived at the sixth of May. The National
Assembly were busy in the verification of the elections,

ELECTION SCRUTINIES. 211
and the first act of the Assembly was to vote an in
quiry into the elections of the Lozere. The Procureur
de la Republique at Marvejols had hinted that there
had been considerable bribery at the election, and
that the nobility and clergy had exercised a most
unconstitutional influence, the clergy being accused of
having used the confessional to forward their own views.
As we now relate the first act of an Assembly sprung
from universal suffrage, — the very emblem of all purity,
we shall record some facts to show that universal
suffrage and vote by ballot, do not entail purity of
election. The Assembly quite shocked at the an
nouncement made by the Procureur above-mentioned,
voted unanimously for the inquiry.
The affair of one M. Schmidst, of Paris, led to the
first storm ; his election was annulled because he had
called himself a workman (ouvrier), when he never had
exercised any calling requiring manual labour. It
was declared that many of the sovereign people had
voted for him, believing him to be of their class, and
that consequently as M. Schmidst had saded under
false colours, he was not the man he represented him
self to be. But now followed the difficulty : one
M. Moreau, the thirty-fifth on the list, insisted that as
M. Schmidst was not elected, he, as having the next
greatest number of votes, had a right to the seat. On
the other hand it was proposed to have a new election ;
the debate grew very warm and very noisy, and some
slight manifestations of fierce resistance occurred on
both sides, but it was ultimately decided that a new
p 2

212 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
election should take place, thus establishing a prece
dent." It was now that Lamartine ascended the tribune ;
and in the name of M. Dupont (de l'Eure), the presi
dent of the government, gave a grand poetical descrip
tion of the revolution : he went into a thousand details
as to its causes, and its consequences ; he gave a vivid
picture of the past, and drew a somewhat flattering
prospect of the future ; he mentioned the difficulties
the Provisional Government had experienced, and the
hope which had animated them. It was a poetical
rhapsody, extremely well received, for the poet's words
are warm — his elocution florid — his articulation dis
tinct — his words fluent — and his ideas concise ; but
M. Lamartine has not escaped the general failing of
his countrymen, — he is too theatrical, too energetic,
and has too much action. But he is a great orator,
and commands a constant flow of words, as smooth
and as harmonious as his poetry; his periods are
rounded, and his conclusions exciting : he possesses
one great secret, he knows when to stop, and never
fatigues his listeners. His discourse was the preface
of a great work : it was received with enthusiasm, and
we felt for the orator who was to succeed him, and
that orator was Ledru Rollin.
The personal appearance of Ledru Rollin is highly
favourable, but there is a certain pride in his manner
that ill accords with his notions of equality ; he has a
singular manner of carrying his head which might
mark a haughty aristocrat, rather than a levelling

LEDRU ROLLIN. 213
republican. He speaks with great force and fluency;
indeed, this last seems a gift peculiar to the French
nation, for we never remember to have heard a French
man stammer ; they possess a current of words which
flows on with great smoothness, and we remarked at the
clubs, that out of the hundreds of the lowest classes
who inflicted their ideas on the meetings, they all
were free from that awful impediment to elocution so
common in this country. M. Ledru Rollin is a man
of unquestionable talent, of great perseverance and
determination ; but a man who, whilst he reviled
royalty for some paltry assumption of power, did not
himself hesitate to impose upon France the most gall
ing tyranny to which she was ever subjected. This
was justified by the necessity of creating republicans,
so that liberty of thought was to be denied the citizens
of France ; they were to think as their rulers thought,
or fall under the vengeance of a M. Joly. Ledru
Rollin's discourse was a flourish of trumpets, which,
although forced upon the ear, left no melody upon the
senses ; it was the speech of the head of a party, not
of a statesman, and he sat down under considerable
applause from those he intended to govern. He was
followed by the Minister of Justice, and then by
the Minister of Finance, until M. Blanc, placed upon
a stool so as to become visible in the tribune, wearied
the whole Assembly with a review of the labours of
the Commission of the Luxembourg for the " organi
sation du travail." It was a declamation without in
terest and without point ; it fell still-born. The public

214 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
had been satiated with the subject ; and the hopeless
efforts of the commission, the long speeches, which
crowded the columns of the daily paper, had exhausted
all patience. It was manifestly an effort to make a
place, which Louis Blanc wished to occupy, and in the
beneficial results of which (except to the orator) not a
soul believed ; never was any speech more tiresome,
or more coldly received. It was evident that the
twinkling of this small star had lost its brilliancy.
His history will survive his eloquence, his pen is far
more formidable than his tongue. Caussidiere followed
the fallen President of the Luxembourg; his rough
manner, his bold straightforwardness, his undisguised
thoughts procured him attention, and the members of
the National Assembly all testified their great admi
ration of the Prefect of Police, when he assured them
that Paris was tranquil, and that he guaranteed the
continuance of this tranquillity. Poor short-sighted
mortals ! who really so far believed what they earnestly
wished, that the republican prefect was cheered with
much enthusiasm for his declaration, although only
nine short days sufficed to show how hollow was the
promise. It was beyond a doubt that the National Assembly
wished to relieve the Provisional Government of their
onerous charge, but were somewhat deficate in then-
manner of proceeding. It was proposed to limit the
number to three, to be styled a Commission to carry
on the Government until after the vote of the Consti
tution ; others proposed five, but it was merely a

UNEASY POSTURE OF AFFAIRS. 215
delicate mode of weeding the government, and by this
means of getting rid of the more violent of its mem
bers. M. Dupont (de l'Eure), too old for power in
such perilous times, declined the honour, and M. La
martine, still the ascendant star, with MM. Arago and
Marie, seemed to be the favoured three ; others proposed
to add to this number M. Marrast, Bethmont, and
General Duvivier, but the great republicans, Ledru
Rollin, Cremieux, Louis Blanc and others, were quite
cast aside. No decision was come to, and Paris was
left in the same state of uncertainty, and consequently
of apprehension -. there could be no doubt that the
days of the Provisional Government were numbered,
and that alone gave some hope of better times ;
although many felt a just alarm lest the more ad
vanced republicans, on seeing their leader put aside,
should excite his worshippers to revolt.
It was a point of great delicacy : no one could doubt
for a moment the popularity of Ledru Rollin with the
lower classes ; the great monster demonstration which
has been mentioned, was quite sufficent proof of that ;
.and the reported words of the leader himself, — that he
could overturn the government whenever he thought
proper, and had only to move his finger to command
the obedience of thousands, — caused great alarm among
the timid. Every man had a remedy for the evil, but
very few dared mention their political nostrums.
In the meantime the government, the National
Guards, and all concerned in crushing the emeute, at
Rouen, were publicly reviled as assassins. The clubs

216 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
were becoming more violent ; placards of fearful import
were everywhere to be seen ; the turbulent minority
were on the point of assuming a greater power ; the
Provisional Government seemed to indicate by their
acts, that they had resigned and were now only
attempting to continue a little longer in office : thus
those who had upheld the government and endeavoured
to preserve order, now found themselves abused by
one party, and almost deserted by the other. The
storm was coming closer and closer, yet many declared
unbounded confidence in the firmness and talent of
Caussidiere, whilst others felt assured of personal
security from the conviction that the National Guards
would act with vigour and resolution. Although every
species of falsehood was publicly disseminated, the
government papers, generally so eager to contradict all
false reports, now remained silent, and thus seemed
to acquiesce in the truth of the placards.
Every member of the Provisional Government had
done his best to defend himself, and to declare that he
was an excellent public servant, and thus on the eighth
of May they all took their seats as usual, and the seance
promised to be one of comparative respectability, as no
one seemed inclined to disturb the tranquillity. This
delightful calm was of short duration, and M. Domes,
whose name well merits preservation, ascended the
tribune, and in a very few words came to the point.
He read his proposition, which amounted to this :—
That the National Assembly should declare imme
diately and without any discussion that the Provi-

DORNES' THREE PROPOSITIONS. 217
sional Government had deserved well of its country :
that an executive of five should be constituted to
supersede the Provisional Government, and that those
five members should be MM. 
No pen — no tongue — can give the faintest idea of
the tumult and confusion which ensued ; the explosion
of a powder-mill seemed like a child's whistle in com
parison with the thunder that rolled through the As
sembly. It certainly was a strong measure, to dismiss
one government without consideration, and to name
another without discussion, or go through the mi
micry of voting as names were put forwards. Even
the hydra-headed enemies of the Provisional Govern
ment were afraid of this comprehensive measure, and
joined in the general tumult to avert it. Still, how
ever, M. Domes maintained not only his opinion, but
his place, and grasping the rail with determination,
he defied the dozen orators to displace him, who
fiercely ejaculated some insult, or strove to mount the
tribune. M. Domes' first virgin effort of legislation was
unattended by feminine apprehension: in vain the
president, M. Buchez, endeavoured, first by action of
the hands, then by his voice, and afterwards by his
huge bell, to obtain silence ; at least a dozen strong-
lunged orators were anxious to talk, and when French
orators do intend to talk, there is only one way to
prevent it, and that one way is, by the president's
putting on his hat, and this was done. The seance
by this simple process became suspended, and gradually

218 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the roar of voices grew fainter and fainter, as orator
after orator relapsed into silence and exhaustion.
In the meantime M. Domes seemed puzzling him
self how to reconcile all parties — a most hopeless en
deavour when so many were destined to lose their pay
and their power. Numbers of the members assailed
him, either fiercely, or endeavouring by reason to
change the motion, and after half an hour's incessant
gesticulation, he declared himself willing to forego the
experiment of instantaneous cabinet-making, but he
held firm to the first proposition : " That the thanks
of the house should be voted to the Provisional Go
vernment." This was regarded as an escamotaye, and was vigor
ously opposed, for many in that assembly wished
particularly to have some explanations on various
points and acts ¦. since the twenty-fourth of February
the storm, instead of being stilled, had only changed
its bearings, and people would not express their thanks
for calamities instead of blessings. None could feel very
desirous of expressing their gratitude at being ruined,
and if the vote passed, then of course all the fantastic
tricks of Ledru Rollin's commissaries, and of the cir
culars themselves, would be buried in a generous
oblivion ; and, therefore, somehow to get over the diffi
culty, it was proposed by a satirical member that the
vote should take place, but that it should only be a
provisional vote, as the government itself had only been
provisional. The proposition, absurd as it was, had a
good effect, and one loud roar of laughter welcomed

BARBES AT THE TRIBUNE. 219
the proposer; the angry feelings seemed dissipated,
and in all probability some amendment, more in har
mony with the general disposition, would have been
made, but for the sudden rush of M. Barbes to the
tribune. No soldier mounting the breach, no sailor
eager to board the enemy, ever made a more desperate
exertion than did this republican to obtain a hearing.
M. Barbes we remember to have heard speak at his
trial before the Chamber of Peers, when he was accused
of the moderate crimes of regicide and murder. In
those days there was a certain degree of modesty about
the criminal, but now the convicted murderer was
the Governor of the Luxembourg, a member of the
National Assembly, and the president of a democratic
club; he had practised his voice in those turbulent
resorts of the populace, — he had forgotten how the word
" assassin " once vibrated on his ear, — he was a man in
authority, not the humble suppliant for pardon to
a king, whose life he had attempted. He was, and
is, and ever will be, a conspirator: it is a kind of
trade in which he embarked early, and in which he
was never successful ; it is a charity to believe him
mad, or he must otherwise come under a worse impu
tation. The arrival of Barbes at the tribune arrested for a
moment the chattering of this garrulous society.
M. Barbes did not begin his oratorical display as a
modest member of the Assembly, but spoke in the
name of the people (" au nom du peuple "), and pur
sued with wonderful volubility a set attack against

220 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the government for numerous acts of weakness, and
for having hushed up with unbecoming caution the
massacres at Rouen. At this word the whole As
sembly rose as if a galvanic shock had aroused them :
there was a universal presentation of hands and arms,
and the unequivocal condemnation of the term used,
alarmed the bearded orator, who had run on in un
limited abuse of the National Guards. This was a
subject peculiarly in favour in the clubs, and it had
long been decided that the question should be mooted,
and we have already given a proclamation signed
Blanqui, taking the initiative in the streets. Barbes
took it in the Assembly.
Great as was the commotion, it failed to arouse the
Minister of the Interior, who seemed not to heed the
thunder which roared around him ; he remained per
fectly quiescent, allowing M. Senard, who was himself
a republican, to answer the ferocious menaces of
Barbes ; and although M. Grandin taunted the Mi
nister of the Interior with his silence, that haughty
Secretary of State allowed the unpleasant task to de
volve on Cremieux. M. Cremieux, as usual, made no
absolute reply to the charges, but skirmished with some
legal obscurities, and left the Assembly to stop so use
less a debate by its impatient clamour.
So ended the first storm •. it was the herald of many
others, and many more violent.
The National Assembly in its construction resembles
a horse-shoe, with seats rising in succession from a
rather narrow surface -to the width of the whole build-

THE ASSEMBLY. 221
ing. Each member has a separate seat ; before him
is a desk with a drawer, and on the desk are a
paper-cutter, ink, &c.
It appeared to the anxious spectators of these droll
meetings, that all the members had a vast corres
pondence, and if they were relieved from this mental
and manual exercise, they immediately had recourse
to another, which was beating their desks with the
paper knives, thus creating a noise difficult for tender
lungs to overcome. Some seemed much habituated to
the American pastime of whittling, and having seized
upon a pen-knife, began a systematic destruction of
the paper-knife ; others lolled in listlessness, whilst
others again read the paper.
The first cry which saluted a speaker was generally
"plus haul, plus haut, on n entend rien," and certainly
this was not unnecessary, as we have frequently seen
the house divide on a question, when it was declared by
many of the representatives, that they never had
heard one word of the proposition : nor was this ex
traordinary, for some members pursued one continued
tattoo with the paper-cutters, and attentive as we
were, and many others around us, we gathered tbe
subject of the vote with great difficulty.
The Assembly had now met but four days, and
they consecrated the eighth by an act of tyranny. We
have before mentioned the presence of de Beranger,
the great poet of France. It was not long before he saw
that if he were disposed to give the light of his wisdom
to this Assembly, enfeebled nature would have pre-

222 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
vented the act. It required the lungs of a Stentor to
be heard ; and the arms of a strong man to hold on
the rails of the tribune, when half a dozen eager
orators rushed to displace the speaker. We have seen
the steps occupied completely, and two or three in the
tribune at once, all vociferating together, and with the
president leaning over to add to the noise in the futfle
hope of silencing it.
De Beranger soon found that he could be but a
silent member to register the ideas of others : he was
too original for that, and sent in his resignation. No
doubt the vote which refused to accept this resigna
tion was meant as a well-earned compliment to the
poet, but he was retained as a member in spite of
himself, and as M. Dumas observed, " Voila le sujet
d'un couplet a, ajouter a la chanson si connue : Ce que
veut la liberie."
Each member of the National Assembly received
twenty-five francs a day, and M. Beranger was far too
honest to receive the pay when he was unable to work :
he continued, therefore, sending in his resignation
until the chamber unwillingly accepted it. We cannot
but applaud this act of the poet ; he must have felt
sadly out of his element in being condemned to listen
to the continuous flow of words without import and
without harmony.
Paris was fast growing into agitation. The clubs
spoke out most freely ; they talked of demonstrations
and processions, — of the necessity of forcing the go
vernment to listen to their desires, and resolved to

DIVISION ON DORNES' MOTION. 223
be heard, and have all grievances redressed. In the
meantime there was no actual government : the Provi
sional Government had resigned, and M. Domes'
motion was not disposed of.
On the ninth of May the first division took place,
and this was on M. Domes' amended proposition ;
namely, "That a committee should be elected by
ballot, composed of five members to constitute the
executive power, and that this committee should ap
point the different ministers." This proposition was
opposed by M. Jules Favre, and supported by M. Odd-
Ion Barrot, and although the paper cutters were oc
casionally in requisition, the debate was animated,
but not tempestuous; on a division there appeared
for the motion 481, against it 385.
The Mountain in this division was divided against
itself, and therefore no accurate estimate of the real
strength of both parties could be obtained ; but they
had by far the better lungs, and in the tumult the
advantage was decidedly in their favour.
Whilst these miserable exhibitions of legislation
took place in doors, the commissaries in the depart
ments continued their abuse of power, and in one
case, where the President of the Cour d'Appel at
Aix, complained to the Minister of Justice that the
commissary interrupted the course of justice, by sus
pending four judges out of five of the Tribunal of
Castellane, he received an order himself to leave his
situation; and it was evident that these abuses of
power, whenever they were exerted against a judge,

224 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
met with the applause and support of the rabble ; for
we find that M. Joly, of whom we have before spoken,
was elected a member of the Haute-Garonne, and
only relinquished illimitable power, for the better salary
of twenty-five francs a day.

225

CHAPTER XV.
The Provisional Government remodelled — New Ministry —
M. Peuplin and Louis Blanc — Fall of Louis Blanc — Unpo
pularity of the new Ministry — Demonstration of the Thir
teenth of May in favour of Poland — Real Liberty unknown
in France — Appeal to the Socialists — M. Vavin's Motion —
Commencement of the Emeute — Inflammatory Placards —
Absurd Proposition of a Second Chamber — General dissatis
faction with the National Assembly — Petitions — Government
Proclamation.
The Provisional Government now stood upon its trial.
Five members to represent the power of royalty were
to be elected, and it was the general belief that had
the power of the five been vested in one, Lamartine,
who in the universal suffrage had actually received
two millions of votes, would have been the favoured
mortal ; he was still looked upon as the ascendant
star, but on the ninth of May he became aware how
fleeting is popularity, — how capricious are his fellow-
countrymen. The scrutiny took place, and thus stood the balance
of public favour, 794 members voted.
vol. i. Q.

226 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
Arago  725 votes.
Gamier Pages  715 „
Marie  702 „
Lamartine  643 ! ,,
Ledru Rollin  458 ! „
How were the mighty fallen ! The very men who
made the revolution were some of them set aside,
others entirely forgotten, and the principal enactors
tumbled to the ground.
It was evident that Ledru Rollin's supporters were
not in the house ; but worse, far worse was in store for
some of the government of February. It was of course
pretty certain that the ministers would be selected
from the companions and assistants, secretaries and
hangers on of the power that was •. and that inevitable
result appeared in the nomination of the ministry.
France had now to boast of a Minister of Foreign
Affairs in M. Bastide, with M. Jules Favre as under
Secretary of State.
Minister of the Interior, M. Recurt ; under Secre
tary of State M. Carteret.
Justice, of course M. Cremieux.
Public Instruction, M. Carnot; under Secretary of
State, M. Reynaud.
War, — held for the present by one M. Charras.
Marine, Admiral Casey.
Agriculture and Commerce, M. Flocon !
Finance, M. Duclerc !
Religion, M. Bethmont.
Public Works, M. Trelat.

THE NEW MINISTRY. 227
We look back, after the lapse of a year, with wonder
and astonishment, as we did on the eleventh of May,
1848, that such men should have filled such situa
tions. We are quite aware that any very pronounced
reactionary nomination might have led to very serious
results, since the government was a divided house, no
one man possessing sufficient knowledge how to govern
its heterogeneous composition ; but like other writers
we cannot refrain from astonishment, knowing the
society of distinguished persons who have frequented
the saloons of Lamartine and Arago, that no better
men could have been found in France, equally liberal
in their views, and ten thousand times more re
spectable by birth and connexions, than some of those
above named.
It would be an invidious task to trace the origin of
those gentlemen ! but certainly if we had to select a
government for a once great country like France, we
should neither go to wood-yards nor cabarets for mi
nisters. From the moment the names were pro
nounced, we were certain some great event would
occur. But where in this aspiring collection, whose only
claim to something was in never having done any
thing, is the name of Louis Blanc? When the
five first favourites were named, this distinguished
historian foresaw his downfall : indeed the public had
long previous to this foretold the event, but M. Louis
Blanc was not going to fall into the waters of political
oblivion and sink without a struggle. The stool was
q 2

228 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
brought. The orator mounted the tribune, and pre
sented to the consideration of the National Assembly
that awful question of the rights of labour, (droit
au travail?) and seemed inclined to usurp the entire
monopoly of defending and providing for the interests
of the people. Barbes spoke in the name of the people,
and Louis Blanc had the bad taste to follow so in
sufficient a master.
The Assembly became clamorous ; the orator grew
small by degrees and beautifully less, until a real work
man, one M. Peuplin, who has maintained the popu
larity which he gained in this attack, entirely extin
guished the protector of the people. M. Peuplin
was one of the members for the department of the
Seine, and was reputed a man of good sound common
sense ; indeed, when this political volcano vomited the
republicans, we heard often that M. Peuplin was not
at all unlikely to become a great man in this sadly
diminished nation. With a vast deal of energy and
plain common sense, he recapitulated the labours of
the Commission of the Luxembourg ; he warmly advo
cated the rights and privileges, the wants and the
necessities of the working classes, but he declared the
commission to be perfectly useless, although, as he re
marked with much shrewdness, " they could not be
liable to blame, since they had done nothiny at all?'
The chilling laugh which followed this honest man's
remarks was the death-blow to Louis Blanc, and the
proposition made by the President of the Commission
of the Luxembourg, that there should be a Minister

UNPOPULARITY OF THE MINISTRY. 229
of Progress, which he intended for himself, was univer
sally reprobated. From this moment M. Louis Blanc
fell never to rise again : he was the first of the nine
pins bowled down in this republican amusement ; he
retired surlily to the corner seat of the highest row of
the Left, where the Mountain gave forth its thunders,
and saw men far inferior to himself in talent, but fortu
nately not inoculated with the madness of one impos
sible system, take possession of portfolios, and fill
situations which we do not hesitate to say that Louis
Blanc would have more ably filled, had he consented
to follow a beaten path, and not ventured into the un
known road of innovation and invention. The twink
ling star had disappeared : it was but the precursor of
the general fall of more important meteors.
Discontent was now universal. It was impossible
that men of rank and learning could be satisfied with
the ministry. M. Duclerc was exceedingly unpopular :
he had filled the situation of secretary to M. Gamier
Pages, and was reported to be a wholesale spoliator ; it
was well known that he had advocated the seizing of the
railways by the State. Not one presented, as the French
say, "any surface," the whole were untried in the
art of government, and some were so fantastical that
they would have gained more applause in a booth at a
fair than in the direction of public affairs.
It was not alone these fantastic nominations that
occupied the general attention. The clubs had become
more and more violent, and the volcano was ou the
point of an eruption. The trials at Bourges have

230 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
thrown great light on the event we are about to
record. The prelude was put forth thus : — " An im
posing manifestation is preparing in favour of Poland
for Saturday next, the thirteenth of May. The friends
of Poland are invited to meet on Saturday at eleven
o'clock, at the Place de la Bastille. The procession
will immediately afterwards proceed along the Boule
vards. Measures have been taken to ensure the
greatest order."
The public had grown satiated with demonstrations,
processions, deputations, &c, and cared very little
about them. From the Irish deputation to the depu
tation and procession of certain ladies, and National
Guardsmen concerning bear-skin caps, all had fallen
into disrepute ; the oratory of Lamartine and Ledru
Rollin had been severely tested by the multiplicity of
responses necessary to be made, and the public had
learnt to look on a pack of raggamuffins, carrying flags
and shouting the Marseillaise, with a certain degree
of nonchalance, which must have satisfied the per
formers that a reign of terror, arising from such tom
foolery, was discredited.
But the Polish question had always been a fruitful
source of discord ; in the days of the monarchy the ques
tion embarrassed the government, and now the great
Republic of France — the reyenerator of liberty in
Europe — could hardly avoid the difficult question of
intervention in favour of these annual insurrectionists.
" Our brethren, the Poles," said one, " are already in
amis, they await but our promised assistance to shake

THE POLISH DEMONSTRATION. 231
off the chains of slavery, — to arms ! to arms ! — let us
show ourselves worthy of the great blessing we have
received, by contributing to emancipate the world
from the shackles of tyranny ! "
We have before mentioned, and have not the least
hesitation in repeating, that at this moment, and up
to the present date, we do not know one country in
the world so completely slaves, and very properly so,
as the French. We are not aware of one single right
of freemen which they possess, excepting in words ;
the police interfere with the acts : the word has never
been understood in France ; like comfort, it must be
imported ; it is not indigenous to the soil. " Perfidious
Albion" may well look on and smile at the puny efforts
of France to be really and constitutionally free. If
freedom consisted in liberating galley-slaves and house
breakers, debtors, and devils in human shape, France
was undoubtedly free for three months from the
twenty-fourth of February, but the coil soon encircled
her frame, and bound her hands and arms, and the
prisons became fuller than ever. The freeman was
crushed by the soldier, and despotism and the police
again ruled in France.
Everything was now enacting by oppositions ; the
fortunate few who were named as the executive go
vernment returned thanks to the Assembly for their
nomination, and finished their fulsome letter by de
claring that " supported by the power of the Assembly,
animated with their desires, gathering knowledge from
their discussions, (they made the same remark to the

232 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
clubs,) their force from the sovereiynty of the National
Assembly, they will give a regular, moderate, but irre
sistible impulse to the republic, which must be ex
pected from the powers confided to them for the safety
of the people." Whilst this was delivered in the As
sembly, the following placard was liberally posted on
the walls, houses, doors, and trees in Paris ; we give it
in the original, as it would be a pity that so grand an
appeal should suffer by a translation ; it was headed : —
" Appel aux Democrats Socialistes.
" Les mauvais citoyens, ceux qui ne veulent rien
faire pour le peuple, s'unissent pour maintenir l'ego-
isme. Les bons citoyens doivent s'unir pour amener la
fraternite. " Au nom de l'humanite, que tous ceux qui ont pris
a. cceur le triomphe de la democratic sociale viennent a
nous. Quel que soit le nom de l'homme qu'ils prefe-
rent, comme representant les principes, qu'ils vien
nent, car les principes sont tout.
" Reunissons-nous vendredi 12 Mai a midi, salle et
jardin Dourlans, boulevart Bezons, barriere de l'Etoile.
" Provisoirement, qu'il ne vienne a, cette assemblee
preparatoire que les chefs de barricades, membres de
bureaux ou delegues des clubs democratiques.
" Salut et fraternite !
" Bernier, Peintre,
" Lagage, Plombier,
" Delbon, Sculpteur,
" Sobrier, Beauvais Voyageur,
" &c, &c."

insurrectionary placards. 233
The police endeavoured to destroy this summons to
revolt, but the placards were renewed.
Another equally prominent sign of the times was
the following. " To the 12th Legion.
" National Guards,
" If the Citizen Barbes. persists in refusing to give
in his resignation as our colonel, our duty is to demand
his dismissal from the National Assembly.
" Let us organize a manifestation !
" Alexander Sublet, 49, Rue St. Victor."
Whilst the clubs were organizing their Polish de
monstration, and the National Guards their manifes
tation — whilst the chiefs of the barricades were pub
licly summoned, and the National Assembly beating
their paper-cutters, — the government, blind or appa
rently blind to the surrounding danger, were busily
employed in preparing another tom-foolery, in what was
called " La fete de la Fraternite ;" it had been fixed
for the 1 4th of May, but was put off upon the plea
that the delegates from the provinces had not arrived ;
others ventured to suggest that the government had
certain information that a rising was contemplated in
the midst of the festivity. We were destined to be
amused with something very dissimilar to a " Fete de
la Fraternite."
Public discontent was now growing more and more
evident ; the Polish question was the cheval de bat-
taille. This touchstone of liberty could not be con
cealed, and on the 13th of May, M. Vavin laid upon

234 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the table of the National Assembly numerous petitions
in favour of Poland, and requiring the French nation
to make a formal manifestation of their sympathy for
that unhappy country ! M. Vavin's was a milk and
water proposition in comparison with that of the
thousand workmen who formed in groups everywhere,
and who demanded an armed intervention ; and they
forthwith resolved to present a petition in the shape of
a manifestation, that the Assembly should instantly
declare war.
Affairs had now become sufficiently serious to war
rant the beating of the rappel, — that ominous sound
in times of agitation which causes such alarm.
The disturbers of the public peace had well or
ganized their plans, for no sooner did a solitary drum
mer appear beating to arms, than he was seized, the
head of his drum broken in, and the noisy instrument
forced over his head, thus pinioning his arms ; this gave
the rioters more time to collect without any opposi
tion, and it became necessary to send out a strong
body of men to protect the drummers.
This violation of military discipline was done with
the greatest, good humour, the rioters never attempted
to injure the drummers, only the drums ; and when
the unfortunate fellow, who always preserved his
drumsticks, was regularly pinioned by his own noisy
music case, the whole mob burst out into immoderate
laughter, and were lavish of their jokes ; no accident
occurred, the danger was only increasing, and the
democratic republicans, who collected masses of idlers,

EVE OF THE FETE. 235
put forth a manifesto relative to the " Fete de la Fra
ternite" in which Louis Blanc appears again, or rather
the failure of his proposition is made the cause. Thus
runs the placard : —
" The promises made upon the barricades not being
accomplished, and the National Assembly having re
fused at its sitting on the 10th of May to constitute
a ' Ministere du travail et du progres,' the delegates
decide that they will not assist at the Fete de la Fra
ternite. " La Garde, President, &c, &c."
And not far from this signal of revolt was the order
for the union of the forces.
" Aux Democrats.
" The democratic manifestation in favour of Poland
will take place on Monday the 1 5th. The citizens
will assemble on the Place de la Bastille."
As is usual in France, public notice is invariably
given of any malicious intentions of the populace.
The government were forewarned, but it does not ap
pear they were forearmed, although a report was cur
rent in Paris that General Negrier had ordered 900
muskets — one, we suppose, for each member, — to be
taken to the National Assembly, so that they might
deliberate under arms.
When it grew dark the whole population of Paris
seemed to have been thrust on the Boulevards ; im
mense crowds congregated — angry conversations arose
— socialist doctrines were broached and discussed, but
there was no absolute indication of an outbreak.

236 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
At the clubs the Polish demonstration had been
much canvassed ; Blanqui wished to defer the affair,
and Barbes was anxious to be the leader, hence it was
that a trifling disunion took place, and each in endea
vouring to direct the growing insurrection, strove to
be before his neighbour ; but on one subject all the
democratic clubs seemed to unite. This mad scheme
consisted in the following : —
That a second Chamber — a convention, should be
named or elected by the clubs of Paris and the pro
vinces, charged to superintend the labours of the Na
tional Assembly; this second Chamber was to sit
under the same roof as the National Assembly, and
be, not only its judge, but its director and adviser,
to govern it ; in short, by this survedlance to govern
the nation.
The various placards now pasted on every wall in
dicated but too clearly the disposition of the clubs ;
everybody was discontented, the revolution of February
had offered much and done nothing. MM. Blanqui,
Barbes, and Flotte were anxious to hold the reins of
government, and drive the state carriage to its destruc
tion, and many thought that out of this excess of evil
some good would come.
The National Assembly was publicly declared as not
possessing the confidence of the nation, although
elected by universal suffrage, and only of a few days'
existence. Those who wished to see order restored
and confidence established, declared that the red re
publican members were elected entirely by the com-

REPUBLICAN DISAFFECTION. 237
missaries of Ledru Rollin, and under the impression of
fear ; that these men would become too republican for
France, and a new election would be the best mode of
correcting the absurdities of the first. On the other
hand, the republicans found themselves in a minority,
and fierce and turbulent as they were, and violent as
were their speeches, yet when it came to the vote,
they could but vote once, and they were always in the
minority. The nomination of the Executive Com
mission had not given satisfaction to any but those
who were elected, and the ministry was composed of
such a confused mass that its existence might be esti
mated in hours, not days.
Like the approaching hurricane, the wind was heard
in all quarters, but no one knew from which the storm
would come. The government were well informed, as
we learn from the examination of Lamartine at the
state trials which took place at Bourges, of the discon
tent of all, and Caussidiere stood security for the good
behaviour of Blauqui, whom he had volunteered uncere
moniously, and in direct infringement of the liberty of
the subject, to arrest on suspicion of plotting against
the state.
Every man of the government had plotted against
the government of the king ; they could not expect to
be more favoured than theh' predecessors — the whole
of France was one great conspiracy. As M. d'Arlin-
court observes : — " The republic of February was like
the representation of Satan by Milton, the star of
flame and darkness finding man only to destroy him,

238 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
and rushing from chaos to chaos :" certainly no bene
ficial results had been obtained, and those who lived
in hope, began to sicken in despair. Petition upon
petition crowded the bureaux of the Assembly, almost
all the result of vanity and folly, dictated by men who
believed themselves fit to govern, and who were at
enmity with every one in authority. From this mass
of rubbish we extract one which, as a national curiosity,
might be preserved -. —
" Citizen representatives,
" I am a handsome woman, twenty-five years of
age, five feet eight inches high, and weighing 220 kilo
grammes. I demand to represent ' Liberty ' in the
fete fixed for the 14th of May. I believe no one is
better qualified than myself to fill the situation I
solicit. I am at your service, citizen representatives,
" &c, &c."
We have said the government were well aware of
what passed in the clubs, and M. Lamartine's evidence
before the high court of Bourges bears out this truth.
The members of the government knew well that they
were condemned as imbeciles and traitors by the more
resolute and truly democratic republicans ; they knew
also that Blanqui, Barbes, Flotte, &c, aspired to the
comfortable abodes of the different ministers, and that
if the mob steadily supported their idols, the days
of salary, comfort, and power were numbered. In
order, therefore, to draw away the troops of the insur
gents, and bribe them by sweet words, the following
proclamation was addressed to all the newspapers, and
placarded about the town.

MINISTERIAL PROCLAMATION. 239
" 14th May, 1848.
" Citizens,
" The republic is founded upon order, and cannot
exist but by order.
" With order alone can you find employment.
" With order alone the great question of ameliora
ting the condition of the workmen can be solved.
" This truth you have well understood. France has
applauded yom conduct, at once so resolute and so
calm. " From the moment agitation ceased — agitations, the
natural results of a revolution — confidence began to
be restored, and with it commerce and industry.
" Since yesterday, however, Paris has again witnessed
the meeting of large bodies of her citizens, which has
caused new alarm. Paris is suprised, not frightened.
" Citizens, the republic lives — her power is consti
tuted, and the whole people are represented in the
National Assembly. The power and the right are
there. " Why then these meetings ?
" The right to assemble — the right of discussion —
the right of petition are sacred : do not compromise
them by agitation, which can add nothing to their
force. " Citizens, public tranquillity is the best guarantee
for employment, the very shield of all enterprise ; the
commission of the executive power, convinced that all
excitement to illegal and turbulent manifestation is the
death-blow to honest labour, and compromises the very

240 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
existence of the people, is resolved to defend the
threatened tranquillity.
"The commission to accomplish this duty, calls
upon all sincere republicans; it reckons with confi
dence upon the calm spirit of the Parisian population,
which has hitherto protected, and will again protect
the revolution as much agamst any re-action as against
anarchy. " The members of the commission of the executive
power,
" Arago, Lamartine,
" Garnier Pages, Ledru Rollin,
" Marie, " The Secretary Pagnerre."
This document, which was too long to be thoroughly
perused in such exciting times, whflst it betrayed the
fears of the government, gave but little hope that
tranquillity would be restored, without some further
protection than words. The democratic party again
put forward the Polish manifestation. It was fixed
for the morrow, and the evening of the 14th of May
closed upon an immense assemblage of the people, all
under considerable excitement, and all foreboding mis
chief and evil.

241

CHAPTER XVI.
The Fifteenth of May — The Polish Demonstration — Speech of
M. Wolowshi — Mob attacks the Chamber — Lamartine's vain
attempt at pacification — Barbes' insidious Speech — Louis
Blanc endeavours to still, the Tumult — The Populace break
into the Chamber — Scene in the House — Dissension among
the Leaders — Courage of the Representatives — Resistance of
M. de Mornay — Raspail reads the Petition — Blanqui at the
Tribune — Lamartine in Peril — Rescued by a ruse — Revolu
tionary Propositions — Dissolution of the Assembly proclaimed
— New Ministry named — Prudhon and Cabet — Chamber
cleared by the Garde Mobile — Rebel Government driven from
the Hotel de Ville — Tranquillity restored — Fraternal greet
ings between the Representatives and the National Guard.
Demonstrations, processions, manifestations, attroupe-
ments, &c, had latterly become so exceedingly common,
that the pedestrian seldom turned his head to notice
the banners which waved over these indefatigable re
publicans ; but the 15th of May being a day fixed for
the Polish demonstration, and as the good people
generally believed that these street-walkers would be
dressed in the Polish costume, the Boulevards were
more crowded than usual, besides which the proclama-
vol. i. R

242 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
tion of the government was interpreted as giving infor
mation that danger was at hand.
With our usual curiosity to see sights and mark the
growing progress of this yreat and sacred cause (!) we
proceeded to the balcony on the Boulevards already
mentioned, and quietly awaited the procession — won
dering, we candidly confess, that as the government
knew of the resolution of the clubs at least three days
before, they had taken no precautions to avert the
blow. The Boulevards seemed as destitute of soldiers
as usual, and we only remarked a few more people
apparently walking in the same direction, than was
customary. The enthusiastic admirers of a nation which has
created more ill blood than all Europe put together,
met at the Place de la Bastille about ten o'clock, in
number between six or eight thousand. The chiefs of
the clubs were remarked as being particularly active,
but there seemed no disposition to disturb the public
peace, and although occasionally a mysterious whisper
might be observed to pass from one to the other, yet
there were no deep-set desperate countenances. Every
body appeared in the usual good humour of emeutes ;
and the serpent began to wind its long way down the
Boulevard. Such extravagant numbers had been fixed as forming
all these demonstrations, that so far as it was possible
to count them, we resolved to do it. We took an
average of thirty-three in a line, which seemed very
nearly the exact amount ; the procession came forward,

THE POLISH DEMONSTRATION. 243
and every three lines constituted a separate division ;
we therefore allowed one hundred as the amount of the
three lines, and estimating the procession exactly thus,
it amounted to about nineteen thousand five hundred :
at the trial at Bourges it was said to exceed twenty
thousand. There was a great deal of organization in
this, and although every one exalted his voice to the
old song of " Vive la Republique democratique ; Vive
Barbes; Vive Ledru Rollin, Louis Blanc," &c, very
few called "Vive Lamartine." In the number above
mentioned we saw several boys, certainly not beyond
the age of fourteen, and now and then an officer, or
person in that uniform, of the National Guards.
No sooner had we counted the people, than we fol
lowed the demonstration, and took up our position on
the terrace of the Tuileries garden, commanding an
admirable view of the Place de la Concorde, and shel
tered from the fierce rays of the sun.
A dead halt took place about half -past one, by which
time the head of the column had reached the National
Assembly, and it looked one dense mass of people
apparently not at all disposed to be riotous.
The National Assembly were now in delibera
tion, protected by about two hundred of the Garde
Mobfie, who had been placed so as to command
the bridge over which the procession was to pass,
and over which it did pass unmolested, that is, so far
as resistance was employed beyond words. Indeed, two
hundred men could have made but a paltry opposition
to so imposing a force. The procession continued
r 2

244 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
to advance steadily towards the National Assembly :
it was declared that their object was only to pre
sent a petition in favour of the Poles, and most cer
tainly out of the 20,000 people thus assembled, at
least 13,000 believed in this report, and came with no
other intention. But Frenchmen are like fireworks,
the spark passes rapidly from one to the other, the
whole ignites and finishes with a loud burst of noise,
— and then total darkness.
The National Assembly met at noon : M. Wolowski
had undertaken the Polish question, and had steadily
gone over the same beaten path which some orators
had taken during the palmy days of Louis Philippe ;
of course the Poles were slaves — slaves, too, to a
desperate tyrant — they were ready to break their
chains, to shake off the shackles of tyranny, and
become free men. It was for France to assist
them in this glorious enterprise, and M. Wolowski,
whose name has a very Polish sound, urged the
Assembly to take the case into consideration. The
orator had already taken fresh breath twice, and
seemed inclined to continue his harangue for another
hour, when he was cut short in his eloquence by
M. Degoussee, who, suddenly rushing to the tribune,
displaced the Polish Demosthenes, and gave the as
sembled deputies the following exciting intelligence :
— " that he (M. Degoussee) had desired General
Courtais to take further precautions than usual to
protect the National Assembly, which was threatened
with an immediate invasion ; that 20,000 men were

THE POLISH DEMONSTRATION. 2 45
marching evidently with the object of repeating the
scenes of February ; that General Courtais had done
nothing, and would do nothing ; that an immense mass
of citizens were approaching in no friendly mood, and
that at the most only eight hundred bayonets could be
brought to oppose them, and protect the National
Assembly." In the meanwhile the procession had crossed the
bridge — at least as many as could pass in the time —
and the Quaestor of the Assembly desired the iron
gates which face the Place de la Concorde to be closed :
the procession seeing this, turned to the left, and
then taking the Rue de Bourgogne, suddenly ap
peared at the great entrance in the Place du Palais
Bourbon. Outside of this gate a small detachment of
the Garde Mobile occupied the front of the entrance ;
the steady pressure of 20,000 men soon removed this
trifling opposition, which however remained firm a
sufficient time to allow the guard inside the gate to
close it, and to prepare for resistance. The National
Assembly was thus defended both in front and in the
rear by iron railings, but unfortunately about six feet
from the ground there were two openings, in a species
of what is called in French, artichauts de fer.
The leader of the procession saw immediately the
weak point of defence, and directed his ready insur
gents to gain an entrance by these apertures. He
had not to repeat his order twice : the nimble rioters
climbed like cats to the openings, and very shortly
gained admittance, but not before the National Guards

246 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
and the Garde Mobile had fixed their bayonets, and
formed to resist the escalade. The confusion inside
was much greater than the tumult outside ; not ex
pecting such an attack, and quite unconscious of its
vicinity until the various heads began to appear, the
National Guards were taken by surprise, and were
unprepared to act instantly ; they assembled as quickly
as possible, made a good show, and would have made
a good defence until assistance could be procured, had
not General Courtais, their general and commander-
in-chief, appeared and given orders for the National
Guards and Garde Mobile to unfix bayonets. This
was the signal for fraternization : there was no longer
any show of resistance, the iron gates were forced
open by those of the forlorn hope who had escaladed
the railings, and the mob entered into the court, thus
commanding the various outlets of the Assembly.
Information was given of this movement to
M. de Lamartine, who instantly left the Chamber to see
the danger, and endeavour to still the storm. His
words, which had before calmed the raging of these
insensate people, were drowned by the leaders of the
insurrection, who knew full well that eloquence found
willing listeners at all times, especially in France, and
that one happy expression might turn the intention
of the boldest ; they therefore continued a universal
riot, which in vain M. de Lamartine endeavoured to
silence. One man with stentorian lungs cried out —
" Enough — enough of Poetry."
The efforts of Lamartine proving ineffectual, that

THE POLISH DEMONSTRATION. 247
ready conspirator Barbes pretended to persuade the
people to be calm, but every word was sedition, for
he began by congratulating the people on having re
conquered their rights, and announced to them that
the doors of the National Assembly should be thrown
open. Instead of suppressing the agitation, this dis
course from a leader of a club had the opposite effect,
and a certain movement of the immense tide of
human beings seemed to indicate that a rush was
about to be made.
With wThat real intention M. Louis Blanc succeeded
Barbes, we are unable to divine ; for the part he took
in this insurrection he has been found guilty, by con
tumacy, by the high court of Bourges, and his name
has been written on the pillory where he was to have
taken his stand.
It is the privilege of all insurrectionists and rebel
lious subjects to witness the cold ingratitude of the
world : but this gentleman had hardly time to be
popular before he passed to the other extreme. The
well-disposed portion of the community saw in the
placard of Blanqui, already mentioned, that Louis
Blanc was put forward as one of the causes of this
attempt to overset the Assembly, and whether right or
wrong M. Louis Blanc must always bear some portion
of the blame, as his aspiration to a portfolio was the
means of involving his name in very questionable
society. Louis Blanc was most vigorously and vehe
mently applauded — his popularity was at its zenith,—
he was lifted up like an idol, to be cast aside like a

248 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
demon. Had the presidency been decided on the
fifteenth of May, M. Louis Blanc might have aspired
to the honour, and might have succeeded; but his
popularity would have been lost the day he ascended to
power. There is no denying to this gentleman a cer
tain degree of fervid eloquence ; like almost all French
men, he is a fluent speaker ; he looks younger than he
is, and there is a certain fire and determination in his
language that will always win him well-merited ap
plause. On the present unhappy occasion he did not
imitate the rebellious language of Barbes, or the poetry
of Lamartine ; his endeavours, sincere or not, seemed
intended to still the tumult, but he was interrupted so
often by the shouts of "Vive Louis Blanc," that had
he only moved his arms and his lips without saying a
word, he would have been equally intelligible to those
who were ten feet distant from the orator. By his
side stood the workman Albert, who never spoke, but
nodded his dull, heavy head, as if in accordance
with all that emanated from his leader.
The shouts of applause were heard in the Chamber :
the fact that the outer gates were taken, and that
the mob were masters of the position was therefore
known ; and strange it now appears, that whilst La
martine was expending his poetry, Barbes his treason,
Louis Blanc his eloquence, and Albert his semaphorical
silence, no orders were given by the president, no pre-
cautions were taken, but the whole mass of legislators
seemed as panic struck as the royal family on the
twenty-fourth of Februaiy.

THE ASSEMBLY INVADED. 249
In vain Louis Blanc endeavoured to obtain a hearing :
his voice was drowned in applause, and the leaders
having gained the first success pushed forward to reap
the benefit, well aware of the fear they had engendered
in the Assembly.
It was one simultaneous advance ; those in the rear
pressing onwards with united effort, the front was com
pelled to move forward, and whilst M. Wolowski was
pouring out his words in favour of the Poles, the doors
of the different tribunes were broken open, the unwel
come appearance of the people — the sovereign people —
stopped the current of the speaker's eloquence, and the
endeavours of some to escape, and of others to occupy
their seats, with the eternal shout of " Vive la Republique
democratique et sociale," made the uproar complete.
There were several ladies placed in the front row of
the different tribunes ; curiosity has made many vic
tims, but in France the ladies may venture upon any
danger, well aware that they will be respected. This
sudden irruption of the Goths and Vandals startled
even the fair sex, who, generally relying on their sex
and their charms, derive confidence from the known
gallantry of the men ; they were, however, taken by
surprise, and added their screams to the roar of the
victorious party, and the shouts of the besieged.
The ladies were civily invited to retire, and seemed
very anxious to avail themselves of the invitation.
Men in blouses, ragged looking ruffians, and unwashed
citizens usurped their places, and some, eager to be
ready for a further advance, sat themselves down on

250 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the parapet of the galleries, swinging their uncouth
limbs in the air. There were some with bare brawny
arms, evidently prepared for combat, some without
coats and waistcoats, and others the personification of
the reign of terror, all pushing and jostling to get a
good position. This invasion of the upper part of the
House was contrived in concert with the others,
who nearly at the same moment broke through all
obstacles and appeared on the floor in front of the
orator's tribune, and soon filled the whole space which
divides the Chamber : they came in, unbidden, to this
sanctuary, shouting "Vive la Poloyne," and flourishing
banners of all descriptions and with a thousand de
vices. The men who had invaded the galleries and
occupied the different tribunes, seeing their friends in
possession of the floor of the Chamber, immediately
began to slide down and drop upon the upper benches,
which they no sooner reached than they rushed head
long into the space below.
It was a sight never to be forgotten ; the conster
nation of some of the deputies, the excessive coolness
and courage of others, — and here we would mention
M. Lacordaire who, dressed in his clerical costume,
remained unmoved at this unusual scene. M. de
Mornay also showed his courage in resisting Raspail
when he began to speak, and many others of the
deputies showed, on this occasion, — and it was one of
the greatest danger, — a coolness and a confidence well
worthy of a Frenchman and a sincere patriot, for at
the very outset of the occupation one of the deputies

SCENE IN THE CHAMBER. 251
was seized by the collar, and most unceremoniously
and disrespectfully thrown to the ground.
Some of the officers of the Chamber attempted to
defend the orators' tribune, but they were soon forced
to relinquish their hopeless opposition, and that sanc
tuary of spouting was also attacked and carried.
M. Buchez, as president of the Chamber, supported
the defenders of the tribune, which was no sooner
carried, than the mob endeavoured to displace the
members and occupy their seats. In this they were
successfully resisted, although many forced their way
between the deputies, and seated themselves to the
great annoyance of the original proprietors. The mem
bers of the Chamber were more numerous than the
invaders, and had the least assistance arrived, they
could have ejected the intruders : certainly not more
than six hundred men ever gained admittance.
It was now a dispute who should speak ; the rebel
Barbes was the first to try, but the tumult rose above
the orator's voice. To give greater effect to his desire,
he seized a flag which was borne by a stout man, who
resisted, and in the struggle the staff was broken and
the colours torn ; besides this, Ledru Rolhn had got
possession of the tribune, and was by no means in
clined to relinquish it. Both bellowed ineffectually :
nor were the efforts of a young republican in a blouse,
who certainly belonged to the unwashed multitude,
more successful ; he did his utmost to speak and be
heard, but who can hear the human voice in the roar
of the hurricane ? It was scarcely possible to hear the

252 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
president's bell, which he continually rang to obtain
a little order, and in despair of effecting his purpose,
he took his next step and put on his hat, thus declaring
the sitting suspended.
But revolutionists are above all law ; they cared
nothing for the president's bell or his hat, they had a
point to gain, and as yet had successfully advanced.
In the midst of this strange scene Louis Blanc mounted
on the tribune, where this gentleman, of unfortunate
diminutiveness, could be seen, and no sooner was he
seen than he was most vehemently welcomed ; his first
hope was to restore order, and he succeeded !
In that which Lamartine and the president had failed
to effect, Louis Blanc succeeded ! it is his greatest
achievement throughout the revolution ! Louis Blanc
spoke to order, he implored the people to be great and
calm, and he took all the Chamber under his protec
tion, soliciting the liberty of discussion, and declaring
he was about to read the " Polish Petition." But
here even M. Louis Blanc's popularity failed him :
Raspail, with his blue eyes and light hair, was not in
clined to bow to the popular idol ; he held in his hand
about a dozen copies of the petition, and wished to be
the medium of its conveyance to the Chamber. Blanqui
with his dirty gloves, which even on this occasion he
wore and never took off, begged also to read the peti
tion, whilst Huber, who is described as thirty-eight
years of age, having short hair, a long red beard, small
inflamed eyes, and red face, flourished a cane, and
seemed to guide the insurgents, as the leader of an
orchestra does its musical members.

SCENE IN THE CHAMBER. 253
Every man wished to be distinguished. In such
an insurrection the chance of ultimate popularity was
only to be obtained by vigorous behaviour. The
numbers of the insurgents had increased, the Chamber
was completely in their power ; the members were
still occupying their seats, and behaved with as much
calmness as could be expected.
When Raspail declared he would read the petition,
there was a loud outcry from the deputies, and no
man was more determined than M. de .Mornay : he
said that Raspail was not a member of the house, and
insisted on the privileges being preserved, which
excluded all strangers from addressing the Assembly.
M. de Mornay found several to support him, but the
president, who saw how perfectly useless it was to at
tempt to stem this increasing tide, yielded to the pres
sure from without, supported Raspafi in his disposi
tion to speak, and gave him permission so to do.
This act of the president has been severely censured,
but we are inclined to believe that he only acted with
common prudence ; the mob were disposed to carry
their point at all hazards, and had they been opposed
by the president, they would have done instantly,
what they did about a quarter of an hour afterwards.
Raspail, backed by the president, read the petition
in favour of the Poles in the midst of the most frantic
applause, and here was now seen the ingratitude of
the victors. When Raspail had read the petition, the
president rose to make some remark, but the rioters
called out that they did not want to hear him, they

254 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
could not extend their privilege to him, and told him
to hold his tongue and sit down, which M. Buchez
immediately did : this gave rise to some few unman
nerly epithets, which soon terminated, and Blanqui
and Raspail remained masters of the tribune, whilst
Huber vociferated loudly from the floor of the House,
and Flotte fiercely gesticulated at Barbes, accusing
him of wishing to betray the republic. That bearded
ruffian extended his hand to Flotte, the cook, and both
parties declared themselves satisfied, and henceforward
eternal friends.
Blanqui, who it is reported, and indeed confirmed
by the evidence given at the high court of Bourges,
was averse to this demonstration, not from any loyal
feelings which might have disturbed his slumbers, but
from a conviction that the organization of such an un-
tertaking was not sufficiently matured, finding himself
so far advanced as positively to be in possession of the
Chamber, now usurped the tribune; he held forth his
hand wearing his usual black glove, and with this
ominous symbol succeeded in obtaining a compara
tively patient hearing.
We have before mentioned this insurgent's aptitude
in discourse ; his voice is wiry and not strong, but he
managed in that large hall to make himself pretty dis
tinctly heard. The Polish question was a mask in
tended to hide the insurrectionary movement which
was to follow any marked success ; but Blanqui had
prepared a speech, and was resolved to deliver it :
even that great master of conspiracy knew not when

SCENE IN THE CHAMBER. 255
to act. It was the fault committed by every leader
from the twenty-fourth of February : none seemed to
know the value of a minute in such perilous times.
Blanqui, after some slight circumlocution, demanded
the re-establishment of Poland, such as it was before
its first dismemberment in 1772, and with its ancient
boundaries ; he further proposed, that the subject
should be debated instantly, in the presence of the
people, and that not only should the unfortunate
Poles be restored to their expected liberty, but that
the question of war with Prussia, Austria, and
Russia, should be also debated. M. Blanqui never
thought of the exhausted exchequer, the House di
vided against itself, the civil war of France already
begun, or the contending interests, quietly nurtured,
of the royalist party. War — war, was the cry.
In spite of some interruption from M. Clement
Thomas, the colonel of the second legion of the National
Guard, M. Blanqui came to a more exciting subject,
namely, what was termed by the clubbists the mas
sacres of Rouen. He demanded instant liberation of
all the victims, for under that exciting appellation he
classed the insurgents who had been taken and incar
cerated : for nearly a quarter of an hour the din of
voices drowned that of the orator, but Blanqui re
mained firm and resolute at the tribune, and after that
lapse of time, concluded his oration by a reference to
the position of Louis Blanc, who had been put aside
by the government, although he had so well merited a
reward from his country. There was a shout, such as

256 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
" to the subject about Poland, the debate, the war,"
which Blanqui evaded by making his descent from the
tribune. Lamartine now endeavoured to obtain a hearing;
alas ! the poet's popularity had considerably faded. It
was not an oratorical display the mob wanted ; they de
sired to grasp at the power, and be themselves in
reality the sovereign people. Lamartine in his passage
towards the tribune was saluted by many who gave,
apparently, a sincere mark of esteem in the friendly
shake of the hand ; but Lamartine was not allowed
to ascend the tribune, he was surrounded by the
insurgents, and held rather an animated conversa
tion with a young man dressed in a blouse, and
wearing a black cravat. As the conversation in
creased, the position of Lamartine became some
what equivocal ; the crowd began to press upon him,
some violent words escaped, and there was a restless
agitation which excited alarm for the once favoured
poet ; he was extricated from his unpleasant position
by a young man who, being aware that one word
might, like a single spark, ignite a magazine, rushed
or pushed his way through the crowd, and pulling
Lamartine by the coat, said : — " Citizen, you must
come out instantly, your wife is taken seriously ill."
The ruse succeeded, every Frenchman knows the
duty of a husband, and a woman has a prior claim
even to the State : not a soul saw the danger of allow
ing Lamartine to leave the Chamber ; on the contrary,
the mob made place for him, and he walked out. On

LAMARTINE RESCUED. 257
reaching the outside he said to the young man who
accompanied him, —
"Where is Madame Lamartine ? "
The answer was, " I do not know."
" Then she is not ill ? " continued the poet.
"Not the slightest in the world that I know of,"
replied the stranger.
Lamartine saw at once the object, and asked the
stranger, " Who may you be? "
" I am," replied the young man, " the citizen
Hirshler ; I was resolved to save you from your un
pleasant position, you are now free, — act."
"1 am so overcome," replied Lamartine, " that I
must repose myself for a moment," and he directed
his steps to the library, where he found General
Courtais, who, like himself, had sought a refuge, and
these two personages were left alone.
This interview gave rise to some suspicions amongst
those who are ready to suspect everybody. Courtais was
afterwards tried for misconduct, neglect, and, in short,
complicity on this day, and the Executive Govern
ment one and all were loudly condemned for not
having taken every necessary precaution.
The National Assembly was now anything but a
deliberative society. Some brought buckets of cold
water, which were placed behind the president, and
into which many dipped their parched mouths ; others
mounted the tribune and vainly attempted to speak,
although M. Buchez gave them his leave and support ;
and. discord had risen so far, that an officer of the
vol. i. s

258 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
National Guard, who perhaps proposed to vindicate the
honour of the Assembly, was seized by the infuriated
crowd, his epaulettes torn from his shoulders, and
thrown in the au.
This struggle seemed to remind the insurgents that
time was fast passing away, and that they had not
followed up their advantage. It was the conspirator
Barbes who turned his followers to other acts than
that of taking a pair of epaulettes from an unarmed
man. He obtained silence, and proposed — " that a
vote of the Assembly should justify the proceedings of
the people, by declaring they had well merited of their
country ; that any officer of the National Guard
or other corps who should order the rappel to be
beaten, should be declared a traitor, and put out of
the pale of the law ; that further, every representa
tive present who refused to vote for a general war
should be declared a traitor, and that a forced loan of
a milliard should be imposed on the rich."
In an Assembly such as we have vainly endeavoured
accurately to describe, it was impossible that exciting
resolutions like these should be received in silence ; the
propositions were not only well received, but loudly
welcomed; and the agitation was so excessive, that
many seemed to have been converted into tennis balls,
and kept bounding from the floor with that peculiar
motion ; hands were extended, — voices roared, — the
tumult was unparallelled.
A lucky thought suddenly occurred to one of the in
surgents, which required but to be repeated to gain many

LOUIS BLANC'S OVATION. 259
supporters ; it was, to carry Louis Blanc in triumph :
he was but the weight of a feather for each, and the his
torian of the Ten Years was uplifted with as much ease
as a Hercules would raise a wax doll. Although this
was a relief from more serious thoughts, and particu
larly amusing to the spectators, it did not seem equally
agreeable to the victim of popular applause : he kicked
most unhandsomely, implored — desired — commanded
to be set down, and after considerable exertion,
he was quietly placed on the ground, and nearly
suffocated by his position. He fell, never to rise
again : this was his last ovation, although he made
another attempt from a table to harangue the mul
titude. From the continued pressure from without, it has
been estimated that at this time at least 5,000 people
thronged the House ; the heat was oppressive beyond
all description, and a dust rose enough to suffocate
the occupiers of the various tribunes ; yet in spite of
heat, and dust, and noise, and danger, we remarked
the English ambassador, Lord Normanby, looking on
this strange scene of disorder with wonderful com
posure. All things must have an end. No one attempted to
argue the propositions of MM. Barbes and Blanqui ; it
was one vast scene of disorder, — one raging sea of
discord, — one hurricane of opinion, — and yet when a
person, whose name has escaped the vigilance of every
one, drew a paper from his pocket, on which was
written : — " In the name of the sovereign people, the
s 2

260 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
National Assembly is dissolved," — and this paper was
laid on the bureau of the president, people began to
see that the Polish question was only a pretext, and
that the object was at once to upset the government,
and to put more liberal republicans, of other men's
fortunes, in their places.
Those who were in the secret of the plot now raised
such an indescribable tumult, that the roar of the sea
over a beach of shingle would give but a faint idea of
the noise. One fired a pistol, the ball of which
passed through the cieling, this was the signal for
a conclusion of the farce — it never rose to tragedy, as
not a man was killed.
Now the president's tribune was invaded ; M. Bu
chez, who liked his position, although in more quiet
days we have not envied him his honours, defended
his chair for a moment, but he was most unceremo
niously ejected, and bundled head foremost from his
cherished abode. Making a hasty retreat down the
steps, he seemed excessively glad to escape from his re
volutionary associates. The disappearance ofthe presi
dent, which gave a kind of official notification of the
dissolution of the National Assembly, was the signal
of departure for many members ; iu short, the farce of
sitting still aud never making any opposition to the
crowd, was contemptible enough.
The Chamber was now supposed by many to be
really dissolved, the government to have fallen ; upon
which the sovereign people resolved to name another
without a moment's delav.

RED REPUBLICAN MINISTRY. 261
The names had long since been prepared, the
proposer selected, and the miserable band who had
prepared this invasion, had agreed to accept office- —
if they succeeded in their efforts.
The names given out were Barbes, Blanqui, Pierre
Leroux, Cabet, Proudhon, Louis Blanc, Raspail, Ledru
Rollin, and Albert. Amongst these the two most
likely to draw attention were Proudhon and Cabet,
both socialists. The writings of the one and the
visions of the other had already become notorious.
We shall give a sentence of M. Proudhon, to show
into what hands the madmen of France would have con
signed theh country : we shall quote the passage in the
original, as we should be very sorry to circulate its
blasphemy in any other language : — " La propriete,
c'est le vol ; lafamille, c est le repaire de tous les vices ;
la charife, c'est une odieuse mystification ; la justice,
c'est chose infame ; Dieu, c'est hypocrisie et mensonye,
sottise et lachete, terreur et misere ; Dieu, c est le mal ;
si Dieu existait, il faudrait le maudire, et V appeler
Satan." This yentleman was already a member of the Na
tional Assembly, and was now brought forward, no
doubt, to carry out his scheme, as Louis Blanc had
been brought forward to try the effect of his visionary
theories. Strange as it may appear, this man has
many followers, and the principal cause of the French
Revolution may be traced to a certain recklessness of
death, and a lamentable deficiency of moral rectitude.
We shall recur to this subject hereafter.

062 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1S45.
Cabet, without all reports are fabulous, was a noto
rious swindler, who, having amassed considerable sums
from his socialist idiots, afterwards shipped them off
to America, to find out a certain Icaria, in which peace
and plenty were to be the everlasting reward of an equal
state of society ; where everything was to be equally
divided, and the lazy, the drunken, and the vicious,
to be fed and supported by the laborious, the sober,
and the virtuous. Of course M. Cabet would have
selected the ministry of finance as the field of his ex
tended operations, and the exchequer of France would
have been replenished by the milliard M. Barbes so
liberally proposed should be supplied by the rich.
The reader will naturally ask, during all this time
what did the National Guards ?
The rappel had been beaten in spite of the propo
sition of Barbes, and the gathering of the armed host
was great and rapid ; crowds upon crowds of the
National Guards advanced towards the Place de la
Concorde, whilst the news of the invasion of the
Chamber having spread, the curious, the idle, the
eager, and the ruined, all seemed to concentrate in the
Rue Royale and the Champs Elysees, whdst many
ladies, some even leading dogs, got into the Tuileries,
and remained spectators of the strange scene.
Every one was eager for inquiry ; no one com
manded. General Courtais might have been closeted
with Lamartine, or quietly concealing himself from the
tumult. There stood that useless — worse than use
less — civic force, the National Guards, with their

INACTIVITY OF THE NATIONAL GUARD. 263
pretty uniforms and well pofished muskets, shrugging
up their shoulders, receiving every minute reports of
what had passed, and with the eternal " enfin que voulez-
vous" heard of the invasion of the Chamber, its disso
lution, and the nomination of the new government.
Neither were the National Guard the only inactive
spectators of the scene; the troops of the line and
the Garde Mobile remained just as useless, and just as
inactive as the citizen soldiers, excepting that not
unfrequently they relieved the monotony of the busi
ness by the suspicious cry of "Vive la Republique
Democratique." It will not fail to be remarked in the above list of
names that those of Ledru Rollin and Louis Blanc
appear ; we pass over that of M. Albert, who is alto
gether too insignificant for any historical reminiscence :
he sprang from nothing, to return to nothing, — the only
wonder was, how he ever got where he did. Of all
republican virtues, he possessed only that dogged
sulkiness and determination which is the general pro
perty of any converters of other men's property to
their own use:
But how comes it to pass that MM. Ledru Rollin
and Louis Blanc's names figure amongst such ques
tionable society ? The regicide and the assassin, the
conspirator and the thief are surely not such com
panions as the talented Louis Blanc, or the haughty
Ledru Rollin would select ; how is it that amongst
the Barbes, Blanquis, and Cabets, we find these
names ? Raspail was a man of good education, and

264 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
some medical reputation ; but Flotte, the cook, who
was cheated of his chance, and became furious at being
put aside, was not likely to surrender his claims to the
presidency of the republic (!) without he made way for
greater conspirators than himself, — and time has shown
that even after only three months' precarious existence,
the very founders of the republic conspired against its
moderate existence.
The greediness of power produced the ruin of the
new government. In every act of these desperate re
publicans, the cloven foot of power has betrayed them.
No sooner were the names of the new government
read, and a few " oui, oui's," shouted, than each man
made a rush to seize the seals of office ; in this we
except M. Ledru Rollin, who had an office, and who
appeared not at all disposed to " march through
Coventry " with such a dirty batch.
With these new ministers disappeared the prime
agents of this well enacted movement. It is impos
sible up to this minute to call them conspirators or
traitors ; they were no more so than those of February.
Barbes, Blanqui, Flotte, Cabet, and Raspail, did no
more than Lamartine, Ledru Rollin, Marrast, Cre
mieux, and Louis Blanc had done. Both parties had
reyenerated their country ; both had discovered that
their predecessors were incapable : the one overturned
unresisting royalty, the other usurping power ; there
are no traitors when the attack is successful, there are
no conspirators but in failures. The voice of the people,
which had been hailed as the national assent in regard

THE CHAMBER CLEARED. 265
to the first conspirators, was just as loud, and just as
clamorous for the second ; and if the first usurpers
can place their hands on their hearts and declare they
were duly elected as a Provisional Government, we can
just as honestly declare that Barbes, Blanqui, and the
rest were nominated by the French people. The
universal suffrage which returned the National Assem
bly, could just as well be abrogated as the authority of
a king and a solemn oath to uphold a kingly constitu
tion. They were all traitors together, until they were
successful ; they then became, of course, the regenera
tors of their country, and the liberators of slaves and
bondsmen !
As the crowds left the Assembly to follow their
momentary idols, bands of idlers, who had thronged
the outside of the Chambers, began to supply the
vacant places. Curiosity often leads to danger, in
more cases than virtue. The Garde Mobile began to
think that the farce had lasted long enough, and feeling
tired of remaining under arms all day in a broiling
sun, put an end to this heterogeneous legislation by
fixing their bayonets, in defiance of the order of General
Courtais ; and marching into the Chamber they unce
remoniously dislodged the occupants, although no colli
sion took place, and a general fraternization occurred.
One of the mob mounted the tribune to indulge in
the French propensity of public speaking, but a brother
in the shape of an officer of the Garde Mobile, handed
him very uncourteously from his position.
The public disappeared instantaneously, and behind

266 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the Garde Mobile re-entered the trae representatives of
the people, who, we presume, had at last done their
duty, and forced the Garde Mobde to do theirs.
The scene wa3 now more exciting without than
within the Chamber ; Lamartine and Ledru Rolhn at
the head of a considerable force, consisting of dragoons,
lancers, troops of the fine, National Guard, and artil
lery, followed the new government to the Hotel de
Ville, of which they had already taken possession ;
whilst the gentlemen of Paris, at last roused to a
sense of the impending danger, were seen with double-
barrelled fowling pieces, joining the ranks of the Na
tional Guard, and marching down to the National As
sembly, where there was now nobody to eject. But
this advance gave courage to the Representatives, who
finding themselves masters of their own places again, and
under the sway of their old president, once more con
stituted themselves in authority, and Barbes, Blanqui,
&c, became legitimate traitors and conspirators. La
martine and Ledru Rollin soon recovered the Hotel de
Ville, and to the cries of "Vive la Republique, Vive
Lamartine," &c, these weather-cock people again
passed under the power of the executive commission.
The House recovered courage and breath ; a meet
ing took place at six o'clock, when the Procureur
General, M. Portalis, asked permission to prosecute
General Courtais and Barbes, both representatives,
which was instantly voted. Accounts were read of
the recapture of the Hotel de Ville, and the vic
torious chief, Lamartine, was borne in triumph by the

REJOICINGS AFTER VICTORY. 267
National Guard into the Assembly. The government,
by the voice of M. Gamier Pages, attempted some
futfle explanation of this extraordinary affair, and by
way of confirming the liberty that had been obtained
in February, he informed the house that the clubs were
to be closed, and other strong measures adopted.
The day had now ended, the victors of the moment
were in their turn defeated, and although numerous
groups assembled in the streets, each animated (since
the failure was known) with the desire of order, no
collision took place ; there was that general uneasiness
which follows the shock of an earthquake, but Paris
was, — to use the common expression, and so very often
requisite to be published, — tranquil.
The scene had now completely changed; the National
Guards surrounded the Chamber, and every one was
willing and ready to die in the good cause. People
shook hands, and sighed for an opportunity to dis
tinguish themselves, and when the danger was entirely
passed, we never remember to have seen a more gal
lant, loyal, patriotic, or brave population, or civic
guard ! It seemed to these warriors quite incompre
hensible how they could have remained inactive during
this day of peril ; no one could account for why they
had not marched about one hundred yards further
than where they had stood inactive and useless ; but
vows were registered that order and the republic should
be preserved, and the street re-echoed the praise be
stowed upon the brave National Guards of Paris.
How bitterly must the praise thus lavishly distributed

268 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
have been received by some of those men, yet the day
after every man seemed, from his conversation, to have
been the first to dislodge the enemy, and to have done
his country good service.
The National Guards of Paris amount to at least
200,000 men ; the invasion of the Chamber was
effected, and the legislative body annulled, by not more
than 5,000 people, and yet for hours this extraordinary
scene was continued, and not one man came to the
rescue ; now they were victorious, and the following is
the epilogue to the farce.
Gamier Pages and Lamartine aroused the courage
of the representatives by their words and the assurance
of safety. The sitting which had been pronounced
" en permanence " was voted useless, the National
Guards and troops of the line were declared fatigued,
and the Assembly agreed to meet the next day. We
give the description of the following ludicrous scene,
word for word, from a celebrated writer : —
" Now commenced the departure of the deputies, —
a departure which confirmed the victory of order, and
the defeat of the agitators. The hedge of troops was
so narrow, that only two deputies could go out at a
time, and every man of the National Guard shook
the hands of the representatives as they passed.
It was then that the enthusiasm was at its height :
every individual of the National Guard shouted in
his loudest voice ' Vivent les Deputes!' and every
deputy responded ' Vive la Garde Nationale ! ' The
true people and the true representatives united in the

REJOICINGS AFTER VICTORY. 269
closest bonds. We returned, followed by the ebulli
tion of.joy of ten thousand men, and at ten o'clock we
wrote these lines, which consecrate to history one of
the most curious days in the history of France. Paris
was illuminated."
Well may M. Dumas call this one of the most
curious days in the history of France, and never was
there a more bitter satire than the words we have just
quoted. After having left the deputies to the tender mercies
of an infuriated multitude, which hurled them from
their seats — declared them dissolved as a body — upset
the government and formed a new one — and all done
without the interference of a single division of the
numerous body who had declared themselves the
friends of order, and the upholders of an honest re
public — this body of men shake hands with those whom
they deserted, and shout "Vivent les Deputes " and
the deserted of the National Guards, suddenly imbued
with the greatest Christian charity, forgive this great
derehction of duty, return the cordial embrace, and
shout "Vive la Garde Nationale /" It is a farce which
can only be enacted in France, where every moment
men's minds and mens' ideas imitate a girouette, and
variable as the wind which occasions the movement,
they become as inconstant and as insincere as the
breath which caused the variation.
We have heard it said, " no orders were given :" we be
lieve it tobe true, but was there not a time, especially when
it was known that a band of conspirators had invaded

270 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
the representatives of the nation, that officers ought to
have been sent to the executive government — to the
National Assembly — and seeing the peril to the State,
have marched on to rescue the invaded ? Are the
National Guards to look quietly on whilst the city is
fired, and merely say " Enfin que voulez-vous ? Is it
because no order from the general reaches the com
mander of a legion, that that commander is to see
before his eyes the government destroyed, and the re-
representatives dismissed, and not move one yard to
succour the one, or protect the other ? If M. Hirshler
could generously step forward, penetrate the thick
crowd, and succeed in withdrawing Lamartme from
his rather perilous position — could not one be found
out of 200,000 brave National Guards, to have got at
any minister, informed himself of the true state of
affairs, and asked the wishes and directions of the go
vernment ? The 1 5 th of May, even to us who witnessed
it from the beginning to the end, is the most incom
prehensible day in the history of the world. We
defy even Lamartine to describe or defend it.

271

CHAPTER XVII.
Insurrections on the Fifteenth of May in all France — At Vienna,
and at Naples — Official Proclamations — Arrest of Sobrier —
Caussidiere implicated and resigns — Montagnards expelled
from the Prefecture of Police — General Courtais arrested —
His Character — Who were the Leaders ofthe Insurrection ? —
Discovery at the Club in the Passage Moliere — Ammunition
furnished from Vincennes — Proceedings of the National As
sembly — M. Trouve-Chauvel made Prefect of Police —
Cavaignac named Minister of War — False position of
M. Arago — Frivolous Proceedings ofthe Assembly —
As yet we are in ignorance of the means by which the
red republicans of France organized their revolts, both
for their own country and others ; but the following
•facts are almost beyond the effect of chance. We are
ready to say with Pope : —
" All chance direction which thou canst not see."
On the 15 th of May almost all the great towns of
France broke out into revolt. On that day, also, the
students and the secret societies of Vienna became

272 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
insurrectionists, raised the standard of revolt, and
forced the emperor to fly his capital. On that day
the fearful revolution in Naples was commenced, and
throughout the whole European world a movement
burst forth simultaneously, as if obeying some mandate
by electric telegraph.
In Paris it was declared that Blanqui opposed the
affair of the 1 5th of May, but was forced onwards by
Barbes' club taking the initiative.
The day came and passed, and the mob were insur
rectionists in the morning, victors at noon, and pri
soners at sunset; and we confess ourselves of the
opinion that this invasion of the Chamber was a long
planned movement for the Fifteenth, and that the
revolts in other countries, as well as in the large towns
of France, were the result of a long premeditated plan,
well and boldly executed, but failing from the too
great eagerness to grasp at the power the leaders could
never have retained.
Sobrier was arrested at the house of the Minister of
the Interior, where he, without the slightest ceremony,
had installed himself; he was not even named by the
insurrectionists as one of their government, but he
took the liberty of enacting minister for two hours ; he
was attended by about one hundred of the most despe
rate ruffians, and at first gave some indications of main
taining his usurped power.
Arrests were talked of, and placards from the go
vernment appeared on the walls, of which the following
are translations ; it is quite obvious that the second

OFFICIAL PROCLAMATIONS. 273
one is far from the truth, or the Chambers never would
have been invaded at all.
"To the French People and National Guards
of Paris.
" The National Assembly, elected by universal suf
frage, has been invaded ! Its President has been driven
from his Chair, and factious people substituted them
selves for your true representatives, who rely upon you
and all good citizens as you can rely upon them.
" Le Questeur deiegue,
"Degoussee,
" Vive la Republique."
The Minister of the Interior sent forth the second
proclamation. " Ministere de l'lnterieur,
"Paris, 15th of May, 1848.
" Citizens,
" A mob, led astray by some factious people, have
violated the sanctity of the National Assembly.
" This attempt failed from the unanimous manifes
tation of the population.
" The government of the republic will do its duty ;
it knows well how to employ its energies to ensure
order, without violating the principles of liberty.
" The Minister of the Interior, " Recurt."
One would suppose from this last proclamation that
the first was perfectly false.
About eight o'clock at night the National Guards,
now masters of Paris, and somewhat recovered from
VOL. I. t

274 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
their first inertness, began to carry out the orders of
the government, and went in force to the house
in which Sobrier lived in the Rue de Rivoli, where this
celebrated conspirator had established not only his
quarters, but also the bureaux of his " Commune de
Paris?' The house which had been the fear and
alarm of the whole quarter, had been carefully closed
since three o'clock, but at the appearance of the Na
tional Guards, and on the assurance that Sobrier had
been arrested, his former associates offered no resist
ance, and the doors were opened ; but during the time
of their being closed, every paper had been destroyed,
and nothing remained but some muskets, and a barrel
of powder.
Sobrier was once, as before mentioned, joined with
Caussidiere as Prefect of Police, and the intimacy
which existed between the two insurgents, with the
fact that although the prefect declared himself well
acquainted with the movement, he took no steps to
repress it, led to the demand of some explanation from
the Prefect of Police in the National Assembly, of
which M. Caussidiere was a member. Violent and
stormy was the debate, and the certainty that Caussi
diere had himself ordered some muskets to be taken
to Sobrier's house, placed the prefect in so false a posi
tion, that he was obliged to resign his office.
It is now most clearly proved by the evidence
before the High Court at Bourges, that Caussidiere was
concerned in the plot. This restless desire of intrigue
and insurrection is almost inexplicable. We can easily

THE REBEL LEADERS. 275
account for the discontent of Blanqui, Flotte, Sobrier,
Pierre Leroux, Cabet, Raspail, &c, all violent repub
licans, — who having fanned the flame of the revolu
tion, found themselves disregarded and unprovided;
but for Barbes, who was colonel of the 20th legion of
the National Guards, Governor of the Luxembourg,
and a member of the National Assembly, with twenty-
five francs a day (a fortune for a republican !), and for
Caussidiere, who was formerly connected with a news
paper, and employed in the dignified position of folder
of the papers, and now Prefect of Police, and also
member of the Assembly, — we cannot comprehend
what they had to gain by any revolt.
Again, we can easily understand the discontent of
Louis Blanc, who having suddenly risen from the most
perfect obscurity, became as suddenly the darling of
the inconstant multitude, ahd one of the Provisional
Government — for him who had so sedulously laboured
in the cause to be cast aside with reproach, was suffi
cient cause (as patriotism was a farce) to grow into a
rebel, and it is fixed upon him so evidently, that any
attempt to palliate his behaviour would be absurd.
Later events have shown that Ledru Rollin had
fallen from his position to become a traitor, and when
we see every one whom we have mentioned becoming
concerned in other and more desperate attempts to
revolutionize France and other countries, we cannot
but suspect, and we hope not ungenerously, that even
this proud leader of the Mountain was concerned in
the insurrection of the 1 5th of May, and finding it
t 2

276 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
fail, joined his honest colleagues, — for Lamartine is
above suspicion, — and under the banner of honesty re
covered his position, and disarmed, for the moment,
all reproach.
We unhesitatingly say that the association of Ledru
Rollin's name in that motley group to form a govern
ment, and the convictions obtained against all the rest,
as being concerned in this attempt, fasten a very
strong suspicion upon that gentleman ; at any rate,
whatever opinion may be come to the subject, it is
quite impossible to compliment this astute lawyer
upon the company he was accustomed to keep : he
should have imitated the more cautious conduct of
Marrast. Although Caussidiere resigned his situation, his
" Garde Montaynard" seemed not at all inclined to
resign theirs. They shut themselves up at the Pre
fecture of Police, and it became necessary to send
General Bedeau with six thousand men to force the
hotel and secure the Montagnards.
We were present at this exciting scene, which took
place on the 16th of May. There was a good display of
military force everywhere. The Place de la Concorde,
instead of being choked with troops, was left open in
the centre, so that any manoeuvre could take place.
A regiment was stationed on the western side of the
Madeleine, and a regular communication was estab
lished along the Boulevards in one direction, and with
the Hotel de Ville on the other ; whilst the quays,
thronged with troops and National Guards, communi-

THE GARDE MONTAGNARD. 277
cated directly with the Prefecture of Police. Exactly
opposite to its entrance we drove up, and took up a
commanding position ; a little in advance of our car
riage were two pieces of artillery, whilst the other side
of the river, on the quay of which stands the Prefec
ture of Police, was one close crowd of soldiers. We
arrived on the field of battle (as we supposed) about
two o'clock.
General Bedeau at first tried the moderate course :
he represented how useless any defence would be, that
it was the easiest thing in life to starve out the Mon
tagnards, or, if it was requisite, to knock down the
Prefecture of Police, and bury the rebels in the ruins.
All reasoning seemed useless, and we expected every
minute to see a spirited attack. The troops suddenly
were under arms, and a movement of a very significant
character took place.
The Montagnards still refused to surrender, appa
rently well aware that General Bedeau would not like
to begin the civil war, nor indeed was he so inclined :
he gave the rebels two hours before he resolved to act,
and in the meantime a thousand messages passed from
side to side. We remained in anxious suspense,
having about a dozen of the free republicans upon the
wheels and seat of the carriage ; one, indeed, opened
the door, let down the steps, and with the usual " par
don, madame," — for we were accompanied by a lady —
very quietly took the best place, and fixed his eye on
the doorway of the Prefecture of Police, through which
no doubt he had occasionally entered. This Liberty,

278 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
Equality, and Fraternity, however elegant in words, is
vastly disagreeable in reality.
At five o'clock it was resolved to begin the attack,
and every eye seemed to watch the long hands of the
clock which marks the hours at the Prefecture. About
five minutes previous to the time, the drums beat, the
soldiers stood to their arms, the artillery was pointed,
and a siege, in miniature, was near at hand : but just
before the clock struck the first warning of the hour,
the Montagnards capitulated on condition that they
walked out unmolested. A way was made between
the ranks, and we drove home without having our
curiosity much gratified.
Our attendants seemed averse to our moving, as they
were very comfortable ; but a little civility and a few
jokes soon won over these volatile people, and we were
allowed to depart without any inconvenience.
During the time that the Hotel de la Prefecture
was under siege, the National Assembly was in high
agitation and alarm, and some evil-disposed republi
cans having spread the report that another demonstra
tion was approaching, there arose a general cry of " aux
armes!" The greatest apprehension prevafled; the
rappel had been frequently beaten during the day, and
Paris was a prey to the liveliest anxiety.
The President of the Chamber of Deputies gave
some explanation of his extraordinary conduct, and
vainly endeavoured to remove the imputation that he
had compromised his position ; but although M. Bu
chez had been the subject of virulent attacks for the

conduct of general courtais. 279
want of firmness manifested when he allowed Blanqui
to occupy the tribune, we cannot but remark that he
would have made the matter no better by opposition,
and in all probability his refusal to allow the nctor to
continue, would have occasioned a collision ; but when
the danger was over, everybody was loud in his abuse,
whilst, when the circumstance occurred, the president
found but one or two voices, and certainly no hands, to
defend or support him.
M. Garnier Pages gave a highlv coloured account of
all that had passed, and assured the greedy listeners
that the government were resolved to act with firm
ness, and bring to justice every man, who, he might
have added, had imitated the example of the Provisional
Government, and attempted to usurp power. M. Bu
chez, Garnier Pages, and all the government somehow
escaped the censure they deserved for their negligence
and want of common precautions ; as usual, the higher
persons were allowed to go unscathed, but General
Courtais, who had desired the guard to unfix their
bayonets, was voted a traitor, arrested, and for the
moment " yarde a rue." Subsequent inquiries have
vindicated the poor useless general, and the High Court
of Bourges, one year afterwards, acquitted him and
restored him to liberty.
It was enough for this inefficient man to have been
raised above others to have made him many enemies,
independently of his total incapacity as general of the
National Guards ; on him was visited the displeasure
of that variable corps, and it is asserted (but we do

280 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
not vouch for the truth, for we were very near and
never saw the event) that when General Courtais, as
is mentioned in a preceding part of this work,
harangued the unarmed Garde Nationale at the time
that the mob opposed their advance to the Hotel de
Ville, some one seized his sword, broke it in halves,
and threw it at him. We were accustomed to hear
him called by many an opprobrious epithet, but this
was so general, as regarded the whole of the govern
ment and the National Assembly, that a saint from
heaven — and Lamartine declared himself nearly so —
could not have escaped the certain reproach which at
taches to the fortunate adventurer. General Courtais
was, it must be allowed, perfectly unfit for his situation,
but he had a very difficult task to perform ; he com
manded a corps divided amongst itself, and he served
a government which had neither union, faith, nor sta-
bdity. The government took the best possible means of
getting rid of a man who was of no use to either party,
by not defending his conduct, and the unfortunate
general was made a sacrifice, when it was quite evi
dent that had the president of the executive govern
ment, and the president of the Chamber done their
duty, General Courtais would never have been in the
false position in which he was placed. His conduct
was viewed in various lights : his friends always main
tained his uprightness of thought, but admitted his
incapacity ; whilst others declared him a traitor to the
yood cause, and a hireling of the clubs. As the High

LOUIS BLANC HOOTED. 281
Court of Bourges acquitted him, he must have the
benefit of his friends' opinion, and consent to be pitied
rather than condemned.
Paris, on the ICth of May, was in great effervescence,
nobody had courage enough to predict an amicable
arrangement of affairs, and although many arrests took
place in consequence of papers discovered at Sobrier's,
it was evident the leaders of the invasion of the Na
tional Assembly were not the riders. Blanqui and
Flotte were the mere puppets of others, who had more
talent and less courage ; and here we cannot omit a
striking proof that these professional conspirators were
considered the puppets, not the chief players of the
game. Louis Blanc appeared at the Chambers and
instantly commenced reading the Moniteur ,¦ he shortly
afterwards left the National Assembly, but returned
about five o'clock ; in crossing the Salle des Pas
Perdus, he was loudly hissed and hooted by the Na
tional Guards. His star, small and twinkling as it
was, was fast setting ; the very fact above mentioned,
and which is beyond a doubt, gives sufficient evidence
of the suspicion which was afterwards confirmed.
Various attroupements still crowded the streets, the
farce of liberty had been played, and now it was re
quisite to return to the good days of authority and of
the police, whilst the insurgents considered themselves
unhandsomely treated if they chanced to be arrested.
About one o'clock a patrol of the National Guards
marched along the Rue St. Martin. From this street
there is a narrow passage called the " Passage Moliere,"

282 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
where a club met bearing that name. The patrol
noticed some more than usual animation in the pas
sage, and without any consideration for the liberty of
the subject so lately obtained and so soon to vanish,
rushed forward, and mounting the staircase of the
club, suddenly appeared amongst a most desperate set
of red republicans, who, finding the guard enter with
out being privileged, commenced a resistance by firing
a volley, for which they were always prepared, as they
discussed all subjects armed, and ready for action.
The volley killed two men. The reception was un
friendly ; the patrol, although somewhat astonished,
were not to be easfly repulsed, they returned the fire
by one better directed, and instantly followed it up by
a charge. The club broke up in most admired disorder, every
one striving to escape from the very narrow field of
battle, in which it was almost impossible for a shot
not to take effect ; the National Guards formed a
strong barrier not to be broken through, and thirteen
of the clubbists became prisoners, whilst the others
retreated by a private way. A search was instantly
commenced, a vast quantity of cartridges was found,
and some fifty or sixty proclamations, all of which
were intended to adom the walls of Paris, and en
lighten the glorious people, fell also into the hands of
the National Guards ; these proclamations would have
made ample amends for the discontinuance of M. So-
brier's journal, called the " Commune de Paris" as
also for that of the " Vraie Republique," and other

DISCOVERY OF AMMUNITION. 283
highly exciting productions, the work of that incon
sistent republican, M. Thore, neither of which papers
appeared on the sixteenth of May.
The conspirators were checked, but neither eradi
cated nor confounded : so very few had been killed,
that the whole party might be said to exist, although
the prisons fortunately enclosed the leaders ; neither
were the arrests very numerous. Twenty-eight Mon
tagnards were taken in Sobrier's house, with one La-
boucher, his secretary, who wore the uniform of a
captain in the National Guards. Search was made
for four other delinquents, who escaped, but in the
search, which was most vigorously executed, no less
than two hundred packages of ball cartridges, and two
hundred muskets, all loaded, fell into the hands of the
National Guards who executed this service.
Great was the astonishment of everybody, when it
was found that the whole of this ammunition came
from Vincennes. It appears that these merciful car
tridges are so made that the wound is mostly mortal,
and it now became necessary to discover how Sobrier
had become possessed of these articles ; he was most
evidently assisted by some one in power, and that
person was supposed to be M. Caussidiere, who, up to
this moment, although he had resigned, remained at
the Prefecture of Police, and carried on the duties of
that functionary ; he was, however, under certain con
trol, for his Montagnard Guard had been dismissed,
or rather transformed into the Republican Guard of
Paris, and a battalion of the National Guards, and two

284 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
of the Garde Mobile occupied the post in the court
and garden of the Prefecture. The former guard had
been disarmed, and a most determined severity was
observed. In the Chamber of the National Assembly little went
on but riot and confusion. M. Garnier Pages made a
considerable flourish about the firmness of the govern
ment, and seemed to intimate the perfect harmony
which existed amongst the ministry since they agreed
to accept the resignation of Caussidiere. " Never,"
says M. Dumas, " did a government boast more, and
do less." It was impossible for Caussidiere to have
remained longer Prefect of Police : necessity made
him resign, or he would have been there now; his
tenacity of office is shown by his unwillingness to
leave the blest abode of official life.
Others were suspected as well as Caussidiere and
Louis Blanc, of being intimately connected with this
movemeut. The following passage in an able writer
seems a mockery : — " If MM. Ledru Rollin, Flocon, and
Caussidiere have nothing to fear from the truth, it is
doing these gentlemen a favour to give them an oppor
tunity of disarming suspicion." It was very fortunate,
perhaps, that the opportunity was not given ; the
National Assembly were well aware that they were
viewed with distrust by all Paris, and by way of
turning the eyes of the public in another direction,
they revived in the name of the king, a new object of
conversation. The government proposed on the 17th of May,

THE KING AXD HIS SONS. 2S5
" To apply to Louis Philippe and his fdmdy the law of
banishment voted in 1S31 ; to dissolve all armed asso
ciations ; and to open a credit of three milhons of
francs for the national work-shops." Urgency of course
was demanded and granted; here was sufficient food
for conversation, and although Paris was occupied
militarily at night, and so feverish was the state of
anxiety, that the first beat of the rappel caused the
heart to throb quicker, and blanched the cheeks of
many, yet the law of banishment was very warmlv dis
cussed in most houses.
What the king did for his predecessors is but just
should fall upon him, yet many were warmly in
terested in the fate of the Prince de Joinville, and the
Due d'Aumale ; the Dukes of Nemours and Mont
pensier had very little pubhc commiseration. We have
already endeavoured to clear away some of the mist
which overclouded the former glory of the Due de
Nemours : we have seen him in all youthful pride in
the salons of the Tuileries, and we have carefully
watched the career of the Duke of Montpensier ; but
they were with the king, when he took the unfortu
nate resolution of leaving his capital and his kingdom,
without a struggle to maintain his crown or protect
his faithful subjects; and posterity will not easily
forget that his own son was the principal cause of his
adopting the first false step in abdication.
The government knew the nation well ; the very
mention of this banishment question with some, and
the idea of three millions more to be paid for hired

286 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1 S48.
idleness, dissipation, and insurrection, in the national
workshops, gave employment to the clubs, and the
better part of the population.
In order to give additional courage to the victors of
the 15th of May, it was declared that had the Blanqui
and Barbes government succeeded, the guillotine was
to have been erected, and lists were published with
the names of all the men of known wealth and for
tune, with the sum which each was to pay, — or be
saved the trouble of keeping further accounts. At the
head of this list figured the great European banker,
and others followed who before the revolution were
rich, but who were now utterly insolvent. The fears
of the guillotine could never have produced what then
did exist, but we were taught to believe how narrowly
we had escaped a great national calamity.
For our own parts we have already contested this
position. We consider the French republic a great
European nuisance, and we believe that such is the
general opinion in France. Had Blanqui and Barbes
succeeded, there is no doubt that much blood would
have been shed, but the provinces would soon have
revolted ; the reign of terror might have had a month's
duration, a forced loan might have been, and would
have been resorted to ; thousands would have quitted
Paris, and ruin and desolation might have become
almost fashionable ; but the people so fond of revolu
tions would have made another revolution, and a return
to what is inevitable, — a monarchy, would long ere
this have changed the face of Europe.

TROUVE-CHAUVEL, PREFECT. 287
In the meantime, these curious people called the
revolution the march of civilization ; the very acts
which would disgrace Goths or Vandals, were dignified
by this expression. Poverty, bankruptcy, ruin, stagna
tion of all affairs, but the concoction of revolts ; war,
— and the worst of wars, — a civil war inevitable ; the
lowest of the low struggling with the usurpers of
power, every useful act paralyzed, every source of riches
dried up, every man discontented, — such is the French
idea (and the words are General Cavaignac's) " of the
march of civilization?'
The place so ably occupied by M. Caussidiere, as
far as regards the security of Paris from thefts and
murders, was now given to M. Trouve-Chauvel, the
representative of the Sarthe, and the former suspected
prefect took his seat on the Mountain side of the
House, — the extreme yauche.
The appointment of M. Trouve-Chauvel gave rise to
very great scandal ; they were merely the " on dits,"
perhaps, of a jealous population, for we have before
mentioned that an angel would not have got into
power without some detraction.
It was a well-known fact, that before the revolution
M. Ledru Rollin was in great pecuniary difficulties ;
it was currently alleged that the officers of the law
had intended seizing his furniture, as they could not
seize his person, he being a deputy. It is also well
known that on his attaining power his expenses were
considerable, and that after he left office, his debts had
been paid, and he was free as air. In times of revolution

288 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
every man must expect to be subject to the variations
of popular opinions, and certainly no man's character
was more freely discussed or censured than M. Ledru
Rollin's : that he had been poor and had become rich
no one could gainsay ; that immense sums, for secret
service money, bribery, intimidation, &c, had passed
through his hands is undeniable ; and that the funds
in the exchequer on the 24th of February, had all dis
appeared most miraculously is incontestible ; many
unhesitatingly accused the minister, whilst others de
clared that the new prefect had paid the minister's
debts, and was rewarded by being placed high in autho
rity. We neither vouch for the truth of this story nor
credit it, but we give what we heard generally spoken
of in Paris.
Other changes of more importance now became ne
cessary : it was diligently circulated through Paris that
we had escaped three great manifestations, all intended
as counter revolutions, and all having failed through
the mismanagement of the leaders — the display on the
15th of March, the demonstration on the 17th of
Aprd, and, lastly, the bold attack of the 1 5th of May.
As very short breathing time was allowed between
the events, and as they appeared progressive, the eyes
of all looked into the dark future, and apprehension of
graver events pre-occupied all mens' minds ; but the
national courage seemed fast resuming its place, and
vengeance was denounced against the lovers of disorder,
and all promoters of emeutes. Still it was evident that
these everlasting demonstrations kept every one from

GENERAL CAVAIGNAC. 289
entering into speculations, and the frequent bank
ruptcies showed how lamentably low confidence and
the funds had fallen.
We now find General Cavaignac coming forward, —
a man destined to play a very prominent part in the
history of his country. On the 18th of May he was
named Minister of War. He does not possess that
firmness of character for which, from his acts, we should
be inclined to give him credit ; his features are harsh
and severe, but there is a vacillation of conduct easdy
traced throughout his administration, and to which
we shall hereafter have occasion to advert. The nomi
nation was considered a good one : the general was
known to be a stern and staunch republican, and
it was now the plan, well determined, to give the re
public a chance, and many men, before royalists, were
heard to say : " If we can live in tranquillity and secu
rity, we do not care if it is under a republic or a
monarchy. " Others argued that by keeping the State
in constant agitation, the return to labour and to
riches would be a very difficult task, and that the
people themselves, finding Paris deserted by the rich
foreigners, with all her splendour shorn, and with a
starving population, would be the first to say : " This
is a city of luxury, it exists only by luxury, and to re
store that which is lost, would be the wiser plan. It
is evident the foreigners like not a republic, then let
us return to a monarchy ;" and these ideas were care
fully instilled whenever an opportunity occurred. The
government were rebuked as dishonest, and the
VOL. I. u

290 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
National Assembly as the veriest canaille in exist
ence. Even the " Happy Family " did not escape severe
censure. M. Etienne Arago had become the object of
frequent attacks for his conduct on the 1 5th of May :
the public were well aware that his signature gave a
gratuitous circulation to the journal published by So
brier, and the explanations given by M. Arago were
but poorly received by the National Assembly.
This arena of discord became gradually worse and
worse ; the most violent days of the Convention scarcely
surpassed the turbulence of the debates, and in vain
some men, devoted to their country, and anxious to
restore harmony, attempted to lull the storm. We
have ourselves frequently been present at a seance,
where not a word could be heard for a quarter of an
hour, and where the riot continued whenever the
speaker resumed his ineffectual discourse.
With all this noise and tumult the Assembly resolved
to give to the world a splendid instance of disin
terestedness, which sounded prettily in words, and
which every one knew was a mere farce ; here it is, in
the original vote: — "L'Assemblee Nationale interdit
formellement a ses membres toutes apostilles, recom
mendations ou solicitations. Delibere en seance pub-
lique a, Paris, 18 Mai, 1848." That such an act should
be carried rigidly into effect was not very likely, yet
many believed it, and it was received with applause.
It became necessary for the National Assembly to
give the public some explanation of the affair of the

PROCLAMATION OF THE ASSEMBLY. 291
15th of May, and the following decree was accordingly
published. " Frenchmen,
" The National Assembly is responsible to you for
the security of the country.
" Threatened for a moment, it saw the inhabitants
of the city of Paris rise simultaneously for its defence ;
within the walls citizens and soldiers sprang up at the
signal of danger.
" Let the gratitude of the country be their recom
pense ; let your acclamations re-echo those which we
heard. " A handful of men attempted the greatest crime
which a country can know, — the crime of national
Lese-Majeste — the usurpation by violence of the na
tional will.
" By surprise they entered for a moment the palace
of your laws, and dictated their insolent decrees.
" Citizens, by no deliberation, by no word, by no
siyn, did your representatives accept this invasion.
" Liberty can only exist by order. Equality is sup
ported by respect for the law, and Fraternity is peace ;
it is only in society thus constituted that prosperity
and progress are accomplished."
We have said above that the president accorded his
permission to Blanqui, who was not a representative,
to speak, and that the other members listened to
him. How then is it possible to reconcile this decree
with anything like truth? The Chambers were in
vaded before two o'clock, and it was five before the

292 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
insurgents walked quietly out to take possession of their
respective offices ; so that all the citizens and soldiers
who stood in the Place de la Concorde and the Rue
Royale doing nothing, cannot be complimented with
sincerity by the glaring falsehoods which were actually
signed by M. Buchez, the president himself. The dis
position to " broder " is the crying sin of Frenchmen,
they never can relate an affair as it happened : in pri
vate and in public life this is manifest alike. A sneer
was upon every lip as the proclamation was read.
M. Arago, of the " Happy Family," was now in
rather a false position, and in spite of the Fete de la
Concorde, which took place on the 21st of May, it was
evident that no concord existed amongst the members
of the government. Having been Minister of War be
fore General Cavaignac occupied that position, he was
accused of having furnished the muskets found in So-
brier's house, and he very properly declared that he
only gave orders for the distribution of arms at the
request of the authorities charged to watch over the se
curity of Paris — that those arms were delivered to such
authorities, who themselves made the distribution — and
that he was perfectly ignorant of any portion having
been sent to Sobrier. M. Arago thus lifting the
burthen of responsibility from his own shoulders, left
it on the more powerful back of Ledru Rollin.
These were exciting times, the day came and went
with apparently increased rapidity ; and weeks and
months seemed but so many hours. Yet with the
country in such imminent peril, — its finances failing, 

DECLINE OF LAMARTINE. 293
its merchants bankrupt and its prosperity sacrificed —
the National Assembly found time to pass a multitude
of the most frivolous laws, one of which was the
colour, shape, size, &c, of a piece of ribbon, which
was to dangle from a button-hole, and in any ceremony
outside of this arena of discord, a tri-coloured scarf
was to be worn on the right shoulder, and to pass
under the left arm. Even the report published in
the National of the 22nd of May, that the Prince de
Joinville, accompanied by General Rumigny, had
arrived in Paris, failed to move the Assembly into
activity ; but the attempted escape of Barbes from
Vincennes gave a little uneasiness.
Up fo this minute Lamartine was the ascendant
star. It was now that he reached his zenith ; the
members of the commission for carrying on the execu
tive government began to be divided, and it was
reported and credited that the great leader of the re
public had fraternized with Ledru Rollin. An amalga
mation of such heterogeneous materials seemed incom
prehensible •. MM. Arago, Garnier Pages, and Marie,
were termed the moderate party, whilst Lamartine and
Ledru Rollin were designated as the movement party.
From the moment this was known, the great poet
ceased to exist as the reputed shield of the country.
His three months' popularity were achieved, he was
worn out in public estimation — he was openly rebuked
and reviled.
On the 24th of May, the president of the National
Assembly informed the representatives that he had

294 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
received two letters, one signed Francois and Hemi
d' Orleans, and the other Louis d' Orleans ; these letters
were protests against the Banishment Bill, the report
of which was to have been read that day. We were
present at the reading of these letters, and they were
listened to with the greatest attention, and, wonderful
to relate, no burst of applause and no rattle of the
paper-knives disturbed the Assembly. The letters
were received with becoming respect, and the subject
was postponed. More money was voted for the national
workshops, and the public were informed that tran
quillity reigned in Paris. Security, it is true, had for
a moment been felt, but were the minds of men
tranquil ?
It was now no longer an emeute which was to be
dreaded, but it was a just fear that under the present
excitement of men's minds trade would be and was
paralyzed, that the timid would bury his wealth, the
manufacturer cease to speculate, and the bankers to
make advances ; that a dead stagnation would con
tinue, the national workshops become the hot-bed of
idleness and sedition, that the lazy and the discon
tented would be brought nigh to starvation, and that
the unemployed artizan, finding his occupation gone,
would become an easy prey to designing men, and join in
a greater attempt than that already perpetrated. Hunger
is a bad counsellor : it was impossible that the city of
Paris, great as were its resources and its activity, could
alleviate the wretchedness of all, or that confidence
could be restored and work resumed, until some final

APPREHENSIONS OF THE FUTURE. 295
settled government existed. In vain we heard that
Paris was tranquil : it was true that no armed bands
paraded the streets,' — no idle urchins forced the timid
to illuminate — no Marseillaise or Chant du depart
awakened alarm ; but men's minds were unquiet, and
the future was as gloomy as the past.

296

CHAPTER XVIII.
Red republican Plans — Blanqui in Hiding — His Arrest — Bill
banishing the Royal Family — The Bonapartes in the Assembly
— Speech of Napoleon Bonaparte — Continued uneasiness in
Paris — Arrest of Emile Thomas — Apprehensions of another
Outbreak — Caussidiere puts up for the Bepartment of the
Seine — Dispiute about the mounted Garde Mobile — Alarm on
the 29th of May — Cabet? s Article, " Qu'onmejuge" — Strike
at the Ateliers Nationaux — Proposed prosecution of Louis
Blanc — Rejected by a narrow Majority — Prince de Joinville
proposed as Candidate for the National Assembly — Aristo
cratic notions of the Executive Cornmission — Increasing
distrust.
France was now to have another Constitution; the
people had been so accustomed to changes in this
respect, that another constitution signified very little.
A committee worked hard night and day, and it was
fondly believed that when this great national law was
made, then the country would no longer be in a provi
sional state, and that commerce and manufactures would
revive and flourish. There is a happy pliabihty in the
French nation ; they revive with the warm sun and fine

SOCIALIST POLICY. 297
weather, and wear gay smiling faces, whilst the heart
may be in complete wretchedness. Still they hold up
bravely, and where others would sink, they float, and
such are the enormous resources of France, and such
the elasticity of the French mind, that at the least
favourable circumstance the miseries of the past seem
forgotten, and a happy futurity is predicted.
A letter directed to Blanqui, who was stdl at liberty
notwithstanding the search made to arrest him, threw
some light upon the plans of the social and democratic
republicans. This letter ridiculed the idea of crushing
the bouryeoisie by means of emeutes, but it recom
mended a steady perseverance in continued alarms by
dark insinuations of outbreaks, which would effectually
stop the revival of commerce. " Money," the writer
savs, " is the blood of the prosperous, and it is by
lowering the funds that the blood is made to run ; the
prosperous care very little how much the blood of the
people may flow from street emeutes, but their Waterloo
is the constant depression of the funds. You must
strive for the bankruptcy of the State and the Bank
of France, and to succeed in accomplishing this great
and desirable end, one continued excitement must be
maintained — one great impresssion of coming danger
— one continued alarm — but no fighting, or they will
have the advantage."
Blanqui had as yet avoided being arrested, but a
diligent search had been made : the police now
exercised its proper surveillance, and although Caussi
diere had retired, this useful force was active and

298 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
vigilant. It appears that immediately after Huber had
declared the dissolution of the National Assembly,
the chiefs of the various parties betook themselves, as
we before mentioned, to the Hotel de Ville, each
by a different outlet. Barbes made his exit by the
corps de garde on the quay, Raspail by the gate
leading to the president's abode, and Blanqui by the
door in the Rue de Bourgogne.
The other conspirators, as unsuccessful insurrec
tionists are called, had preceded these men, and had
arrived at the Hotel de Ville, which revolutionary
resort they had no sooner reached than the National
Guards, ashamed of such rulers, surrounded the place,
and hindered any ingress or egress ; the consequence
was that when Raspail, Blanqui, and Barbes arrived, the
game was over, and instead of each of these great men
residing in the house allotted to his ministry, they
were compelled to seek refuge and retire to weep over
their hasty discomfiture. Blanqui, it is supposed,
concealed himself in the house of one of the National
Assembly, who himself spread the report in the Cham
bers, that Blanqui had taken the Northern railroad,
and arrived safe in Brussells ; and this being published
in the various newspapers, gave a kind of authority to
the report, and perhaps a little relaxed the vigilance
of the police.
As the abode selected by Blanqui was likely to com
promise the owner, this unquiet spirit left his place of
concealment, and at two o'clock in the morning took
refuge in some part of Paris where he might have

BLANQUI IN HIDING. 299
remained unsuspected and unsought for many months
perhaps, but that his restless disposition and his egre
gious vanity caused his discovery.
To be quiet seems an impossibility with this mer
curial Frenchman ; he knew that his companions had
been arrested, he knew that the police were in search
of him, and yet he could not remain tranquil ; as his
tongue was useless, he tried his pen, and addressed
several letters to the different journals, committing the
greater imprudence of putting his letters into the
nearest post-office, thus giving a clue to his abode.
Awakening to a sense of his danger, he became fearful
of discovery ; the fact of the dates of the letters (and
these letters were published,) convinced the govern
ment that the determined conspirator was still in
Paris, and the papers announced the vigilance taken by
the authorities. Blanqui therefore determined to move,
and he took up his abode in one of the numerous ha
bitations in the park of Maison Laffitte. No French
man can boast of sincere friends, every one seems
more or less connected with the police, and Blanqui
soon became aware that some suspicious people were
making inquiries, like hounds endeavouring to find the
lost scent. These agents were seen prowling about the
new retreat, and at last, the track being evidently dis
covered, the vigilant Blanqui made another move,
actually passing by his pursuers, dressed and disguised
as an officer of the National Guards.
Once more having eluded his enemies, he tried again
his first friend in Paris, but things were now altered,

300 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
and his friend refused him admittance ; the disconso
late conspirator had again to seek a refuge. After
various changes he at last took up his abode in the
Rue Montholon, No. 1 4, where resided a great coad
jutor in conspiracy, and here it was believed by the
unsuspecting chief that he might be concealed.
Blanqui evidently expected the forthcoming days of
June, and it is only upon this supposition that his
reckless adventures can be justified ; he might have
escaped from France a thousand times, but he had
another chance in the future, and very little money to
supply his wants of the present.
The police had traced him, and on the 27th of May,
whflst Blanqui was comfortably seated at dinner, he
was informed that various people were parading the
street, and that the house was evidently surrounded
and all escape impossible. A few expedients were
suggested, and even concealment in the garret ima
gined ; but the vigilance and activity of the police were
acknowledged, and as all attempts at evasion were evi
dently useless, the great conspirator sun-en dered at
the first summons. After the usual formalities he was
lodged with his unsuccessful companions in Vincennes.
It was believed that this arrest cut off the head of the
last tall flower in the insurrection, but those who had
carefully watched all that had occurred on the loth of
May, felt quite certain that Blanqui and Barbes never
had sufficient talent to organize any insurrection, and
that the principal promoter of this attack had never
been suspected.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 301
The Bill banishing the royal family passed on the
26th of May, by 632 votes for the measure, and only
63 against it ; the discussion brought out Napoleon
Bonaparte, and gave rise to one of those pleasing emo
tions so common in the National Assembly. M. Lau
rent (de l'Ardeche) in vain declared that a republic
should put in practice what so frequently had been
demanded during the monarchy. The republicans
of the day felt afraid of the danger which might arise
should one so popular as the Prince de Joinvdle think
proper to travel through France, and the royal family
were banished. One M. Vignerte suggested that the
family of the Bonapartes should remain under the
prescription already in force against them, and that
although two of the members of the imperial family
had been elected by the people to be representa
tives, they should be received only provisionally, and
that at any time the former law might be enforced.
This attack upon the name and family of the great
Napoleon, brought Napoleon Bonaparte, — who is the
living image of his uncle, saving that his forehead is
not quite so prominent, and that he disfigures his
countenance by an eye-glass, — into the tribune. He
obtained a quiet hearing, excepting as far as applause
for the moment interrupted the orator ; he spoke with
great fluency and warmth, declared that the people had
done that justice which the Bonapartes had in vain
solicited from the last king, and in an able and highly
applauded oration, he mentioned the rights acquired,
and hinted pretty broadly at his determination to

302 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1S48.
defend them : he descended from the tribune amidst loud
cheers, and was indebted to M. Vignerte for giving so
good an opportunity to place the family name once
more before the public. Indignation, it is said, has
made poets, on this occasion it made an orator.
Paris was still in a state of effervescence, no sooner
was one insurrection stifled than another seemed to
arise. The Poles and the war question seemed put at
rest, but the national workshops began to give great
uneasiness, and the National Assembly dehberated
under the protection of National Guards, Gardes Mo-
bdes, the 12th regiment of infantry, and the 2nd regi
ment of dragoons, — all drawn up in battle array !
The government in loud whispers declared that they
had received intelligence of a projected outbreak by
the idle and dissolute, who wasted their time and the
money of the nation, in taking heaps of earth from
one part of the Bois de Boulogne to put it in another ;
fortunately they were so accustomed to idleness, that
they preferred sitting in wheel-barrows playing at cards
and smoking and drinking, of course, to anything
like labour, and consequently the mischief projected
by their employment was frustrated by these indepen
dent republicans, who considered they had as much
right to live as anybody, and only to work when they
wished to create an appetite.
In order quietly to put a stop to the outbreak which
was to lead to another attack upon the National As
sembly, the government seized one Emile Thomas,
whom they suspected of being the leader, and sent him

ABDUCTION OF EMILE THOMAS. 303
under a strong escort of police to Bordeaux : this was
a bold measure for a free country, but republicans
live to find that greater acts of tyranny are done under
new invented governments than under well organized
constitutional governments . The abduction of M . Emde
Thomas, who seems to have been a great favourite of
the inhabitants of the ateliers nationaux, aroused the
fury of his friends ; he managed to write to his mother
a long letter, declaring he had been forced to leave
Paris under promise of employment at Bordeaux, but
that no such employment had been found, and that the
declaration of such command was only a falsehood of
the government, to justify or qualify the unconstitu
tional measure.
It was the rumour, that the workmen intended to
attack the Chambers accompanied by some of the
armed Montagnards, which caused the rappel again to
be heard in Paris, and M. de Lamartine, on leaving the
Chambers, said to General Negrier, the questeur of
the palace : — " At least now, general, you are placed
upon your guard in time, and it is your duty to
take the necessary measures of precaution." The
general, in full uniform, and accompanied by his staff,
immediately passed in front of the troops, and made
proper arrangements to prevent another invasion. In
the Cour de l'Horloge the artillery was kept loaded
and ready for immediate service : people looked
anxiously at each other— a general fear of another
outbreak was expressed, — and Paris again exhibited
all the signs of a besieged city ; all industry seemed

304 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
banished, every man looked a soldier, and the excite
ment of alarm was substituted for the excitement of
pleasure. Neither did this cease with the day ; at night
the city was patrolled by thousands of troops, and a
communication kept up by clattering troopers, dis
turbed the silence and repose. The people again
seemed to live on the Boulevards, thousands of idlers
flocked to this great resort of Parisian pleasure, and
the night wore slowly away in the apprehension of
attack, and in the fear of another outbreak.
The Parisians are the drollest of all droll farceurs,
they invariably give notice of their traitorous designs,
and thus the government, the press, and the people
are all informed a fortnight before the time fixed for
the civd war, and each party musters its forces.
Throughout all the events of the revolution, not one
occurred for which the public mind was not prepared
at least a week in advance, and nothing was more
common than to hear a remark thus : — " Oh no, we
shall have nothing serious before June, the day is fixed
for the one on which the ateliers nationaux are to be
abolished." All the precautions of Negrier were use
less, the great regenerators of idleness and dissipation
were not in a humour to avenge the abduction of
M. Emde Thomas, and in the journals appeared the
usual words, — " L'ordre n a pas ete trouble ;" but if
order had not been disturbed, security had been
considerably shaken, and the government and the Na
tional Assembly began to be viewed in a very ques
tionable light.

CAUSSIDIERE RE-ELECTED. 305
Although Caussidiere had given in his double resig
nation as Prefect of Police and member of the National
Assembly, he felt no inclination to put up quietly with
the imputation on his character, since proved to have
been quite correct, and on the 28th of May he came
forward as a candidate for the representation of the
department of the Seine ; it was in this manner he
felt the pulse of public opinion, for had he been beaten
in his election he would have sunk at once into insig
nificance, or he would have commenced conspirator
again. His circular, attached to every part of Paris
where ofifiches were pasted — and the republican afifi-
cheurs are not very nice as to places — attracted great
notice ; indeed the public mind, so continually nourished
by excitement, seemed to stagnate if twenty-four hours
elapsed without something new. Caussidiere still
possessed much esteem, from the able manner in which
he maintained order during his sway as Prefect of
Police, and aided by the red republicans, with whom
he was in close connection, he was returned as a mem
ber of the National Assembly, and thus acquitted, ap
parently, of the whole affair of the 15th of May. If
universal suffrage is a test of approbation, this fierce
republican stood high in popular estimation ; but, as
usual, in this election as in the preceding one an im
mense body of voters abstained from coming to the
ballot. This general lassitude produced the worst pos
sible effect ; it was a proof either of fear or of perfect
indifference. The power of the ministers and their acts were now
vol. i. x

306 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
beginning to be disputed. It appears that the foot
Garde Mobile had the right of electing their own
officers : now a Garde Mobile a cheval had been
formed, and the Minister of the Interior usurped the
rights of the corps, and published in the Moniteur the
names of seventeen officers, one of whom carried the
names of the others to the editor, and guaranteed the
authenticity of the minister's signature. M. Adelsward
demanded an inquiry, and a committee was appointed
to investigate the affair. M. Recurt and M. Carteret,
the minister and the under secretary for the Home
Department, and M. Bade, who had been charged
with the formation of this mounted guard, being exa
mined by the committee, declared that they were in
perfect ignorance concerning the publication in the
Moniteur. This led to a serious disturbance in the
National Assembly, and on the 28th of May, the day
after the inquiry, an official contradiction appeared in
the Moniteur in these terms •. —
" It was by a mistake, to be explained hereafter,
that a decree, nominating officers to the Garde Mobde
a cheval, appeared in the Moniteur.
" This publication took place without authority, and
under the false signature of Citizen Carteret.
" The decree is therefore to be considered as null
and void. A plan for the organization of three squadrons
of this guard will be presented immediately to the
National Assembly."
Trifling as was the discovery, it led many people to
suppose that some underhand proceedings had taken

AFFAIR OF EMILE THOMAS. 307
place, and as all republicans affect the purest virtue
and most scrupulous honesty, the minister was loudly
scandalized, and other searching inquiries were deter
mined to be made. This affair, and the abduction of
Emile Thomas, created considerable discussion.
On the 29th of May, at four o'clock in the morning,
the ominous rappel was beaten ; dismay was upon
every countenance : in vain those who relied upon
tranquillity for a restoration of confidence, declared there
was nothing to ruffle the surface of events, and that
the rappel was a mere precaution, indeed imprudent ;
others who witnessed the large bodies of troops and
National Guards moving in all directions — the thou
sands of bayonets bristling in the morning sun — the
frequent repetition of summons to assembly — the im
posing force marched towards, and ultimately taking
up a position to protect the National Assembly —
were well convinced that a mighty torrent had been
let loose on the 24th of February, and that it required
much time and exertion to narrow it again within its
proper boundaries. No act was done which seemed to
give satisfaction : in fact it appeared as if France was
resolved to oppose all rulers whosoever they might be.
The government had acted very improperly and
illegally in the affair of Emile Thomas. A man of his
insignificance, had he been discharged from his situa
tion for any misbehaviour in his office — any mean
artifices — any purloining of monies confided to his
care, would, whether the charges were just or unjust,
have sunk down into the greatest and most complete
x 2

308 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1S48.
oblivion ; but to carry off by force, surrounded by
the police, a free citizen — to urge him onwards with
the greatest possible expedition to a place so remote as
Bordeaux — to give no explanation, except those which
were most evidently false, — imparted a kind of lettre de
cachet appearance to the affair, and excited most justi
fiable remonstrances.
When M. Trelat was questioned as to this unconsti
tutional proceeding he evaded the inquiry : he de
clared that the national workshops occupied more of
his time than any other, or all put together, of his
important duties ; he groaned over the constant in
quietude arising from this mass of dissolute people
who passed their time in idleness, feeding upon the
State, and after a discussion — famous for ministerial
hoodwinking on one side, and of thunder on the other
— the order of the day was voted, and the question
smothered. But the effect on the public mind had
been produced, and such was the angry appearance of
things, that the rappel was imperatively called for. As
many of the workmen assembled together in immense
groups, the tyranny and illegality of the act was loudly
censured, and all were in such a state of excitement
that the least spark might have fired the train.
The press continued much to warn people of coming
danger. The government, in the thousand papers sold
for one sous each, was constantly assafled, and the ille
gality of its acts and folly of its administration were
conveyed to every hovel in the capital.
Nor was this all. M. Cabet, who was the editor of
the Populaire, published an article which he headed

cabet's qu'on me juge. 309
" Qu'on n/ejuye." This article relates to the invasion
of the National Assembly and the arrest of those who
were concerned in it, and as he was one of them
he begs he may be judged. " As to the legal proceed
ings and the debates, it wdl be instructive and curious,
when by the side of three representatives of the people,
Barbes, Albert, and Courtais, and also of Raspail,
Blanqui, Huber, Pierre Leroux, and many others, I
shaU find myself face to face with my accusers.
" To defend ourselves we will attack our adversaries ;
but it would be useless to attack either the National
Assembly or the National Guard.
" But the Provisional Government ! — oh ! that is
quite another affair ! — ah ! we shall then be able to
speak out, and to speak the truth. We shall be able
to pass in review all their acts — all then measures —
and the different members comprising it, and we will
do it!"
Caussidiere also thought proper to excite a debate,
which led to the publication of his letter to the execu
tive power, in which he declares he was kept at home
in consequence of a sprain, and in which he added,
that if " they required his presence he would be carried
to the Luxembourg." On the receipt of this, the
government sent an order in these words : — " The
Prefect of Police is invited to attend immediately ;"
and in the proces verbal it is mentioned " at ten
o'clock the Prefect of Police arrived." Notwithstand
ing these glaring facts the Prefect declared he was not
summoned. The great M. Cabet, M. Emile Thomas,
and M. Caussidiere were now the difficulties in the

310 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
way of the ministers, and another graver one was about
to arise, — namely, the permission asked by the Pro
cureur of the republic to institute proceedings against
Louis Blanc. This last was likely to cause great in
quietude : it was evident that in following up the evi
dence against others the Procureur had implicated
Louis Blanc ; and, to make the confusion worse, it was
currently reported that the Executive Government had
given orders to withhold the' authorization requested
by the Procureur of the republic. This, whether
founded or not on fact, had the effect of rendering
the government more obnoxious.
About nine o'clock in the evening, thousands and
thousands congregated by the Porte St. Denis, and
very shortly afterwards assumed a threatening appear
ance. The Boulevards and the Porte St. Denis seem
the destined places in Paris to originate and carry into
execution all treasonable purposes. The Faubourg
St. Antoine breeds the vermin, the Place de la Bastdle
has the honour of first receiving it; it afterwards
spreads to the Boulevards, and whenever mischief is
intended the Porte St. Denis has generally the pre
ference. Every man had now a grievance : those who favoured
the invasion of the Chambers of course loudly averred
that Louis Blanc was as innocent as a dove, and de
clared the ministry objected to the trial lest some dis
closures, which might implicate themselves, should be
made. The workmen shouted " Vive Emile Thomas,"
which is not to be considered as a very particular com-

STATE OF PARIS. 311
pliment, as we have often heard "Vive le Diable ;"
whilst others who were more ready for action put up
the common cry of "Vive Barbes, Blanqui," &c. So
close were we to a collision, on the night of the 29th
of May, that the National Guards, in order to disperse
the mob, charged bayonets, and advanced steadily at
the beat of the drum. For a few days a collision
was avoided ; the crowds retreated muttering menaces,
and the National Guards, finding no enemy to contend
against, were loud in the bravos of triumph, and
shouted manfully "Vive I'Assemblee Nationale" al
though had each man been taken separately, and asked
his opinion, he would have classed them, heterogeneous
as they were, under the opprobrious epithet of canaille.
The security of the capital may be judged by the
fact that the Ministere des Travaux Publics was guarded
by a most imposing force, and that in every quarter of
the town the patrols were doubled and trebled. Not
ten yards could be walked without hearing the heavy
tramp of horses, or the regular foot-fall of disciplined
soldiers. It appeared as if no one ever slept. During the
night thousands were walking at late hours : small
groups of the more moderate parties assembled, and
discussed the gravity of affairs. All looked gloomily
into the future ; and it was plain that to get rid of the
red party, as the socialists and ultra republicans were
called, violent measures must be used, and the plethora
of French fanaticism be relieved by copious blood-let
ting. We all felt that a collision was only deferred for

312 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
a few days. The discontented, although without leaders,
were numerous : they had neither been shot down, nor
decimated by the bayonet.
Still there was not the least annoyance or depriva
tion of liberty. The patrols, as they passed, seemed to
disregard the small assemblages of persons, and those
who formed the groups looked at the patrols with a
silent fear, and remained quiet whilst they passed. No
one was asked, why he prowled about the city at mid
night ? Every man seemed conscious that he enjoyed
his rights, as to suiting his fancy in regard to his hours.
The doors of the restaurants and cabarets were kept
open untfl a late period, and about two o'clock there
was a general stillness, saving the tramp of the patrols.
All these precautions were requisite, since latterly the
industrious men and the superintendants ofthe national
workshops had been insulted and threatened by those
who repudiated work altogether, and who argued that,
as they were republicans and brothers, they had no
right to work or to starve. There was a regular strike
amongst many of these feeders on the nation's industry,
and M. Treiat informed the members of the National
Assembly, that these drones in the hive cost no less a
sum than 170,000 francs a day, — a sum the im
poverished state of the exchequer was little able to
bear, and to supply which was a matter of great dif
ficulty. This strike of the workmen occasioned the
total abandonment of the scheme, and the workmen
became aware that their days of idleness, dissipation,
and pleasure were numbered.

THE PRESIDENTIAL QUESTION. 313
On the 29th of May the committee appointed to
draw up a Constitution met and decided the question,
" whether the republic should have a president or not?"
The affirmative was carried by a majority of seventeen
against five. What idea the minority had in voting
against a president is rather hard to comprehend ; for
amongst themselves they had selected presidents of
the clubs, presidents of the Chambers, presidents of
the committee ; but they rejected a president of the
republic. It is possible they wished to remain in the
provisional situation in which they in reality were.
France governed itself ; the government did nothing.
It would be absurd to give the name of a government
to the split cabinet which continued to issue its un-
intereresting and useless dictates. As M. Dumas very
cleverly remarks, " France, always placed in peril by
the government, got out of the danger in spite of
the government."
The 30th of May was not without great interest.
M X. Durrieu was to ask some questions relative to
affairs in Naples, and the second grand question was
that of the Procureur General M. Portalis, for permis
sion to prosecute M. Louis Blanc. In answer to the
first interrogation, and which was listened to with
great impatience, M. Bastide, following in the steps of
all Ministers of Foreign Affairs, when explanations
cannot be satisfactory, begged the Assembly to under
stand that, as diplomatic arrangements were in pro
gress, any discussion on the subject would be prema
ture, and might mislead the public.

314 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
The National Assembly, being greedy for the debate
which would better show the relative strength of both
parties, quietly pitched overboard M. Durrieu and his
Neapolitan question, passed to the order of the day,
and then shuffled upon their seats, like ladies who com
fortably arrange themselves in preparation for a sermon.
The noise was scarcely hushed when the president of
the Assembly rose, and instantly the greatest attention
was manifest; he spoke as follows: — "I call the at
tention of the Assembly to a very serious communica
tion that I am about to make, consequently I beg the
members to take their seats." This was said in order
that many members, who were amusing themselves in
the couloirs, and some who were standing up near the
tribune, might be summoned to attend and sit down.
There was a slight bustle, and then perfect tranquillity.
The president, when perfect silence was restored,
continued : — " The Procureur General of the republic
of the Court of Appeals in Paris, and the Procureur of
the republic pres le tribunal de Premiere Instance of
the Seine, demand of the National Assembly, by a re-
quisiloire, that I shall have the honour to read to you
an authority to direct that legal proceedings may be
taken against citizen Louis Blanc, and to apply to him
the penalties enacted by the Penal Code, should he be
found guilty. I shall proceed now to read the requi-
sitoire of the Procureurs : —
" We the Procureur Generals of the republic for the
Court of Appeal, and of the Premiere Instance of the
Seine, require, conformably with the law — That in

CHARGES AGAINST LOUIS BLANC. 315
considering the various documents arising from in
quiries and evidences taken against the leaders and
accomplices who directed and assisted at the attempt
against the National Assembly, and more particularly
by testimony received, and evidence given by some
representatives, against citizen Louis Blanc, there re
sults sufficient presumptive proofs that he took an
active part in the invasion of the National Assembly
on the 1 5th of May last ;
" Considering that citizen Louis Blanc, by his own
confession, addressed the people who attacked the
Chambers twice, once from the window which over
looks the peristyle, and accompanied then by the citi
zens Barbes and Blanqui, and the second time mounted
on a chair in the Salle des Pas-Perdus ; that after these
two discourses he was carried in triumph in the hall
devoted to the National Assembly, and that he pro
nounced these words : — ' I congratulate you in having
conquered the right of bringing yourselves your
petitions to the Assembly,' words heard and sworn to
by some of the representatives ;
" Considering that, without the necessity of appre
ciating other circumstances which tend to criminate
the said Louis Blanc, and without the necessity of
determining the weight of the words pronounced by
him, there remains quite sufficient evidence, attested
in facts and words, to prove that the said Louis Blanc
voluntarily participated in the invasion of the Cham
bers on the 15th of May, and thus to have rendered
himself guilty, as an accomplice, of the crime of

316 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
attempting to overthrow the rights of the National
Representatives, and having for an object either to de
stroy or change the form of government, — a crime
mentioned and provided for by Article 87 of the Penal
Code ; We demand that it may please the National
Assembly to authorize us to take legal proceedings
against the said Louis Blanc, and to apply against him
the disposition of the law.
" Done at the Palace of Justice this 31st of May,
1848. Signed Port ali s and Landrin."
Rfaut etre juste, as the French have it, and we do
not hesitate to say that the charges appear frivolous.
It is a well known fact that Louis Blanc asked per
mission to address the mob, in the hope of calming
the tumult. The words upon which so much stress is
laid amount to nothing, and might, without much
danger of incriminating him in the invasion, have
been used at such a moment ; for had he said they had
acted illegally, he might have been pitched headlong,
as was the president, from either his window or his
chair. The having addressed the mob twice, if he did
not excite them to revolt, was not criminal, neither
were the words. The fact is, that it was suspected the
government somewhat interfered to prevent Louis
Blanc being sent for trial, and that MM. Portalis and
Landrin purposely founded their requisition on asser
tions not sufficient to have their request granted.
We were present at this seance, and like the rest
kept our eyes fixed upon the accused, who was seated
on the upper bench, which formed one of the seats

CHARGES AGAINST LOUIS BLANC. 317
occupied by the Mountain, and not far from that now
empty, which Barbes filled.
Louis Blanc, with considerable self-sufficiency,
descended the steps, and took his place in the tribune.
There was a buzz at the conclusion of the accusation,
but silence was restored, and great attention paid to
the defence.
Louis Blanc defended himself much as we have de
fended him ; and after talking of the immortal republic
in a fervid strain — as if the republic had benefitted
instead of ruining France — the Assembly decided
that a commission of eighteen members, named by the
different committees, should be authorized to examine
the demand, and to report thereon to the National
Assembly. At the expiration of two days, Barbes
addressed a letter to the president of the Assembly,
which was read on the 2nd of June to the represen
tatives. " Donjon of Vincennes, 2nd June.
" Citizen President,
" To every one the responsibility of his words and
acts. Citizen Louis Blanc is accused of having said
to the petitioners on the 15 th of May : —
" ' I congratulate you on having reconquered the
right of bringing yourselves your petitions to the bar
of the National Assembly.'
" These words were pronounced ; but there is a con
fusion in regard to the speakers. I made use of these
words, which may be read in the Moniteur as uttered
by me.

318 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
" I beg you, Citizen President, to communicate this
declaration to the Assembly, and to accept for yourself
and them my fraternal salutations.
" Barbes."
This letter had its weight, and on the following
day the question was, upon the report of the com
mittee, discussed : four or five members spoke in favour
of the requisition, four or five against, all uninteresting,
finishing with the vote. This was taken by those in
favour of the Bdl of Indictment standing up, and after
wards, those against it being called upon to vote in the
same manner, the result was declared doubtful, and
a great agitation of course prevailed. On the second
trial in the same manner it was more doubtful, inas
much that four of the secretaries thought the majority
was in favour of the accusation, and two declared
otherwise. A vote by ballot was demanded, and thus
stood the result. There were 706 members present,
out of which 327 declared themselves in favour of the
conclusion of the committee, which was to hand over
Louis Blanc for trial, and 354 against it.
This was but a trifling majority ; it was clear the his
torian of the Ten Years had a narrow escape of visiting
Barbes and Blanqui at Vincennes : there was a grievous
blot upon his escutcheon, and so wounded in reputa
tion did both Procureurs of the Republic feel at this
vote, that they gave in their resignation at the con
clusion of the debate. Subsequent events prove,
beyond a doubt, that the minority had weighed the
matter better than the majority. There was much cir-

NEW ELECTIONS. 319
cumstantial evidence produced in the examination before
the committee, which strongly inculpated the accused,
and perhaps he had more to thank in the prudent
apprehensions of his judges as to forthcoming events,
written as plainly as the famous writing on the wall of
old, than to their belief in his innocence.
It was quite evident that Louis Blauc was feared ;
not for any danger arising from himself but from
his pernicious doctrines : his popularity was now lost ;
he had escaped, but escaped so narrowly that his vic
tory was a moral defeat. We leave him in his unen
viable security for the present.
Another subject next occupied public attention.
The double returns for various places necessitated a
new election, and the different parties exerted them
selves strenuously for the success of their men.
Among the many names placarded over Paris was
that of the Prince de Joinvflle. The admiral was
decidedly the most popular of all the fallen family ;
under his flag the fleets of France had battered the
mud walls of Tanjiers, and frightened the inhabitants
of Mogador. He had also captured the fort of St. Juan
d'Ulloa, at Vera Cruz, and this last was a more
serious affair than the other paltry victories ; but France
was delighted at a naval triumph, and we heard the
prince dignified into the French Nelson !
The name of the Prince de Joinville was now plas
tered on every wall as a candidate for the National .
Assembly; we are quite ready to believe without
his consent, without, indeed, manifesting how far

320 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
royalty was beloved in France. The police were active
in tearing down these placards ; but during the night
they were as constantly replaced. These repeated acts
occasioned the interference of the government, who
put forth the following communication by means of
the papers : — " Legal proceedings are ordered to be
taken against the printer and the signer of an affiche
placarded this morning on the walls of Paris, and pro
posing the Prince de Joinville as a candidate for the
National Assembly. This placard is contrary to law,
because, by the terms of a late decree of the Assembly,
the French territory is interdicted to all the members
of the ex-royal famfly."
This showed some small degree of apprehension ;
but events passed so rapidly, that the candidature of
the prince and the decree of the government hardly
survived twenty -four hours of public opinion, and gave
way to remarks upon the behaviour of the Provi
sional Government, now become the executive power.
Republicans were supposed to be men who consi
dered equality of persons requisite to constitute a free
state. This obviously impossible position was disre
garded by some and honoured by others. In vain
men pointed to the United States of America, and
showed a more overbearing aristocracy than can be
found in Great Britain. In vain it was argued that
some who worked hard must become richer than those
who did not work at all, and that money became
power, and wealth was always an object of respect,
forming an aristocracy.

REPUBLICAN LUXURY. 321
The French republicans considered this aristocracy
pernicious, and even the Provisional Government, at
the commencement of their usurped power, took office
with slender salaries. To be sure it was proved after
wards that by being in the occupancy of two or three
offices some of them took two or three salaries ; but
they shook hands and fraternized with any citizen.
Three months had worn out this eagerness for frater
nization and dirty hands, and we find on the first of
June that these gentlemen did not consider the apart
ments of the Luxembourg sufficiently furnished for
their aristocratic notions, and that consequently they
sent to St. Cloud, the Tuderies, and Vincennes, for
additional articles of pride and luxury. Nor was this
all ; it was reported that the ministers, in imitation of
the executive power, intended at the end of June,
when the weather got warm, to please themselves by
occupying the following abodes : —
M. Flocon took possession of the Pavdion of
Breteud. M. Recurt was to inhabit the Chateau at Meudon.
M. Treiat, not being particular, would accommodate
himself in the Palace of Fontainebleau.
M. Duclerc would put up with the Petit Trianon.
M. Cremieux would condescend to reside at Com-
piegne, and M. Bastide would fix himself at Ram-
bouillet. " O happy mortals, ever blind to fate,
Too soon dejected or too soon elate."
Before the fortunate hour arrived when these modest
vol. i. Y

322 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848.
republicans, some of whom were well known in the
lowest cabarets of Paris, and others in wood yards,
could occupy palaces, they fell, like Phaeton, never to
rise again. But the very report of such changes
frightened the real republican, and disgusted the
royalist gentleman. Had any of these men shown a
superiority by the force of intellect — had they brought
forward motions which would have eased the minds of
those who saw spoliation and plunder in every act —
had they who had let loose the torrent confined
it again within its proper bounds — had they practised
economy, and by prudent measures restored con
fidence — had they reduced taxation and found its
equivalent by the reduction of the armed force — had
they made the capital a safe retreat, and the country
prosperous, then the most fastidious might have said,
these men are fit to govern the State, and we feel our
selves honoured by seeing them in their proud posi
tion ; but from February to June, one general succes
sion of blunders had occurred, and we look in vain
through all the mazes of this usurped government for
one single act of wisdom, excepting that to their other
follies they did not plunge France into an external
war. The civil war was begun, and not likely to ter
minate shortly.
The end of May and the beginning of June wit
nessed a gradually increasing distrust. It was declared
that the government intended to take some energetic
means to put down the practice of creating assemblages
of people, called attroupements ; but in spite of the

OMENS OF CIVIL WAR. 323
remonstrances of the patrols, who did their utmost
without coming to a collision, thousands and thou
sands assembled every night ; if, by excessive civility,
one or two groups dispersed, they reunited again,
and the conversation became more animated and more
violent than before. The external position of France
did not occupy much attention ; but the fantastic
tricks of the ministers — the forthcoming elections —
the prisoners at Vincennes — gave rise to much dis
cussion. Sometimes the uniform of the National
Guards was used to cover some movement, and on
one occasion, about ten at night, a captain of the re
publican guard, in uniform and on horseback, asso
ciated himself with some of the most noisy and most
turbulent of the mobs, and distributed lists of the
candidates put forward by the Reforme newspaper, and
trumpetted forth the praises of the people named.
On the first of June, one of these gentlemen fell into
bad hands, for as some suspicion began to be excited,
he was surrounded by a party of the National Guards,
who, assisted by the very men who constituted one of
the attroupements, took the itinerant distributor of
Red Republican names, and placed him under the care
of the Commissary of Police. But the seeds of mis
chief were deeply sown ; the national workshops were
filled to repletion, and from this hot-bed of sedition,
idleness and dissipation, sprang the civil war of June.
END OF VOL. I.

FEINTED BV EKEVE, BI'.NHAM, AND Rf.EVE,
HEATHCOCK COURT, 8TEAND.

November, 1849. ;

LIST OF WORKS
PRINCIPALLY ON
NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE,

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY

REEVE, BENHAM, AND REEVE,
KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND.

I. !
PANTHEA, THE SPIRIT OF NATURE. By Eobert Hunt, I
Author of ' The Poetry of Science.' One vol. 8vo. 10*. 6d.
II.
A EEVIEW OE THE EEENCH EEVOLUTION OP 1848,
from the 24th of February to the Election of the First Presi
dent. By Captain Chamieb, E.N. In two vols. 8vo. 21*.
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extra, gilt back, sides, and edges, 21*.
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HIMALAYAN PLANTS EECENTLY DISCO VEEED by
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*„* For opinions ofthe Press on Fiest Series, see page 3.

WORKS PUBLISHED BY

V.
CUETIS'S BEITISH ENTOMOLOGY, being Illustrations and
Descriptions of the Genera of Insects found in Great Britain
and Ireland, comprising coloured figures, from nature, of the
most rare and beautiful species, and, in many instances, of the
plants upon which they are found. By John Cuetis, F.L.S.
Messrs. Reeve, Benham, and Eeeve, having become Proprietors
of " Curtis's British Entomology," have commenced a re-issue of
this great National Work, at a considerably reduced price. The
stock is in excellent condition ; and a large portion of it, coloured
at the time of publication, being ready for delivery, they have deter
mined to offer entire copies at less than half the original cost.
The great reputation of this work, Botanical as well as Entomo
logical, renders it unnecessary to speak of the minute accuracy with
which the insects and their anatomical details are drawn, — of the
fidelity with which the native plants upon which they are found are
delineated, — or of the clearness and descriptive interest of the letter
press. The ' British Entomology ' was originally brought out in Monthly
Numbers, size royal 8vo, at 4*. &d., each containing four coloured
plates and corresponding text. It was commenced in 1824, and
completed in 1840, in 193 Numbers, forming 16 volumes, price
£43 16*.
The following are the terms upon which the work is now offered
new, and in the best possible condition : —
Price to Subscribers for complete copies in sixteen volumes £21 0
Price of the new monthly issue (which commenced on the
1st of August), and of odd Numbers ... 3*. 6d. per No.
VI.
THE EHODODENDRONS OF SIKKIM-HIMALAYA;
Being an account, Botanical and Geographical, of the Rhodo
dendrons recently discovered in the Province of Sikkim, on the
Eastern Himalaya Mountains. With coloured drawings and
descriptions made on the spot. By Joseph Dalton Hookee,
M.D., R.N., F.R.S., F.L.S. Edited by Sir W. J. Hookee,
K.H., D.C.L., F.R.S., Vice-President of the Linnffian Society.
Second Edition.

REEVE, BENHAM, AND REEVE.

" In this work we have the first results of Dr. Hooker's botanical mission
to India. The announcement is calculated to startle some of our readers when
they know that it was only last January twelvemonths that the Doctor arrived
in Calcutta. That he should have ascended the Himalaya, discovered a num
ber of plants, and that they should be published in England in an almost
UNEOUALLED STYLE OP MAGNIFICENT illustration, in less than eighteen
months — is one of the marvels of our time." — Athenaeum.
" We have here a botanical work, iu large folio, consisting of ten magnificent
and exquisitely coloured plates, from drawings after nature, with explanatory
text, giving a detailed and critical description of not fewer than eight new Indian
species of Rhododendrons, each one more magnificent than the other in flower
and foliage ; and also a general exposition of all the species that have come under
the author's observation in the loftyregions of his present tour." — Literary Gazette.
" A most beautiful example of fine drawing and skilful colouring, while the
letter-press furnished by the talented author possesses very high interest. Of
the species of Rhododendron which he has found in his adventurous journey,
some are quite unrivalled in magnificence of appearance." — Gardeners' Chronicle.
*** In handsome imperial folio, with ten beautifully coloured
plates. Price 21*. VII.
EPISODES OF INSECT LIFE. First Series.
" Professor Niehol has done much to make astronomy a lightsome science ; Mr.
Miller of Edinburgh has thrown the influence of eloquent and powerful writing
around the fishes and fossils of the old red sandstone. Neither, however, has
produced a work equal in the particular above mentioned to the ' Episodes of
Insect Life.' " — Tait's Edinburgh Magazine.
" The whole pile of Natural History — fable, poetry, theory, and fact— is stuck
over with quaint apophthegms and shrewd maxims deduced, for the benefit of
man, from the contemplation of such tiny monitors as gnats aud moths. Alto
gether the book is curious and interesting, quaint and clever, genial and well
informed." — Morning Chronicle.
" We have seldom been in company with so entertaining a guide to the Insect
J World." — Athenaurn.
" Rich veins of humour in a groundwork of solid yet entertaining information.
Although lightness and amusement can find subject-matter in every page, the
under-current of the 'Episodes' is substance and accurate information. The
work is decorated with admirable figures ; the Ant-field would not disgrace the
portfolio of an insect Wouvermans, a Cooper, or an Allan."— Ladies' Newspaper.
" A history of many of the more remarkable tribes and species, with a graphic
and imaginative colouring, often equally original and happy, and accompanied
both by accurate figures of species and ingenious fanciful vignettes,"— Annual
Address ofthe President of the Entomological Society.
* * One vol. crown 8vo, pp. 320, with 36 illustrations. Price 16*.
elegantly bound in fancy cloth.
Coloured, and bound in silk extra, gilt, 21*.

VIII.
THE POETRY OF SCIENCE ; or, Studies of the Physical Phe
nomena of Nature. By Robeet Hunt, Author of " Researches
on Light." Second Edition.
" All the great forces of Nature — gravitation, heat, light, electricity, magnetism,
and affinity — arc successively treated of by Mr. Hunt, and their unity and depend
ence illustrated. It is this which will make his work popular, as it is not encumbered
with heavy details or specious pretensions of learning. * * A hook well
calculated to promote a taste for the studies of nature. Much too good to be
classed as a Christmas book, it would nevertheless form an admirable present at
this coming season of gifts." — Athenaum.
" We know of no work upon science which is so well calculated to lift the
mind from the admiration of the wondrous works of creation to the belief in, and
worship of, a First Great Cause. * * One of the most readable epitomes of
the present state and progress of science we have yet perused." — Morning Herald.
" The design of Mr. Hunt's volume is striking and good. To show that the
facts of science are at least as full of poetry as the most poetical fancies ever
founded on an imperfect observation, and a distant suspicion of them ; to show
that if the Dryads no longer haunt the woods, there is in every forest, in every
tree, in every leaf, a beautiful and wonderful creation, always changing, always
going on ; to show that science, truly expounding Nature, can, like nature herself,
restore in some new form whatever she destroys : is a purpose worthy of the
natural philosopher, and salutary to the spirit of the age. This it is the main
object of Mr. Hunt's book to elucidate. The subject is very ably dealt with and
the object very well attained ; it displays a fund of knowledge, and is the work of
an eloquent and earnest man." — The Examiner.
*** One vol. demy 8vo. Price 12*.
IX.
THE NATURAL HISTOEY OF IRELAND. By William
Thompson, Esq., President of the Natural History and Philo
sophical Society of Belfast. Vols. I. & IL— BIEDS.
" The work is a collection of anecdotes and observations, and, as such, one of the
best volumes on Natural History that has ever issued from the press." — Atlas.
" The scientific definitions, &c., demand our utmost praise, and an abundance
of anecdotes diversify and enliven the whole, and make it delightful reading." —
Literary Gazette.
" Our readers, if once they get hold of this volume, will not readily lay it
down ; for while habits are dwelt upon in a manner so amusing that we have
known extracts to be read aloud to a delighted circle of children, it contains the
precise information which the ornithologist demands, and brings forward topics
both of popular and scientific interest, such as the geographical distribution of
species, the causes which seem to operate on their increase . and decrease, their
migrations, their uses to man, the occasional injuries they inflict, and the impor
tant benefits they confer. * * * The space we have devoted to this volume
tells, more plainly than any commendation we could employ, our high approba
tion of its merits. It is a standard work, and will rank with those of our
first ornithologists." — Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medical Science.

REEVE, BENHAM, AND REEVE.

', X. (
\ TEAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF BRAZIL; principally j
through the Northern Provinces and the Gold and Diamond j
| Districts, during the years 1836-41. By the late George i
Gardner, M.D., F.L.S., Superintendent of the Royal Botanic j
Gardens of Ceylon. Second and cheaper Edition.
\ " This volume is from the pen of an able naturalist. Not satisfied with the mere i
i exploration of the coasts, he plunged into the interior as far to the west as the
; tributaries of the Amazon, ' and from near the equator to the 23rd degree of j
£ south latitude.' A range so wide required three years to be traversed, — inde- )
I dependently of the time passed in researches on the coast. The author's peculiar j
\ object was Natural History, — under its forms of geology, the animal kingdom, and
> botany ; but, fortunately, he has not confined himself to the physical department.
< Some of the regions which he visited have seldom been trodden by Europeans — j
j never by Englishmen ; so that his observations derive value from the novelty of J
the matters to which they relate." — Athentzma. \
" The narrative of his varied adveutures forms not only to the enthusiastic j
botanist, but to the general reader, au exceedingly entertaining and also in- j
structive book, from the new view which it gives of the society of Brazil — particu- i
larly in its less known provinces." — Tait's Edinburgh Magazine.
" When camping out on the mountain-top or in the wilderness ; roughing it in ;
his long journeys through the interior; observing the very singular mode of Hfe >
there presented to his notice ; describing the curious characters that fell under his (
observation, the arts or substitutes for arts of the people, and the natural pro- j
ductions of the country — these Travels in the Interior of Brazil are full of ',
attraction. The book, like the country it describes, is full of new matter." — '
Spectator. \
*%* In one volume octavo, with a Map of the Author's Route <
and View of the Organ Mountains. Price 12*. cloth.
s >
'> XI.
I THOUGHTS ON A PEBBLE; or, a First Lesson in Geology.
; By Gideon Algernon Mantell, LL.D., F.R.S. , Vice-Pre- ?
sident of the Geological Society, &c. Eighth Edition.
\ " This elegant little book, primer-like iu size, and illustrated by fine coloured !
} plates and wood-engravings, serves still to convey some of the grandest truths ;
I in Geology. The style is lucid, eloquent, poetical, and philosophical, for all j
\ these attributes are combined in Dr. Mantell's writings." — American Journal of ;
\ Science. ',
\ " I have just procured a little work for my young pupils, a most delightful \
i introduction, entitled ' Thoughts on a Pebble, or a First Lesson in Geology,' by
| Dr. Mantell, and I must request you to read it; for although it does not consist j
of more than thirty pages [increased in the present edition to upwards of a hun- )
I dred] it will expand to your view a new world that will astonish and delight ;
! you." — Philosophy in Sport.
i Considerably enlarged, with four coloured plates, twenty-eight wood- \
cuts, and Portrait of the Author engraved on steel, handsome
cloth, gilt edges, pp. 102, price 5s.

WORKS PUBLISHED BY

XII.
POPULAE HISTOEY OF BEITISH SEA-WEEDS ; comprising
a familiar and technical description of the Marine Plants
inhabiting the shores of the British Isles. By the Rev. David
Landsborough, A.L.S., Member of the Wernerian Society of
Edinburgh.
" Just as the people are migrating from the metropolis and the dingy manu
facturing towns, to the open and free space where the land meets the ocean, Mr.
Landsborough supplies them with a familiar aud beautiful description of some of
the wonders they will see there, helping to amuse and instruct them, and pointing
out to them many objects of curiosity that might otherwise escape their attention.
The book is as well executed as it is well timed. The descriptions are scientific
as well as popular, and the plates are clear and explicit. Not only the forms,
but the uses of Algaj, are minutely described. It is a worthy sea-side com
panion — a hand-book for every occasional or permanent resident on the sea
shore." — Economist.
" This charming contribution to the study of a very interesting branch of
Natural History combines scientific correctness with artistical beauty." — Literary
Gazette.

*** In one vol. royal 16mo, with twenty plates of figures and <
\ two plates of fructification. Price 10*. 6d. coloured.
XIII. |
POPULAR BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY; comprising all the \
British Birds. By P. H. GOSSE, Author of 'Birds of
Jamaica,' ' The Ocean,' &c.
" To render the subject of ornithology clear, and its study attractive, has been the
great aim of the author of this beautiful little volume. It contains descriptions of
all our British birds, with the exception of stragglers, not likely to fall in the
way of the young naturalist. It is embellished by upwards of 70 figures of British
birds beautifully coloured." — Morning Herald.
" Goes over eveiy month of the year, figures the birds naturally in coloured
plates, describes them and their habits well, and is a capital manual for youthful
naturalists." — Literary Gazette.
" This book was much wanted and will prove a boon of no common value,
containing, as it does, the names, descriptions, and habits of all the British birds'
It ought to find a place on the shelves of every book-case." — Mirror.
*** In one vol. royal 16mo, with twenty plates of figures.
Price 7*. plain ; 10*. 6d. coloured.

XIV.
POPULAR BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY, comprising a familiar
and technical description of the Insects most common to the
British Isles. By Maria E. Catlow.
" Judiciously executed, with excellent figures of the commoner species, for the
use of young beginners." — Annual Address of the President of the Entomological
Society. " Miss Catlow's Popular British Entomology contains an introductory chapter
or two on classification, which are followed by brief generic and specific descrip
tions in English of above 200 of the commoner British species, together with
accurate figures of about 70 of those described. The work is beautifully printed,
and the figures nicely coloured, and will be quite a treasure to any one just com
mencing the study of this fascinating science." — Westminster and Foreign
Quarterly Review.
*** In one vol. royal 16mo, with sixteen plates of figures.
Price Is. plain ; 10*. &d. coloured.
XV.
POPULAR FIELD BOTANY; containing a familiar and tech
nical description of the plants most common to the British
Isles, adapted to the study of either the Artificial or Natural
Systems. By Agnes Catlow. Second Edition.
"This is a useful aid to young persons in the country who are at a loss how to
take the first steps in Botany. In this, as in so many other pursuits, the earhest
stage is that which is most mffioulUscggt jover— each succeeding advance be
comes more easy than its predecessor. One oT'the impediments in the way of
those who have no teachers, is the uncertainty that in the beginning attends
all attempts at making out the names of the objects they have to examine, and
this impediment can only be removed by drawings and very familiar descriptions.
Miss Catlow, in the work before us, has furnished a clear and concise supply of
both. We recommend her Popular Botany to favourable notice."— Gardeners'
Chronicle. " How pleasant to wander in the fields with this instructive guide."— Literary
Gazette. "The design of this work is to furnish young persons with a Self-instructor in
Botany enabling them with little difficulty to discover the scientific names of the
common plants they may find in theii- country rambles, to which are appended a
few facts respecting their uses, habits, &c. The plants are classed in months the
illustrations are nicely coloured, and the book is altogether an elegant, as well as
useful present."— Illustrated London News.
'This book may be used by the beginner ; its advantage consists in its cheap

ness. — *

*** In one vol. royal 16mo, with twenty plates of figures.
Price 7*. plain. 10*. 6d. coloured,

i

8 WOHKS I'Ulll.IHIIKII MY
XVI.
ILLUSTRATIONS OK MUTISM MYCOLOGY; containing j
figures and Descriptions of tins Funguses of interest and i
\ novelty indigenous to Britain. By Mrs. I Iijnhky.
i "Thin talented lady and hor sister were in flu; Qrst iiiHl.iiucc induced to draw j
j somo of tho more striking (''uiigi, merely ub picturesque objeelH. Tlieir collection J
j of drawings nt length became iniporlMiil from tlieir iiuinlier mid ncouruoy, mid \
! a long continued Btudy of tho nutritive propertied of fungi Iiub induced the. ',
[ former to lay the rcsulta of her investigations before the public, under the \
\ l'orni of illustrations of the more useful und interesting species. The figures '
] ure BO faitlifnl that there ciin he. no difficulty in at onee determining with j
i certainly tho ohjeel.H they are intended l.o rt'|ireHentj und the observations, espo-
: ciully those of the culinary department, will he found of much interest to the
I gencnil render, and we, douht not that our tallies will in consequence receive
f limuy a welcome addition; while, from the accuracy of the figures, tlierc will he
j no (lunger, with ordinary attention, of mulling any Hcriorm Mundcr." — Oarr/ruim'
'• (J/tiunirlr.
J *„* In one handsome quurto volume, bound in cloth and gilt.
With IBO linndsoiiK! coloured drawings. Price It. 12*. M.
I XVII.
j Til 15 DODO AND ITS KINDRED; or, the History, Allinifics,
j und Osteology of the Dodo, Soi.itairk, ii nd other extinct t
, birds of the islands Mauritius, Itodriguc/,, and liourlion. I!y \
\ II. 15. Strickland, I5h(|., M.A., K.ll.CI.H., K.G.H., I'rcsideiitoC \
the Aslnnolean Society, and A. (>. MiaviLLtf, M.D., M.IUJ.H. J
" The labour expended mi Ihiu hook mul the hoiiiil.il'ul manner in which il IB (
got u]) ri'iuler il u work of great interest to Ihe iialuraliHt. * * II, is a model
of how such HiibjeetH should he treated. Wc know of few more elaborate mul
careful picce.H of coin|iarative anatoiny tliau is given of the, head und foot hy
Dr. Melville. The dinnoetion is aecompanieil by lithogruphie plutcB, creditable alilie
to flic Arlintundthe I'rinlor. "—-AI/ii'iiwh/ii.
"A piece of ornithological hiogrnphy which bcciiib singularly lo combine Ihe
fumiliur with the fabulous. Thank« lo an iiccoinpliHhi'd and persevering natu
ralist of our own day, wc have now all 1.1ns faclx, and mnsl. of tin; luneicH, laid
before ub in a B|ilisudiil royal quarto volume just puhliithi'd, with iiumct'oiiH plntca,
devolcil lo the hi«lory anil illustration of 'Ihe lloilo and its Kindred.' '1'hc
author Iuih produced one of the, best and most iulercKling inonograpliB with which
it i . our fortune lo he uci|iinintcil. * * Wc heg to call attention very ch|ic-
eiully to 1'hilcn viii. und ix., uh the memt beautiful e.xnmplc» of lilhogniphie mi,
applied to nnturul history, which we have yet seen executed in Huh country." —
; IUai'kiniu,l\i MngiKiili'?.\n». I, I HI'.*.
j *./• One vol. royal (|ii;ul.<», with eighteen plates aud numerous
wood illustrations. Price 2 1. v.

HEEYE, BEXHAM, AXD REEVE. 9 \
 j
— . j
xvm. \
A CENTURY OF ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS, selected iiom \
those most worthy of cultivation figured in Curtis'; Botanical
Magazine, •with coloured rhrares and dissections, ehieriv
executed by Mr. Fitch ; the descriptions v entirely re-written')
by Sir William J. Hookee, F.R.S. Wnh an introduction on
the culture and management of Orchidaceie, generally, and
original practical information on the treatment of each genu; ,
by John C. Lyons. Esq.
"In the evcuisrie uaasrrarYi.5 t:> tiY rr.=-_Yid Volume fnll justice hii been
rendered to tie oddly formed and often irAiinh y coloured i : t er? of - iY cori _f
and interesting tribe of rlaia;." — Vostw raster and T;ragn Quarterly Rerieir.
*s* In one volume, royal -ito. eontaining one hundred plates.
Price F'iTt Guineas.
The Publishers intend re-issuing this wcrk in monthly N:s each
containing five plates, price as. No. 1 -will be issued in January.
Xii.
CURTIS'S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE (commenced' in ITitY:
Continued by Sir William J acesov Hookeb, K.H., D.C.L.,
See., Director of the Royal Gardens of Kew. With obser
vations on the culture of each species, by Mr. Jons Sjiiih.
A.L S.. Curator ofthe Royal Gardens.
Ccsiis'j Botaxical Maoaiini is now the only illustrated .
monthly record of the new plants introduced into this country |
through tbe medium of the Public Botanic Gardens and the principal
Ninrservme-u . and the position of the Editor, as Director of the
largest collection of Plants in the world, coupled ~ltn nis habits of .
conimuiiication and extensive correspondence, rarmsues him with un- \
equalled facilities for the promotion of such a work.
*^* Published in monthly numbers, each :•:•_ tailing six plates.
prioe 'is. 6d. coloured. Part 59 bas: published.
AX
HOOKER'S JOURNAL OE BOTANY and KEW GARTENS
Miscillaxt. Edited by Sir TVilliam Laces :y Hooxxh.
This New Botanical Journal, in addition t: criminal pap.ers it
Eminent Botanists, contains the Botanical News of the :a:uth.
Proceedings of So:ti:i-:s. Communications from Botanical Tra
vellers. Notices of New Books, fce.
*,* In monthly numbers with a plate, coloured where possible.
Price One Sli"h? N: 11 jrast published.

10 WORKS PUBLISHED BY

XXI
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ORNITHOLOGY. By Sie William
Jaedine, Bart., F.R.S.E., F.L.S., &c.
The "Contributions" are devoted to the various departments of Orni
thology. They are published at intervals in Parts, and form an annual Volume,
illustrated by numerous Coloured and TJncoloured Plates, Wood Cuts, &c.
The Series for 1848, containing ten Plates, price 9s.
Nos. 1 2 & 3 for 1849, containing four Plates each, price 3*. per No.
No. 4 preparing for publication.
XXII.
PHYCOLOGIA BRITANNICA; or, History of the British Sea-
Weeds ; containing coloured figures, generic and specific cha
racters, synonymes, and descriptions, of all the species of
Algae inhabiting the shores of the British Islands. By William
Heney Haevey, M.D., M.R.I. A., Keeper of the Herbarium
of the University of Dublin, and Professor of Botany to the
Dublin Society.
" The ' History of British Sea-Weeds ' we can most faithfully recommend for
its scientific, its pictorial, and its popular value ; the professed botanist will find
it a work of the highest character, whilst those who desire merely to know the
names and history of the lovely plants which they gather on the sea-shore, will
find in it, when complete, the faithful portraiture of every one of them."- — Annals
and Magazine of Natural History.
*#* 8vo. Published monthly, in parts, price 2s. 6d., coloured ;
large paper, 5s. To be completed in sixty parts, containing three
hundred and sixty plates. Part XLV. just pubbshed.
Vols. I. and IL, price 2Z. 10s. each, are now ready.
XXIII.
NEREIS AUSTRALIS ; or, Illustrations of the Algse of the
Southern Ocean, being Figures, Descriptions, and Remarks
upon new or imperfectly known Sea- Weeds, collected on the
shores of the Cape of Good Hope, the extra-tropical Australian .
Colonies, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the Antarctic Regions,
and deposited in the Herbarium of the Dublin University.
By William Heney Haevey, M.D., M.R.I. A., Keeper of the
Plerbarium, and Professor of Botany to the Dublin Society.
" Of this most important contribution to our knowledge of exotic Algfe, we
know not if we can pay it a higher compliment than by saying it is worthy of the
author. It should be observed that the work is not a selection of certain species,
but an arranged system of all that is known of Australian Algse, accompanied by
figures of the new and rare ones, especially of those most remarkable for beauty
of -form and colour." — London Journal of Botany.
%* Imp. 8vo. To be completed in Four Parts, each containing
twenty-five coloured plates, price 11. Is.
Part I. recently published. Part II. now ready.

EEEVE, BENHAM, AND EEEVE.

11

XXIV.
CONCHOLOGIA ICONICA ; or, Figures and Descriptions of the
Shells of Molluscous Animals, with critical remarks on their
synonymes, affinities, and circumstances of habitation. By
Lovell Reeve, F.L.S.
The Conchologia Iconioa is mainly illustrated from the cabi
net of Hugh Cuming, Esq., F.L.S., the result of "more than thirty
of the best years of his life in arduous and hazardous personal
exertions, dredging, diving, wading, and wandering, under the
Equator and through the temperate zones, in the labour of
collecting.  No pubbc collection in Europe," continues Professor
Owen, "possesses one half the number of species of shells that
are now in the Cumingian collection, and probably one-third of
the number would be the correct statement as regards the national
museums of Paris and Vienna."
*S5* Demy 4to. Published monthly, in Parts, each containing
eight plates. Price 10s.
SOLD ALSO IN MONOGRAPHS :

rf. s.

d.

£. s.

d.

£. s.

d.

Achatina {nearly ready)

Cypricardia

0 3

0

Murex . .

2 5

6

Area

1 1

6

Delphinula .

0 6

6

Myadora

0 1

6

Buccinum .

0 18

0

Dolium . .

0 10

6

Oniscia .

0 3

0

Bulimus {nearly ready)

Eburna .

0 3

0

Paludomus

0 4

0

Bullia . .

0 5

6

Pasciolaria .

0 9

0

Pectuncnlus

0 11

6

Cardita .

0 11

6

Kcula . .

0 1

6

Phorus . .

0 4

0

Cardinm .

1 8

0

Fusus . .

1 6

6

Pleurotoma

2 10

6

Cassidaria .

0 1

6

Glauconome

0 1

6

Purpura

0 17

0

Cassis . .

0 15

6

Haliotis

1 1

0

Pyrnla .

0 11

c

Chama . .

0 11

6

Harpa .

0 5

6

Ranella . .

0 10

6

Chiton . .

2 2

0

Hemipecten

0 1

6

Ricinula

0 8

0

Chitonellus

0 1

6

Ianthina

0 3

0

Turbinella .

0 17

0

Conus . .

3 0

0

Isoeardia .

0 1

6

Triton . .

1 5

6

Corbnla

0 6

6

Mangelia .

0 10

6

Turbo . .

0 17

0

Crassatella

0 4

0

Mitra

2 10

0

Tnrritella, .

0 14

6

Cyprsea

1 14

0

Monoceros

0 5

6

Voluta . .

1 8

0

The above n
lonographs contain about 4,3
00 Figures.
SOLD ALSO IN VOLUMES:
Vol. I. Conus Phorus Delphinula
Pleurotoma Pectunculits Cypkioaedia
Crassatella Cardita Harpa
[122 Plates, price 71. 16s. 6d. half-bound.}
Vol. II. Corbula Glauconome Mitra
Arca Myadora Cardium
Triton Ranella Isocardia
[1 14 Plates, price 71. 6s. Gd. half-bound.]
12 WOEKS PUBLISHED BY
Vol. III. Murex Mangelia Monoceros
Cypr^a Purpura Bullia
Haliotis Ricinula Buccinum
[129 Plates, price 81. 5s. 6d. half-bound.]
Vol. IV. Chama Ficula Fusus
Chiton Pyrula Paudomus
Chitonellus Turbinella Turbo
Fasciolaria
[110 Plates, price 71- 1*. 6d. half-bound.
Vol.

'. BULIMUS

Turritella

Cassidaria

Achatina

Mesalia

Hemipecten

DOLIUM

Eglisia

Eburna

Cassis

Onisoia

Ianthina [Nearly ready.

" This great work is intended to embrace a complete description and illustration,
of the shells of molluscous animals ; and so far as we have seen, it is not such as
to disappomt the large expectations that have been formed respecting it. The
figures of the shells are all of full size ; in the descriptions a careful analysis is
given of the labours of others ; and the author has spared no pains to make
the work a standard authority on the subject of which it treats." — Athenaeum.
" The figures, by Mr. Sowerby, are of the natural size, and most accurately
coloured. The text abounds with important criticisms and synonymes, whilst it
embodies a vast amount of information on the habits, modes of developement,
and progress of growth ; together with the localities and circumstances of habita
tion, resulting from the communicated experience of Mr; Cuming." — Literary
Gazette. The figures are drawn and bthographed by G. B. Soweeby,
Junr., of the natural size, except those requiring to be enlarged.
XXV.
CONCECOLOGIA ICONICA. Uncoloured edition. For geological
purposes. A reprint of the foregoing work.
*^* In monthly numbers, each containing six plates, price 2s. 6d.
Part XIX. just published. XXVI.
ELEMENTS OF CONCHOLOGY ; or, Introduction to the Natural
History of Shells and their molluscous inhabitants, their struc
ture, calcifying functions and habits, geographical distribution,
affinities, arrangement, and enumeration of, species. By
Lovell Reeve, F.L.S.
" The work before us is designed to promote a more philosophical spirit of
inquiry into the nature and origin of Shells ; the grand truths that have been
recently made known in the physiological history of these animals are ably
described and illustrated. We may add, that few owners of expensive cabinets of
shells entertain correct ideas of the animals which formed them." — Ecclesiastical
Review. *m* To be completed in twelve parts, royal Svo, with numerous
illustrations, price 3s. 6d. coloured. Part X. just pubhshed.

EEEVE, BENHAM, AND EEEVE.

13

XXVII.
{Under the Authority of the Lords Commissioners ofthe Admiralty.)
ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. SAMARANG.
Edited by Aethtje Adams, F.L.S., Assistant-Surgeon, R.N.,
attached to the Expedition.
%* Part I. Fishes. By Sir John Richaedson, M.D., F.R.S.
10 plates, price 10s. 6d.
Parts II. and IV. Crustacea. By the Editoe and Adam
White, F.L.S. No. 1, 6 plates, price 8s. — No. 2, 7 plates, price
10s. Gd.
Parts III. and V. Mollusca. No.l. By the Editoe and Lovell
Reeve, F.L.S., including the anatomy of iheSpirula, by Prof. Owen,
F.R.S. 9 coloured plates, price 10s. 6d. No. 2 nearly ready.
Part TV. Veetebeata. By John Edwaed Gray, F.R.S.,
Keeper of the Zoological Department of the British Museum.
8 coloured plates, price 10s. &d. XXVIII.
NOTES OF A TOUR IN THE PLAINS OF INDIA, the
Himala, &c. ; being extracts from the private letters of
Dr.HooKEE, written during a Government Botanical Mission to
those countries. Part I. England to Calcutta. Price 2s. 6rf.
"A delightful sketch of Dr. Hooker's Journey to Calcutta with the suite of
Lord Dalhousie." — Literary Gazette. XXIX.
( Under the Authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty)
NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. SAMARANG,
during the years 1843-46. By Capt. Sir Edward Belchee,
C.B., F.R.A.S. and G.S., Commander of the Expedition.
With a Popular Summary of the Natural History of the
islands visited, by Arthur Adams, F.L.S.
Commencing at Borneo, the Expedition extended as far north as
Korea and Japan, including within its bmits the islands of Quel-
part and Loo-Choo, the Me'ia-co-shimah and Batanese Groups, the
Philippine and Sooloo Archipelagos, Celebes, Ternate, and Gilolo,
with other islands of the Blue and Yellow Seas.
"These volumes give the official and authorized account of the surveying
voyage of the Samarang in the "Eastern Archipelago and Northern Seas of China
and Japan. Besides much geographical and practical information, Capt. Belcher's
Narrative contains a close and mature view of the ministers and monarchs of
those distant regions. Quelpart and the Korean Archipelago are new ground."—
Examiner. * * In 2 vols., 8vo, 964 pp., 35 Charts, Coloured Plates, and
Etchings. Price 36s. cloth.

xxx.
( Under the Authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty)
ELORA ANTARCTICA; or, Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of
H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror, during the years
1839-1843, under the command of Capt. Sir James Clark
Ross, R.N., F.R.S. By Joseph Dalton Hookee, M.D.
R.N., F.R.S., &c, Botanist to the Expedition.
" The descriptions of the plants in this work are carefully drawn up, and much
interesting matter, critical, explanatory, and historical, is added in the form
of notes. The drawings of the plants are admirably executed by Mr. Fitch ;
and we know of no productions from his pencil, or, in fact, any botanical illus
trations at all, that are superior in faithful representation and botanical correct
ness."— Athenaeum.
*£* In two vols., royal 4to, pp. 574, plates 200. Price 10£. 15s.
coloured; Tl. 10s. plain. XXXI.
CRYPTOGAMIA ANTARCTICA; or, Cryptogamic Botany of
the Antarctic Voyage of H. M. Ships Erebus and Terror. By
Joseph Dalton Hookee, M.D., F.R.S., &c.
A separate issue of the Cryptogamic portion of the Antarctic
Botany, for the convenience of those Naturalists whose interest is
more particularly directed to that branch of the science.
*%* In one vol., royal 4to, pp. 258, plates 74. Price 41. 4s.
coloured; 21. 17s. plain. XXXII.
THE BRITISH DESMIDIE^; or, Fresh-Water Algse. By
John Ralfs, M.R.C.S., Honorary Member of the Penzance
Nat. Hist. Society. The Drawings by Edw aed Jenner, A.L.S.
" A more beautiful or creditable work than this has seldom issued from the
press. It combines great powers of observation, much originality, exactness of
detail, and skill of execution, and is distinguished pre-eminently by diligent study
and the zeal with which the author has applied to every available source of
information. The subject is one which was till within a very few years almost
unknown in this country. A few species of Desmidiese had been figured and
a small number recorded as natives ; but it was scarcely suspected that a tribe of
the most exquisite beauty and symmetry aboundefl in every exposed pool in many
parts of the kingdom. It would be unjust to conclude this notice without
due credit to Mr. Jenner for the drawings from which the plates are engraved,
which leave little or nothing to be desired, and his contributions to the work are
by no means confined to the artistic department." — Gardeners' Chronicle.
%* Complete in one volume, royal' octavo, thirty-five coloured
plates. Price 36s. cloth.

EEEVE, BENHAM, AND REEVE. 15
XXXIII.
THE ESCULENT FUNGUSES OF ENGLAND ; a treatise on
their History, Uses, Structure, Nutritious Properties, Mode
of Cooking, Preserving, &c. By the Rev. Dr. Badham.
" We lately noticed the beautiful fasciculi of Mrs. Hussey, illustrative of what
is useful and interesting in the neglected class of Fungals. The present work,
which owes the greater part of its figures to the same exquisite pencil, and some
portion of the information it contains to the experience of Mrs. Hussey, will
he acceptable either as an appendage to the Illustrations, or as containing in
itself a mass of entertaining and valuable matter. It is scarcely possible that
two works so beautifully illustrated, written with such evident interest in the
subject, and in such a lively manner, should fail to draw attention to the
objects they describe; and the matter is in general so judiciously handled, that,
with any ordinary precaution, there will be no danger of mistakes being made.
The common Mushrooom is in some years extremely scarce, but there are many
species abounding in our woods and meadows which may be substituted with
safety ; and some, which, though usually rejected, are in many respects superior.
The work of M. Roques has had the effect at Paris of removing much prejudice
on the subject ; and we hope that many a group of Fungi, which would hitherto
have been trampled under foot, will now, in consequence of the labours of
Mrs. Hussey and Dr. Badham, be duly honoured." — Gardeners' Chronicle.
*t* In one handsomely illustrated volume, super royal 8vo.
Price 11. Is. coloured.
XXXIV.
CONCHYLIA DITHYRA INSULARUM BRITANNICARUM.
The Bivalve Shells of the British Isles, systematically arranged.
By William Tueton, M.D. Reprinted verbatim from the
original edition. The illustrations, printed from the original
copper-plates, are distinguished for their accurate detail.
*%* Large paper, 328 pp., 20 coloured plates. Price 21. 10s.
XXXV.
CONCHOLOGIA SYSTEMATICA ; or, Complete System of Con-
chology, in whieh the Lepades and Mollusca are described
and classified according to their natural organization and habits,
illustrated with 300 plates of upwards of 1,500 figures of
Shells. By Lovell Reeve, F.L.S.
" The text is both interesting and instructive ; many of the plates have ap
peared before in Mr. Sowerby's works, but from the great expense of collecting
them, and the miscellaneous manner of their publication, many persons will no
doubt gladly avail themselves of this select and classified portion, which also
contains many original figures." — Athenaeum.
*** In two quarto volumes, cloth. Price 10/. coloured ; 61. plain.
{Published at Twelve Guineas)

16

list of works.

XXXVI.
CONCHOLOGIST'S NOMENCLATOR ; or, Catalogue of recent
species of Shells, with their authorities, synonymes, and re
ferences to works where figured or described. By Agnes
Catlow, assisted by Lovell Reeve, F.L.S.
A catalogue of three hundred and twenty closely printed pages,
serving as a register of all the known species.
*** In sheets for labels, 20s. Cloth, 21s. Half-bound in calf,
cloth sides, interleaved with blank pages for remarks, 25s.

XXXVII.
THE PLANETARY AND STELLAR
Robert James Mann.

UNIVERSE. By

" A brief abstract of the discoveries of NewtoD clearly explained, and elegantly
illustrated." — Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review.
*** In one vol. 8vo, with 50 astronomical Diagrams and Map
of the Cbcumpolar Constellations. Price 5s. cloth.
XXXVIII.
ILLUSTRATIONS of the WISDOM and BENEVOLENCE of
the DEITY, as manifested in Nature. By H. Edwaeds, LL.D.
Cloth, 2s. 6d.
" A little excursion in the track of Paley and the broad road pf the Bridge-
water Treatises. Animals, Atmosphere, Organic Matter, Light, and Electricity
are the natural elements out of which the author deduces his pious lessons,
leading to a First Cause in wonder, admiration, and worship." — Literary Gazette.
XXXIX.
THE LONDON JOURNAL OF BOTANY. Edited by Sir
W. J. Hookee, K.H., D.C.L, F.R.S., &c.
*£* Vol. VII., completing tbe Series, Price 30s.

London : Printed by REEVE, BENHAM, and REEVE, King William Street, Strand.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY