Paris in '48; letters from a resident describing the events of the revolution

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PARIS IN '48

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PARIS IN '48

LETTERS FROM A RESI-
DENT DESCRIBING THE
EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION
BY BARONESS BONDE {nee ROBINSON)
EDITED BY C. E. WARR

WITH A PORTRAIT

NEW YORK

JAMES POTT & CO.

LONDON: JOHN MURRAY

1903

^<

r VUlM-^

PRINTED BY

WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,

LONDON AND BECCLES.

315/0-; is

PREFACE.

In 1900 my friend, the late Baroness Bonde, entrusted
to me the pleasant task of editing her letters, and at
the end of the same year she died. This little volume
thus becomes a memorial of one of the accomplished
and charming women of the last century. The letters,
which were written in Paris during the time of the
Revolution of 1848 which she witnessed from day
to day, are doubly interesting from her intimate
acquaintance with the diplomatic circle, and her power
of fresh and vivid description combined with shrewd
appreciation of character. The notes which I have
appended are designed to furnish historical details
sufficient to explain her allusions to the men and the
incidents of the time, and I have added a short con-
nected sketch of the events which preceded and led
up to the political crisis. Where subsequent history
has thrown more light on some of the leading actors,
I have indicated the fact, and here and there I have

«3

VI

PREFACE.

substituted English for the French phraseology which
the writer borrowed from her associations, along with
much of the lightness and verve of the French style.

Here is the short autobiographical sketch which
Madame Bonde gave me : —

" The following letters, written more than fifty years
ago, were never intended for publication, as will easily
be seen by any one who may be tempted to read them.
They were a daily almost hourly correspondence with
my friend Mrs. Ashburnham, whose husband was
officially employed in London. They had lived for
some years in Paris, and both had been much in French
society and took the deepest interest in that most
extraordinary revolution.

" In those days, when electricity was in its infancy,
when mails were stopped and letters opened, news-
paper correspondents were often unable to convey
intelligence, but I had a constant opportunity of send-
ing my letters direct by private hand to Mr. and
Mrs. Ashburnham, and they were eagerly devoured
by them and their friends. The Duke of Wellington
and Lord Palmerston were said to have clamoured
for them, as did also many others, so that Mrs.
Ashburnham had them copied as she feared they
would be worn out, and she thought they ought to
be kept in the family.

" I had many requests to allow them to be published.

PREFACE.

vn

but they were too personal, and would have required
more weeding than I then had time for ; but now,
after the lapse of half a century they can no longer
give offence, and a very dear friend has offered to
take the matter in hand.

"It may interest some to know how I happened
as an Irishwoman to be so much in France, and how
I was intimately acquainted with so many celebrities
and men in office of that day, so I shall add a very
brief biographical sketch.

" My father Sir Richard Robinson of Rokeby in
Ireland, with my mother a daughter of Lord Mount-
cashel, setded in Paris in 1819, and for more than
thirty years it was our real home, varied by a few,
very few, trips to England. The first revolutionary
epoch in my life was when the Bourbons made way
for the Orleanists under Louis Philippe, and I saw the
barricades of July, 1830, when, returning from the
country with my father, we assisted at the storming
of the barracks of the Rue de la P6piniere and when,
after seeing two men shot, I was dragged into a
porter's lodge, with the exclamation : '// ny a pas de
ban sens de laisser un enfant dans la rue sous un feu
croise.^ The fact was that all communications were
cut off, and my father had been so anxious for my
mother and the younger children, that he returned
to Paris and, not knowing what to do with me, took
me with him, on my promising not to cry — a promise
that I need not say I faithfully fulfilled ; and I fancy

viii PREFACE.

my taste for tumultuous times dates from this period,
when I received ' le baptdme du feu.'

" After this, my mother's salon became very Orleanist,
though we still saw many relics of the past. I remember,
among others, going to see ' le beau Dillon ' in his dotage,
and M. de Vaudreuil much in the same state ; their
wives were much younger, and gave graphic accounts
of the Court of Marie Antoinette where their hus-
bands were the Queen's favourites. I also saw the
Princesse de Vaudremont, of the House of Lorraine,
who managed the escape of Lavalette, and heard both
Count Lowenhielm and Lord Aboyne (afterwards
Lord Huntly) relate how they had danced at
Versailles with the unfortunate Queen. Among the
salons I frequented in my youth was that of the
Princesse de Chimay, the once famous Madame Tallien,
then called ' Notre dame de Thermidor.' Later
on I became better acquainted with other celebrities ;
— Prince Talleyrand, whom I remember playing at
whist, while the young friends of his great-niece
curtseyed to him as they passed through to the ball-
room ; Count Pozzo di Borgo and Baron de VitroUes,
who always boasted that they brought back the
Bourbons. I once sat next Marshal Soult (the Due
de Dalmatie) at a dinner given to him by the Duchesse
Decazes on his return from the coronation in London.
He was extremely disagreeable, and evidently thought
me unworthy of the place I occupied, nor can I
remember why I was there. Marshal Marmont (the

PREFACE. ix

Due de Raguse) whom I met in exile some years
after, was a daily visitor at my house in Hamburg.

"All the beauties of the Empire — Madame de
Vicence, Madame Augeraud (became Madame de
Ste. Aldegonde), and Madame de St. Jean d'Angely,
— frequented our Tuesday evenings, where I also
saw the three Sheridan beauties, the two Bulwers,
Lord Brougham, Monckton Milnes, Lord Alvanley,
the then Lord Granville and his most agreeable son.
Cousin, Montalembert, the painter Gudin, and a
number of others since become celebrated. Whilst
for a short time in England and at the Miss Berrys',
whose interesting conversation went back to the days
of Walpole, I met Macaulay, Sydney Smith, old Lady
Holland, and an agreeable Dr. Allen, whom she called
'her Atheist.' I forget whether I took any part
in the table talk, but I enjoyed it greatly and I shall
never forget the great kindness shown to the young
girl by these social stars.

"After the 17th of August, 1848, Mrs. Ashburn-
ham's departure to Constantinople and my own
removal to Sweden necessarily slackened our corre-
spondence, and my subsequent letters were not
returned, but before I left Paris my last experience
of revolutions was at the time of Louis Napoleon's
coup d'etat. I then had husband and children, and
was no longer allowed, nor even anxious, to visit more
barricades or assist at more popular meetings.

" My grandchildren and my great-grandchildren

X PREFACE.

now occupy most of my thoughts, to the exclusion of
much that is interesting in public affairs of the day ; to
them these letters have value as concerning very,
very ancient history, bordering on the legendary ; to
me, however, they are the realities of yesterday which,
from my daily experience during a long life, has much
in common with to-day and to-morrow.

"FLORENCE BONDE,

"Stockholm, 1900."

I may add a little by way of supplement to this
simple memoir.

Madame Sonde's grandfather the Rev. John
Friend took the name of Robinson on the death of
his uncle Lord Rokeby, Archbishop of Armagh and
Primate of Ireland, whose heir he became ; her father
served in the Peninsular War. He married, in
18 13, Lady Helena Moore, daughter of the Earl
of Mountcashel and of Lady Margaret King. Their
daughter was born at Florence on the i8th of
October, 1817 ; her parents' residence was in Paris
till 1843, ^nd that city again was her mother's home
from 1847, when her father died, till 1859.

Baron Knut Bonde whom Miss Robinson married
in 1849, belonged to an old Swedish family. He
was an intimate friend of King Oscar L, and was

PREFACE. xi

employed by him in many private diplomatic missions,
especially during the Crimean War. His influence
assisted to maintain friendly relations between Eng-
land and Sweden during the critical period from the
beginning of 1854, when Sweden announced her
neutrality.

The Baroness herself was constantly at the palace
as a confidential adviser, and she was likewise an
influential correspondent of the Times and the Dibats.
Her view at the time of her death remained that of
fifty years ago, namely, that the best security for the
country of her adoption is in England's strength :
without it, as she wrote me in one of her last letters,
" Russia would not hesitate to annex Norway and
become a naval power."

CONSTANCE E. WARR.

PARIS IN '48.

INTRODUCTION.

" It is not with impunity that a nation learns such a
lesson of blood and crime as that of '93. The virus
must work in her for long after, ready to burst out at
any time of disturbance."

This comment of M. P. de Coubertin, in his lucid
presentation of the course of events in France since
1 8 14, may serve as a preface to Madame Sonde's
graphic and searching description of the crisis in 1848.
By way of introduction to her letters, it is sufficient to
trace very briefly the steps by which the French nation,
after sweeping away the ' ancien regime,' began slowly
to build up its civil and political liberties.

France, up to 1789, had only the semblance of a
constitution. The King's will was everywhere para-
mount, there being no great Barons of the Realm, as in
England, to hold him in check. France, as another
writer observes,^ " has had nobles, but never an Aris-
tocracy." When some extraordinary tax was to be

1 Andre Lebon, "Fiance as it is," 1888.

2 PARIS IN '48.

levied, the King convoked the States-General, regarding
which it was said " The nobles fight, the clergy pray, the
rest pay." The Parliament or High Court of Justice
was summoned to register royal edicts, and might refuse
its assent ; but the edict was ratified notwithstanding,
through the formalities of a ' Lit de Justice,' or
' Audience.' In the administrative sphere all the
local representative bodies had been superseded by the
Intendants, the King's officials, who (except in a few
provinces) levied taxes and carried out the royal man-
dates without the consent of the community, and
without appeal.

In 1789 Louis XVI. found himself obliged, for lack
of funds, to convoke the States-General which had not
met since 16 14. He was then disposed to go so far as
to abolish the feudal dues and privileges of the nobility
and clergy ; but the demand for the redress of such
economic grievances went with, and of necessity en-
tailed, the claim for political reform — in other words, for
equality of civil rights, and a constitution which should
enfranchise at least the higher bourgeoisie, removing the
artificial distinction of the ' Third Estate,' and setting
limits to the royal power.

The Revolution of '93 having swept away with
the Monarchy and the privileges in question the whole
governmental organisation, France sought in vain in
her past for any political tradition or precedent, and
was driven from one constitutional experiment to
another. After four years of contentions within and
wars without, she welcomed a firm hand at the helm
and submitted to Bonaparte, first as Consul, then as
Emperor. His two successive Constitutions were
abortive, so that in 18 14, though the civic equality

INTRODUCTION. 3

gained by the levelling of the Revolution remained, the
necessary political readjustment was arrested.

The charter granted by Louis XVIII. in 18 14
created an Upper House of 140 life peers appointed by
the King, and a Chamber of Deputies. Trial by jury,
civil and religious freedom, and the liberty of the press
were established, together with a moderate franchise,
which made a bourgeois electorate of about 100,000,
excluding all who paid less than 300 francs in direct
taxes. But, although the motto of his minister, the
Due Decazes, was " Royaliser la France et nationaliser
la Royaute," the King, in his own belief, was such by
Divine right, and he was swayed by the old nobility
who were firmly bent on the restoration of their privi-
leges. Within the Chamber the aristocratic Right was
strongly entrenched and became aggressive under the
influence of the King's brother, the Comte d'Artois
(afterwards Charles X.), and the Society of the Congre-
gation, which had been formed during the anti-Catholic
tyranny of '93, and was now mainly a political propa-
ganda. A federation of the Royalist ' irrdconciliables '
was directed from the Pavilion Marsan, the Count's
residence, and the meeting-place of a private council
which he held on his own authority as Colonel-G6neral
of the National Guard. Opposed to the ' Ultras ' was
a revolutionary Left, chiefly Bonapartist, and active
within as well as outside the Chamber, its intrigues
leading more than once to insurrections. Neverthe-
less, the compromise on which the Government rested
gave hopes' of a true via media, encouraging and
encouraged by an intellectual revival, in which the
' doctrinaire ' leaders of the moderate party in the Legis-
lature were most conspicuous. Under the enlightened

4 PARIS IN '48.

guidance of Lamartine, Thiers, and Guizot, tlie Revo-
lution began to justify itself in practice as in theory,
and the reign of Louis XVIII. was a period of commer-
cial prosperity ; the first Exhibition was held in Paris,
and a general Council of Commerce and a free School
of Arts and Crafts were founded.

The retrograde policy was in the ascendant from
1820, when the murder of the Due de Berry, the heir
presumptive, was made an excuse for driving Decazes
from office. The repressive measures which followed
issued, after the accession of Charles X. in 1824, in a
violent crusade against the press, which the talent of
the ' doctrinaires ' had made an organ of liberal thought
strong enough to combat the Catholic reaction, and
support the new political principles against the theo-
cratic ideal of De Maistre and Lamennais. The
restoration of the old social order was threatened in
restrictions of the franchise and a proposal to re-estab-
lish the ' droit d'ainesse ' (the entail of property on the
eldest son). Hostile majorities in the Chamber brought
the conflict to a climax, and the ' thorough ' ministry
of Polignac, with the illegal ordinances of July, 1830,
led to the downfall of the Elder Bourbon dynasty, and
the succession of the Younger Branch in the person of
the Due d'Orldans (Louis Philippe), son of Philippe
the cousin of Louis XVI., who earned his sobriquet
' Egalit6 ' by casting in his lot with the Revolutionists
in '93.

Louis Philippe, though he affected a certain bour-
geois simplicity, yet insisted on ' legitimising ' his
position among the hereditary sovereigns, and claimed
for himself a personal authority or even autocracy,
which was to be supported by ministers of his choice,

INTRODUCTION. 5

and secured from popular interference by official control
over the electorate. Guizot, his minister, was tenacious
of his own office and distrustful of any concessions
which mightj by weakening the bureaucracy or enlarg-
ing the electoral area, make personal government imprac-
ticable. He upheld for long the vicious system which
made State officials eligible to the Chamber ; it contained
in 1846 no less than two hundred such functionaries.
His command of great majorities was used to stifle the
investigation of abuses, to resist every proposal of
electoral reform, and ultimately to curtail the citizens'
rights and liberties. A heavy hand laid on the press
and the platform brought about an opposition which
ended in catastrophe. " Reform to prevent revolution,"
was the watchword of this Opposition, and the agitation
took the shape of Reform banquets, which were started
to test the right of public meeting. No less than
seventy took place in different towns during the latter
half of 1847, and were attended by about 170,000
guests. The crisis was reached the following year,
when, in spite of Lamactine's rally to the cause of
liberty, Guizot carried an address declaring against the
freedom of the press, and prohibited a banquet organised
in Paris for February 22nd.

An ' 6meute ' on the next day, in which some fifty
persons were shot by the troops in the streets, led
quickly to an insurrection, which was not arrested by
the dismissal of Guizot. The King abdicated, and a
Provisional Government took the place of the
Monarchy.

The letters open with an account, of this ' 6meute,'
the first being dated February 24th.

PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th.

LETTER I.

Paris, Thursday, Feb. 24th, 1848.

My Dear Mrs. Ashburnham,

We are in the midst of a revolution more
fearful than that of 1830, because the mob are
beginning to pillage. I am just returned from a visit
to Mons. de Tracy, where the Lafayettes live, and
where I hoped to hear some news. On our road we
found two barricades, and the troops returning with
lowered muskets. Though there are a hundred
thousand regular troops in Paris, and two hundred
pieces of cannon, the King has given way, and we are
wholly and solely defended by the National Guard
some of whom are disaffected, at least to the dynasty.
The twelve colonels of the twelve legions went to the
Tuileries yesterday, and said that unless electoral
reform were granted and a change of Ministry, they
could not answer for their men. His Majesty gave
way, and sent for Mol6.^

' It is interesting to see how this action of the King appeared to a

Feb. 24th.] DISSOLUTION OF THE CHAMBER. 7

This, however, was only one step in the fatal
course of concession, and, after some fighting on the
boulevard, in which about fifty persons were killed,
Odilon Barrot was entrusted with the formation of
the Ministry.^ He is trying to form a cabinet with
Dufaure, Thiers, Rdmusat, and Lamoricifere, but per-
haps it is already too late even for this extreme parti.
The Chamber is dissolved, the town in a state of siege,
and Bugeaud military governor. Perhaps even now
Ledru Rollin, a Liberal to the verge of Communism,
is invested with the dictatorship.*

Mons, de Courcelles, who had just seen Mons.
Dufaure, says that the consternation is fearful.
Universal suffrage wiU probably be the result of the
many mistakes committed by the Ministry. The
King's abdication is called for at every barricade, and
his extreme cowardice has greatly damped the ardour
of his partisans. A fortnight ago this movement might

contemporary ; in itself it was rather reactionary, for Mole, who had been
minister under Napoleon, was a great upholder of the royal prerogative,
belonged to the old order of things, and was entirely out of sympathy with
the forward movements of the time,

' Barrot had withstood Louis Philippe's personal policy, and was leader
of the dynastic Opposition.

2 Ledru Rollin represented Socialism in the Chamber, and supported
the demand for universal suffrage. He was not made dictator, but became
Minister of the Interior in the Provisional Government, and subsequently
stood for the Presidency.

8 PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th.

have been prevented ; now, no one knows what he is
driving at. E. is in a dreadful state, as her husband
was on duty all Tuesday, and is just returned to the
barricade. He arrested three men himself, and as yet
has escaped unhurt, but you may imagine how anxious
we are. Some say we are at the end of the movement,
but I suspect that is more because we hope in the
magic number three than for any positive results.^
The Rue Basse du Rempart was running with
blood this morning, and some people say they still
hear a fusillade. The rappel and the ginerale are
beating everywhere, and one cannot but feel nervous
when one thinks of the spirit of anarchy and rapine
that is abroad. All the shops are shut, even in our
own peaceful quartier^ and as we were going down
the Rue d'Astorg, we saw a band of marauders who
were attempting to force Madame de Noailles' house,
repulsed by the National Guard. Bakers, wine-
merchants, and charcutiers have been pillaged. Most
of the houses with railings have been attacked, and
the iron or wooden palings turned into weapons
of offence. An American living in the Rue de
Ponthieu has been pillaged, and his pictures cut to
pieces with swords. I saw a National Guard disarmed

* Probably in allusion to its being the third day of rioting.

Feb. 24th.] THE KING ABDICATES. 9

by some boys under twenty, and I assure you it is a
service of no small danger to join the patrols. I spend
most of the day with E., who is already worn out with
anxiety, and quite ill. M. is well and so calm that I
can leave her without scruple. I must, of course, send
this per post, as the Embassy is inaccessible ; besides,
I am sure that in this case you will not mind. I
shall write again to-morrow if there is anything
settled. Of course I cannot execute your commission
immediately. The Rue de la Paix is in military occu-
pation, and not a shop open. I have no time for
more details ; I am just in time for post. If quiet is
restored, there must be a war in three months for
Italy. I have just heard there has been a fusillade on
the Place de la Concorde — a few killed, many wounded.
How will aU this end ?

P.S. — I open my letter to say that the King has
abdicated, and is off. The Comte de Paris is pro-
claimed, and the Duchesse d'Orldans Regent. It is
a frightful state of things. War is to be declared
against Austria and Russia, as Poland is one of the
cries of the mob. The vociferations are fearful.'

1 In July, 1847, ostensibly to suppress a local rising, Austria had
occupied Ferrara ; the Pope protested, and England and France sent their
squadrons to the Bay of Naples. This action strengthened the national
party, and in January '48 Ferdinand II. was forced to grant a Constitution.

lo PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th.

II.

Feb. 24.th, 11 at night.

It is impossible to sleep after such a day, so I shall
begin to chronicle the events that have succeeded each
other with fabulous rapidity since my incoherent letter
this morning. An aide-de-camp of the Minister of
War, who was in the King's cabinet when he abdicated,
gave me a detailed account of this most signal piece of
cowardice. He had reviewed the troops in the Carrousel
on horseback, highly rouged, when a cry was raised,
" Voici les Faubourgs ! " '

No one had any orders, no one gave any. The mob
rushed forward, shouting "Vive la Garde Nationale ! "
" Vivent les troupes ! " and shook hands with the out-
posts. The King retreated precipitately with his sons,
and a sub-lieutenant of the National Guard rushed
alone into the Palace, asking to see him. He was
admitted, and in the greatest agitation said, " Your
Majesty must abdicate — nous sommes d6bord6s." ^
"Very well," says the King, "in favour of my

Jealousy of Austria prompted France in the desire to support at this
juncture Charles Albert of Piedmont, who had decided to champion the
national cause throughout Italy.

1 The poorer districts, such as the Faubourg St. Antoine and the
Faubourg du Temple, had always been centres of revolutionary movements,
and their inhabitants were foremost in every popular demonstration.

2 " -^e ai-e outflanked."

Feb. 24th.] FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 1 1

grandson." "No, unconditionally," says the young
and self-elected mouthpiece of public opinion. Would
you believe it ? of all who were congregated round
the Royal Person, Piscatory alone said, " Go down
and head your troops ; fight for your crown and your
dynasty." He was overruled, and they all marched
out of the Palace, except the Duchesse d'Orldans, her
children, and the Due de Nemours. The papers will
tell you the dreadful scene the unfortunate woman
underwent in the Chamber of Deputies. The Con-
vention was nothing to this day's scenes ; shots were
fired over the head of Mons. Sauzet into the King's
picture, and in the tumult the little Princes were sepa-
rated from their mother. The Due de Nemours'
epaulets were torn off, and he escaped with great
difficulty. The Royal Family are gone to Havre to
be ready to embark for America. Many houses have
been entered in the search for arms, but I cannot hear
of pillage, except at the Tuileries. Here all the furni-
ture was tossed out of the windows, the clothes paraded
on sticks, the looking-glasses smashed, the portraits
hacked with swords, and the carriages burned. The
same scenes took place at the Palais Royal, which was
set on fire. Report says the Opera is burnt : all the
Corps de Garde decidedly are there. I was startled by

12 PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th.

hearing two shots fired, and of course I have been half
an hour at the window, where, however, I have seen
nothing but two patrols of National Guard, who will, I
trust, maintain as much order as is consistent with the
Sovereignty of the People and the total absence of all
police and regular force. Upwards of five hundred
Municipal Guards have been massacred, and some of
the civic guard have been wounded ; but we hope all
is settled now, and that the people, having got every-
thing, have nothing left to cry for. A mob with
lighted torches has been parading the streets, forcing
us all to light up our windows, under penalty of seeing
them broken. We are very pacific, and complied, so
they cried " Bravo ! " but we are heartily ashamed of
our submission to the Republic proclaimed at four, and
which has perhaps already ceased to exist. I say this,
but I do not hope it ; I am more inclined to think we
shall have a despotic democracy with Ledru Rollin for
a dictator. You cannot imagine the intense anxiety
of this very long day ; we have been running from
house to house all day, then rushing to the Mairie
to hear about Adolphe.^ At times news reached us
of perfect quiet, then of renewed tumults ; the cannon
discharged for fun by the people kept us in perpetual

' The writer's brother-in-law.

Feb. 24th.] WEAKNESS OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 13

uncertainty. An officer on horseback proclaimed the
Comte de Paris just as I was closing my letter to
you this morning, and at five a friend came to tell
us of the Republic and the Provisional Government.^

Some say that Lamartine & Co. have taken an
ouvrier into their counsels, and I hope it may be so,
for some of them are far more peaceable than the so-
called enlightened Left. I have not words to express
the contempt I feel for the Monarch who by his
obstinacy brought on the crisis, and by his cowardice
lost the dayj On Wednesday it was possible to
mitrailler, and he made concessions ; this morning
liberal measures and promises were his only chance,
and he ran for it. I fully believe in the re-establish-
ment of public order ; I trust we shall soon be indi-
vidually safe, but it is horrible to think that this vast
city is in the hands of an armed mob, drunk with
excitement and with the wine which they drank from
the barrels in the royal cellar. Isolated houses are
most dangerous at such moments, for many lawless
individuals will take advantage of the moment to

1 In this Government there were two policies, represented respectively
by Lamartine and by Louis Blanc. Lamartine, a Royalist by birth and
personal sympathy, foresaw by this time that the Monarchy would be
impossible ; he threw the influence of his genius, which had just culminated
with the publication of his "Histoire des Girondins," into the growing
Republican movement, and was instantly carried to power.

14 PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 25th.

pillage. The Koerneritz family have left their house,
Madame de Magnoncour has taken refuge at her
sister's in this street, Madame d'Osmond is gone to
the country ; in fact, there is a great sauve-qui-peut
among the very rich. Some small traits of character
give me confidence in the people and hope for the
future. The Duchesse d'Orleans' apartments have not
been pillaged, and she is, I am told, gone back to them.
All those going out of the Palace are severely searched
to prevent theft, and a gold crucifix that was at the
head of the Queen's bed was carried to St. Roch and
deposited on the altar. It is decidedly not '93 ;
but the spirit of '9 1 is abroad, and we are nearing it.
Ministers are put to flight, and Guizot has escaped in
disguise. I am happy to say Adolphe is gone home,
so now I shall go to bed, and if we are all safe and
sound to-morrow, I will continue my narrative.^

III.

Friday, Feb. 25th.

I was woke by the rappel, and of course went
over to my sister's as soon as I was dressed. From

1 Guizot, who had been in power since 1840, was much disliked by the
masses. He appealed only to the bourgeois electorate, and paid no heed to
the growing discontent of the unenfranchised millions.

Feb. 2sth.] THE TROOPS EVICTED. 15

her windows I saw four hundred men come to
the neighbouring barracks and demand arms. They
were distributed from the windows, and the whole
regiment^ marched out with their knapsacks on,
and two days' rations tied up on the top of their
great-coats. They shook hands with the people and
with the shopkeepers, and walked away singing very
merrily, and saying they were going home to their
families and provinces. In the mean time the armed
men formed into a tolerably regular battalion, headed
by a cadet of the Ecole Poly technique, who addressed
them under our window, and promised to take them to
the Hotel de Ville to take the orders of the Provisional
Government, after which the rallying point was to be
the Place de la Republique, formerly Concorde. The
proclamation of the Government contains some neces-
sary reforms, but many Utopian notions, impossible in
the midst of the luxuries and vices of a great capital.
Lamartine is the only gentleman among the new
Directory, and of course he won't last. I have not an
idea who Mons. Flocon may be,^ but Recurt is the ne
plus ultra of Communism. Louis Blanc is clever and
educated ; so are Arago and Marrast, the editor
of the National^ but I do not know much of the rest.*

' of regulars, ^ Editor of La Reforme.

^ Of this group Louis Blanc was the member destined to have most

i6 PARIS IN '48.' [Feb. 25th.

I find the post did not go yesterday, so you will
get my two letters at once, and you will see by the
short interval between them the giant strides of the
Liberal movement. I can tell you nothing beyond our
own quartier, as we have not ventured far ; but this
morning the National Guard was called by sections, not
legions, and to the Commune, not to the Mairie. The
Chamber of Peers is abolished, and Boissy made his
last speech yesterday. I hope you subscribe to some
French newspaper, for it is well worth while to read
the organs of this most singular Revolution. Every
one has put on a uniform, and the pickets are very
numerous to prevent pillage, which as yet has only
consisted in the combatants applying for food, wine,
tobacco, and snuflF, without the slightest attempt to pay.
In fact, no one dare ask for it. Occasionally, in sign

lasting influence. He was born in 181 3, at Madrid, where his father was
inspector-general of finance to Joseph Bonaparte ; his mother was related
to Pozzo di Borgo, the Corsican patriot. Recurt, a doctor by profession,
was very popular in the democratic Faubourg St. Antoine, on account of
his fearlessness and personal disinterestedness. He was successively Minister
of the Interior and of Public Works in the Provisional Government. Em-
manuel Arago was a son of the famous astronomer, and was called to the
Bar in 1837 ; in '48 he was appointed Commissary-General to the Republic,
and was sent to Lyons to levy the unpopular tax for the National Work-
shops. Marrast, the Mayor of Paris under both the Provisional Govern-
ment and the Assembly, was editor of the National; unlike the Riforme,
which obtained a much stronger hold on the democratic party, it was
opposed to Socialism.

Feb. 28th.] POLITENESS OF THE MOB. 17

of rejoicing, a gun is fired in the air, which rather
startles one, but, on the whole, it is wonderful how
little emotion we feel. I cannot tell you how civil the
mob is ; I do not think it prudent to take a servant,
and the groups give me the inside of the pavement,
saying, " Vive la R^publique, madame ! " I bow and
pass on. Of course I don't go far, but If I did, and
saw any row, I should not hesitate to ask the protection
of a blouse. The advance of civilisation will serve
to prevent bloodshed, but I am glad that I am very
obscure. The shops are half open, and the itinerant
vendors of apples, potatoes, etc., plying as usual.
This morning I saw two men carrying a piano on a
hand-cart, and the workmen cleaning the gas-lamps as
usual. It is wonderful, but I say again where are we
to be driven to ?

IV.

Feb. 2gth.

We are doing very well, and the Provisional
Government is getting on splendidly. Shops were re-
opened yesterday, carriages appeared. Legitimists have
inscribed themselves with their titles on the roll of
the National Guard, and Armand de Polignac joined

1 8 PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 28th.

on Saturday in maintaining order in the Republic.
Lamartine's energy and courage are beyond all praise ;
in the midst of the infuriated mob calling for the red
flag and Communism, he maintained the tricolour and
the doctrine of public order. Muskets were levelled
at him, swords brandished, but he did not stir, and he
carried the day. One half, one tenth part of the
energy would, if not have saved the dynasty, at least
have left some regrets ; but as it is, " Lache comme un
Bourbon," is more than ever a common saying. The
Due de Montpensier, with tears in his eyes, would
hardly give his father time to sign the abdication,
which he snatched from the table and handed to
Mons. Roche, the sub-lieutenant, who had asked for
It. The Queen implored her husband to head the
troops, and die in the Carrousel, saying, '*Je vous
b6nirai du haut du balcon," but he would not. The
Due de Nemours accompanied the Duchesse d'OrMans
to the Chamber, and there fainted. The Prince de
Chalais dragged him out, and a deputy gave him his
great-coat ; no one knows where he is, but he is safe,
for the first act of the Republic was to proclaim the
abolition of the death-penalty for political oiFences. I
have no time to tell you one half of the anecdotes going
about respecting the cowardice of the Royal Family

Feb. 28th.] DEVASTATION OF RAILWAYS. 19

and the falling off of their creatures. Messrs. d'Hou-
detot and de Berthois, King's aides-de-camp, applied
on Saturday for employment under the Provisional
Government ; Mons. de Cabrferes also sent to ask
of the Republic the sword taken from him by the
Monarchy. What blindness to suppose that his trial
gives him any claim on a revolution which professes to
be made against corruption ! There is no pillage ; all
those who have been found stealing have been shot by
their comrades, and many bodies have been left in the
roadway with the label * Voleur ' on their breasts.
To-day everything is going on as usual, but years will
not repair the mischief done in a night ; there is hardly
a tree left on the Boulevards, the Champs Elys^es are
devastated, the Palais Royal much injured by fire, the
Tuileries gutted, the streets pulled up. Rambuteau
has fled, so has Mons. Delessert. The Decazes,
Chabannes, Dumas, and many others that we know,
are ruined ; the Blounts have lost incalculably, as the
mischief to the railroads is more than any one dare
avow. All the coachmen and draymen who were
ruined by the competition have taken advantage of the
confusion to burn the magazines and break down the
bridges ; Mrs. Blount told me that their first rough
guess at their losses was ;^6o,ooo ! but they only knew

20 PARIS IN '48, [Feb. 28th.

of disasters as far as Rouen, and perhaps it is worse
beyond. I have seen many people in high authority,
many in positions of great responsibility, and all seem
sanguine for the future. I do my best to keep up
poor E.'s spirits ; she will have it that the children are
ruined, but I think that the depreciation of property is
only momentary ; I have not felt one instant's uneasi-
ness, nor do I think that as yet there has been any
cause for it. The Ministers are safe, the troops re-
organised, the National Guard unanimous, and as yet
there is no one to head any party, consequently we
have nothing but Republicans. I hope neither Bour-
bons nor Buonapartes will attempt anything; the struggle
would be unavailing, and the consequences impossible
to foresee. This has been far more fearful, far more
wonderful than July, 1830; there, there was a party,
an organisation ; here we have the spirit of the people,
and it has blown Royalty to the winds. It is curious
to see the total want of foundation there was to the
bourgeois throne, and the want of sympathy felt for
the Citizen King. The sous-pr^fet of Dreux,^ who
was here yesterday, says Louis Philippe is in his
dotage, and I almost hope so, for I cannot bear

1 A favourite pied-a-terre of Louis Philippe, and the burial-place of the
Orleans family.

Feb. 28th.] PRINCESS LIEVEN. 21

such a total want of spirit and resolution ; if his
crown was worth having, it was worth fighting for,
and his sons should have died by his side. I am sure
the Times will give you more news than I could,
but I knew you would like to hear of us. M. is
very calm, and has no intention of moving unless she
is obliged. I saw yesterday a diplomatist who told me
that Guizot was by no means the courageous man we
thought. He was bold at the tribune, and inspired by
having an audience, but in a tSte-a-tete he was easily
bullied ; he meant to retire three years ago, but
Princess Lieven prevented him ; much good she has
done by it ! On the boulevards, a few minutes before
the attack that decided the fate of the nation, a man
was vociferating for him, when some one called out
in the crowd, " II n'y est pas ; vous savez bien qu'il
couche toujours chez sa princesse Russe." If they had
added her address, the Hotel Talleyrand would have
fared as badly as the Tuileries. I believe she fled with
Lady Sandwich, but no one seems to know much about
it. All the English are writing to Lady Normanby
for advice ; how silly, for what can she know, or
how protect any one } ^ We see many croakers, of

1 She was the wife of Lord Normanby, Ambassador to France since
1846.

22 PARIS IN '48. [March and.

course, but some hopeful persons, and these I join ;
for misfortunes are only doubled by anticipation, and
we have enough as it is. I have written this most
infamously, for I am over-run with inquiries from
England, and am dreadfully hurried.

March 2nd.

I am SO glad I wrote, as I trust my letters will
have removed your a.ixiety with regard to life and
property. For the present we are all as safe here as
anywhere, and I am sure we have suffered far less than
those who were in uncertainty. The Provisional
Government is doing wonders ; the labours of Hercules
are nothing to those of the nine who now govern us."^

Many workmen have returned to their work, and
the greatest activity is displayed in drilling the Garde
Nationale Mobile. Never was Paris better guarded,
there are twenty rounds of patrols every night, and we
have now about 225,000 men under arms. The
Legitimists, Bonapartists, etc., have all rallied round

1 These were Lamartine, Dupont de TEure (President of the Council),
Ledru Rollin, the barrister Marie, Garnier-Pages (leader of the extreme
Left), Cremieux (Minister of Justice), Marrast (Mayor of Paris), the
journalists Flocon and Arago : to these were immediately added Louis
Blanc and the mechanic Albert.

March 2nd.] HOW THE MOVEMENT BEGAN. 23

the new tricolour, and all are unanimous in defence of
public order. It is now publicly confessed that the
late outbreak is the result of a vast conspiracy that
has been going on for seven years, and was to have
culminated at the death of the King. The leaders had
no hopes during his lifetime ; they thought that the
wily Monarch would have made so many concessions
that he would at least have died on the throne ; but
the obstinacy of Guizot, the apathy of Duchatel, and
the gross ignorance of Delessert hastened matters to
a crisis. On Wednesday the forty-eight Republican
sections were called out, for they thought the hour
was come ; but the change of Ministry announced in
the evening seemed to foil their endeavours. It was
at that moment that they drew lots as to who should
fire the first shot, for after such a demonstration
they could no longer conceal their existence, and they
resolved to fight. A shot was aimed at the Colonel's
horse from the Rue Basse, and then the insurgents
pressed upon the soldiers without firing ; the Colonel
thought this was an attack, and ordered a volley.
Fifty-two bodies were stretched on the boulevards,
and then borne about the streets with the cries of
" Vengeance ! Vengeance ! " I think this account is
plausible and probable ; it is indeed the only one that

24 PARIS IN '48. [March 2nd.

explains the stray shot that upset the Monarchy. The
man who saved Madame de Mountjoie told her
he came from Lille for the Revolution, which shows
the ramifications of the plot ; and one of the writers
in the National told a man I know that they had
been accumulating arms and ammunition at the bottom
of the Rue d' Amsterdam for years.

I walked all down the boulevards on Monday,
and never saw such fearful havoc. From the Rue de
la Paix to Montmartre there is not a tree, not a
column, not a lamp-post, nor even a railing left stand-
ing. Even the wooden shelters of the coach in-
spectors are lying in the middle of the roadway,
charred and smouldering ruins. Armourers' shops
are the picture of desolation, and almost every man
is armed ! Guns, swords, pistols, are hung in wild
confusion round the men in blouses, and gentlemen,
too, are most ridiculous figures, with cockades on
their hats, and sword-belts over wadded over-coats.
The Marseillaise^ the Parisienne, and the Chant des
Girondins are sung in nightly chorus in every street.
Small industries have sprung up as if by magic :
"La cocarde nationale, je la vends un sou." "Les
R6publicaines, chansons supprim6es par I'ex-tyran,
15 centimes," etc. Everywhere collections for the

March 2nd.] RIOTING AT THE TUILERIES. 25

wounded, whom I believe to be very few in number.
I afterwards went to the Tuileries, and there, indeed,
the devastation was most melancholy ; not a window
left, the stone piers of the gates pulled down, and
plumbers busy in many places replacing the bent and
broken railings. Bands of Difenseurs de la Patrie
and hideous women were found in the salons of the
Palace, and the Carrousel was full of most ludicrously
armed ruffians. One, about sixteen, was mounting
guard with the greatest gravity, having on his head
one of Madame Adelaide's bonnets, and on his back
a blanket ; his pistols were fastened with curtain
loops, and his sword was without a scabbard.^ Others
were half in uniform, all grave, civil and orderly.
In the midst of this rabble, the cadets of St. Cyr
and the Polytechnic were superintending the pack-
ing of the vans, which they afterwards drove them-
selves to the Treasury. Even at the height of the
scrimmage on Friday, the mob who had possession of
the Palace, hit upon an expedient to save some things
of great value ; they were put on a stretcher covered
with a blanket, and carried by men who said ; " Place
aux blesses." Of course it is nonsense to say nothing

1 Madame Adelaide, whose head-gear was thus misappropriated, had
been throughout her life the close confidante of her brother the King j her
death, in 1847, was a great blow to him.

26 PARIS IN '48. [March 2nd.

has been lost, but really there has been less than could
have been expected by the most sanguine. I cannot
tell you the number of letters I have been obliged to
write during the last few days ; I fear that in conse-
quence I may have repeated myself to you, but I know
you will excuse this. There certainly is something in
the French atmosphere that renders us more brave in
the hour of danger, for I give you my word we have
never had an instant's perturbation except about
Adolphe. We used to walk to the Mairie, hear
he was safe, and return to discuss the probabilities of
the future. To-day is the grand demonstration in
honour of Armand Carrel. I am told E. de Girardin,
who shot him, is to speechify and gush on the occasion,
which, I was told, was in the best of taste.^

I hope you may not set out till you see a little
more of the prospects of our world, so dark, so gloomy
everywhere. I am sanguine, but then I have no reason
to fear, and that makes me hope. How thankful

1 Armand Carrel had helped Thiers and Mignet to found the National.
He was a chivalrous Republican, who, out of misguided enthusiasm, fought
against France in the war with Spain in 1824. Emile de Girardin, who
killed him in a duel, was also a journalist, his best-known paper being
La Presse. He was for many years a deputy, but was too unstable in his
politics (his nickname was ' La Girouette *) to have much influence ; he was,
however, a brilliant polemical debater, and led several attacks on Guizot's
corrupt Ministry.

March 2nd.] ABOLITION OF TITLES. 27

I am that was spared this dreadful sight ; I

remember his despair in 1830, and that was child's
play compared to this. Louis Philippe has not left
an adherent in France, and so far he saves trouble ; but
other parties must form as soon as order is restored,
and then war alone will prevent the French devouring
each other. I have been suffering acutely from tooth-
ache, and as my dentist was on guard and there was
a barricade at his door, I have had no remedy but
patience ; in telling you this, I feel I am quite as
ridiculous as the man who, having escaped from the
catastrophe of the 8th of May on the Versailles railway,
ever after called himself une victime, because he had
lost his umbrella. But you may laugh at me, and I
don't care. Titles were abolished yesterday, and all
the ministers impeached, but not till they were all safe.
Pray excuse this abominable scrawl ; I have not time
to write, nor could I go slowly if I would, with such
scenes before my eyes. We cannot read ; history
and romance contain nothing equal to what we see
from our windows.

28 PARIS IN '48. [March sth.

VI.

March 5 th.

You will make me quite conceited by praising me
so much for what is a real gratification to me ; I always
liked writing, and now that events crowd so upon each
other that the history of a day is more remarkable than
that of years, I literally can do nothing else. Then
you understand, and feel, and enter into the spirit of the
nation, and that is really great and good. I do not
say we shall carry out all Lamartine's noble theories,
nor make his splendid language the voice of the people ;
but, believe me, much will be done. In the Provisional
Government there are some honest men : I need not
mention Lamartine, he is well known, but Carnot,
Marrast, and Louis Blanc have also much merit.
The last named has the confidence of the working
classes ; Marrast belongs to the Liberal press, and has
not, like Emile de Girardin (who aims at notoriety),
des anteddens de com d'assises} Mons. Goudchaux,

1 This is, no doubt, in allusion to the fact that E. de Girardin, who was
the natural son of General Alexandre de Girardin, had been legitimised by
his father in 1828. Carnot, son of the member of the Comite de Salut public
in 1793, was a disciple of St. Simon, and an educational reformer. He was
made Minister of Public Worship and Instruction in the Provisional Govern-
ment, and attempted in vain to conciliate the clergy, who were hostile to
him as a free-thinker. He initiated various measures which paved the way

Mar.sth.] THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT. 29

the Minister of Finance, is a very able man, and
a good practical administrator ; he, Crdmieux, and
Lamartine, have kept almost all the stafF of the late
Ministry, which is wise and saves time. Not so
Ledru RoUin and Subervie. The Ministry of the
Interior is the vast field in which small ambitions are
opposing their new and most unfounded claims to
those in possession. General Subervie is eighty-three,
and quite incapable of organising an army ; this how-
ever is most necessary, for the late movement has been
fatal to the spirit of the troops. What can you expect
from men whose orders were : " You will advance on
the people ; if they charge, you will retreat ; if they
push on, return to your guard-houses, but on no account
fire " ? The consequence is, numbers of officers broke
their swords, and have since entered the National Guard,
on which the Provisional Government has conferred
the privilege of distinguishing between an emeute and a
rivolution legitime} An article in the Presse, supposed to

towards free education, but his errors of judgment deprived him of the credit
of his work. Mons. Goudchaux, here mentioned, was of Jewish origin, and
head of a well-known bank ; he did not long retain his portfolio, as he
resigned on the 5th of March. Cremieux, Minister of Justice (also a Jew),
was a distinguished advocate, free-trader, and reformer.

1 General Subervie was the first Minister of War in the Provisional
Government ; he was from the outset ignored by the Commission of
Defence, of which the best-known generals were members, and his appoint-
ment was almost immediately cancelled.

30 PARIS IN '48. [March 5th

be inspired by Lamartine, gives much good advice,
reprobates the abuses already springing up, and ends with
the warning: "Prenez garde que la R^publique ne
perisse par le ridicule ! " This is more true than
appears at first sight, for every great action has had its
parody, Lamartine gloriously proclaimed the abolition
of the death-penalty for political oiFences, in the presence
of an armed mob demanding the heads of the Ministers,
and, a few days after, Emile de Girardin goes to Le
Mand6, to the tomb of Arraand Carrel whom he killed
in a duel, and "avec des larmes dans la voix (style
command^) " makes a speech, a literal extract from
Dupin's riquisitoire, begging the abolition of duel-
ling. Then the illustrious poet gained immortal
honour by his adherence to the old flag of the Re-
public, and yesterday, Courtais, the unknown deputy
of the Left who now heads the National Guard,
thundered against a red flag held by some gamin,
and instantly went to the expense of a new one.
Newspapers are not half quick enough in giving in-
formation ; every decree is posted, and sometimes ten
succeed each other in an hour. Then the independent,
the disinterested, choose also to be represented, and
as they are forbidden the use of white paper, they print
without ceasing on all manner of flaming colours. I

March sth.] ELOQUENT PLACARDS. 31

read the rights of women in yellow, those of old men
in blue, the regulations of the octroi in pale lilac, and
the opinion of an ill-used patriot in bright pink. The
first of these placards I did not well understand, but
the upshot is the establishment of clubs, where the
privileges of washerwomen and their remedy against
the ironers will be clearly defined : of course each
industry wiU have its club, and we shall come down
to tricoteuses. I did see one woman in a Phrygian
cap, but I must say she was hissed. The old men
propose (in blue) to have 500 francs a year secured to
them at fifty-five years, 700 francs at sixty-five, and
1 100 francs at seventy-five ; if they marry or get out
of health, there is to be a scale of years adapted to
either emergency. The lilac placard is evidently a
butcher who wishes to encourage the consumption of
meat, for he says : " A quoi devons-nous attribuer les
libert^s de I'Angleterre ? i leur force ; et leur force
d'ou vient elle .? d'une nourriture saine et abondante
dont la viande fait la base, et dont la salaison est
exclue." Much they know about England if they
suppose the working classes don't eat bacon. The
pink petition is signed " Sobrier," who for three days
was joined to Caussidifere in the administration of
police. He invites all who want nothing but the glory

32 PARIS IN '48. [March 5th.

of France to join him in the Rue de la Rochefoucauld,
and stem the stream of public corruption which is be-
ginning to sully the pure stream of Republican France.
I passed at the bottom of his street yesterday, and
cannot say I perceived any symptoms of the crowd for
whom he was prepared.^

I forgot to mention a vermilion placard from Les
Travailleurs ; it is too long to repeat, but the end is :
" Mes amis, nous apporterons aux manufactures nos
sueurs, les maitres y porteront leurs fortunes ; capitali-
sons le tout et faisons un partage loyal ! " What do
you say to the " capitalisation de la sueur " } is
Laputha so far from us ? I went yesterday to see the
funeral ceremonies on the boulevard, and never was in
so dense a crowd. It was a strange sight, a little
solemn and very absurd ; there were no cries, no

1 Sobrler was a political enthusiast who devoted himself and his consider-
able fortune to Republican propaganda ; he used his house as a secret club,
and there stored arms which were supplied to him by the Prefecture of
Police on the authority of a letter from Lamartine. Caussidiere was con-
nected with the paper La Reforme. On the formation of the Provisional
Government, he marched straight from the barricades to, and installed
himself in, the Prefecture of Police, whence it was impossible to dislodge
him. He was a man of immense energy, and soon organised a rough and
ready force of 2000 Gardes du Peuple, or Montagnards, by means of whom
he kept order. On the 13th of March he was confirmed in his office, on
the 15th May he resigned, having been accused of lack of energy in the
attempt to prevent the populace from invading the Assembly. He appealed
to the electors, and was returned by 147,000 votes.

March 5th.] FUNERAL OF THE VICTIMS. 33

enthusiasm, except for the Polish children and for a
few workmen who bore the banner with 'A bas les
incendiaires.' The car was a failure, and so shaky
that the figure of Liberty reached the Bastille with the
greatest difficulty. As most workmen are busy talking
about their rights, all work is done by amateurs, and
badly enough in all conscience ; Heaven preserve you
and your carriage springs from amateur pavement !
The Presse said : " Que chaque Garde National
replace un pav6 et la circulation sera rdtablie sur tous
les points ; " so it is, but imagine the jolts ! The finest
thing in the whole procession was the Garde Nationale
Mobile, the enrolled of yesterday, as soldier-like, as
martial as the veterans of the regular army ; it is quite
true that every man is born a soldier here, and though
a revolution may find them unfit for street warfare, be
assured that the veriest gamin will be a lion against the
enemy. You can have no idea of the ludicrous means
of escape to which terror has driven many women of
society ; Madame de Valin and Madame de St. Priest
were so frightened that they dressed as peasants, got a
barrowfal of eggs and left Paris, shouting the Mar-
seillaise out of tune ; if I had done anything of the
sort, I never could see an egg again without blush-
ing. Many Englishwomen have exercised their vast

D

34 PARIS IN '48. [March sth.

pedestrian powers during the last momentous events,
and have reached unheard of distances with hordes of
children and no clean clothes ; they have braved their
usual bugbear — wet feet, and have been mostly laid
up with coughs and colds within a radius of twenty
miles.

Mrs. Hope's house on the Quai d'Orsay was entered
for arms by twelve men, one of whom left traces of his
wounds on the carpet ; they looked at her dressing-
case and many valuable things about the room, but
said they only wanted arms, and begged to have those
she inherited from her father. General Rapp. The
servant begged they would at least leave the sword
presented to the General by the town of Dantzig, and
they agreed, and left the house crying, "Vive le
General Rapp ! "

I believe I told you Louis Philippe had not left
a partisan in France, but I had not then seen Mrs.

, and as she has requested me to give publicity

to her opinions, I hope you will say from her that
the King was on horseback all the morning, and that
the Princes fought like lions, but the crowd was so
great that no one found it out ; she says that the truth
being told on this subject, may be of use to them when
they come back. Mr. ■ is equally lucid, but on

March 6th.] THE NEW ELECTORATE. 35

different lines ; his confidence is unbounded, and he
would go through ten such revolutions, " sans crainte
du lendemain," as Chenier says.

VII.

March 6th.

I heard a great deal about the National Assembly
yesterday, and hasten to communicate my intelligence :
the elections are fixed for the 9th of April, and the
meeting for the 20th ; every Frenchman of twenty-one
is an elector, every Frenchman of twenty-five is eligible ;
you may vote where you please, and there will be
one representative to every 40,000, that is about 900
members in all. It is fully expected that the elections
will be very moderate, in which case we shall have
more imeutes ; the Sovereign People will decidedly
attempt fighting, and as certainly be defeated by the
National Guard who are, to a man, conservative. The
very important point is to get over the next six weeks,
and meet the Assembly with so many great and impor-
tant decrees of the Provisional Government that
Lamartine may be named President for five years.
This will give the Republic time to wear itself out,
and we shall return to something absolute, whether

36 PARIS IN '48. [March 6th.

military or legitimate I do not pretend to say. Unfor-
tunately parties are already beginning to appear ; now
that every one is convinced that we have jumped from
'89 to '95 over the Reign of Terror and proscrip-
tion, and done the work of six years In as many days,
they wish to hurry on the denouement most unwisely.
In the corps de gardes and the caf6s, the Regency Is
openly talked of and pressed on the civic guard ; in
other places the Due de Bordeaux is praised and
called " I'homme de I'avenir." ^ Neither of these
disturbing factors has a party, but they are trouble-
some and dangerous considering the very slight
foundation on which public order now rests. To
my mind a reaction (If any) would be Legitimist :
" On revlent sur la haine, jamais sur le m^prls."
The partisans of the elder branch have shown them-
selves everywhere In the ranks of the people since
the 24th ; they assist In the maintenance of order,
and are in general loudly cheered ; for somehow
there Is a prestige about great names, to which even
the vulgar are accessible. They say that when the
Tuilerles were first opened to the public, a young
man sat down to one of the Royal pianos and began

1 The Due de Bordeaux, better known as the Comte de Chanbord,
son of Charles X.

March 6th.] DE POLIGNAC AS A PATRIOT. 37

playing the Marseillaise with such spirit that he soon
collected a crowd of the heroes around him. In their
enthusiasm they all called out —

" Qui es-tu, que nous te fassions nommer
officier ? "

His answer was : " Si je vous dis mon nom, vous
me jeterez par la fenetre."

" Mais non, que tu sois le diable lui-m6me nous te
porterons en triomphe."

It was Alphonse de Polignac, the son of the minis-
ter who overthrew Charles X., who was proclaiming
the triumph of the popular cause ; is it not a strange
rapprochement'? To finish this long story, I must add
the Garde Mobile have unanimously named him their
captain.^

Mons. Guizot did not leave this till Wednesday
the 1st, and his last words were: "The King dis-
pensed with my services on Wednesday, and on
Thursday he was hurled from his throne." What do
you say to such infatuation ? I know nothing of
diplomatic appointments, but I will certainly let you

' Jules de Polignac had been one of the most unpopular of the ministers
of Charles X., for he it was who in 1830 promulgated the reactionary ' Four
Ordinances ' which dissolved the Chambers, called together a new Parlia-
ment, suspended the liberty of the press, and altered the franchise. He was
with difficulty rescued from the populace who clamoured for his head.

38 PARIS IN '48. [March loth.

hear as soon as any are made. I cannot tell you how
many persons have written to me imploring, some a
line out of interest for my safety, others a slight sketch
of the times ; this I cannot supply : each day is so full
that I hardly remember the previous one. However,
it is possible I may have told you the same thing
twice over, but you will, I am sure, excuse me, and
remember that even the newspapers get bewildered in
the movement.

I think ought not to come till May, as the

National Assembly will then be sitting.^

VIII.

March loth.

I am sure you expect a letter from me, but I really
have nothing of any importance to relate. After the
tremendous excitement of the late events, all that is
now going on seems most monotonous, though it is in
reality very serious. What was hailed with transport
when we thought pillage and massacre were at our
doors, is now thought insufficient and useless. Every

* On the 28th of April the National Assembly, consisting of nine hundred
members, was elected by universal suffrage, eight millions being qualified to
vote. The electorate under Louis Philippe comprised only two hundred
thousand.

March loth.] GOUDCHAUX RESIGNS. 39

one now asks who made the Provisional Government,
and the answer is : " Fifteen deputies in fear of their
lives." Then what right have they to remove taxes,
particularly such as are optional ? The tax on news-
papers produced 20,000,000 francs, and how is this
deficiency to be made up without adopting some other
means of filling the coffers of the State ? Mons,
Goudchaux resigned in consequence, saying ; " Je ne
veux pas mener I'etat a une banqueroute." Public
credit is at the lowest ebb, and most people are falling
into the deplorable system of keeping large sums by
them, either for flight or for speculation. The greatest
confusion prevails in all public services ; that of the
National Guard beats all, as most of them, gentlemen
and tradespeople, are on duty one night out of three.
The Garde Mobile, which is' to take the service as
soon as it is organised, is most dangerous ; their
desperate ignorance makes them tools of any party, and
I have no doubt that a million francs might estabUsh
Russian despotism here with as much ease as that with
which was brought about the singular liberty now
existing. Mons. de Lamartine is very well meaning,
but his circular has had a bad effect. The moderate
party thinks it dangerous, the exaltes say it means
nothing. The most dangerous members of the

40 PARIS IN '48. [March loth.

Government are Ledru RoUin, who is so much in debt
that a universal bankruptcy would be most acceptable
to him, and Louis Blanc, who, never having the
faintest notion of being in power, had published a
number of high-sounding theories to which his brothers
the workmen wish to pin him down. To get out of
his difficulties, he is turning towards the Communists,
that most insidious of all parties.^

There is, however, one resolute man at his elbow,
and that is Pagnerre, the editor of Opposition pam-
phlets during the late reign, now Secretary to the
Government, who has warned the author of the
' Histoire de Dix Ans ' that he has a pistol always
ready to shoot him on the first Communist demonstra-
tion. This may keep him in order for some time, but

1 Of all the men who came to the front in the Revolution of '48 there
is none of whom it was more difficult for his contemporaries to judge than
Louis Blanc. He linked with the Republican idea a revolutionary theory
of property which inspired the indictment of the bourgeoisie contained in
his 'Histoire de Dix Ans' (1830-40). It was a scheme, moderate in itself,
for the ' organisation of labour ' by means of co-operative societies. The
State was to advance the capital for this purpose ; the associations were to
elect their own officers, to pay equal wages, and to compete with the indi-
vidual producer. This was the first definite experiment in State Socialism,
a slight and superficial attempt to reorganise industry after the breakdown
of the guilds and the removal of the restrictions on trade which were
abolished by the first Revolution. This attempt was soon merged, against
his will, in a crude socialist campaign against ' capital ' which led to out-
breaks and the invasion of the Chamber by mobs of workmen clamouring
for the ' right to labour.'

March loth.] ORGANISATION OF LABOUR. 41

of course the first change will be to remove Pagnerre
to other duties — that is, beyond pistol shot. Carnot's
circular to the electors of France is most absurd ; you
will have seen what the Debats says on the subject,
and that is the opinion of all. The organisation of
work, about which such a fuss is made, is really
ludicrous : all men who work get 2.50 fr., all who
don't 1.50 fr. ; gamins^ whether they work or not, i fr.
Armorial bearings generally are being rubbed ofF
carriages, consequently a large class of workmen are
turned adrift, and heraldic painters may now make
trenches, or pave the streets. Trade is at the lowest
ebb, and the exasperation of the shopkeepers almost as
much to be dreaded as the brute force of the mob.
Some think this movement was Legitimist, and really
it begins to look like it ; in the corps-de-gardes and
the cabarets, Henri V. is publicly spoken of, and in
general his party is the only one that does not look
nonplussed. Then the nominations made are very
curious : Bedeau, who succeeds Sebastiani, always was
a Legitimist ; ' Lamoriciere's tendency is also that way,
and many more such appointments are expected. The
first person who entered the Tuileries with the mob

' General Bedeau served with distinction in Africa, and was in liigh
favour with the Due d'Aumale.

42 PARIS IN '48. [March loth.

was Colonel Sala, aide-de-camp to the Due de
Bordeaux, and one of the commanders in La Vendue.
I am very far from thinking a return to the old
Bourbons possible, at least till the Republic has worn
itself out, either in external war or in internal
dissensions, but I mean that it is the only Restoration
that is even hinted at. It is really incredible to see the
utter change that the dictatorship of the last fortnight
has brought about in the minds of most people ;
Republicans are becoming quite scarce, and the
descendants of the ' Hero of the two Worlds,' whose
very name was synonymous with democratic institu-
tions, are now tearing their hair and sighing for a well-
organised Monarchy.^ For a long time I tried to
laugh, and to see the bright side of things, but I
cannot now ; how can one hope for better days when
a national bankruptcy is almost inevitable, when an
army is perfectly demoralised, and when there is not
even one great man to lead the nation out of this
inextricable confusion. I had hopes of the National
Assembly, but Carnot's circular and the general aspect
of affairs is too unfavourable ; some one to whom
I was speaking on the subject said : " Savez-vous

1 Lafayette was called the Hero of the two Worlds on account of his
having taken part in the Revolution in North America.

March loth.] WANT OF PUBLIC SPIRIT. 43

comment se passera cette fameuse Assemblee Nationale ?
Eh bien, ceux qui n'auront pas trop peur seront seuls
sur les bancs, couches en joue par quelques gamins, et
ceux qui auront bien peur, c'est k dire la tres grande
majority, galopperont dans les corridors." I cannot
help thinking this is not exaggerated, for the very
nature of France seems changed ; where all their
bravery came from I cannot conceive, for it is gone,
and they are not ashamed of owning it. I was asking
a National Guard, who was noi a coward, what would
be the probable result of a conflict with the people,
and he answered : " Those who show fight, about a
dozen, will be killed, and the remainder will distribute
provisions to the heroes." I am sorry to say this
feeling pervades all classes ; this long peace has fostered
bourgeois sentiments, and we do not know whether
some Napoleon, or Murat, or Ney may be found in
the Polytechnic School. There is hardly pity felt for
the Exiles, and yet no one is satisfied with the present
state of things ; every one fully expects bloodshed
before three months. The National Assembly is to be
defended by 30,000 men, in order that those who are
elected from and by the people may be free ! What a
mockery 1 The truth is not told about the depart-
ments ; the adhesion of many has been very unwilling,

44 PARIS IN '48. [March loth.

and the standard of revolt might be planted anywhere,
for any one, with a reasonable chance of at least
temporary success. Lyons is most positively in the
hands of patriots of '93 — people who, to the old
device ' Libert^, Egalite, Fraternite,' add 'ou la mort.'
General BourjoUy is to set vigorously to work, but,
when he has reduced them to order and brought the
ringleaders to summary punishment, he will be dis-
owned. They are giving orders innumerable about
minutiae, with the worst possible eiFect ; thus, they
have suppressed the words ' ordre public ' on the
colours of the National Guard, and yet it is the only
thing they will really fight for ; then, all the officers
who have received the cross of the Legion of Honour
for their vigour in maintaining the late Government
through the troubles of '31, '32, '34, '38, etc., are to
be degraded because they did not discern that the
heroes of those barricades would be one day proclaimed
their brothers. This will drive many back to their
homes, where they will be ready to head any move-
ment that will restore the Army to its proper place In
the social hierarchy. Civil crosses are also to be care-
fully revised, and taken from all who have received
them for services to the dynasty, not to the country.
What an opening for the satisfaction of small passions !

March i4th.] GENERAL DISINTEGRATION. 45

how many, envious of court favours, will bring
denunciations against worthy individuals who never
had and never were ambitious of political distinction !
I have no idea how they will organise the diplo-
matic appointments, but they will be so miserably paid
that no one of any importance will accept them.
You will see Mons. de Mornay's name among the
' revoked,' but my firm conviction is that those have
all resigned, not been deprived of their posts. This
I think because one or two whom I know, and
who always cry " Vive moi ! " through all public
changes, are not yet on the list. I will let you know
anything of importance that occurs, but I do not
suppose you will care to get any more letters like this,
showing the truth of Emile de Girardin's attack upon
the Powers that Be : " Vous avez beaucoup disor-
ganise, mais qu'avez-vous organist } " '

IX.

March i4.th.

Everything is going on from bad to worse ; how
we are to get through the next five weeks is more
than any one knows. The Provisional Government
are not upon speaking terms, consequently each

46 PARIS IN '48. [March 14th.

member acts for himself, and issues proclamations
which make the hair of the rest stand on end. Such
has been the effect of Ledru RoUin's circular concern-
ing the elections ; it completes that of Carnot : the
one eschews education, the other, business. The
Minister of Public Instruction favours the illiterate,
and the Minister of the Interior expressly says, " Let
the elections be, not republican, but revolutionary."
How are we to go on in this state of doubt, of
uncertainty, of bankruptcy ? Garnier Pag^s, whose
compte rendu of the finances was manly but terrific,
cannot hope to establish public credit when his col-
leagues are preaching a reign of moral terror more
dire than the scaffolds of 'gj.' Not only is it im-
possible to get change for a 500-franc note, except at
the Bank of France, but people are actually beginning
to buy bars of gold and to get plate melted down.
Every day some great failure adds to the general
consternation ; the Caisse Gouin was the first, then
Lafitte and Blount, yesterday Baudon, and to-morrow

1 Gamier Pages, leader of the extreme Left, succeeded Goudchaux as
Finance Minister. After trying various expedients to raise money, he
imposed the tax of 45 centimes on every franc, which was calculated to
produce one hundred and ninety millions. This did more to discredit the
Republic among the rural population than any other act of the Provisional
Government.

March i4th.] LOUIS BLANC. 47

Ganneron. I am hit rather hard at the Blounts', but
I hope I may recover something in time. The army
to a man is opposed to the present system, and if any
general had the courage to raise any standard, military
despotism might immediately be substituted for that
under which we are now groaning. The last measure
proposed is to reduce the pay of the officers — lieutenant-
generals one-half, colonels, captains, etc., one-third,
and even lieutenants one-fifth ; now, the latter had
only 1 200 fr., and as they are mostly d Fanciennete
— many of them are near forty, and have a wife and
children to support — you may imagine the discontent
and the real misery this will entail upon a very large
and powerful class. The Garde Mobile is as dangerous
as it is useless, and yesterday expelled the regular
National Guards from one of the barracks which they
occupied in common. Louis Blanc is the most wicked
of the ultra half of the Government, and his great
influence over the working classes renders him perfectly
irremovable. In my last I told you Pagnerre would
be removed, and so he was on Saturday ; his new
avocation keeps him at the Hotel de Ville, while Louis
Blanc rules it at the Luxembourg. He (Louis Blanc)
is said to be a son of Pozzo di Borgo, and as his
certificate of birth runs thus, * Louis ,' he called

48 PARIS IN '48. [March 14th.

himself Louis Blanc. Bethmont, Marie, Carnot,
Lamartine, Garnier Pagfes, and even Marrast, are not
mischievous ; they are called the ' R6publicains en
gants jaunes ; ' but Flocon, the disappointed doctor,
who rules at Vincennes, Louis Blanc, the natural son,
whose position has always been most galling, and
Arago, half-mad with political exultation, will do any
and everything to keep themselves in power, and to
revenge on society their fancied ills,^ They are headed
by Ledru Rollin, who for years has been under the
pressure of overwhelming debt ; his first act was the
abolition of imprisonment for debt, his second, pil-
laging the Treasury, and now he is accused of selling
places. Mons. Goudchaux would not allow his financial
extravagances, and retired ; Garnier Pagfes opposes
them, and will also be sacrificed. Even the most
sanguine do not expect the Funds to pay next
September, and yet they want a loan which of course
will only be obtained by intimidation. Rothschild
himself is in despair, and says : " Rien ne vaut plus
rien — que faire .? " No man's signature is accepted, bank-
notes are viewed with suspicion, and nothing goes

1 Bethmont was a distinguished barrister, and a zealous agitator for
reform in opposition to Guizot's cabinet. As Minister of Commerce and
Agriculture he appointed various commissions to collect statistics, and he
maugurated nine agricultural colleges between February and May, 1848.

March i4th.] DEPRECIATION OF VALUES. 49

down but our hard, cumbersome 5-franc pieces. As
to gold, you may get 20 louis for 240 francs, but not
more, were you ever so much inclined to pay ' la taxe
du dixieme.' A Communist row was announced for
Sunday, but it did not take place ; another, of a Legiti-
mist tendency, is expected on Saturday, but I believe
this too will go off in smoke. It is impossible to
picture to one's self such utter despondency ; no one
has energy to oppose a system which every one execrates
with heart and soul ; the shop-keepers believe the word
' provisional ' applies to the Republic, and that a King
will be nominated by the National Assembly, and then,
when they find out how they have been deceived, I
fully expect to see the bourgeoisie fall upon the mob.
When this happens there will be an end to the so
much vaunted bloodless victory of the people ; it will
be war to the death, an extermination of the weak by
the strong ; but who will be the strong ? I hope I
may be mistaken, but I have most gloomy forebodings.
Every one who can go off is on the wing ; the Cowleys
will, I believe, go next week. M. told me that she
would like to give up her life to Louis Philippe, and
was quite angry because I thought him the most un-
interesting of all the exiles, past and present. I feel
more for Florestan II., Duke of Monaco, and his

50 PARIS IN '48. [March 14th.

expulsion, than for the dastardly bourgeois who has
brought us to our present pass. I find Mons. Delessert
was not so much to blame as I had at first supposed ;
he warned Guizot who called him an alarmist, Duchatel
who assured him he knew better, and the King who
turned his back upon him. The first act of the
Republicans was to go to the registers of the police,
and there they found their names, their residences,
their actions all inscribed, and Caussidiere exclaimed
in astonishment: "Nous y sommes tous, il n'en
manque pas un." The King's conduct to Thiers was
most injudicious ; at the hour when he wanted him
most he sent for him, and said without preamble :
"J'ai besoin de votre nom ; formez un cabinet." At
every suggestion he went into the next room, con-
sulted Guizot, whom Thiers could see writing at the
royal bureau, and came back to negative all he pro-
posed. The household accuse the diminutive author
of ' L'Histoire de la Revolution ' of treachery, for it
was he who forbade firing ; but I imagine he mis-
calculated his influence, and really thought his name
was a sufl^icient guarantee to the Liberal party. Be
that as it may, all are unanimous in blaming the late
order of things, but still more vociferous in condemning
•the present dictatorship. I am told that it is highly

March i8th.] INCREASED TAXATION. . 51

imprudent to write the truth, and that letters are
opened in the post ; but I do not care. If I could
scream my sentiments from the housetop, and make
all Europe sensible of the horrors of revolution and
the tyranny of democracy, I should be delighted. I
always doubted the practicability of a Republic, but
I did not expect to see it wear itself out in three
weeks.

X.

March i8th.

Now for politics, or rather for a gloomy croak on
the sad prospects of France. It is quite fearful to see
the increased agitation, the daily departures, and the
lamentable loss of property of all whom one cares for.
The last edict of Garnier Pages, increasing the taxes by
one half, is a death-blow to all small landed proprietors :
the Revolution of July, which promised cheap govern-
ment, augmented the taxation 30 per cent.; this, purer
and cheaper, augments it at once 50, thus making an
augmentation of 80 on what were called the hard times
of the Restoration. The worst of it is, it is only a
palliative which may avert the evil hour of bankruptcy,
but which cannot create any permanent resources. The
Provisional Government have undertaken what no one

52 PARIS IN '48. [March 18th.

could perform, and this they have promised with empty
coffers and the largest standing army in Europe. They
have already solemnly decreed that none shall want, and
to carry out this Utopia they at first gave 30 sous to all
who had no work ; this they yesterday reduced to 20 ;
we don't as yet know the result. To those who were
fools enough to wait for employment they promised
unlimited occupation, and lo ! now they only secure
three days in the week at 2 fr., thus putting the hard-
working artisan on a level with the laxj faubourien, who
sings ' Mourir pour la patrie ' or the Marseillaise from
morning to night. As to the Army, you saw how use-
less it was in the hour of danger, and now it is still
more so, as the Sovereign People have decreed that none
but the citizens of Paris shall defend their hearths. A
regiment of chasseurs came in on Tuesday, but 60,000
men went to the Hotel de Ville to beg they might be
dismissed, and Lamartine waved a flag, Dupont de
I'Eure hobbled down and showed them how very grey
and bald he had grown in their service,^ Ledru RoUin
vociferated, Louis Blanc called out " Mes frferes " and
turned on all the ordinary blague, and, at one o'clock
in the morning, the Colonel, who was sleeping in peace,
was requested to be out of the way before daybreak.

' He was born in 1767.

Mar. i8th.] GENERAL COURTAIS ASSAULTED. 53

The demonstration of the National Guard was not so
well received : they wished to remain in companies so as
to elect their oflScers among their friends ; but this
would have made the electors moderate, and Ledru
RoUin would not hear of it. By dispersing them indi-
vidual influence will be lost, and the candidates of the
Radical papers be assured of success. The workmen
opposed their passing on the Quai, and their own
General, Courtais, called them emeuHers, and ordered
them to disperse. This they refused to do, and a
grenadier of the ist Legion (some say Mons. de la
Redoete) dragged him from his horse, tore off his
epaulets, and broke his sword. How is all this to
end? I am afraid in disbanding the ist Legion, and
then this whole quartier, certainly the richest in Paris,
will be entirely in the hands of the mob. I suppose
something is apprehended shortly, as cartridges are
being distributed to the National Guard, who, till now,
were merely considered as a moral force. Three white
flags were hoisted on Thursday, but decidedly without
any real object ; it was, as it were, to feel public opinion,
and was not done by persons of note. Some people
even think it is a device of Caussidi^re, who loves
rapine and bloodshed, to cause a rush on the Faubourg
St. Germain. Be that as it may, it certainly had that

54 PARIS IN '48. [March i8th.

effect, for the street cry yesterday was " A bas les aris-
tocrats." There are many strange features in the mob,
and not the least strange is the vast concourse of priests
who join in every demonstration. I think they are
wrong, for the day is not far distant when the retrench-
ments meditated by the Government will reach the
clergy, and then they will attempt to upset their own
idol, and perhaps religion will again go over in the
struggle. The Due de Bordeaux has written to
Madame L6vis, requesting that his name may not even
be pronounced, but the Legitimists, like every other
party, are not unanimous, and the Abb6 de Genoude
is carrying on a most useless agitation a great deal too
soon.^

Nothing can be attempted with any chance of success
unless by the National Assembly, and I greatly fear
this will not meet until late in May. Lamartine has
promised to adhere to the original intention of the

• De Genoude, who was at first a Voltairian, became a Churchman and
took up politics. At the advice of Madame de Stael he offered his services to
the Prince de Polignac, who employed him as aide-de-camp and sent him
to collect the reinforcements promised by Switzerland to the Comte d'Artois.
After Waterloo he became a journalist, and translated the Bible, for which
work he received a pension from Louis Philippe. In 1830 he joined the
Opposition to Louis Philippe. He edited the important Gazette de France,
and supported universal suffrage. He became a priest on the death of his
wife in 1834; he died in 1849, after being thrown over by the Royalist
party which he had helped to divide.

March i8th.] ILL-SELECTED CANDIDATES. S5

20th of April, but Ledru RoUin, backed by the work-
men with whom he can do anything, intends to put it
off a month. This is merely to prolong his own dic-
tatorship, which will be impossible if there is any sense
or dignity left in the ' Constituante.' In the mean-
time he is paying his debts, and, for the purpose, he has
seized on the money subscribed for the wounded, thus
destroying Mademoiselle Ozy's last hope. After the
Revolution, she said : " II n'y a plus de Russes, plus
d'Anglais, plus de banquiers ; il faut se faire entretenir
par un bless6." Besides these 500,000 fr., he got
400,000 from the treasury, which caused Goudchaux
who is an honest man, to resign.

The greatest confusion prevails in all departments.
The delegates of the Republic are, many of them, very
iU-chosen, and meet with very bad receptions in the
provinces. The one sent to Amiens turned out to be
a convict ; the delegate of Le Mans was mad, and would
dance the polka in the market place with the mayor ;
and at Agen two arrived at the same time, with the
same credentials, and had to fight it out. The diplo-
matic appointments are as yet few in number : Mons.
d'Arcourt goes to Berlin, Mons. Delacour to Vienna,
Mons, de Lurde to the Hague, Mons. de Reculot to
Constantinople. I don't fancy you will like him, for I

S6 PARIS IN '48. [March i8th.

think him very disagreeable and sam gSne ; but then I was
some days with him in a country house, which is very
different from ' des rapports internationaux.' It seems
strange that an ambassador should remain here to
balance Mons. Cotter's importance in London. Every
one is going ; Lady Cowley, the Grahams and Saloos
went yesterday, so did the Villars, Standishes, and every
one who could disclaim French nationality. All the
foreign ministers are sending their wives and children
away, so we shall be all alone this summer. I cannot
tell you how much Guizot is blamed by all parties,
and how thoroughly inconvenant his going about in
London is thought. I saw a very well-informed person
yesterday, who told me that the late movement was
in a great measure to be attributed to the Duchesse
d'Orldans. At first this seemed most strange, but many
circumstances lead me to think that this opinion is
not without foundation. Her constant associates were
Thiers, Remusat, and Duvergier de Hauranne, the
great promotors of the banquet ; their wives were the
most frequent visitors at the Pavilion Marsan, and
the King had the greatest dread of her and her coterie.'

1 Duvergier de Hauranne may be characterised by his toast "a la
Souverainete Nationale et au Roi Constitutionnel ; " he was a moderate
constitutional reformer under the Monarchy, but after its fall he adopted a
more conservative attitude.

March i8th.] INTRIGUES OF THE DUCHESS. 57

If the Regency as appointed by law had been pro-
claimed, then the Due de Nemours was the person, but
how was she substituted at the last moment, and why
was his unpopularity taken for granted by his own
family ? Then she was prepared, and had a written
speech which she meant to read at the Chamber, and
it is impossible she should have composed this in the
dire confusion of that last hour, when ministries, and
thrones, and dynasties were disappearing every minute.
Another curious circumstance is her going to Ger-
many and separating herself from her people. If this
is true, she certainly is very ambitious and intriguante,
and of course we shall have conspiracies innumerable.
Madame Adelaide, whose sagacity and shrewdness are
undeniable, never liked her, and perhaps she was right.^
I tell you all rumours, as I think some may tend to
throw light on the late events, by far the most extra-
ordinary of modern times. Just at present nothing is
doing, so I have nothing to relate ; I can only tell you
that there is a slow current of dissatisfaction pervading
all classes, that commerce and society are at an end,
that the streets swarm with beggars, that the last

' The Duchesse d'Orleans was Princess Helene of Mecklenburg ; she
was the widow of the eldest son of Louis Philippe ; he was killed in a
carriage accident in '42.

58 PARIS IN '48. [March i8th.

demonstration of operatives caused fifteen thousand
passports to be taken out yesterday. The price of
gold is raised to 150 fr. a thousand — that is, 3 fr. on
every napoleon, and the late law obliges no one to
give more than 100 fr. in silver. Such facts speak
volumes, and the lower classes are already declaring
that they will not take the lOO-franc notes, which
they compare to the assignats of which their fathers
still speak with a shudder. To every one who says
France is quiet, say it is not ; it is true that blood
does not flow in the streets, and that life is not
menaced, but what Emile de Girardin calls " la
corruption de la peur " is everywhere. There are
fifty-two clubs in Paris, some Communist, others
clamouring for another ' Comite de Salut public ; ' at
one of these, two hundred heads were asked for, but
an orator of some weight prevented all deliberation by
crying out : " Un instant, je suis chapelier." A bon-
mot may do for once, but there always was a great
contempt for life in France, and now that all enjoyment
is at an end, I think it will only increase.^ Ledru

1 At this period there were in Paris no less than 276 clubs. Blanqui
founded the first, which was named after him and was Communistic ; its
meetings were held at the Conservatoire. The Government thought it
safer to countenance the clubs, and the Mayor of Paris placed rooms in
various public buildings at their disposal.

March 25th.] DISQUIETING SYMPTOMS. 59

RoUin and Caussidi^re are both bloodthirsty, but as
yet they are greatly outnumbered. If the National
Assembly is firm and hot overruled by the masses,
things may right a little ; but no one, no not even the
members of the Government, has the slightest data to
go upon with an electoral system so entirely new. If
you have the last number of the Revue des deux
Mondes, read Michel Chevalier's article on the
organisation of labour ; it contains a curious aperfu of
the result Communism would have in France.

P.S. — If any one says I write broken English, do
explain my antecedents ; my life in English is one
continued translation.

XL

March zjth.

. . . Will you, however, be so kind as to send
money for her journey } I would most willingly
advance it, but even crowns are at a ruinous rate,
and English money is hors de prix. As much as
28 fr. is given for a sovereign ; and French paper,
notwithstanding its being made legal tender, is at such
a discount that the loss would be very great. A 500-
franc note cannot be changed under 20 fr. ; add to this

6o PARIS IN '48. [March 25th.

the premium on English, and you will see that the
difference is most absurd. If you have an opportunity,
send sovereigns, if not, a note cut in halves, and she
shall account to you for the balance. No banker, not
even Rothschild, will give money on a letter of credit ;
and any other through whom you might transmit this
small sum, has every chance of failing in the interval
between our letters. Even the Bank of France must
end by a partial bankruptcy ; it is hoped this will fall
only on the Treasury bonds and the floating debt, but
everything goes so fast that the whole may go over
literally any day. There is a childish aversion to paper
money, and an idiotic fondness for glittering crowns or
napoleons that would be really comical if it were not
the forerunner of utter ruin. It is very evident that
when notes are discredited they are slowly coming
down to the standard of the old assignats, and all the
plate that the timid, or rather the large majority of the
nation, are pouring into the Mint, will only add to the
hoards, and by no means increase the circulation. It is
a very sad state of things, and I fear a very hopeless
one ; the expenses of the present Government are
enormous, their resources very inferior to those of the
Monarchy, and these were inadequate but greatly eked
out by confidence and ignorance. Now every one

Mar. 2sth.] OPPOSITION IN THE PROVINCES. 6i

has read the financial report, every one sees what is
wanted, and no one on earth knows where to look for
it ; the additional tax of 45 centimes is found so
insufficient that they are going to add 55 more per
cent., thus doubling the actual heavy charges on
property. Another contribution is also required for
establishing something similar to the London police,
and we all know a mob here will murder or drown an
unarmed constable, but never obey him, therefore this
is a most useless burden.

AU these charges amount almost to confiscation,
and all those who have a mortgage on their property
will assuredly not be able to live upon it ; the
provinces are decidedly hostile, not only to these
additional taxes, but to the whole system ; they are
beginning to doubt the advantages of centralisation,
and to resist vehemently the establishment of the
National Assembly at Paris. Many candidates have
been distinctly told that the suffrages of their com-
patriots will be conditional on their refusing to sit in
the capital. Bourges or Orleans is talked of, but I
still think that for this once it will be here. We shall
see how 900 men can deliberate under the control of
4000 armed spectators, backed by an outdoor mob of
200,000 more. I went last night to a sitting of the

62 PARIS IN '48. [March 2Sth.

Club des Prevoyans, where the merits of the candi-
dates for Paris were discussed, and it was a most
curious sight. The meeting was held in an ecole
communaky and presided over, like the Deputies, by
a bureau and president, with a bell but no eau
sucree. I asked if I might come in, and was told :
" Comment done, nous sommes bien heureux quand il
nous vient des dames." The place was crowded to
excess with workmen and some tolerably well-dressed
men ; the former were far more civil than gentlemen
would have been ; they made room for me on a bench,
and cried " Chapeau bas " to those who prevented me
from seeing the speakers by keeping their hats on.
The candidates proposed were Mons. Degousee,
Mons. Coquerel (of the Oratoire), and a saddler of the
name of Fortune. The latter was called upon to
expound his opinions, but he was not eloquent, and
got sorely puzzled when asked to explain the organisa-
tion of labour. A barrister named Mons. Baud made
a very brilliant speech, full of compliments to the
candidate but knocking his candidature to pieces. It
is curious to see the strong sense that pervades the
masses, and the quick intelligence they have of noble
sentiments. Mons. Baud's homage to intellectual
capacity, couched in high-flown language, was received

March 2sth.] DISTRUST OF COMMUNISM. 63

with the greatest enthusiasm, and when he asked
whether Fortune was a Communist, the deprecation of
the very word from all parts of the Assembly was most
deafening. A white blouse next me said : "Le
communisme c'est la morale des faindans ; un brave
travailleur ne voudra jamais ni partager ce qu'il gagne,
ni manger ce qu'il ne gagne pas." The sense of the
ridiculous is very strong, and the poor saddler was
tremendously laughed at. Educated men have by far
the best chances, and many workmen are animated by
the sincerest wish to restore peace and order. One
man only was violent, but he was not well received ;
the question put was : " If the National Assembly
adopts some form of government not Republican, what
is to be done ? " This man answered : " Si I'Assemblee
n'est pas R^publicaine, il faudra la purger avec des
balles. J'en ai trois cents, et je la purgerai." I am
told the Prevoyans is one of the mildest clubs, and
I am most anxious to see another, but I don't know
whether I can get Adolphe to take me, and I have no
other person enterprising and respectable enough to go
with. In these times of universal calamity, one feels a
sort of vague apprehension, as if one's turn was at
hand. I cannot tell you how much I wish M. was
not here ; she has a good deal of passive courage, but

64 PARIS IN '48. [March 2Sth.

she has not physical powers equal to any sudden move,
and if there were a rush of the mob, I should hardly
know what to do with her. For my own part, I fear
nothing, and though I have not the pretension to
stem the tide of panic, I think a few more calm persons
might really do good. At all events, I know my poor
sister is so harassed with anxiety about her husband,
so alarmed at the ruin she foresees for her children,
that if I were not here to cheer and comfort her, I
don't know what would become of her. One gets
accustomed to everything in time, and since we have
got on so far without any government, or rather
without a plan, and without laws, I hope we may get
on until the meeting of this gigantic Assembly. We
are told that the nine have agreed that they shall
remain equal, consequently a president is not to be
thought of, and we are to have this governing council
imposed upon us in spite of the will of the Nation,
should the said Nation be wise enough to object to the
multitude of tyrants. The papers found, both at the
Tuileries and at the Ministries, have compromised so
many persons, that I believe the men in power can
rule every one by a mere show of their own hand-
writing. Thiers is so frightened at the revelations
about himself, that he rather deprecates being called to

March 2sth.] COMPROMISING LETTERS. 65

the Assembly. Mons. Genie, Guizot's chef de cabinet
is implicated in an affair of bribery for 800,000 fr.,
and half the employes having bought their places, are to
be turned out. The indictment of Libri, for theft in
the library of which he was keeper, is signed Hubert,
and bears the memorandum, " Ne pas poursuivre pour
motif politique. — Guizot." This shielding of a
common thief is really incredible, as well as many other
things that have come to light. The Due de Mont-
pensier's correspondence with Spain to bring about an
abdication and get his wife proclaimed, was actually in
the hands of a doctor named Cerise, and it is said it
was communicated to England.^ Others affirm that it
was forwarded to Madrid, and that the Prince will be
very ill received there ; an outbreak is apprehended in
Spain as well as in Portugal, and in fact I believe that
the Sublime Porte will indeed shortly be the Asylum of
the Universe. The King's daily instructions to Guizot
have been found, and all the obnoxious expressions of
" passions ennemies, manifestations haineuses," etc.,
are suggested to the minister by his wily master.^ All

* The Due de Montpensier had married the Infanta Luisa, sister of the
young Queen Isabella.

2 These words were used by Louis Philippe in his address from the
Throne on the 27th of December, 1847 ; taken in conjunction with his

66 PARIS IN '48- [March 31st.

this about the letters is true, for the man who gave me
these details has been himself a minister, and was sent
for on the night of the 23 rd to form part of the new
Cabinet.

Everything that seemed impossible has happened,
so let us hope that something improbable will occur
to save the country ; even my spirits are failing, and
the very aspect of the desolate streets and of the bands
of idle workmen in the Tuileries and on the boulevards,
destroys all one's enjoyment. I am so often inter-
rupted during the day, that I am scribbling this third
instalment about one in the morning, and I am very
sleepy and stupid.

XII.

March 3iBt.

... It will be the greatest use to me to have gold,
as it is almost impossible to get change of any kind,
and in the event of a sudden move (which many think
may be necessary) it would be excessively difficult to
collect funds. ... I can give you but a gloomy
account of politics, and what is worse finance. I
believe we are much nearer bankruptcy than we were

determined opposition to the most pressing reforms, they roused strong
popular indignation.

March 3ist.] TREES OF LIBERTY. 67

last week, and the most arbitrary measures cannot even
put off the evil day. The Bank of France has had
six thousand bills refused this last week, and the rest
of its acceptances are probably not worth more ; the
few bankers who still hold on, do no business ; a friend
of mine at Rome cannot get a farthing, and a man
I know tried in vain to send 500 fr. to England
yesterday. Mons. Cabarrus spoke to Lamartine about
the financial crisis and he answered : " Quand done
cessera-t-on d'avoir ces ignobles preoccupations mate-
rielles ; quand done les peuples comprendront-ils la
grande loi de la fraternite sans arriere pens6e ignoble ?
Dieu mercijje n'entends rien aux finances, je n'y songe
m^me pas ! " Meanwhile, as though there were not
ways enough to squander 'le fond du sac,' we have
got trees of Liberty planting every day, and each
mayor gives 20 fr. a tree, which, added to the sums
extorted from the timid, enables the idle to get im-
moderately drunk, and to fire off quantities of guns
every evening. Eight hundred trees have been planted
this week, and some one in the street who was grum-
bling (as every one is now), said yesterday : " Paris est
une vraie for^t, pis que la for^t de Bondy," whose
bad reputation is, you know, proverbial. After these
trees are planted, two braves ouvriers, fully armed.

68 PARIS IN '48. [March 31st.

beg vigorously, striking the pavement with their
muskets, and they actually go Into the houses that are
left open, to frighten even misers into generosity.
Towards evening, about a dozen or perhaps twenty boys
under twelve rush about screaming : " Des lampions
ou je pillons," or, "gare la cour de cassation," and
every one, to save their windows, sticks candles into
bottles and illuminates vigorously. I am proud to say
we did not Illuminate, and though the collectors for
the nearest tree almost dropped their muskets on my
feet, I did not give them anything. Louis Blanc Is
beginning to lose ground with his brothers ; he has
even been nicknamed ' Chou Blanc,' and you know
' faire chou blanc ' is a slang expression equivalent to
the ' far fiasco ' of the Italians. I suppose we shall
soon hear of his suicide, as he has sworn to blow his
brains out if he fails In organising labour, and that
neither he nor any one else can hope to do. There
was a Communist conspiracy against the Provisional
Government last week, but it was discovered and
frustrated. The intention was to take all the members
at once, and finish them off without a scaffold, so as
to leave the reins of Government to Cabet and his
friend Blanqui.^

1 Cabet was an idealist who wrote the " Voyage en Icarie " in illustration

March 3ist.] ATTACK ON DE GIRARDIN. 69

Since execution for political oiFences has been
abolished, the Government has invented most ingeni-
ous punishments. One man who on the taking of
the Prefecture was discovered by the registers to have
betrayed them, was put in prison with no food and a
loaded pistol, I do not vouch for the truth of this,
but every one believes it, and no one attempts to
investigate it, which shows how thoroughly every one
is paralysed by fear. Yesterday there was a violent
attack upon Emile de Girardin, who certainly does use
the Presse most vigorously, and tells truth literally to
the million. No paper is so universally read ; it is not
only one of the best but it is very cheap and is hawked
about by the wives and children of the workmen who,

of his social doctrines. He preached a return to primitive morality in
accordance with the Gospel, and advocated voluntaiy renunciation and
gradual abolition of property. His idea was embodied in the phrase "to
provide for each individual according to his needs, not his earning capacity."
In '48 he founded in Texas an " Icarian " community, where he attempted
to put his Utopian ideas in practice. Blanqui, who was bom at Nimes in
1805, was a thorough-going conspirator ; between 1835 and his death in
1 88 1 he suffered thirty-seven years of imprisonment. At the very outset of
the Revolution of February, he determined to overthrow the Provisional
Government because it adopted the tricolour instead of the red flag ; the
authorities were, however, too strong for him, and his following of despe-
radoes had to disperse. He was active during all the phases of the Revolution
of '48, in which he represented extreme Communism. Both Lamartine and
Ledru Rollin tried to use him, but found it impossible to work with him.
He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his share in the 15th
of May.

70 PARIS IN '48. [March 31st.

being associated with the editor, have an interest in
spreading it far and wide ; this does not suit Ledru
Rollin who is supposed to direct these attacks by main
force, and many persons believe Mons. de Girardin will
be assassinated. Forty men guarded his house the night
before last, while he wrote one of those bitter articles
that are so obnoxious to the self-instituted rulers. I
never see two men talking in the street without feeling
sure that they are conspiring : every one belongs to
some conspiracy and makes no secret of it. If they
were only unanimous, we should see the mightiest
convulsion that ever shook an empire ; but alas, there
is no chief, and all this will produce perpetual broils,
some bloodshed, but no permanent change. Lamoricifere
might play the part of Monk, but for whom ? The
Due de Bordeaux is insignificant and stigmatised as
an Austrian, and the Comte de Paris is a mere child.
I believe there is now no manner of doubt that the
Due de Montpensier is a foolish young rogue who has
intrigued against every one even his own father, and
that he is equally despised by all parties, both in
France and Spain ; we hear some rumour of a revolu-
tion at Madrid, but that may only be the echo of the
European movement. The Belgians who were sent
from here to get them out of the way, have made

March 3ist.] MOTLEY PROCESSIONS. 71

rather an unlucky campaign into their native land, but
it has ended in the recall of the Ambassador ; it is
said that Austria, Bavaria, and Prussia have also ceased
their diplomatic relations, as the instigators of all the
outbreaks are French, but this I do not know for
certain. Nothing can be more disagreeable than the
streets just now ; at one corner you find a dense crowd
planting the Tree of Liberty and screaming the refrain
des Girondins ; you turn through some less frequented
quarter, and you meet thousands of urchins dressed
like soldiers shouting the Marseillaise; these are the
foundlings of Paris. A little further a couple of
thousand women march past, bearing the tricolour
with the inscription * V6suviennes,' and I believe it
is better not to inquire the nature of their avocations.
In the Champs Elys6es, you meet the Germans with
three feathers in their caps and two flags, one French
tricolour, the other red, black, and gold, and I don't
understand a word they say. If any one likes to
explore farther, they may run against the Polish Legion,
or the Italian refugees, or the journeymen bakers, or
the water-carriers, all requiring some political privilege.
Yesterday being the mi-carSme, all the flower-girls on
the boulevards wore black velvet masks, low gowns
and pearl necklaces, flowers in their hair, and egregiously

72 PARIS IN '48. [March 31st.

short petticoats ; I strongly suspect that the boulevards
will become what the Palais Royal was when I was a
child, only that under the reign of Liberty ' tous les
commerces se feront k toutes heures.' It is a very
deplorable state of things, and all enjoyment here is
at an end. Few people are as expert as my sister and
I, but it really becomes impossible to thread our way
through the immense crowd of idlers that block up
every thoroughfare. Everything tends to increase this
confusion ; the placards on the walls, the tumblers in
the streets, the roulettes on the guais, and the hawking
about of newspapers. Yesterday I bought Raspail's
^mi du Peupk, journal Maratiste, and the Reforme, Ledru
RoUin's own organ ; also La Voix des Femmes, which is
sanguinary without ideas or eloquence. Do you care
to see any of these effusions } They never are copied
into other papers, but they sometimes are curious ;
nothing is so easy as to forward them the next day if
you like. There are quantities of caricatures and vile
libels, without esprit or probability, circulated concern-
ing Louis Philippe and Guizot ; some about the
Sovereign People are rather better. In one a delegate
of the travailleurs [ouvriers is rather low) goes to the
Hotel de Ville and asks for the moon in the name
of equality ; the secretary (a bad likeness of Recurt)

March 31st.] CORRESPONDENCE CENSORED. 73

answers : " Votre demande sera transmisa au citoyen
Arago, qui avisera aux moyens de la satisfaire." We
are not very far from the time of the Comit6 de Salut
Public, for though we have not got the guillotine, we
have les suspects. A lady I know has been in the habit
of receiving every Wednesday morning a vast number
of acquaintances, sometimes forty or fifty a day, and
as her name is Legitimist and her entourage rather that
way inclined, her landlord has ordered her to suspend
these ' meetings,' which have a dangerous tendency !
The porter who announced this decree, with a grin
added : " C'est bien fait, car vos dames a panache ne se
donnaient seulement pas la peine de saluer ma femme."
This is liberty. I am told that letters are opened, and
if they do not express admiration they are suppressed,
but I do not care ; if they won't allow me to write I
will print, and the liberty of the press is up to the
present the only one that is real. I wish I had a
thousand pens to spread abroad the horror of the
Republic ! I wish all who talk, and bluster, and hail
this Revolution could be brought over to taste its
fruits for a week : they would see that ruin and
misery and personal violence are its only results ; that
tyranny, even admitting that it existed, has only been
displaced and now rests upon brute force, and that the

74 PARIS IN '48. [April 3rd.

extravagance of the Republicans leads to bankruptcy-
much faster than the prodigalities of Monarchy. A row
is expected on the 5th, but I don't exactly know why.
At the preparatory elections of the National Guard
many have been sworn to upset this Government, no
matter at what cost ; I think it would be foolish, as it
could only be to the profit of the Communists. It is
a great pity the elections have been put oiF, as it is
impossible anything now existing can hold out another
month. What dreadful news from Ireland ! I dread
a rebellion, and I know the rebels will be helped from
here, as Lamartine's sympathy is thought very sterile
by his more violent colleagues. We must hope for
the best, but we cannot but know that we are hoping
against all probability, and that all our chance for the
future is between anarchy at home and war abroad.
I hardly know how to write now ; the excitement is
so great that it is impossible to do anything calmly,
and I am afraid I try your powers of deciphering most
cruelly,

XIII.

April 3rd.

Will you excuse my enclosing two letters to you
to-day ? I find Irish correspondence is most uncertain.

April 3rd.] DISILLUSION. 75

and I am very anxious to let J. hear real news of this
country. Things are getting horribly complicated, and
even Lamartine is beginning to wish he were a month
older ; it is impossible this miserable Government
should stem the tide till the 4th of May. - They
have dislocated everything, spent the public money,
deceived the working population into the belief that a
Republic meant universal happiness and great lots of
pocket-money, and now they are at their wits' ends.
The workmen are beginning to find out that meat,
wine, and tobacco are as dear as ever, that the work-
shops are being closed, and that when they have sold
their guns, they may starve without hindrance from the
popular rulers. War is now looked upon as inevi-
table, but whether with the Austrians in Italy or the
Belgians in support of the disbanded coachbuilders
that were called " brothers," we know not. If the
latter, England would interfere I suppose, but I do
not like to think of anything beyond the present hour :
that is bad enough in all conscience. Yesterday ten
thousand men, some armed, headed by military cadets,
paraded the town with a large basket, begging " pour
les besoins de la R^publique." Some one told me :
" J'ai eu si peur que j'ai donnd deux sous ; " and such,
I believe, are the patriotic offerings so pompously

76 PARIS IN '48. [April 5th.

proclaimed in the official journals. I believe that Ledru
Rollin has been wiser than Louis Philippe, and has
already sent about ;£4000 to England out of his
' savings ' during the last five weeks at the Ministry
of the Interior. Lamartine and Garnier Pagfes take
no salaries, neither does Louis Blanc nor I believe
Albert ; but Cr^mieux and Flocon are making hay
rapidly during the very short sunshine they anticipate.
It is said there will be a Communist movement on the
5th, but fortunately for us Blanqui, one of the prime
leaders, has just been proved a traitor, and has lost the
confidence of his club. I believe Caussidiere will con-
trive his suicide very shortly. I am getting horribly
out of spirits, because I see every chance of order
successively thrown overboard. I have no personal
fears, but 1 am sorry a country I loved so dearly, and
where I have my dearest ties, should be so hopelessly
lost. Do not consider this a letter ; I really cannot
write to-day ; I have seen too many ruined men to be
able to think calmly of anything.

XIV.

April 5th.

... I still trust we may not be forced to accept
your oiFer, and that we may meet upon the far

April sth.] FEELING OF INSECURITY. ^77

pleasanter footing of your visit to Paris instead of our
flight to London ; but even the most sanguine begin
to say : " Cela se gate." Most horribly complicated it
certainly is, and as each day adds to the number of
workmen without employment and servants without
places, I can only foresee an increase in the elements
of disorder. ... I cannot describe to you the con-
tempt I feel for those who leave a sinking vessel ; of
course I mean Frenchmen, for I am not surprised at
foreigners wishing to leave a place where the only
possible distraction is a change of government, and the
only agrkment an imeute. When I look back six
weeks I can hardly believe it is the same place ; I can
hardly fancy I ever could have liked to live here. It
certainly is curious and exciting, but in the long run
the anxiety is most wearing, and the panic terror of
all one sees is really infectious. If you pay a visit,
you find a lady with very dirty hands who has just
been grubbing a hole in her garden for her diamonds ;
in the street you meet a ruined man in a cab ; he stops
to explain this apparent extravagance, and to say he
was taking his forks and spoons to the mint. We all
wear thick shoes, carry an umbrella, and try to look
as much like our own portieres as we can. There are
no private carriages left, and even livery stablemen

78 PARIS IN '48. [April sth.

have been obliged to give up the old plan, and let out
vehicles by the hour " comme un ignoble fiacre," as
Vidie our man says. All the great tradesmen are
gone or going to London ; not only those you
mention, but Moubro, Froment, Meurice, and many
others are taking all their best things over ; I do not
wonder at it, when no one seems to doubt that there
will be at least partial pillage.

It is impossible the present state of things should
go on long ; the Treasury, in spite of the exorbitant
taxes and the adjournment of all payment, is nearly
empty and the subsidies to the workmen must cease ;
in this event they will certainly break into shops, and
perhaps it might be as well this should happen soon,
as nothing but personal losses will ever stimulate the
National Guard to action. A most dangerous decree
is in contemplation — that is, to allow house to house
requisitions ; armed men will be authorised to levy
contributions, and though at first they will be civil of
course, they must ultimately become savage, and at
all events it will lead to a scientific system of depre-
dation, not an indiscriminate rush into all houses.
This will be unjust even according to their own
standard of fraternity, for many of the best-furnished
houses are occupied by people with the smallest real

April sth.] SCARCITY OF MONEY. 79

fortunes. The want of ready money is really painful
to see, and leads to immense sacrifices ; our landlord
has given us a reduction of 40 per cent, on our rent
(for the present), on consideration of six months paid
in advance. My losses at the Blounts' may be very
serious, I mean for me, as what I gave ;^500 for in
January, will now probably be purchased by the State
or rather exchanged for 5 per cent, at par ; now, as I
purchased at a premium and the fives are down at
52, you see I must lose at least half my outlay ; what
I had in the bank was comparatively trifling, as I was
at the end of my half year. My great distress is for
poor E., who will be deprived of every comfort by
this sad state of things ; the great bulk of her husband's
property was a large house containing nineteen apart-
ments and four shops ; seven of the apartments have
become vacant since last February, the tenants of the
others have insisted on a reduction, and the shops are
decidedly failing. Add to this that they have been
forced to pay the increased taxes for the whole year, and
that they have no legal means of recovering a debt
owed to them, and you will understand what a
difference that must make in a small fortune. She
bears it very well ; indeed I have heard no woman
complain ; Madame Decazes bears up under a load of

8o PARIS IN '48. [April sth.

anxiety seemingly too great for human endurance ;
Mrs. Blount goes further and is hopeful of better
days ; and poor Madame de Rambuteau, infirm and
pillaged, does not murmur at her altered fortunes.
Every one is hit in some way or other, and even those
who had spread their fortunes all over Europe, do not
know where to look with confidence on their invest-
ments. Madame Samo'ilofF has her colossal fortune
divided between French funds and Milanese estates :
is not that a pleasant position ? We had a line from
Milan yesterday containing the sad news that a very
great friend of ours, an Austrian diplomatist, was in
prison there ; he says he is well treated, but so many
of the Lombardi remember the Spielberg that I fear
they will not easily let out an emissary of Metternich.
There is a great talk of war here, not among the well-
informed or those in power, but it is the buzz of the
boulevards, the theme of every cafe and corps-de-garde.
Yesterday I got mixed up in the crowd that was
going to plant a Tree of Liberty at the corner of the Rue
Neuve St. Augustin, nearly opposite your old house,
and as I could neither get back nor forward, I went up
to a window to hear the speeches. They were all
tending to rehabilitate the army, and the peroration was :
"Jurons sur I'arbre sacre de la libertd de maintenir

April sth.] THEATRICAL SCENES. 8i

rint6grit6 de nos frontiferes ! " The popular cry
on this occasion was ' Vive la ligne ! ' and the song,
not the Girondins, but the Chant du Bipart, which
distinguished the celebrated campaigns of Italy. I
cannot help agreeing at last with the English, and
allowing that this is a most theatrical nation ; imagine
an old man whose son had been shot at that very spot
on the 23rd of February, being dragged out and made
to say that he saw with proud gratification the Tree of
Liberty spring from the blood of his murdered son !
He then blew his nose, and a boy who was with him
began to hug the tree, which not being firmly planted
shook most ominously. I could not help thinking
that, like the children of beggarwomen and the
mothers of actresses, the father and brother were hired
for the occasion. The clergy of the Madeleine blessed
the poplar, and all the brigands who compose Colonel
Rey's troop at the H6tel de Ville fired off their
muskets ; it was here that I for the first time saw the
carmagnole and the bonnet rouge. Caussidifere's mounted
police wear a red peaked cap and a red sash which
looks bad enough, but some of the volunteers and one
woman had the regular Phrygian cap, the same that
was the rallying sign of '93. All this looks very bad,
for though it is only a caricature of the dreadful

G

82 PARIS IN '48. [April sth.

Revolution, still it familiarises one with its emblems, and
hurries the people down the political torrent. I wanted
to send you Raspail's Ami du Peuple^ but could not get
it yesterday ; but I have just posted La D^mocratie
pacifique, the Communist paper, the Liberie, and the
Rifuhlique, rather well written, violent compositions.
To-morrow I shall try for the Reforme to which
Ledru Rollin belongs, and the National a very pre-
judiced but remarkable organ of Government. If I
can find the Atelier, exclusively written by workmen
and edited by a shoemaker, you shall have that too,
and you will be surprised at its moderation and
eloquence.

Every one is talking of the discoveries made in
the different Ministries, and of the number of names
compromised in the list of secret services. I cannot help

thinking that something of the kind has induced

to fly precipitately to Bruxelles, after sending in what
is called an 'adhesion chalereuse' to the Provisional
Government as soon as he heard by telegraph of its ap-
pointment. Madame de Courbonne remains here with
houses unlet, rentes in jeopardy, and a diminished salon,
so you may imagine her state of mind. The Apponys
go next week ; they calculate upon a loss of two-thirds
of their private fortune, besides the cessation of their

April sth.] IRISH DISTURBANCES. 83

career. I dare not think of Ireland ; it seems to me
impossible that it should not follow the fate of all
Europe ; it is as full of bad elements as any part of
the Continent, and how can it escape ? Lamartine's
answer was good and clever, but it will not reach
where it ought ; the chiefs will interpret it for the
benefit of the lower orders who are so easily misled
to evil, and then comes civil war. J. writes very
gloomily ; * he is determined to send Sarah and the
boy to England, and to fight with the loyal side to the
very last ; you may imagine how uneasy we shall be.
I have this instant received your yesterday's letter and
the accompaning rouleau, for which I return you a million
of thanks ; it may be of the utmost importance in the
event of pLUage to be able to carry^ all one's fortune in
one's pocket. To-day is that fixed for the elections to
the National Guard, and a Communist movement is
greatly feared ; all pickets are doubled. As I am
afraid of missing to-day's post, I must conclude in
great haste.

1 From Ireland.

84 PARIS IN '48. [April 7th.

XV.

Friday, April 7th.

... I have subscribed to the Atelier, a weekly-
paper written wholly by workmen, and I believe it is
very curious ; if worth sending, you shall have that
too ; to-day I sent the Presse, yesterday the National
and the Riforme. Sometimes I may not be able to
forward them the day of publication as the post-office
which is rather a confederate of the editors, will only
take them in up to twelve o'clock. I have no news
to-day ; the elections of the National Guard have
absorbed all our thoughts, but they though most
important have no significance beyond our walls.
Great threats were used towards Mons. de Tracy,^
and some very base manoeuvres to carry off votes
from him ; but he was named Colonel of our legion
by a most triumphant majority. Numerous petitions

' De Tracy, who was the son of the philosopher of that name, had a
militaiy career under Napoleon I., and distinguished himself in Spain. In
1816 he retired and took up scientific studies. He belonged to the extreme
Left, and championed all liberal measures, including that for evacuating
Algiers. In '48 he was Colonel of the ist Legion of the National Guard,
and deputy to the Assembly j there he voted with the Right except con-
cerning the banishment of the Orleans family and the death-penalty for
political offences. He was Minister of Marine in December, 184.8, and
joined in the protest against the Coup d'Etat,,

April 7th.] REVOLUTIONARY MANIFESTO. 85

are being got up against him because he is merely a
Republican, and not a rivolutionnaire, By-the-by, I
was reading yesterday Carnot's circular to his pro-
consuls in '93-94, and it was as like Ledru Rollin's as
possible ; there is the same assumption of unlimited
powers, and the very words " que votre attitude soit
non-seulement republicaine, mais r^volutionnaire." I
like reading the history of France from '89 to '95 ; it
is so very like the present time. We are so completely
following the same downward line, that I don't well
see how we can get through it without the guillotine ;
it is the only feature wanting, and in the Faubourgs
they are rather that way inclined. A grocer, whom
I rather know in his capacity of a National Guard,
told me that his father-in-law, having refused to lower
his rents in the Faubourg St. Antoirie, had had a black
flag suspended from his window with a rope by which
they threatened to hang him. Caussidiere is very firm,
but he cannot be everywhere, and there is some whole-
sale murder going on every night ; the Morgue is full
of the bodies of Savoyards, supposed to have been
murdered by their rivals the Auvergnats. Certainly
there is very little importance attached to human life
in France, for these things are much less talked of than
the King's large diamond button, which some wretch has

86 PARIS IN '48. [April izth.

swallowed, and is dying of under the name of blesie de
Fevrier: " On attend I'autopsie avec impatience." The
adherents of the ex-King have behaved atrociously ;
they have all given up papers, and given information
where others could be found, besides handing over
the proofs of all the money invested under feigned
names, which would at least have kept them alive as
long as these funds pay — not very long, I believe.
Adolphe is on the list of officers, being very popular in
the neighbourhood, and we are very anxious for the
result of to-day's elections ; as every distinction is a
danger we sincerely wish him to remain a full private.

XVI.

April 1 2th.

Your letter of Monday was a great relief to my
mind in every respect, both concerning gown, brooch,
maid, and Chartists. From daybreak yesterday the
newsvendors were screaming, " Incendie de Londres,
proclamation de la Republique, et abdication de la
Reine Victoria." I knew it was false, and that they
could have no information ; still it had an unpleasant
effect on one's spirits. Now I am charmed, for the
exultation felt by many soi-disant moderate people, and

April 1 2th.] MUZZLING OPPOSITION. 87

the confidence of all in the power of propagandism is
greatly shaken ; they must hide their diminished heads
and look for other sources of self-gratification than any
derived from England ; I trust the power of sense will
extend to Ireland, and that the rebellion there will
end like the revolution in England — in words ; these
seem to have gone far enough in all conscience
through the medium of Messrs. Smith O'Brien,
Meagher & Co. I do wish they were subjected for
a week to the iron despotism of a Provisional Govern-
ment, and to the summary laws adopted against all
here who venture to doubt the Republic being the
expression of the will of the Nation. The state of
things is like a petite piece or a novel, in which the
hero or heroine has dropped a letter putting him or
her in absolute dependence on some person, good or
bad, whose tool they become, for weal or woe. Emile
de Girardin attempted opposition, and his contract
with M0I6 for the subvention of the Presse was
instantly cast in his teeth. Blanqui professed most
incendiary doctrines, and a little communication of his
to Mons. Delessert has effectually closed his mouth.
Napoldon Duchatel was to have been called to account
for his administration at Toulouse, but he had all his
brother's papers, and the Powers that Be would fain

88 PARIS IN '48. [April i2th.

give him a chance of employment to insure his silence.
Lucien Delahodde a traitor has been buried lately
without an inquest ; in fact, we have gone back to
mediasval times.^

I cannot imagine how the sitting of the National
Assembly can be managed. Universal suffrage is only
reasonable when quite local ; a man may be very well
known in his arrondissement, and may have an excel-
lent reputation among his fellow-citizens, but unless
he is a democratic writer in a paper of the province it
is impossible he should be known to the whole depart-
ment. The power in the hands of Government is
therefore ten times more absolute than that which the
most corrupt prifet could have secured formerly. The
lists will come ready-made from Paris ; the peasants, the
soldiers, and the employes will accept them blindfold ;
and thus there will be ten electors for the whole of
France. Indeed I think I exaggerate in giving so

' This was the report current at the time — the actual facts are the follow-
ing ; Delahodde, one of the editors of the Reforme and a member of the
Societe des Droits de THomme, was secretary-general to the Prefecture
of Police. Caussidiere, on looking through some reports, found one in
which his subordinate had given information to Louis Philippe's Govern-
ment concerning a Republican conspiracy in '38 ; he called together sixteen
of the persons named in the report, convicted Delahodde and shut him up
in the Conciergerie. After the fall of Caussidiere, Delahodde was liberated,
and published a lampoon in which he took his revenge.

April i2th.] LOUIS BLANC'S METHODS. 89

large a number, for Lamartine thinks only of the
extremities of Europe, and of his own attitude with
respect to foreign powers. Garnier Pagfes is perfectly
addled by the difficulty of reconstructing credit under
such dreadful circumstances, and as to Louis Blanc, he is
growing idiotic. His last plan of posting the names of
idlers on a column by way of encouragement to work,
really looks as if he were in his dotage ; I am looking
out for his suicide, but I hardly think he will execute
this promise any more than the rest. On the whole,
my favourite public man is Marrast: he is bold and
never promises what he cannot perform. I sent you
to-day the Constitutionnel of yesterday, which contained
some very curious documents on the Spanish mar-
riages ; Salvandy's style will delight you, and if you
know him you will be more than ever convinced that
"le style c'est I'homme." It may interest you to
know that the minister at Constantinople is to be
General Aupick, who was at the head of the Polytechnic
School ; I suspect him of being a fool, as he wrote a
letter on the 23rd of February, which was found in the
pocket of the coat left at the Deputies by the Due
de Nemours, saying the School was well affected !
I presume he is gSnant here, for he has no diplomatic
antecedents, and if he were useful he would not be

90 PARIS INi '48. [April 1 2th.

sent somewhere else. The Ministry of War is refused
by every one ; no one will take the responsibility of
managing an army which has been so demoralised that
half the soldiers consider obedience the result of
cowardice. Duvivier who commands the Garde
Mobile, seems disposed to take it upon certain con-
ditions, and that might be a good thing, as the Mobile
is the only real force. The departments talk of con-
stituting a body of 500 men to accompany their
representatives to the capital, and to insure freedom of
debate ! This would make 45,000 from the provinces,
1 5,000 Garde Mobile, and 202,000 National Guards to
support order. Ledru RoUin to subvert it has about
60,000 workmen, and he may have the Garde Urbaine,
about 3000 men. As far as numbers go, you see we
have the best of it, but pluck is undeniably on the
other side, and, to use Changarnier's very ridiculous
expression (he applied it to himself), " Le peuple a
I'habitude de vaincre." ^

1 General Changarnier served with distinction in Africa, and specially
in the Arab campaign in '36. In '47 he was made Governor-General of
Algeria on the resignation of the Due d'Aumale. He organised the mili-
taiy operations in defence of the Hotel de Ville on the i6th of April, 48, and
commanded the National Guard during the June insurrection. After this
he showed such a determined ambition to become the leader of the reaction-
ary party, that the Ministry of Cavaignac insisted on his immediate return
to Algiers to take up his command.

April i2th.] PROBABLE PROGRAMME. 91

1 believe the National Assembly will have to vote
immediately on the expediency of bankruptcy, on the
augmentation of the army and navy and the restoring
of divorce, and that there will be a call for the lot
agraire, the dream of the Communists. To-morrow I
shall send you the Constitutionnel^ which contains a very
sensible dialogue by workmen on this very subject.
There is a great deal of power in the press, and I wish
it were always well directed ; but alas ! what papers are
selling at every corner, so cheap that all may buy them,
and so specious that they must lead many astray ! . I
suspect the priests will soon have to repent the very
prominent part they have taken in the late events ; I
heard a man on the quai crying out yesterday : " Voila
ce que c'est que la religion Catholique, voici ce qu'elle
coute ! Payez pour 6tre baptist, payez pour 6tre marie,
pour dtre enterre, et puis encore apres ! " This will
certainly prevent many ignorant people praying for the
dead, and that precept has, according to me, a soften-
ing influence on all ; the ' quotes pour les ames du
purgatoire ' may be absurd and unscriptural, but how
much the suppression of all these ceremonies will tend
to diminish the reverence which many still feel for the
commands of a deceased parent, and how sad it is to
sap even the smallest part of the foundation of faith !

92 PARIS IN '48. [April 17th.

This sounds very Catholic, but I am sure you will feel
what I mean.

XVII.

April 17th.

We had a most dreadful day yesterday, and although
it ended only in what is now called a ' manifestation,' it
is impossible not to feel that there was something very
serious under the surface. The rappel beat at one, and
the National Guard turned out in such numbers that
any attempt against them would have been insanity.
During the first hour 85,000 got under arms, and the
company of the Rue Miromenil (not quite 500 strong)
turned out 425 men ; cartridges were distributed and
they waited Tarme au bras, not exactly knowing what
was in store but resolute to fight as soon as an adver-
sary should appear. Dreadful rumours were afloat ;
some said the Palais Royal was occupied by a band of
thieves who were plundering the shops, others assured
us that the Government was besieged in the H6tel de
Ville. / believe that there was a conspiracy to murder
Lamartine and depose Arago, Gamier Pages, and
Marrast, and to place all power in the hands of Ledru
RoUin, Cabet, and Blanqui. Communist doctrines

April i7th.] AN ANXIOUS DAY. 93

however have no success : Ledru RoUin saw this early
in the day and joined the colleagues whom he meant to
betray, so as to put himself in respectable safe-keeping ;
Blanqui never appeared at ail, and the visionary Cabet
was nearly torn to pieces. The cry ' a bas le Commu-
nisme ' was universal, and for the present hour that
danger is averted ; but there probably are many others
in store, and how will moderate men be able to parry
them all ? For my part, I know nothing more melan-
choly than such a day as yesterday ; the most fearful
anxiety without the excitement of a struggle, and a
success that does not carry with it the enthusiasm of
victory. As soon as I heard the drums and the
rumours afloat, I went to my sister to see if I could
be of use to the children, and to cheer her during her
husband's absence. On the road I saw shop-keepers
turning out with their wives and children clinging
round them, weeping wives and melancholy shop-boys
horribly frightened at being left alone behind the
counters. Every National Guard seemed to be taking
leave of his family, and as no one knew what was on
foot the gloom was very natural. Fortunately nothing
came of it, and I hope the anarchists will see how vain
their efforts will prove, when such numbers of «// classes
are determined to maintain order. The newspapers

94 PARIS IN '48. [April x7th.

to-day give no clear account of anything. The National
sings a Te Deum and sees the Republic honoured by
such a levie en masse; the Constitutionnel registers
with equal pleasure the cry of which the National takes
no notice, * k bas le Communisme,' and the Democratie
pacifique Cabet's own organ I have sent you. I also
forward yesterday's Constitutionnel which contains the
best and boldest commentary on Ledru Rollin's last
circular. I hope you received also two letters of George
Sand, which I sent, not for their intrinsic merit, but
because she is supposed to have a great influence in
the Government through Albert the soi-disant ouvrier^
who, having about 10,000 fr. a year, is, I presume,
no more a working man than I am.^ There was a
report yesterday that Louis Blanc was assassinated, but
it is not true, and I am glad of it, not for his own sake

1 George Sand sympathised with the economic theories of Louis Blanc
and of Pierre Leroux ; she tried to help forward the cause of the labourer
by idealising him and his humble life both in town and country. Throw-
ing herself into the political crusade in '48, she advocated generally Com-
munism built upon absolute equality, but she refused to join the agitation
for extending to women the newly-acquired civil and political rights.

Albert was a trained mechanic who, in 1840, founded the paper called
the Atelier. He was a close friend of Louis Elanc, with whom he was
returned to the National Assembly. When the mob broke into the Hotel
de Ville, he helped to draw up the list for a rival Government ; for this he
was sentenced to imprisonment, and took no further part in public affairs
till 1870.

April i7th.] INERTIA OF LAMARTINE. 95

but because he has not done mischief enough yet.
His career, like that of the Republic, must be suffered
to spend itself; if it is cut short all his partisans (and
they would increase) would say, " Let us work out his
system ; we have not given it a fair trial." No gene-
rals in France have half the reputation of Hoche and
Desaix, because they died before they had exhausted
public enthusiasm. I have left oiF pinning my faith to
any individual ; my only hope lies in the good sense
of the masses ; yesterday it shone out very gloriously.
The troops return on Thursday, so next week we shall
be sufficiently strong to defy a coup de main. No
one now believes the National Assembly can meet,
certainly not on the 4th, and yet how can the country
go on with such chiefs ? Lamartine is not a bit
better than the others ; he is doing no mischief, but I
am sure he is composing an ' Ode a la Patrie ' and
dreaming of the composition of an allegorical bas-relief
with every country in the world, and all the blacks,
thanking him for their intellectual emancipation. I
saw in Galignani this morning that some Englishmen
are going to present him with a testimonial of esteem,
and nothing could have a worse effect ; none of his
own acts depopularised Louis Philippe half as much as
the fulsome praise of the English press, and our present

96 PARIS IN '48. [April 17th.

masters will never believe that England can admire a
person who is not working for her. The few who
understand the sentiment are now living in the back of
their houses, with all their shutters towards the street
shut, and, in general, they are not renowned for
bravery. I am going out now to see if I can pick up
any news, and I shall finish my letter when I come
home.

2 o'clock. — What I suspected is perfectly true : I
have just heard from a person whose sources of informa-
tion are undeniable, that the attempt of yesterday was
most serious. Nothing but the determined attitude of
the National Guard and the pouring in of the banlieue
prevented the rising of the workmen ; it is pretty
certain that the first arrondissement, from the Barrlfere
de I'Etoile to the Place Vend6me, was denounced as
aristocratic, and would have been given up to pillage
had the Communist fraction of the Government been
able to upset what we must now call the Conservatives.
None of the latter ever sleep at their respective
Ministries, and the guards are doubled and tripled at
the Finances and the Affaires Etrang^res. My in-
formant assures me that now the elections will go on
without intimidation, and that the Assembly will be
allowed to deliberate, but I think he is too sanguine:

April i7th.] SCARCITY OF MONEY. 97

a military man places confidence in his soldiers and,
seeing the Line return, he naturally thinks the Pikins
will remain quiet ; but I cannot share his confidence.
The next fortnight will be full of anxiety, and the best
apparent results may lead to the worst possible con-
sequences. You know I am not generally an alarmist,
but I consider the total disappearance of money a most
fearful symptom. Yesterday a stockbroker who was
to have received 80,000 fr. on the 15 th, assured
Adolphe that he had been brought only a note of
100 fr., and that he was in such distress as to be
obliged to accept it. A friend of mine has turned loose
one of his horses, because he can neither feed nor sell
it. E.'s house which brings in 12,000 fr. a year, this
quarter only produced 300 fr., and Emile de Girardin
was obliged to take 22,000 fr. in full payment of a debt
of 30,000. Even bankers say that 10,000 fr. coined,
are more than 30,000 were last year. On Thursday
there is to be a grand y?/^ to distribute colours to all
arms — National Guards, Mobiles, and Line regiments.
If it does not rain I shall certainly go, for I find it
impossible to sit at home quiet with the feeling of
bustle in the very air. I am sure I am living in a
time which will never have its like, and I am gather-
ing up souvenirs for an old age, as talkative as that

H

98 PARIS IN '48. [April 2ist.

of Scheherazade. The excitement however is rather
greater and longer than I wished and, as it is wearing
all my people dreadfully, I have a hundred reasons for
wishing it were over. E. is a very skeleton, and M. is
ever ruminating plans of departure ; I am the only
one with any spirits left, and I doubt if even they are
very high or genuine.

XVIII.

April 2 1 St.

I shall ruin you in postage, but I cannot resist
telling you the events of the day, of which the news-
papers give so incomplete a report. Yesterday was
another day of intense alarm but, like the first, it ended
in nothing, for want of firmness and decision on the
part of Lamartine. He will not assume the dictator-
ship, and thinks he has performed his duty as a citizen
when he has made a pompous offer of his head. The
rappel beat from five in the morning in every quarter,
the National Guard turned out in myriads, and the
Communists turned in. General Courtais is a traitor
sold to the bad fraction of the Provisional Government,
and nominated on the list of the Comit6 de Salut
Public which is meant to replace the present powers ;

April 2ist.] CONSPIRACY UNMASKED. 99

this list includes Ledru RoUin, Flocon, Louis Blanc,
Albert, Cabet, Blanqui, Courtais, and L'H6ritier.
Guimard, second in command of the National Guard,
was also inscribed ; but in the original list he is scratched
out, and the words "Trop tifede" are written beside
his name.^

There was a conspiracy on Sunday, and of a very
serious character. The bands that met at the Champ
de Mars ostensibly to elect officers, each carried a
banner ; there were 1 2,000 flags, and it has since been
discovered that each flagstaff was a musket rolled
round with tricoloured ribbon. The waggon which
was said to contain a patriotic oifering was seized, and
found to be full of ammunition and cutlasses. This is
not put about to increase the general panic, but I know

' Yet Guimard's past would appear to have been sufficiently ardent. He
was an active member of the French Carbonari, and helped to found the
National. In '30 he fought at the barricades ; he worked for the Republic
and was a strong member of the Opposition under Louis Philippe. After
thirteen years of exile in connection with the insurrection of '35, he returned
to Paris in '48, and was among those who took possession of the Hotel de
Ville and first acclaimed the Republic. In the Assembly he voted with
the Montagne, but took an active part in the suppression of the June
insurrection.

G6n^ral de Courtais, Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, was
deputy for the Allier, and throughout a member of the extreme Left. His
indecision on May 15th when he did nothing beyond attempting to pre-
vent a collision between the National Guard and the people, entailed upon
him a sentence of a year's imprisonment.

lOO PARIS IN '48. [April 2ist.

it is true, for I saw many persons yesterday either in
power themselves, or in direct communication with
those who are. My news came straight from the
Mairie, the Etat Major, and the Ministfere des Affaires
Etrangferes. Changarnier is to be War Minister and
Commander of Paris, but he is for vigorous measures,
and will only accept if the Line is brought in again ;
one regiment came in yesterday, and more are expected
for the fraternisation of to-morrow. By-the-by, the
said ceremony will prevent my sending you a paper,
for the post-office closes at eleven and I could not
send far so early. To-day I have sent a most remark-
able number of the AssemhUe Nationale. The troops
of all arms are to assemble to-morrow from the
Bastille to the Arc de I'Etoile, and it is said that
they will cry, "A bas Ledru RoUin," "A bas Cour-
tais," along the whole line ; I had rather they said,
"A bas le Communisme," for this silly and danger-
ous doctrine is gaining ground. It is only a flag
round which the needy are grouped by promises that
will prove as false as those made by the Monarchy
of July and the Republic of February. Meanwhile
fresh taxes are put on every day ; they copy the English
system, without considering that they have not our
foundation of commercial riches, immense credit, and

April 2ist.] ANXIOUS SUSPENSE. loi

real landed property. A tax upon every family having
more than one man-servant, will only lead to no one
having two and, instead of filling the coffers of the
State, it will reduce to beggary a very numerous race
of cooks, aides-de-cuisine, second footmen, etc. All
this however though very important, does not occupy
any one much ; what we are all thinking of is, when
are we to have fighting in the streets ? It must come,
and the sooner the better, for now the National Guard
— the mobile as well as the sidentaire — is exasperated,
and would exterminate any enemy. If their ardour is
allowed to cool, and if they are wearied out by incessant
false alarms, it is to be feared that in the hour of
danger they may be found wanting. The next week
ought I think to decide the question, for if the
National Assembly is allowed to meet, it will of course
adopt vigorous measures, and any constitution or any
chief will be accepted with enthusiasm. We are all
tired of this state of things ; even the strongest nerves
are shaken by these perpetual alarms. We can bear a
regular fight, where a few hours must decide some-
thing ; but this bustle of drums beating, citizens arm-
ing, and constant rumours of hidden enemies, is really
unbearable. Every carriage sounds like the rappel,
every drunken man howling the Marseillaise appears

I02 PARIS IN '48. [April 26th.

a Communist, and even the very innocent noise made
by a neighbouring grocer placing a bar on his shutters,
seems to our eager ears the ringing of muskets on the
pavement. I was out the whole day yesterday, and
saw more anxious faces than I had beheld for the last
month, which is saying a good deal. Adolphe is in
uniform from six in the morning, but very tired of the
dignity which sends him the first to stand in mud or
rain, waiting for the aggression that may come from
any quarter, even from his own ranks. This is a very
shabby letter, but I have had so many interruptions
that if I made it any longer I could not send it to-day.
You cannot imagine how thoroughly fatigued I am ; I
cannot remain quiet, and great anxiety tires one even
more than physical exertion.

XIX.

April 26th.

A thousand thanks for the very remarkable
pamphlet (from the Economist) you so kindly sent me ;
I perfectly agree with it in its opinion of the present
state of France, but I have rather better hopes for the
future on account of the great elasticity of the French
character, and the real resources which the country

April 26th.] NATIONAL GUARD LOYAL. 103

possesses, and which any established form of govern-
ment could, I think, bring to bear upon the situation.
It is impossible to say how confidence will be restored,
but when it is it will spread like lightning, and with
every shoulder to the wheel things may perhaps be
righted. There are some good symptoms to which I
pin my faith, and which are increasing every day ;
when the Communist conspiracy was discovered,
Changarnier insisted on calling out th.e National Guard ;
Lamartine demurred and, as usual, threw open his
coat and made that very disinterested offer of his very
useless head. Marrast said "A quoi bon, ile ne
sortiront pas." " Never mind, try," says the General,
who professes to have the habit of victory ; they
did, and 40,000 men were under arms in half an
hour. Of course all the rioters turned in, and Ledru
RoUin was obliged to join at the Hotel de Ville the
colleagues he meant to upset. " C'est bon pour une
fois," said he and his faction ; and on Tuesday they
gave another alarm, to which 80,000 armed citizens
responded in even less time than on Sunday. Not-
withstanding the effort of all these demonstrations,
they again showed themselves on Thursday at the
review, and the bayonets that passed at the Arc de
I'Etoile numbered upwards of 300,000 ! All these

I04 PARIS IN '48. [April 26th.

men shout "Vive la R^publique," but not half so
vigorously as they bellow " A bas le Communisme ! "
As Emile de Girardin said six weeks ago " la Revo-
lution pourra p6rir par le ridicule." Already the
Government is called " le gouvernement ddrisoire."
Lamartine's fine speeches have acquired for him the
nickname of ' Latartine ; ' Ledru RoUin is known only
as ' le dur coquin ; ' Louis Blanc as ' Louis Blague ; '
Garnier Pages, ' d6garnit la caisse ; ' Arago, ' tas de
ragots ; ' and Cr6mieux is most deservedly called
' Crdgneux.'

We are told the elections are going off peaceably,
and so they are, by the aid of patrols of 120 men
in the electoral divisions, and a guard of 80 men
at each ballot-box. The working classes for the most
part refuse to vote ; they are beginning to see that
they have overreached themselves and, in cabarets
where they discuss the affairs of Europe, they seem
agreed to envy all other nations who have won
liberty without sacrificing their King. Many of them
say " Qui done nous tirera de \k?" and I am sure an
energetic general or a popular prince (if such a phoenix
exists) would be accepted without a murmur. Some
newspapers hint at the Prince de Joinville, and even
go so far as to say that he is here, but I doubt it ; one

April 26th.] THE ELECTIONS. 105

thing is certain, that his name has been inscribed on
many a ballot paper, and it would not be the least
curious result of universal suffrage to see a prince
of an exiled dynasty called to the National Assembly.
We shaU not know the result of the elections till to-
morrow, nor indeed then ; for how can we judge of
individuals without any political antecedents ? Bayard
is a wood-carver, Peupin a watchmaker, Corbon a
shoemaker, and even in their professions we know
nothing of them, so what can we know of their talents
as orators and legislators ? Everything is so absurd,
so utterly beyond all forecast, that one can hardly
believe what one reads on every wall and hears in every
street. On the whole there is a slight rise in com-
mon sense ; no written list has contained the name of
Ledru Rollin, but these printed ones were distributed
incessantly by the Mobiles, the drummers, the commis-
sionnaires, and even the horrid little chimney-sweeps
who congregate at the doors of pastry-cooks to catch
the stray sous of the luncheon-eaters. Every one who
got into an omnibus was offered his change " avec la
vraie liste rdpublicaine ; " the same lists lay on the
cushions of hackney coaches and on the counters of
every shop. Never were prospectuses distributed in
such myriads, nor charlatanism carried to such an

io6 PARIS IN '48. [April 26th.

excess, and yet I think the result will be diametrically-
opposed to what the Government expected. In the
country, proprietors have walked up to the Mairie,
with two or three hundred peasants voting as one man
for the aristocrat pointed out by their seigneurs.
The same has happened in the manufacturing districts ;
every one unites for the defence of property : those who
have some, for their own sakes ; those who have
none, because they have hopes, not in the division of
land, but in the measures ordered for reclaiming the
uncultivated portions of France, which can only be
done by capitalists. Communism is a bugbear or
very little importance ; its most dangerous point, to
my mind, is having George Sand for a mouthpiece.
She is the author of the famous 'Bulletin 16 de la
R^publique ; ' for, like the sleeping partner in a firm,
she sometimes transacts business for her friend the
Minister of the Interior, whose leisure hours are
divided between Rachel, and Mademoiselle Judith of
the Palais Royal. She writes in a paper called La
Vraie Republique which contains as much nonsense as
eloquence, which Is saying a good deal. The new
taxes are most absurd, and will never be paid ; they
are made to popularise the last moments of this
mischievous Government, and to hold up to odium the

April 26th.] VEXATIOUS TAXES. 107

National Assembly which must revise them. It is a
sort of hue and cry against the wealthy, but I should
like to know where the last specimens of that perse-
cuted race are to be foundi; not among bankers, seven
only remain standing in the universal ruin. Proprietors
of houses ? the most fortunate have received a tenth
of their rents, a sum quite inadequate to meet the
increased taxation, but the majority have been paid in
black flags and threatening notices.

Formerly directors of theatres made rapid for-
tunes, but how is it now ? The Op6ra Comique (you
know how popular that is) closed on Sunday, having
taken 9 fr. for three persons horribly frightened to
find themselves alone in the galleries. The tax upon
carriages comes a day after the fair, for 1800 carriages
have been put down since the 24th of February ; that
upon servants will only increase the number of those
dependent upon national charity, and there are already
15,000. Many of these have money in the savings
banks, but they cannot get at it ; a poor woman whose
husband was ill, brought a doctor's certificate to enable
her to draw out more than the 300 fr. allowed by a
decree (I cannot call Garnier Pages' acts laws), and the
answer was " Your certificate is three days old ; I have
no doubt your husband is dead, and you don't want any

io8 PARIS IN '48. [April 26th.

money at all." The measure concerning mortgages is
still more preposterous ; 20 per cent, of the revenue is
payable immediately ; now, many persons have no other
property, and ought at least to be allowed to wait till
the money falls due, and see if they get paid. Ten to
one they will not, and then how can they compel pay-
ment ? Nothing is saleable, not even Treasury bonds,
which every one worshipped, and in which the prudent
and by no means extravagant Jean Greffulke had
lodged 20,000,000 fr. The provinces will rebel, and
they will be quite right ; Paris will submit because it is
horribly cowardly, and then it will get some fresh
burden, till some new outbreak rids us of this intoler-
able rule. There is a horrid paper published now in
imitation, and under the name, of the Pere Duchine ; it
applauds the present state of things, but regrets the
absence of the guillotine. Another paper called La
Commune de Paris, is under the direction of Sobrier
who has installed the Comit6 de Salut Public at No. 1 6
Rue de Rivoli, with four pieces of ordnance. His
having got at artillery shows there is treachery some-
where, for you cannot buy cannon at a shop, nor
order them like the Irish pikes and rifles. I have just
received a most deplorable letter from Berlin ; the
King's conduct has excited universal contempt and

April 26th.] AGITATION IN BERLIN. 109

disapprobation ; he has disgusted his army and his
noblesse, and I believe that in Germany those two
elements are far more powerful than the peopk. There,
as here, the revolution was only a revolt among the
dregs of the population, and there is every reason to
presume it was paid for from hence, as French money
is more plentiful at Berlin than the coin of the realm.
How wicked and how silly is this propaganda ! send-
ing money out of an impoverished country merely
to disturb one's neighbours, is really impossible to
account for from the revolutionary point of view. It
is peace at any price with a vengeance, and the prin-
ciple which lost the Monarchy of July will as infallibly
destroy the Republic. No foundation on which it
might be built could be worse than the dissensions of
neighbouring Powers, and that seems the only one
they are inclined to favour. I forgot to thank you for
Punch, and rushed at once into politics, as if I were
too serious a character for light literature, and yet I did
laugh most heartily at Mons. Cornichon. How well
the author must know France and French ; it is quite
delicious, so diiferent from the slip-slop in fashionable
novels. I shall send some papers soon, perhaps old
ones as there are none very remarkable just at present.^

• Punch, in one of its numbers for April, '48, gave very amusing

no PARIS IN '48. [Mayist.

XX.

May I St.

I had intended writing you a long letter to-day,
but I have had two visitors whom I could not send
away, and as I have an appointment at two, I have
scarcely a moment. We are very much pleased with
the result of the elections ; Ledru Rollin is so low
that the moderates are quite satisfied ; he will be less
dangerous in the house than among the malcontents
in the street. There are two hundred Legitimists, which
shows how sadly every one has miscalculated the result
of universal suffrage ; that is the only extreme party
that has gained. The majority is Left Centre, and
Thiers has not been nominated ; what is even more
surprising is that Emile de GIrardin has failed. The
Due de Luynes who has been elected in Seine et Oise,
made a beautiful profession of faith ; he said : " If I
were to call myself a Republican, you would not
believe me ; my name would rise up against me ; but
you know me. I have always lived amongst you ;
you are now to judge whether I am worthy to

extracts from the diary of 'the Representative of France, Cornichon,'
supposed to have been kept while he was in England for the benefit of
' the President of the Tyrannicide Club.'

May 1st.] CLERICAL DEPUTIES. iii

represent you." He was nominated by an immense
majority, but the Due de Mouchy who has dined
with waggoners and drunk with tinkers ever since
the 24th of February, calling himself a * R6publicain
de '89,' has hardly any votes. The Archbishop of
Paris and Lacordaire the Dominican are both nomi-
nated ; how can they reconcile the deputy's dress (a
large white waistcoat h la Robespierre) with their
sacerdotal costume ? *

We are of course most anxious for the result of
the month's deliberations'; I feel sure we shall reverse
what was done in '30, and instead of a Throne sur-
rounded by republican institutions, we shall have a
Republic surrounded by monarchical institutions, which
will do no better and will last a still shorter time.

1 Monsignor Afire did much while a priest at Amiens to improve edu-
cation in the rural districts. He was appointed to the Archbishopric of
Paris in 1840, and was well known for his benevolence and active philan-
thropy. He supported the Provisional Government, was elected to the
National Assembly, and on June 25th attempted to act as mediator at the
barricades ; under suspicion of treason, he was shot down, and died within
a few hours.

Lacordaire was one of the editors of the A'venir and the Agence, two
Democratic and Ultramontane papers for the defence of the Catholic
religion ; he was in 1835 appointed lecturer at Notre Came, where he won
great fame as a preacher. During several years he busied himself with
literary work, and led the attempt to bring about religious freedom and the
establishment in France of the monastic orders and schools. In '48 he
started a journal called the Ere Nowvelle ; he was elected to the Assembly,
but sat for only a short time, and in '54 retired from public life.

112 PARIS IN '48. [Mayist.

The insurrection at Rouen was an experiment in anima
vili (sic), as the surgeons say. If it had succeeded,
the Rouennais would have come here, joined the forces
of Ledru RoUin and Louis Blanc, and upset what little
order we have. It is certain the movement was
ordered here ; the guns taken all bear the Paris stamp,
and very compromising papers have been seized. Louis
Blanc is very much less popular with the workmen,
and he feels very uncomfortable, as he has advocated
summary measures too much not to believe them
possible as far as his life is concerned. The very
vigorous conduct of the National Guard at Rouen
gives me great hopes for Paris if we come to blows,
which seems to me at least adjourned for the present.
I have been to see the new sal/e des reprhentans ;
it is poor and shabby, but I am happy to say it will
be much less easy to invade than I thought. The
public tribune will only hold about five hundred ; the
rest is consecrated to privileges which are only tem-
porarily set aside. We have no longer a peers' tribune,
but one for chief editors, and it is twice as large.
Instead of les maisons du Rot et des Princes^ we are
to have more stenographers, and the ' classe lisse6 '
is the 'vrai peuple, la blouse et les tricoteuses.' I
mean to go if there is no fighting ; pistols and guns

Mayist.] REPUBLICAN IMAGERY. 113

alone will damp my curiosity ; I am quite ready to
brave heat and squeezes. The fHe is put ofF for a
week, and Lamartine says he will not have rosieres
nor gilt horns to cattle, nor eating and drinking ; so
I suppose it will be like the last, a weary promenade
for our poor National Guard. I send you a small
pamphlet about the Republic by an ardent and sincere
Republican who says : " Nous avons perdu la partie ;
vous verrez que ce seront les cent jours de la R6-
publique." This for a man of his convictions is a
curious admission, and shows the impotency of the
leaders. Have you seen Ledru RoUin's last proclama-
tion ? He quotes Jean Paul, whom few read and
none understand, and says the finest fruits alone are
attacked by wasps, so he alone of the Government
has been attacked by calumny, etc. The journalists
won't allow they are wasps, and we contest his beauty
as a fruit. George Sand of course wrote this non-
sense, for the Minister of the Interior is not poetical ;
Jules Favre has backed out of the Ministry for fear
of being named as the author. Real Republicans hide
their diminished heads, and the friends of order are
beginning to peep out as ants do after a storm ; I wish
I could feel sure they would remain out in real danger.
Did you hear the parody of the Girondins attributed

114 PARIS IN '48. [May 4th.

fla
to Lord Brougham : " Mourir pour < ^^^^ patrie-j

c

I think it worthy of Punch}

XXI.

May 4th.

Notwithstanding all the threats contained in the
fierce newspapers or placarded on the walls, we have
reached the opening of the National Assembly with-
out blows. Of course we are all anxiety for its
operations, but no one seems to apprehend any out-
break for to-day. Lamartine is said to be opposed
to a President ; he will have three consuls, and he
rejects the military element which would alone be
popular here, through fear of Cavaignac's energy.*

1 Jules Favre was a law student when, in 1830, he professed himself a
Republican. He was a brilliant special pleader in political cases, and in
'48, as secretary to Ledru Rollin, wrote some of his manifestoes. He
advocated the prosecution of Blanc for his share in the 1 5th of May. He
was a strong opponent of Louis Napoleon, both as President and Emperor.

2 Cavaignac was the son of the deputy to the Convention in the great
Revolution ; he had a distinguished career in Algeria, where, in '44, he
was appointed Brigadier-General. In February '48 the Government offered
him the post of War Minister which he refused, but he was returned to the
National Assembly in April, and then accepted the portfolio. In the June

May 4th.] NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. 115

Dupont de I'Eure would be first Consul, but he is
only a very faded drapeau ; Lamartlne second, and
Ledru RoUin third. Of course all this is only conjec-
ture, and I don't imagine they can set to work seriously
with any appearance of fairness while twenty-two depart-
ments are still unrepresented ; the elections however
are most extraordinary, and show how thoroughly the
result of universal suiFrage is beyond classification or
control. Some places have returned none but Legiti-
mists, and yet that party has no sympathisers among
the lower classes. Thiers is only fourteenth on the
list of his own department and Emile de Girardin, in
spite of the 80,000 subscribers to the Presse, had very
few votes indeed. It is presumed that Berger, Garnon,
or some other man nominated at Paris and professing
Thiers' opinions will make room for him, as his incon-
testable talent cannot be spared. Lamartine's opposition
to him was quite personal, and founded on the small
jealousies of rival historians ; notwithstanding the
poet's ten elections and his 250,000 votes at Paris, I
think his popularity is decreasing. Each vote for him
was given against Ledru RoUin, that is all ; and I

insurrection he organised the assaults on the barricades, and was victorious
after three days' fighting. He was a thorough-going Republican, and
incapable of any unconstitutional policy.

ii6 PARIS IN '48. [May 4th.

agree with a man who told me yesterday that France
might be ruled by the sword, but never by a harpe
eolienne. One is lost in conjectures as to the means
of getting out of the present crisis ; not one farthing is
ready to pay the June dividends, so paper money must
come, and even moderate journals are calculating its
probable depreciation the very day of its appearance.
Seizing the railways would not help the Government,
as they can hardly pay their way ; there is no traffic,
and few travellers seem inclined to select this wretched
country for an excursion. Still it is most curious and,
were I a man, I would not hesitate to come and study a
state of things which has no precedent in the annals of
civilised life, and which every party seems to consider
the very worst that could be. There is no personal
danger, nor do I think there will be till famine drives
the deceived workmen wild ; this must happen, if
speedy measures are not taken to restore to the plough
all the useless inmates of the National Workshops. A
waste of substance, only to be equalled by the waste of
money, has now been going on for more than two
months ; the price of grain has been fixed so very low
that many farmers have changed their cultivation this
year, and one bad season would find us totally unpro-
vided ; then indeed 200,000 famished operatives

May 4th,] FEAR OF CIVIL WAR. 117

parading the streets will carry all before them, and it
will be high time to fly a country so utterly lost. Wise
people seem to dread all this a great deal more than
the partial outbreaks of which we are in daily expecta-
tion ; these would be put down with more or less
bloodshed, and you know how very little human life
is considered in France. The most serious cause for
uneasiness is having such a man as Barbds at the head
of 23,000 men. If there is civil war the 12th Legion
will be supported by the 7th ; the ist, 2nd, and loth
are for order, and the remaining seven will join the
strongest party. General Duvivier has given in his
resignation as commander of the Garde Mobile, under
pretence that his whole time will be taken up by the
Assemble Constituante, but in reality because his
fraternal troop will not fight in Paris. These 1 5,000
armed and disciplined soldiers would prove a most
serious obstacle to the peaceable National Guards, should
they join the people ; but one hardly likes to think of
these contingencies. The excitement is very great
indeed ; it is impossible to read anything but newspapers
and personally I indulge in them far too much ; I read
fourteen yesterday, counting the 'Times for one only.
The best is the Assemblie NaHonaky of which I sent you
a very good specimen yesterday. To-day I despatched

Il8 PARIS IN '48. [May 4th.

the Riforme which is looked upon as Ledru RoUin's
organ, and the Vraie Ripublique written under the
inspiration of George Sand ; you will find in it part
of the autobiography of the murderer Barbfes. If you
tell me which style of papers you prefer I can easily get
them, as almost all are hawked about the streets ; but
I only forward those which are supposed to have some
weight. I am going out to see how things are going
on ; I have an enterprising and fearless friend with
whom I brave crowds, and we have found every one
very civil to women. I am to breakfast with her, and
then start to try to catch a glimpse of the Provisional
Government. If anything happens to-day, I will write
to-morrow by post.'

* Barbes was a man of considerable means who took up Communism
out of sympathy with the suffering masses. In February, '48, he was
released after an imprisonment of nine years which he had incurred in
1839 ; it was alleged that in the insurrection of May in that year, he shot
Captain Drouineau during the parley between the insurgents and the troops
under that officer. In reply to an order to fire which the captain gave, the
insurgents poured in a volley, and he fell. A public demonstration was
got up in favour of Barbes, and the death-penalty was commuted to im-
prisonment for life. In '48 he was appointed governor of the Luxembourg
— a post which he refused — and nominated Colonel of the 12th Legion of
the Garde Nationale ; he was greatly respected among Republicans for his
high moral qualities and single-minded self-sacrifice. He founded the club
of ' la Revolution,'

May 8th.] COSTLY GOVERNMENT. 119

XXII.

May 8th.

Even my robust vanity is put to the blush by the
very great praise that you bestow on my letters, and
you cannot imagine how pleased I am to be enabled in
any way to gratify you. I like writing to you who
understand everything French, and read of the mis-
fortunes of this country without the exultation of ' une
enfant d' Albion,' but with the sympathies of a friend
and an ally. It really is fallen and, I fear, most
irretrievably, now that we know something of the state
of finances ; imagine that the expenses of the last ten
weeks have exceeded those of the last sixty years,
though many of these years were also fraught with
danger and anarchy ; of course by expenses I mean
not only money squandered, but value depreciated.
The occupation of the Allied armies cost France five
milliards ; the revolution of '30 two, part of which
was paid out of the treasure found at Algiers ; and the
Provisional Government has spent or lost twenty-two
milliards. No one seems inclined to pay the increased
taxation, and the taxes taken off by no means add to
the welfare of the working classes the sums of which
they drain the Treasury. No one is satisfied, not even

I20 PARIS IN '48. [May 8th.

Lamartine who is an arch dissembler as unfit for his
exalted station in public life as he is unworthy of his
place in the esteem of Europe ; he is weak to act,
and his incessant system of conciliation becomes con-
temptible when you see to whom he addresses his
blandishments. Louis Blanc is despised even by his
workmen ; Ledru RoUin is hated ; Gamier Pages'
incapacity is now proved, and still the poet asserts the
solidarity of the Provisional Government and proclaims
their unity, as he did the Republic ' k la face du soleil.'
Courtais is all but mad, and it is most dangerous and
impolitic to leave such a man at the head of the
National Guard ; last Thursday he got very drunk
with his friend the Minister of the Interior and, as he
has 'le vin patriotique,' he determined upon carrying
his thanks to such members of Government as had not
dined ; so he ordered out some military music, a detach-
ment of Mobile and all his staff, and galloped to the
Luxembourg. Louis Blanc's body-guard, seeing such
a troop at two in the morning, took fright and beat to
arms ; the brave serenaders ran away, the old general
ordered the rappel to be sounded, the nth Legion
turned out, and were infuriated to find that they had
been waked to contribute to the end of an orgy in
which they had had no share. I don't exactly know

May 8th.] COURTAIS' ESCAPADE. 121

how all this ended, but the absurd drunkard sent
messages to the other legions, woke the colonels at
five, ordered processions to be got up by breakfast
time, which both the ist and 2nd refused to attend,
and then, when he was sobered, wrote an order of the
day thanking the patriots who had not come out, and
begging them all to return to the homes they had
never left. He ought tp be dismissed, and then the
National Guard ought to name its own chief; this
however would be creating an elective Monarchy, as
the chief of the Paris National Guard would virtually
be King of France. A difficulty meets one at every
step, and as we have no precedent of a Republic
unsupported by a guillotine, we don't know how to
meet it. Ledru RoUin is certainly very dangerous,
but he loves wine, women, and luxuries of all kinds, so
he may be ' domine par ses vices ; ' whereas the Spartan
Barbfes who thinks nothing of murder and has been
nine years in the cells, is up to everything. One of
the worst acts of the authorities has been giving this
man the command of the 12th Legion ; a convicted
murderer at the head of 28,000 men, exasperated as he
has been by this long captivity, may fancy civil war is
only a fair retaliation upon society, and raise the standard
of revolt any day. I tell you all rumours, but my

122 PARIS IN '48. [May 8th.

own conviction is that there will not be the slightest
outbreak till a new Government has been constituted
and tried. Louis Blanc would fight, but he has no
party, as none but idiots now believe in the ' organi-
sation du travail.' '

George Sand is trying to work up Ledru RoUin to
her own sanguinary level, but he has no pluck, and
contents himself with receiving from her roses dipped
in blood and other tender souvenirs. She lives at the
Ministere, and will do him as much harm as Egeria
Lieven did Guizot.

I went last night to a party given by the Colonel
of our legion, as I was most curious to see the work-
men whom their epaulets were to bring in contact
with 'les gens du monde.' I talked to one of them
of the name of Bernard, and thought him a fool
and a blusterer. His hands were very dirty, and to
distinguish between the different ranks of society, he
said : ' que ceux qui ont mang6 du veau toute leur vie,
permettent enfin a leurs freres de manger du boeuf,"
etc. He bored me, but many fine ladies squeezed his
dirty hands, and admired his sentiments because they

' Under this title Blanc had written a series of articles in the Re'vue du
Progrh Politique, Social et Litteraire, in which he upheld a modified State
Socialism, in opposition to pure competition.

May 8th.] REPUBLICAN EQUALITY. 123

were expressed by a working man instead of being
placarded on the walls or distributed in a penny
pamphlet. For my part, I admire fraternity if it leads
to boundless charity, but I cannot subscribe to equality ;
like the bed of Procrustes, it is equally painful to those
who must be stretched and to those who must be
curtailed to its proportions. Poor Bernard will be
sent back to his workshop as soon as the barricades
have faded from our minds, and we no longer believe
in pillage ; he will be hated by his comrades whom he
must despise, and yearning after the society that will
despise him as soon as he has ceased to be a novelty.

I send you a most delightful critique of Cabet's
* Journey to Icaria ; ' it made me laugh heartily amidst
so much that makes me thoughtful. I go on sending
you papers nearly every day, as I think nothing more
curious than the wonderful plans and sentiments which
unlimited liberty of the press has brought into
publicity. The AssembUe Nationale is the best informed
and the most consistent and well-founded organ of the
Opposition, but in the streets it is called 'le journal
royaliste.' I have so many letters to answer that my
head and hand are quite tired ; I always leave you for
the last, because I know I shall not omit anything that
you wish, and if I began by you I should certainly go

124 PARIS IN '48. [May nth.

on till I had not a moment left for any one else. If
we have the announced row to-morrow I will certainly
write ; you know that even the 24th of February
did not freeze my ink, so you may be sure if you hear
nothing, that nothing has happened.^

XXIII.

May nth.

Though my vanity is exorbitant, still believe it is
more than satisfied with the praise which you and your
friends bestow on my letters, and I could not think of
submitting them to the trial of public opinion. You
have read them with most friendly indulgence, and
others with the craving appetite for news which all
must feel during this momentous crisis ; but their
interest at any other moment would be very slight,
and all my broken English and French words would

' Bernard, who was a compositor by trade and, in 1830, a Republican,
had helped to found the 'Societe des Droits de rHomme.' In 1835 he
joined Barb^s and Blanqui in organising the ' Soci^t^ des Families ' and
that of the ' Saisons.' Returned as a deputy, he was imprisoned after the
insurrection of '39 at the Mont St. Michel. In February, '48, he was
appointed Commissary-General to four departments ; in the Assembly he
voted with the ' Montague ' on Socialist and political questions. He was
a strong opponent of Louis Napoleon, and was prosecuted for the part he
took in the movement of '49, after which he fled to Brussels and England.

May nth.] DECLINE OF LAMARTINE. 125

put me to the blush were I to see them in print.
Besides really if I did not write as I think and speak,
I should be conjuring up all the rules of composition
that dull governesses and a cracked homme de lettres
attempted in vain to teach me when 1 was young ; to
avoid repetition I should misrepresent my ideas, and
I should have a dread of personalities both as re-
gards myself and others, which would destroy all local
colouring. I am very proud of your approbation, and
gratified that you should keep my despatches ; but
they are yours and yours only, and I distinctly decline
the honours and criticisms of authorship, though I
confess I have been excessively pleased by all you have
said on the subject. Alexandre Dumas is right in
saying " On ecrit sous la dict6e des evenements," for
it literally is so. Each day is full of incidents, and the
difficulty is to keep pace with the singular events which
baffle all one's powers of calculation. Who could have
believed, for instance, that Lamartine would only be
fourth on the list of the second Provisional Govern-
ment } It is his own fault ; he would not separate
from Ledru RoUin and, as every one knew he had no
sympathy for him and no one believes in boundless
fraternity, it got about that the Minister of the In-
terior had a hold over him not to the credit of the

126 PARIS IN '48. [May nth.

great poet. I don't believe it since, whatever may be
Lamartine's delinquencies, they are more than balanced
by those of his colleagues ; but I rejoice that his want
of frankness and active courage should have met with
this punishment. He has been falling gradually from the
giddy height which he attained on the 28 th of February,
and his popularity is now at a very low ebb. " G'est
se raccrocher aux branches que d'embrasser Ledru
RoUin " is what every one says, and what every one
feels. We don't despair of seeing him confederate with
Blanqui and Barb6s for, as some paper said long ago
of Lamartine, " il lui faut un certain temps pour faire
le tour de la chambre, mais les p6riodes de ces revire-
ments ne sont pas encore bien connues." He began
as a Legitimist, turned * Philippiste ' to get the embassy
to Vienna which was given to Mons. de Flahaut, then
moved on to the Left and wrote ' Les Girondins ' as
an appeal to the groundlings. He can't court popu-
larity any further, and he will find it more difficult
than he thinks to create a party anywhere else. His
successor at the Foreign Office will be Bastide, who
inspires me with some confidence because he is a man
of property.*

' Bastide had helped to oust the Bourbons in 1830; for his share
in the insurrection of '32 he was condemned to death, but escaped to

May nth.] FEARS FOR THE ASSEMBLY. 127

Jules Favre who will probably have the ' Int6rieur '
is very dangerous ; he wrote the first incendiary bul-
letins, and openly professes his devotion to the Revo-
lution, not the Republic. Louis Blanc tried to create
* le portefeuille du Progres,' but got an admirable
answer from Peupin a real workman ; pray read it in
the Assemblee Nationale which I send you to-day. By-
the-by, the Charivari proposes a law against the un-
authorised assumption of the title of ' ouvrier ; ' and
as it is the only one that conveys a privilege, I think
it would be a very fair restriction. I have sent you
' Le petit homme rouge ' and recommend, on the fourth
page, the account of the Seance Royale. The ' Feuille-
tons sur I'lcarie ' signed ' Un Curieux ' are by Dumas ;
I sent them last Monday.

Since the Socialist element, Louis Blanc & Co.,
has been excluded from the executive power, great
fears are entertained for the safety of the Assembly
and the liberty of deliberation : in consequence of
this, perhaps you will conclude the guards have been
doubled or even tripled ; but no, that did not present
suificient security. General N^grier, one of the new

England ; in 1834 he returned to France and became a journalist. In '48
he was secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Lamartine) and he
retained his post under Cavaignac; in December he retired from public
life and devoted his time to literature.

128 PARIS IN '48. [May nth.

questorsy has applied for muskets and ammunition ;
I presume Degous^e will victual the place, and that
the armed representatives of the people will carry on
the work of the Constitution in a state of siege, and
with loaded guns. Can any more bitter criticism of
universal suffrage be imagined than this suspicion
attached so soon to the nominees of the whole nation ? ^
The walls have been covered the last few days
with yellow and red placards in favour of Poland, and
yesterday Barbes and Wolowski echoed them in the
Chamber.^ To-day a petition is to be carried there and
enforced as usual by intelligent operatives, and all this
while France is without a Government, while trade is
at a standstill, credit irretrievably lost, and every branch
of the administration utterly disorganised. Such waste

^ Degous^e had been trained as a civil engineer, but fought in the last
campaigns of the Empire. He joined the Carbonari in 1820; in 1830 he
was aide-de-camp to Lafayette ; as a Republican he was opposed to the
Government of Louis Philippe, he promoted the Reform banquets, and
helped to proclaim the Republic. He was a member of the Commission
of Public Works and a questor ; he sided with the Right against
Socialism, while he supported Gravy's Republican safeguards against
Louis Napoleon.

2 Wolowski, who was born at Warsaw, was educated in France and
took part in the revolution of 1830. He was naturalised in 1834 and
elected in '48 to the Assembly, where he voted with the moderate demo-
cratic party. He retired from political life in 1851, and in 1852 founded
the first comptoir of the CrMit Foncier ; he was the author of several works
on economics in France.

May nth.] MINISTERS OFF DUTY. 129

of time is really distressing, when one thinks by what
superhuman patience we have got through the last
eleven weeks. It is true the Provisional Government
have done a world of mischief, but it is equally true
that they are worn out by their labours, and all have
recourse to different means to recruit their strength.
Caussidi^re and Courtais have taken to drinking, and
the former was picked out of a gutter by his own
Montagnards the night before last. Ledru RoUin is
overeating himself, and George Sand makes tea for
him at three o'clock in the morning. Louis Blanc
has other resources, but the worst of all is Lamartine
who, as a forlorn hope, has sent for D'Alton Sh^e !
Imagine the ex-peer who always was mad, the mouth-
piece of democratic societies under the Monarchy, the
avowed friend of the Socialists taken into the private
councils of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.^

Political madness is becoming every day more
common : Mons. de I'Ap^e a deputy and railway
director, was found the other day embracing a third-

1 In 1 847 D'Alton Sh6e, who had been a member of the dynastic party
and a supporter of Guizot, completely changed his opinions. After Febru-
ary, '48, he rallied to Ledru RoUin, attacked Cavaignac and pronounced for
a social democratic Republic. He made a stand against the closing of the
clubs after the loth of December and was imprisoned ; he was not subse-
quently re-elected.

K

I30 PARIS IN '48. [May nth.

class carriage and weeping as over the body of a
departed friend ; his colleague Mons. de Villeneuve
is in a madhouse, and many others are little better.
One of the Boulogne employes, Lombard, formerly
sentenced for political offences, came to ask for advance-
ment yesterday, and began the conversation by placing
a dagger on the table and saying " Here is my argu-
ment." A pleasant state of things is it not ? Every
Republican says "This is not my Republic";" every
Monarchist argues " Could any king do worse ? " and
then we are told France is unanimous ! If it is, it
surely is not Democratic ; but how can we get out
of the scrape with 80,000 armed workmen watching
us, and all the violent clubs ready to pounce upon
the reactionaries ? One good measure is that these
clubs are no longer to be rent free and, as patriots are
neither rich nor generous, I think two-thirds will be
closed immediately. I forgot to mention that people
are beginning to talk and think a good deal of Jules
de Lasteyrie, who took such a prominent part in saving
many members of the Royal Family ; his courage is
unbounded and he has good abilities, besides being as
yet an honest man ; I say as yet, for they have all
gone over when in power. He is married to Olivia
de Chabot, and therefore will be supposed to be a

Mayisth.] SERIOUS DISSENSIONS. 131

partisan of the Regency which, however, is not the
the case.^ How very important the next fortnight
will be !

XXIV.

May 15th.

You will, I am sure, expect some account of the
deplorable Ministry that has succeeded the Provisional
Government, and of the first acts of the Assembly,
but it reaUy is almost impossible to convey a clear idea
of such inextricable confusion. Never was such dis-
cord, such total disregard even to a semblance of
concert among the ruling powers. The first serious
act of the representatives was to take their defence into
their own hands, and to invest their President with
unlimited power, not only over the National Guard
but over the Army, and not merely over the portion
in garrison at Paris but even over the army at the
frontier. This was voted seemingly unanimously,
when lo ! on the alternative question being put, two

1 The Marquis de Lasteyrie, a grandson of Lafayette and brother-in-
law of De R^musat, was bitterly hostile to the Revolution in '48, and
subsequently to the Republic and the President. In 1850 he was one of
the seventeen members chosen to put forward the electoral law of the 31st
of May against universal suffrage.

132 PARIS IN '48. [MayiSth.

stood up against the measure, and these were Courtais
Commander-in-chief of the civic forces, and the in-
famous Barbes Colonel of the 12th Legion ! Is it not
dangerous that such men should be disaffected, and
deny the authority founded ten days ago on universal
suffrage ? This is the first great division among the
armed forces ; the next is in the executive power and most
incomprehensible. Lamartine and Ledru RoUin hand-
in-hand seemed inclined to defer to the Assembly ; the
three others take a kingly view of the case, and do not
consider themselves bound to attend the deliberations.
The Ministers are all bad or at least incapable, and
they too are divided among themselves. On Saturday
morning the Moniteur published new decrees relative
to the F6te of Concord, and at one o'clock Mons.
Recurt Minister of the Interior announced that the
said f6te was put off for a week, as the preparations
could not be completed. The very night before, the
postponement demanded in the name of the depart-
ments had been refused because everything was quite
ready ! Where then was the truth — with the Govern-
ment organ announcing the celebration, or with the
Minister coolly requesting that all who had come for
it should wait a week .? It so happened that both were
right : all was in a great state of forwardness on Friday

Mayisth.] AT THE ASSEMBLEE. 133

night, but all was pulled down on Saturday morning,
whether out of sympathy for the Poles, or because
Louis Blanc did not receive the ' porte-feuille du
Progrfes,' or because three thousand men hoped to be
employed to replace what three hundred had origi-
nally put up, no one knows and no one even asks.
Louis Blanc had a small ovation, and got so frightened
that he hid himself; he won't go to the Chamber
where his appearance at the tribune is always greeted
with the cry of Petit Banc, as he must stand on a stool
to speak ; he won't go on with the * Travailleurs ' of
whom he can make nothing, so he is waiting for a
Socialist movement to make more noise.

We went to the Assemblee on Saturday and it was
a curious sight ; the old Left have, with few exceptions,
moved over to the Right where Berryer sits not far
from Odillon Barrot and Larochejacqueline, below De
Remusat. As they are the only people used to the
etiquette of the Chamber, they take by far the most pro-
minent part in the debates. Odillon Barrot, Dufaure
and Dupin spoke, not very"* well but much better
than Flocon, Emmanuel Arago and Germain Sarrut.
Lacordaire fancied Mons. Portalis was sneering at his
cowl and tonsure, and rushed to the tribune with the
greatest emotion ; he defended his dress in a quivering

134 PARIS IN '48. [Mayisth.

voice with very little success ; evidently his eloquence
requires the calm and recueillement of Notre Dame, and
is totally unfit for the tumultuous auditors he finds in
the Assembly. Coquerel followed him and did better,
but I am afraid he is a humbug, very full of vanity
and ambition which he wishes us to accept as fraternity
and philanthropy. About two o'clock the rappel beat
all round the Chamber, and a rumour spread that
the Poles and their friends, in number fifteen thousand,
were going to attack the place and renew the awful scene
of the 24th of February. This was very exciting as
you may suppose, and we waited in great suspense for
this demonstration which, however, did not take place,
as the National Guard turned out as usual in great
numbers, and the rioters turned in after getting a
speech from Mons. Vavin, and a promise that Poland
should be looked to to-day, Monday.^

1 It may be as well to give here a short account of some of the members
alluded to who took part in this memorable debate. Berryer was well
known as the brilliant counsel and orator who had defended Ney and the
other generals impeached with him ; he was an extreme opponent of the
reactionary policy of Louis Philippe's Government, though at one time
— '38 to '39 — he allied himself with Thiers and Guizot against Moi^.
When returned as a deputy in '48, he confined himself to administrative
and financial questions ; he was opposed to the restoration of the Empire.

Larochejacquelein, nephew of the heroic Vendean who fell in 1815, was
created a peer (Marquis) but did not take his seat, as the revolution of
1830 intervened. In '43 he sat as a Legitimist deputy ; in '44 he

Mayisth.] SOME OF THE DEPUTIES. 135

To give you another instance of the divisions
among the heads of the forces, I must tell you that

abandoned the Bourbons for the Orleans branch ; in February, '4.8, he gave
in his adhesion to the Republic. In the Assembly he voted with the Right
except on the questions of liberty of the press, abolition of the death-penalty
for political offences, the Grevy amendment, and the suppression of the
salt tax. He championed the Republic in the Legislative Assembly, but
became a senator after the Coup d'Etat.

Charles de Rimusat was a journalist and lawyer, and a disciple of
Cousin. His political career began in '^i when he was for a few months
Minister of the Interior ; he belonged to the party led by Thiers.

Dufaure was Councillor of State and then Minister of Public Works
in Guizot's Ministry. After February, '48, he became leader of the
Moderate Democrats, and was Minister of the Interior from October to
December of that year.

Dupin (the elder, born 1793) was educated as a lawyer; in 1 815 he
joined the liberal opposition against Napoleon I. ; he assisted Berryer in
the defence of Ney. He opposed the reactionary ' Ordonnances ' of
Charles X., and was Minister of Justice in Louis Philippe's first Cabinet.
He retained his post of Procurator-General to the Court of Cassation during
'48, and in '52 was President of the Assembly.

The Baron Portalis was first Procurator to the King and Councillor
to the Royal Court ; next, as deputy, he joined the Opposition, was Pro-
curator-General in '48, and was returned to the National Assembly.

Germain Sarrut a medical man tried, after 1830, to further the aims
of the Revolution in La Tribune, and was implicated in the 1 14 actions
which were brought against it. In '36 he was inclined to support Louis
Napoleon, but in '48 he rallied to the Republic, and ranked with the radical
Left. He defended many of the accused after the June insurrection, and
helped to organise democratic and revolutionary societies. He opposed
Louis Napoleon's policy as President, and preferred poverty to his service
after the Coup d'Eut.

Coquerel was a Protestant pastor and well-known preacher, and editor
of three Liberal religious periodicals. When returned to the Assembly as
a moderate Republican he supported Cavaignac and opposed the Mon-
Jagnards and Socialists ; he retired at the Coup d'Etat.

136 PARIS IN '48. [Mayisth.

Justlnien Clary Captain of the Mobile turned out
without orders, and marched his men to the Pont
de la Concorde, for which Courtais ordered him a
month's imprisonment and General Tempoure sent
him official thanks. The result of this want of un-
derstanding is that each officer will, in future, act
for himself, and of course this system will extend to
the privates who will also exercise their judgment,
and follow the commander whom they like best. A
great deal is expected to-day : the Poles are to meet
at the Bastille ; they are to be joined by their friends,
that is all the canaille of the suburbs, the idlers of
the National Workshops, and the disorderly of all
countries ; they are to march to the Assembly and
enforce their petition. To my mind, the cry 'Vive
la Pologne,' like that of ' Vive la r^forme,' is a cover
to some unknown ambition, some most dangerous
faction. Many will shriek 'Vive la Pologne' who
would shudder at joining in a hurrah for Barb^s or
Blanqui — and this is how revolutions are manufactured ! ^

Vavin was for many years a deputy and sat among the very moderate
Democrats. In March, '48, the Provisional Government entrusted to him
the liquidation of the Civil List, which he undertook only on condition of
doing the work gratuitously. He voted usually with the Right, and in
particular in 1850 for the law to limit universal suffrage ; he protested
against the Coup d'Etat and retired.

1 Some Polish exiles who were returning to their home in Prussian

Mayi5th.]!PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES. 137

The officers of our quartier have the strictest
orders to remain at home to-day : the Captain
is at the Mairie, and Adolphe has been sent a list
of trusty men whom he is to rally in case of emer-
gency, and to collect without the rappel ; this is a
measure of prudence, as the drums were broken in
many quartiers on Saturday. The Mobile is kept
within doors, and the first signal will see vast numbers
under arms ; but then the rioters are armed too. So
little circumspection was used at first in arming the
National Guard that 4000 muskets are missing in
our arrondissement alone, and I fear this abuse
must be still greater in the nth and 12th which
are worse composed and worse commanded. It is
very difficult to sustain the ardour of the civic forces :
the shopkeepers are exasperated at their losses, the
gentlemen indignant at being bearded by a set of
ruffians, and all the world is so sick of the Republic
that they have left oiF abusing Louis Philippe and
his faults and cowardice. I don't mean by this to
hint at any chance of restoration, nor could one
seriously wish any one to undertake the government

Poland, were stopped at the frontier and came back to Paris full of their
wrongs. The Polish kingdom had been 'suppressed' by Russia in 184.7,
but the national feeling was not crushed, and Poland continued to be a thorn
in the side of the partitioning Powers.

138 PARIS IN '48. [Mayisth.

of a ruined country, without credit or men capable
of retrieving it. Never perhaps was so much medi^
ocrity collected as the present Chamber but, as the
first instrument of a revolution must be cast away,
it is as well that it should be so. Already Louis
Blanc and Albert have relapsed into insignificance ;
I trust they will soon be joined by Flocon and
Recurt, whom Ledru RoUin and even Lamartine
cannot long survive. Then, if there is a man he
will have a glorious opening ; to his predecessors will
attach the odium of anarchy, disorder, and bank-
ruptcy ; to him, the merit of ameliorations which
will spring up naturally, as every one will join in
the reorganisation of society. I cannot venture to
surmise how soon this will happen, nor do I wish
to see it too soon since, if the Nation is checked in
its headlong course, it will start again with greater
violence. In '30 they stopped so short that they
did not see ' I'abime de la R6publique ; ' now I
should wish them to sound its depths, and if they
can get out of it they will hardly be tempted to
begin over again. The only resolute men here are
Barbes a murderer who is a Communist, and
Blanqui who is a Socialist ; here lies the real danger,
for the two will join if the slightest check is given

Mayisth.] BUCHEZ AS PRESIDENT. 139

to the present Government, which really no one
seems inclined to defend. Out of contempt for the
present rulers we may again see the blunders of
February!; we may allow the Republic to be sub-
verted, and we shall tear our hair when we see it
replaced by Socialism, Communism, or even the
Terror. This last I think quite out of the question,
but one can answer for nothing in this country
where courage, like fever, is intermittent, and where
the noblest acts of heroism are followed by instances
of such signal cowardice. This applies to Lamartlne,
whose glorious attitude during the first sixty hours
of the Republic has been followed by two months
of hesitation, of mean subterfuges, and of disgrace-
ful condescension. He has irretrievably lost ground,
and having controlled the destinies of his country
for two months, he has failed to secure a single
advantage or to inaugurate a single improvement.

How one gets accustomed to everything ; here
am I coolly writing reflections on one revolution, when
we are perhaps at this very moment on the eve of
another ; I am commenting on a dictator who has
served his time, and saying nothing of Buchez the
real autocrat of France, the most absolute sovereign
we have ever seen. I trust he may exercise his

I40 PARIS IN '48. [Mayisth.

power well, but I don't like his looks ; he is evidently
ill-tempered, and that is a serious drawback in such
times. Barbes looks very wild, Flocon very ignoble,
and Pierre Bonaparte the very image of the First
Consul.^ They are the only new faces of which I
took particular notice in the confusion of Saturday.
I am told that the said Bonaparte visits workshops
and distributes money, which is silly and extravagant
for even his glorious uncle would not be 'I'homme
du jour.' We want something new and we are
dragging on in the old groove ; it is very sad, very
hopeless ; each day adds to the defects of the present
system and increases the difficulties of the situation.
All despond and rumours of pillage are again afloat ;
I am going out to see what is going on. I will
write to-morrow and by post. I sent you the
Constitutionnel this morning, as the article on the

' Buchez's power as President of the Assembly was just coming to an
end, as he was not re-elected after May 15th. He was a doctor by pro-
fession, and had long been prominent in politics as in 1821 he founded the
French Carbonari. In 1830, together with Flocon and others, he established
the Society des Amis du Peuple ; in '31, having separated from the St.
Simonists, he established the Europeen a philosophical review, as the
organ of his moderate Catholic programme.

Pierre Bonaparte was a son of Lucien Bonaparte, and was born in 1 8 1 5 ;
in '32 he joined his uncle Joseph in America ; he next went to live in
the Papal States whence he was expelled in '36. After this he led an
adventurous life in Albania and Corfu, and in '48 he came to Paris and
was appointed Chief of Brigade ; he usually voted with the extreme Left.

Mayisth.] ASSAULT ON FLOCON. 141

Army seems to me to be by Thiers. I am afraid
the address is sometimes very uncouth, for I cannot
buy newspapers nearer than the Madeleine, and our
servant writes the address himself in the neighbour-
hood, so as not to have two journeys. I have just
heard that Flocon was nearly strangled yesterday
by a delegate of the Basses Pyr^n6es who came
here to see the F6te, and had not money enough
to wait till next Sunday ; I wonder the National
Guard interfered to save him. You know he is a
doctor, so are Recurt and Tr61at,* which makes one
of the papers say : " Ce n'est pas un conseil, c'est
une consultation ; nous sommes done bien malades ! "
To console the unfortunate provincials who meant to
see the pagan ceremonies, they are to be reviewed
by the executive. What a compensation !

1 Trilat was an advanced liberal, and in 1830 plunged into secret
societies ; he defended the accused of the insurrection of April of that year
with such vehemence that he was fined 11,000 fr., and sentenced to three
years' imprisonment for his attacks on the judges whom he had formerly
known as Carbonari. After filling various other posts in '48, he was made
Vice-President of the National Assembly and, on the 12th of May, Minister
of Public Works ; he retired in June before the insurrection.

142 PARIS IN '48. [Mayi6th.

XXV.

May 1 6th, 7 a.m.

I have been waked by the rappel, and though I am
told that it is only to relieve the National Guard who
have been up all night, still it is too ominous a sound
for me to go to bed again, and I may as well give you
some idea of the day we spent yesterday. The news-
papers give a very good account of the invasion of the
Chamber, but I do not think they dwell sufficiently
on the zeal of the legions, on the energy and decision
shown for the first time by order against disorder. I
don't think even the 24th of February was more pain-
fully exciting. We went to the Tuileries and saw the
bands with their banners proceeding across the bridges,
vociferating awfully for Poland ; but, as I said in the
morning, this cry was a blind to proclaim Barbfes and
Blanqui. The bridge was not defended ; the guard,
both mobile and sedentaire, were ordered to sheathe
their bayonets and put their ramrods into their guns
to show they were not loaded and, in opposition to
the orders of Buchez and the questors, no attempt was
made to prevent the mob entering the Assembly. Nay,
more : the rappel was not beaten in the streets till
after the Chamber was in the hands of the anarchists

Mayi6th.] THE CHAMBER INVADED. 143

and till the clubs were about to proclaim their Provi-
sional Government, and then the officers ordered it on
their own responsibility, and sent fifty men to escort
the drums. Degousde one of the questors rushed to
the tribune and, in the presence of the mob pouring
in with their standards, some blood-red as in '93, others
veiled with crape and others emblematic of sedition or
mourning, impeached Courtais for treason. This was
quite evident, as not one of the orders given for de-
fending the Assembly had been obeyed, and those
which could not openly be evaded had been rendered
useless by the cartridges and bayonets having been
removed. At first the Deputies behaved well save a
few, among whom were the biggest talkers, who dis-
appeared at the very first with the bishop and the
women in the galleries, under pretence of protecting
them. Jules de Mornay was most intrepid, and made
fruitless efforts to keep the violent demagogues from
the tribunes ; one of the secretaries had his cheek
almost torn off by the point of a flagstaff which he was
trying to wrest from a club leader, and some other
representatives were rather badly treated. It is said
element Thomas Colonel of the 2nd Legion was
wounded, and he was immediately proclaimed Com-
mander of the National Guard. Courtais was arrested

144 PARIS IN '48. [Mayi6th.

near the Hotel de Ville after a fierce resistance, and
Mons, NIewerkerque who assisted in his capture has
part of his epaulet as a souvenir.^ I have rather anti-
cipated the march of events in mentioning this capture,
which was the first step towards the restoration of order,
instead of mentioning the horrible panic that seized us
when we heard that the Ripublique sociale was proclaimed,
that Barb^s, Blanqui, and Raspail formed the executive
power, and that the Assembly was dissolved. Never
was there such an anxious moment. Communism put
in practice implied spoliation or the scaffold, perhaps
both. All the men were under arms, and the sergeant
who carried orders said : " Que les paralytiques marchent,
que les boiteux courent aux armes, ou tout est perdu ! "
Fortunately our legion was the nearest to the scene of
action, Mons. de Tracy gave vigorous orders ; the
company of the Rue Neuve St, Augustin, with the help
of the Mobile, dispersed the ' Clubistes ' and reinstated
the representatives. Other companies proceeded to the
Hotel de Ville, and there arrested the ringleaders, in-
cluding Albert late member of the Government, It
is said Huber has blown his brains out and I wish
they would all imitate him, for the trial of these men

1 Mons. Niewerkerque was a sculptor of Dutch extraction, and was in
1 849 appointed Director-General of the National Museums at Paris.

Mayi6th.] VOTE TO SUPPRESS CLUBS. 145

will give rise to more demonstrations, more uncertainty
and more danger.^

I fully believe in the triumph of moderation, but
at what cost I do not even like to think. Adolphe
has been out since one o'clock yesterday ; he sent word
that he was at the bivouac of the Luxembourg, and
that no fighting was apprehended, but we know nothing
of him this morning.

I I o'clock. — I have been out for news, and canxiot
hear anything ; this morning's rappel has called out
the very few men who did not pass the night under
arms, and our lieutenant is still on duty. The streets
and bridges near the Assembly are densely crowded,
but with a well-disposed mob crying " Vive 1' Assem-
ble Nationale, a bas les Clubs ; " this was the cry
last night on the whole line of the boulevards. I
went up to the Rue Montmartre in the evening, and
heard in every group the greatest applause of the
energetic measure that closed the Clubs last night, I
hope for ever. The difficulty now is to weed out the
traitors who are in the National Assembly : besides
Barbfes and Albert who are arrested, we have Louis

1 This rumour concerning Huber, who was a currier by trade and had
been made Governor of the Royal Park of Raincy, was however incorrect ;
though arrested by the National Guard he escaped to England.

L

146 PARIS IN '48. [Mayi6th.

Blancj Bac from Limoges,^ and perhaps Ledru RoUin,
though he apparently behaved well yesterday.

There is a report there was some fighting at the
Prefecture de Police ; also a collision between the
Montagnards, Caussidifere's troops, and the National
Guard of the outskirts near Suresnes, in which the
latter were worsted. People are beginning again to
talk of pillage, but I hope there is no cause for appre-
hension ; at least, I trust it may not be to-day when
all our forces are concentrated in the more central
part of the town. I will write again or at all events
send papers, but I cannot indite long letters under
such excitement and uneasiness.

P.S. — Adolphe is come home ; his battalion was
the one that cleared the Assembly, and also that ran-
sacked the Commune de Paris ; they captured many
arms and some ammunition and papers ; a few men
were shot in the Rue St. Honore. He is so tired he
can hardly speak.^

> Bac was a brilliant advocate famous for his defence of Madame
Lafarge, the poisoner ; he had great influence with the working classes, and
belonged to the democratic Opposition. In '48 he was returned to the
Assembly, where he sat on the Commission for Foreign Affairs and was an
orator of the ' Montagne.' He opposed the Presidency and supported the
vote of thanks to Cavaignac.

2 De Mornay, who attempted to keep order during the invasion of the
Assembly described above, was an agriculturist, not a politician ; he was

MayiSth.] AFTER THE STORM. 147

XXVI.

May 18th.

I have just received your letter of Monday and,
as usual, I have to thank you for the very flattering
manner in which you receive my news. I wrote a
great deal this week, because it has indeed been most
eventful, and the danger is not over. There are traitors
everywhere, and some of the persons arrested at great
personal risk by the National Guard have been let out.
Mons. Duvergier de Hauranne who has done a great
deal of mischief, said a very true thing yesterday, when

Inspector-General of Agriculture in 1 841, and in '48 was first divisional
Chief and then Director-General of Agriculture.

Clement Thomas was on the staff of the National ; in '48 he was Com-
missary to the Gironde and, after the action of the 15th of May, he was
made Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard. On account, however,
of his contemptuous treatment of the Legion of Honour, he was obliged
in June to hand over his command to Changarnier.

Raspail held doctrines closely connected with a system of Pantheistic
philosophy, with a tendency towards radical Communism, but he was
opposed to sudden or violent reform of the laws of land tenure and of
property ; he considered Lamartine best suited to conciliate the various
factions. He was distrusted by the most radical members of the Provisional
Government but had great personal influence, partly on account of his
medical skill, in the democratic faubourgs. A rumour was circulated that
he was preaching a crusade against the wealthy, but this does not appear
to be borne out by his paper the Ami du Peuple. Raspail was persecuted
for his opinions, and thereupon made a violent attack on the Provisional
Government which he denounced as reactionary j he was frequently
imprisoned.

14^ PARIS IN '48. [MayiSth.

he declared that " une Pentarchie n'est sup6rieure en
rien a une Monarchic." Five disunited heads are
worse than one however ill advised, and time is irre-
parably lost ; if the ringleaders of Monday are brought
to trial, which I doubt, they will be tried by a common
jury and acquitted ! It is, however, infinitely more
probable that they could make most dangerous revela-
tions concerning those actually in power, and that some
sort of rescue will be connived at, Lamartine rose a
little in public esteem for a moment on Monday, but
he again lost ground when he remained silent during
Caussidiere's speech accusing him of having authorised
the formation of Sobrier's bodyguard. I know we
have not a man for a counter-revolution, but if we
had, the knell of the Republic would sound instantly ;
as it is, we shall drag on amidst conspiracies and
dangers till the present Government perish under the
weight of public contempt. Already they are openly
attacked ; common sense is getting the better of passion.
Those who hailed cheap Government say " Why have
we an additional tax of 45 centimes ? " those who
loved equality are indignant at the dictatorship of
Paris, and all who wish for peace shudder at the war-
cry raised by the Republicans. The Assembly is de-
cidedly composed of very inferior men ; all who excited

MayiSth.] TROOPS COMING IN. 149

envy by their talents have been ostracised. The old
Left are bestirring themselves, and it cannot be for
good. We had trusted to the chapter of accidents,
and we are falling back into the old routine. Another
conflict between the partisans of order and the Socialists
cannot long be put oiF, and I trust it may be decisive ;
but I do not believe in the prestige of bloodless vic-
tories, and I greatly fear our civic guard will gain no
others. We have however got in eight regiments of
the Line, and more are coming, besides the National
Guard, from the provinces. Our ouvrier Bernard
whom I mentioned last week, is either a c6ward or a
traitor : he is said to have spent the morning with
Barbfes, and at all events he did not appear in uniform ;
the battalion thereupon refused to obey him, and re-
mained under the orders of the second in command
who had led them since morning, ... I have just
heard that there is a rassembkment in the Champs
Elys6es about to petition for the release of Barbis, and
we are going out to see what is taking place. ... I
do hope you may come over ; there is no danger, even
should an insurrection break out under your very
windows ; the love of property is very strong and, as
any rising now would be Communist, it would be
very easily put down. The papers I prefer are the

ISO PARIS IN '48. [May 28th.

Constitutionnel and the AssembUe Nationale, but the
Dibats has the best stenographer, so it is perhaps
better for a distance.

XXVII.

May 28th.

I really must follow the march of events ; they
come so fast that, while I am giving you news of a
revolution, I am interrupted to proclaim the counter-
revolution. We had a patriotic funeral on Thursday,
and a national f^te on Sunday ; what a people, and
what a Government ! On Tuesday the National
Assembly votes the suppression of Clubs, and three
days after the most moderate member of the Executive,
Lamartine, becomes president of one. Courtais is
degraded by his men, proclaimed a traitor by all, and
the official organ of Government, the National, asks
compassion for "the misfortune of an old soldier."
Eighty conspirators are let loose by order of the Prefect
of Police who says he lectured them all, and as they
were his friends he feels great confidence in their
amendment ! A collection of arms is seized at the
Commune de Paris, and it is proved that they were
delivered by the Minister of War, and no one in an

May 28th.] ABSURD DEBATE. 151

Assembly of nine hundred supposed to represent the
ilite of the nation and invested with confidence by-
universal suffrage, rises to ask why all these iniquitous
acts are under the sanction of the Executive ! No,
while every deputy misdoubts his neighbour and firmly
believes that he would have joined Barbfes, that very
evening a vote of thanks is passed unanimously, and
these thanks are addressed to the persons who gave
way before the tumult, and not to those who risked
their lives to restore order. After Monday, energetic
measures were not only imperative but they were
easy, and not one was resorted to. Caussidifere
resigned, he was not dismissed ; the Republican Guard
was thanked a good deal, slightly lectured, and dis-
banded with a promise of employment elsewhere ; and
then the Assembly set to work to decide how they
would dress in any future danger ! First an em-
broidered ribbon tied to the left button-hole was
highly approved of, but considered not quite showy
enough, and a questor proposed a scarf. This was
still more admired, but gave rise to a serious discussion :
some wanted to wear it over the shoulder like a cordon,
others round the waist, like a commissaire de police. To
settle the matter, some one went up to the tribune
and moved the ribbon from left to right, from his

152 ' PARIS IN '48. [May 28th.

neck to his waist, till he succeeded in getting a vote
in favour of the shoulder. This success emboldened
another man who proposed that each deputy should
have a locket, whether for his wife's hair or a lock of
Lamartine's I know not, but this was not adopted.
First Etienne Arago in full uniform gave us his
autobiography, read us his correspondence, tried to
move us by an account of his fraternal affection, and
assured us that he left the Assembly in the middle of
the tumult, merely to squeeze his brother's hand.
Then Buchez got up and expressed the wish that we
had all been able to place our hand on his heart, and
feel how calm he was in the presence of the mob. And
lastly, Charras (the Minister of War ad interim) recited
a dialogue he had had with a commander "que je
tutoie par une an^ienne habitude," and begged us all
to be satisfied with his immense internal firmness.
Cavaignac shook his head, said two or three words,
and faute de mieux we took it for granted they meant
something, but I have my doubts. After this personal
debate, amusing from its excessive absurdity, we had
the discussion of the address to the country, and here
again began that war of words got up to hide the
poverty of ideas. The draft of the address said " une
poigne6 de factieux," but this mild description was

May 28th.] TRIVIAL DISCUSSION. 153

vigorously combated by a man who had been horribly
frightened, and who insisted upon saying " une horde ; "
another preferred " une bande ; " and a man behind me
made me laugh, saying " Mettons une pinc^e, et que
cela finisse." To conciliate all parties, it was agreed
to say " des factieux," and thus ended one day's de-
liberations ! Can anything be more pitiable when such
tremendous questions are at stake .'' Will no one
inquire into the state of the finances, into the necessity
for levying fresh troops, when it is impossible to carry
on war even for a week ? Will no one ask why so
many waited with arms folded, ready to join Barbes
and the Comit6 de Salut Public, Louis Blanc, or the
Travail/eurs, or Buchez and the Assembly, as soon
as any one of them could carry the day ? '

I am sure that if there had not been discord in the
mob, the scale would have turned in their favour, and

^ Etienne Arago who took part in this farcical discussion, was a brother
of Emmanuel Arago, a dramatist and in 1829 director of the Theatre de
Vaudeville ; he was editor of the old Figaro. In '48 he was appointed head
of the Post Office, and introduced cheap postal service. He opposed Louis
Napoleon, and was sentenced in default to transportation.

Charras wrote military articles in the National ; he had served in Algiers,
and in '48 was promoted to be Colonel, and acted as under-secretary in the
Ministry of War until the arrival of Cavaignac, May 15th. In the
Assembly he voted at first with the moderate Democrats, and supported
Cavaignac. He opposed Louis Napoleon's policy, and was imprisoned at
the Coup d'Etat, and afterwards expelled to Belgium.

154 PARIS IN '48. [May 28th.

all France would have been proclaimed Socialist on the
1 6th of May, as it was declared Republican on the 25th
of February ; in both instances a fierce minority would
have upset a cowardly majority. Now it must all
begin over again, for the National Guard supported
by troops, and perfectly well aware that their heads and
property are at stake, will fight ; but it is to be hoped
the collision may come soon, before their present
ardour is cooled, and also before they have time to
put their possessions in safety. I have no patience
with the Legitimists who believe that they are working
for their end by supporting the social revolution.
What insanity to hope to restore Divine Right on the
ruins of family ties ! We are told that the row will
break out to-morrow, not with cries as last week, but
with arms. One hundred and fifteen thousand work-
men may join the insurrection, besides the usual
amount of barricade-makers, and then, indeed, there
will be a horrible conflict. I never believe in things
announced beforehand, and I intend to go to the
Assembly and hear Mons. de Lamartine attempt to
justify his line of policy, which in three months has
brought us from profound peace to the brink of a
general war. Any coup de main against the Chamber
would be insanity just now. I went on Friday with

May 28th.] PATRIOTIC FETE. 155

Mrs. Blount, and though we did not look like the
enthusiastic defenders of Poland, we were obliged to
show our tickets to the Garde Mobile on the bridge,
to the National Guard on the quai, to the troops of
the Line in the Rue de Bourgogne, to the cavalry on
the Place, to the Gardiens de Paris in the courtyard,
to the ushers in the passage, and I thought the artillery
looked at us very suspiciously besides.

The fite yesterday was very absurd ; all the trades
that have been enjoying the far niente of the Republic
turned out their stock-in-trade on ornamented carts, and
their shop-girls in white gowns and tricoloured garlands,
to howl ' Mourir pour la patrie ' with a melancholy
accent. The leading trades had tricoloured parasols and
their complexions only turned scarlet, the petty trades
had none and became blood-red ; all were hideous and
many past thirty. To the question " Monsieur, est-
ce que ce sont les vierges du Ministfere de I'lnt^rieur ? "
the indignant answer was "Non, monsieur, ce sont
des demoiselles de magasin." Those from the Con-
servatoire who, the Riforme said, " sortiraient sans leurs
meres pour la premiere fois," were rather more absurd
than the rest, as they had short sleeves and sang from
a book. There was also a grand piano on a cart,
played by a patriot and said to be very harmonious.

156 PARIS IN '48. [May 28th.

but as it was preceded by drums I am no judge of it.
In addition there was a small steam-engine, but it was
drawn by unruly horses and seemed typical of the
very dangerous state of railroads in France. In the
evening I went to the Champ de Mars which was
brilliantly illuminated, and saw the colossal statue of
Liberty ; she is leaning on a sword as though about
to transfix herself upon it, which also looks like a
satire. The fireworks were small and insignificant, but
the illuminations in the Champs Elys6es were lovely ;
I believe there were no accidents, but it was a melan-
choly sort of diversion, and all its pagan pageantry
could not make the population gay under present cir-
cumstances. All classes are beginning to feel that
whether the form of government is bad or its representa-
tives inefficient, a Republic does not do here. Very
great fears are entertained with regard to the social
movement ; George Sand and Pierre Leroux have
much to answer for."^ The former assisted at the
revolution of Monday, embracing the Garde Mobile
who unfixed their bayonets, and distributing money to

1 Pierre Leroux, a philosopher and political economist, was a follower
of St. Simon in his earlier doctrines. He founded the Encyclopedie
Nowvelle, and with Viardot and George Sand the Revue Indimdualiste.
He was a speculative Socialist, and in the Assembly he voted with the
' Montagne.'

May 29th.] STRONG PRECAUTIONS. 157

all who cried 'Vive Barbes.' After the expulsion of
the rabble, she said " C'est un coup manqu6, ce sera
a recommencer." I send you the Sobrier decrees
which I do not think have got into any paper ; I hope
you like the Assemblee Nationak ; in my opinion it is
the best paper we have, and it most truly represents
the feelings which are in all hearts, but which few
have the courage to express. If we continue in such
a state of ferment, I shall cease altogether to write
legibly, for when I have much to say my pen runs
into lines utterly regardless of form.

XXVIII.

May 29th, 7 a.m.

The rappel has been beating for two hours, so I
suppose we are to have some great demonstration
to-day. I heard yesterday that the second battalion
would be called out, but this is the fourth so it shows
that they want a good supplementary force ; the cause
of this is the dissolution of the National Workshops, or
rather their reduction to some sort of use. Instead
of allowing one hundred and fifteen thousand men to
dig useless ditches and to take drives in wheelbarrows

158 PARIS IN '48. [May 29th.

about the Pare Monceau, a revision of all those in-
scribed on the list was made on Thursday, and here
the most wondrous abuses came to light. First, out
of the startling total, not more than fifty thousand
could be found really without other means of sub-
sistence : some families who had eight children on the
books, could only prove the usual national allowance
of two ; others were obliged to own that they were
porters in private houses, and many were released
convicts. When all these deductions were made, only
thirty-eight thousand remained, and many of them
belonged to trades still in request, such as shoemaking,
tailoring, etc. This reduced the numbers to twenty-
three thousand, but it is rather late to reform after
three months' additional taxation to support this
nuisance. It seems a most unanswerable argument
against a Republic, that all in whom it trusts are found
wanting. The Prefect of Police turns out to be a
scoundrel, the head of the National Guard a traitor ;
the intended Minister of Progress convulses the
country to its very centre, and this work of moral
destruction is completed by the Minister of the Interior.
All these crimes, however, are less felt than Emile
Thomas' misappropriation of the funds of the National
Workshops ; this is only to be estimated by millions

May 29th.] EMILE THOMAS REMOVED. 159

divided between him and his worthy underlings.^ He
was taken from Monceau the night before last, and sent
to Bordeaux in a post-chaise, accompanied by the peace
officers " qui n'ont d'autre mission," as he says in a
letter to his mother, " que de s'assurer de mon arrivee
dans la Gironde." Since his departure the agitators
have been at work with his men, and are getting up
monster petitions for him, for Barbes and tuiti quanti,
which they mean to take to the Chamber to-day or to-
morrow. This will be the signal for a fresh invasion, and
is perhaps the reason of the immense display of troops
this morning. I meant to go to the Chamber, but am
rather shaken in my intention by the builder, who says
the edifice is not strong enough to bear another rush
like that of the 1 5th. I am not afraid of the mob, but
there is no excitement in being crushed among the
ruins ; besides, there is no real interest in any dis-
cussion ; the new members hardly speak, or at all
events so badly that their eight hundred colleagues
drown their voices with exclamations, and I have been

' Emile Thomas, a civil engineer and professor of rural economy, was
also a political writer. In '48 he was appointed to the difficult post of
director of the National Workshops, from which he was arbitrarily removed
by Tr^lat. In '49 he went to the Colonies to study free labour ; he
edited the Journal du 10 Decembre ; in '51 he resumed his profession as
an engineer.

l6o ■ PARIS IN '48. [May 29th.

hearing the old Left praising themselves for so many-
years, that I am quite tired of it. Even Lamartine's
great speech upon Poland was very inferior to his
former eloquence ; from the habit of addressing masses
of the lower orders he has become theatrical, and far
more inflated than he was before. Altogether I am
disappointed in this Assembly, not only as regards
sense and talent, but as a moral force. Never was a
ministerial majority better drilled ; they will vote any-
thing : funds to those whose malversations are the
theme not only of every conversation, but of every
journal ; confidence to Ministers whose impeachment
is daily discussed, and the maintenance of the Republic,
though most of the provinces are as hostile to it as I
am ! Is it not strange that, as long as we had no
Government, we were perfectly quiet ? no serious
imeute took place between the 26th of February and
the 4th of May ; we then had no organised police, no
garrison, no Legislative Assembly of any sort, and yet
we lived on upon public forbearance ; since the 4th
we have had the rappel every morning, the outrage of
the 15th, the worst possible news from the depart-
ments, and no feeling of even temporary security.
The first instruments of the Revolution are now worn
out, and we don't know where to look for others ;

May 29th.] CONTRADICTORY RUMOURS. i6i

Lamartine's popularity was not great enough to uphold
Ledru RoUin, and in the effort he was lost himself ;
Arago has had too many brothers, sons, and nephews —
his nepotism will bring him down. Cavaignac is com-
pletely governed by his mother and this, being known,
has not a good effect ; he is subsisting on the renown
of a dead brother, but that too is becoming ancient
history. Louis Blanc whose part in the affair of the
1 5th becomes every day more clearly defined, is to be
attacked to-day by Portalis, and will probably be sent
to join his noble friend Albert at Vincennes. You
will see that Bulwer was right when he said, years ago,
that the whole of France was Left Centre. We are
gradually coming round to Thiers, and will not that
termination of a democratic and social revolution be
even more unexpected than the event itself ? " II n'y
a rien de probable que ce qui est impossible " should
be our motto.

1 1 a.m. I have been out to pick up news, and
I hear the most contradictory reports. Some say
Henri V. has been proclaimed at Monceau, others
that the Prince de Joinville has arrived at Havre,
thus giving two distinct objects to the same move-
ment. Without however thinking of the end I must
tell you what really happened : the National Workshops

M

1 62 PARIS IN '48. [May 29th.

were under arms at two o'clock in the morning, and
marched upon the Hotel de Ville at four o'clock ; I
presume they were stopped or repulsed, for I hear
they have gone back to the Plaine Monceau. Adolphe
is still confined to his room, which I shall be glad of
if there is to be any fighting : I still doubt this, although
it does seem inevitable from the exasperation of the
most moderate and the demands of the mob ; I think
the National Guard will say to their brothers (official
style) : " Consider yourselves beaten," and they will
obey until some unguarded door again allows them
access to supreme power. It is really ludicrous to see
the total want of conviction and political principle. I
was talking yesterday to an influential deputy ; first he
evaded all my questions, saying Monarchy was incom-
patible with universal suffrage, that the country was
decidedly democratic, etc., etc. ; but when I put the
home question " What would you do if the Prince de
Joinville were to come over ? " he could only answer,
" II faudrait voir avec qui il reviendrait, et s'il avait
pour lui le nombre, eh bien ! je me serais tromp6, et
avant tout il faudrait eviter I'effusion de sang." This,
from an undeniably upright and well-meaning man, is
decisive ; France is ready for any one or anything,
perfectly sick of the oppression of the National, and

May 29th.] SHUFFLING OF PARTIES. 163

disgusted to find in a pure Republic none but democrats
more grasping than financial magnates.

The clubs which the Executive promised to close
are in full vigour ; it is true that they talk egregious
nonsense, but also true that they do a great deal of
mischief. Madame Niboyer "Prdsidente du club des
femmes," made a proposition the other day "pour
I'abolition de tout age et de tout sexe ! " — she meant
to extend the suffrage to women and children, but the
wording was odd. The curious political societies are
all stirring for the elections which are to take place
on the 4th of June, if the Assembly still subsists at
that time. Who can look forward a week ? If the
people are reasonable, I think the forty new nomina-
tions will strengthen the old Left which has become
the Right of a Chamber where the Left is ' la
Montagne,' and has at its summit Barbfes, Albert and
Louis Blanc ; in that case we should have Thiers,
Emile de Girardin, Hyppolite Passy, Victor Hugo,
A. Weill, Villa an intelligent and honest workman,
and perhaps Achille Fould the banker.^

> Achille Fould, of Jewish parentage, was a financial specialist in the
Chamber, to which he was returned in July, '48 ; he was for reform on
moderate lines, and a Protectionist. He accepted the portfolio of finance
in '51, but retired in '52 on the decree against the property of the House
of Orl&ns.

1 64 PARIS IN '48. [May 29th.

The extreme candidates are known only to their
own coterie, and I can give you no idea of what they
are. The decree concerning railways will be rejected,
as it is considered to be an approach towards Com-
munism ; so will that upon mortgages, as falling heavily
on the very numerous class of small landed proprietors ;
so I don't see where the Government can turn for
new resources ; at present its expenses are said to
exceed its receipts by 2,500,000 fr. a day. So much
for cheap government ! The law of divorce is as
unwise as it is uncalled for ; aU the prejudices of the
country are against it, and religiously speaking it is
impossible in a Catholic nation ; it would be the first
step towards the establishment of a Gallican Church,
which I have always thought would spring from the
Republic. All this is very uninteresting, but I have

Hyppolite Passy served first in the army ; after Waterloo he wrote in
the National and published a ' Study of the Aristocracy in Relation to the
Progress of Civilisation.' In "30 he was a moderate Liberal ; as an econo-
mist of the Left Centre, he was put forward in opposition to Duchatel. He
was Minister of Finance in '34, failed to form a Cabinet, 1839, and gave
way to Thiers in '40 ; he took his seat in the House of Peers, 1 843 ; was
in the first Ministry of Napoleon, and directed finance from December, '48,
to October, '49, during which time he advocated reactionary taxes.

Weill (b. 1813) was an Alsatian Jew who collaborated with Louis
Blanc on the Re'vue du Progrh and other papers. In '48 he was on the
staff of La Fresse. Subsequently, in the Gazette de Trance, he attempted a
defence of Constitutional Monarchy from the legal point of view.

Juneist] CHECK TO THE GOVERNMENT. 165

no positive facts or anecdotes for you ; there is a sort
of atmosphere of conspiracy, an undefined sense of
danger on all sides, but as yet not even an indication
of the colour the impending movement will take ; I
almost hope it will be Socialist, for then it will be
immediately put down, but I do not feel sure of
unanimity in the event of any other standard being
raised. If there is a split among the friends of order,
then the other party will be the most numerous, and
that is the reason I prefer the worst. Pray excuse
this dull letter ; it makes me stupid to get up at five
in the morning ; although I sleep beautifully to the
drumming of a march, the rappel wakes me as if it
were beaten on my chest. I send a clever paper in
the style of Punch, and a curious letter of Barbes.

XXIX.

June I St.

As the imeute of yesterday ended in a demonstra-
tion, I had nothing worth writing about and indeed,
except from habit, I do not know why I write to-day ;
everything is going on so badly that no one seems
willing to attempt improvement. Lamartine met with
a decided check on Tuesday, but he did not seem to

i66 PARIS IN '48. [Juneist.

care, and no one listened to the flowery language
in which he championed the programme of the com-
mission. The Executive wanted to defeat the Chamber,
the Assembly gave the Government to understand
they were not worthy of the trust, and the great orator
merely came forward to say " Oh ! very well, take
care of yourselves then." They have given way on
all points, they cannot carry a single measure ; I don't
think they will be able to influence a single election,
and yet they cling to the shadow of the power with
which they are so reluctantly invested. They have
all robbed except Bethmont ; in the sale of horses of
the Civil List ordered last week, all the Arabs were
marked in the catalogue " Retires par ordre du citoyen
Lamartine ; " Flocon, who insists on being called Son
Excellence • (a title withdrawn from Ministers in
1830), ordered part of the Palace of St. Cloud to be
prepared for Madame Flocon ; and Madame Thomas,
mother of the director of the National Workshops,
has stocked Monceau with deer from the park at
Raincy. There is no end to the robbery and waste
of these self-elected dictators ; when the King's eff^ects
are really sold for the benefit of his creditors they
will be found insufficient to pay his debts, and this
will be made an excuse for confiscation. I heard the

Juneist.] BELITTLING CRITICISM. 167

discussion upon the Travailleurs on Tuesday, and the
facts brought to the tribune would have been most
ridiculous if their results were not so deplorable.
One man said " Je pourrais revendiquer le titre
d'ouvrier, mais ce serait \k une pretention aristocra-
tique plus grande, plus significative que celle que
s'arrogeait autrefois le titre de Comte ou de Marquis."
I could not find out the name of this worthy repre-
sentative, but I was much pleased with Mons. Grandin
who followed him and who, after a vigorous attack
upon the Government, concluded with these words :
" Perrhettez-moi la comparaison, le pouvoir est comme
Don Juan entre les deux maitresses, il dit a I'dmeute,
* Je suis avec vous,' a I'ordre ' comptez sur moi,' " and
he asks us for a vote of confidence ! I am sorry I
could not go to the Chamber yesterday to hear the
defence of Louis Blanc ; every one knows he was
deeply implicated in the conspiracy of the 15th of
May, and yet I am sure that measures against him
will not be authorised. Madame Thayer, General
Bertrand's daughter, after being rescued from the
public tribune in which she was nearly crushed by
the mob, attempted to pass a ferocious - looking
sentinel, but he resolutely refused to obey the man
she was with although he did carry a flag, saying :

1 68 PARIS IN '48. [Juneist.

"Louis Blanc m'a donne ce poste, lui seul peut me
relever."

Albert's first words on being arrested were "Me
mettra-t-on avec Louis Blanc ? " In fact, no doubt
remains in any one's mind that every one is afraid
of the workmen on whom his influence is still very
great, and he will probably come out with flying
colours. As no one's conscience is quite clear with
regard to the 15th of May, every one is anxiously
looking out for the excuse for an amnesty ; this will
be granted if the Executive ever have a majority, or
if a Constitution can be got together, or if a fresh
conspiracy comes to alarm the public in another
direction ; then we shall see a full pardon granted
to the conspirators of February and of May : Barbes
and Guizot, Blanqui and Duchatel, Flotte the demo-
cratic cook, and H6bert 'Garde des sceaux du tyran,'
Courtais and Tr6zel, Albert and the Due de Monte-
bello. Perhaps if we can implicate Lamartine we may
pardon him and Louis Philippe the same day, and
exonerate the citizen JoinviUe as an equivalent to
Etienne Arago, heir to the Republican dynasty of
the National}

I Duchatel's share in bringing about tlie revolution of February was an
involuntary one, as he was a blindly confident ConseiTative until '48, when

Juneist] THIERS' CONCESSIONS. 169

The elections are to take place on Sunday, and not
the least strange of all the excentricitis de FEspagne is
that Thiers is to be supported by the clergy, the
Jesuits included, and the Legitimists. He has written
a very Catholic letter to the Archbishop of Rouen, and
he made some very important concessions on secondary
education, on which point he was once at variance with
the whole clergy. I am afraid Hypolite Passy will not
be nominated, and yet no one has a better financial
head, and he has energy enough to carry out the
various measures which can alone save public credit ;
all the present plans are impossible or worse than the
evil they are intended to remedy. I was reading
yesterday an extract from the opinion of Henri Fourier,

his career closed. He had been successively Councillor of State and Royal
Commissioner to the Chamber in 1831 ; Minister of Commerce 1834, of
Finance 1836, of the Interior 1840.

Hebert was Advocate-General of the Court of Cassation, and Royal
Procurator to the Court at Paris. He was remarkable for his violence in
several political cases ; in '47 he succeeded Martin du Nord as Minister
of Justice, but after February, '48, he returned to private legal work.

Tr&el, a peer, fought bravely at Waterloo ; next under the Bourbons in
Spain and the Morea ; then in Africa. He was Minister of War in '47,
and retired into private life in '48.

The Due de Montebello a son of Lannes, Napoleon's general, was
made a peer by Louis Philippe out of respect for his father. ^He supported
the King's conservative administration ; went on a mission to Copenhagen,
1833 ; as Ambassador to Switzerland in 1836, he negotiated the detention
of prisoners dangerous to France. He was Minister of Marine, 1 847, and
retired in '48.

I70 PARIS IN '48. [June ist.

published in 1834 and singularly applicable to the
present crisis ; he says : " It would be easier to plant a
tree with its roots in the air than to establish a Republic
in France ; that form of government is so obnoxious to
the whole nation, so utterly contrary to its system of
centralisation, that within a year all France would hail
any tyrant, even Lucifer himself, in preference to the
dictatorship imposed upon it by Republicans." This
is so true that I am looking out for Lucifer, and don't
exactly know which party to look upon as most
infernal, Henri V. with his cortege of prejudices and
Emigres, or the Regency with all its evils. There are
many partisans of the Prince de Joinville, but this
would be a silly combination ; without the Comte de
Paris he is only a usurper who would be despised by
his natural supporters ; with him it would be difficult
not to bring back the whole family, and their unpopu-
larity would soon outweigh the sympathy he has
acquired by wearing a beard, smoking a short pipe,
dancing the can-can, singing * Jamais en France
I'Anglais ne r^gnera,' and calling his children ' mes
mioches.' He may be a popular charcutier^ he has not
the capacity for a popular leader. As to Henri V.
we know nothing of him, but in very truth France is
not aristocratic enough for Divine Right ; the nation

June 1st.] NEWSPAPER AGITATION. 171

is decidedly bourgeoise, " elle ne peut pas m^me se
faire peuple ; " the ambition of the masses, call it what
you will, is to become bourgeois. What are the rights
they clamour for ? the ' droit de bourgeoisie ; ' they
have got it, they are National Guards, electors and
eligible, so if we could stifle the liberty of the press,
banish the National and the Reforme, and suppress
incendiary placards, * le bon peuple ' would be peaceable
enough ; biit flesh and blood cannot stand the incessant
flattery, intimidation, and imposition practised upon
them ; they are made use of by tyrannical democrats,
and will find out too late that they are, under every
regime alike, tools to be thrown away the day after
victory. You cannot conceive the wicked provocations
that appear -in the official papers. The Reforme, for
instance, under Ledru RoUin's patronage, clamours
loudly against reaction, and says the foyer of the
conspiracy is Madame le Hon's house in the Champs
Elysees where the Prince de Joinville is concealed ;
in consequence of this absurd fable a man with a
dagger got into the courtyard last week, and swore he
would not leave without killing some ' r^actionnaire ; '
she was obliged to send for the Mobile and had the
man arrested. On Tuesday when she was at dinner
she spied an old hat stuck on her gate but, imagining

172 PARIS IN '48. [Juneist.

that some one had tossed it up in fun, she took no
notice of it until her porter brought it in, as it con-
tained a note directed to herself. This document
assured her that it was the identical hat worn by the
King on his journey to Havre, and sent to her as a
souvenir on account of her well-known ' Philippiste '
sympathies.

Threatening letters are becoming very common,
which is most painful to nervous persons ; no one
believes in the re-establishment of the guillotine, but
every species of annoyance is probable, and no one
likes to apply for redress to tribunals which in most
cases would only render the nuisance more intolerable,
by giving it publicity. Altogether no residence could
be more unpleasant than Paris now ; no besieged town
could be more infested with drums, marching, and
firing ; drunkenness which used to be so rare is now
so common that, to avoid the contact of the ruling
blouses, I generally walk in the middle of the street
where there are now no carriages. The walls are
covered with placards that attract crowds to every
corner ; the hundred and forty-three new journals vie
with each other in noise and early rising, the National
is hawked about at six, the Pere DucMne half an hour
earlier, the Mire DucMne still earlier ; the Journal de

Juneist.] ELECTIONS IMPENDING. 173

Robespierre beats them all and comes out at cock-
crow. This town now presents the spectacle of
activity without an object, noise without occupation,
and disorder not exactly amenable to law ; it is very
sad and so hopeless !

A. is again scrutateur for the elections, which
means he has two days' hard work at the Mairie to
count up votes forced from some, and given without
the slightest intelligence by others. I will let you
know what opinion the successful candidates represent
if, as I expect, the greater part are unknown to the
world at large. Every one here who looks up five
minutes a day from the state of France, is most
anxious about Bulwer. Do you consider him justified
in England ? We don't, but I hardly venture an
opinion on English affairs, *j'en parlerais comme un
aveugle des couleurs.'^

1 Bulwer had been appointed Ambassador to the Court of Spain in 1 843 ;
in '46 he opposed the Spanish Marriages which, but for Lord Palmerston,
he might have prevented. In '48 the February rising at Paris was followed
in March by a rising at Madrid. In putting it down, Marshal Narvaez
suppressed the constitutional guarantees, whereupon Bulwer protested in
the name of England. Narvaez denounced him as an accomplice of the
Progressistas, and on the 12th of June he received his passports. The
English Parliament supported him, and his post was left vacant for two
years.

174 PARIS IN '48. [Junesth.

XXX.

June 5th.

I always try to keep you au courant of what is
going on but at times it is very difficult as we are in a
horrible state of stagnation, among abuses innumerable
and surrounded by treachery and incapacity. The
authorisation to proceed against Louis Blanc was
granted by the Assembly, but the President chose to
insist upon the scruiin de division^ and then all the
cowards who dreaded seeing their names in the
Moniteur voted in favour of the little scoundrel who
was the soul of the conspiracy of the i6th of April,
the accomplice of that of the 1 5th of May, and who
remains at large to organise that of June, date not
yet announced. Thiers is nominated at Paris where I
expect the row will begin very soon ; his nomination
is regarded as ' le drapeau de la Rdgence plantd au
cceur de la Republique,' and that by an authority which
they themselves proclaimed supreme, namely universal
suffrage. In that case the Red Republic will make an
appeal to ' Rdpublicains de la veille ' and make a
tremendous struggle for power ; I still believe that
order will carry the day, but at what price ?

There is no doubt felt now about the incapacity of

Junesth.] MEDIOCRITY OF MEMBERS. 175

the National Assembly. A paper says this morning :
" It is Noah's ark without lions or eagles." And so it
is ; yet they must make the Constitution, only fortu-
nately there is nothing binding in any Constitution
here, and this will be one more to add to the many
which load the collectors' shelves. You cannot imagine
the consternation of the real Republicans ; even
B6ranger says : " J'ai rtv6 la R6publique toute ma
vie, que ne puis-je r^ver encore ! " After the profes-
sional experts in barricades whom we have despatched
to all foreign capitals, we have now got a very well-
paid and organised force to make workmen strike for
increased wages ; the ' fraternal ' society of Amiens has
sent its president to murder Buddicombe the English
maker of railway carriages at Rouen, and the sub-
alterns started the same day to organise a universal
strike ; this scheme is Mons. Duclerc's, to bring the
companies to terms at any price.^ Lamartine said
yesterday that there was no Government ; the Ministers
will not take the orders of the Executive, and they
vote with such extraordinary disregard of each other

1 Duclerc was, from 1834 onwards, a constant contributor of articles on
economic and financial subjects to various papers. He edited the ' Diction-
naire Politique ' in 1 842, and wrote in the National. In '48 he was
nominated Deputy-Mayor of Paris and busied himself with municipal
reforms ; he was subsequently Minister of Finance.

176 PARIS IN '48. [June 5th.

that one is tempted to think they draw lots for their
opinions ; the proposals come from the Assembly not
from the Government, which leads to waste of time
and of course prevents any question from meeting
with a reasonable solution. The Minister of the
Interior promised last Wednesday to present a law
against tumultuous associations, and the day after
to-morrow 150,000 subscribers, at 5 sous a head, are
to meet on the fortifications for a political banquet !
That of February gave us the Republic such as it is,
may not this one lead to ' la R6publique sociale ' ?

A curious history to write would be that of jour-
nalism, since the press has been free. The AssemhUe
Nationale began with 30 fr. only in March, struggled
on as well as it could until April, got private informa-
tion of the conspiracy of the 1 6th, sounded the alarm
and rose immensely in public opinion ; it has now
52,000 subscribers. The editor is a great friend of
A.'s ; he had lost all his fortune in some unlucky
speculations and was, in February, waiting for funds to
return to Brittany and bury himself in some village.
The Revolution came ; he saw an opening for an
opposition paper, set boldly to work, and has such
success that both Government and Reaction want to
buy him up. I have sent you specimens of most of

June 8th.] LEGITIMIST PRETENSIONS. 177

the newspapers ; they are insignificant, except as show-
ing the spirit of the time and its determination to copy
the last Revolution in all save the scaffold. If it were
not so melancholy to see one's friends ruined and one's
future in such hands, it would be ludicrous to hear a
Jew banker called an aristocrat, Thiers a Jesuit, Armand
Marrast a ' Moder6.' How is all this to end ? No
one knows, for each day adds to the difficulties. At
first it was hoped the Legitimists would come to an
understanding with the Orleanists, and that Henri V.
would adopt the Comte de Paris ; but now they feel so
strong that they hope to come back alone, and this Is
impossible. One is baffled, and French gaiety, French
esprit and buoyancy are lost In the incessant work
of conjecture ; no one talks anything but politics, and
worse than that, Paris politics. Vienna, Italy, even
England are lost sight of in the painful excitement of
the moment ; we long for change and we are ripe for
anything, that is all I can say with authority.

XXXI.

June 8 th.

. . . For a very short period I have no doubt
you win find Paris supportable ; as a residence it Is

N

178 PARIS IN '48. [June 8th.

detestable. The best quartiers are turned into exer-
cising grounds for the Garde Mobile ; the National
Guard drums beat from morning to night ; you hear a
cry of ' Gare ! ' and, when you think you are getting
out of the way of an omnibus, you are surprised to find
you have been nearly run over by a cannon ; you
cannot buy a yard of ribbon from a man in plain
clothes, nor cross the boulevards without forming
part of a rassemblement. Many cry ' Vive Barbes ! '
and there are some faint attempts at enthusiasm for
Louis Napoleon. It is quite certain he will be
nominated to the Assembly, though perhaps not
here. Yesterday we were greatly elated to find
Thiers so high on the list, but to-day we are horrified
at finding Pierre Leroux, George Sand's collaborator
in Communism, Proudhon ^ a most energetic Socialist,
and Lagrange, the very man who fired the first shot
on the Boulevard des Capucines. Caussidi^re we fully
expected and, though we knew he was a ruflSan, we

' Proudhon, who was by trade a printer, gained in 1838 an exhibition
from the College at Besan9on, which enabled him to go to Paris ; he there
published his famous essay entitled ' What is Property ? ' with the maxim
' La Propriit^ c'est le Vol.' His works, contained in twenty-six volumes,
denounced both the orthodox and Socialist economists. In '4.8 he edited
the Rspresentant du Peuple, and he was returned to the Assembly in July ; his
paper was prosecuted and suppressed, and he was compelled to take to
flight.

June 8th.] A CONVICT DEPUTY. 179

had a sort of leaning towards him, as his election would
imply a certain censure of the Executive.

All one's calculations are at fault ; no one believes
that the present Republic can last a fortnight, and yet
one almost dreads its downfall, as it is more likely we
shall be upset in the direction of a Red Republic than
in that of a restoration. The * Montagne ' only
counts forty-seven now, but each is more noisy and
resolute than any ten of the ' Plaine,' and all the timid
— a good half of the Chamber — will rally round it at
the crisis ; add to that the Communists who are coming
in and those who have always belonged to every
Government, and you will see what an overwhelming
majority there will be for anarchy. To give you an
idea of the composition of the Assembly and of the
enlightened character of universal suffrage, I need only
relate the history of Mons, D6bromel, late representa-
tive of the Seine Inftrieure, elected at Rouen. He
was the Government candidate recommended by Ledru
RoUin's proconsul, and of course dignified by the quali-
fication of ' vrai peuple ; ' perhaps he even assumed
the aristocratic designation of ' ouvrier.' At all events,
he was nominated, came to Paris, and selected a bench
in the Chamber of which the elevation coincided with
his Montagnard principles. He had hardly seated

l8o PARIS IN '48. [June 8th.

himself and begun the usual tattoo with the wooden
knife, when his next neighbour turned round and
stared at him. Ddbromel felt rather uncomfortable
and drew up his cravat ; but his lynx-eyed colleague
was not to be deceived, and addressed him thus : " Sir,
I believe I have had the honour of sending you to the

galleys for murder in 18 — , when I was judge at .

You had strangled the servant of the cur6 who brought
you up, and robbed the worthy man ; oblige me by
resigning immediately." The next day the Moniteur
announced that there was a vacancy for Rouen, but
assigned no motive for the retirement of its former
protigL Thieves have now no accredited representa-
tion in the Chamber, but they are ably supported by
Duclerc the Minister of Finance who is all the more
useful to them as he has no mandate for the purpose,
and consequently his schemes often pass unnoticed.
Mons. S6nard the new President is not such a coward
as Buchez, but he is even less honest. He puts a
question to the vote, and when it is one in which he
takes an interest, he says ' Adopts,' without putting the
alternative question : thus laws are passed, which per-
haps half the deputies would have opposed had he said,
" Que ceux qui sont contre veuillent bien se lever." *

' S^nard a barrister by profession was the son of an architect ; in 1830

June 8th.] WEAPONS CONFISCATED. i8i

The monster banquet which was to have assembled
one hundred thousand men under the walls of Vin-
cennes has been put off, some even say that It is given
up altogether and that the money subscribed will be
returned ; this unheard-of measure shows the demon-
stration was not Republican, for the Republic has
never been known to return anything. Rumour
attributes 50,000 fr. to Mons. de Pastoret agent
for the Comte de Chambord, 50 more to some
of the Orleanists, and quelques petits icus to the
Bonapartists. There are tremendous gatherings every
night on the boulevards, which are dispersed by charges
of cavalry and National Guards ; the men are searched,
and everything larger than a pocket-knife is seized
upon as a prohibited weapon ; the tyranny of the last
seventeen years never dared to go so far, and the
decrees of the Powers that Be bear a very strong
resemblance to the Ukases for the pacification of
Poland.

Light is beginning to dawn upon the affair of

he led the insurrection against the ' Ordonnances ' at Rouen, and was respon-
sible for the Liberal press in his department. He took part in the Reform
banquet at Rouen in '47, was Procurator-General there under the Pro-
visional Government, and by his influence helped to quell the rising during
the elections. He was returned a deputy, and chosen President of the
Assembly. In June he co-operated with Cavaignac against anarchy, and
assisted in his Government as Minister of Justice ad interim.

1 82 PARIS IN '48. [June 8th.

Emile Thomas ; he has stolen vast sums while at the
head of the National Workshops : his mother kept his
books, and his brothers catered for themselves to their
great personal advantage, but sadly to the detriment of
the unfortunate treasury of the Republic. This he
does not pretend to deny, but he says if he gives in
his accounts he will, at the same time, submit to the
omnipotent Assembly three letters signed Lamartine
and Ledru RoUin, giving him the plan of the imeutes
of the 17th of March, the i6th of April, and the 15th
of May. In consequence of this, he was not sent to
prison but given an honourable mission to Bordeaux,
whither he was sent with two gendarmes, who had
orders to be very civil to him. All the men now in
prison are united by a ' solidarity de crimes ou de
vices ; ' all have stolen more or less ; all have sold
missions of trust to the highest bidder, and now
Lamartine has been caught in the act by Ledru Rollin.
We all think the present pentarchy will make way
for a triumvirate composed of Marrast, Bethmont, and
Cavaignac. This will not last long ; public opinion
points to Changarnier for the command of the National
Guard and, as his speciality is the coup-de-main, he
will upset this weak expression of the Revolution of
February ; then we shall see whether the old Left is

June nth.] LOUIS NAPOLEON ELECTED. 183

strong enough to attract him ; in that case, with the
help of Thiers we might have the Regency. If not,
he may set up for himself but, as I said before, every
one is so inferior that all one's conjectures fall to the
ground. Irresolute, cowardly, immoral and incapable,
such are our present rulers, and I grieve to say I think
they represent fairly the mass of the nation. The
debates will confirm my opinion if you take the
trouble of reading them ; you will see how the result
baffles calculation, and how the worst measures always
have a privy council sanction. ... I really am much
obliged to you for proposing to return my letters ; I
suppose I shall appreciate myself highly 'a t6te
reposde.'

XXXII.

June nth.

I write by post to-day, because great storms are
brewing, and I think you may be glad to hear of them
before you get the newspapers.

The election of Louis Napoleon has fairly con-
founded every one ; it is evident that he has been
elected as a Pretender. The groups on the boulevards
have left off talking of Barbfes, or at least they
associate him with Louis Bonaparte who, having made

1 84 PARIS IN '48. [June nth.

no profession of faith, may be claimed by all parties.
Nothing could be more clever than the way in which
he has slipped into the national representation ; if his
candidature had been announced in any paper or
mentioned even twenty-four hours before the opening
of the scrutin, a law d'urgence would have been
passed against him ; every one thought his pretensions
so very ludicrous that no measures were taken to
prevent his nomination, and now the Executive are in
a fix. The wisest plan would be to let him quietly take
his seat, and crush his importance by leaving him the
nine-hundredth share in the most tumultuous and
imbecile Assembly that ever governed a nation ; but
as he has a party, that party will speak against him
and say that he has no right to be there, attack his
origin, his previous life, etc., and demand that his
election shall be quashed. Here comes a new diffi-
culty : are the People sovereign or are they not ? If
they are, his being chosen is a brevet of fitness ; if
they are not, then February 1 848 was not more than
July 1830, the Republic not more just than the corrupt
Monarchy of Louis Philippe, and — 'c'est a recom-
mencer.'

The would-be Emperor will appeal to the authority
of the street, be carried in triumph and proclaimed,

June nth.] PROPHETIC FORECAST. 185

perhaps with the same enthusiasm and by the same
persons who three short months ago imposed the
Republic on us. The mob will be joined by small
tradesmen who think that any master is better than that
ogre ' tout le monde ; ' by some regiments, by the
Garde Mobile, who have heard something of the Italian
campaign where their grandfathers got crosses, and by
the 'Vieux de la veille,' who wiU cry 'Vive le petit
Caporal ' with infinitely more zest than ' Vive la
R6publique.' As the Executive have no fanatical
adherents, they will be left to take care of themselves ;
the Red Repubhc will say : " Give us our chiefs ; " the
Prince will promise an amnesty and conciliate every
one, saying he only wishes to preside over the Common-
wealth ; then we shall see, as in 1806, coins with
' R6publique ' on one side, and ' Nap. Emp.' on the
other. Of course I do not imagine this would last,
but such is the disgust felt for the actual state of
things, that I think it highly probable that it will have
a momentary success ; many serious newspapers expect
it, and there are daily meetings of influential writers to
decide what course is to be adopted.^ Happen what

1 On June 13 th the fateful decision was made, in spite of Lamartine and
the Executive, that Louis Napoleon should be allowed to take his seat ;
Blanc and Jules Favre were among the shortsighted advocates of this step.

1 86 PARIS IN '48. [June nth.

will, I do not think a civil war can be put off much
longer ; the rassemblements are increasing and the
seditious cries getting louder, while the Draconian law
of the 1 5 th of June cannot be enforced.^ We expect
something to-morrow or Tuesday — the Assembly is
to be invaded again, and more seriously ; but I doubt
this, as it is a fortress with an immense garrison
( 1 8,000 men), and treachery alone can get the better
of such numbers. The presence of Lagrange who
fired the first shot on the boulevards in February, is a
very great danger, but perhaps his ferocity may be
paralysed by his colleagues.

Lamartine is sinking every day in public estima-
tion and, if I had time, I could give you instances of
his greed and extortion that would astonish you. All
the horses and carriages kept by all the members of
Government are put down to the late King's account,
and among the million of his debts is included the
keep of fourteen vehicles Emile Thomas had at
Monceau, and all the grey horses Madame Flocon
has had in constant use for three months. Such
pillage is unheard of, and I should not wonder at their

notwithstanding the warning which the Prince had given by twice showing
himself in France as a Pretender.

^ This is probably an allusion to the state of siege proclaimed in
1832, after the revolutionary outburst of June 5th and 6th,

June 15th.] WEAKNESS OF THE ASSEMBLY. 187

opening the door to Communism to screen themselves
from the accusation of misappropriation of public funds.
I sent you three papers this morning, and a
pamphlet which has made a great impression ; one of
the papers contains a list of bankers and their presumed
fortunes appended ; of course these are grossly
exaggerated, but they are real proscription lists in the
present state of popular feeling.

XXXIII.

June 15th.

We did not have a Revolution on Monday, so
I did not write the details of the new hoax got up,
I believe, wholly by Government to secure a vote of
confidence which no one felt inclined to give them ;
one of the papers, however, says very justly that the
Assembly never shows the slightest symptom of ap-
probation except through weakness, and gives itself
a mea culpd the next day, which finds its expression
in an insult. So it has been this week, and so it will
be until some spirit can be infused into the Nation.
It is impossible to exaggerate more grossly than Mons.
de Lamartine did when he made his great speech
about a thunderbolt and a lightning conductor ; the
pistol shot to which he alluded was quite accidental.

1 88 PARIS IN '48. [June 15th.

and the man whose finger was broken has only his
own carelessness to blame, as the murderous weapon
went ofF in his own pocket. It is probable there will
soon be some outbreak, as the present rule has become
intolerable, but it will not be an isolated attempt at
assassination but a levie en masse, which will I fear
profit the Red Republic. The National Guards are
getting very tired and, after so many false alarms, one
can hardly blame them for coming out in such small
numbers. The Legitimists are hard at work, so are
the Bonapartists but they only complicate the position.
It is with constant money the present state of effer-
vescence is kept up : on Monday a hairdresser whom
I know was given 10 fr. to cry 'Vive Henri V.,'
but he and his friend forthwith purchased some wine
stolen from the Tuileries and, in Louis Philippe's bur-
gundy, drank success to Louis Napoldon ! this is not a
solitary instance, but I only give what I know for a fact.
There is a great split in the Imperialist party : the
fanatical adorers of the Empire adopt the order of
succession ordained by the Emperor, and choose the
son of the King of Holland, and the more aristocratic
portion have a weakness for the Royal blood which
flows in the veins of the son of Jdrome ; they say
he is very clever, and he certainly is very like his

Juneisth.] ORLEANIST DIVISIONS. 189

glorious namesake ; besides, he never tamed eagles
nor played any of the monkey tricks with grey coat
and cocked hat for which his cousin was conspicuous
at Strasburg and Boulogne.^

The Orl^anist party which certainly contains the
cleverest men and the most practical, is also very
disunited ; the old Left are for the Regency, but
some want the Duchesse d'Orl6ans with the Prince
de Joinville, others her alone, while some wish to
set her aside altogether.

There is a third section who profess to be Re-
publican, but would accept their beloved sailor^ as
President for life ; this last combination has no chance,
at least apparently, for now it is impossible to calculate
on the strength of parties. No one believes in the
continuance of the Republic, not even the Govern-
ment, for if they did they would not preface every
decree, even those concerning the watering of the
Champs Elys^es, with the proclamation that the Re-
public alone can give stability to France, and that it
will be eternal and indivisible.

1 Prince Napoleon was the son of Jerome Bonaparte who, having
discarded his first wife Miss Patterson of Baltimore, married the daughter
of the King of Wiirtemberg. He got his sobriquet " Plon-PIon " in conse-
quence of throwing up his command in the Crimean War.

2 The Prince de Joinville.

I90 PARIS IN '48. [June 15th.

I went to the imeute both days, and saw the charges
of cavalry in the Rue de Rivoli and on the Place ;
no one cried ' Vive la Republique ' except Clement
Thomas who was immediately answered by 'Vive la
legion d'honneur,' which he professes to despise ;
every group seemed agreed in their Monarchical senti-
ments, and in each there was a man or woman,
probably a paid agent, who said : " Eh bien, crions
' i bas la R6publique et vive I'Empereur ! ' " In the
crowds that I saw no name was pronounced, but I
am told that at the Chamber Henri V, was loudly
called for. Fourteen regiments are disaiFected, the
Garde Mobile went out on Monday crying 'Vive
Napol6on,' and the Republican Guard cry 'Vive la
Rdpublique democratique et sociale,' which I think
is the real danger,

I have sent you the Imperialist papers which are
very bad, merely to give you an idea of what is going
on ; the Constitution which I sent on Monday is
the only good one. We are in a wretched state of
anarchy, confusion, and misery, without the excitement
of positive warfare or the presence of any serious
party for which one can feel any real sympathy ;
anything would be better than the Directoire, but
beyond that no one cares. Bankruptcy is coming on.

Juneisth.] A PATRIARCH PROTEGE. 191

slow and sure, under the auspices of Mons. Duclerc ;
the army is falling wholly into the hands of the non-
commissioned officers ; many of the appointments to
Prefectures have been cancelled, because those named
have been recognised as convicts, and every branch
of the Legislature is so disorganised that no one will
undertake the Herculean task of setting things to
rights. I am told that the Bureaux look as if children
had been making hay in them, and this is confirmed
by an anecdote of Lamartine. Shortly after the
Revolution of February, he wrote on the blank leaves
of his pocket-book the names of his protegisy and sent
the list to be provided with places immediately.
Previously however, it seems he had scribbled
' David ' on the page, and the head of the Cabinet
appointed the said David consul at Bremen ; the
postulant however never came forward, and though
the poet does not like being disturbed, Mons. Hetzel
was obliged to ask who was the David on his list.

" He who danced before the Ark," was the answer.

" Oh dear ! I have gazetted him to Bremen ! "

" How very singular ! I meant him for a subject
for meditation, not for a nomination ; but you can
cancel it,"

The Moniteur registered the change ; but few know

192 PARIS IN '48. [June 19th.

that the last consul appointed to Bremen was King
David ! The diplomatic selections are execrable ; no
respectable man will serve now, though the very next
Republic may prove more attractive.

XXXIV.

June 19th.

I don't like to let a courier pass without writing,
and yet I feel I can only add to your gloom by dark
pictures of a country in which I know you take a
real interest. Each day seems to sink France some-
what lower in the scale of nations, and now the
possibility of a war with Russia complicates the
situation exceedingly. A war with no one necessary
element, except an army, must lead to destruction ;
there are no generals, no funds and, worse than all,
the spirit of patriotism has ceased to exist. Many
would prefer a foreign yoke to the ignoble tyranny
and rapacity of the five Directors.^

The comedy of last week has added greatly to
public contempt, and if Louis Napol6on chooses he

1 These were Arago, Gamier Pages, Lamartine, Marie, and Ledru
RoUin. Pagnerre, a librarian and one of the founders of the Cour d'Es-
compte, was appointed their secretary.

Juneigth.] PROJECTED RESTORATION. 193

may now be returned by ten departments. Im-
perialism will not bear the scrutiny of reason, but
it is a change and as such it may be tried ; indeed
I feel it will unless the Pretender backs out. The
Legitimists say : " Laissez-le venir, il fera I'apparte-
ment ; " the shopkeepers : " Amenez-le, il nous vaudra
peut-6tre une Cour ; " and the Army : " II nous con-
duira aux frontieres." His party consists chiefly of
those who hate and despise the present order of things,
and though composed of such heterogeneous ihaterials
that it could not stand, is yet so numerous that it
has a very great chance of temporary success. A
rumour is very prevalent here that the preliminaries
of the treaty between two fallen branches of the
Bourbons were settled on Friday. The Duchesse
d' Orleans has, it is said, written to the Due de Bor-
deaux ^ calling him her King, and asking him to be a
father to her orphan children ; they say he has sent a
most satisfactory answer and that, when the Republic
is quite spent, he will return with the Comte de Paris
as his heir.

No one has the slightest idea that the present form
of government can last ; some say that it is in its
death-agony, others that it may last three months. If

1 Comte de Chambord.

194 PARIS IN '48. [June 19th.

it lingers so long, I devoutly hope the Pretenders will
leave the Commonwealth (how absurd the word is !)
to get over the difficulties of the winter ; they really
will be too great for any one, so I had rather the
odium of such misery fell on those who must go, if
there is any retributive justice in the world. I was at
the Assembly when the last letter of Prince Louis was
read, and I don't think it made much sensation there,
but in the groups outside there was a look of defiance
in a few, and of disappointment in all. They still
shouted ' Vive Napol6on ! ' and many added " nous
I'aurons " to the popular air ' Des Lampions.'

The banquet of the 14th of July is a very serious
danger ; in my humble opinion, concentrating an army
on the spot where it is to take place is only rendering
a collision inevitable. Tr61at, the Minister of Public
Works, is quite unfit for his position ; he does nothing
for the National Workshops which are a nursery for
rioters, and he squanders as much money as his col-
leagues. I saw a deputy yesterday who is on the
Comitd des Finances ; he says bankruptcy may still
be averted if the State limits its liabilities, and the plan
proposed by the Minister Duclerc is to double them.
The whole confiscation meditated will probably not be
voted ; the railway companies will in that case struggle

Juneigth.] WIDESPREAD ANXIETY. 195

on, else I do not doubt that travelling in France will
soon be as in the Middle Ages, on horseback only.

I am getting so horribly out of spirits that I feel
quite ill ; the sad fate of many in whom I am deeply
interested, the future of my nieces, the general gloom
around me, all combine to make me miserable. I try
to hope, and sometimes I do for a day or two, but
then some unforeseen circumstance again turns the
scale, and I foresee some lower depth of misery ; all
my letters too seem to bring some sad intelligence.
One of my earliest friends, settled near Posen, is
obliged to arm her peasants, and defend her house
and property against bands of ferocious marauders.
A young man whose sister was my only companion
when I was a child and who, since her death, has
always looked up to me as an elder sister, is in the
army of Marshal Nugent ; ^ he is the only son of a
widow, and she writes most heart-rending accounts of

' Marshal Nugent, who was born in Westmeath in 1777, had long
been in the Austrian service in which he held several important commands ;
he was made Generalissimo of the Neapolitan army in 18 17 under the
Bourbons, but lost his post at the revolution in 1820. He was sent by
Austria in 1848 to succour Radetzky in Lombardy, and was subsequently
made Field-Marshal for his services in Hungary. Radetzky had lately
suffered several defeats, as at Goito in April and at Santa Lucia in May ;
but the arrival of reinforcements turned the scale, and he was victorious at
Vicenza and subsequently at Custozza.

196 PARIS IN '48- [June2znd.

that sad campaign. I have another friend in prison at
Milan ; in fact, I do not see a calm spot or a happy
circle to which I can turn for comfort. I do not like
to say all I feel, because people do not understand me.
When I say " I am anxious," I am asked " Are you
afraid ? " and this, you know, is not my nature. I do
not shrink from these scenes which cannot affect me
personally, but I cannot bear to think that all or
almost all I love are in such fearful perils.

Pray forgive this stupid letter ; I will try to get
up my spirits by next Thursday, but the stormy
weather has given me a headache- for the last three
days. I do hope you will not be deterred from coming
here ; there is not a particle of danger except to pro-
perty or sometimes to National Guards ; you might
fancy yourself at Versailles or any other place that
once was great, instead of in a vast foyer of con-
spiracies.

XXXV.

June 22nd.

The dull calm of hopeless misery which has suc-
ceeded the bustle of conspiracies and imeutes reminds
me of the melancholy month of October last year, at

June 22nd.] STATE MONOPOLIES. 197

the time of my father's death, when the sad feehng of
loneliness and uselessness succeeded weeks of care and
anxiety. The altered prospects of my little nieces
and the slight hope that can be entertained of all my
sister's sacrifices ever turning to account, make me
miserable ; I cannot bear to see the wholesale spolia-
tion going on on all sides, nor do I see any precedent
in history for the ruinous system now about to be
adopted. The State is to be the only insurance
agency, and insurances against fire and hail are to be
made compulsory, thus adding to the already intoler-
able burden of direct taxation ; the railway companies
and those of the canals, mines, and gaslighting, are to
be dissolved, and the monopoly to centre in a penniless
Government without credit. The National Workshops
are a standing army kept up by the Executive for the
sole purpose of getting up emeutes for or against any
measure favourable or hostile to it.

The rassemblements are now at the Hotel de
Ville, and the cries are : " Vive Henri V. ! Vive Na-
poleon ! Vive le Prince de Joinville ! Vive quelqu'un,
mais surtout i bas la R6publique ! " A man who cried
'Vive la R6publique ! ' was with difficulty saved from
the exasperated mob. The state of the departments is
even worse than Paris, and you will not wonder at

198 PARIS IN '48. [June 22nd.

it when I tell you that Madame Manuel's maid asked
for her discharge last week saying that, as her husband
had got a Prdfecture, she could no longer remain in
service. If you read the Debuts^ I hope you did not
overlook Caussidi^re's speech in yesterday's paper ; it
is not couched in very parliamentary language but it
is energetic and true. I don't believe however that
he will be President of the Republic, in spite of his
talk ; perhaps we may have Cavaignac for a time, for
human patience cannot stand Lamartine & Co. much
longer. The National Guard is divided into many
fractions, and is in such a desperate state of exaspera-
tion that I shall never be surprised to hear that one of
the legions has been marched to the Assembly, and has
thrown the representatives out of the windows.

Clement Thomas has renounced the command of
the National Guard, because he looks upon the reten-
tion of the Legion of Honour in the projected Consti-
tution as a personal affront. I suppose Changarnier
will be his successor as he is the man most obnoxious
to the Executive, and everything dependent on election
is given against it. The outward tranquillity is in-
credible : you might fancy yourself in a watering-place
during the dull season were it not for the quantities of
soldiers ; any one who left from fear must feel heartily

June2sth.] STREET WARFARE. 199

ashamed ; those who departed in search of amusement
were quite right, for here it is entirely at an end.

XXXVI.^

Sunday, June 25th, 6.30 a.m.

The ginirale is beating, so I presume the awful
warfare of the last two days is still continuing ; it is

1 The same causes which had brought about the three previous out-
breaks of this year contributed to the final insurrection of June 23rd
described in the following letter, but the dominant revolutionary impulse
came from the National Workshops. The Assembly had appointed a
commission to consider the whole labour question, and its members, Laraar-
tine, Arago, Ledru Rollin, Gamier Pages, and Marie determined that the
worksliops should be suppressed. The employes between the ages of eighteen
and twenty-five were to be given the option of enlisting, or casting them-
selves upon the labour market, or being drafted away into the provinces to
work as navvies ; the first gang was to be sent to the Sologne, a notoriously
unhealthy district. A large proportion of them were skilled craftsmen,
and quite unfit for heavy labour ; the growing discontent soon took the
shape of threatening mobs and passionate harangues, in which one Pujol
was conspicuous. On the morning of June 23rd between 7000 and 8000
malcontents assembled at the Pantheon, and paraded on the site of the
Bastille ; the construction of barricades — massive and almost impregnable
— had begun by ten o'clock, and the movement spread rapidly throughout
the city. The workmen had been drilled and organised on a quasi military
system, and the siege of the streets occupied Cavaignac — to whom the
Assembly left everything — for four days, during which 2529 wounded men
were received at the hospitals and ambulance stations alone ; of these, one
in fifteen of the soldiers and one in six of the insurgents succumbed. It
was estimated that from 45,000 to 50,000 men took part in the rising, and
that not less than 900 were killed and 2000 wounded among the regular
troops.

200 PARIS IN '48. [June 25th.

worse than July 1830, June '32, February of this
disastrous year, and even than the street massacres of
1792 ! More French blood has been shed than for
many of Napoleon's most brilliant victories ; to-day's
papers have not yet arrived, but up to five o'clock last
night we have reports of most fearful carnage. Of the
National Guard twelve hundred are missing ; the 73rd
Regiment of the Line has lost five hundred men and
eleven officers, the Republican Guard eighteen hun-
dred out of two thousand engaged, and the Mobile
has been almost annihilated ; out of one detachment
five hundred strong, only sixty have been saved ; two
hundred fell at one discharge in the Place Lafayette.
Our company was sent to defend the Northern railway,
when a most disastrous fire was opened upon them
from some unfinished houses ; these they attacked
very bravely, but they found on forcing an entrance,
that the staircase had been removed, and their ferocious
adversaries were picking them off from the landings ;
of course they were compelled to retreat. Nine shop-
keepers were left on the pavement. My brother-in-law
had his epaulets shot through by a bullet which killed
a wine-merchant behind him ; he was out for twenty-
five hours, and came home harassed, wet through, and
utterly dispirited.

Juneasth.] STATE OF SIEGE DECLARED. 201

It is evident there exists a vast plan of operation,
and I am sure there was at least connivance on the part
of the police, for the barricades begun at 3 a.m. were
not finished until near ten o'clock, and not a soul inter-
fered to prevent their completion. The want of union
between the five governors rendered the orders uncer-
tain and tardy, and when the National Guard were
called out it was literally to a butchery which could
hardly be avenged. No cry has been raised by the
insurgents ; every one feels the Red Republic is at
work, but It has not been asserted in so many words.
These tactics are in some respects wise, for if the civic
force could divest themselves of the fear of pillage and
the scaffold, they would be much less resolute ; but
on the other hand, if a name had been adopted or
a Pretender put forward, the troops would not have
fought. Cannonading has been heard incessantly for
the last two days, and many houses are reported to be
a heap of ruins ; the Pantheon was fortified by the
mob who, having artillery and ammunition, held out
for several hours ; the last news however is that it
has capitulated, and that fifteen hundred men have laid
down their arms. The Executive were obliged to resign
yesterday morning, and to invest Cavaignac with the
military dictatorship ; Paris is declared in a state of

202 PARIS IN '48. [Juneasth.

siege, and every individual taken in arms is imme-
diately shot. Mr. Blount walked to St. Denis at the
peril of his life, got an engine, and by order of the
Dictator proceeded to Amiens, from whence he brought
back the garrison which furnished fresh troops for last
night's defence. I feel confident that the cause of
order will triumph, but at what cost ! And then how
can one hope for stability, when one sees how short-
lived popularity is in this miserable country ? Lamar-
tine had one million five hundred thousand votes on
the 20th of April, and on Friday he was hissed when-
ever he appeared. I was at the Mairie of the first
amndissement, when the downfall of the Executive was
proclaimed by George Lafayette and Gustave de Beau-
mont, and I never heard such enthusiasm ; the troops
of all denominations shouted their willingness to fight
any one now they had no other chief than Cavaignac.
I saw many wounded carried past, and the sight of
blood gives a sort of reality to one's fears for those one
loves, which is most painful ; many of our acquaint-
ances have suffered considerably, and I am told five
deputies were shot in attempting to harangue the de-
fenders of the barricades. There may be exaggeration
with respect to the numbers killed, but there is none
with regard to the means in the hands of the people ;

June 25th.] FEARFUL LOSS OF LIFE. 203

they are armed, have twelve pieces of ordnance and
more ammunition than the garrison. The distribution
made to the National Guard was three cartridges a head
and, if they had not all had private stores, they would
have been for hours without the means of retaliating
on the brigands to whom they were opposed. A
cuirassier who had a bullet through his thigh and a
cut on the head, told us that dead bodies were so
numerous that the insurgents used them to fill up the
breaches in their intrenchments. I saw a woman with
a wound in the neck, a National Guard shot through
the cheek, and some others going to the hospital. On
Friday we saw a bayonet charge on the boulevards,
which were afterwards occupied by the troops. Yester-
day every street was patrolled, and no one allowed to
pass unchallenged ; men were searched, and women
too where they looked suspicious ; they were very
civil to us, but we did not go very far. The Place
Louis XV. was covered with troops and artillery, but
there was no appearance of insurrection in that quarter.
A., with a few of his men, took the place of the
butchered in our quartier, and I trust they have not
been to the scene of action.

You cannot imagine anything more fearful than
the aspect of this once flourishing capital : not a shop

204 " PARIS IN '48. [Junezsth.

open ; not a creature in the streets except the patrols
and a few anxious women looking about for their
husbands and sons ; not a sound except the distant
growl of artillery, the ring of musketry, the measured
tramp of troops and, worse than all, the incessant beat
of the ginhale which means " Extreme peril ; turn out,
every one." This h^s been going on for two hours,
and the men are not turning out in sufficient numbers
to be of use : some are dead, others dying, and their
brothers remain with them ; many though unhurt are
quite incapable of action after such severe fatigue.
Consternation is general, and I fear even we shall soon
come to some plan of departure ; I would much rather
stay, but if matters get worse it may be difficult to move.
1 1 a.m. — I have been out, and have seen the whole
battalion march off to the scene of action ; they are
determined to conquer or die, and to-day they have
hand grenades and abuses from which we may expect
a good deal. The houses occupied by the mob are
filled with ammunition, and must be demolished by
cannon ; my brother-in-law has gone, and there is
scarcely a man left in the quartter ; I met an acquaint-
ance whose cousin was killed last night. Out of three
battalions of Mobile engaged in the Rue St. Jacques,
numbering 3600, only 800 remain. The Northern

June2sth.] POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS. 205

railway is in the hands of the insurgents, and probably
the post will not go out ; I sent the newspapers on the
bare chance, and this I will endeavour to send by
private hand. The war is not over but I think the
result is sure ; force will carry the day and prevail for
a time, and then we shall have ' la revanche du peuple '
and the Reign of Terror. If we can prevail upon my
sister to go to the seaside, we shall take advantage of
the lull and cross to England, but it would be cruelty
to leave her as she is now situated ; imagine the fearful
nights of suspense, with no positive intelligence and
surrounded by the sounds of battle ! She ran over
to see us last night at twelve o'clock, because a shot
went off in the street while the g^nerale was beating
in the Place Beauvau. On account of her children she
cannot always be with us, and when she is quiet and
alone her anxiety is more than she can bear ; besides
her husband's personal danger, she has all the sad
anticipations for the future of her country and her
children ; I assure you it is heartbreaking. I am going
to take her out ; she is calmer when going about and
I hope we may be cheered by some good news ; there
is no danger nearer than Montmartre. Will this
massacre put an end to Communism ? if so, no one
will complain ; but how sad it all is !

2o6 PARIS IN '48. [June 26th.

XXXVII.

June 26th, 5 p.m.

I could not write this morning ; It was too painful
to retrace the horrors of the situation without being
able to give some hope that it would soon change ;
now we trust that the insurrection is mastered, though
there is still some skirmishing on the Canal St. Martin.
I must go back to yesterday to give you an idea of
the awful hours we have spent since I concluded my
letter. I went to see a deputy who lives near here,
and heard from him that the insurgents mustered
45,000 men, that they had ammunition for a fortnight
and were masters of the whole town from the Barriere
Rochechouart to the Barriere de Fontainebleau. The
loss among the troops. Mobile and National Guard,
amounted yesterday at twelve o'clock to 8000 men !
There have been many fierce engagements since, and
this morning a barricade made a feigned surrender,
and then fired a volley on the unsuspecting friends of
order who lost 161 men and 4 officers by that one
discharge. The exasperation of the troops then
became so fearful that every soul taken was immediately
slaughtered ; I am told that part of the Faubourg St.
Antoine was deluged with blood which poured down

June 26th.] SMUGGLING WEAPONS. 207

the streets and flowed into the shops. Soult says that
Austerlitz was less terrible, and that the siege of Sara-
gossa was nothing like these four days. The state of
siege proclaimed yesterday was niost vigorously en-
forced ; even on the way across to my sister I was
searched, or at least questioned ; this last precaution
had become absolutely necessary, since cartridges had
been conveyed by women pretending to be in an
interesting condition ; others hid them in loaves of
bread, and even coffins were used to keep up the
murderous warfare.

7.30 p.m. — I saw a woman arrested who had pistols
in the pockets of her gown and a sword acting as a
dress-improver. Every sort of atrocity has been com-
mitted : the dead have been horribly mutilated ; the
bullets extracted from the wounded are mixed with
verdigris or softened, which is supposed to produce
incurable sores. Boiling water, vitriol, and paving-
stones have been thrown from the windows ; the very
cellars were filled with ruffians who picked out the
officers as they marched to the barricades ; some of
these were composed of sheet iron from a foundry they
pillaged, and cannon-balls ricochetted from oiF them
killed those who were firing the guns ; some of the
bullets bear marks of having been made by ferocious

208 PARIS IN '48. [June 26th.

amateurs, and I saw one that had been cast in a
woman's thimble.*

Nothing could exceed the desolation of the town
yesterday. The boulevards were cut ofF, and looked
deserted ; the streets were paraded by sentries who
enforced the strictest discipline ; no one was allowed
to stand about, and no sound was heard but the tramp
of cavalry or the distant roll of cannon or musketry.
Bad reports poured in from hour to hour, and it
became evident that there was treachery to contend
with, besides all the other horrors of civil war. The
National Guards who patrolled the streets ordered all
blinds to be left open and all windows to be kept shut,
to prevent any firing from above ; at night every street
was paraded by troops who kept up the incessant cry :
"Sentinelle, prenez-garde a vous ! " The list of
those required to serve was verified everywhere, and

1 Expert evidence obtained from the Surgeon-General of the National
Guard, Mens, de Guise, goes to prove that the severity of the vpounds was
due partly to the firing being at very close quarters, and very frequently
obliquely, from above j also to the miscellaneous nature of the projectiles,
in which needles and anything that came to hand were used. New varieties
of shot had also been cast for the Army at Vincennes, and there had been
no previous experience of the wounds which they produced. A calm
historical investigation is also happily unable to endorse the horrible reports
of poisoned bandages being used, and of drugged drinks being administered.
Out of twenty-five individuals accused of atrocious crimes only four were
found guilty.

June 26th.] THE STRUGGLE. 209

the few men who had not gone out at first were forced
to join ; all this quiet quarter was occupied solely by-
women and children making lint and bandages for the
wounded, all gloomily anticipating that their pre-
parations might be for their husbands or fathers.

I cannot describe the scene nor give you an idea
of the weary hours we spent, looking, watching,
listening to every rumour and unable to get at any
positive information. At ten we heard that the Fau-
bourg St. Antoine was to be bombarded ; at eleven that
it had surrendered ; at twelve that the surrender was
a feint, and that the battle was fiercer than ever. Some-
times a weary private or Mobile brought word that the
battalion was safe, at least when he left ; but others
said : "The fusillade is beginning again." I was lent
a pass, and got as far as the Place Louis XV. with
immense difficulty ; cuirassiers with loaded pistols
examined the paper most minutely ; I felt sure they
could not read, and was glad of it as it was not in
my name. The Place still wore the aspect of a town
besieged, with its cannon trained on the outlets and
men and horses lying about in the wild confusion of
a bivouac ; everywhere else the stillness of death, the
look of the petrified city in the Arabian Nights :
I shall always remember it. At three o'clock we heard

2IO PARIS IN '48. [June 26th.

that everything was calming down, that some had sur-
rendered, while others had been driven out of the
town into the plain where it would be easy to get the
better of them. Cavaignac had just sent word to the
Assembly that he would be able to give up this evening
the supreme power with which he had been invested.
A bad feature is the attempt that is being made to
fasten the odium of this horrible carnage on the party
of reaction, instead "of the adherents of Communism
and the Red Republic ; the deceit augurs ill for the
future. The strategic plan to which ultimate success
was owing is attributed to Thiers, who has great
influence with Lamoriciere. From four to five o'clock
numbers of our company came pouring in, but A. did
did not arrive till half-past six, and so dead lame that
we are afraid he has received some injury. His first
words to me were " I am not wounded ; " but fatigue
that can reduce him to his present state must be nearly
as bad as blows : he has been out since Friday morn-
ing and only remained three hours in bed on Saturday
afternoon, which is the only rest he has had for four
days and three nights. General N6grier was killed
close to him ; the man next him was wounded, the
chef de hataillon killed, and it was that portion of
the I St Legion that cleared the whole of the Faubourg

June 26th.] INSURRECTION ARRESTED. 211

du Temple. For. many hours the miners were at
work to blow up the whole quartier, and women were
handing their babies over the barricades, imploring the
National Guards to have mercy on them and not
sacrifice their lives ; many of the insurgents taken in
arms were instantly shot, and died as they had lived,
perfectly fearless and reckless ; those that were saved
from the exasperation of the victors were taken to the
Tuileries, stripped, and placed in the cellars naked, as
that is the only security against escape. The brandy
carried by the cantiniferes was in many cases drugged,
and many of the troops suffered severely from this
atrocious piece of wickedness. I believe if the out-
break had been successful even for an hour, or gained
one step beyond the point where it was first allowed
to gather, the cause of order would have been lost ;
but the failure at the first onset prevented the insur-
rection from spreading, and the heroic conduct of the
Garde Mobile, in whom all the spirit of the ' gamin
de Paris ' was brought to bear against murder and
rapine, saved the country ; at least for the present, for
who can calculate in the presence of such events ?

We shall never know the amount of the slaughter,
for the rebels have carried off their dead and thrown
them into the river, or buried them in heaps ; the

212 PARIS IN '48. [June 26th.

sewer of the Faubourg St. Antolne was for hours
one continued stream of human blood. The immense
removal vans that you know were piled with the
wounded, and drove to the hospitals in strings of eight
or ten at a time ; it reminds one of the St. Bar-
tholomew, if you can imagine that fearful massacre
lasting four days and three nights.

The signature of Mons. Lalanne was found on the
papers of many of the dead, so it is presumed that
the Direction of the National Workshops, and per-
haps the Executive, are at the bottom of this hideous
conspiracy.* Some say Lamartine and Ledru RoUin are
to be impeached, others pretend they will only be forced
to give an account of the vast sums that have gone
through their hands during the last four months. We
shall see, but though I feel all are guilty, I am sure
we shall be kept in the dark and a false direction
will be given to the suspicion of the masses. Liberty
of the press is at an end : the Assemble Nationale has
been seized to my very great sorrow ; so has the
Presse and, I believe, the Patrie. If this vigour is
not extended to the Vraie Ripublique, the Commune de

1 Lalanne was a scientific theorist, and by profession an engineer. In
'48 he was called upon to take charge of the National Workshops in succes-
sion to Emile Thomas, and in June the Commission of Enquiry passed a
resolution recognising his courage in the discharge of that office.

June 29th.] TROOPS GAIN CONTROL. 213

PariSy and the Dimocratie Pacifique, we may prepare
for more bloodshed, for the star of the Red Republic
will be in the ascendant, and as long as there is a
bourgeois or a gentleman alive its advent is impossible.
I have talked to the lowest workmen and the few
remaining members of the old aristocracy, and all say :
" Nous mourrons pour la famille et la propri6t6."

Troops are still pouring in from the neighbour-
hood, and probably they will arrive here from the
extremities of the country, for It Is here the battle
must be fought and won or the existence of France
will be at an end ; she would then be a prey to any
ambitious neighbour, but after this victory we may
fairly hope. All the troops are beating the ' Chant du
triomphe ' on their drums, and those families who are
au complet are Indeed happy ; but how many are search-
ing for those they love best among the heaps of slain !
It is horrible to think of

XXXVIII.

June 29th.

I visited the scene of action yesterday, and cannot
imagine how any one escaped the butchery committed
there, and destruction from the fallen houses. There

214 PARIS IN '48. [June 29th.

is not one pane of glass left whole from the Boulevard
de St. Martin to the Bastille ; indeed, in many houses
you can scarcely distinguish where the windows have
been, they are so confounded with the breaches made
by cannon-balls. Near the column of July, where the
most violent cannonade took place, the fronts of the
houses are as it were taken off; I can only compare
it to a stage decoration in which you see the interior
of a house from top to bottom. One of them, more
completely destroyed than the others and which was
still smouldering, had no part standing but the wall
on which the looking-glass remained unbroken over
the chimney-piece, together with a glass bottle and
three prints ; a little hearth-brush hung by the fire-
place, and smoothing-irons were on a little shelf;
everything else, doors, windows, floors, staircases and
ceilings had fallen into the burning gulf below, and
no one knew or seemed to care whether the inhabitants
had shared the same fate. Traces of blood were still
visible everywhere, though they had evidently been
washed ; the whole boulevard was a bivouac where
men and horses slept in picturesque confusion, the
lances with their little flags forming trophies in the
centre of the encampments. Some regiments were
cooking, others grooming their horses, others keeping

June 29th.] UNIVERSAL HAVOC. 215

off the crowd, which they did with a degree of gentle-
ness and civility I should not have expected from men
so harassed by the severe duty. Everywhere sub-
scriptions were opened for the wounded, and whenever
the Garde Mobile, * les braves enfants de Paris,' held
the box, money was given with enthusiasm ; their loss
has been fearful, but they saved the country and
every one allows them the first place in the gratitude
which has been voted to all the combatants of June.

The Rue St. Antoine up which I went after
leaving the Bastille, contained seventy-five barricades,
all constructed of stones and built with consummate
art, so as to enfilade the cross streets, thus bringing
eight fires to bear upon those who attacked them.
The expression ' cribl6 de balles ' has become literally
true : hardly an inch of wall is free from shot ; iron
bars are torn from sockets ; shutters, persiennes, and
balconies are literally battered in, or hang by one hinge
swinging against the ruins. In some places muslin
curtains are hanging in ribbons from the top of shape-
less openings that were windows three days ago ; in
others the furniture has been piled up for defence,
and chairs and sofas, burnt and battered, form a
singular barricade on the first floor, vieing in disorder
with that of the pavement. From all these windows

2l6 PARIS IN '48. [June 29th.

unconcerned faces are seen looking out at the in-
quisitive crowd ; the shops are open and one that I
saw, full of crockery, presented a strange contrast to
the surrounding dibris. There was no sign of sorrow
among the inhabitants of these fearful ruins, nor any
emotion among the onlookers ; it was a spectacle
more saisissant than usually falls to one's lot, but
nothing more. Street orators explained how the
cannon-balls had ploughed up the corners, how the
bullets of the insurgents had decimated the heroic
Mobiles, how one had died, how others had bled ;
they showed the traces of the murderous assaults,
and all stood there open-mouthed, astonished, but
unmoved. From this wretched quarter we went by
St. Gervais, which offers nearly the same aspect, to
the Cite, where I think there can have been only a
slight cannonade, as there are no houses absolutely
destroyed ; the Pantheon is greatly injured, every
column mutilated, and the doors burnt and beaten
in. The first ball demolished the statue of the Re-
public, the second, that of Immortality ; the supersti-
tious cannot fail to make the connection, and indeed
it is in every heart and mind, that the newborn
Republic has been drowned in the blood of its
citizens.

June 29th.] COUNTRY CONTINGENTS. 217

The conduct of every one has been beyond all
praise. I am happy to say the battalion to which
A. belongs, the 4th of the ist Legion, has been
honourably mentioned ; it fought for thirty-six hours
without support, and Lamoricifere said that the ist
Legion was worth an army. The loss has been great,
but the spirit of the population has gathered new
strength ; they feel their value, they know their power,
and I trust the cause of the Red Republic is lost for
ever ; all France has joined against it. The National
Guards, citizens, and peasants from the remotest parts
of the country have come pouring in ; Cherbourg sent
a splendid contingent ; Bordeaux with its artillery is
coming by sea to Havre ; Dijon arrived on Sunday ;
Amiens, thanks to the Northern railway, came in
time to fight and was most useful. As to the
Mobiles, they are like the best troops of any army
and always claimed to go to the front. One of the
men of the 4th Battalion of National Guards, think-
ing his troop was not sufficiently exposed, joined the
Mobile to take part in the assault, then came back
to his own ranks, fought again, and so on the whole
day ; his coat, his trousers, his forage cap were full
of holes, but he escaped unhurt ; if any rewards are
given I hope this young civilian may get the cross.

21 8 PARIS IN '48. [June 29th.

A.'s company was engaged in the Clos St. Lazare
and in the Faubourg St. Antoine ; they got over all
the barricades and arrived, bayonet in hand, at the
Barriere du Trone, through cross fires besides the
volley in front ; he was the only officer who got so
far, and they all worship him. You cannot imagine
how satisfactory it is to see the consideration felt for
him in the quartier, and the look of praise bestowed
by all on the broken epaulet of our lieutenant. I
am afraid they will insist on making him chef de
bataillotty a post of tremendous responsibility, and
also dangerous. One of our men has been severely
wounded, and another, the workman Bernard, has
resigned because his father and brothers were behind
the first barricade he stormed ; he tried to get killed,
but all seemed to spare him. I dislike the man who
is a leveller and a Communist, but I cannot help
pitying him, for the position must have been terrible
with such conflicting duties and all his natural feelings
so miserably engaged on the side of the enemy.

We are now safe from any great insurrection, but
isolated murders are going on at a great rate, and
sentinels are picked off at night in spite of the in-
cessant cry, " Sentinelle, prenez-garde k vous ! " So
many soldiers have been poisoned by pretended

June 29th.] RUMOURED ATROCITIES. 219

vivandiheSy that the strictest orders are given to drink
nothing that has not been tasted by the vendor. A
woman who had offered her services at an ambulance
was taken up for bandaging the wounds with poisoned
lint ; in fact, every kind of atrocity has been com-
mitted and may still be expected. I have no patience
with the Assembly which talks of mercy to. the mis-
guided, and indulgence to the vanquished : why move
us to compassion about their wives and children when
they have made so many widows and orphans ? Why
talk of political excitement as an excusable feeling,
when its fruits have been the foulest murders ?

The papers will give you details which will remind
you of Cooper's Red Indians, and not of this nation
with its high pretensions to civilisation. The new
Government is an. improvement on the last, but it
is not good ; Senard is not to be trusted, and Recurt
is not the man to be at the head of the important
department of Public Works ; Leblanc too is obscure
and not safe ; Cavaignac is honest and intrepid,
but shortsighted and too Republican to consolidate
anything ; Lamorici^re and Changarnier are excellent
appointments, and I have nothing to say against
Goudchaux. If Dufaure is named President, the
Reaction will have made a giant stride in that quarter ;

220 PARIS IN '48. [July 3rd.

we shall probably have a few good measures and a
month's tranquillity ; I do not expect more, but I
feel confident that any outbreak will now be crushed
in the beginning, and not fostered as this has been by
four months of treachery. Upwards of fifty thousand
Government muskets have been recovered besides
others, and twelve pieces of ordnance ; as to cartridges,
they are seized by tens of thousands, which proves
that the laws about arms and ammunition have not
been enforced for ages ; indeed, I feel sure that some
blame must attach to the old police, as these dipots of
war material and the subterranean passages in the
insurgent quarters could hardly have been all com-
pleted in four months. Heaps of prisoners are shut
up everywhere ; in the old church of I'Assomption
the door has been bricked up, and they are fed through
a guichet.

XXXIX.

July 3rd.

Nothing has actually happened since I last wrote,
but much light has been thrown upon the origin of
the late events and, if the inquiry is properly
conducted, I have no doubt Lamartine and Ledru
Rollin will join Barb^s at Vincennes before the end

July 3rd.] APPARENT COLLUSION. 221

of the week. The poet himself shares this convic-
tion, but he says that in two months he will return
to the summit of popularity, and resume the
Presidency of the French Republic ; I doubt it, as
the actual complicity is now as evident as the moral
complicity has long been. Captain Juteau of the
Garde Mobile, has sent a letter to the Committee of
Inquiry now sitting at the Assembly, in which he
certifies that at the first barricade he made prisoners
of some of the ci-devant Montagnards, and sent
them under escort to the Prefecture de Police ; a
receipt was given, and he went on his way fully
persuaded that he had diminished the number of
those adversaries so dangerous from their organisa-
tion and military knowledge, but his surprise was
unbounded when he recognised the same men
fighting on the next entrenchment. He thought the
Prefecture had been taken and a rescue effected, but
upon reaching the Rue de Jerusalem he found all
very peaceable, and was told that orders had been
given to 'relacher tous les prisonniers.' The repre-
sentative who carried this letter to the Tribune
certifies the truth of it, and many other anecdotes
are current which strengthen the impression that the
authorities were in league with the Red Republic.

222 PARIS IN '48. [July 3rd.

The Colonel of the ist Legion told me that on
Saturday 24th, when he commanded at the Tuileries,
a man was brought before him whose appearance
did not justify the possession of a sum of 5000 fr.
which he was carrying ; on being interrogated, he
showed a pass signed "Ldon Lalanne, Chef des
Ateliers Nationaux," and proved that he was sent
"pour faire la paix des ouvriers combattant aux
barricades." Lalanne, who is nearly related to Tr61at
ex-Minister of Public Works, says that feeling sure
the workmen were driven to arms by want, he had
sent them 100,000 fr. a day "pour les adoucir."
These two circumstances I know to be true, and
others, though not related to myself, appear to me
equally well authenticated.

On Saturday, while the fusillade was hottest in
the quartier of the H6tel de Ville, Armand de
Maill6 who was on guard at the Assembly, threw
off his coat and lay down on the ground in the
drill trousers common to all, and in his shirt
sleeves like a workman. A man came out of the
Chamber, rapped him on the shoulder and said :
" Courez k I'Hotel de Ville, voyez si les ouvriers
en sont maitres, et si vous m'apportez une bonne
nouvelle, eh bien ! mon ami, il y aura mille francs

July 3rd.] YOUNG HEROES. 223

pour vous ! " The man was Flocon, the same who
said : " L'or de I'^tranger soudoie nos frhres 6gar6s."
Every day one hears new traits of the bravery of
the young Garde Mobile, and I think it is one of
the compliments most flattering to A. that they
proposed yesterday to make him a Captain if he
would join them. Etienne de Beauvais, A. de
Polignac, and some others joined these young
heroes, and went on a most daring expedition
through the narrow streets of the City, entering
houses, disarming the defenders, seizing arms, etc.
They say that the conduct of the little fellows was
beyond all praise ; some jumped headlong down
into dark cellars and dragged out adversaries twice
their size and strength ; others were let down by
ropes from windows, and the greater the danger
the greater the number of volunteers. Young
Beauvais has been hit in the leg, but he is more
ashamed of his temerity than proud of his courage,
and he will not allow it to be mentioned. A
young Mobile whom our footman knew, found
himself and two comrades in the midst of fifteen
insurgents, at the top of a house which they were
searching. It was resolved by the rioters to throw
the rash boys out of the window, but one gamin

224 PARIS IN '48. [July 3rd-

of seventeen said he would not go alone, and,
seizing the man who held him with all his might,
overbalanced him with such good luck as to fall
upon him and break his own fall ; unfortunately
he was shot at from the window, and now lies at
the Charitd with two bullets in his body, but full
of hope and quite cheerful, since he succeeded in
killing his enemy.

At the hospitals, sentinels are necessary at every
door to prevent the ferocious insurgents getting out
of their beds to crow over the wounded of the
other party ; they shriek : " Nous voulons manger
du Garde National, nous I'arroserons du sang du
Mobile ! " Their language is full of horrible
threats ; they do not regret the past, but on the
contrary declare that next time they will burn Paris
and perish in its ruins. The newspapers are trying
to minimise the number of deaths and, in particular,
to deny the horrible crimes imputed to the insurrec-
tion ; but the first reports were correct, and there is
no exaggeration in the account of the savage
cruelties practised by the escaped convicts. Gonzague
de St. Genius found a friend of his, an officer in
the army, hanged at the Pantheon ; and the body
of Mons. de Mangin murdered at the Barrifere de

July 3rd.] DISAFFECTED DEPUTIES. 125

Fontainebleau, is so mutilated that no one could
recognise him.*

Treachery was everywhere, among petty local
authorities about Paris as well as in the depart-
ments ruled by Ledru RoUin's commissaries. Mons.
Jazard, Pr^fet of the Allier, attempted to dissuade
the National Guards from starting for Paris by
saying : " Mes amis, vous arriverez trop tard pour
le pillage ! " and Changarnier who had an interview
with him on his way back from Africa, says his
place should have been at the head of the riot,
not in any branch of the Administration ; if he
held such language after the victory of order, you
may imagine what his real sentiments were ! The
same sympathy for the Red Republic was shown
by the Sous-Pr6fet of Auxerre, the Prdfet of Caen,
and many others, all sent by the late Executive
Commission to disorganise the provinces. The
authorities here are equally dangerous ; the Mayor
of our arrondissement congratulated the National
Guard of the Nifevre on having come too late,
saying : " Vous au moins, vous n'avez pas eu le

1 De Mangin was Captain on the Staff in the action at the barricades
on June zsth ; he fell a victim to his loyal support of General Brea who
insisted on going in behind the Barriere de Fontainebleau to harangue the
insurgents, and was traitorously shot down by them.

Q

226 PARIS IN '48. [July 3rd.

malheur de tirer sur vos fr^res," — this in the
presence of the ist Legion which has suffered so
cruelly in the defence of order. The Presidency
of Marie is not thought well of as, though he was
the best of the late Government, still, as he did
not separate himself from them, he must have
tacitly connived at their measures.^ Carnot will
retire very soon under the contempt of the As-
sembly ; Recurt ought to be removed, but as the
National Workshops are at an end, he will not
have materials for much mischief Cavaignac has
only accepted the Dictatorship on condition of break-
ing up the associations of workmen, and having a
camp of thirty thousand men In the Plaine de
Grenoble, and another equally numerous at Satory,
above Versailles : with such precautions it Is difficult
to conceive any serious outbreak, but it Is quite
certain there will be a great deal of skirmishing. One
hundred thousand muskets have been restored to
Vincennes, as well as the cannon of the insurgents ;

1 Marie had so far separated himself from the Government as to vote
for the prosecution of Blanc and Caussidiere, who fled to England. In
spite of this prosecution, Blanc's economic scheme was adopted after the
restoration of order ; fifty-six co-operative associations were started with a
credit of 3 million francs ; of these only twenty-six remained in 1852, and
nine in 1858.

July 3rd.] DE GIRARDIN IMPRISONED. 227

ammunition too has been seized in vast quantities ;
but unfortunately, they have learnt to make gun-
cotton which does not heat or soil the guns so
much as common powder, and thus a smaller number
of guns can do equal execution ; besides, the troops
get very much discouraged by noiseless discharges,
and seeing their comrades fall without knowing where
to look for their murderers.

The measures taken with respect to Emile de
Girardin are most arbitrary and unjust ; he is accused
of having conspired, some say in favour of the
Regency, others for the Due de Leuchtenberg.'
There is a rumour of a Russian pension which,
if true, would tell sorely against him, and might
lead to his being included in the penal colony
intended for the Marquisate Islands ; I trust it
is not so, for he is clever and brave though ^
thoroughly unprincipled and quite capable of a
double-faced conspiracy : however, we cannot but
feel leniently towards one who attempted to subvert
the late Government, and still hope he may be
speedily released. Raspail, who was arrested in May,
is surrounded with comforts and luxuries, visited

1 The Due de Leuchtenberg was the eldest son of Prince Eugene de
Beauharnais, and was the first husband of Marie II. of Portugal.

228 PARIS IN "48. [July 13th.

by his friends, etc. ; and Courtais is daily let out
on parole. Why make this distinction between the
Anarchists of May and the Reactionaries of June ?
That may be accounted for by the state of siege,
but only fancy talking with exultation of a tran-
quillity insured by keeping every one at home after
nine in the evening, and making us all illuminate
to prevent assassination ! Poor Paris ! poor France ! —
one cannot bear to look back. How changed you
will find everything, if our late disasters do not keep
you away altogether !

XL.

July 13th.

I am afraid you must be ill, for I have not
heard from you for a very long time, and I know
you are always most exact in answering me, even
when we are enjoying peace and quiet, and much
more so when we are in the midst of dangers ;
pray let me hear from you soon, everything is so
black around us that we require a little cheering
from abroad. You know that I am not prone to
believe every horrible tale that is told, nor to be
alarmed at shadows, and yet I do not like the

Julyisth.] ORGANISED DEFENCE. 229

aspect of affairs. I am certain there is some vast
conspiracy on foot, whether already known and check-
mated, or likely to break out to-morrow I cannot
say, but the precautions taken are almost absurd
from their minuteness. Every battalion of National
Guard has orders to furnish a movable column of
three hundred men as a forlorn hope, in case of
fire ; many houses are marked to be loopholed and
defended by the troops ; the engineers have come
from Arras to open communications between houses,
so as to attack the barricades under cover, and
60,000 men of the regular army are ready to turn
out at a moment's notice. It is said that the plan
of the insurgents is to come down from every
barrier throwing bombs before them, particularly in
this arrondissement and, while some of the houses
are burning, to pillage those which the inhabitants
will abandon in the first moment of alarm. I
doubt aU this very much, for fire will not follow
a beaten track nor burn the rich only, and surely
those wretches, though they are scarcely human,
will hardly burn out their families who are so
mixed up with private houses in every quarter.
It is certainly what it professes to be, *une guerre
infernale ; ' a mine was discovered yesterday under

230 PARIS IN '48. [July 13th.

the Poissoniere barracks, and others are suspected,
so the strictest watch is kept. A Captain in the
Mobile stopped us yesterday in the street, and
offered us his room in the barracks should the
fighting come down here ; he says he can answer
for his men, but I think it would be taking refuge
in the lion's mouth, as the Mobile are more hated
than the Municipal Guard.

The object of to-morrow's rising, if it is not
pillage, must be the deliverance of the fourteen
thousand prisoners taken during the late events,
and I think it would be wise to declare that the
first shot fired should be the death signal of the
whole of them ; anything would be better than let-
ting out these ruffians, who have deserved any
punishment for their unheard of cruelty : even the
Irish felon might take lessons in atrocity from the
monsters now lying in the forts. We have one
guarantee of order — Military Government ; as long
as the state of siege is maintained, we shall do,
but I dread the possibility of its being removed.
Cavaignac, Lamorici^re, and Changarnier are to be
trusted but Charras, Under Secretary for War, is
a rascal ; it is to his treachery we owe the useless
exposure of the National Guard during the first

Julyisth.] CHARRAS' DISLOYALTY. 231

day of the fighting ; he had orders to have thirty-
thousand men in Paris, but had only ten and
excuses himself by saying he forgot to transmit
the order to the Colonels in the neighbourhood.
Lamoricifere does not dare send him away because
he belongs to the all-powerful dynasty of the
National^ and he is afraid of causing a cry of
reaction to be raised against him.

Fourteen newspapers have been suppressed, and
I feel sure we shall soon reach the same degree of
liberty of the press as was once allowed at Vienna ;
we shall have a censored Moniteur and not be
allowed to comment upon it ; of course I don't
care, but it will be a strange achievement of sixty
years of revolution. I believe there is going to
be a great distribution of crosses, and Mons. de
Niewerkerque is to have one for his great bravery ;
the Due de Guiche, too, has been greatly praised,
and his special report as an engineer officer has
been so appreciated that he is one of the three
engaged in planning the defence of the arrondisse-
ment.

What a pleasant state of things ! And, if we live to
be old, how surprised we shall be to remember that we
went on as usual when we felt that every paving-stone

232 PARIS IN '48. [July 17th.

was an offensive weapon, every drain the probable
mouth of a mine, and every man in a blouse a
murderer ! No shutters are allowed to be closed, and
sometimes open windows are threatened for fear of an
ambuscade ; every person one meets gives one some
advice or some warning, but we are getting used to it,
and if there is any impatience expressed it is at the
minuteness of the precautions taken, not at the
continuance of peril. It is an extraordinary country ;
there is certainly more courage among the men, more
sang froid among the women than anywhere else : I
doubted this in February, but it is impossible not to
allow that in June all did their duty during the battle,
and none exulted after the victory ; it was very
dreadful but very fine in some respects, and it has
restored my esteem for a nation which I cannot help
loving still.

XLI.

July 17th.

You do not say whether you still contemplate
coming through France, so I am uncertain whether I
have any chance of seeing you before your departure
for the East ; I am afraid the state of the Continent
will deter you from taking this route, and yet I am

Julyiyth.] SUBVERSIVE DOCTRINES. 233

convinced it is perfectly safe. A friend of mine arrived
yesterday from Marseille and, though she travelled
alone with her maid, did not meet with the slightest
molestation or difficulty ; the only danger is at Paris
and, with the state of siege, you see how easily the
most extensive plans are frustrated.

The most timorous say we have two months before
us, the most sanguine think the war will now be only
a conflict of ideas. Proudhon and Pierre Leroux, the
apostle of Socialism, have quite failed in the Assembly ;
the latter delivered a sentimental elegy upon the insur-
rection which was not even listened to, and the former
was forced by Mons. Thiers to give an explanation of
his principles, which has cost him dear. I do not
stand up for the religion of France, which has been
found wanting on many points and is too often dis-
regarded, but such wholesale blasphemy never could
be tolerated, and since the * People's Representative '
has said : " La propri6t6 durera autant que le Christian-
isme," the general impression was that his theories need
not be discussed. We are far from the days of
Voltaire, almost as far morally speaking as from those
of St. Louis, and these doctrines excite as violent a
reprobation as if a motion were made to re-establish
the Inquisition, or to excommunicate Lamartine.

234 PARIS IN '48. [July 17th.

Mons. Thiers made an admirable speech in favour
of their property being restored to the Orleans family,
and he has annihilated Jules Favre's proposal of
confiscation ; Berryer, too, spoke forcibly in the same
sense and the question, coming after the great struggle
for the rights of property, is most likely to be settled
favourably, though not quite fairly. Every one
admits that the debts of the Civil List must be paid,
and these will be swelled to the utmost to cover some
of the prodigalities of the Provisional and Executive
Governments. In the stable department this will be
very serious, and all the va-nu-pieds of the 24th of
February have been revelling in the court equipages
ever since. However, it is calculated that upwards of
one hundred million francs will be restored to the
exiles, and this is more serious when you consider that
one million well distributed will upset any Govern-
ment. The refuse of the hulks, the scum of the Paris
population can any day change the fate of the whole
Nation — at least they could, for I trust the severe
lessons of the last five months will profit the Army
and the National Guard. I hope that the soldiers will
never fraternise with the mob, and that the civic force
will never again blindly adopt a mob cry. On the
24th of February ' Vive; la R6publique ! ' gave us the

Julyi7th.] VARIED RALLYING CRIES. 235

Republic ; on the 5th of May ' Poland ' smashed
Barbfes, and had Louis Napoleon come forward his
name would have insured the Red Republic. Every-
one thinks the next convulsion will restore Monarchy,
but all these Africans are so compromised with the
Republic, that they will maintain order in their own
interests,* Cavaignac is a Republican ' de la vieille
roche,' Changarnier a decided Orleanist, and Lamori-
cihre is supposed to be a Legitimist ; they all dread
one another, and to maintain the balance of power
they must uphold the Republic. No one now can be
brought to say simply ' Vive la R6publique ; ' the
cry is ' Vive I'ordre ! ' the officials say ' Vive la
R6publique (et I'Arm^e) ; ' the National Guard and
the People add ' honn^te.'

The place is full of agents of the Due de Bordeaux,
whom it is now the fashion to represent as very
Liberal, very much opposed to the opinions of his
family, exceedingly clever, and not likely to take the
Faubourg St. Germain ; all this is absurd, but such is
the yearning after Monarchy of any sort, at any price,
that even his chances are seriously discussed by the
lower orders, admitted by the middle class, and of

1 This alludes to the Princes and officers who had fought in the Algerian
campaign.

236 PARIS IN '48. [July 17th.

course hailed with rapture by what is still called the
nobility. It would not surprise me to see the events
of the last thirty years acted over again, Henri V.
brought back by general weariness of a military
dictator, upset by the mistakes of his adherents, and
replaced by the Youngq^^Branch which would be
in its turn swept away by the popular torrent. The
prosperity of France will in future only be momen-
tary, each change will render more frequent the
return of its periodical convulsions until it sinks into
utter insignificance, perhaps even becomes a Cossack
province.

It is sad to contemplate but, the more danger to
the individual diminishes, the more imminent is the
universal peril : there are no real passions at work, no
tangible abuses to remedy ; it is an incessant, restless
action from below, which destroys without a chance of
improvement, without even filling the place left empty
by defunct powers. The Reign of Terror by its
violence assured the Imperial despotism ; the present
revolution meets with no resistance but sweeps slowly
and surely to destruction.

I am ashamed of never writing anything but
politics, but I never see any one except official
persons, nor do I ever hear a word of any one in

July 20th.] A MOMENTARY LULL. 237

their private capacity. We all remain here, at least
for the present.

XLIL

July 20th.

The rumours of war have now subsided, and yet
I do not think the feeling of security has gained
ground ; the recent change of ministers is not good.
Bethmont was not a ' R6publicain de la veille,' and
therefore some reliance was placed on him which
is more than can be said of Marie who, though
the best of the lot, is none the less one of the
Provisional Government and of the Executive Com-
mission ; Marrast too, the President advocated by
Le National, is also a relic of February and as such
not only Republican, but revolutionary. It is greatly
feared that Cavaignac, secure against armed opposition,
will act upon the political programme of his brother
Godefroi and his mother, a decided Communist ; the
impression here is that the royal property will be at
least sequestrated to guarantee a loan, if not actually
confiscated. The Dictator does not feel sufficiently
sure of the democratic sentiments of France to allow
them to be tested by a rich Pretender. My informant
is Baron Foin, the King's agent, who even thinks they

238 PARIS IN '48. [July 20th.

will attack the property of the Comte de Chambord,
which the statesmen of the July Revolution had
respected ; I should think this impression was correct,
from the very decided part taken by Berryer in favour
of the House of Orleans, for which he certainly has no
personal sympathy. If the masses were not so narrow-
minded, they would understand that authorising any
species of confiscation is at once throwing down the
barriers of property ; but instead of that they are told
that this spoliation will prevent bankruptcy, and they
look no farther.

It is certain that there is not money enough to
finish the year ; two hundred millions will only afford
temporary relief, and will by no means give the
Government permanent resources ; no system of taxa-
tion can be invented to support one hundred and
twenty thousand paupers in Paris, besides the usual
State expenditure, and this is what we have come to.
The reductions proposed are in thousands, the addi-
tional expenses of cheap government in millions ; the
professors of the military colleges are to be paid less,
but the cost of admission to these establishments,
including outfit and pocket money, is to be borne
entirely by the State.

Thiers is doing great service ; by the extreme

July 20th.] THIERS' ABILITY. 239

lucidity of his talent he has dispelled all clouds,
pulverised all systems, and clearly demonstrated the
vast inroads made by Communism into the proposed
Constitution. I am not certain that he will point out
the remedies as clearly as the fallacies ; Louis Philippe
always said : " Thiers c'est un excellent vaisseau d'abor-
dage, mais une fois dans le port, il faut le lacher, il ne
sait rien organiser." That is the reason he always
called him in at the moment of a crisis, and returned
to the doctrinaires when the danger was past.

I am afraid the old Opposition wants to go too
fast ; they are already putting forward Dufaure and
Duvergier de Hauranne, which Is very unwise while
the dynasty of Le National has even a printer untried.
Rumour says that Cavaignac Is to marry a Mademoi-
selle Dubochet, daughter of the late manager of that
paper, but the lower classes believe he Is to marry the
Duchesse d'Orleans and become Regent. Nothing
is too absurd to be swallowed by the mob, who can
combine such credulity with such Immense courage ;
but can one feel secure against any outbreak from any
quarter, however improbable } If any royal personage
has a chance now It is Henri V. ; somehow the unpopu-
larity of the Orleans Princes has increased ; they have
shown coldness to some who went over to them, and

240 PARIS IN '48. [July 24th.

have refused to receive others, which has had a bad
effect. However, "on n'est jamais trahi que par les
siens," and the Legitimists are so hated that I much
fear their chief could not found anything solid.

XLIII.

July 24th.

I have been hesitating about writing to-day, I have
so little to say and that little is so very unsatisfactory ;
but no amount of gloom or dulness can surprise you
who know how we are situated between France and
Ireland, so I will send a few lines all the same.

My Irish correspondents are greatly alarmed, and
to me it seems with reason. Mama however says
she has known Ireland so all her life, and is extremely
calm, though we have nothing anywhere else. I trust
she may be right, and hope for the best though the
experience of the rest of Europe is sadly against her
theory. I am told the Apponys have hardly anything
left; the suppression of abuses has curtailed their
pension at Vienna and almost taken their whole income
in Hungary : it is very sad after so many years of the
most delightful position in the world.

Here we are very quiet but we do not recover

July 24th.] AN EXPENSIVE SYSTEM. 241

confidence ; after securing peace we are counting up
what it will cost, and it is impossible not to shudder
at the formidable drain on the public resources that an
army of sixty thousand men must prove ; the Mobile
too are to be augmented, and their pay of 1.50 fr. a
day is a very heavy expense. Then we have pensions
to the wounded, and that most silly plan of gratuitous
admission to the military schools. The provinces
won't pay to support the Republic, and Paris has
exhausted all its own sources of revenue : if there is a
fresh insurrection it will be joined by the small trades-
people, in which class the sufferings are even worse
than among the actual workmen ; this implies a
division in the ranks of the National Guard, and the
consequences might be most disastrous. Nothing can
last in this wretched country : the state of siege is the
only guarantee of order we have, and loud clamour
is raised against it. Cavaignac is beginning to lose
ground by his obstinate adherence to the ' R^publicains
de la veille : ' he has prejudiced the armed population
against him by his very petty decision to receive them
in plain clothes ; they consider this a slight, and that
Cavaignac I. should remember that he has gained civil
power only in virtue of his sword ; he has been rather
cold and supercilious on one or two occasions, and

R

242 PARIS IN '48. [July 24th.

among others towards the Conseil d'Etat. Their
leader on presenting them began a speech enumerating
their services, which he interrupted saying : " I do not
wish to know their antecedents ; I am satisfied that they
are all Republicans," and bowed them out ; this was
thought very laconic by the dignitaries who, for eighteen
years, had been used to the well-turned speeches of the
Citizen King.

Bastide, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, lives in
such a perpetual fright that he cannot answer a single
question ; in committee he is so deplorable that they
make out their foreign policy by newspapers and such
documents as they can get at. The Right of Labour
has been thrown out in most of the bureaux and
struck out of the Constitution, but it will lead to
stormy discussions when it comes before the public ;
many members, reasonable enough in private, become
dreadful when goaded on by their colleagues of the
' Montagne,' or by dread of the Moniteur. Everything
is dispiriting for it is impossible to rely on any one ;
the prisoners will be treated far too gently, and for the
sake of economy many of them will I am sure be let
loose again, with the thirst for revenge added to their
other bad passions. Nothing however will be decided
immediately, and as there will now probably be a few

July 27th.] POLITICAL SATIRE. 243

quiet weeks, I am actually going to make an excur-
sion to Dieppe with some friends. It will be quite
delightful, to inhale the sea-breeze after so many-
months of Republican Paris, unswept, unwashed,
uncared for.

XLIV.

July 27th.

I have no political news of any importance this
time ; no one can stir under the state of siege which
Cavaignac seems determined to maintain. This will
ruin E. de Girardin whose paper was his only fortune.
He has published his justification in a serious and
well-written but utterly uninteresting pamphlet ; I
should have sent it had it been worth reading. Have
you read ' Jdrome Paturot a la Recherche de la Meilleure
des R6publiques ' ? It is a clever satire on the present
state of chaos, and is much read just now.

The trials of insurgents are going on, but the
authorities will not carry the investigations beyond the
'instruments,' and therefore all will have to begin
over again. I know for certain that S^nard applied for
leave to take proceedings against Lamartine and Ledru
RoUin, and it has been refused for fear it should §hake

244 PARIS IN '48. [July 27th.

the Republic to its very foundations ; the end of this
will be that about forty will be shot, from three to five
hundred transported, and the rest let loose to continue
the Republican line. " Avec les honndtes gens la
graine s'en perd," is the popular saying, and no one
dares yet allow the impossibility of a Republic : many
think it will be upset in September ; others less sanguine
believe that next spring will bring about a crisis ; to
my mind both these periods appear to be too short,
and it would be folly to reason now from probability
and analogy, when everything is so unlike the past.

Mons. Thiers' exposition of Proudhon's Socialist
plans has had immense success ; but it was really
preaching to converts, as every one sees the utter fallacy
of such doctrines. There is a slight tendency to com-
mercial improvement, and the theatres, which had been
closed for three weeks, are full every night. I was at
the Palais Royal on Tuesday, and saw a delightful
burlesque of the Republic, besides some of those
charming trifles which have un succh de fou rire. I
go to Dieppe on Saturday.

August 3rd.] PROPOSED INTERVENTION. 245

XLV.

August 3rd.

I have just returned from the seaside, and am
much struck by the total absence of Republican demon-
stration on the road. It was the inauguration of the
Dieppe railway, so we took down two Ministers, and
all the authorities both of Dieppe and Rouen were
drawn up to receive the cortege ; but the whole affair
went off in perfect silence. An officer tried to get up a
* Viva ' for the Republic, but all he got for his pains was
an energetic ' Je m'en fiche ' that went down the whole
line. I beg pardon for the expression, but it is textual
and no other would convey the same comprehensive
meaning. The very bathing-men cannot resist asking
every one they dip " Quand done en finirons-nous
avec la Republique .'' " To which the answer invariably
is " Bientot ; " and this elicits a hearty " Dieu vous
entende ! " The favourable turn which affairs took a
few days after the insurrection is quite past ; how can
one have confidence in a Republic which requires the
state of siege, the suppression of the free press, and an
army of sixty thousand men to keep peace in the streets ?
Great fears are entertained about the intervention
in Italy, but Bastide says he will oppose it with all his

246 PARIS IN '48. [August 3rd.

might, and resign rather than in any way compromise
the English alliance the only one in which he trusts ;
he has no faith in ' fraternity,' and is too much of
a Republican to trust other Republics. He is most
desperately ignorant, as you will judge from the follow-
ing anecdote : At the time of the insurrection at
Prague, an ex-authority in Guizot's cabinet advised him
to watch the Slavonic movement, and to keep an agent
on the spot ; he acquiesced and gravely asked who
was the late King's representative at the Court of
Bohemia ! His Chef de Cabinet is Hetzel, a bankrupt
bookseller and bad musician, but certainly not a states-
man unless du lendemain}

Anselm Petitet once a newspaper writer has been
sent to Hanover, and openly avows his intention of
reducing the haughtiness and etiquette of King Ernst to
a Republican level. I doubt his success, but he will
certainly make himself troublesome, as even his patrons
say : " C'est un esprit fagot d'epines." ^

' Hetzel was a librarian ; in '48 he was successively Chief of the Cabinet,
in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in that of the Navy ; finally, Secre-
tary-General to the Executive. He retired voluntarily from public life after
December loth, and collaborated on the National and the Re-vue Comique,
which dealt with political events. After 1851 he was exiled and lived at
Bruxelles till the amnesty of '59.

2 It is difficult to see why this prickly representative was chosen tor such
an embassy. Petitet served first in the Array, then entered the bureaux of

August 3rd.] FEAR OF CIVIL WAR. 247

The diplomatist alluded to by Boissy in his letter
to Lamartine is Leiraut, Minister at Naples and ex-
promptefe of a theatre on the boulevards. Financial
afFairs ar^^uch depressed by the extraordinary conduct
of Goudchaux, who now seems inclined to imitate
Duclerc and court the ' Montagne ; ' the new system
of taxation will again impede the circulation of money,
and send back capital to the cellars and strong boxes
from which it emerged so cautiously after the victory
of June. Civil war is inevitable and, though conspi-
racies are daily discovered, yet as no one is punished
the seeds must remain and bear fruit some day. Com-
panies of sappers and miners are forming in the
National Guard, and every preparation is being made
for carrying on the next war with less danger to the
friends of order.

You cannot imagine how disappointed the Radical
Government press is at Queen Victoria being still on
the throne and Ireland remaining a portion of the
Empire ; they are furious and shaking their fists at the
cowardly Milesians who cannot even man a barricade or
murder a policeman. For my part, although thankful

the Ministry of War where he was employed in various departments, e.g.
military schools, recruiting, etc. In April '48 he was appointed Accountant-
General, and retained the post under the Empire.

248 PARIS IN '48. [August 7th.

for the result, I own it astonishes me ; my notions
of a mob conceived when a child in July, 1830, and
developed by so many subsequent riots, did not lead
me to expect this bloodless victory. I trust that
Ireland may long continue to respect the law, and that
a just and severe punishment of the rebels will deter
any future imitators. Let them come here and see the
effects of self-government, and if that lesson does not
suffice they are all fit for Bedlam.

XLVI.

August 7th.

I shall be much disappointed if you do take the
new route to Constantinople, for I have been looking
forward for months to the pleasure of seeing you.
However active a correspondence may be it is nothing
to one hour's conversation, and one morning's visit is
worth volumes of letters. Besides, it must be much
easier to come through France than in any way to
touch upon insurgent Italy ; there you will meet with
danger everywhere, here it will be concentrated in a
few streets. As to expense, why, Paris is now empty !
and a great diminution has necessarily taken place in
the price of everything. Put me to any use you like

Aug. 7th.] MIGNET SHOT AT BY MISTAKE. 249

in looking out or bargaining, but do not let me think
that we may not meet for years. I am determined to
hope until you are far off vid Germany, and, seriously,
I should think this way the wisest and the quietest.

We have no particular news stirring just now,
though very many sinister rumours are afloat. Mignet
was shot at by mistake for Thiers, and many deputies
of the * Plaine ' have received threatening notices.^
The general impression is that Caussidifere will get up
a row, as a chess-player sometimes upsets the board
when he sees his game is lost. He is a most dangerous
rascal with a blufF manner concealing excessive cunning,
which has great influence on his ' puissances du jour '
the working classes. There is no doubt that if the
National Guard were unanimous the Republic would
be at end ; but it now rests on their divisions, and
everything is done to keep them up. The coming
elections will be greatly manipulated to exclude aristo-
crats, but I think that, like Ledru Rollin's circulars,
they will overshoot the mark.

' Mignet was educated as a lawyer, but followed a literary career and
wrote articles on history and on external politics. He was also a very dis-
tinguished lecturer. In 1824 he published his ' Histoire de la Revolution
Fran^aise.' In '30 he went on to the staff of the National, and was made
Director of the Archives of the Affaires Etrangeres, which post he held
until deprived of it by Lamartine in '48.

250 PARIS IN '48. [August 7th.

I am happy to say seven hundred prisoners were
taken down to Havre on Saturday very quietly ; their
removal was kept very secret to avoid a rescue, and
succeeded perfectly. They are to be put on board-
ship immediately, and to sail for Brest to await orders,
as no one knows where they are to be sent. Is it not
strange that the Republic which bears on its banner
' Liberty, Equality, Fraternity ' should adopt the
system of pontoons, the invention of the tyrannical
and perfidious Albion ?

I had almost forgotten to mention the event of the
week — the opening of a Republican salon ; Marrast
gave a grand dinner followed by a concert, on Thurs-
day last. The men looked as usual, but I am told the
women were dreadful. Madame Marrast was assisted
by Madame Very in doing the honours. This ex-
beauty began life as a painter's model, and after sundry
vicissitudes setded down into the comptoir of a famous
restaurant-keeper. Madame Marrast, like most of the
wives of the Provisional Government, is English and
the papers will have it that she is a FitzClarence, which
is very absurd. Madame Bastide made a collection in
the evening for the poor, and four thousand of the ilite
of the Republic made out about 1 100 fr., that is about
five sous a head. What do your two-guinea ticket

August loth.] REPUBLICAN CHARITY. 251

takers say to the charity of a country which is pro-
foundly democratic and looks down with contempt on
an unfeeling aristocracy !

The question of intervention ^ is getting very
serious. There is no doubt it ought to be granted,
but, as it would end in the downfall of France, it is
most likely it will wear out as the Polish question
did, in sympathy. For my part all my sympathies
are with Austria. I should so wish the old cause of
Divine Right to hold its own ; the very name of
Republic has become odious to me, and when I hear
of * un R6publicain honn^te,' I think of George Sand's
heroic convict Tremmov, and am utterly disgusted.

XLVII.

August loth.

... I am most anxious to know what route you
will take ; any part of Italy neighbouring on Lom-
bardy appears to me most unpleasant and if there is
an intervention it will be worse, as I suppose the
Austrians would be beaten at first. Every sensible
person in, or connected with, the Government is im-
patiently awaiting the result of the negotiations, and

' On behalf of Italy.

2 52 PARIS IN '48. [August loth.

hoping for the peaceable solution of the Italian
question ; but there is a war party, and the minority
has so constantly carried the day of late that I know
not what to think. A campaign after our street war
will leave France wholly without generals ; Bedeau is
given over, and this will be the fifth victim in the
highest ranks of the Army ; they cannot extract a
piece of red cloth which keeps the wound in a per-
petual state of irritation, and the fever is so high that
it is feared he will sink under what at first appeared
to be a very trifling injury.

All the bad newspapers are reappearing and to
allow this, before all the insurgents are disposed of,
is really most imprudent. Since the liberty of the
press has been suspended, and the interests of pro-
prietors and subscribers set at nought, it mattered
little whether the arbitrary measures extended over
six or eight weeks, and its restoration may now have
a most disastrous effect. It is believed that Louis
Blanc and Caussidiere really will be impeached, and
that Ledru RoUin will escape ; as he says himself, he
is not a conspirator, he never concealed his acts which,
however subversive of order, received the sanction
of his colleagues and the tacit approbation of the
Assembly in two successive votes of confidence ; not

August loth.] LEGITIMIST REACTION. 253

so the others who always professed that all means
were good to attain the democratic end. Great
scandal is expected from the revelations of witnesses
innumerable, and if it goes too hard with the men
of February, there is no doubt there will be another
appeal to the street. The Army is decidedly in-
fluenced by the women of the faubourg, and no
regiment is allowed to remain more than a month at
St. Maur, to avoid the too great development of the
Republican principle of fraternity. For my part I
foresee a speedy convulsion, not from any positive
symptom, but from the general uneasiness and the
strength the Reaction is gaining everywhere.

I still persist in thinking the tendency is Legitimist,
and will be so until the death of the King. If Louis
Philippe were removed, perhaps the eminent men of
the last eighteen years might rally round the Duchesse
d'Orl6ans and procure her the support of the strongest
party in France, the bourgeoisie ; but as long as he
lives, they who made him what he is will consider
he has betrayed them or neglected their interests, and
will try to found a Republic, rather than submit anew
to his influence. The provinces are full of sympathy
for the Comte de Chambord. I am sorry for it, for
his rule would not last, and I would rather see some

254 PARIS IN '48. [August 14th.

fresh Napoleon, but peaceable if possible ; I believe
however this is asking for 'un merle blanc,' as the
proverb says, so I had better cease my conjectures.

XLVIII.

August 14th.

The more I read and hear of Italy and its environs,
the more I feel how much more prudent it would be
for you to decide on Marseille instead of Trieste for
your embarcation ; with us the most decisive revolu-
tions are planned and carried out in a corner of Paris
which you need never visit, and everywhere else the
whole country seems to be in flames at the first signal
of a popular movement. Of course I am greatly
interested in your decision ; but I assure you, apart
from all personal considerations, I should advise this
route as the safest. If you came by Brighton and
Dieppe, I would meet you on the pier and come back
immediately. I have only consented to go, on the
condition of returning to see you. Dieppe is now
only five hours from Paris by rail, and the whole
journey is delightful.

I have very little political news to give you ;
the inquiry is said to be crushing for Ledru RoUin,

August i4th.] LAMARTINE IMPEACHED. 255

and I believe it from his crestfallen attitude at the
Assembly on Saturday/ Louis Blanc and Caussidiere
are among the number of those who may be trans-
ported, and there are two letters of Lamartine's to
Sobrier that are very little to the credit of the poet.
I know a man who is a sincere Republican and who
had an affectionate regard for Lamartine, and he said
to me yesterday, " Jusqu'a la publication des pieces,
j'6viterai de le voir, car je ne pourrais me d6cider a
lui donner la main." The general impression is that
the traitors will not submit without a struggle, but
my hope rests on the impossibility of stirring up the
people ; they are perfectly cowed, not only by the
defeat sustained, but also by the decided steps taken
with regard to the prisoners ; they had relied upon
the difficulties attending on such a gigantic trial, and
entertained hopes of a general amnesty. Transporta-
tion excludes aU pretensions to martyrdom, and the
distance will prevent any future riot placing them in
power like their predecessors who were let loose in
February,

I saw Proudhon on Saturday ; he looks unlike a
Communist, being well dressed and better soignS than

} He was sentenced to transportation for life for his share in the Revo-
lution of June ; he fled to England and was amnestied in 1870.

256 PARIS IN '48. [August 14th.

many of the class : his forehead is intelligent and his
eyes are quick and sharp looking, but he is red-haired
which is one of my great antipathies. His mad speech
has spread far and wide ; it is devoured by the half
educated who see in it the accomplishment of their
dearest wish — levelling ; they know they will be no
better off, but their ruling spirit is envy and they care
for nothing provided they can say to the rich "You
too shall suffer and starve with us." This feeling is
so universal that, though we may avert the evil for
years — perhaps, as Proudhon says, for centuries — still
there will be a constant struggle between society and
brute force, in which temporary advantage will be
gained by both parties. The glory of France is gone,
so is her prosperity, and even calm will be hollow
and deceptive !

How shameful are the details of the Belgian ^ expe-
dition, how lying the promises made to Italy ! What
misanthropists we must all have become with such
proofs of human fallibility and infamy 1

1 On the 24.th March '48, about 800 French crossed the frontier into
Belgium, their object being to overthrow the throne of Leopold. He had
however lately made such concessions to the democratic party — lowering
the franchise, etc. — that he was able to crush this revolutionary movement,
and one which took place a little later ; it must be to one of these expedi-
tions that allusion is here made.

August 17th.] THE COMTE DE CHAMBORD. 257

XLIX.

August 17th.

I am greatly disappointed with your last letter, for
I can no longer hope to see you before you depart
for the East. Indeed, if we have the threatened riot
this week, I suppose it would be thought madness
to come here, though we are the best proofs of the
absolute safety of all whqr remain perfectly quiet ; still
I can understand that such things must appear frightful
at a distance, and anxious relatives must suffer agonies
during the intervals between the posts. If there is
a struggle it will be very short and very fierce, entirely
concentrated about the National Assembly, with Italy
for a pretext and perhaps the white flag for a blind.
I have seen a letter from Frohsdorf, in which the
Comte de Chambord implores his adherents not to
raise his standard and even to join against the cry
of ' Vive Henri V.,' as he does not choose to be
elected by a faction but to be chosen of the whole
Nation ; he adds that his exile has been mitigated and
his every thought brightened by the prospect of some
day returning to France ; he deprecates civil war, and
seems to contemplate the possibility of a concordat
between universal suffrage and divine right. It is

258 PARIS IN '48. [August 17th.

certain that his party has gained greatly within the
last two months ; the cause of Monarchy cannot but
profit by the defects of the Republic, and it is im-
possible to contemplate a Regency in the present state
of confusion.

Cavaignac is losing ground and, besides, he is
thoroughly disheartened, and acts with the gloomy
conviction that each day is his last ; threats of
assassination meet him on every side, and he can
hardly adopt all the precautions that so often preserved
the life of Louis Philippe ; he said lately to a friend :
" Apres moi vous aurez Lamoriciere, apres lui Bedeau,
et puis il ne reste plus rien." This, however, is not
very clear, as it is whispered that Bedeau's model in
history is Monk and that his sympathies have always
been with the Elder Branch. The Army is furious to
find that military government is quite as peaceable as
civil rule, and that Cavaignac and Bastide will just
follow the line of policy pursued by Louis Philippe
and Guizot.

The Princess Belgiojoso has arrived here, more
violent than ever, screaming for the intervention and
looking the very image of an infuriated Bellona ; she
says that Lombardy has been betrayed by Carlo
Alberto, that the Milanese are brave and would fight

August i7th.] WITHOUT A HELMSMAN. 259

again ; this account of afFairs meets with no belief, but
it spreads far and wide among the lower classes who
are always ready to take up a war cry. Ledru RoUin
will be so totally ruined if all the papers relating to
the inquiry are published, that there is an impression
he will blow up the Chamber rather than await the
result. Louis Blanc has still great influence with the
workmen ; Caussidifere has the secret societies all
ready ; and the clique of the National, the men now
in power, are so afraid of the Monarchist reaction
that they prefer the Red Republic which perhaps the
combination of parties may bring about for a week.
In that case the provinces would certainly march
upon Paris, and as certainly proclaim a king. The
editor of the AssembUe Nationale, which I consider the
best-informed paper on internal afFairs, said yesterday
to a friend of mine on whose veracity I can rely, that
he did not see how we could escape a very short
interval of * Red ' government ; as long as any
democratic system has been left untried, no permanent
monarchy can establish itself, and the Legitimists are
so fully aware of this, that they are trying to attenuate
the salutary dread felt up till now of a Reign of

1 Louis Blanc and Caussidiere were however sentenced to transporta-
tion, and fled to England.

26o PARIS IN '48. [August 17th.

Terror. It is very wicked, but their tactics may
succeed as there is no doubt that half the National
Guard would remain at home, rather than fight any
king whatsoever.

The worst feature of the present crisis is that one
hundred and forty-seven muskets are still unaccounted
for and, though some may have gone to that infamous
expedition in Belgium and some may have been
thrown into the rivers, still a very formidable number
may yet remain in improper hands.

Here then the letters break off, the writer leaving
us with a profound sense of insecurity and of disquiet.
The insurrection of June proved fatal to the Republic.
In the panic which followed it, the desire for the
concentration of administrative power gained ground,
together with the general distrust now exhibited in
violent attacks on former members of the Provisional
Government. At the same time, the Assembly —
belying the false confidence of Louis Blanc — had
suicidally abandoned its right to select its own
President, as Grdvy proposed, through the Council of
Ministers. The election of the President was left,
along with that of the single Legislative Chamber, to
universal suffrage. Thereby the Assembly's hold on
the nation became a weak and precarious one ; indeed
it practically ceased to be a power in the State. It was

LOUIS NAPOLEON. 261

but a matter of time till the Republican Government
should be swept away.

Cavaignac, highly popular and with 80,000 men
at his disposal, might, as dictator, have guided the
Republic to safety ; but he shrank from any uncon-
stitutional action, and so left the field free for less
scrupulous competitors. He was content to be nomi-
nated for the Presidency against the man who, in the
eyes of the people, was the heir and successor of the
great Napoleon and, in his own fatalistic belief, was
destined to usher in an era of greatness for France
under a Bonaparte dynasty.

Louis Napoleon appeared in the Chamber on
September 26th, and on December loth was elected
President by an immense majority of votes. Within
a year (June 13, 1849), the troops were called in to
override the democratic party who resisted the despatch
of a force in aid of the Pope against a Republican
insurrection. The Monarchists forming the largest
combination in the divided Assembly, went back from
the Constitution, to Lamartine's disgust, and passed a
disfranchising law (May 31, 1850). With the dis-
missal of Changarnier from the command in Paris, the
Empire drew near and, two years later when the
Constitution expired (May, 1852) — the Assembly
having been led by the democratic section to deny
itself the power of arming — the Coup d'Etat followed
(December ist), and a plebiscite managed under
terrorism made Louis Napoleon Emperor.

262 PARIS IN '48.

The crisis had been brought about by a feeble and
premature but definitely Socialistic meddling with
industry. This was the new factor in the Revolution
of '48. Throughout the five months of disturbance,
the partisans of democracy on one side and the
bourgeoisie on the other, were selfishly bent on their
own political advantage ; and their selfishness robbed
the country of the fruits of a revolution which might
have ultimately brought peace and orderly progress.

INDEX.

Aboyne, Lord, viii

Adelaide, Mme. , sister to Louis Philippe,
2S, and »., 57

Adolphe. See St. Geniez.

Affre, Monsignor. See Paris, Arch-
bishop of.

Albert, in the Provisional Government,
22 n. ; George Sand's mouthpiece,
events of his life, 94 and «. ; loses
importance, 138 ; arrested, 144, 145,
161, 168 ; belongs to La Montagne,
163 ; other notices, 76, 99

Alberto, Carlo. See Charles Albert.

Algiers, 41 «., 84 »., 90 »., 114, 119,
IS3 «., 23s

Allen, Dr., ix

Alton Shfe, D', 129 and n.

Alvanley, hard, ix

Apponys, the, 82, 240

Arago, Emmanuel, clever and educated,
15 : memoir of, 16 n. ; one of the
Provisional Government, zz n. ; ' tas
de ragots,' 104 ; his nepotism, 161 ;
one of the Executive, 192 n. ; on the
labour commission, 199 n. ; other
notices, 48, 73, 92, 133, 153 n.

Arago, Etienne, 152, 153 «., 168

Arcourt, D', 55

"Aristocracy, Study of, in Relation to
the Progress of Civilisation," by Hip-
polyte Passy, 164 n.

Artois, Comte d'. See Charles X.

Ashburnham, Mr. and Mrs., vi, ix

Assembly, National, invaded. May 15th,
32 K., 136, 142-146 ; elections for, 35,
38 ». , 96, 163, 169, 173, 249 ; guard
for, 43, 127 ; will it set up a king,
49, 63, 105 ; meeting of, S4. 64. 95.
loi, 114 ; wish to hold meetings not

in Paris, 61 ; almost bankrupt, 91 ;
description of, 131-135 ; mediocrity
of, 148, 160, 17s, 176, 179, 184, 187 ;
iniquitous acts of, 150, ist ; absurd
debate, 151-154 ; letter from Napo-
leon, 194 ; appoints labour com-
mission, 199 n. ; abandons right to
select President, 260 ; passes dis-
franchising law, 261 ; other notices,
16 n., 38, 42, 59, 65, 84 n„ 88, 94 «. ,
99 n., 107, III n., 114 n., 124 n.,
128 n., 141 «. , 156 «., 164, 166, 174,
178 K. , 181 «. , 182, 186, 198, 210,

219, 221-233, 255) 257
Augeraud, Mme., ix

Aumale, Henry Eugene Due d', fourth
son of Louis Philippe, 41 «., 90 ».

Aupick, General, 89

Austria, 9 and «., 10 «. , 55, 71, 75, 177,
19s n. , 240, 251

Auvergnats, 85

Bac, 146 and k.
Banks, 46, 47, 60, 67, 97, 107
Barb^s, head of the 12th Legion, 117,
132; memoir, 118 and«. ; a Spartan,
121 ; only he and Blanqui resolute,
138 ; uses Poland to cover ambition,
128, 136, 142 ; arrested, 145 ; belongs
to La Montagne, 163 ; other notices,
124 M., 126, 136, 138, 140, 144, 149,
iji, 153, 157, 159, 165, 168, 178, 183,

220, 235

Barricades, vii, ix, in n., 175, 201, 202,

206, 207, 215, 218, 221, 225 «., 229
Barri^re de I'Etoile, 96

de Fontainebleau, 206, 224, 225 «.

de Rochechouart, 206

du Trane, 218

264

INDEX.

Bastide, 126 and »., 242, 245, 258

Bastide, Mme., 250

Baud, at Club des Pr^voyans, 62

Beauharnais, Prince Eug&ne de, 227 n.

Beaumont, Gustave de, 202

Beauvais, Etienne de, 223

Bedeau, General, 41 and n. , 252, 258

Belgiojoso, Princess, 258

Belgium, 70, 75, 82, 124 n., 246 «. ,
256 and n. , 260

B^ranger, quoted, 175

Berger, 115

Berlin. See Prussia,

Bernard, 122, 123, 124 ?z., 149, 218

Berry, Due de, 4

Berry, the Misses, ix

Berryer, 133, 134 n., 135 «., 234, 238

Berthois, De, 19

Bertrand, General, 167

Bethmont, 48 and n., 166, 182, 237

Blanc, Louis, in Provisional Govern-
ment, 13 «., 22 n. ; clever and
educated, 15; career, 15 n., 16 n. ;
relations with working classes, 28,
112, 120, 168, 259; his theories, 40
and n,, 122 and n,, 226 n. \ most
wicked of the Ultras, parentage, 47,
48; 'Chou Blanc,' 68; takes no
salary, 76 ; his methods, 89 ; ' Louis
Blague,' 104; proposal to prosecute
him, 114 71., 167, 174, 226 K., 252;
excluded from the executive, 127 ;
' Petit Banc,' 133 ; of no importance,
138 ; a traitor, 145, 153, 161 ; a leader
of ' La Montague,' 163 ; transported,
259 n. \ other notices, 52, 94 and n,,
99, 129, 164 71., 185 71., 255, 260

Blanqui, Auguste, Communist, founds
the first club, 58 71. ; memoir, 69 w. ;
his share in 15th May, 136, 142, 144,

168 ; other notices, 68, 76, 87, 92, 93,
99, 124 71., 126, 138, 142, 144

Blount, Mr., 202
Blount, Mrs., 19, 80, 155
Blounts, the. See Lafitte and Blount.
Boissy, 16, 247

Bonaparte, Emperor, Napoleon L,
alluded to, 2, 7 k., 84 «. , 135 7?., 140,

169 71., 189, 200, 261
Bonaparte, jir6me, 188, 189 n.
Bonaparte, Joseph, 16, 140 n.
Bonaparte, Louis Napoleon (Napoleon

IIL), ix, 114 «., 124 71., 128 «.,
i3S'2-,iS3«'. 164 K., 178, 183, 184,185
and n., 188, 192, 194, 197, 235, 261

Bonaparte, Lucien, 140 n.

Bonaparte, Pierre, 140 and n.

Bonapartes, the, 20

Bonapartists, 22, 181, 188

Bonde, Baron Knut, husband of the

writer of the letters, friend of King

Oscar I., X, xi
Bordeaux, Due de. See Chambord.
Bourbons, the, vii, viii, 4, 18, 20, 42,

126 71., 135 71., 195 n., 258
BourjoUy, General, 44
Br^a, General, 225 k.
Brougham, Lord, ix, 114
Bruxelles, Brussels. See Belgium.
Buchez, memoir, 140 k. ; other notices,

139, 142, 152, 153, i8o
Buddicombe, 175
Bugeaud, 7

' Bulletin 16 de la R^publique, ' 106
Bulwer, 161, 173 and «.
Bulwers, the two, ix

Cabarrus, 67

Cabet, socialist, author of " Voyage en

Icarie," 68 and «., 92, 93, 99, 123
Cabrires, De, 19
Carbonari, the French, 99 n., 128 n.,

140 77., 141 71.

Carnot, Hippolyte, memoir, 28 k. ; his
circular, 41, 42, 46; other notices,
48, 226

Carnot, Lazare, 28 k., 85

Carrel, Armand, 26 and «., 30

Caussidifere, Marc, Prefect of Police, 31,
81 ; memoir, 32 w. ; a ruffian, 53, 59,
178, 249 ; speeches, 148, 198 ; resigns,
151 ; other notices, 50, 76, 85, 88 k.,
129, 146, 226 71., 252, 255, 259 and n.

Cavaignac, General, his career, 114 a. ;
governed by his mother, 161, 237 ;
rumours, 182, 198, 239 ; conducts
siege of streets in June, 199 k., 243 ;
Dictator, 201, 210, 226 ; popular with
troops, 202 ; honest and shortsighted,
219 ; to be trusted, 230 ; a Republican
' de la vieille roche,' 235, 241 ; losing
ground, 258 ; nominated for Presi-
dency, 261 ; other notices, 90 k., 114,
I27K.,I29K.,I35«., 146 K. , 152, 153 X.,
181 71., 182, 198

Cavaignac, Godefroi, 237

Cerise, Doctor, 65

Chabannes, the, 19

Chabot, Olivia de, 130

Chalais, Prince de, 18

INDEX,

265

Chambord, Henry Comte de, Due de
Bordeaux, satirically alluded to as
Henri V., varying prospects of, 36
and »., 41, 54, 70, 170, 190, 197, 235,
236, 239, 253, 257 ; proposed adoption
of Comte de Paris, 177, 193 ; bribery,
181, 188 ; other notices, 42, 161, 238

Changarnier, General, memoir, 90 n.,
defence of H6tel de Ville, 103 ; Com-
mander-in-Chief of National Guard,
147 «., 182, 198, 219 ; an Orleanist,
235 ; dismissed, 261 ; other notices, 90,
100, 225, 230

Charles Albert of Piedmont, 10 k., 258

Charles X. , King, 3, 4, 36 k. , 37 and n. ,
54 w., 13s «.

Charras, 152, 153 n. , 230

Chartists, 86

Ch6nier, 35

Chevalier, Michel, 59

Chimay, Princesse de, viii

Clary, Justinien, 136

Club, Blanqui's, 58 n. , 76

des Femmes, 163

des Pr^voyans, 62, 63

of 'la Revolution,' 118 n.

Clubs, for every industry, 31 ; number
of in Paris, 58 and n. ; suppressed,
14s, 150 ; other notices, 130, 143, 144

Comity de Salut Public, 58, 98, 108,

Communism and Socialism, alluded to,
7 and »., 15, i6 n., 18, 40 and «., 49,
58 and «., 59, 63, 68, 69 n. , 74, 82, 83,
91, 92, 93, 96, 98, 100, 102, 103, 106,
124 «., 128 «., 129, 135 re., 138, 139,
144, 149, 154, 156, 165, 178 and «.,
179, 187, 205, 210, 218, 233, 237, 239,
25s, 262

Coquerel, 62, 134, 135 n.

Cotter, 56

Coubertin, M. P. de, quoted, i

Coup d'Etat, ix., 84 »., 135 »., 136 n.,
153 n. , 261

Courbonne, Mme. de, 82

Courcelles, De, 7

Courtais, General, head of National
Guard, 30, 53, 120, 121, 132 ; a traitor,
98, 143, 150 ; memoir, 99 k. ; other
notices, 100, 129, 136, 168, 228

Cousin, ix, 135 n.

Cowley, Lady, 56

Cowleys, the, 49

Crfemieux, 22 «., 29 and n,, 76, 104

Crimean War, xi, 189 n.

Dalmatie, Due de. See Soult.
Days, important, referred to in the
Letters : —
Feb. 23, Wednesday, electoral reform
demanded by the colonels of the
National Guard, rioting, Odilon
Barrot forms new ministry, 5, 6, 7,
13, 23, 37, 50, 66, 81, 89
Feb. 24, "Thursday, abdication of
Louis Philippe, the Tuileries and
Palais Royal pillaged. Provisional
Government formed, 5, 9, Letter
IL, 18, 36, 37, 124, 234
Feb. 26, Saturday, Lamartine per-
suades the populace to keep the
tricolour, 18, 30, 160
March 4, Saturday, funeral of the
victims of the February riots, 32, 33
March 16, Thursday, Demonstration

of the National Guard, 53
March 17, Friday, Demonstration of

operatives, 54, 58, 182
April 16, Sunday, Demonstration of
operatives. Letter XVH., 90 n„ 99,
100, 103, 174, 176, 182
April 20, Thursday, FSte to distribute
colours to all the regiments, 97, 98,
102, 103
April 28, Friday, elections for the
Assembly, 35, 38 n., 46, 96, 104,
105, no, 115
May 4, Thursday, National Assembly

meets, 35, 54, 95, 114, 160
May 15, Demonstration in favour of
Poland, Assembly invaded, 69 ».,
99 n., 134, 136, 137 ; Letter XXV.,
148, 151, 156, 157, 159, 161, 167,
168, 174, 182, 235
May 21, Sunday, Ffite of Concord,

132, 141, 150
June 23, Friday, to June 26, Sunday,
insurrection, 90 »., 99 «., 114 n.,
135 «., 199-228, 233, 247, 260
Death - penalty for political offences

abolished, 18, 30, 69, 84 «., 135 n.
Debromel, story of, 179, 180
Decazes, Due, motto of, 3 ; driven from

office, 4
Decazes, Duchesse, viii
Decazes, Mme,, 79
Decazes, the, 19
D^gousfe, 62, 128 and n. , 143
Delacour, 55

Delahodde, Lucien, 88 and n.
Delessert, ig, 23, 50, 87

266

INDEX.

Desaix, 95

" Dictionnaire Politique," edited by

Duclerc, 175 n.
' Dillon, le beau,' viii
' Doctrinaires,' 3, 4
Drouineau, Captain, n8
Du Nord, Martin, 169 n.
Dubochet, Mile., 239
DucMtel, 23, 50, 87, 164 K., 168 and n.
Duch^tel Napoleon, 87
Duclerc, Minister of Finance, editor of

" Dictionnaire Politique," 175 and n.,

180, 191, 194, 247
Dufaure, 7, 133, 135 n., 219, 239
Dumas, Alexandre, quoted, 125 ; author

of " Feuilletons sur I'Icarie," 127
Dumas, the, 19

Dupin (the elder), 30, 133, 135 n.
Dupont de I'Eure, 22 n., 52, 115
Duvivier, General, 90, 117

Ecclesiastical influence, 3, 4, 54, 81, 91,

III n., 164, 169
Encyclopidie Nouvelle, founded by

Pierre Leroux, 156 n.
England, English, vii, ix, xi, 9 n., 21,

22. 31. 33. 59. 65. 67. 75. 83, 87, 95,

119, 124 «., 173, 246
Ernst, King of Hanover, 246
Executive, 132, 148, 151, 166, 175, 179,

182, 192 and «., 197, 201, 202, 212,

225

Favre, Jules, 113, 114 k,, 127, 185?/., 234

Ferdinand II., 9 n.

Ferrara. See Italy.

"Feuilletons sur I'Icarie," by Dumas,
127

Flahaut, De, 126

Flocon, 15, 22 n., 48, 76, 99, 133, 138,
140 and n., 141, 166 ; quoted 223

Flocon, Mme. , 166

Florestan II., Duke of Monaco, 49

Flotte, 168

Foin, Baron, 237

Fortune, a saddler candidate, 62, 63

Fould, Achille, 163 and n,

Fourier, Henri, quoted, 169, 170

"France as it is," by Andr^ Lebon,
quoted, I

Franchise, claim for Reform under
Louis XVI,, 2 ; Reform arrested
under Napoleon, 3 ; moderate fran-
chise under Louis XVIII., 3 ; restric-
tions of, under Charles X,, 4, 37 n, ;

Reform Banquets, 5,56,128 «.; Reform
demanded, 6 ; universal suffrage, 7
and n., 35, 38 «., 54 n., 59, 88, 105,
no, 115, 128, 132, 151, 162, 174, 179,
257; Guizot opposed to Reform, 14
n. ; disfranchising law, 131 «., 261

Friend, the Rev. John (afterwards Sir
John Robinson), grandfather of the
writer of the letters, x.

Frohsdorf, letter from, 257

Froment, 78

Gardiens de Paris, 155

Garnon, 115

Gfeie, Mons., 65

Genoude, Abb^ de, 54 and n.

Girardin, Emile de, memoir, 26 n. ;
speech at Carrel's tomb, 26, 30;
quoted, 45, 58, 104 ; his paper La
Presse, 69, 70, 87, 115, 243; other
notices, 28 and n., 97, no, 163, 227

Girardin, General Alexandre de, 28 w.

"Girondins, Histoire des," by Lamar-
tine, 13 «., 126

Goudchaux, 28, 29 «., 39, 46 »., 48, 55,
219, 247

Grahams, the, 56

Grandin, 167

Granville, Lord, ix

Greffulke, Jean, 108

Gr^vy, 128 «., 13s n., 260

Gudin, painter, ix

Guiche, Due de, 231

Guimard, 99 and n.

Guise, De, Surgeon - General of the
National Guard, 208 n.

Guizot, ' doctrinaire,' 4 ; opposed to
Reform, 5, 14 w,, 23, 48 n. \ leaves
Paris, 14, 37 ; influenced by Princess
Lieven, 21, 122 ; corrupt ministry, 26
«., 65; caricatures of, 72; other
notices, 50, 56, 129 n,, 134 n., 135 «.,
168, 246, 258

Hamburg, ix

Hauranne, Duvergier de, 56 and «.,

147. 239
Hubert, 65, 168, 169 n.
Henri V. See Chambord.
Hetzel, 191, 246 and n.
' ' Histoire de Dix Ans," by Louis Blanc,

40 and n.
" Histoire de la Revolution Franyaise,"

by Mignet, 50, 249 ?t.
Hoche, 95

INDEX.

267

Holland, King of, 188
Holland, Lady, ix
Hope, Mrs., 34
Houdetot, D', ig
Huber, 144, 145 n,
Hugo, Victor, 163
Hungary, 195, 240
Huntly, Lord. See Aboyne.

Ireland, vii, 74, 83, 87, 240, 247, 248
' Irr^conciliables,' 3
Isabella XL, Queen of Spain, 65 n.
Italian refugees. See Italy.
Italy, 9 »., 10 n., 71, 75, 177, 245, 248,
251 and »., 256

Jazard, 225

' J^rdme Paturot k la Recherche de la
Meilleure des R^publiqtles,' 243

Joinville, Prince de, Francis Ferdinand,
third son of Louis Philippe, 104,
161, 162, 168, 170, 171, 189, 197

Judith, Mile., 106

Juteau, Captain, 221

King, Lady Margaret (Countess of
Mountcashel), grandmother of the
writer of the letters, x

King, the. See Louis Philippe.

Koerneritz family, 14

L'Ap^e, De, 129

L' H^ritier, 99

Le Hon. Mme., 171

Labour : —
National Workshops, tax for, 16 n.,
158; useless inmates of, 116, 136;
dissolution of, 157, 199 n., 226 ;
E. Thomas misappropriates funds
of, 158, 182; under arms, 161,
162 ; a standing army, 197 ; La-
lanne succeeds E. Thomas as
Director, at bottom of the June
conspiracy, 212 and n., 222 ; other
notices, 159 n., 166, 194
Organisation of Labour, 40 n., 41,

122 and n.
Workmen, back Ledru-RoUin, SS ;
the Atelier their paper, 82, 84 ;
rising of, prevented, 96 ; other
notices, 32, 33, 63, 66, 72, 75, 78,
104, 133, IS4. 167, 17s, 241

Lacordaire, Pfere, niand «., 133

Lafarge, Mme., 146 n.

Lafayette, George, 202

Lafayette, Marie Marquis de, 42 n„

128 n.
Lafayettes, the, 6
Lafitte and Blount, bankers, 19, 46, 47,

79

Lagrange, 178, 186

Lalanne, Lton, 212 and n., 222

Lamartine, Alphonse de, 'doctrinaire,'
3, 4 ; opposes Guizot, 5 ; in Pro-
visional Government, 13 and n., 22 h. ;
author of " Histoire des Girondins, "
13 n. ; trustworthy, 15, 18, 28 ; retains
staff of late ministry, 29 ; his adherence
to the old flag, 30; discrediting
letters, 32 n., 182, 255 ; his circular,
39; ' R^publicain en gants jaunes,'
48 ; fraternity and finance, 67 ; un-
able to work with Blanqui, 69 n. ;
attitude towards Ireland, 74, 83 ;
takes no salary, 76 ; occupied with
foreign affairs, 89 ; his inertia, 95, 98,
120 ; ' Latartine, ' 104 ; opposed to
a president, 114; his opposition to
Thiers personal, 115 ; France cannot
be ruled by a harfe (olienne, 116 ;
allied with Ledru-RoUin, 125, 132,
161, 212,243; his decline from power,
126, 129, 138, 139, 148, 154, 165, 166,
186, 198, 220, 221 ; speeches by, 160,
187 ; opposes Louis Napoleon's
nomination to Assembly, 185 n. ;
anecdote of, 191 ; on the Executive,
192 K. ; on labour commission, igg n. ;
other notices, 35, 52, 54, 75, 92, 103,
113, 127 «., 147 n., 150, 152, 168, 175,
202, 233, 247, 249 «., 261

Lamennais, 4

Lamoricifere, General, 7, 41, 70, 210, 217,
2ig, 230, 231, 23s, 258

Lannes, 169 n.

Larochejacqueline, 133, 134 n.

Lasteyrie, Jules Marquis de, 130, 131
and n.

Lavalette, viii

Leblanc, 219

Lebon, Andr^, author of " France as it
is," I

Ledru Rollin, Socialist, Minister of the
Interior, 7 and n. ; in Provisional
Government, 22 n. ; dismisses staff
of late ministry, 29 ; in debt, 40 ; his
circulars, 46, 85, 94, 249 ; dishonest
policy, 48 ; paying his debts, 55 ; his
patronage of the ESforme, 72, 82,

268

INDEX.

171; 'savings,' 76; backed by work-
men, 90; Communist conspiracy, 103 ;
' le dur coquin, ' 104 : helped by George
Sand, 106, 113, 122, 129 ; low in the
elections, no; hated, 120; luxm-ious
habits, 121 ; relations with Lamartine,
falling from power, 125, 126, 132, 138,
161, 212, 220, 243 ; letters signed by,
182 ; on the Executive, 192 n, ; on
labour commission, 199 n, ; trans-
ported, 254, 25s n. ; other notices,

12. 52. S3. 58, 59. 69 "■• 92. 93. 99.
100, 105, 112, 114 n,, 115, 129 n.,
146, 158, 179, 225, 252, 259

Legitimists, 17, 22, 36, 41, 49, 54, 73,
no, 126, 134 n,, 154, 169, 177, 188,
193. 23s. 240, 253, 259

Leiraut, 247

Leopold, King of Belgium, 256

Leroux, Pierre, Socialist, 94 n., 156 and
n. , 178, 233 ; founded Encyclopedic
Noiivelle, 156 n.

Leuchtenburg, Due de, 227 and «,

L^vis, Mme., 54

Liberty, trees of, 67, 71, 80, 81

Libri, 65

Lieven, Princess, 21, 122

Line, regiments of the, 97, 100, 149

Lombardy, 251, 258

Louis XVI., King, 2, 4

Louis XVIII., King, 3, 4

Louis Napoleon. See Bonaparte.

Louis Philippe, King, accession, vii, 4 ;
abdication, j, 9, 10, iB ; cowardice,
6 and n., 7, 13, 20 ; dearth of ad-
herents, 27, 34; conduct to Thiers,
50 ; instructions to Guizot, 65 and 71. ;
caricatures of, 72 ; debts, i65, 186 ;
on Thiers, 239 ; alluded to, 19, 20 n.,
23, 25 K., 38 «., 49, 54 n., 56, 57 n.,
70, 76, 85, 88 n., 95, 99 «., 128 n.,
134 n., 13s «., 137, 168, 169 «., 172,
184, 188, 242, 253, 25B

Louis Philippe Joseph, Due d'0rl6ans,
' Egalit^,' 4

Lowenhielm, Count, viii

Luisa, Infanta, sister of Queen Isabella,
65 and n.

Lurde, De, 55

Luynes, Due de, his profession of faith,
no

Macaulay, Lord, ix
Magnoncour, Mme. de, 14
Maill^, Armand de, 222

Maistre, De, 4

Mangin, de. Captain, 224, 225 n.

Manuel, Mme., 198

Marie, in Provisional Government, 22«.;
one of the Executive, 192 n. ; on La-
bour Commission, 199 n. ; other
notices, 48, 226 and «., 237

Marie Am^lie, Queen, wife of Louis
Phihppe, 14, 18

Marie Antoinette, Queen, viii

Marie II., Queen of Portugal, 227 n,

Marmont, Marshal, viii, ix

Marrast, Armand, editor of the Na-
tional, 15, 16 n., 28 ; in Provisional
Government, 22 k. ; a Republican
salon, 250 ; other notices, 89, 92, 103,
177, 182

Marrast, Mme., 250

Meagher, 87

Mecklenbiu-g, Princess Hfl^ne of. See
Duchesse d'Orl^ans.

Metternich, 80

Meurice, 78

Mignet, Fran9ois, helped to found the
National, 26 «. ; author of ' ' Histoire
de la Revolution Franfaise," 249
and n. ; mentioned, 50

Milan, 80, 196, 258

Milnes, Monckton, ix

Mole, 6 and «., 7 n., 87, 134 n.

Money, scarcity of, 46, 59, 60, 66, 97,
238; prospect of paper money, Ii5

Monk, 70, 258

Montagnards,Caussidi&re'stroops, 32K.,
129, 146, 221

'Montague,' ' Montagnards,' in Na-
tional Assembly, 99«., 124 «., 135 n.,
146 n., 156 «., 163, 179, 242, 247

Montalembert, ix

Montebello, Due de, 168, 169 «.

Montpensier, Antony Due de, youngest
son of Louis Philippe, 18, 65and »., 70

Moore, Lady Helena. See Robinson,
Lady Helena E.

Mornay, Jules de, 45, 143, 146 n.

Moubro, 78

Mouchy, Due de, in

Mountcashel, Earl of, grandfather of
the writer of the letters, vii, x

Mountjoie, Mme. de, 24

Napoleon I. See Bonaparte.
Narvaez, Marshal, 173 n.
National Guard, joined by Legitimists,
17 ; conservative to a man, 35 ;

INDEX.

269

confusion in, 39 ; Legion of Honour,
44 ; elections, 53, 74, 83, 84 ; numbers
of, go ; April i6th, 92, 93, 96 ; April
20th, 98 ; exasperated, loi, 198 ; would
they join the people ? 117 ; Courtais
head of, 120, 121 ; under orders of the
Assembly, 131 ; C. Thomas Colonel
of, 143, 147 »., 158 ; ready to fight,
154 ; Changamier probably to be
Colonel, 182, 198 ; June insurrection,
200, 201, 203, 206, 208, 230 ; babies
brought to, 2n ; Republic maintained
by their divisions, 249 ; would not
fight any king, 260 ; other notices, 3,
6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 29, 43, 47, 84 %,,
85, go »., 97, 99 and »., 112, 113,
118 »., 134, 137, 141, 142, 145 n.,
146, 147, 149, 155, 162, 171, 178, 181,
182, 188, 196, 208 »., 217, 224, 225,
229, 234, 235, 241, 247
National Guard, Mobile, active drilling,
22; soldier-like, 33 ; Alphonse de
j, Polignac Captain of, 37 ; igriorant and
dangerous, 39, 47 ; commanded by
Duvivier, 90 ; Duvivier resigns, 117 ;
' Vive Napoleon," 190 ; almost annihi-
lated (June) 200, 204, 206; heroic
conduct of, 211, 2x5, 217, 223 ; to be
augmented, 241 ; other notices, 97,
loi, 105, 120, 136, 155, 156, 171, 178,
185, 209, 221, 224, 230
National Workshops. See Labour.
N^grier, General, 127, 210
Nemours, Louis Charles Due de, second
son of Louis Philippe, 11, 18, 57, 89
Newspapers and Periodicals : —
English —

Punch, 109 and «., 114, 165

Times, xi, 21, 117
French —

Agence, in n,

Amidu Peuple, 72, 82, 147 n.

AssembUe Nationale, best paper,
H7, 123, 150, 157, 259 ; its his-
tory, 176 ; seized, 212 ; see also,
100, 127

Atelier, 82, 84, 94 n,

Avenir, in n.

Charivari, 127

Commune de Paris, 108, 212

Constitution, 190

Constitutionnel, 89, 91, g4, 140, 150

Dibats, xi, 41, 150, 198

Dimticratie pacifique. Communist
paper, 82, 94, 21J

Ere Nouvelle, in n.

Europien, 140 ;z.

Figaro (the old), 153 n.

Galignani, 95

Gazette de France, 54 «., 164 n.

Journal du to Decembre, 159 n.

Journal de Robespierre, 172

Liberti, 82

Mire Duchene, 172

Moniteur, 132, 174, 180, 191, 231,
242

National, edited by Marrast, 15,
i6n,; Carrel, Thiers and IMignet
helped found it, 26, 249 n. ; Gui-
mard also, 99 n, ; prejudiced and
remarkable, 82 ; C. Thomas and
Hetzel on staff, 147 n., 246 n. ;
champions Courtais, 150 ; Char-
ras, H. Passy and Duclerc wrote
for it, 153 n., 164 n., 175 n. ; op-
pression by, 162 ; Republican
dynasty of, 168, 231, 239; see
also, 24, 84, 94, 171, 172, 237, 259

Patrie, 212

Pire Duchene, 108, 172

Presse, E. de Girardin's paper,
26 «., 69, 70, lis; quoted, 29,
30, 33 ; Weill on staff, 164 n. ;
seized, 212 ; see also, 84, 87

Rdforme, edited by Flocon, 15 n.,
and Delahodde, 88 n. ; Caus-
sidifere connected with, 32 n.,
Ledru Rollin's organ, 72, 82, 118,
171 ; see also, 16 n., 84, 155, 171

Repr6sentant du Peuple, edited by
Proudhon, 178 n.

Ripublique, 82

Revue Comique, 246 n.

des Deux Mondes, 59

Individualiste, 156 n,

du Progris Politique, 122, 164

Tribune, 135 n.

Voix des Femmes, 72

Vraie Ripublique, 106, 118, 212
Ney, 134 n., 135 n.
Niboyer, Mme., 163
Niewerkerque, 144 and n., 231
Noailles, Mme. de, 8
Normanby, Lady, 21 and n.
Normanby, Lord, 21 n.
Norway, xi
Nugent, Marshal, 195 and n.

O'Brien, Smith, 87

Odilon Barrot, 7 and «. , 133

270

INDEX.

Old age pensions, 31

Opdra Comique, 107

Orl&ns, Hfl&ne Duchesse d', widow of
Louis Philippe's eldest son, pro-
claimed Regent, 9; her rooms not
pillaged, 14; in the Chamber of
Deputies, 11, 18, 57; intrigues of,
56, 193 ; other notices, 57 »., i8g,

239. 253
Orleans, the house of, vii, 20 n,, 84 ».,

135 «., 163 n., 177, 236, 238, 239
Oscar 1., King, x
Osmond, Mme. d', 14
Ozy, Mile. , 55

Pages, Garnier, on Provisional Govern-
ment, 22 «. ; Finance Minister, 46
and «. ; opposes Ledru Rollin, 48 ;
doubles taxes, 51 ; takes no salary,
76 ; ' d^garnit la caisse,' 104 ; on the
Executive, 192 n. ; on labour com-
mission, 199 n. ; other notices, 89,
92, 107, 120

Pagnerre, 40, 41, 47, 192 ?i.

Palraerston, Lord, vi, 173 n.

Paris, Archbishop of, iii and n.

, Mayor of, 58 n.

, streets, buildings, etc., in : —

Arc de I'Etoile, 100, 103
Boulevard des Capucines, 178

St. Martin, 214

Canal St. Martin, 206

Champ de Mars, 99, 156

Champs Elys&s, 19, 71, 149, 156,

171, 189
Charite (hospital), 224
Cit(5, 216

Clos St, Lazare, 218
Column of July, 214
Faubourg St. Antoine, democratic,
10, 16, 85 ; fighting in, 206, 209,
212, 218
Faubourg St. Germain, 53, 235

du Temple, lo «., 210

Hotel Talleyrand, 21

de Ville, 15, 47, 52, 72, 81,

90 72., 92, 94 n., 99 n,, 103, 144,
162, 197, 222
I'Assomption (Church), 220
Luxembourg, 47, 118 ri,, 120, 145
Monceau, men of National Workshops
there, 158, 162 ; Emile Thomas
there, 159, 166, 186 ; see also, 161
Morgue, 85
N6tre Dame, iii «., 134

Opera, 11

Palais Royal, set on fire, 11, 19; see
also, 72, 92, 244

Pantheon, malcontents assemble
there, 199 n, ; fortified by mob,
201 ; injuries to, 216 ; see also, 224

Pavilion Marsan, 3, 56

Place de la Bastille, Poles to meet
there, 136 ; parade of malcontents,
June 25th, 199 n. ; see also, 33,
100, 214, 215

Beauvau, 203

du Carrousel, 10, 18, 25

de la Concorde, 9, 15

Lafayette, 200

Louis XV., 203, 209

Vend6me, 96

Poissoniere (BaiTaclcs), 230

Pont de la Concorde, 136

Prefecture, 69, 221

Quai d'Orsay, 34

Rue d'Amsterdam, 24

d'Astorg, 8

Basse du Rempart, 8, 23

de Bourgogne, 155

de Jerusalem, 221

Neuve St. Augustin, 80, 144

de la Paix, 9, 24

de la P^piniire, vii

de Ponthieu, 8

de la Rochefoucauld, 32

St. Antoine, 215

St. Honors, 146

St. Jacques, 204

Mirom^nil, 92

Montmartre, 24, 145, 203

de Rivoli, 108, 190

St. Gervais (Church), 216

St. Roch (Church), 14

Tuileries, invaded and pillaged, 11,
13, 19, 21, 25, 36, 41, 66, 188 ;
papers fovmd there, 64; cellars
turned into prisons, 211 ; see also,
6, 14, 142

Vincennes, 48, iSr, 208 »., 220, 226
Paris, Louis Philippe Albert Comte de,

grandson of Louis Philippe, 9, 13, 70,

170, 177, 193
Passy, Hippoly te, author of ' ' Study of

the Aristocracy, etc.," memoir, 164

n. ; other notices, 163, 169
Pastoret, De, i8i
Patterson, Miss, 189 ?!.
" Petit homme rouge, Le," 127
Petitet, Anselm, 246

INDEX.

271

Peupin, 105, 127
Piedmont, 10 n.
Piscatory, 11

Placards, 31, 32, 72, 114, 128, 171, 172
' Plaine,' the, 179, 249
Poland, Poles, 9, 33, 71, ia8, 133, 134,
136 and n,, 137 n., 142, 155, 160, i8i,

23s. 251
Polignac, A. de, 223
Polignac, Alphonse de, 37
Polignac, Armand de, 17
Polignac, Prince Jules de, 4, 37 and n. ,

54 «•

Pope, the, 9 «.

Portalis, Baron de, 133, 133 «., 161

Portugal, 65

Pozzo di Borgo, Count, viii, i6 «., 47

Press, the, 4, 5, 16, 30, 37 n., 39, 72, 73,
91. 95. "4. 123. 13s "■• 176. 212, 231,
245. 252

Proudhon, memoir, author of ' ' What is
Propei-ty?" 178 and n. ; Thiers makes
him explain principles, 233, 244 ; de-
scription of, 255, 256

Provisional Government, formed, 5,
22 «. : two policies in, 13 and n. ;
proclamation of, 15 ; promises work
to all, 51, 52; sends line regiments
out of Paris, 52 ; costly, 60, 119, 234';
conspiracy against (March), 68 ; in-
genious punishments, 69 ; despotism
of, 87 ; Commtmist fraction of (April),
96, 98 ; worn out, 129 ; other notices,
7 «., 16 «, , 17, 19, 28 and n., 29
and «. , 32 n., 35, 46 «. , 59, 69 «. ,
74, 75, 82, III n., 118, 120, 125, 131,
136 n., 143, 147 n,, 237, 250, 260

Prussia, 55, 71, 108, 109

Prussia, William King of, 108

Pujol, 199 H.

Queen, the. See Marie Am^lie.

Rachel, 106

Radetzky, 195 n.

Raguse, Due de. See Marmont,

Railways, 19, 116, 156, 164, 194, 197,

200, 205
Rambuteau, 19
Rambuteau, Mme. de, 80
Rapp, General, 34
Raspail, edits Ami du Peuple, 72, 82 ;

memoir, 147 n, ; other notices, 144,

227
Reculot, De, 55

Recurt, 15, 16 «. , 72, 132, 138, 141,

219, 226
Redoete, De la, 53
Reform Banquets. See Franchise.
R&nusat, Charles de, 7, 56, 131 «. , 133,

135 "■
Revolution of July, 1830, alluded to,

vii, 6, 20, 27, 119, 138, 200, 238, 248
Rey, Colonel, 81
Riohter, Jean Paul, 113
Robinson, Lady Helena E., mother of

the writer of the letters, vii, viii, x
Robinson, Sir Richard, father of the

writer of the letters, vii
Roche, 18
Rokeby, Lord, x
Rothschild, 48, 60

Rouen, 20, 112, 169, 175, 179, 181 n.
Russia, xi, 9, 137 n., 192, 227

St. Genifes, Gonzague de, 224

St. Geniez, Adolphe Vicomte de, 8, 12
and n., 14, 26, 63, 64, 86, 97, 102,
145, 146, 200, 203, 210, 217, 218, 223

St. Jean d'Angely, Mme. de, ix

St. Priest, Mme. de, 33

St. Simonists, 28 n., 140 n., 156 n.

Ste. Aldegonde, Mme. de. See Auge-
raud, Mme.

Sala, Colonel, 42

Saloos, the, 56

Samoiloff, Mme., 80

Sand, George, said to influence the
Government, 94 ; advocates Com-
munism, is against women's suffrage,
94 n. ; writes in La Vraie Ripublique^
106, 118 ; works for Ledru Rollin,
106, 113, 122, 129 ; assists on May
iSth, 156 ; sympathy with Pierre
Leroux and Proudhon, 156 and «.,
178 ; her convict Tremmov, 251

Sandwich, Lady, 21

Salvandy, 89

Sarrut, Germain, -133, 135 n.

Sauzet, II

Savoyards, 85

Sebastiani, 41

S^nard, 180 and k., 219, 243

Sheridan, the three beauties, ix

Shops, 8, 9, 17, 24, 41, 49, 79, 93, 203

Smith, Sydney, ix

Sobrier, 31, 32 n., 108, 148, 157, 255

Soci^t^ des Amis du Peuple, 140 n.

des Droits de I'Homme, 88 «.,

124 n.

272

INDEX.

Soci^t^ des Families, 124 n,

des Saisons, 124 n,

Soult, Marshal, viii, 307
Spain, 26 n,, 65 and n., 70, 173 n.
Stael, Mrae. de, 54 n,
Standishes, the, 56
Subervie, General, 29 and n.
Sweden, ix, xi

Talleyrand, Prince, viii

Tallien, Mme. See Princess de Chimay.

Taxes, before the Great Revolution, i,
2 ; on newspapers, 39 ; increased, 51,
61, 78, 100, loi, 106, 119, 148, 238 ;
on carriages, 107 ; other notices, 16 n.,
46 «., 135 n,, 164 «., 197, 238, 247

Tempoure, General, 136

Thayer, Mrae., 167

Thermidor, Notre dame de. See
Princesse de Chimay,

Thiers, ' doctrinaire,' 4 ; helps to found
the National, 26 n. ; sent for by
Louis Philippe, 50 ; one of the
Duchesse d'Orl&ns' coterie, 56 ; can-
didate for the Assembly, 64, no,
115, 163, i6g, 174, 178 ; invents
strategic plan, June, 210 ; argues
against Communism, 233, 238, 239,
244 ; advocates restoration of property
to Orl&ns family, 234 ; his life
attempted, 249 ; other notices, 7,
134 «., 13s «., 141, i6i, 164 n„ XTj,
.183

Thomas, Clement, 143, 147 »., 190, 198
Thomas, Eraile, 158, 182, i86, 212 n.
Title of ' ouvrier," 127, 167, 179
Titles abolished, 27
Tracy, De, 6, 84 and «., 144
Tr^lat, 141 and k., 159 «., 1941 222
Trfeel, 168, 169 n.

Universal suffrage. See Franchise.

Valin, Mme. de, 33
Vaudremont, Princesse de, viii
Vaudreuil, De, viii
Vavin, 134, 136 n.
V4ry, Mme., 250
Viardot, 156 n.
Vicence, Mme. de, ix
Victoria, Queen, 86, 247
Villa, 163
Villars, the, 56
Villeneuve, de, 130
VitroUes, Baron de, viii
"Voyage en Icarie," by Cabet, 68 k.,
123

Walpole, ix

War, rumours of, 9, 42, 74, 75,

148, 192, 252, 259
Weill, A., 163, 164 n.
Wellington, Duke of, vi
Wolowski, 128 and n.
Workmen. See Labour.

80,

THE END.

M

PRINTED BV WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.

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