494 THE DUKE DE MORTEMART^S ADMINISTRATION. 



the card table. When a man arrives at a certain age his habits become 

 invincible." 



Such is the apology of M. Mazas. It is to be feared that the historian 

 will pronounce a severer judgment on the monarch who could think of 

 indulging in such frivolous pursuits at the moment when his capital was 

 exposed to carnage, and that the artillery which shook the air in which 

 he breathed, was carrying death and desolation into the families of 

 thousands of his subjects. 



It was half past two o'clock on Friday morning before the perverse 

 obstinacy of this unhappy old man on the subject of the ordonriances 

 was finally overcome. At this period, it appears, that the Count 

 d'Argout, M. de Simonville and M. de Vitrolles, were with the king 

 while the Duke de Mortemart and his secretary, were waiting in the 

 apartments of M. de Cosse in another part of the palace. M. M. 

 d'Argout and de Vitrolles came to announce the king's change of pur- 

 pose, and to desire the duke to go in person to receive his majesty's 

 commands. Before his return the day began to dawn. He came back 

 out of breath, and desired his secretary to set instantly to work in pre- 

 paring the ordonnances which are given in the appendix to M. Mazas' 

 book. It was decided to be absolutely necessary, that the duke in going 

 to Paris should be provided with the necessary documents under the 

 sign manual of the king. They are six in number ; the first recalling 

 the ordonnances of the 25th ; the second re-establishing the National 

 Guard of Paris ; the third, appointing Marshal Maison to the supreme 

 command ; the fourth, appointing Casimir Perier minister of finance ; 

 the fifth, General Gerard minister at war ; and the sixth, convoking the 

 Chambers for the 3d of August. These new ordonnances were written 

 by M. Mazas and another person to the diction of M. d'Argout, the 

 present minister of commerce. M. Mazas tells us, that they talked so 

 much while he wrote, that he committed the somewhat ominous blunder of 

 spelling the word session with a c instead of an s. On this, he says, 

 M. de Vitrolles exclaimed in a passion, " avec ses gros yeux a fleur de 

 tele ;" but sir, you are mistaken, the king as yet has made no cession of 

 his rights. The secretary coincided in the remark of M. de Vitrolles, 

 and hastened to correct his error by substituting a capital s for the un- 

 fortunate c. 



It was five o'clock before the ordonnances were finished, and nearly 

 seven before they received the king's signature. When M. Mazas came 

 to announce to the Duke de Mortemart that his carriage was in waiting, 

 he found the duke in conversation with the Prince de Polignac, who 

 at parting, made use of the following expression, which he says, are 

 traced on his memory as with a red hot iron : " Quel malheur que mon 

 epee se soil brisee dans mes mains ! Sij'avais reussi, j'etablissai la charte 

 sur des bases indestructibles" M. Mazas expresses his firm conviction 

 in the good faith of the Prince de Polignac, and tells us it is known that 

 the representative form of government was his monomania. The author, 

 all Carlist as he is, will surely admit that the Prince de Polignac, if he 

 really counselled the ordonnances of the 25th of July, took an extraor- 

 dinary mode of evincing his love of the charter and of representative in- 



stitutions. 



The new president of the council and his secretary with the fresh 

 ordonnances carefully pinned up in the pocket of his redingote, the 



