xxxii MEMOIR 



half a mile further on, I met a troop of vagabonds, the wildest 

 vagabonds in the world Paris vagabonds, well armed, having 

 probably broken into gunsmiths' shops and taken the guns and 

 swords. They were about a hundred. These were followed by 

 about a thousand (I am rather diminishing than exaggerating 

 numbers all through), indifferently armed with rusty sabres, 

 sticks, &c. An uncountable troop of gentlemen, workmen, 

 shopkeepers' wives (Paris women dare anything), ladies' maids, 

 common women in fact, a crowd of all classes, though by far 

 the greater number were of the better dressed class followed. 

 Indeed, it was a splendid sight : the mob in front chanting the 

 " Marseillaise" the national war hymn, grave and powerful, 

 sweetened by the night air though night in these splendid 

 streets was turned into day, every window was filled with lamps, 

 dim torches were tossing in the crowd . . . for Guizot has late 

 this night given in his resignation, and this was an improvised 

 illumination. 



' I and my father had turned with the crowd, and were close 

 behind the second troop of vagabonds. Joy was on every face. 

 I remarked to papa that " I would not have missed the scene 

 for anything, I might never see such a splendid one," when 

 plong went one shot every face went pale r-r-r-r-r went the 

 whole detachment, [and] the whole crowd of gentlemen and 

 ladies turned and cut. Such a scene ! ladies, gentlemen, and 

 vagabonds went sprawling in the mud, not shot but tripped up ; 

 and those that went down could not rise, they were trampled 

 over. . . I ran a short time straight on and did not fall, then 

 turned down a side street, ran fifty yards and felt tolerably safe ; 

 looked for papa, did not see him ; so walked on quickly, giving 

 the news as I went.' [It appears, from another letter, the boy 

 was the first to carry word of the firing to the Rue St. Honore ; 

 and that his news wherever he brought it was received with 

 hurrahs. It was an odd entrance upon life for a little English 

 lad, thus to play the part of rumour in such a crisis of the history 

 of France.] 



' But now a new fear came over me. I had little doubt but 

 my papa was safe, but my fear was that he should arrive at 



