&f)c .farmer's iltontljhj bisitor. 



51 



pari of Paris, the glorj of the city — every tree 

 was cut flow n, all (lie public inonunients reduced 

 to heaps of ruins, the pavements torn up, and the 

 entire wreck tumbled into a succession of barri- 

 cades. Every street leading into this portion of 

 the Boulevards was strongly burriended. Such 

 giant operations seemed like ilie work of en- 

 chantment. 



But m\ wonder hnd only begun. At the point 

 where the Hue Muntmartre crosses the Boule- 

 vard, tlic whole pavement was torn up, and 

 something like a square breastwork was formed, 

 in which a cannon was planted. The whole 

 space around was crowded with the populace. 

 As I stood lor a moment, surveying the scene, a 

 young man about twenty, pressed through the 

 orowd, and, stepping upon the carriage of the 

 carmen, cried out — " Down with Louis Philippe!" 

 The energy with which this was spoken, seemed 

 to arrest general attention, and the remarkable 

 appearance of the youth gave effect to his words. 

 He seemed the very personification of revolu- 

 tion, lie was short, broad-shouldered, and full 

 chested. His face was pale, his cheek spotted 

 with blood, and his head, without hat or cap, was 

 hound with a handkerchief His features were 

 keen, and his deep-set grey eye was lit with a 

 spark that seemed borrowed from the tiger. As 

 he left the throng, he came near me, anil I said, 

 inquiringly — "Down with Louis Philippe?" — 

 "Yes!" was his reply. "And what ihen ?" said 

 I. "A republic!" was his answer; ami he pass- 

 ed on, giving the watchword of " Down with 

 Louis Philippe," to the masses he encountered. 

 This was first instance in which i heard tin' 

 overthrow of the king, and the adoption of u re- 

 public, proposed. 



In pursuing my walk, 1 noticed that the popu- 

 lation were more abundantly supplied with wea- 

 pons. On the two first days they were unarmed ; 

 but after the slaughter at the Foreign office, 

 lliey went to all the bouses and demanded wea- 

 pons. These were given, for refusal would have 

 been vain. An evidence of the consideration of 

 the mob, even in their hour of wrath, is furnish- 

 ed by the fact, that in all cases where the arms 

 had been surrendered, they wrote on the doors, 

 in chalk, " Armes donnees," (arms given up) so as 

 to prevent the annoyance of a second call. 



It might seem a fearful thing to behold a mob, 

 such as that of Paris, brandishing guns, fowling 

 pieces, swords, cutlasses, hatchets and .axes; but 

 I must say that I felt not the slightest tear in 

 passing among their thickest masses. Some of 

 them, who had doubtless never handled arms 

 before, seemed a little j unity and jubilant. The 

 Gamins, a peculiar race of enterprising, daring, 

 desperate hoys— the leaders in riots, rows ami 

 rebellions — were swarming on all sides, and 

 seemed to feel a head taller, in the possession ol 

 their weapons. I saw several of these unwashed 

 imps strutting about with red sashes around the 

 waist, supporting pistols, dirks, cutlasses, &.r. 

 Yel I must slate, that over the whole scene there 

 was an air of good breeding, which seemed a 

 guaranty against instill or violence. I may as 

 well 8BJ here, that (luring the whole three days] 

 (lid not see a scuffle, or wrangle among the peo- 

 ple ; 1 did not bear an insulting word, nor did I 

 see a menace offered, hot in conflicts between 

 the soldiers and the populace. 1 may add that 1 

 did not see a drunken person during the whole 

 period, with the single exception which I shall 

 hereafter mention. 



I took a wide circuit in the region of the Rue 

 Montmartre, the lionise, the Hue Vivienne, St. 

 Honore, and Palais Royal. Every where there 

 were enormous barricades and crowds of armed 

 people. Soon after I passed — thai is about 12 

 o'clock — the southern quadrangle of the Palais 

 Royal, which had lately been the residence of 

 the brothers of the King of Naples, was attack- 

 ed and taken by the populace. The beautiful 

 suite of rooms were richly furnished, and deco 

 rated with costly pictures, statues, bronzes, and 

 other specimens of art. These were unsparing- 

 ly tumbled into the square and the street, and 

 consigned to the flame-. 



At the distance of 150 feet from the front of 

 the Palais Royal, is the Chateau d'Eau — a mass- 

 ive stone building, occupied at the time as a bar- 

 rack, and at this moment garrisoned by 180 mu- 

 nicipal guards. In most parts of the city, see- 

 ing that the troops fraternized with the people, 

 the government had given them orders not to 



fire. These guards, however, attacked the in- 

 surgents in and about the Palais Royal. Their 

 tire was returned, and a desperate conflict en- 

 sued. The battle lasted for more than an hour — 

 the people rushing in the very lace of the mus- 

 kets ol the guards, as they blazed from the grated 

 windows. At last the barrack was set on fire, 

 and the guard yielded, though not till many ol 

 their number had fallen, and the rest were near- 

 ly (lead with surliocation. The Chateau d'Eau is 

 now a mere ruin, its mottled walls giving evi- 

 dence of the shower of bullets that bad been 

 poured upon it. 



No sooner had the Chateau d'Eau surrendered, 

 than the flushed victors look their course toward 

 the Tuileries, which was near at band ; shout- 

 ing, singing, roaring, they came like a surge, 

 bearing all before them. The Place du Carrou- 

 sal was filled with troops, but nut u sword was 

 unsheathed — not a bayonet pointed — not a mus- 

 ket or a cannon fired. There stood, idle and 

 motionless, the mighty armanent which the king 

 had appointed for his defence. How vain had his 

 calculations proved — for alas, they were founded 

 in a radical error. The soldiers would not mas- 

 sacre their brothers, to sustain a worthless thing 

 — though it wore the title of a crown. How 

 pregnant is the fact, us to the future liite of mo- 

 narchies! 



But we must now enter the Tuileries. For 

 several days iirevioua to the events we have de- 

 scribed, some anxiety had been entertained by 

 persons in and about the palace. The king, 

 however, had no fears, lie appeared in unusual 

 spirits, and if any intimation of danger was giv- 

 en, he turned it aside with a sneer or joke. Even 

 so late as Wednesday, after be had called upon 

 Count .Mole to form a ministry, be remarked that 

 he was so firmly sealed in the saddle, that no- 

 thing could throw him off. 



Mole soon found it impossible, with the mate- 

 rials at hand, to construct a ministry. Thiers 

 was then called in, and after a long course of 

 higgling and chaffering on the part of the king, 

 it was agreed that he and Barrel should under- 

 take to carry on the government. This was an- 

 nounced by them in person, as they rode through 

 the streets early on Thursday morning. These 

 concessions, however, came too late. The cry 

 of a republic was bursting from the lips of the 

 million. The abdication of the king was decreed, 

 and a raging multitude were demanding this at 

 the very gates of the palace. Overborne by the 

 crisis, the king agreed lo abdicate in favor of the 

 Duke de Nemours. Some better tidings were 

 brought him, and he retracted what he had just 

 done. A moment after, it became certain that 

 the insurgents would shortly burst into the pa- 

 lace. In great trepidation, the king agreed to re- 

 sign the crown in favor of bis grandson, the 

 young Count de Paris — yet still clinging to hope, 

 be shuffled and hesitated before he would put his 

 name to the act of abdication. This, however, 

 was at last done, and the king and queen, escor- 

 ted by a small body of horse, walked down I tie 

 central avenue of the Tuileries, passed through 

 the gate, and entering a small one-horse vehicle, 

 began their flight. 



Meanwhile, the mob bad seized the royal car- 

 riages, fourteen in number, and made a bonfire 

 of them, near the celebrated arch in the Place 

 du Carrnusal. Soon after they forced the railing 

 at several points, and came rushing across the 

 square towards the palace. Scarcely had the va- 

 rious members of the royal family lime to escape 

 on one side of the building, when the mob broke 

 in at the other. 



1 have no time to follow the adventures of 

 these several individuals. We cannot but svtn- 

 pathize with them in their misfortunes ; hut we 

 may remark that the fall of the Orleans dynasty 

 was not broken by a single act of courage, dig- 

 nity, or genius, on the pari of any one of the 

 family. Their flight seemed a vulgar scramble 

 for mere life. Even the King was reduced to the 

 most common-place disguises; the shaving ol 

 his whiskers, the change of his dress, the adop- 

 tion of an ''abas." I may add here that they 

 have all escaped; and while every body seems 

 glad of this, there is no one behind who mourns 

 their loss. None are more loud in denouncing 

 the besotted confidence of the king, than his 225 

 purchased deputies, who were so loyal in the 

 days of prosperity. 



We must now turn our attention towards an- 



other scene — the Chamber of Deputies. This 

 body met at the usual hour on Tuesday, at 12 

 o'clock. While the riotous scenes we have de- 

 scribed were taking place during that day, in full 

 view of the place where they bad assembled, the 

 Deputies, as if in mockery of the agitation with- 

 out, were occupied in a languid discussion upon 

 the affairs of a broken country bank. Towards 

 the close of the sitting, Odillon Barrot read from 

 the tribune a solemn BCI of impeachment of the 



Ministers. The next day (Wednesday) the Cham- 

 bers again met, and Guizot in ihe afternoon an- 

 nounced thin Count Mole whs attempting to 

 form a new Ministry. It does not appear that 

 Guizot, or his colleagues, were afterwards seen 

 ill the Chambers. It is said that they met at the 

 house of Duchatel on Thursday morning, and 

 after consultation, adopted the significant motto 

 of Napoleon after the battle of Waterloo : "Hauve 

 qui petit!" (Save himself who can) — lam happy 

 to add that the fugitives seem to have made good 

 their escape. It is said that Soult. disdaining to 

 fly, remains at his house. I need not say that he 

 will not be molested, for there is no sanguinary 

 feeling toward any one, and Napoleon's old fa- 

 vorite, the victor in so many battles, would more 

 readily find a Parisian populace to protect than 

 injure him. 



The moment after the king and queen had 

 passed the Place de la Concorde, I chanced to 

 be there. In a few moments Odillon Barrot ap- 

 peared from the gate of the Tuileries, and fol- 

 lowed by a long train of persons, proceeded to 

 the Chamber of Deputies. It was now under- 

 stood that ihe king had abdicated, and that 

 Thiers and Barrot were to propose the Count de 

 Paris as kin ir, under the regency of his mother, 

 the Duchess of Orleans. The most profound 

 emotion seemed to occupy the immense multi- 

 tude. All were bushed inlo silence by the rapid 

 succession of astonishing events. After a short 

 space the Duchess of Orleans, with her two 

 sons, the Count de Paris and the Due de Char- 

 ties, were seen on foot coining toward the 

 Chamber. She was dressed in deep mourning, 

 her face bent to the ground, encircled by a strong 

 escort. She moved across the bridge, and pass- 

 ing to the rear of the building," entered the 

 Chamber through the gardens. Shortly after 

 this, the Due de Nemours, attended by several 

 gentlemen on horseback, rode up, and also en- 

 tered the building. 



The scene that ensued within is said to have 

 presented an extraordinary mixture of the solemn 

 and the ludicrous. The Duchess being present, 

 O. Barrot proceeded to state the abdication of 

 the king, and to propose the regency. It was 

 then that Latnartine seemed to shake off the 

 poet and the philosopher, and suddenly to be- 

 come a man of action. Seizing the critical mo- 

 ment, he declared his conviction that the days of 

 monarchy were numbered, that the proposed re- 

 gency was not suited to the crisis, and that a re- 

 public alone would meet the emergency and the 

 wishes ol Fiance. These opinions, happily ex- 

 pressed and strenuously enforced, became deci- 

 sive in their effect. 



Several other speeches were made, and a scene 

 of great confusion followed. A considerable 

 number of the mob bad broken inlo the room 

 and occupied the galleries and the floor. Ono 

 of them brought his firelock to his shoulder and 

 took aim at M. Sauzct, ihe President. He 

 abdicated with great speed, and disappeared. In 

 the midst of the hubbub, a provisional govern- 

 ment was announced, and the leading members 

 named. Some of the more obnoxious Deputies 

 were aimed at by Ihe mob, and skulking behind 

 benches and pillars, oozed out at the back door. 

 A blouse-man came up to the Duke of Nemours, 

 who drew his sword. The ouvrier took it from 

 him, broke it over bis knee, and counselled bis 

 highness lo depart. This he did forthwith, hav- 

 ing borrowed a coat and bat for the purpose of 

 disguise. A call was made for the members 

 of ihe provisional government to proceed to ihe 

 Hotel de Ville. The assembly broke up. The 

 last sitting of the Chamber of Deputies had 

 closed. 



Il was about three o'clock in the afternoon that 

 I retraced my steps towards the Tuileries. The 

 Place de la Concorde was crowded with soldiers, 

 and fifty cannon were ranged in front of the gar- 

 dens. Yet this mighty force seemed struck with 

 paralysis. Long lines of infantry stood nitita 



