izo RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



be. M. de Lamartine and myself are in a very tick- 

 lish position, which does not admit of our coming into 

 conflict with them ; but as you have made up your 

 mind to go there and parley with them, I will give 

 you a letter of introduction for their leader, if they 

 have one, in your quality of representative of the 

 Eepublic in Spain." He at once wrote a note, which 

 I regret not having kept, but which I can quote from 

 memory. It ran as follows: "M. de Lesseps is ap- 

 pointed Ambassador of the French Eepublic in Spain. 

 He would like to take with him the effects belonging 

 to the Spanish Infanta. As she is a foreigner, it would 

 be advisable to respect what property she left at the 

 Tuileries. I will be obliged, therefore, if you will 

 hand over to M. de Lesseps the articles which this 

 c young person 7 asks for." I went with this note to 

 the Echelle wicket gate, by way of the Eue du Louvre, 

 where I saw a number of men in their shirt sleeves, 

 very untidy, some of them wounded and wearing ban- 

 dages on their heads. They asked me what I wanted, 

 and I replied 



" I am the Ambassador of the French Eepublic in 

 Spain. There is a Spanish newspaper which says that 

 you have been robbing the Infanta of Spain." 



They asked me if I believed them to be thieves, 

 and I begged them to take me to their leader, as I 

 had a letter for him from the Mayor of Paris. They 

 accompanied me to the part of the palace which is still 

 standing, and I was presented to M. St. Amand, a 



