555 
PARIS, 
cefllve; and the duke of Wellington, who knew well 
the ground around Paris, made himfelf matter of the belt 
pofitions; and, no longer attempting an entrance on the 
north, the allied army drew off by the river, towards 
Neuilly and St. Germain. 
Mifs Helen-Maria Williams, who was in Paris at this 
moment, gives a very curious account of the charaCter- 
iitic levity of the inhabitants under fuch circumftances of 
alarm. 
“The mulketry, which had continued in the plain of 
St. Denis, ceafed altogether at about three in the after¬ 
noon. I then went on the Boulevards ; all the gay fhops 
that enliven that brilliant walk were clolely iliut up, and 
what iinilter prefages might be read in every vifage of the 
crowd 1 On examining the hoftile pallions pourtrayed in 
every countenance, it feemed as if the aflembled multi¬ 
tudes waited only the fignal for civil war. We appeared 
to be treading on a mine ready to receive! the fpark of ex- 
plofion. At length, however, the report was generally 
circulated, that the allies were about to turn the—fiege 
into a blockade ; that we had nothing to fear from pillage, 
and that we fliould only be ftarved. The arrival, how¬ 
ever, of the accuftomed provilions the next day, through 
the midft of the enemy’s camp, led the Parifians to apply 
to Wellington the well-known trait of Henry the Fourth, 
when he befieged Paris. 
“ On the ilt of July, the fcene on the Boulevards was 
quite changed fince that of yefterday. The Parifians ex¬ 
pected that the enemy would have entered on the firib 
attack; and they were tired of the delay. They heard the 
cannon at intervals during twenty-four hours; yefterday 
this was a novelty ; but to-day they felt as if accuftomed 
to be befieged, and returned to their ufual avocations and 
pleafures. Yefterday the theatres were ftiut, which was 
indeed a (triking fignal of diftrefs in Paris ; to-day, though 
the great theatres were clofed, the Thievifh Magpie re¬ 
fumed his triumph at the theatre of the Porte St. Martin ; 
and that of La Gaiete prepared for the public amufement 
the Bombardment of Algiers, a melodrame fitted to fill 
up the interval of the great melodrame of national events. 
“ In the evening the Italian Boulevard was crowded, as 
ufual, with the gay tribes, who, feated on double rows 
of chairs, with an interval for the walkers, pafs the latter 
part of their fummer evenings inhaling the dull in good 
company. This evening the walk, as ufual, had its iti¬ 
nerant band of mufic, its ices in the adjoining cafes, and 
all its accuftomed attractions. Thefe amufernents were 
occafionally varied by the march of troops, the beating to 
arms, the fwift pace of courier^, the found of cannon at 
intervals ; and fometimes ail gayety was fufpended 
(though but for a moment) by the fad fpeCtacle of the 
wounded victims of thofe ikirmifhes, writhing in agony, 
and covered with blood.” 
The provifional government alfo continued labouring 
in its vocation : it was earneftly occupied in fabricating 
another new conftitution, which was to be offered to the 
acceptance of whoever fnould take the fovereign au¬ 
thority ; and this was the Handing bulinefs, or order of the 
day. It may be amufing, however, to notice forne of the 
proceedings of the chambers, certain members of which 
now began to lower their tone, and fome of the moft vio¬ 
lent to recall their words. They were aware that the ab¬ 
dication of Napoleon was the return of the Bourbons ; 
and, therefore, they prepared to make their peace with 
them. Of thefe, M. Durbach was the foremolt. In 
the fitting of the ift of July, he begged to correCt a 
typographical error which had crept into his fpeech 
of the preceding day, but now printed, and diftribu- 
ted among them. “In that fpeech,” faid he, “I am 
made to have laid—I need not retrace to you the picture 
of the crimes, faults, pretenfions, perfidies of that ephe¬ 
meral reign.” (of Louis XVIII.) The word crimes, con¬ 
tinued he, Ihould be rectified; and has been done by wri¬ 
ting in a certain number of copies diftributed. “I ob- 
ferved,” faid he, “ the proceedings of the royal govern¬ 
ment : I have recognized its faults, its errors, and the 
abufes which it brought along with it; but I never made 
life of the expreftion which appeared in print.” M. Dupin 
alfo endeavoured to correCt an error which had taken 
place in printing his fpeech. In the copy of the law pro- 
pofed to fecure the public fafety, the paragraph had been 
omitted “ which ordains that the motives of arreft fhould 
be communicated to the accufed.” In truth M. Dupin 
did not think this a very material point, or necefi'ary at 
the time; but, as he was not fure but his turn might come 
loon, he wanted to be prepared to get all juftice. The 
march of Wellington and Blucher did wonders; they 
correCied many errors both in print and manufcript. 
It is now neceffary to turn our attention to the pro- 
ceedingsof Louis XVIII. Immediately after the battle 
of Waterloo, on the invitation of the duke of Wellington, 
he left Ghent, accompanied by other members of his fa¬ 
mily, and by Talleyrand, Marmont, Clarke, and other 
attendants, and advanced into France, in the rear of the 
Britifh army. It is faid, that fome of his minifters ad- 
vifed him to remain at Ghent, till he was recalled by the 
nation; and not to fanCiion, by his prefence, the calamities 
which the allied armies muft neceftarily infiiCt upon his 
people. “Let it appear,” faid they, “that the war is 
carried on between the coalefced fovereigns and the ad¬ 
herents of Bonaparte, and not between the king of 
France and his fubjedis. The allies are fufficiently ftrong 
to overcome all yourenemies ; and your prefence, while it 
could add little to their numerical force, would impede their 
operations, throw fufpicion on the fincerity of their pro- 
feffions, and raife againft them an unneceflary and mur¬ 
derous oppofition. Your unwillingnefs to appear while 
the blood of Frenchmen continues to flow, will be attri¬ 
buted to an amiable and honourable feeling, and will 
make a favourable impreflion on the minds of your fub- 
jefts. But, were you to advance in conjunction with 
the allies, it would (how that you are determined to be 
king again, whether they will have it lo or not. You 
have friends enough among the allies, and fecret friends 
enough at Paris, to take care of your interefts there ; 
while you will have the merit of being recalled by the 
affeCtion and fidelity of your fubjeCts, and not forced 
upon them by the bayonets of foreigners.” 
This advice, however, did not pleafe the princes of 
his family. The conduCt of thefe princes had done no 
good to the caufe of Louis during his former reign, and 
it was not likely they would be or any great advantage to 
him at the prefent moment; but, as they w'ere anxious 
to return to power, they oppoled the advice of the mi¬ 
nifters. After deliberating two days upon the policy of 
entering France with the allies, Louis at length acceded 
to the wil’nes of his family, on receiving the duke of 
Wellington’s invitation. He quitted Ghent on the aid 
of June, and on the next day arrived at Mons. On the 
24th, he fet out for Chateau-Cambrefis, and from thence 
proceeded to Cambray, where he was received with every 
mark of refpeft. On the 28th, he addrefled the fdllow- 
ing proclamation to the French nation, for the purpofe 
of informing them of his future intentions : 
The King to the French People. 
The gates of my kingdom at lall open before me ; I 
halten to bring back my milled fubjeCts, to mitigate the 
calamities which I had wiflied to prevent, to place myfelf 
a fecond time between the allied and the French armies, 
in the hope that the feelings of confideration of which I 
may be the objeCt, may tend to their prefervation. This 
is the only way in which I have wiflied to take part in 
the war. I have not permitted any prince of my family 
to appear in foreign ranks, and have chained in the cou¬ 
rage of thofe of my fervants who had been able to range 
themfelves around me. 
Returned to the foil of my country, I take pleafure in 
fpeaking confidence to my people. When I firft re-ap¬ 
peared among you, I found men’s minds agitated and 
heated by conflicting paflions. My views encountered on 
every 
