perfect state of tranquillity, notwithstanding his absence. "Il n'y a rien," he said to an officer about his person; "je l'avais autorisé à revenir, mais il a bien fait de rester." The 28th was the critical day. The court on this day might have made its peace with dignity, for there was a moment, as I have shown, when the troops were deemed to have been successful, and this was the moment when the Duc de Raguse, demanding concession from the deputies, urged it most strongly to the king. The same fatality, however, which induced Charles I. to reject the moderate advice of Clarendon presided at St. Cloud. Monsieur de Komierowski, sent by the duc with his despatch, was honoured by no written reply, and merely told to charge the marshal de tenir bien, de réunir ses forces sur le Carrousel et à la Place Louis XV., et d'agir avec des masses. Everybody about the palace was in the most serene quietude. In the morning-mass, the usual ceremonies and receptions ;-in the evening-the rubber at whist : less anxiety was expressed for the destinies of the nation than for the turn of a card. In vain a deputation waited on Monsieur de Polignac: he thought he showed firmness when he displayed imbecility; and when told that the troops were going over to the people, merely observed, that "it would then be necessary to fire upon the troops!" Horses and soldiers were unprovided with food, but that was a matter of little importance; by such trifles as these the peace of the king and the security of his minister were not to be disturbed. During the night, however, it was decided to give a month and a half's pay to the regiments at Paris, and an order was sent to the camps of Lunéville and St. Omer to advance upon St. Cloud. Even on the 29th the ministers blockaded in the Tuile * If Monsieur Lafitte and General Gérard proposed peace, it was from insolence and they were strong, or from fear and they were weak, and the presumption and the timidity of rebels were equally to be despised. ries were still in a state of the most complete ignorance as to the real nature of the insurrection. They mistook that for a plot which was the result of inspiration. “Ce sont les fédérés qui ont conservé leur ancienne organisation," said Monsieur de PeyronHe was soon undeceived. The Duc de Raguse net. himself assembled the council, and advised, as the last resource, a treaty with the people on the basis of a repeal of the ordonnances. The ministers had no power for this. "Come and obtain it from the king," said Monsieur de Peyronnet. "Nothing can be better for the royal cause than the present aspect of affairs," said the infatuated Prince de Polignac. At this moment arrived Monsieur d'Argout and Monsieur de Sémonville, who were also come to urge the ministers to adopt a speedy and conciliatory decision. Quarrelling* with Monsieur de Polignac, they set out for St. Cloud, where the marshal himself, after the complete discomfiture of his troops, shortly afterward arrived. In what disposition did they find the king? Already, before the appearance of Monsieur de Sémonville, the Duc de Mortemart had made two fruitless attempts to persuade him to recall the ordonnances. "Bah! bah! ce n'est rien," said Charles X., " ne vous inquiétez pas." "Je ne veux pas monter en charette comme mon frère," was his reply to any argument urging concession.‡ At the advice of his ministers themselves, however, he was at length induced to relent; the ordonnances were to be recalled, M. de Mortemart named President du Conseil, and M. C. Périer and General Gérard included in the new administration. But the only order to which Charles X. could be prevailed upon to * Monsieur de Sémonville and M. de Polignac felt for each other the contempt which a man of the world feels for an enthusiast, and which an enthusiast returns for a man of the world. † Nobody so obstinate as a weak man when he once has an opinion. The idea which governed the life of Charles X. was that his brother had fallen from a want of firmness. The situation of the Duchess d'Angoulême, at that time travelling in the provinces, and very possibly exposed to popular violence, was the sole circumstance that seemed to affect him affix his signature immediately was that relating to M. de Mortemart. The others, the orders which revoked the ordonnances, named C. Périer and General Gérard, and convoked the Chambers for the 3d of August-these, with that fatal weakness which induces us to withhold to the last moment what we are yet determined to grant-these he could not be prevailed upon to sign that night, and twenty-four hours went by while the proverb that " every minute is an hour" was being literally fulfilled;—and now,— The wheel of fortune, which had been so rapidly turning since 1789, seemed to be again pausing at the very place where it had been forty-one years before, and there was the Comte d'Artois crushed beneath it, and at the topmost pinnacle of its curve-General Lafayette. REVOLUTION OF 1830. III. General Lafayette's march to the Hôtel de Ville-M. Lafitte gives M. F. Janson a passport for the Duc de Mortemart, who does not come on the evening of the 29th, as was expected-Consequences-The evening of the 29th-30th, two proclamations to the people and the army-M. de Mortemart now arrives-Fate of his missionAgitation of the people-Necessity of prompt decision-Mission to Neuilly-Received by the Duc d'Orléans-State of things on the night of the 30th-31st, the Duc d'Orléans accepts the lieutenancy of the kingdom-Visits the Hôtel de Ville-Feelings of the people -ls received by Lafayette-Conversations that then took place-1st of August a day of Jubilee-2d of August, abdication of Charles X. and the Dauphin-3d, Chambers met-4th, the Chamber of Peers, which had hitherto kept aloof, nominated a commission to reply to the speech of the lieutenant-general-7th, the Duc d'Orléans invited by the two Chambers to accept the Crown-His answer-9th, Louis Philippe proclaimed King of the French-What had taken place to Charles X. between 30th of July and 16th of August, when this unfortunate prince embarked from Cherbourg. "VIVE Lafayette! Vive Lafayette !" this was the cry in every street, as down from every window, as down from every balustrade whence the ball and the broken bottle and the massive pavement lately rushed, now dropped gentle flowers on the venerable head of the friend of Washington, of the old general of the National Guard;* and wafted on every breeze flew the national cockade, the old and famous tri-coloured riband; and lo! the very hero of popular parade, the revolutionary veteran, bowing, smiling, embracing; and lo! the immense masses, shouting, laughing, waving their hats, firing their arms! To the Hôtel de Ville marched the long procession. In the mean time M. Lafitte was informed of the resolution taken at St. Cloud, and gave M. de Forbin Janson a passport for his brother-in-law the Duc de MorIt was arranged that the duc should be at M. temart. * 66 Laissez, laissez," said the old general to some one wishing to conduct his steps; "laissez, laissez; je connais tout cela mieux que vous." Lafitte's house some time that evening; unable to obtain the new ordonnances from the king, and refused a passport from the dauphin, M. de Mortemart disappointed the deputies, who expected him, and this event was perhaps the most important one of the three days.* It was on this night, after waiting for the Duc de Mortemart in vain, that M. Lafitte, left alone with Messrs. Thiers and Mignet, took the first of those measures which led to the election of the present monarch. Then it was resolved that the elder branch of the Bourbons should be given up to those who were fearful for the freedom, and the younger branch adopted as a guarantee to those who were fearful for the tranquillity, of the country; and then were framed the handbills, placards, and proclamations which, appearing in every corner of Paris the following morning, directed and fixed the public opinion. The morning of the 30th began with two proclamations; the one from the provisional government, announcing the deliverance of Paris to the people, the other from General Gérard, offering an amnesty to the army; at this moment the Duc de Mortemart arrived from St. Cloud, with the ordonnances that he should have had the preceding evening. A slowness fatal to the old monarchy still attended him.† M. de Sussy, * Though many were confident as to the ultimate success of the continued struggle, no one believed it over at this time. Troops, it was conceived, would march upon the capital in all directions. Paris might be invested; its brave but volatile population was not to be depended upon. The lesson which royalty had received was rude. The repeal of the ordonnances, and the nomination of a popular administration was as great a triumph as it seemed possible to achieve without running all the perils, all the hazards, and all the horrors of civil war. A republic was dreaded; the Duc d'Orléans had not then come forward; young Napoleon was at Vienna. It is impossible to say if the Duc de Mortemart had appeared at M. Lafitte's the night of the 29th, whether Charles X. might not still have been at the Tuileries. Monsieur de Mortemart, fatigued by his walk (he had come a roundabout way from St. Cloud), disappointed in finding M. Lafitte at his own house, unable, owing to the barricades, to proceed otherwise than on foot, was prevailed upon to charge M. de Sussy with the ordonnances repealing those of the 25th, and M. de Sussy proceeded with them to the Chamber. |