M. Boulay de la Meurthe was a stout, kindly man, bald, pot-bellied,
short, enormous, with a short nose and a not very long wit. He was a
friend of Hard, whom he called _mon cher_, and of Jerome Bonaparte, whom
he addressed as “your Majesty.”
The Assembly, on January 20, made him Vice-President of the Republic.
It was somewhat sudden, and unexpected by everybody except himself. This
latter fact was evident from the long speech learned by heart that
he delivered after being sworn in. At its conclusion the Assembly
applauded, then a roar of laughter succeeded the applause. Everybody
laughed, including himself; the Assembly out of irony, he in good faith.
Odilon Barrot, who since the previous evening had been keenly regretting
that he did not allow himself to be made Vice-President, contemplated
the scene with a shrug of the shoulders and a bitter smile.
The Assembly followed Boulay de la Meurthe, congratulated and gratified,
with its eyes, and in every look could be read this: “Well, I never! He
takes himself seriously!”
When he was taking the oath, in a voice of thunder which made everybody
smile, Boulay de la Meurthe looked as if he were dazzled by the
Republic, and the Assembly did not look as if it were dazzled by Boulay
de la Meurthe.