THE SECOND DAY.
The 23d of February dawned on Paris as a city under arms. Artillery
frowned in all the public places; the barricades of the preceding night
had been thrown down as fast as erected; National Guards thronged the
thoroughfares; the people swarmed along the boulevards. In the
neighborhood of the Porte St. Denis and the Porte St. Martin, barricades
rose as if by magic, but were as if by magic swept away. Cavalry
bivouacked in the streets, and ordnance was leveled along their entire
extent. The avenues were closely invested, and even old men and women
were arrested on their way to their own thresholds. From time to time
single shots or volleys of musketry were heard in the distance, and
wounded men were carried past to the hospitals.
The Government had ordered all public carriages to be cleared from the
stands, that material for new barricades might not exist when the old
ones were demolished; but the people were busy, too, for the iron
railings at the hotel of the Minister of Marine, in the Place de la
Concorde, and at the churches of the Assumption and St. Roch had been
torn away to supply weapons of attack or defence, or implements with
which to tear up the huge square paving stones of Paris for barricades.
At eleven o'clock the National Guard of the Second Arrondissement
gathered at the opera house in the Rue Lepelletier, and near the office
of "Le National." "Vive la Reforme!" "Vive la Garde Nationale!" "Long
live the real defenders of the country!"--these were the shouts,
intermingled with the choruses of national songs, that now rose from the
people and the National Guard.
At twelve o'clock the 2d Legion of the National Guard was at the
Tuileries to make a demonstration for reform. Its colonel, M. Bagnieres,
declared to the Duke of Nemours that he could not answer for his men. At
one o'clock, accompanied by an immense multitude, with whom they
fraternized, they were again on the Rue Lepelletier. A squadron of
cuirassiers and one of chasseurs advanced to dislodge them.
"Who are these men?" cried the chef d'escadron.
"The people of Paris!" replied the officer of the National Guard.
"And who are you?"
"An officer of the 2d Legion of the National Guard."
"The people must disperse!"
"They will not!"
"I will compel them!"
"The National Guard will defend them!"
"Vive la Reforme!" shouted the people.
The National Guard and the cuirassiers united. The officer, chagrined,
turned back to his men and vociferated in tones of thunder:
"Wheel! Forward!"
And the whole body resumed its march down the Boulevard.
An hour afterwards a still larger body of troops, Municipal Guards
mounted and on foot, cuirassiers and infantry of the Line, came down the
Boulevard and made a half movement on the Rue Lepelletier, but, seeing
the hostile attitude of the National Guard, continued their march amid
shouts of "Vive la Reforme!" "Vive la Garde Nationale!" "Vive la Ligne!"
Twice, within an hour afterwards, the same thing occurred.
It was plain that the National Guard fraternized with the people.
The 3d Legion deputed their colonel, M. Besson, to demand of the King
reform and a change of Ministry. The colonel presented the memorial to
General Jaqueminot, who promised to place it in the Royal hands.
The 4th Legion marched to the Chamber of Deputies and presented a
petition for reform.
Col. Lemercier, of the 10th, arrested a man for shouting "Vive la
Reforme!" The man was liberated by his own troops, with shouts of "Vive
la Reforme!" The colonel withdrew.
The cavalry legion, the 13th, in like manner repudiated Col. Montalivet.
The Municipal Guard was ordered to disarm the 3d Legion. Both
advanced--bayonets were crossed--blood was about to flow. At that moment
Col. Textorix, of the National Guard, rushed up and exclaimed:
"Brothers, will you slay brothers?"
The effect was electrical. The muskets were instantly shouldered and the
combatants separated.
All over Paris the same scenes took place, with a few exceptions.
"Vive la Republique!" cried Ledru Rollin to Albert, who was hurrying
down the Rue Lepelletier, at about noon.
"Vive la Republique!" was the hearty response. "What of the National
Guard?"
"The Guard fraternizes with the people," replied Ledru Rollin. "What of
the blouses and the barricades?"
"Last night, the barricades of yesterday were swept from the streets,
and even the material of which to build them also, the pavements only
excepted; yet, at dawn this morning, the whole space between the
Quartier Saint-Martin des Champs, the Mont de Piete and the Temple, and
all the smaller streets were choked with barricades."
"And they were at once assailed?"
"By the troops of the Line, the Municipal Guard and the chasseurs of
Vincennes."
"Who were repulsed?"
"With most obstinate bravery. At the Rue Rambuteau, the 69th Regiment
was three times driven back; also at the corner of the Rue St. Denis and
the Rue de Tracy. In the Rue Philippeaux a ball passed through the face
of a soldier of the 21st of the Line infantry, and then through the head
of a voltigeur behind him. Sixteen soldiers fell in the attack on the
barricade of the Rue Rambuteau. A blouse pointed a pistol at an officer
of the Municipal Guard; the pistol hung fire, and the officer passed his
sword through his assailant's body. From this you can infer that we have
had close fighting."
"I have heard that an assault was made on the armory of our friends, the
Leparge Brothers, for weapons; is it so?"
"There was an assault at about ten o'clock; but the windows were too
strong to be carried. There has been fighting in the Rue de Petit
Carrel, and the neighborhood of the Place Royale, I learn. Achmet
Pacha, son of Mehemet Ali, is fighting for us with the most wonderful
intrepidity. A chef de bataillon of the 34th was slain by a shot from a
window, and some offices of the Octroi have been burned. Three men were
killed at the Batignolles, and their bodies were accompanied by an
immense throng to the Morgue."
"Have you heard that the 5th Regiment, as in 1830, has joined the
people, and that, on their way to the Prefecture of Police to liberate
some of the people who had been arrested, they stopped at the office of
'La Reforme,' and were eloquently addressed by our friend, Louis Blanc?"
"What did he say to them?"
"He told them the fight was not yet over; that there must still be a
banquet; and that this time there must be no mistake--the workmen must
have the freedom they won!"
"Vive Louis Blanc!" cried Albert, and, in a higher state of excitement
than he had ever before been known to exhibit, he hurried off.
"I am for the Tuileries," said Ledru Rollin, as they parted.
"And I for the Palais Royal," said Albert.
"We meet to-night at the office of 'Le National?'"
"Without fail, at midnight!"
It was on the square at the south end of the Palais Royal that most
blood was spilled between the people and the troops. The Chateau d'Eau
was furiously assailed and obstinately defended--assailed by the people
and defended by six thousand picked troops. The people triumphed! Of the
troops, at least a thousand perished, and the remnant fled.
At three o'clock M. Rambuteau, Prefect of the Seine, waited on the King
and informed him that the National Guard demanded reform, and the
Municipal Guard a change of Ministry.
The King in dismay convened the Ministry.
"Can the Ministry maintain itself?" asked Louis Philippe.
"That question brings its own answer to your Majesty," replied Guizot.
"If you doubt the stability of your Ministry, who can trust them?"
"I have thought of the Count Mole," observed the King.
"He is an able man, sire," replied Guizot; "and his political
connections with M. Barrot and M. Thiers may aid him to form a Ministry.
But, sire, not an instant is to be lost. Your faithful Ministers will do
all they can, but a Ministerial crisis cannot be delayed; and, if your
Majesty will permit the suggestion, the emergency demands that to
Marshal Bugeaud be given the command of Paris."
"You will proceed to the Chamber to announce that M. Mole is entrusted
with the formation of a new cabinet," said the King.
And the council closed.
At four, an officer of the staff passed along the boulevards, announcing
the fall of the Ministry.
Instantly, with the speed of the telegraph, the intelligence flew to
the obscurest parts of Paris. Its effect was, at first, most cheering.
Barricades were deserted and arms thrown down; faces brightened, hands,
almost stained with each other's blood, were clasped; troops and people,
unwillingly fighting, embraced; all was triumph, joy and congratulation.
"All now is over--all is right at last!" was the exclamation of one man
of the people to another.
"Guizot has fallen, but the King has sent for Count Mole," replied a
third, with a dissatisfied air.
"No matter," cried the first speaker, "the system is overturned! What
care we who is Minister?"
"It is too late," replied the other. "Guizot has been forced away by the
people--Mole may be forced away, too--so may the King! No more tricks!
The people now know their power. There shall be no mistake this time!"
And the insurrectionists parted.
As the day closed, barricades rose in the Quartier du Temple, and there
was fighting between the people and the Municipal Guard. But the
National Guard came to the rescue, and the latter surrendered.
At nine o'clock Paris was illuminated. White, red, blue--yellow, orange,
green--these were the tri-colors of the lamps that poured their rich
effulgence from every window on the gloomy scene without. The streets
were thronged and the cafes crowded; men of all nations and Parisians
of all classes were in the streets; the rattle of musketry had ceased;
the troops were in their barracks and the people at their homes.
At the corner of the Boulevard and the Rue des Capucines, Flocon and
Louis Blanc met.
"Guizot has fallen!" cried the first.
"And the most intimate friend of the King has succeeded him! What have
we to hope for from the change?"
"What are we to do?" asked Flocon.
"In one hour the people will sing the Marseillaise before the Hotel des
Affaires Etrangeres!"
"The 14th Regiment of the Line is there," replied Flocon.
"So much the better! Blood will flow! The revolution will not stop!"
And the conspirators separated.
At ten o'clock, before the official residence of M. Guizot, himself then
absent, and probably in full flight for the coast, an immense crowd of
the people with torches was assembled. Their purpose was to sing the
Marseillaise. The 14th Regiment barred the way--the street was dimly
lighted--a single row of lamps along the courtyard wall was all the
illumination--a double line of troops was the defence.
"Let me pass!" cried the officer of the National Guard who led the
people to the officer who led the troops.
"Impossible!"
"In the name of the people, I demand to pass!"
"In the name of the Law, you shall not!"
"The people command! Forward!" cried the National Guard.
"Present! Fire!" shouted the officer.
There was a roll of musketry--a shrill shriek rang along the
Boulevard--the vast mass recoiled--the smoke floated off--sixty-three of
the people of Paris lay weltering in their gore!
"The blow is struck at last!" cried M. Dantes, rushing across the
Boulevard, pale and excited. "To arms, people of Paris, to arms!"
"To arms, to arms! Vengeance for our brothers!" was now the terrible cry
that burst from the infuriated populace. The congratulation--the
illumination--all was lost in the wild wish for vengeance.
At eleven o'clock that night an immense multitude, composed chiefly of
workmen from the faubourgs, was coming down the Boulevard des Capucines.
It was the largest and most regular throng yet seen. In front marched a
platoon of men bearing torches and waving tri-color flags. Immediately
behind walked an officer in the full uniform of the National Guard, with
a drawn sword in his hand, whose slightest command was implicitly
observed. Next came a tumbrel bearing the naked corpses of the slain,
whose faces, mutilated by their wounds and disfigured by blood, glared
horribly up, with open eyes, in the red torchlight that flared in the
night blast around! Behind this awful display marched a dense mass of
National Guards, succeeded by a countless mass of the people armed
with, guns, swords, clubs and bars of iron, chanting forth in full
chorus, not the inspiring Marseillaise or the Parisienne, but in awful
concert sending upon the night air the deep and dreadful notes of the
death-hymn of the Girondins, "Mourir pour la Patrie," intermingled with
yells for vengeance.
Down the boulevards approach the multitude--more distinct becomes the
dirge--more redly glare the torches--and, amid all, more deeply rumble
the wheels of the death-cart on the pavement!
The funeral column reaches the corner of the Boulevard and the Rue
Lepelletier--the death-hymn rises to a yell of fury--the officer of the
National Guard turns the head of the column to the right--before it is
an edifice conspicuous by its illumination of huge and blood-red
lamps--it is the office of "Le National"--the crowd halts--one long loud
shriek of "Vengeance!" goes up--it is succeeded by the thrilling notes
of the Marseillaise from ten thousands lips, and "Marrast! Marrast!" is
the shout that follows.
The windows of the front office were thrown up, and the editor,
surrounded by friends, appeared. His speech was brief but fervid. He
exhorted the people to be firm--to secure their rights beyond
recall--and promised them ample retribution for past wrongs and security
for future rights.
M. Garnier Pages, who stood at the side of Marrast, next addressed the
people in the same strain, amid thunders of applause.
Making a detour to the office of "La Reforme," the multitude were
addressed by M. Flocon, its editor; then, proceeding to the Place de la
Bastille, the corpses were deposited at the foot of the Column of July,
and the crowd dispersed.
The night that succeeded was an awful one. The streets, which an hour
before blazed with the illumination, were dark. Barricades rose in every
direction. At every corner shopmen, workmen, women, clerks and children
were at work. The crash of falling trees, the clank of the lever and the
pickaxe, the rattle of paving stones--these were the significant sounds
that broke the stillness. Every tree on the whole line of the Boulevard
was felled and every lamp-post overthrown; a barricade of immense
strength rose at the end of the Rue Richelieu; the troops offered no
resistance; they piled their arms, lighted their fires and bivouacked
close beside the barricades. At the Hotel de Ville the troops of the
Line and the Chasseurs d'Afrique quietly ate their suppers, smoked their
pipes and laid themselves down to sleep. On the Boulevard des Italiens
appeared three regiments of the Line, a battalion of National Guards, a
regiment of cuirassiers, and three field-pieces, with their caissons of
ammunition. The horses were unharnessed by the people, the caissons
opened, the ammunition distributed and the guns dragged off. The troops,
guards and cuirassiers fraternized.