Paris in '48; letters from a resident describing the events of the revolution

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Introduction

" It is not with impunity that a nation learns such a lesson of blood and crime as that of '93. The virus must work in her for long after, ready to burst out at any time of disturbance."

This comment of M. P. de Coubertin, in his lucid presentation of the course of events in France since 1 8 14, may serve as a preface to Madame Bonde's graphic and searching description of the crisis in 1848. By way of introduction to her letters, it is sufficient to trace very briefly the steps by which the French nation, after sweeping away the * ancien regime,' began slowly to build up its civil and political liberties.

France, up to 1789, had only the semblance of a constitution. The King's will was everywhere paramount, there being no great Barons of the Realm, as in England, to hold him in check. France, as another writer observes,^ " has had nobles, but never an Aristocracy." "When some extraordinary tax was to be

1 Andre Lebon, "France as it is," 1888.

levied, the King convoked the States-General, regarding which it was said " The nobles fight, the clergy pray, the rest pay." The Parliament or High Court of Justice was summoned to register royal edicts, and might refuse its assent ; but the edict was ratified notwithstanding, through the formalities of a * Lit de Justice,' or ' Audience.' In the administrative sphere all the local representative bodies had been superseded by the Intendants, the King's officials, who (except in a few provinces) levied taxes and carried out the royal mandates without the consent of the community, and without appeal.

In 1789 Louis XVI. found himself obliged, for lack of funds, to convoke the States-General which had not met since 16 14. He was then disposed to go so far as to abolish the feudal dues and privileges of the nobility and clergy ; but the demand for the redress of such economic grievances went with, and of necessity entailed, the claim for political reform — in other words, for equality of civil rights, and a constitution which should enfranchise at least the higher bourgeoisie, removing the artificial distinction of the ' Third Estate,' and setting limits to the royal power.

The Revolution of '93 having swept away with the Monarchy and the privileges in question the whole governmental organisation, France sought in vain in her past for any political tradition or precedent, and was driven from one constitutional experiment to another. After four years of contentions within and wars without, she welcomed a firm hand at the helm and submitted to Bonaparte, first as Consul, then as Emperor. His two successive Constitutions were abortive, so that in 18 14, though the civic equality

INTRODUCTION. 3

gained by the levelling of the Revolution remained, the necessary political readjustment was arrested.

The charter granted by Louis XVIII. in 18 14 created an Upper House of 140 life peers appointed by the King, and a Chamber of Deputies. Trial by jury, civil and religious freedom, and the liberty of the press were established, together with a moderate franchise, which made a bourgeois electorate of about 100,000, excluding all who paid less than 300 francs in direct taxes. But, although the motto of his minister, the Due Decazes, was " Royaliser la France et nationaliser la Royaute," the King, in his own belief, was such by Divine right, and he was swayed by the old nobility who were firmly bent on the restoration of their privileges. Within the Chamber the aristocratic Right was strongly entrenched and became aggressive under the influence of the King's brother, the Comte d'Artois (afterwards Charles X.), and the Society of the Congregation, which had been formed during the anti-Catholic tyranny of '93, and was now mainly a political propaganda. A federation of the Royalist * irreconciliables ' was directed from the Pavilion Marsan, the Count's residence, and the meeting-place of a private council which he held on his own authority as Colonel-General of the National Guard. Opposed to the * Ultras ' was a revolutionary Left, chiefly Bonapartist, and active within as well as outside the Chamber, its intrigues leading more than once to insurrections. Nevertheless, the compromise on which the Government rested gave hopes of a true via media^ encouraging and encouraged by an intellectual revival, in which the * doctrinaire ' leaders of the moderate party in the Legislature were most conspicuous. Under the enlightened guidance of Lamartine, Thiers, and Guizot, the Revolution began to justify itself in practice as in theory, and the reign of Louis XVIII. was a period of commercial prosperity ; the first Exhibition was held in Paris, and a general Council of Commerce and a free School of Arts and Crafts were founded.

The retrograde policy was in the ascendant from 1820, when the murder of the Due de Berry, the heir presumptive, was made an excuse for driving Decazes from office. The repressive measures which followed issued, after the accession of Charles X. in 1824, in a violent crusade against the press, which the talent of the ' doctrinaires ' had made an organ of liberal thought strong enough to combat the Catholic reaction, and support the new political principles against the theocratic ideal of De Maistre and Lamennais. The restoration of the old social order was threatened in restrictions of the franchise and a proposal to re-establish the * droit d'ainesse ' (the entail of property on the eldest son). Hostile majorities in the Chamber brought the conflict to a climax, and the ' thorough ' ministry of Polignac, with the illegal ordinances of July, 1830, led to the downfall of the Elder Bourbon dynasty, and the succession of the Younger Branch in the person of the Due d'Orleans (Louis Philippe), son of Philippe the cousin of Louis XVI., who earned his sobriquet * Egalite ' by casting in his lot with the Revolutionists

Louis Philippe, though he affected a certain bourgeois simplicity, yet insisted on ' legitimising ' his position among the hereditary sovereigns, and claimed for himself a personal authority or even autocracy, which was to be supported by ministers of his choice.

INTRODUCTION. 5

and secured from popular Interference by official control over the electorate. Guizot, his minister, was tenacious of his own office and distrustful of any concessions which might, by weakening the bureaucracy or enlarging the electoral area, make personal government Impracticable. He upheld for long the vicious system which made State officials eligible to the Chamber ; it contained in 1846 no less than two hundred such functionaries. His command of great majorities was used to stifle the Investigation of abuses, to resist every proposal of electoral reform, and ultimately to curtail the citizens' rights and liberties. A heavy hand laid on the press and the platform brought about an opposition which ended in catastrophe. " Reform to prevent revolution," was the watchword of this Opposition, and the agitation took the shape of Reform banquets, which were started to test the right of public meeting. No less than seventy took place In different towns during the latter half of 1847, and were attended by about 170,000 guests. The crisis was reached the following year, when, in spite of Lamartlne's rally to the cause of liberty, Guizot carried an address declaring against the freedom of the press, and prohibited a banquet organised in Paris for February 22nd.

An * 6meute ' on the next day. In which some fifty persons were shot by the troops In the streets, led quickly to an Insurrection, which was not arrested by the dismissal of Guizot. The King abdicated, and a Provisional Government took the place of the Monarchy.

The letters open with an account of this ' 6meute,' the first being dated February 24th.

LETTER I. Paris, Thursday, Feb. 24th, 1848

My Dear Mrs. Ashburnham,

We are in the midst of a revolution more fearful than that of 1830, because the mob are beginning to pillage. I am just returned from a visit to Mons. de Tracy, where the Lafayettes live, and where I hoped to hear some news. On our road we found two barricades, and the troops returning with lowered muskets. Though there are a hundred thousand regular troops in Paris, and two hundred pieces of cannon, the King has given way, and we are wholly and solely defended by the National Guard some of whom are disaffected, at least to the dynasty. The twelve colonels of the twelve legions went to the Tuileries yesterday, and said that unless electoral reform were granted and a change of Ministry, they could not answer for their men. His Majesty gave way, and sent for Mol6.^

* It is interesting to see how this action of the King appeared to a

Feb. 24th.] DISSOLUTION OF THE CHAMBER. 7

This, however, was only one step in the fatal course of concession, and, after some fighting on the boulevard, in which about fifty persons were killed, Odilon Barrot was entrusted with the formation of the Ministry/ He is trying to form a cabinet with Dufaure, Thiers, Remusat, and Lamoriciere, but perhaps it is already too late even for this extreme parti. The Chamber is dissolved, the town in a state of siege, and Bugeaud military governor. Perhaps even now Ledru Rollin, a Liberal to the verge of Communism, is invested with the dictatorship.^

Mons. de Courcelles, who had just seen Mons. Dufaure, says that the consternation is fearful. Universal suffrage will probably be the result of the many mistakes committed by the Ministry. The King's abdication is called for at every barricade, and his extreme cowardice has greatly damped the ardour of his partisans. A fortnight ago this movement might

contemporary ; in itself it was rather reactionary, for Mole, who had been minister under Napoleon, was a great upholder of the royal prerogative, belonged to the old order of things, and was entirely out of sympathy with the forward movements of the time.

^ Barrot had withstood Louis Philippe's personal policy, and was leader of the dynastic Opposition.

2 Ledru Rollin represented Socialism in the Chamber, and supported the demand for universal suffrage. He was not made dictator, but became Minister of the Interior in the Provisional Government, and subsequently stood for the Presidency.

have been prevented ; now, no one knows what he is driving at. E. is in a dreadful state, as her husband was on duty all Tuesday, and is just returned to the barricade. He arrested three men himself, and as yet has escaped unhurt, but you may imagine how anxious we are. Some say we are at the end of the movement, but I suspect that is more because we hope in the magic number three than for any positive results.^ The Rue Basse du Rempart was running with blood this morning, and some people say they still hear a fusillade. The rappel and the generate are beating everywhere, and one cannot but feel nervous when one thinks of the spirit of anarchy and rapine that is abroad. All the shops are shut, even in our own peaceful quartier, and as we were going down the Rue d'Astorg, we saw a band of marauders who were attempting to force Madame de Noailles' house, repulsed by the National Guard. Bakers, winemerchants, and charcutiers have been pillaged. Most of the houses with railings have been attacked, and the iron or wooden palings turned into weapons of offence. An American living in the Rue de Ponthieu has been pillaged, and his pictures cut to pieces with swords. I saw a National Guard disarmed

1 Probably in allusion to its being the third day of rioting.

Feb. 24th.] THE KING ABDICATES. 9

by some boys under twenty, and I assure you It is a service of no small danger to join the patrols. I spend most of the day with E., who is already worn out with anxiety, and quite ill. M. is well and so calm that I can leave her without scruple. I must, of course, send this per post, as the Embassy is inaccessible ; besides, I am sure that in this case you will not mind. I shall write again to-morrow if there is anything settled. Of course I cannot execute your commission immediately. The Rue de la Paix is in military occupation, and not a shop open. I have no time for more details ; I am just in time for post. If quiet is restored, there must be a war in three months for Italy. I have just heard there has been a fusillade on the Place de la Concorde — a few killed, many wounded. How will all this end ?

P.S. — I open my letter to say that the King has abdicated, and is off. The Comte de Paris is proclaimed, and the Duchesse d'Orl^ans Regent. It is a frightful state of things. War is to be declared against Austria and Russia, as Poland is one of the cries of the mob. The vociferations are fearful.^

1 In July, 1847, ostensibly to suppress a local rising, Austria had occupied Ferrara j the Pope protested, and England and France sent their squadrons to the Bay of Naples. This action strengthened the national party, and in January '4.8 Ferdinand II. was forced to grant a Constitution.

lo PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th.

II. Feb. 24th, II at night

It is impossible to sleep after such a day, so I shall begin to chronicle the events that have succeeded each other with fabulous rapidity since my incoherent letter this morning. An aide-de-camp of the Minister of War, who was in the King's cabinet when he abdicated, gave me a detailed account of this most signal piece of cowardice. He had reviewed the troops in the Carrousel on horseback, highly rouged, when a cry was raised, " Voici les Faubourgs ! " ^

No one had any orders, no one gave any. The mob rushed forward, shouting "Vive la Garde Nationale ! " " Vivent les troupes ! " and shook hands with the outposts. The King retreated precipitately with his sons, and a sub-lieutenant of the National Guard rushed alone into the Palace, asking to see him. He was admitted, and in the greatest agitation said, " Your Majesty must abdicate — nous sommes debordes." ^ " Very well," says the King, " in favour of my

Jealousy of Austria prompted France in the desire to support at this juncture Charles Albert of Piedmont, who had decided to champion the national cause throughout Italy.

1 The poorer districts, such as the Faubourg St. Antoine and the Faubourg du Temple, had always been centres of revolutionary movements, and their inhabitants were foremost in every popular demonstration.

2 a "We are outflanked."

Feb. 24th.] FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 1 1

grandson." " No, unconditionally," says the young and self-elected mouthpiece of public opinion. Would you believe it ? of all who were congregated round the Royal Person, Piscatory alone said, " Go down and head your troops ; fight for your crown and your dynasty." He was overruled, and they all marched out of the Palace, except the Duchesse d'Orleans, her children, and the Due de Nemours. The papers will tell you the dreadful scene the unfortunate woman underwent in the Chamber of Deputies. The Convention was nothing to this day's scenes ; shots were fired over the head of Mons. Sauzet into the King's picture, and in the tumult the little Princes were separated from their mother. The Due de Nemours' epaulets were torn off, and he escaped with great difficulty. The Royal Family are gone to Havre to be ready to embark for America. Many houses have been entered in the search for arms, but I cannot hear of pillage, except at the Tuileries. Here all the furniture was tossed out of the windows, the clothes paraded on sticks, the looking-glasses smashed, the portraits hacked with swords, and the carriages burned. The same scenes took place at the Palais Royal, which was set on fire. Report says the Opera is burnt : all the Corps de Garde decidedly are there. I was startled by hearing two shots fired, and of course I have been half an hour at the window, where, however, I have seen nothing but two patrols of National Guard, who will, I trust, maintain as much order as is consistent with the Sovereignty of the People and the total absence of all police and regular force. Upwards of five hundred Municipal Guards have been massacred, and some of the civic guard have been wounded ; but we hope all is settled now, and that the people, having got everything, have nothing left to cry for. A mob with lighted torches has been parading the streets, forcing us all to light up our windows, under penalty of seeing them broken. We are very pacific, and complied, so they cried " Bravo ! " but we are heartily ashamed of our submission to the Republic proclaimed at four, and which has perhaps already ceased to exist. I say this, but I do not hope it ; I am more inclined to think we shall have a despotic democracy with Ledru RoUin for a dictator. You cannot imagine the intense anxiety of this very long day ; we have been running from house to house all day, then rushing to the Mairie to hear about Adolphe.^ At times news reached us of perfect quiet, then of renewed tumults ; the cannon discharged for fun by the people kept us in perpetual

* The writer's brother-in-law.

Feb. 24th.] WEAKNESS OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 13

uncertainty. An officer on horseback proclaimed the Comte de Paris just as I was closing my letter to you this morning, and at five a friend came to tell us of the Republic and the Provisional Government.^

Some say that Lamartine & Co. have taken an ouvrier into their counsels, and I hope it may be so, for some of them are far more peaceable than the socalled enlightened Left. I have not words to express the contempt I feel for the Monarch who by his obstinacy brought on the crisis, and by his cowardice lost the day. On Wednesday it was possible to mitrai/kr, and he made concessions ; this morning liberal measures and promises were his only chance, and he ran for it. I fully believe in the re-establishment of public order ; I trust we shall soon be individually safe, but it is horrible to think that this vast city is in the hands of an armed mob, drunk with excitement and with the wine which they drank from the barrels in the royal cellar. Isolated houses are most dangerous at such moments, for many lawless individuals will take advantage of the moment to

1 In this Government there were two policies, represented respectively by Lamartine and by Louis Blanc. Lamartine, a Royalist by birth and personal sympathy, foresaw by this time that the Monarchy would be impossible ; he threw the influence of his genius, which had just culminated with the publication of his " Histoire des Girondins," into the growing Republican movement, and was instantly carried to power.

pillage. The Koerneritz family have left their house, Madame de Magnoncour has taken refuge at her sister's in this street, Madame d'Osmond is gone to the country ; in fact, there is a great sauve-qui-peut among the very rich. Some small traits of character give me confidence in the people and hope for the future. The Duchesse d'Orleans' apartments have not been pillaged, and she is, I am told, gone back to them. All those going out of the Palace are severely searched to prevent theft, and a gold crucifix that was at the head of the Queen's bed was carried to St. Roch and deposited on the altar. It is decidedly not '93 ; but the spirit of '91 is abroad, and we are nearing it. Ministers are put to flight, and Guizot has escaped in disguise. I am happy to say Adolphe is gone home, so now I shall go to bed, and if we are all safe and sound to-morrow, I will continue my narrative.^

III. Friday, Feb. 25th

I was woke by the rappel^ and of course went over to my sister's as soon as I was dressed. From

I Guizot, who had been in power since 1 840, was much disliked by the masses. He appealed only to the bourgeois electorate, and paid no heed to the growing discontent of the unenfranchised millions.

Feb. 25th.] THE TROOPS EVICTED. 15

her windows I saw four hundred men come to the neighbouring barracks and demand arms. They were distributed from the windows, and the whole regiment^ marched out with their knapsacks on, and two days' rations tied up on the top of their great-coats. They shook hands with the people and with the shopkeepers, and walked away singing very merrily, and saying they were going home to their families and provinces. In the mean time the armed men formed into a tolerably regular battalion, headed by a cadet of the Ecole Polytechnique, who addressed them under our window, and promised to take them to the Hotel de Ville to take the orders of the Provisional Government, after which the rallying point was to be the Place de la Republique, formerly Concorde. The proclamation of the Government contains some necessary reforms, but many Utopian notions, impossible in the midst of the luxuries and vices of a great capital. Lamartine is the only gentleman among the new Directory, and of course he won't last. I have not an idea who Mons. Flocon may be,^ but Recurt is the ne plus ultra of Communism. Louis Blanc is clever and educated ; so are Arago and Marrast, the editor of the National^ but I do not know much of the rest.^

* Of regulars. 2 Editor of La Reforme.

3 Of this group Louis Blanc was the member destined to have most

I find the post did not go yesterday, so you will get my two letters at once, and you will see by the short interval between them the giant strides of the Liberal movement. I can tell you nothing beyond our own quart'ier^ as we* have not ventured far; but this morning the National Guard was called by sections, not legions, and to the Commune, not to the Mairie. The Chamber of Peers is abolished, and Boissy made his last speech yesterday. I hope you subscribe to some French newspaper, for it is well worth while to read the organs of this most singular Revolution. Every one has put on a uniform, and the pickets are very numerous to prevent pillage, which as yet has only consisted in the combatants applying for food, wine, tobacco, and snuff, without the slightest attempt to pay. In fact, no one dare ask for it. Occasionally, in sign

lasting influence. He was bom in 181 3, at Madrid, where his father was inspector-general of finance to Joseph Bonaparte ; his mother was related to Pozzo di Borgo, the Corsican patriot. Recurt, a doctor by profession, was very popular in the democratic Faubourg St. Antoine, on account of his fearlessness and personal disinterestedness. He was successively Minister of the Interior and of Public Works in the Provisional Government, Emmanuel Arago was a son of the famous astronomer, and was called to the Bar in 1837 ; in '48 he was appointed Commissary- General to the Republic, and was sent to Lyons to levy the unpopular tax for the National Workshops. Marrast, the Mayor of Paris under both the Provisional Government and the Assembly, was editor of the National; unlike the Rdforme, which obtained a much stronger hold on the democratic party, it was opposed to Socialism,

Feb. 28th.] POLITENESS OF THE MOB. 17

of rejoicing, a gun is fired in the air, which rather startles one, but, on the whole, it is wonderful how litde emotion we feel. I cannot tell you how civil the mob is ; I do not think it prudent to take a servant, and the groups give me the inside of the pavement, saying, " Vive la Republique, madame ! " I bow and pass on. Of course I don't go ^r, but if I did, and saw any row, I should not hesitate to ask the protection of a. blouse. The advance of civilisation will serve to prevent bloodshed, but I am glad that I am very obscure. The shops are half open, and the itinerant vendors of apples, potatoes, etc., plying as usual. This morning I saw two men carrying a piano on a hand-cart, and the workmen cleaning the gas-lamps as usual. It is wonderful, but I say again where are we to be driven to }

IV. Feb. 28th

We are doing very well, and the Provisional Government is getting on splendidly. Shops were reopened yesterday, carriages appeared. Legitimists have inscribed themselves with their titles on the roll of the National Guard, and Armand de Polignac joined

c on Saturday in maintaining order in the Republic. Lamartine's energy and courage are beyond all praise ; in the midst of the infuriated mob calling for the red flag and Communism, he maintained the tricolour and the doctrine of public order. Muskets were levelled at him, swords brandished, but he did not stir, and he carried the day. One half, one tenth part of the energy would, if not have saved the dynasty, at least have left some regrets ; but as it is, " Lache comme un Bourbon," is more than ever a common saying. The Due de Montpensier, with tears in his eyes, would hardly give his father time to sign the abdication, which he snatched from the table and handed to Mons. Roche, the sub-lieutenant, who had asked for it. The Queen implored her husband to head the troops, and die in the Carrousel, saying, '*Je vous benirai du haut du balcon," but he would not. The Due de Nemours accompanied the Duchesse d'Orleans to the Chamber, and there fainted. The Prince de Chalais dragged him out, and a deputy gave him his great-coat ; no one knows where he is, but he is safe, for the first act of the Republic was to proclaim the abolition of the death-penalty for political offences. I have no time to tell you one half of the anecdotes going about respecting the cowardice of the Royal Family

Feb. 28th.] DEVASTATION OF RAILWAYS. 19

and the falling off of their creatures. Messrs. d'Houdetot and de Berthois, King's aides-de-camp, applied on Saturday for employment under the Provisional Government ; Mons. de Cabreres also sent to ask of the Republic the sword taken from him by the Monarchy. What blindness to suppose that his trial gives him any claim on a revolution which professes to be made against corruption ! There is no pillage ; all those who have been found stealing have been shot by their comrades, and many bodies have been left in the roadway with the label * Voleur ' on their breasts. To-day everything is going on as usual, but years will not repair the mischief done in a night ; there is hardly a tree left on the Boulevards, the Champs Elysees are devastated, the Palais Royal much injured by fire, the Tuileries gutted, the streets pulled up. Rambuteau has fled, so has Mons. Delessert. The Decazes, Chabannes, Dumas, and many others that we know, are ruined ; the Blounts have lost incalculably, as the mischief to the railroads is more than any one dare avow. All the coachmen and draymen who were ruined by the competition have taken advantage of the confusion to burn the magazines and break down the bridges ; Mrs. Blount told me that their first rough guess at their losses was ;^6o,ooo ! but they only knew of disasters as far as Rouen, and perhaps it is worse beyond. 1 have seen many people in high authority, many in positions of great responsibility, and all seem sanguine for the future. I do my best to keep up poor E.'s spirits ; she will have it that the children are ruined, but I think that the depreciation of property is only momentary ; I have not felt one instant's uneasiness, nor do I think that as yet there has been any cause for it. The Ministers are safe, the troops reorganised, the National Guard unanimous, and as yet there is no one to head any party, consequently we have nothing but Republicans. I hope neither Bourbons nor Buonapartes will attempt anything; the struggle would be unavailing, and the consequences impossible to foresee. This has been far more fearful, far more wonderful than July, 1830 ; there, there was a party, an organisation ; here we have the spirit of the people, and it has blown Royalty to the winds. It is curious to see the total want of foundation there was to the bourgeois throne, and the want of sympathy felt for the Citizen King. The sous-prefet of Dreux,^ who was here yesterday, says Louis Philippe is in his dotage, and I almost hope so, for I cannot bear

1 A favourite pied-a-terre of Louis Philippe, and the burial-place of the Orleans family.

Feb. 28th.] PRINCESS LIEVEN. 21

such a total want of spirit and resolution ; if his crown was worth having, it was worth fighting for, and his sons should have died by his side. I am sure the Times will give you more news than I could, but I knew you would like to hear of us. M. is very calm, and has no intention of moving unless she is obliged. I saw yesterday a diplomatist who told me that Guizot was by no means the courageous man we thought. He was bold at the tribune, and inspired by having an audience, but in a tete-a-tete he was easily bullied ; he meant to retire three years ago, but Princess Lieven prevented him ; much good she has done by it ! On the boulevards, a few minutes before the attack that decided the fate of the nation, a man was vociferating for him, when some one called out in the crowd, " II n'y est pas ; vous savez bien qu'il couche toujours chez sa princesse Russe." If they had added her address, the Hotel Talleyrand would have fared as badly as the Tuileries. I believe she fled with Lady Sandwich, but no one seems to know much about it. All the English are writing to Lady Normanby for advice ; how silly, for what can she know, or how protect any one } ^ We see many croakers, of