Tout le monde le sait;
la gauche meme ne l'attaque plus."_ Even General Trochu, the Governor
of the capital, did not mention Napoleon's name in his proclamation to
Paris. He himself hardly dared to send any messages. After having been
obliged to surrender the supreme command, he followed the army, like a
mock emperor, a kind of onlooker, a superfluous piece on the board.
People said of him: "_On croit qu'il se promene un peu aux environs de
Chalons._"
As can be seen from this, the deposition of the Emperor had taken place
in people's consciousness, and was, so to speak, publicly settled,
several weeks before the battle of Sedan brought with it his surrender
to the King of Prussia and the proclamation of the French Republic. The
Revolution of September 4th was not an overturning of things; it was
merely the ratification of a state of affairs that people were already
agreed upon in the capital, and had been even before the battle of
Gravelotte.
In Paris preparations were being made with the utmost energy for the
defence of the city. All men liable to bear arms were called up, and
huge numbers of volunteers were drilled. It was an affecting sight to
see the poor workmen drilling on the Place du Carrousel for enrolment in
the volunteer corps. Really, most of them looked so bloodless and
wretched that one was tempted to think they went with the rest for the
sake of the franc a day and uniform.
Pages:
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452