The display of military forces
which had been agreed upon and prepared was ordered to be suspended;
instructions to arrest the Republican leaders were issued slowly and in
but few instances. Yet a secret agitation was indicated in several parts
of the capital; there were numerous crowds; on the morning of the 23rd
several _corps-de-garde_ were attacked. As the fermentation increased,
the streets were crowded with idle workmen; people collected in knots
from curiosity, or stood at their doors. The storm was in the air,
evident both to those who dreaded it and those who were preparing to
make use of it.
Meanwhile the appeal of the revolutionary leaders to the National Guard
had been listened to. Many of the Parisian shopkeepers took part in the
"reform movement," without well understanding it, and marched under the
orders of their dangerous allies. Several detachments of the Seventh,
Third, Second, and Tenth Legions appeared in the streets, some in the
Faubourg St. Antoine, others marching to the Palais Royal, or the office
of the _National_ in the Rue le Peletier, and others in the students'
quarter shouting "Long live reform!" in every street.
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