" A few minutes
before her arrival, Thiers had entered the Chamber in the greatest
agitation. "The tide is rising, rising, rising!" he said to those who
crowded round him, and then disappeared. Several voices were heard
together in confusion; among the speakers were La Rochejacquelein,
Ledru-Rollin, Marie, and Berryer.
The Duchess had been conducted to a gallery, on account of the threats
of the insurgent battalions, who burst open the doors after General
Gourgaud had in vain tried to stop them. Armand Marrast, one of the
editors of the _National_, after looking at the invaders, said: "These
are the sham public; I shall call the real!" A few minutes afterward
shots were heard in the court of the palace; the posts in the hands of
the National Guard opened before the triumphant mob, who, after sacking
the Tuileries, hurried up against the expiring remnants of the monarchy.
The Duchesse d'Orleans had already twice offered to speak, but her voice
was drowned in the tumult. The newcomers, stained with blood and
blackened with gunpowder, with dishevelled hair and bare arms, climbed
on the benches, stairs, and galleries; and in every part were shouts of
"Down with the regency! Long live the Republic! Turn out the
'Contents'!" Sauzet put on his hat, but a workman knocked it off, and
then the President disappeared.
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