o may have returned home at a
late hour of the night might have noticed a large number of street cabs
loitering in scattered groups at different points round about the Rue de
Jerusalem.

From eleven o'clock in the evening, under pretext of the arrivals of
refugees at Paris from Genoa and London, the Brigade of Surety and the
eight hundred _sergents de ville_ had been retained in the Prefecture. At
three o'clock in the morning a summons had been sent to the forty-eight
Commissaries of Paris and of the suburbs, and also to the peace officers.
An hour afterwards all of them arrived. They were ushered into a separate
chamber, and isolated from each other as much as possible. At five
o'clock a bell was sounded in the Prefect's cabinet. The Prefect Maupas
called the Commissaries of Police one after another into his cabinet,
revealed the plot to them, and allotted to each his portion of the crime.
None refused; many thanked him.

It was a question of arresting at their own homes seventy-eight Democrats
who were influential in their districts, and dreaded by the Elysee as
possible chieftains of barricades. It was necessary, a still more daring
outrage, to arrest at their houses sixteen Representatives of the People.
For this last task were chosen among the Commissaries of Police such of
those magistrates who seemed the most likely to become ruffians. Amongst
these were divided the Representatives. Each had his man. Sieur Courtille
had Charras, Sieur Desgranges had Nadaud, Sieur Hubaut the elder had M.
Thiers, and Sieur Hubaut the younger General Bedeau, General Changarnier
was allotted to Lerat, and General Cavaignac to Colin. Sieur Dourlens
took Representative Valentin, Sieur Benoist Representative Miot, Sieur
Allard Representative Cholat, Sieur Barlet took Roger (Du Nord), General
Lamoriciere fell to Commissary Blanchet, Commissary Gronfier had
Representative Greppo, and Commissary Boudrot Representative Lagrange.
The Questors were similarly allotted, Monsieur Baze to the Sieur
Primorin, and General Leflo to Sieur Bertoglio.

Warrants with the name of the Representatives had been drawn up in the
Prefect's private Cabinet. Blanks had been only left for the names of the
Commissaries. These were filled in at the moment of leaving.

In addition to the armed force which was appointed to assist them, it had
been decided that each Commissary should be accompanied by two escorts,
one composed of _sergents de ville_, the other of p