ng, a conjuring feat on a
large scale; the sceptics and the knowing men said, "It is a good joke
played upon those idiots." Suddenly Louis Bonaparte grew uneasy and
revealed all his policy. "Tell Saint-Arnaud to execute my orders."
Saint-Arnaud obeyed, the _coup d'etat_ acted according to its own code
of laws, and from that appalling moment an immense torrent of blood
began to flow across this crime.

They left the corpses lying on the pavements, wild-looking, livid,
stupefied, with their pockets turned inside out. The military murderer
is thus condemned to mount the villainous scale of guilt. In the morning
an assassin, in the evening a thief.

When night came enthusiasm and joy reigned at the Elysee. These men
triumphed. Conneau has ingeniously related the scene. The familiar
spirits were delirious with joy. Fialin addressed Bonaparte in
hail-fellow-well-met style. "You had better break yourself of that,"
whispered Vieillard. In truth this carnage made Bonaparte Emperor. He
was now "His Majesty." They drank, they smoked like the soldiers on the
boulevards; for having slaughtered throughout the day, they drank
throughout the night; wine flowed upon the blood. At the Elysee they
were amazed at the result. They were enraptured; they loudly expressed
their admiration. "What a capital idea the Prince had had! How well the
thing had been managed! This was much better than flying the country, by
Dieppe, like D'Haussez; or by Membrolle, like Guernon-Ranville; or being
captured, disguised as a footboy, and blacking the boots of Madame de
Saint Fargeau, like poor Polignac!" "Guizot was no cleverer than
Polignac," exclaimed Persigny. Fleury turned to Morny: "Your theorists
would not have succeeded in a _coup d'etat_." "That is true, they were
not particularly vigorous," answered Morny. He added, "And yet they were
clever men,--Louis Philippe, Guizot, Thiers--" Louis Bonaparte, taking
his cigarette from his lips, interrupted, "If such are clever men, I
would rather be an ass--"

"A hyena in an ass's skin," says History.

[24] No. 20, Cite Rodier.

[25] Rue Caumartin. See pages 142, 145-148.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE APPOINTMENT MADE WITH THE WORKMEN'S SOCIETIES

What had become of our Committee during these tragic events, and what
was it doing? It is necessary to relate what took place.

Let us go back a few hours.

At the moment when this strange butchery began, the seat of the
Committee was still in the Rue Ric