etter of the President of the Republic to General Oudinot, in which
the siege of Rome had been decided upon. This letter was regarded as a
brilliant victory, due to the firm demeanour of the reactionary party.
Since 1848 the Chambers had been discussing the Roman question; but it
had been reserved for a Bonaparte to stifle a rising Republic by an act
of intervention which France, if free, would never have countenanced.
The marquis declared, however, that one could not better promote the
cause of legitimacy, and Vuillet wrote a superb article on the matter.
The enthusiasm became unbounded when, a month later, Commander Sicardot
entered the Rougons' house one evening and announced to the company
that the French army was fighting under the walls of Rome. Then, while
everybody was raising exclamations at this news, he went up to Pierre,
and shook hands with him in a significant manner. And when he had taken
a seat, he began to sound the praises of the President of the Republic,
who, said he, was the only person able to save France from anarchy.

"Let him save it, then, as quickly as possible," interrupted the
marquis, "and let him then understand his duty by restoring it to its
legitimate masters."

Pierre seemed to approve this fine retort, and having thus given
proof of his ardent royalism, he ventured to remark that Prince Louis
Bonaparte had his entire sympathy in the matter. He thereupon exchanged
a few short sentences with the commander, commending the excellent
intentions of the President, which sentences one might have thought
prepared and learnt beforehand. Bonapartism now, for the first time,
made its entry into the yellow drawing-room. It is true that since the
election of December 10 the Prince had been treated there with a certain
amount of consideration. He was preferred a thousand times to Cavaignac,
and the whole reactionary party had voted for him. But they regarded
him rather as an accomplice than a friend; and, as such, they distrusted
him, and even began to accuse him of a desire to keep for himself
the chestnuts which he had pulled out of the fire. On that particular
evening, however, owing to the fighting at Rome, they listened with
favour to the praises of Pierre and the commander.

The group led by Granoux and Roudier already demanded that the President
should order all republican rascals to be shot; while the marquis,
leaning against the mantelpiece, gazed meditatively at a faded rose on
the carpe