e throne treated to a similar fate,
and carried off to the Place de la Bastille to be burned publicly; the
papers of the royal family mercilessly flung to the winds; the dresses
of the princesses torn to ribbons or else put on the backs of the vilest
of the vile.

There was only one comic incident to relieve the horror of the whole. In
one of the private apartments the rabble had come upon an aged parrot
screeching at the top of its voice, "A bas Guizot!" The bird became a
hero there and then, and was absolutely crammed with sweets and sugar.
That one comic note was not enough to dispel my disgust, and after the
scene in the Galerie de Diane which I have just described, I made my way
into the street.

I had scarcely proceeded a few steps, when I heard the not very
startling news that the republic had been formally proclaimed in the
Chamber by M. de Lamartine, who had afterwards repaired to the Hotel de
Ville. At the same time, people were shouting that the King had died
suddenly. I endeavoured to get as far, but, though the distance was
certainly not more than half a mile, it took me more than an hour. At
every few yards my progress was interrupted by barricades, the
self-elected custodians of which were particularly anxious to show their
authority to a man like myself, dressed in a coat. At last I managed to
get to the corner of the Rues des Lombards and Saint-Martin, and just in
time to enjoy a sight than which I have witnessed nothing more comic
during the succeeding popular uprisings in subsequent years. I was just
crossing, when a procession hove in sight, composed mainly of ragged
urchins, dishevelled women, and riff-raff of both sexes. In their midst
was an individual on horseback, dressed in the uniform of a general of
the First Republic, whom they were cheering loudly. The stationary crowd
made way for them, and mingled with the escort. The moment I had thrown
in my lot with the latter, retreat was no longer possible, and in a very
short time I found myself in the courtyard of the Hotel de Ville, and,
in another minute or so, in the principal gallery on the first floor,
where, it appears, _some members_ of the Provisional Government were
already at work. I had not the remotest notion who they were, nor did I
care to inquire, having merely come to look on. The work of the members
of the Provisional Government seemed mainly to consist in consuming
enormous quantities of charcuterie and washing them down with cop