news had already reached the
ears of the king. They found him in his cabinet with his son, the
Duke de Montpensier, and other important personages. All were in a
state of great consternation. M. Thiers was immediately sent for. The
crisis demanded the most decisive measures, and yet the councils were
divided. There was a very energetic veteran general in Paris, Marshal
Bugeaud, who had acquired renown in the war in Algeria. He was
popular with the soldiers, but very unpopular with the people. Inured
to the horrors of the battle-field, he would, without the slightest
hesitation, mow down the people mercilessly with grape-shot.

The king was appalled, in view of his own peril and that of his
family. He well knew how numerous and bitter were his enemies. He had
not forgotten the doom of his predecessors in that palace, Louis XVI.
and Maria Antoinette. For years assassins had dogged his path. All
varieties of ingenious machines of destruction had been constructed
to secure his death. He was appropriately called the Target King, so
constantly were the bullets of his foes aimed at his life. Even a
brave man may be excused for being terrified when his wife and his
children are exposed to every conceivable indignity and to a bloody
death. Under these circumstances the king consented to place the
command of the army in the hands of the energetic Marshal Bugeaud. It
was now two o'clock in the morning. The veteran marshal, invested
with almost dictatorial powers, left the Tuileries in company with
one of the sons of the king, the Duke de Nemours, to take possession
of the troops, and to arrange them for the conflict which was
inevitable on the morrow.

The impulse of a master-mind was immediately felt. Aided by the
obscurity of the night, messengers were dispatched in every
direction, and by five o'clock in the morning four immense columns of
troops were advancing to occupy important strategic points, which
would command the city. These arrangements being completed, the Duke
de Nemours anxiously inquired of the marshal what he thought of the
morrow. M. Bugeaud replied:

"Monseigneur, it will be rough, but the victory will be ours. I have
never yet been beaten, and I am not going to commence to-morrow.
Certainly it would have been better not to have lost so much time;
but no matter, I will answer for the result if I am left alone. It
must not be imagined that I can manage without bloodshed. Perhaps
there will be much, for I be