Part 13 (1/2)
THE MAIRIE OF THE TENTH ARRONDISs.e.m.e.nT
The Representatives, having come out from M. Daru, rejoined each other and a.s.sembled in the street. There they consulted briefly, from group to group. There were a large number of them. In less than an hour, by sending notices to the houses on the left bank of the Seine alone, on account of the extreme urgency, more than three hundred members could be called together. But where should they meet? At Lemardelay's? The Rue Richelieu was guarded. At the Salle Martel? It was a long way off. They relied upon the Tenth Legion, of which General Lauriston was colonel.
They showed a preference for the Mairie of the Tenth Arrondiss.e.m.e.nt.
Besides, the distance was short, and there was no need to cross any bridges.
They formed themselves into column, and set forth.
M. Daru, as we have said, lived in the Rue de Lille, close by the a.s.sembly. The section of the Rue de Lille lying between his house and the Palais Bourbon was occupied by infantry. The last detachment barred his door, but it only barred it on the right, not on the left.
The Representatives, on quitting M. Daru, bent their steps on the side of the Rue des Saints-Peres, and left the soldiers behind them. At that moment the soldiers had only been instructed to prevent their meeting in the Palace of the a.s.sembly; they could quietly form themselves into a column in the street, and set forth. If they had turned to the right instead of to the left, they would have been opposed. But there were no orders for the other alternative; they pa.s.sed through a gap in the instructions.
An hour afterwards this threw St. Arnaud into a fit of fury.
On their way fresh Representatives came up and swelled the column. As the members of the Right lived for the most part in the Faubourg St. Germain, the column was composed almost entirely of men belonging to the majority.
At the corner of the Quai d'Orsay they met a group of members of the Left, who had reunited after their exit from the Palace of the a.s.sembly, and who were consulting together. There were the Representatives Esquiros, Marc Dufraisse, Victor Hennequin, Colfavru, and Chamiot.
Those who were marching at the head of the column left their places, went up to the group, and said, ”Come with us.”
”Where are you going?” asked Marc Dufraisse.
To the Mairie of the Tenth Arrondiss.e.m.e.nt.”
”What do you intend to do there?”
”To decree the deposition of Louis Bonaparte.”
”And afterwards?”
”Afterwards we shall go in a body to the Palace of the a.s.sembly; we will force our way in spite of all resistance, and from the top of the steps we will read out the decree of deposition to the soldiers.”
”Very good, we will join you,” said Mare Dufraisse.
The five members of the Left marched at some distance from the column.
Several of their friends who were mingled with the members of the Right rejoined them; and we may here mention a fact without giving it more importance than it possesses, namely, that the two fractions of the a.s.sembly represented in this unpremeditated gathering marched towards the Mairie without being mingled together; one on each side of the street. It chanced that the men of the majority kept on the right side of the street, and the men of the minority on the left.
No one had a scarf of office. No outward token caused them to be recognized. The pa.s.sers-by stared at them with surprise, and did not understand what was the meaning of this procession of silent men through the solitary streets of the Faubourg St. Germain. One district of Paris was as yet unaware of the _coup d'etat_.
Strategically speaking, from a defensive point of view, the Mairie of the tenth Arrondiss.e.m.e.nt was badly chosen. Situated in a narrow street in that short section of the Rue de Grenelle-St.-Germain which lies between the Rue des Saints-Peres and the Rue du Sepulcre, close by the cross-roads of the Croix-Rouge, where the troops could arrive from so many different points, the Mairie of the Tenth Arrondiss.e.m.e.nt, confined, commanded, and blockaded on every side, was a pitiful citadel for the a.s.sailed National Representation. It is true that they no longer had the choice of a citadel, any more than later on they had the choice of a general.
Their arrival at the Mairie might have seemed a good omen. The great gate which leads into a square courtyard was shut; it opened. The post of the National Guards, composed of some twenty men, took up their arms and rendered military honors to the a.s.sembly. The Representatives entered, a Deputy Mayor received them with respect on the threshold of the Mairie. ”The Palace of the a.s.sembly is closed by the troops,” said the Representatives, ”we have come to deliberate here.” The Deputy Mayor led them to the first story, and admitted them to the Great Munic.i.p.al Hall. The National Guard cried, ”Long live the National a.s.sembly!”
The Representatives having entered, the door was shut. A crowd began to gather in the street and shouted ”Long live the a.s.sembly!” A certain number of strangers to the a.s.sembly entered the Mairie at the same time as the Representatives. Overcrowding was feared, and two sentries were placed at a little side-door, which was left open, with orders only to allow members of the a.s.sembly who might come afterwards to enter. M.
Howyn Tranchere stationed himself at this door, and undertook to identify them.
On their arrival at the Mairie, the Representatives numbered somewhat under three hundred. They exceeded this number later on. It was about eleven o'clock in the morning. All did not go up at once into the hall where the meeting was to take place. Several, those of the Left in particular, remained in the courtyard, mingling with the National Guards and citizens.
They talked of what they were going to do.
This was the first difficulty.