Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 391, May, 1848Various
General
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 391, May, 1848
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
On the morrow, what a scene! From a very early hour of the morning,
bands of hundreds and of thousands, in marching order, have poured
down upon Paris from all the suburbs. From north, south, east, and
west, they have come in countless hordes into the central streets and
squares of the capital. Along the Boulevards, from the Bastile, from
the heights of Montmartre, down the avenues of the Champs Elysées and
the quays--from beyond the water and the Faubourg St Martel, they have
come, sweeping on like so many mountain torrents. Every where as they
advanced they have proferred cries of "Down with the National Guards!
down with the aristocrats! down with the legitimists! down with the
enemies of the Republic!" Better dressed men in many instances have
marshalled them on their way; and among the inhabitants of Paris goes
forth a murmur, that they have been roused to this state of tumult by
the accolytes of the obnoxious minister, with the intention of
overawing his colleagues and displaying his own power. And if, in
truth, they shout "long live" any one, it is _his_ name they cry: his
noble-hearted and more moderate colleague, lately so popular, has lost
a people's favour. And now the hundred torrents have met upon the
quays, and before the Hotel de Ville; and hundreds of banners with
manifold inscriptions are waving in the air; and troop upon troop is
marshalled into some degree of order: but fearful is the mass: awful
is the demonstration of a people! And now the members of the
Government are compelled, one and all, to come down upon the elevated
terrace before the façade of the Hotel de Ville: they are behung with
tricolor scarfs, the ends of which stream with long gold fringes;
their heads are bared before their masters and the rulers of the land.
And now the host of people defiles before them; and they make
speeches, and cry "_Vive la Republique! Vive le peuple!_" And the
people, proud of its force, and rejoicing in its demonstration, that
shows its power over the _bourgeois_, answers with shouts that rend
the air. Heavens! what a scene! This is Republican Paris, indeed, I
trow!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account