Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 398, December 1848Various
History
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 398, December 1848
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
disagreeable enough: there were some of the elect of the people, who
may not have admitted it to themselves, but who would have liked to be
elsewhere. A mere matter of preference! A deputy is a man, after all,
and the roar at the door of the palace had nothing very soothing.
However, the first emotion did not last; the sentiment of duty
overcame it. They sat down and waited the event. I don't deny they
listened less to Poland than to what passed outside, but their bearing
was becoming, and their countenance good. You may believe me, for I am
a judge."
Presently crash went the door, and there entered a legion of ruffians
in blouses. The spectators' galleries and the body of the house were
alike invaded. All the doors gave way, and the Chamber was thronged.
The atmosphere was infected by the obscene multitude, reeking with
wine and tobacco. Filthy flags were waved over the heads of the
deputies. The vilest language was heard; the utmost confusion
prevailed; not one of the intruders seemed to know why he was there,
or what he came to do. The president was under a kind of arrest,
guarded on one side by an artillery-man with drawn sabre, on the
other by a ruffian dressed as a workman; and every moment the banners
of the clubs were waved over his head. Sometimes he was almost pushed
out of his arm-chair by the popular orators, who got astride upon its
back, or stood upon his table. "The representatives," Madame Paturot
speaks, "kept their seats, and did the Roman senator very tolerably.
The rioters did not meddle much with them, except with two or three,
who had scuffles with the insurgent leaders. Simon was one of those.
His seat was under the gallery, and an insurgent, risking a perilous
leap from the elevation, alighted upon his shoulders. Our miller was
not accustomed to such treatment. A sack of flour--well and good; but
a man was too much. He took this one by the collar, and shook him
nearly to death. The fellow bellowed for assistance, but Simon's
strength deterred interference, and the affair went no further. Others
of the elect of the people were less fortunate, and received at the
hands of their constituents a new baptism, not prescribed by the
constitution. What then, Jerome? Who loves well chastises well. Thus
did these sovereigns of the street testify their affection." The
orator's tribune was besieged by the chiefs of the insurrection--all
anxious to speak. It was continually assaulted and taken; one speaker
pulled down, and another taking his place, to be, in his turn,
expelled. Those who succeeded in making themselves heard, proposed
absurdities. One clamoured for Poland; another would levy an impost of
a thousand millions, to be paid by the rich; a third declared a
traitor to his country whosoever should cause the drums to beat alarm;
a fourth notified to the Assembly that it was then and there
dissolved. This last announcement raised a hurricane. "The mob no
longer shouted--it roared. The president still protesting, his
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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