Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870; Paris (France) -- Description and travel; Paris (France) -- History -- 19th century
The former king and queen took hidden refuge in a small cottage at
Honfleur, whence they were to depart a few days later for England--ever a
refuge for exiled monarchists. Escape became very urgent, and the king,
with an English passport in the name of William Smith, and the queen as
Madame Lebrun, crossed over to Le Havre and ultimately to England.
Lamartine evidently mistakes even the time and place of this incident,
but newspaper accounts of the time, both French and English, are very full
as to the details. On landing at the quai at Le Havre, the ex-royal party
was conducted to the "Express" steam-packet, which had been placed at
their disposal for the cross-channel journey. Dumas takes the very
incident as a detail for his story of "Pauline," and his treatment thereof
does not differ greatly from the facts as above set forth. Two years later
(August 26, 1850), at Claremont, in Surrey, in the presence of the queen
and several members of his family, Louis-Philippe died. He was the last of
the Bourbons, with whom Dumas proudly claimed acquaintanceship, and as
such, only a short time before, was one of the mightiest of the world's
monarchs, standing on one of the loftiest pinnacles of an ambition which,
in the mind of a stronger or more wilful personality, might have
accomplished with success much that with him resulted in defeat.
After the maelstrom of discontent--the Revolution of 1848--had settled
down, there came a series of events well-nigh as disturbing. Events in
Paris were rapidly ripening for a change. The known determination of Louis
Napoleon to prolong his power, either as president for another term of
four years, or for life, or as consul or emperor of the French, and the
support which his pretensions received from large masses of the people and
from the rank and file of the army, had brought him into collision with a
rival--General Changarnier--almost as powerful as himself, and with an
ambition quite as daring as his own.
What Louis Napoleon wanted was evident. There was no secret about his
designs. The partisans of Henri V. looked to Changarnier for the
restoration of peace and legitimacy, and the Orleanists considered that he
was the most likely man in France to bring back the house of Orleans, and
the comfortable days of bribery, corruption, and a thriving trade; while
the fat _bourgeoisie_ venerated him as the unflinching foe of the
disturbers of order, and the great bulwark against Communism and the Red
Republic.
Still, this was manifestly not to be, though no one seemed to care a straw
about Louis Napoleon's republic, or whether or no he dared to declare
himself king or emperor, or whether they should be ruled by Bonapartist,
Bourbon, or Orleanist.
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