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 begin with cannon. But do not be uneasy. To-morrow evening the authority of the king and of the law shall be re-established." CHAPTER XII. THE THRONE DEMOLISHED. 1848 Attempts at conciliation.--False confidence of the king.--Resignation of Thiers.--Scene in the palace.--Heroism of the queen.--The insurrection triumphant.--The abdication.--Imminent danger of the royal family.--Peril and sufferings of the Duchess of Orleans.--Flight of the king.--Escape.--She retires from the Tuileries.--The duchess in the Chamber of Deputies.--Speech of Lamartine.--Scene in the Chamber.--Entrance of the duchess.--The rush of the mob.--Escape of the duchess and her children.--The Provisional Government.--The moderate and the radical Republicans.--A compromise.--A surging crowd.--Awful scenes in Paris.--Death of Louis Philippe.