Politics in Paris in 1877--An Oration by Gambetta--the Balloting--The Republic Saved--Gambetta's Funeral--A Member of the Reform Club--The Century Club--A Draught of Turpentine and Soda--The "Press Gang" at the Reform--James Payn and William Black--George Augustus Sala and Sir John Robinson--Disraeli's Triumph in 1878--A European Tour. In the autumn of 1877 I went over to Paris, in order to watch the General Election of that year. It was a fateful moment in the history of France. The Royalists, and the whole of the anti-Republican forces, were bent upon overthrowing the Republic, and they looked upon President Macmahon as their tool. Thiers, the natural leader of the Republican party, had died, after a brief illness, within a few weeks of the election; and Gambetta, who had stepped into his place, was not only under prosecution for his famous _"Ou se soumettre ou se démettre"_ speech, but was still regarded by a large section of moderate men as a wild man, a _fou furieux_, indeed, who could not be trusted with the fortunes of the party. Every morning the Parisians awoke to wonder whether the expected _coup d'état_ had taken place during the night. The drama had clearly reached an exciting moment, and I thought it well to witness the _dénouement_ for myself. My kind friend Lord Houghton, on learning my intention, sent me a batch of introductions to many of the leading men in Paris. They included the Comte de Paris himself, M. Barthélemy Saint-Hilaire, the bosom friend of M. Thiers, and M. Blowitz, of the _Times_. I did not see a revolution, because none took place; but I had an excellent opportunity of watching Paris pass through a political crisis, and of witnessing the triumph of the Republic over its numerous and formidable enemies. That year (1877) was indeed the best year in the history of the Republic. It still had the support of the great mass of the public. The middle-class gave it all their aid, and the combination of Thiers and Gambetta had made the Left and Left Centre parties immensely powerful. It was interesting to watch the beginnings of the clerical reaction, beginnings which found their outward expression in the propagation of the cult of the Sacred Heart. All Paris was singing in those days, either in the original or in a parody, the hymn with the refrain, "Heaven save poor France in the name of the Sacred Heart." On the whole, the parodists were in a majority, and their parodies were just as blasphemous as one expects them to be in France.