Several artillerymen, who, like myself, had heard these words,
shouted: "_Vive la ligne!_" The cry uttered by us was taken up with
enthusiasm: they knew we should not give such a cry without reason. The
line replied by a shout nearly as unanimous of: "_Honneur au général
Lamarque!_" These words, "The line is on our side," repeated from rank
to rank, ran through the whole length of the cortège like lightning. At
the same time, loud shouts were heard of "_L'École Polytechnique!...
vive l'École! vive la République!_" These were inspired by the sight of
some sixty students running with disordered raiment, bareheaded, some
with swords in their hands. They had been consigned to their quarters
and had broken out, overturning General Tholosé, who had tried to
oppose their coming out; they had come to throw their popular name
and their uniform, still blackened with the powder of July, into the
insurrection. The artillery received them with open arms; they knew
that, few though they were in number, they were a powerful support.
Their arrival produced so much effect that, at sight of therm the band
which preceded the hearse spontaneously played the _Marseillaise._ No
idea can be formed of the enthusiasm with which the crowd greeted that
electrifying air, forbidden for over a year. Fifty thousand voices
repeated in chorus, "_Citizens, to arms!_" To this chant, the cortège
crossed the place de la Bastille and traversed the boulevard Bourdon,
advancing between the Saint-Martin canal and the public granaries.
A platform was put up at the entrance to the bridge of Austerlitz;
from it the farewell orations were to be given. After these were
pronounced, the body of General Lamarque continued its route towards
the département des Landes, where it was to be interred, whilst the
procession returned to Paris.
It was after three o'clock in the afternoon; I had had nothing since
the previous night, except the cup of chocolate from my friend Hiraux:
I was literally dropping from exhaustion. The speeches bade fair to
be long, and, naturally, tedious; so I proposed to two or three of
the artillerymen to come and dine at the _Gros Marronniers,_ and they
accepted.
"Will anything happen?" I asked Bastide before I went off.
"I think not," he said, looking round him, "and yet, do not be
deceived, the 29 July is in the air."
"In any case, I shall not go far away," I said, and I went.
"Are you going away?" Étienne Arago said to me.
"I will return in a quarter of an hour."
"Make haste, if you wish to take part!"
"How can I, I have neither rifle nor cartridges?"
"You must do as I have done, put pistols in your pockets."
He showed me the butt-end of a pistol sticking out of his pocket.
"_Diable!_" I exclaimed, "if I thought anything would happen I would
dispense with dinner!"
"Oh! don't be anxious, if there is anything it will last long enough
for you to come back before dessert."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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