‘Paris, which I had known under so many different circumstances, and which I had originally known in times so very opposite to these. It is an observation of Thucydides that, in the country of which he was a native and of which he wrote, the traveller could not take a step without treading on historic ground. With equal truth may it be said that it is impossible to traverse Paris, without at each step being reminded of occurrences which are destined to become the materials of future history: occurrences which are the more striking, inasmuch as they have not been received by us on the faith of tradition obscured by the lapse of ages or gathered from the Annals of our ancestors, but have taken place within our own memories, have involved the fall of persons we ourselves have known, have overwhelmed institutions with which we have been personally conversant, and have already materially affected the destinies of the generation to which we belong.’ ‘The most eloquent discourse cannot half so well illustrate the character of human passion, the vicissitudes of human fortune, the vanity of human pursuits, and the instability of human things, as the aspect of this metropolis.’ [Sidenote: THE INFERNAL MACHINE] ‘When we were within a few steps of the _Théâtre de la République_ we were surprised by an explosion resembling the report of a cannon.[173] On stepping out of the carriage I perceived a column of smoke making its way over the tops of the houses. In an instant the rattling of cavalry announced the approach of the First Consul, who drove by us with rapidity. We entered the theatre lost in conjecture as to the probable cause of so strange and sinister an incident. We had but little disposition to attend to the business of the drama, which was presently put a stop to by the account of that heinous atrocity which exhibits such a melancholy instance of the most deliberate depravity, and which had so nearly terminated the transcendent career of that illustrious man, whose fame will be more durable than the Pyramids he has visited, whose life is consumed in a succession of dangers, whose preservation should be dear not only to all good citizens, but to all good men, whose fortunes may be deemed inseparable from the fortunes of the Republic. The actor who came forward upon this occasion made the audience acquainted neither with extent or particulars of the misfortune which made it indecent to proceed. The theatre was immediately evacuated; guards were seen moving in various directions, and the measures of precaution were taken with a degree of calmness, quickness, precision, and intelligence which served to give me some idea of the perfection of the military system.