France -- History -- Louis XIV, 1643-1715 -- Fiction
The work of revolt continued the whole night thus. The next morning, on
awaking, Paris seemed to be startled at her own appearance. It was like
a besieged town. Armed men, shouldering muskets, watched over the
barricades with menacing looks; words of command, patrols, arrests,
executions, even, were encountered at every step. Those bearing plumed
hats and gold swords were stopped and made to cry, “Long live
Broussel!” “Down with Mazarin!” and whoever refused to comply with this
ceremony was hooted at, spat upon and even beaten. They had not yet
begun to slay, but it was well felt that the inclination to do so was
not wanting.
The barricades had been pushed as far as the Palais Royal. From the Rue
de Bons Enfants to that of the Ferronnerie, from the Rue Saint
Thomas-du-Louvre to the Pont Neuf, from the Rue Richelieu to the Porte
Saint Honoré, there were more than ten thousand armed men; those who
were at the front hurled defiance at the impassive sentinels of the
regiment of guards posted around the Palais Royal, the gates of which
were closed behind them, a precaution which made their situation
precarious. Among these thousands moved, in bands numbering from one
hundred to two hundred, pale and haggard men, clothed in rags, who bore
a sort of standard on which was inscribed these words: “BEHOLD THE
MISERY OF THE PEOPLE!” Wherever these men passed, frenzied cries were
heard; and there were so many of these bands that the cries were to be
heard in all directions.
The astonishment of Mazarin and of Anne of Austria was great when it
was announced to them that the city, which the previous evening they
had left entirely tranquil, had awakened to such feverish commotion;
nor would either the one or the other believe the reports that were
brought to them, declaring they would rather rely on the evidence of
their own eyes and ears. Then a window was opened and when they saw and
heard they were convinced.
Mazarin shrugged his shoulders and pretended to despise the populace;
but he turned visibly pale and ran to his closet, trembling all over,
locked up his gold and jewels in his caskets and put his finest
diamonds on his fingers. As for the queen, furious, and left to her own
guidance, she went for the Maréchal de la Meilleraie and desired him to
take as many men as he pleased and to go and see what was the meaning
of this pleasantry.
The marshal was ordinarily very adventurous and was wont to hesitate at
nothing; and he had that lofty contempt for the populace which army
officers usually profess. He took a hundred and fifty men and attempted
to go out by the Pont du Louvre, but there he met Rochefort and his
fifty horsemen, attended by more than five hundred men. The marshal
made no attempt to force that barrier and returned up the quay. But at
Pont Neuf he found Louvières and his bourgeois. This time the marshal
charged, but he was welcomed by musket shots, while stones fell like
hail from all the windows. He left there three men.
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