There is no news of Gambetta. We are beginning to get uneasy. The wind carried him to the north-east, which is occupied by the Prussians.
October 11.—Good news of Gambetta. He descended at Epineuse, near Amiens.
Last night, after the demonstrations in Paris, while passing a group that had assembled under a street lamp, I heard these words: “It appears that Victor Hugo and the others—.” I continued on my way, and did not listen to the rest, as I did not wish to be recognised.
After dinner I read to my friends the verses with which the French edition of Les Châtiments begins (“When about to return to France,” Brussels, August 31, 1870).
October 12.—It is beginning to get cold. Barbieux, who commands a battalion, brought us the helmet of a Prussian soldier who was killed by his men. This helmet greatly astonished little Jeanne. These angels do not yet know anything about earth.
The decree I demanded for the indigent was published this morning in the “Journal Officiel.”
M. Pallain, the Minister’s secretary, whom I met as I came out of the Carrousel, told me that the decree would cost 800,000 francs.
I replied: “Eight hundred thousand francs, all right. Take from the rich. Give to the poor.”
October 13.—I met to-day Théophile Gautier, whom I I had not seen for many years. I embraced him. He was rather nervous. I told him to come and dine with me.
October 14.—The Château of Saint Cloud was burned yesterday!