“‘Pardon me, Monsieur, here, at the Hotel de Ville I am at home, and here I propose to stay.’
“‘Yesterday you were perhaps at home in the Hotel de Ville; to-day the people are at home in it.’
“‘Ah! But—’
“‘Go to the window and look out on the square.’
“The square had been invaded by a noisy, swarming crowd in which workingmen, National Guards and soldiers were mingled pell-mell. And the rifles of the soldiers wore in the hands of the men of the people. I turned to the intruders and said:
“‘You are right, messieurs, you are the masters here.’
“‘Well, then,’ said the captain, ‘instruct your employés to recognise my authority.’
“That was too much. I replied: ‘What do you take me for?’ I gathered up a few papers, issued a few orders, and here I am. Since you are going to the Chamber, if there is still a Chamber, tell the Minister of the Interior, if the Ministry still exists, that at the Hotel de Ville there is no longer either Prefect or Prefecture.”
It is with great difficulty that we make our way through the human ocean that with a noise as of a tempest covers the Place de Hotel de Ville. At the Quai de la Mégisserie is a formidable barricade; thanks to the Mayor’s sash shown by my companion we are allowed to clamber over it. Beyond this the quays are almost deserted. We reach the Chamber of Deputies by the left bank of the river.
The Palais Bourbon is encumbered by a buzzing crowd of deputies, peers and high functionaries. From a rather large group comes the sharp voice of M. Thiers: “Ah! here is Victor Hugo!” He comes to us and asks for news about the Faubourg Saint Antoine. We add that about the Hotel de Ville. He shakes his head gloomily.