hears and sees not. It is therefore necessary to fill in here the

inevitable blanks of the shorthand account.

In order to obtain a complete idea of this sitting of the Tenth

Arrondissement, we must picture the great Hall of the Mairie, a sort of

parallelogram, lighted on the right by four or five windows overlooking

the courtyard; on the left, along the wall, furnished with several rows

of benches which had been hastily brought thither, on which were piled up

the three hundred Representatives, assembled together by chance. No one

was sitting down, those in front were standing, those behind were mounted

on the benches. Here and there were a few small tables. In the centre

people walked to and fro. At the bottom, at the end opposite the door,

was a long table furnished with benches, which occupied the whole width

of the wall, behind which sat the "bureau." "Sitting" is merely the

conventional term. The "bureau" did not "sit;" like the rest of the

Assembly it was on its feet. The secretaries, M.M. Chapot, Moulin, and

Grimault wrote standing. At certain moments the two Vice-Presidents

mounted on the benches so as to be better seen from all points of the

room. The table was covered by an old green tablecloth, stained with ink,

three or four inkstands had been brought in, and a quire of paper was

scattered about. There the decrees were written as soon as they were

drawn up. They multiplied the copies, some Representatives became

secretaries on the spur of the moment, and helped the official

secretaries.

This great hall was on a level with the landing. It was situated, as we

have said, on the first floor; it was reached by a very narrow staircase.

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The History of a Crime