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not bivouac, they were ready to march; the muffled sound of breathing
could be heard; the square was full of that glistening shower of pale
sparks which bayonets give forth at night time. Above this abyss of
shadows rose up black and stark the Column of July.
Proudhon resumed,--
"
Listen. I come to give you a friendly warning. You are entertaining
illusions. The People are ensnared in this affair. They will not stir.
Bonaparte will carry them with him. This rubbish, the restitution of
universal suffrage, entraps the simpletons. Bonaparte passes for a
Socialist. He has said, 'I will be the Emperor of the Rabble.' It is a
piece of insolence. But insolence has a chance of success when it has
this at its service."
And Proudhon pointed with his finger to the sinister gleam of the
bayonets. He continued,--
"Bonaparte has an object in view. The Republic has made the People. He
wishes to restore the Populace. He will succeed and you will fail. He
has on his side force, cannons, the mistake of the people, and the folly
of the Assembly. The few of the Left to which you belong will not
succeed in overthrowing the coup d'état. You are honest, and he has
this advantage over you--that he is a rogue. You have scruples, and he
has this advantage over you--that he has none. Believe me. Resist no
longer. The situation is without resources. We must wait; but at this
moment fighting would be madness. What do you hope for?"
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