| 393 | 394 | 395 | 396 | 397 |
| 1 | 171 | 343 | 514 | 685 |
|
CHAPTER IX.
THE PORTE SAINT MARTIN
Important deeds had been already achieved during the morning.
"It is taking root," Bastide had said.
The difficulty is not to spread the flames but to light the fire.
It was evident that Paris began to grow ill-tempered. Paris does not
get angry at will. She must be in the humor for it. A volcano possesses
nerves. The anger was coming slowly, but it was coming. On the horizon
might be seen the first glimmering of the eruption.
For the Elysée, as for us, the critical moment was drawing nigh. From
the preceding evening they were nursing their resources. The coup
d'état and the Republic were at length about to close with each other.
The Committee had in vain attempted to drag the wheel; some
irresistible impulse carried away the last defenders of liberty and
hurried them on to action. The decisive battle was about to be fought.
In Paris, when certain hours have sounded, when there appears an
immediate necessity for a progressive movement to be carried out, or a
right to be vindicated, the insurrections rapidly spread throughout the
whole city. But they always begin at some particular point. Paris, in
395
Page
Quick Jump
|