. . . Great excitement exists in London to-day at
the reception of the news from France. Guizot is overthrown, and
Count Mole is made Prime Minister. The National Guards have sided
with the people, and would not fire upon them, and that secret of
the weakness of the army being revealed, I do not see why the
Liberal party cannot obtain all they want in the end. Louis
Philippe has sacrificed the happiness of France for the advancement
of his own family, but nations in the nineteenth [century] have
learned that they were not made to be the slaves of a dynasty. Mr.
Bancroft dines with the French Minister to-day, not with a party,
but quite EN FAMILLE, and he will learn there what the hopes and
fears of the Government are.
February 25th
The news this morning is only from Amiens, which has risen in
support of France. The railways are torn up all round Paris, to
prevent the passage of troops, and the roads and barriers are all in
possession of the people. All France will follow the lead of Paris,
and what will be the result Heaven only knows.
LETTER: To I.P.D.
LONDON, February 26, 1848
My dear Uncle: . . . On Thursday Mr. Bancroft dined with Count
Jarnac, the Minister in the Duc de Broglie's absence, and he little
dreamed of the blow awaiting him. The fortifications and the army
seemed to make the King quite secure. On Friday Mr. Bancroft went
to dine with Kenyon, and I drove there with him for a little air.
On my return Cates, the butler, saluted me with the wondrous news of
the deposition and flight of the royal family, which Mr. Brodhead
had rushed up from his club to impart to us. I was engaged to a
little party at Mr. Hallam's, where I found everybody in great
excitement.
Sunday Noon
To-day we were to have dined with Baron de Rothschild, but this
morning I got a note from the beautiful baroness, saying that her
sister-in-law and her mother with three children, had just arrived
from Paris at her house in the greatest distress, without a change
of clothes, and in deep anxiety about the Baron, who had stayed
behind.
Our colleagues all look bewildered and perplexed beyond measure. . .
. The English aristocracy have no love for Louis Philippe, but much
less for a republic, so near at hand, and everybody seemed perplexed
and uneasy.
Tuesday
On Sunday the Duc de Nemours arrived at the French Embassy, and
Monday the poor Duchess de Montpensier, the innocent cause of all
the trouble. No one knows where the Duchess de Nemours and her
young children are, and the King and Queen are entirely missing. At
one moment it is reported that he is drowned, and then, again, at
Brussels.
Wednesday
To-day the French Embassy have received despatches announcing the
new government, and Count Jarnac has immediately resigned.
