. . . 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.
