I
might never see such a splendid one ; when PONG went one shot. Every
face went pale: R--R--R--R--R went the whole detachment [of troops],
and the whole crowd of gentlemen and ladies turned and cut. Such a
scene!---ladies, gentlemen, and vagabonds went sprawling in the mud,
not shot but tripped up, and those that went down could not rise--they
were trampled over. . . . I ran a short time straight on and did not
fall, then turned down a side street, ran fifty yards, and felt
tolerably safe; looked for papa; did not see him; so walked on quickly,
giving the news as I went.'
Next day, while with his father in the Place de la Concorde, which was
filled with troops, the gates of the Tuileries Garden were suddenly
flung open, and out galloped a troop of cuirassiers, in the midst of
whom was an open carriage containing the king and queen, who had
abdicated. Then came the sacking of the Tuileries, the people mounting
a cannon on the roof, and firing blank cartridges to testify their joy.
'It was a sight to see a palace sacked' (wrote the boy), 'and armed
vagabonds firing out of the windows, and throwing shirts, papers, and
dresses of all kinds out.... They are not rogues, the French; they are
not stealing, burning, or doing much harm.
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