parate carriage. The latter were armed. Their orders were
to treat their prisoners with respect, but in case of necessity
to shoot them.

The journey was made without incident until they reached Valenciennes,
a place very near the frontier line between France and Belgium.
There, as the _coup d'etat_ had proved a success, official zeal
was in the ascendency. The police commissioner of Valenciennes
examined the passports. As he was taking Leblanc's into his hand,
he recognized the man before him. He started, and cried out: "You
are General Changarnier!" "That is no affair of mine at present,"
said the general. At once the police agents interposed, and assured
the commissioner that the passports were all in order. Nothing
they could say would convince him of the fact. The prefect and
town authorities, proud of their own sagacity in capturing State
prisoners who were endeavoring to escape from France, held them
in custody while they sent word of their exploit to Paris. They at
once received orders to put all the party on the train for Belgium.

Charras was liberated at Brussels, Changarnier at Mons, Lamoriciere
was carried to Cologne, M. Baze to Aix-la-Chapelle. They were not
released at the same place nor at the same time, Louis Napoleon
having said that safety required that a space should be put between
the generals.

[Illustration: _EUGENIE._]

CHAPTER IX.

THE EMPEROR'S MARRIAGE.

A plebiscite--Louis Napoleon's political panacea--was ordered Dec.
20, 1851, two weeks after the _coup d'etat_, to say if the people
of France approved or disapproved the usurpation of the prince
president. The national approval as expressed in this _plebiscite_
was overwhelming. Each peasant and artisan seemed to fancy he was
voting to revive the past glories of France, when expressing his
approval of a Prince Napoleon. The more thoughtful voters, like M.
de Montalembert, considered that the _coup d'etat_ was a crushing
blow struck at Red Republicanism, Communism, the International
Society, and disorder generally.

For a while the prince president governed by decrees; then a new
legislative body was assembled. Its first duty was to revise the
constitution. The republican constitution of 1850 was in the main
re-adopted, but with one important alteration. The prince president
was to be turned into the Emperor Napoleon III., and the throne
was to be hereditary in his family.

After the passage of this measure it was submitted b