ers replied that their
comrades would be only too happy if the King would consent to review
the whole Guard. Marshal Oudinot, Duke of Reggio, who was the
commandant-in-chief, warmly supported this desire, and the sovereign
responded by promising for April 29 the review thus urged.

Charles X. believed he had returned to the pleasant time of his
popularity. He wished to confirm it by withdrawing a law as to the
press, proposed in the Chambers, and vviuch, though called by the
ultras a "law of love and justice," encountered bitter opposition even
in the Chamber of Peers. The law was withdrawn April 17, the very day
that the Moniteur announced the promise given the day before for the
review of the 29th. On learning of the withdrawal of the unpopular law,
the liberals uttered cries of joy and triumph. Columns of working
printers traversed the streets with cries of "Long live the King! Long
live the Chamber of Peers! Long live the liberty of the press!" In the
evening Paris was illuminated. A victory over a foreign foe would not
have been celebrated with greater transports of enthusiasm. The
ministry was disquieted by these wild manifestations of delight, which,
in reality, were directed against it. It tried in vain to induce the
King to countermand the review of the 29th. M. de Chateaubriand wrote
to Charles X. a long letter to beg him to change his ministry. It
contained the following passage:--

"Sire, it is false that there is, as is said, a republican faction at
present, but it is true that there are partisans of an illegitimate
monarchy; now these latter are too adroit not to profit by the
occasion, and mingle their voices on the 29th with that of France, to
impose on the nation. What will the King do? Will he surrender his
ministers to the popular demand? That would be to destroy the power of
the State. Will he keep his ministers? They will cause all the
unpopularity that pursues them to fall on the head of their august
master." Chateaubriand closed as follows:--

"Sire, to dare to write you this letter, I must be strongly persuaded
of the necessity of reaching a decision. An imperative duty must urge
me. The ministers are my enemies. As a Christian I forgive them, as a
man I can never pardon them. In this position I should never have
addressed the King, if the safety of the monarchy were not involved."

All this urging was futile. Charles X. did not change his ministry, and
the review took place on the Champ-de-M