of officers, 'You must fire _into the
midst of those_;' I then drew the pistol from under my shirt,
and discharged it with my left hand _in the direction I was
desired_."
O'DONNELL, LEON, ORA, BORIA, FULGOSIO, drew their pistols at the order of
LOUIS-PHILIPPE and CHRISTINA, and merely fired in the direction they were
desired!
"Where was this society (the Ouvriers Egalitaires)
held?"--"Generally at the house of Colombier, keeper of a
wine-shop, Rue Traversiere."
"What formed the subject of discourse in these meetings, when you
were there?"--"_Different crimes_. They talked of _overthrowing
the throne, assassinating the agents of the government--shedding
blood, in fact_!"
For the Rue Traversiere we have only to read the Rue de Courcelles--for
Colombier the wine seller, CHRISTINA ex-Queen of Spain. As for the subject
of discourse at her Majesty's hotel, events have bloodily proved that it
was the overthrow of a throne--the murder of the constituted authorities
of Spain--and, in the comprehensive meaning of Quenisset--"shedding blood,
in fact!" At the wine-shop meetings the French conspirator tells us that
there was "an old man, a locksmith," who would read revolutionary themes,
and "electrify the souls of the young men about him!" The locksmith of the
Rue de Courcelles was the crafty, sanguinary policy of the monarch of the
barricades. We now come to MADAME COLOMBIER, _alias_ QUEEN CHRISTINA.--
"Do you know whether your comrades had many cartridges?"--"I do
not know exactly what the quantity was, but I heard a man say,
and, Madame Colombier _also boasted to another woman, that they
had worked very hard, and for some time past, at making
cartridges_."
Madame COLOMBIER, however, must cede in energy and boldness to the
reckless devilry of the Spanish ex-Queen; for the cartridges manufactured
by the wine-seller's wife were not to be discharged into the bed-room of
her own infant daughters! They were certain not to shed the blood of her
own children. Now the cartridges of the Rue de Courcelles were made for
any service.
One more extract from the confessions of QUENISSET (_alias_ DON LEON):--
"At the corner of the Rue Traversiere I saw Just, Auguste, and
several other young men, whom I had seen in the morning receiving
cartridges. Upon my asking whether the attack was to be made,
_Just answered, Yes_. He felt for his pistols; my comrade
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