e members of the
Council of State, set off, attended by 700 soldiers, for
Rambouillet--from which they continued their journey to Blois--and in
their train went fifteen waggons laden with plate and coin from the
vaults of the Tuileries. The spectators looked on their departure in
gloomy silence: and King Joseph published the following proclamation;
"Citizens of Paris! A hostile column has descended on Meaux. It
advances; but the Emperor follows close behind, at the head of a
victorious army. The Council of Regency has provided for the safety of
the Empress and the King of Rome. I remain with you. Let us arm
ourselves to defend this city, its monuments, its riches, our wives, our
children--all that is dear to us. Let this vast capital become a camp
for some moments; and let the enemy find his shame under the walls which
he hopes to overleap in triumph. The Emperor marches to our succour.
Second him by a short and vigorous resistance, and preserve the honour
of France." No feeling favourable to Napoleon was stirred by this
appeal. The boulevards continued to be thronged with multitudes of
people; but the most part received the proclamation with
indifference--not a few with murmurs. Some officers urged Savary to have
the streets unpaved, and persuade the people to arm themselves with the
stones, and prepare for a defence such as that of Zaragossa. He
answered, shaking his head, "the thing cannot be done."

All day, waggons of biscuit and ammunition were rolling through the
town; wounded soldiers came limping to the barriers; and the Seine
heaved thicker and thicker with the carcases of horses and men. That
night, for once, the theatres were deserted.

On the 30th, the Allies fought and won the final battle. The French
occupied the whole range of heights from the Marne at Charenton, to the
Seine beyond St. Denis; and the Austrians began the attack about eleven
o'clock, towards the former of these points, while nearly in the midst
between them, a charge was made by the Russians on Pantin and
Belleville. The Prussians, who were posted over against the heights of
Montmartre, did not come into action so early in the day. The French
troops of the line were stationed everywhere in the front, and commanded
by Marmont and Mortier. Those battalions of the National Guard, whose
spirit could be trusted, and who were adequately armed, took their
orders from Moncey, and formed a second line of defence. The scholars of
the Polytechnic