he people of
Beaucaire entrusted us with a thousand objurgations to deliver to their
inveterate enemies the citizens of Nimes.

"If any journey could give a correct idea of the preparations for civil
war and the confusion which already prevailed in the South, I should
think that without contradiction it would be that which we took that day.
Along the four leagues which lie between Beaucaire and Nimes were posted
at frequent intervals detachments of troops displaying alternately the
white and the tricoloured cockade. Every village upon our route except
those just outside of Nimes had definitely joined either one party or the
other, and the soldiers, who were stationed at equal distances along the
road, were now Royalist and now Bonapartist. Before leaving Beaucaire we
had all provided ourselves, taking example by the men we had seen at
Orgon, with two cockades, one white, and one tricoloured, and by peeping
out from carriage windows we were able to see which was worn by the
troops we were approaching in time to attach a similar one to our hats
before we got up to them, whilst we hid the other in our shoes; then as
we were passing we stuck our heads, decorated according to circumstances,
out of the windows, and shouted vigorously, 'Long live the king!' or
'Long live the emperor!' as the case demanded. Thanks to this concession
to political opinions on the highway, and in no less degree to the money
which we gave by way of tips to everybody everywhere, we arrived at
length at the barriers of Nimes, where we came up with the National
Guards who had been repulsed by the townspeople of Beaucaire.

"This is what had taken place just before we arrived in the city:

"The National Guard of Nimes and the troops of which the garrison was
composed had resolved to unite in giving a banquet on Sunday, the 28th of
June, to celebrate the success of the French army. The news of the
battle of Waterloo travelled much more quickly to Marseilles than to
Nimes, so the banquet took place without interruption. A bust of
Napoleon was carried in procession all over the town, and then the
regular soldiers and the National Guard devoted the rest of the day to
rejoicings, which were followed by no excess.

"But the day was not quite finished before news came that numerous
meetings were taking place at Beaucaire, so although the news of the
defeat at Waterloo reached Nimes on the following Tuesday, the troops
which we had seen returning at th