especially, as it was understood, of the Emperor Alexander, saved it from being given up to pillage and massacre. By this gate Russian sentinels admitted our cabriolet into the city; in the very streets and houses of which individuals were killed by random and accidental shots, fired in the closing cannonade of the 30th of March. At Lafitte's banking-house I was told of persons thus slain in the neighbourhood. The delusions of the vanquished had been kept up to the last hour; and it was only on the 31st of the month, when the dreaded Cossacks were seen trotting about everywhere, and looking out for the "harvest" they had anticipated from the distant view of the " City of Gold," i.e., the gilded dome of the Hôtel des Invalides, that the inhabitants were made completely sensible of the fact, that their armies had been beaten and dispersed, their ruler compelled to quit the country, and themselves and their property under other rule. But they are a gay and giddy people; and, to say the truth, in less than two days, seemed to care nothing about the change, but rather to enjoy the novel sights that filled up every hour, with an increased and increasing relish. One emperor appeared as good as another to them. The Russian autocrat was a general favourite; but I witnessed the horses taken from the Emperor Francis of Austria's carriage by the populace, and his Majesty drawn by Parisians to the Odéon theatre! Between the Prussians and the French the fiercest animosity prevailed; and it was often difficult to keep parties of them from daggers drawing, when they encountered each other in public. Terms of contempt and hatred were bandied about, and the Pruss would spit disdainfully, so as almost to alight upon the passing Frenchman. Quarrels by day and assassinations by night were frequent; and one remarkable affair, of which I was an eye-witness, deserves to be recorded as an anecdote of this extraordinary era, and of the wonderful congregation of human beings from every quarter of the globe, with whom Paris was crowded during its busy carnival. At one of the tables at Verrey's three foreign officers had dined, and were sipping their wine, when three French gentlemen arrived, and seated themselves at the adjoining table. It was evident, from the expression of their countenances, that there must have been some preceding feud, and that they had come to the place with no complimentary or civil intentions. In short, they had hardly called for a bottle of wine, when one of them, addressing his companions, and holding up several decorations on his breast, observed, in the most sneering tone and malignant manner, "This I received for Jena; this I got for Austerlitz; and this for Borodino ! Aha!" No notice was taken of this bravado aside, and the chagrined hero of so many distinctions, not caring to offend the military police under which Paris was governed, by a more direct insult, called for his bill and rose with his friends to depart. To my astonishment I observed one of the foreigners, who gnashed his teeth and flashed fury from his eyes, start up and rush to the bar, where having placed himself, he waited the egress of the other party, and as soon as the speaker came within arm's length, struck him a violent blow on the cheek with his open hand, exclaiming, "that for Jena; a second blow followed on the other cheek, and "that for Austerlitz" accompanied the stroke; a third, and that for Borodino finished the assault, which did not occupy ten seconds. Great confusion ensued, and the café was nearly cleared in a wild and hasty way, which I and my companions could not comprehend; but the mystery was soon explained. In less than half an hour the foreigners returned to finish their wine; a duel had been fought behind the Palais Royal, and the unfortunate Frenchman had been run through the body, and killed on the spot! About twenty or twenty-five letters containing my Journal of Parisian events, were printed in the "Sun," during the ensuing months, under the signature of "Viator," and something of this encounter was stated, the truth of which a Paris paper ventured to question; but there could not be a doubt of the fact; and there were other acts of violence and bloodshed covered by darkness, which would have added fearfully to the mass of evils which deformed society (kept smooth on the surface) had they been permitted to see the light. The Morgue, and its suicidal and murdered tenants, every morning told a terrible tale of the effects of the gaming-houses, and the "allied occupation" within the twenty-four hours preceding. Having mentioned the gaming-tables, I may observe that the veteran Blucher was one of their most assiduous nightly attendants. Attired in a rusty black coat and old blue trousers, with no order but the common iron cross of the soldiery on his breast, and sometimes without that, he would sit down and lose rouleau after rouleau of gold, giving his moustache a twist and trying another venture. He appeared to be invariably a victim; and so far, France was revenged of his mortal hostility. And again, having mentioned orders, I must relate the mot ascribed to the Duke of Wellington, and circulated at this time. Blucher's hatred of the country and its people was so intense, that he would not use the language in conversation, and absolutely refused the illustrious honour of the Holy Ghost, with which the grateful King Louis was anxious to decorate him. The Duke endeavoured to persuade the Marshal to accept the distinction, but he obstinately refused, and at last said, pettishly, "If I received it where the d———— could I hang it? I have so many stars and medals already in front, that I have no place to put it but on my back.' “Well,” replied his Grace, “put it there, and I'll be bound it will be where no enemy will ever hit it!" But the Prussians were very inveterate, and never ceased recalling the shameful conduct of Buonaparte to their Queen. Paris would have fared ill if they had had it all their own way; yet they yielded a little to the moderating counsels and wishes of their allies. The bridge of Jena was mined, and had a narrow escape from being blown into the air, as a punishment for its name; and when the Gallery of the Louvre was criticised preparatory to the restoration of its splendid spoils to their lawful owners (now the scale was turned), it was a marvel to find what a capital judge of paintings Blucher had become, and what a memory he had of the whereabouts he had seen many of the finest; for he claimed one after another, for Berlin, Potsdam, Sans Souci, &c. &c., and clapt a sentinel within the frames of the largest, to pace up and down on that short walk, till they could be taken away and sent to their proper homes. He was prevailed upon to relinquish some, but not one upon compulsion; and when the regrets of the inhabitants were at their height for the dispersion of this splendid collection, he was comforted by a Calembourg bulletin in the name of the German commandant ; The Parisians go about, snivelling and snuffling; They may just as well let it alone.-BARON MUFFLING. CHAPTER XXIII. PARIS IN 1814 (continued). Star of the brave! thy ray is pale, The Star of the Legion of Honour. WHEN I entered Paris, I found no civilian before me but Dr. Wollaston, who had been admitted by the special permission of the French Government before its overthrow; and it would take a volume, even briefly, to describe the unparalleled condition of the place, and the multitude who thronged it in every part. But in a work like this I must, as it were, gallop over the interesting ground with a few miscellaneous reminiscences. Nor will the galloping be confined to me, for there was little else than galloping all over Paris. With imposition on every hand, and in every charge, things would not have been so dear but for the cruel exchange of nearly thirty per cent. against the English stranger; and yet, with so much to see and enjoy, there was no time for complaint. From my tolerably snug domicile (after a few absolutely necessary reforms had been effected), the Hôtel de Rome, near our ambassador's and his Russian sentinels, |