Star.
London, England, 1830-08-05 00:00:00

PRA NCE.

PRIVATE LETTER.
PARIS, AUGUST 2.
1, immediately after closing my letter of yesterday,
proceeded to St. Cloud. The newspapers will have in-
formed you that the King and family left early in the
morning. 1 found St. Cloud a most dismal place Unlike
all other towns in the vicinity of Paris, and perhaps of
France, no popular movement had taken place there ;
circumstance to be accounted for by the presence, in
the neighbourhood, of a large army—the hurry of the
retreat of which from the Bois de Boulogne through

St. Cloud was so extreme as to amount to confusion.

Notwithstanding that the Government had prohibited
the march of troops (armed citizens) out of Paris,
.stragglers, amounting in all to 1,200 or 1,500, contrived
to escape, and proceeded towards St. Cloud, " to bring
in the King," although surrounded by 12,000 or 15,000
men. Fortunately the retreat commenced before their
arrival, or there would have been dreadtill slaughter, some
. .

of the Garde Royale (Infantry and Lancers) being in a
state of horrible excitement. It is hardly necessary to
say that the Swiss were equally enraged. Still, amid all
their overflowing loyalty and murderous dispositions,
fear of the " canaille" had got such possession of
their minds as to deprive them of judgment. —Evcry
moment during the morning and forenoon of yester-
. .

day their ranks were lessened by desertions, their power
paralysed by suspicions, and their capabilities for ser-
vice weakened by privations of food, drink, and rest.
The whole country was is full insurrection. On their
retreat up the Champs Elysees, on Thursday, some of'
the Garde (cavalry and infantry) betrayed the most sa-
vage spirit of revenge, firing do i n the streets which
opened on the avenue, and into the windows of the
houses. 1 hey suffered for it, however, by the loss of
some hundreds of men. Six hundred wounded are in

the Hospital Beaujou. Three or four regiments hi-
voucked in the Bois de Boulogme. They had no
food, were kept in constant alarm, were attacked by the
peasantry, and so demoralized as to fly without know-
ing where to turn. Here also, hundreds deserted.
I met a peasant, armed with a fowling-piece, on the
plain of Grenelie. A tall young man, with his arm in
a sling, accompanied him. In reply to the usual in-
quiry for news, he told me the Sucre had fled. " This
man with his arm in a_ sling," added he, "is my pri-
..

•
soner. Is it not true, Jean ?" " Ora," (with a humble
shake of the head.) " I fired at him," said my ac-

quaintance,
. _ . .

" and shot hint through the arm, %%hid
- - - - - -

reminded him that I was the friend of his cousin. He
told me he was from Issy (a village near Paris), and
would join the people; so I took him into a public-
house, and gave him some wine, and a pair of trowsers
and that jacket, for I could not bear the sight of his
butcher's dress. I tl:en had his mustachios shaved, and
we are now on our way across the plain, to spend the
evening with our friend."
I told you, in one of my letters last week, that Sevres
was fortified, and that Meudon, and other heights in the
vicinity of St. Cloud, had been occupied by the King's
party. It is almost incredible, but an unquestionable
fact nevertheless, that up to Saturday, an attack upon
Paris, and its recapture, were contemplated and
reckoned on. The troops would not, however, have
advanced on Paris. Fifteen thousand men had rallied
round the King, and others were expected ; but a mil-
lion of men would not have taken Paris The news of
the rising of the people everywhere, and the growing
disaffection of the troops, altered, however, this deter-
mination, and the retreat was undertaken. A skirmish
took place in Sevres some hours before I reached it
yesterday, in which 20 Guardsmen (of all arms) were
killed, and two of the people. The cannon on the bridge
of St. Cloud were discharged in the air, and the rout
became general. On passing over the bridge, many of
the soldiers threw their muskets into the Seine, and dis-
persed. The 85th regiment of light infantry formed
part of the King's force. The cry of " Vive
lea Ligne !" had reached Sevres and Meudon ;
the soldiers and the sub-officers were, therefore,
spared; but the rage of the people was turned
against the superior officers with an effect of which
I will give you an example, as related to me
by a soldier of the regiment yesterday :—" We
were retreating on and climbing up the heights of Belle-
vue," said he. " A gardener, w::o hug five minutes before
been seen working in his gardon, was seen looking at us
from behind a wall. He suffered us soldiers to pass un-
molested ; but, on the approach of our Captain, he fired
at and shot him through the heart."
The Lancers here again displayed their ferocity, in
thrice charging the people, and lost a dozen men from
their already reduced numbers of that superb regiment,
which, onWednesday last, I saw so full and effective, and
which on that night, when I saw them retreating, still
amounted to 600 men, the; e are not, I am assured, 250 on

their march with the King. Their loss in officers was im-
mense. On my return to sown yesterday evening, I passed
over the most severely-contested points of the field of '
battle, if I may apply that phrase to a city. I visited
the grave of one hundred and sixty of the poor
fellows who had perished in the attack on the Louvre.
It is in an open space, immediately without the Louvre,
which had ken enclosed by railing, and from which
the Swiss had defended themselves with resolution and
deadly effect. Two wooden crosses, inscribed "To
the 'newer). of the French who died fighting for liberty,"
are placed over the ends of the fosse in which they rest.
A profusion of flowers and garlands lay upon them. Two
Sisters of Charity were kneeling by the side of the grave,
who were looking upon with respect approaching to awe.
A cask, half-filled with silver and copper money, con-
tributed by visitors, for the fund of the relatives of the
deceased, stood in the centre. A National Guardsman
was on duty ; but no protection was necessary. Two
Sundays previously I had seen the market-women at St.
Cloud with a bouquet for the King, in honour of the cap-
ture of Aigiers. The flowers that were strewed on the
graves of the "martyrs to liberty," had been the offering
of the same persons. Yesterday was a very hot day ;
the flowers had, therefore, very soon faded. Just as I
wns about to quit the spot, I met the same women coming
with a fresh supply, which the " leader" cast upon it,
with some observations of evident pathos ; for all present
shed tears.
On reaching the Place de Greve, it appeared to me as
if further devastation had taken place there. Tho win-
dows of all the houses were shattered to pieces. The
house at the corner of the Place and the Rue Pelletier
had sufiertd so meth, that a few shot more would, I am
sure, have brought it to the ground. A recent letter gave
you an account of the execution of a man on this very
spot, on Thursday, .luly 22---an event which caused the
spectators some pain. On that day week (29th) the whole
Place was covered with hundreds of (lead and (lying men.
Scores of horses and of lancers, cuirassiers, grenadiers, and
cannoniers, a cheval lay also on the pavement. The square
was, when I entered it yesterday evening, crowded to ex-
cess with visitors, from cutiosity. Outside the different
cafes were hundreds of chairs occupyied by well-dressed
persons partaking of ices and other refreshments. Be-
fore the Hotel de Ville a dense mass of people were as-

sembled. A hackney-coach at the great door seemed to
be the object of attention. I inquired the reason ?
" Ah, Monsieur ! Peyronnet est prix !"—(Peyronnet is
taken.) He had, according to my informant, been found
at Vincennes, and brought prisoner in the vehicle be-
fore me. If it be true, his life will pay the forfeit of his
Ministry. He will be tried by the Chamber of Peers.
This last sentence will strike with astonishment any
man who recollects the summary vengeance of the re-
volutionists of 1789, —and, added to the moderation of
the heroes by whose courage this last revolution has been
effected (and to which, in my letter of yesterday, I bore
testimony) will redound as much to their honour as will
their bravery. With such leaders, however, as the
educated cool-disciplined students of the Polytechnic
School, no excesses, nothing derogatory from their
renown, could be apprehended. What extraordinary
youths ! Emerging from school, thrown in an instant
into the midst of an armed and outrageous population,
they assumed the command of the various masses that pre-
sented themselves with a quietude and modest confidence
that clothed them in an instant with authority. Their
heroism in battle confirmed their influence, which, the bat-
tle once over, was exerted in a manner that will appear
incredible in the eyes of posterity. Not a life was sacri-
ficed after the fighting had ceased. The eloquence of the
Chamber of Deputies and the authority of the Marshals
of France would have failed in enforcing that mercy and
moderation with which the dignified modesty, grave (al-
most melancholy) gestures, and brief address of those
immortal youths, imbued masses of men under circum-
stances of such excitement as those which result from
victory at all times, and particularly front success in a civil
war. I shall close this part of my letter, for the present,
with a trifling incident illustrative of this happy and ho-
nourable exception to the usual outrages which accom-
pany and follow the combats of men of the same nation.
The scene, recollect, was the Place ac Greve; the principal
actors in it the inhabitants of the Faubourgs St. Antoine
and Marceau, and a wounded enemy ; the time, the
t ird night of the massacre of hundreds of the people by
the King's troops. Quitting the Hotel de Ville, I di-
rected my steps homewards towards the Rue de Jannerie,
and had just crossed the Place, where I overtook half a
dozen men,who, with the utmostgentleness, kept the crowd
from pressing on three other men who were slowly moving
in the centre. The demeanour of those guards and the
crowd indicated pity and respect. I found that the
group within was composed of two of the men from the
Faubourg, and a wounded trumpeter of the Grenadiers a
Cheval,who had fallen while sounding u charge of his re-
giment on the preceding Thursday. He had been conveyed
into a neighbouring house after the battle by some of the
combatants,and was now deemed able to walk to the Hotel
Dieu. I followed them as far as the Place du Chatelet.
The party halted, and something was said to the wounded
man, who wished to decline (gratefully, however) an
offer. " Bah !" said one of his supporters, " a drop of
good wine never did any man harm," and they entered
the cabaret. I met this moment a grenadier of the '2d
regiment of the Garde Royal. He had been engaged on
the Boulevard des Italiens and Boulevards Montmartre'
and Bonne Nouvelle, and retreated with the rest of the
Garde to the Bois de Boulogne. His story of the re•
treat, which I postpone till to-morrow, was truly me-
lancholy. He marched yesterday, with the other troops,
from the Bois de Boulogne, and fell off, with hundreds of
his comrades, on the road. He quitted the army two
leagues beyond St. Cyr. The officers, aware that on the
approach of night the men would desert, addressed them
with tears in their eyes, imploring of them to remain with
them, but in vain. Every step that is taken is marked
by the defection of hundred ofsoldiers ; e:e it reaches La
Vendee the army (15,000 men yesterday) will be reduced
to a handful, if not totally disbanded.
The Duc &Orleans will be King, but against the
wishes of the majority of the nation, who wish, I think,
for a Republic. The fear that such a form of Govern-
ment would plunge the country into war prevents the
adoption of it. Appeals in favour of the Duke of Orleans
are made to the people in a hundred shapes, and will
succeed. Nobody can tell where the King is. The
grenadier above alluded to has not seen him tin' a week.
Paris is quiet as in fete time. The Deputies and Peers
hold preliminary meetings to-day. I must, in cense-
queuce, say farewell till to-morrow.—Herald.