The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-11-08
THE COUP D'ETAT.
Victor HugOs History Of a Crime,
Louis BORaDaTtG'S USUTDad0l on the
81 Of December, 1851,
Thrilling Scenes at the Death OF
the Republic and the Birth
of the Empire.
From the New York World, Oct 26,l

4ukO AAApboAJ N% -
Christern only received yesterday, has
already gone through several editions al
Paris and provoked the liveliest discus
sion, because of the opportuneness OF the
time of its publication and the character
iJtic vehemence Of its style. 1t begins
in media8 res and after the true fashion
of Hugo;
Dec. l, 1851, Charras shrugged his
shoulders and unloaded his pistols. In
deed, it was humiliating to think that a
coup d'etm was possible. The hypothesis
of illegal violence on the part of M Louis
Bonaparte vanished upon serious exam
ination. Where was the man capable of
dreaming of an attempt upon the Repub-
lie and the people? For a tragedy an
actor is needed, and here, good faith, the
actor was wanting To violate law, sup
press the Assembly, abolish the Consti-
tuition, strange the Republic, cast to
earth the nation, soil the flag, dishonor
the army, prostitute the clergy and mag
istracy, succeed, triumph, govern, admin
lister, exile, Danish, transport, ruin, assas-
sinate, reign, with such complexities that
the law ended by resembling the bed OF
a courtesan-what all these enormities
to be committed And by whomP A
Collossus2 No, dwarf. People had to
laugh. They said no more "What a
Crime!" but "What farce !" For GER
tain crimes are too lofty for certain hands.
To make an eighteenth Brumaire, one
must have i'm his past an ArCola and in
his future an Austeritz. 1t is not given
to the first conner to become a great ban
dit. The material and moral
possibility of the coup d'etat was patent,to
all. Charras, as we have just seen
Charras, who had long been on his guard
gave up taking any precaution. Secu'
rity was complete, unanimous. There
were some of us in the Assembly who
had our doubts and shook our heads, but
we passed for fools.
1t was on the "a that Paris was to be
Rudely Awakened
from her fancied security. At 7 o'clock,
when it was barely day, Versigny, Dep
uty from Haute .Saone, living at No. 4
Rue LeOnie, was reused suddenly by
ring at his bell, repeated sharply after a
moment. He went in his night dress to
open it, and found there, pale and agi-
tated, two friends.
"Dress quickly, they cried; "Baune
has Just been arrested"
"Whatl" replied Versigny; sis this the
affaire Mauguin over again p but noticN
ing their earnestness, he added: "What
does it mean"
There was another ring at the bell, |
"Here is somebody that can perhaps tell |
u.s." said Michael de Bourges. 1t was
Pierre Lefranc, another Deputy. "Do |
you know what is up?' he said: "Yes
Baune is in prison" 1t is the Republic |
that is prisoner. Have you read the |
plaCardsW and he went on to say that |
the walls were being covered with pos
ters, one of which he had read, and that
the deed was done. 1.-THE Decd, cried |
Michael "say the crime"
There was not a moment to be lost and |
they hurried out to warn the representa-
tives and collect them. Hugo received
the news as he was writing in bed. This
was at o'clock
As the clock struck every infantry
regiment in Paris had marched noise
lessly out from its barracks, led by its
Colonel; the cavalry did not move till
5:45, lest the tramp of the horses should
arouse the sleeping city. One Colonel
had hesitated, and Napoleon had placed
q sealed package in his hands, saying
Colonel, l admit we are taking grave
r isks. Here are 100000 francs-in case
of an emergency" The money was
taken, the regiment marched. That
night the Colonel said to woman,
"Ths morning | earned 100000 francs
and a Generals epaulets, "and the woman
drove him from her doors as one un-
worthy.
81 am only prostitute" she cries At
II at night the detective force and 800
sergeat8 de Wle had been mustered at the
Prefecture of Police, nominally in fear of
an incursion of refugees from London,
At 3 o'clock the forty-egh- cOmmi8SaireS
were summoned from their beds, aud at
5 Maupus, the Prefect, gave each brief
audience, revealed the project and indi
Gated the work allotted mot one re-
fused some were grateful" Seventy
eight influential Democrats and possible
chiefs of barriCades were to be arrested,
and sixteen representatives of the peo
pie, Thiers, Changarnier, CavaignaC La
myriciere, Leho, Greppo, and others.
Warrants were ready, and at $50 car
riages we're driven up, in which the com
misSdireS set out on their mission, each
accompanied by squad of detectives in
private clothes and another of police off.
GERS. At the Imprimerie Rationale,
meanwhile, strong guard had been
placed. what il the Countersign to be-"
asked the officer of M. de Beville, one of
Napoleon's staff officers, who conducted
the operations here. Nothing can
be simpler; whoever tries to 60 out
or oTen window - shoot him
Then he set the printers to work, each
between two gendarmes and in silence,
upon the proClamations dissolving the
Assembly and ConVoking the electors,
the appeals to the army and the people,
and the Projects proclamation. The first
four were in Napoleon's handwriting.
They we're cut into small "takes" so that
no printer could get the full sense of the
document he was setting. Colonel Bel
vile pasted the proofs together and cor
rected them then the forms were put to
press and worked off under guard. There
were then two hours before the blow was
to be struck, and, ito Judge of the proba-
bic effect" Beville took it into his head
to parade the gendarmes and read the
mysterious documents to them They
applauded Had these 200 men, or a
handful of them, disapproved, Napoleon
would perhaps have found himself in
Vlncennes at dawn, and the course of
French history might have been changed.
At o'clock the plaCards were taken to
the prefecture and sent out to be posted.
the Forty y-second Regiment had mean.
while marched stealthily-'as folk walk
in sick rOom," said wi,ness-to the
hall of National Assembly, and as the
soldiers slipped past the stupefed por-
ter Persigny said: ut is done."-
Member, the Commandant, hastened
to the court yard at the noise, saw in
moment what was afoot, aud, turning
male wranphad off hia anor,latu a nd beolya |