My First Years as a Frenchwoman, 1876-1879 | Page 5

prints, and china. There
is a large garrison. There were always officers riding, squads of soldiers
moving about, bugle-calls in all directions, and continuous arrivals at
the station of deputies and journalists hurrying to the palace, their black
portfolios under their arms. The palace was cold. There was a fine
draught at the entrance and the big stone staircase was always cold,
even in June, but the assembly-room was warm enough and always
crowded. It was rather difficult to get seats. People were so interested
in those first debates after the war, when everything had to be
reorganised and so much of the past was being swept away.

II
IMPRESSIONS OF THE ASSEMBLY AT VERSAILLES
The sittings of the assembly were very interesting in that wonderful
year when everything was being discussed. All public interest of course
was centred in Versailles, where the National Assembly was trying to
establish some sort of stable government. There were endless
discussions and speeches and very violent language in the Chambers.
Gambetta made some bitter attacks on the Royalists, accusing them of
mauvaise foi and want of patriotism. The Bonapartist leaders tried to
persuade themselves and their friends that they still had a hold on the
country and that a plebiscite would bring back in triumph their prince.
The Legitimists, hoping against hope that the Comte de Chambord
would still be the saviour of the country, made passionate appeals to

the old feeling of loyalty in the nation, and the centre droit,
representing the Orleanists, nervous, hesitating, knowing the position
perfectly, ardently desiring a constitutional monarchy, but feeling that
it was not possible at that moment, yet unwilling to commit themselves
to a final declaration of the Republic, which would make a Royalist
restoration impossible. All the Left confident, determined.
The Republic was voted on the 30th of January, 1875, by a majority of
one vote, if majority it could be called, but the great step had been
taken, and the struggle began instantly between the moderate
conservative Republicans and the more advanced Left. W. came home
late that day. Some of his friends came in after dinner and the talk was
most interesting. I was so new to it all that most of the names of the
rank and file were unknown to me, and the appreciations of the votes
and the anecdotes and side-lights on the voters said nothing to me.
Looking back after all these years, it seems to me that the moderate
Royalists (centre droit) threw away a splendid chance. They could not
stop the Republican wave (nothing could) but they might have
controlled it and directed it instead of standing aloof and throwing the
power into the hands of the Left. We heard the well-known sayings
very often those days: "La Republique sera conservatrice ou elle ne
sera pas" and "La Republique sans Republicains," attributed to M.
Thiers and Marshal MacMahon. The National Assembly struggled on
to the end of the year, making a constitution, a parliament with two
houses, senate and chamber of deputies, with many discussions and
contradictions, and hopes and illusions.
[Illustration: Sitting of the National Assembly at the palace of
Versailles. From _l'Illustration_, March 11, 1876]
I went often to Versailles, driving out when the weather was fine. I
liked the stormy sittings best. Some orator would say something that
displeased the public, and in a moment there would be the greatest
uproar, protestations and accusations from all sides, some of the
extreme Left getting up, gesticulating wildly, and shaking their fists at
the speaker--the Right, generally calm and sarcastic, requesting the
speaker to repeat his monstrous statements--the huissiers dressed in

black with silver chains, walking up and down in front of the tribune,
calling out at intervals: "Silence, messieurs, s'il vous plait,"--the
President ringing his bell violently to call the house to order, and
nobody paying the slightest attention,--the orator sometimes standing
quite still with folded arms waiting until the storm should abate,
sometimes dominating the hall and hurling abuse at his adversaries. W.
was always perfectly quiet; his voice was low, not very strong, and he
could not speak if there were an uproar. When he was interrupted in a
speech he used to stand perfectly still with folded arms, waiting for a
few minutes' silence. The deputies would call out: "Allez! allez!"
interspersed with a few lively criticisms on what he was saying to them;
he was perfectly unmoved, merely replied: "I will go on with pleasure
as soon as you will be quiet enough for me to be heard." Frenchmen
generally have such a wonderful facility of speech, and such a pitiless
logic in discussing a question, that the debates were often very
interesting. The public was interesting too. A great many women of all
classes followed the sittings--several Egerias (not generally