The guests were leaving the
hotels, the timid were preparing to fly, and shopkeepers were
putting up their blinds and hiding their valuables; the parks
and cafes were deserted. The railway booking office was crowded,
and a babel of tongues quarreled for precedence. The siege of
Paris was but yesterday's news, and tourists did not propose to
be walled in from the outer world. Some looked upon the scene as
a comic opera; others saw the tragedy of men snarling at one
another's throats.
Two hundred gendarmes patrolled the streets; for in war time the
dregs of a city float to the surface. Above the foreign
legations flags rose, offering protection to all those who
possessed the right to claim it. Less than four thousand troops
had marched from the city that day, but these were the flower of
the army, consisting of two thousand foot, six cannon and twelve
hundred horse. Europe has always depended largely on the cavalry,
which in the past has been a most formidable engine in warfare.
With gay plumes and banners, glittering helmets and flashing
cuirasses, they had gone forth to meet Madame and drive her back
across the range.
Pages:
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463