'I and my father had turned with the crowd, and were close behind
the second troop of vagabonds. Joy was on every face. I remarked
to papa that "I would not have missed the scene for anything, I
might never see such a splendid one," when PLONG went one shot -
every face went pale - R-R-R-R-R went the whole detachment, [and]
the whole crowd of gentlemen and ladies turned and cut. Such a
scene! - ladies, gentlemen, and vagabonds went sprawling in the
mud, not shot but tripped up; and those that went down could not
rise, they were trampled over. . . . I ran a short time straight on
and did not fall, then turned down a side street, ran fifty yards
and felt tolerably safe; looked for papa, did not see him; so
walked on quickly, giving the news as I went.' [It appears, from
another letter, the boy was the first to carry word of the firing
to the Rue St. Honore; and that his news wherever he brought it was
received with hurrahs. It was an odd entrance upon life for a
little English lad, thus to play the part of rumour in such a
crisis of the history of France.
Pages:
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62