summer of 1851, in which he won some distinction by wanton waste of life.  His exploits were exaggerated, the venal Press sounded his praises, and he was recalled to Paris and made minister of war; for the President by the Constitution could nominate his ministers and appoint the high officers of State.  Other officers were brought from Algeria and made his subordinates.  The command of the army of Paris was given to General Magnan, who was in the secret.  The command of the National Guards was given to a general who promised not to act, for this body was devoted to the Assembly.  M. Maupas, another conspirator, of great administrative ability, was made prefect of police.

Thus in September, 1851, everything was arranged; but Saint-Arnaud persuaded the President to defer the coup d’etat until winter, when all the deputies would be in Paris, and therefore could be easily seized.  If scattered over France, they might rally and create a civil war; for, as we have already said, the Assembly contained the leading men of the country,—­statesmen, generals, editors, and great lawyers, all hostile to the ruler of the Republic.

So the President waited patiently till winter.  Suddenly, without warning, in the night of the 2d of December, all the most distinguished members of the Assembly were arrested by the police controlled by Maupas, and sent to the various prisons,—­including Changarnier, Cavaignac, Thiers, Bedeau, Lamoriciere, Barrot, Berryer, De Tocqueville, De Broglie, and Saint-Hilaire.  On the following morning strong bodies of the military were posted at the Palais Bourbon (where the Assembly held its sessions), around all the printing-presses, around the public buildings, and in the principal streets.  In the meantime, Morny was made minister of the interior.  Manifestoes were issued which announced the dissolution of the Assembly and the Council of State, the restoration of universal suffrage, and a convocation of the electoral college to elect the Executive.  A proclamation was also made to the army, containing those high-sounding watchwords which no one was more capable of using than the literary President,—­eloquent, since they appealed to everything dear to the soldiers’ hearts, and therefore effective.  Louis Napoleon’s short speeches convinced those for whom they were intended.  He was not so fortunate with his books.

The military and the police had now the supreme control of Paris, while the minister of the interior controlled the municipalities of the various departments.  All resistance was absurd; and yet so tremendous an outrage on the liberties of the nation provoked an indignation, especially among the Republicans, which it was hard to suppress.  The people rallied and erected barricades, which of course were swept away by the cannon of General Magnan, accompanied by needless cruelties and waste of blood, probably with the view to inspire fear and show that resistance was hopeless.