There is now in Paris great want and little money in circulation.  One meets many shabby individuals with wild physiognomies, and sometimes one hears an excited, menacing discussion on Louis Philippe, who, as well as his ministers, hangs only by a single hair.  The populace is disgusted with the Government, and would like to overthrow it, in order to make an end of the misery; but the Government is too well on its guard, and the least concourse of people is at once dispersed by the mounted police.

Riots and attentats were still the order of the day, and no opportunity for a demonstration was let slip by the parties hostile to the Government.  The return of General Ramorino from Poland, where he had taken part in the insurrection, offered such an opportunity.  This adventurer, a natural son of Marshal Lannes, who began his military career in the army of Napoleon, and, after fighting wherever fighting was going on, ended it on the Piazza d’Armi at Turin, being condemned by a Piedmontese court-martial to be shot for disobedience to orders, was hardly a worthy recipient of the honours bestowed upon him during his journey through Germany and France.  But the personal merit of such popular heroes of a day is a consideration of little moment; they are mere counters, counters representative of ideas and transient whims.

The enthusiasm of the populace for our general is of course known to you [writes Chopin to his friend Woyciechowski].  Paris would not be behind in this respect. [Footnote:  The Poles and everything Polish were at that time the rage in Paris; thus, for instance, at one of the theatres where dramas were generally played, they represented now the whole history of the last Polish insurrection, and the house was every night crammed with people who wished to see the combats and national costumes.] The Ecole de Medecine and the jeune France, who wear their beards and cravats according to a certain pattern, intend to honour him with a great demonstration.  Every political party—­I speak of course only of the ultras—­has its peculiar badge:  the Carlists have green waistcoats, the Republicans and Napoleonists (and these form the jeune France) [red], [Footnote:  Chopin has omitted this word, which seems to be necessary to complete the sentence; at least, it is neither in the Polish nor German edition of Karasowski’s book.] the Saint-Simonians who profess a new religion, wear blue, and so forth.  Nearly a thousand of these young people marched with a tricolour through the town in order to give Ramorino an ovation.  Although he was at home, and notwithstanding the shouting of “Vive les Polonais!” he did not show himself, not wishing to expose himself to any unpleasantness on the part of the Government.  His adjutant came out and said that the general was sorry he could not receive them and begged them to return some other day.  But the next day he took other lodgings.  When some days afterwards an immense mass of people—­not only young