Madame de Castellane came to ask me to dine with her to-day, and with M. Molé, who will read us his speech upon the occasion of his admission to the French Academy, where he is taking the place of M. de Quélen.
This morning I saw M. Hottinger, the banker, who is much disturbed about the situation. He sees, with great uneasiness, that the efforts of diplomacy can be nullified at any moment by the will of the Pasha of Egypt, in whose hands it is obvious that the question of peace or war now rests. Conspiracies and risings at Constantinople continually complicate all these questions for the worse. It is certain that only a miraculous Providence could disperse these heavy clouds. At Marseilles trade has come to a standstill and people are warehousing their stocks; not a single ship is leaving the port, and every one is anxiously awaiting the issue.
At one o'clock I went to Saint-Cloud to see Madame Adélaïde; then I went to the Queen, and afterwards to the Duchesse d'Orléans: she is really charming, distinguished, witty, gracious, and self-restrained; her conversation is most agreeable and attractive. Madame Adélaïde seemed to me to think that peace will be preserved; heaven grant that she is right!
_Paris, September 7, 1840._--The revolt is now breaking out with fresh audacity. Guns from the Invalides are galloping to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, the assembly is beating continuously and troops are on the march, while the National Guard is concentrated at the different mayors' houses; in short, this is a case of battle. So far our Faubourg Saint-Germain is peaceful, but it must be admitted that if the combat is not soon concluded the left bank of the Seine will be no better off than the right. I am told that the bands scattered through Paris are largely composed of Poles and Italians, wandering people without a fixed home, never sleeping twice in the same house, and therefore difficult to seize. Since yesterday they have been threatening to set Paris on fire, by way of simplifying their task. The foremen of the factories, who have long known of the proposed movement, had warned the Chief of Police, who had, however, no legal authorisation to take adequate precautions. It was even impossible to prevent yesterday's terrible outbreak. To-day there is a general panic, and the troops and guns are ordered to do police work. Let us hope they will again stand firm.