The agitation in Paris and Versailles during the twenty-four hours
of uncertainty appears to have been extreme. The Con- servatives, who have a majority, endeavoured to find a successor to M. Thiers, and proposed to Marshal MacMahon to assume the Presidency, declare a state of siege, and ultimately to proclaim a Monarchy. The Marshal declined, but the Minister at War, General Cissey, is reported to have accepted a somewhat similar offer, though the impending coup d'e'tat was prevented by M. Thiers' return. Paris was occupied as if to prevent an insurrection, and for a few hours all manner of reports were prevalent about German interference. There is now a general belief, which, however, may be speedily disproved, that on the occasion of the next quarrel Marshal MacMahon will accept the Presidency, and govern absolutely, until the time is ripe for a definitive form of government. The check on this plan is the Republican feeling of a large section of the Army and of the great cities ; but our own correspondent, a keen observer, evidently believes that the next movement will be military.
