29/31 Oh, yes, we'll rise up and strike; that's our game." "A hundred to one you are right. When does the performance begin ?" "_Now!_ We'll proclaim the Republic." "Well, that _will_ precipitate things, sure enough!" "It will make them buzz, I tell you! England will be a hornets' nest before noon to-morrow, if the Church's hand hasn't lost its cunning--and we know it hasn't. Now you write and I'll dictate thus: "PROCLAMATION -- - "BE IT KNOWN UNTO ALL. Whereas the king having died and left no heir, it becomes my duty to continue the executive authority vested in me, until a government shall have been created and set in motion. The monarchy has lapsed, it no longer exists. |