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New Insights into an old mystery
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2008
One of the memorable days in the French revolution of 1848 occurred on May 15. Several extraordinary events happened on that date. The first was the overrunning of the legislative chamber by an unruly crowd. Next, and most important, a person named Aloysius Huber, after several hours had elapsed, unilaterally declared the National Assembly dissolved. In the resultant confusion, the legislators and the crowd dispersed. Third, shortly afterwards, an attempt took place at the City Hall to set up a new revolutionary government. It failed completely. As the result of these happenings, a number of people thought to be, or actually, implicated in them were imprisoned on charges of sedition.
1 Many studies of the Revolution of 1848 exist in which these events are explored. Two good recent ones are Roger Price, The French Second Republic. 'A Social History (London, 1972), chs 3–4, and Peter, H. Amann, Revolution and Mass Democracy. The Paris Club Movement in 1848 (Princeton, 1975), chs 6–9.Google Scholar
2 The three views may be found in their original form in Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, pp. 1133–35, 3047; Annales de I'Assemblée Nationale, XXI (1874), p. 282. That LedruRollin's view was incorrect is evident from the fact that Huber publicly supported Ledru-Rollin for the Presidency in December 1848, Aloysius Huber, Au peuple, lettres sur Ia présidence (Paris, 1848), passim. Ledru-Rollin's notion arose out of his retrospective application of Louis Napoleon's pardon of Huber in 1852 to the latter's behavior in1848.Google Scholar
3 Georges, Renard, La République de 1848 [Histoire Socialiste, IX] (Paris, n.d.), p. 52;Google Scholar Henri, Guilemin, La Tragédie de quarante-huit (Geneva, 1948), pp. 240–57;Google Scholar Georges, Duveau, 1848. The Making of a Revolution (New York, 1967), pp. 115–16;Google Scholar Priscilla, Robertson, Revolutions of 1848. A Social History (Princeton, 1952), p. 81;Google Scholar George, W. Fasel, “The French Moderate Republicans, 1839–48” (Ph.D. thesis, Stanford, 1965), pp. 344–45;Google Scholar Talmon, J. L., Political Messianism. The Romantic Phase (New York, 1960), p. 452.Google Scholar
4 Amann, , Revolution and Mass Democracy, op. cit., pp. 234–35;Google Scholar Price. The French, Second Republic, op. cit., pp. 146–47;Google Scholar Frederick, A. de Luna, The French Republic under Cavaignac, 1848 (Princeton, 1969), p. 116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5 Peter, Amann, “A Journée in the Making: May 15, 1848”, in: Journal of Modern History, XLII (1970), pp. 42–69.Google Scholar
6 Support for the statements in the last two paragraphs will be found in the text and the footnotes that follow.
7 Le Moniteur Universel, 1836, pp. 525–26, 677.
8 Procès de Huber et de ses coaccusés devant la Cour d'Assises de Ia Seine (Paris, 1838), passim.Google Scholar
9 Moniteur Universel, 1849, pp. 1031–32, 3061–62;Google Scholar Daniel, Stern [the Comtesse d'Agoult], Histoire de la Révolution de 1848, 2nd ed. (Paris, 1878), III, pp. 19–21;Google Scholar Dora, B. Weiner, Raspail (New York, 1968), p. 211;Google Scholar Louis, Blanc, Révélations historiques (Leipzig, 1859), II, p. 83.Google Scholar
10 Peter, Amann, “The Huber Enigma: Revolutionary or Police-Spy”, in: International Review of Social History, XII (1967), pp. 190–203, esp. pp. 200–02; Blanc, Révélations historiques, p. 84.Google Scholar
11 Thus, he said to Delessert that he returned from London the first time “at the end of August”, Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1032. The actual date was August 30, Procés de Huber, op. cit., p. 44.Google Scholar He further stated he returned to London a month later; the actual date was September 21, ibid., p. 45. The third time he returned without his companion, Steuble - true, ibid.; Le, Droit (Paris), 04 26, 1838.Google Scholar
12 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1032; Procès de Huber, p.45;Google Scholar Le, Droit, 05 14, 1838.Google Scholar
13 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1032; Procès de Huber, p. 50; Le, Droit, 05 14, 1838.Google Scholar
14 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1032; Procès de Huber, pp. 9–10;Google Scholar Le, Droit, 04 25, 1838.Google Scholar
15 Amann, , “The Huber Enigma”, bc. cit., pp.201–02.Google Scholar
16 Procès, de Huber, pp. 9, 46;Google Scholar Le, Droit, 04 25 and 05 14, 1838.Google Scholar
17 Procès de Huber, p. 90.Google Scholar
18 Le Moniteur Universel, 1836, p. 629.Google Scholar
19 Ibid.
20 Nouguès, L., Une Condemnation de mai 1839 (Paris, 1850), p. 181.Google Scholar
21 Times (London), April 11, 1836.
22 Victor, Bouton, Profils révolutionnaires (Paris, 1848–1849), p. 117. Bouton was a July Monarchy employee, well-informed, with police contacts continuing into the republican era.Google Scholar
23 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 3082.Google Scholar
24 Aloysius, Huber, Nuit de veille d'un prisonnier d'état (Paris, 1862), Preface.Google Scholar
25 La Révolution Démocratique et Sociale (Paris), March 25, 1849.
26 Paul, Chodoff and Henry, Lyons, “Hysteria, the Hysterical Personality and ‘Hysterical’ Conversion”, in: The American Journal of Psychiatry, CXIV (1957-1958), pp. 734–41, esp. pp. 735–36. This article reviews the subject, and categorizes the common external traits associated with hysteria. Huber had them all.Google Scholar
27 Renato, D. Alarcon, “Hysteria and Hysterical Personality”, in: Psychiatric Quarterly, XLVII (1973). pp. 258–75, esp. p.262.Google Scholar
28 Luisada, P. V., Peele, R. and Pittard, E. A., “The Hysterical Personality in Men”, in: American Journal of Psychiatry, CXXXI (1974–1975), pp. 518–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29 The Hysterical Personality, ed. by Mardi, J. Horowitz (New York, 1977), pp. 165–67;Google Scholar Paul, Chodoff, “A Re-Examination of Some Aspects of Conversion Hysteria”, in: Psychiatry, XVII (1954), pp. 75–81, esp. p. 76. Socio-psychic or more especially sociosexual conflict is more likely to exist in such an environment, together with greater tolerance of primitive modes of outward emotional expression.Google Scholar
30 Mayoral Office, Autun, Saône-et-Loire, France, to author, enclosing certificate of Huber's death in 1865, which gives age as fifty, parents' names, and father's occupation as “cultivateur”.
31 Andreas, Angyal, Neurosis and Treatment (New York, 1965), p. 147;Google Scholar Klaus, W. Berblinger, “Hysterical Crises and the Question of the Hysterical Character”, in: Psychosomatics, 1 (1960), pp. 270–79, esp. p. 276;Google Scholar Easer, B. D. and Lesser, S. R., “Hysterical Personality: A Re-Evaluation”, in: Psychoanalytic Quarterly, XXXIV (1965), pp. 390–405, esp. p. 399.Google Scholar
32 Alan Krohn, Cf., Hysteria, : The Elusive Neurosis (New York, 1978), pp. 219–20; Angyal, Neurosis and Treatment, p. 149;Google Scholar Prideaux, E., “Suggestion and Suggestibility”, in: The British Journal of Psychology”, X (1919–1920), pp. 228–41, esp. pp. 231–33.Google Scholar
33 Anyal, , Neurosis and Treatment, p. 143;Google Scholar Otto, Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (New York, 1945), p. 528.Google Scholar
34 Richard, L. Frank, “Conversion and Dissociation”, in: New York State Journal of Medicine, LXIX (1973), pp. 1872–77, esp. p. 1875;Google Scholar Fenichel, , The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, p. 528.Google Scholar
35 Thomas, L. Hoyer, “Pseudologica Fantastica. A Consideration of the ‘Lie’ and a Case Presentation”, in: Psychiatric Quarterly, XXXIII (1959), pp. 204–20, esp. pp. 203, 208;Google Scholar Ben, Karpman, “Lying, A Minor Inquiry into the Ethics of Neurotic and Psychotic Behavior”, in: The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, XL (1949–1950), pp. 135–57, esp. 149, 151.Google Scholar
36 Paul, Schilder, “The Concept of Hysteria”, in: American Journal of Psychiatry, XCV (1938-1939), pp. 1389–413, esp. pp. 1404-05;Google Scholar Bernhard, Berliner, “On the Psychodynamics of Masochism”, in: Psychoanalytic Quarterly, XVI (1947), pp. 459–71, esp. pp. 460,461,465.Google Scholar
37 Grand, Dictionnaire universel (Paris, n.d.), IX, pp. 425–26. The author was exceptionally perceptive, observing not only Huber's martyr complex, but his vanity and his “mania for playing a part”.Google Scholar
38 Krohn, , Hysteria, , op. cit., pp. 135–37;Google Scholar Angval, , Neurosis and Treatment, pp. 139–41.Google Scholar
39 Fenichel, , The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, p. 527;Google Scholar David, M. Berger, “Hysteria: In Search of the Animus”, in: Comprehensive Psychiatry, XII (1971), pp. 271–86, esp. p. 281.Google Scholar
40 Schilder, , “The Concept of Hysteria”, loc. cit., p. 1404; Krohn, Hysteria, p. 133.Google Scholar
41 Huber, , Nuits de veille, op. cit., pp. 13, 69, 94, 192–93.Google Scholar
42 Fenichel, , The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, pp. 216–17;Google Scholar Krohn, , Hystena, pp. 123–24.Google Scholar
43 Huber, , Nuits de veille, pp. 121, 136, 142, 313.Google Scholar
44 Procès, de Huber, pp. 22, 23, 26, 49–52, 99.Google Scholar
45 Ibid., pp. 12, 13, 23–26, 41, 102.
46 Ibid., pp. 9–10, 22, 56, 65–66, 73, 88, 95, 108.
47 Louis, Blanc, Histoire de dix ans (Paris, 1844), V, p. 317;Google Scholar Léon, Abensour, Le Féminisme sous le Règne de Louis-Philippe (Paris, 1913), P. 154.Google Scholar
48 Dictionnaire, de biographie française (Paris, 1932ff.), XIII, pp. 1302–13 (Gisuseppe Fieschi);Google Scholar Procès, de Huber, pp. 20, 86. Fieschi's trial and execution took Neuilly case was awaiting trial.Google Scholar
49 Procès, de Huber, p.81.Google Scholar
50 Dictionnaire de biographie française, I, p. 1057 (Louis Alibaud). Alibaud's attempted shooting of Louis-Philippe and his trial and execution occurred a couple of the Neuilly trial.
51 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1032.Google Scholar
52 Ibid., 1836, pp. 644, 677.
53 Procès de Huber, p. 42.
54 Ibid., pp. 12, 21, 25, 41, 43.
55 At the trial, Huber offered an utterly unconvincing explanation of how it was possible to be so careless as to leave a very suspicious letter at a friend's, Le Droit, May 14, 1838. The reason why he did so becomes clear from the Delessert letter, Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, P. 1032. He had written the Prefect under the name of Eugène Manay inviting his arrest, so that leaving a dubious letter at a friend's – since he was under police surveillance – was bound to increase the chances of his apprehension.
56 Procès de Huber, pp. 13, 23, 45, 50.
57 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1032. Amann, “The Huber Enigma”, p. 201, contending that in his letter to Delessert Huber was only pretending that he was trying to get arrested, points out that he wrote a letter, 12 9, to Laure Grouvelle. warning her of his arrest. If he forewarned her, then he could not have been helping Delessert. It is important to observe that he had not mailed this letter. He was arrested December 10, and searched by the police December 13, at which time, since he had neither mailed nor destroyed it, they found it on his person, Procès de Huber, p. 13.Google Scholar
58 Le, Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1032.Google Scholar
59 Angyal, , Neurosis and Treatment, p. 147;Google Scholar Berblinger, . “Hysterical Crisis and the Question of the Hysterical Character”, bc. cit., p. 277.Google Scholar
60 Gustave, Glotz, “Les papiers de Marie”, in: La Revolution de 1848, 1 (1904-1905), pp. 151–58, esp. p. 158.Google Scholar
61 These events and developments have been studied many times. For a contemporary version, see Babaud-Laribière, F.-S.-L., Histoire, de l'Assemblée nationale constituante (Paris, 1850), I, pp. 3–23. Read also Amann, Revolution and Mass Democracy, chs 3–7.Google Scholar
62 Longepied, and Laugier, , Comité révolutionnaire, Club des clubs et Ia commission (Paris, 1850), pp. 32–57; Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 3044, 3047, 3078–80.Google Scholar
63 Assemblée Nationale, Rapport fail au nom de la commission chargée de l'enquôte sur l'insurrection qui a éclaté dans la journée du 23 juin et sur les événements du 15 mai (Paris, 1848), I, p. 19; Longepied and Laugier, Comité révolutionnaire, Club des clubs et la commission, pp. 59, 114.
64 Amann, , Revolution and Mass Democracy, pp. 192, 194;Google Scholar Le, Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1086.Google Scholar
65 Assemblée Nationale, Rapport, , op. cit., II, pp. 268–71;Google Scholar Amann, , Revolution and Mass Democracy, pp. 213–14.Google Scholar
66 La, Commune de Paris, 03 21, 27, 31, 04 5,9, 19, 20, 22, 24, 27, 28, and 05 7, 25, 1848;Google Scholar Amann, , Revolution and Mass Democracy, pp. 127–31.Google Scholar
67 Le, Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 1086.Google Scholar
68 Ibid., 1852, p. 251; Le Moniteur des Communes, February 23, 1852; Alfred, Darimon, A travers Ia révolution (Paris, 1884), Pp. 303–04.Google Scholar All the people named except Laure Grouvelle were from five to twenty-five years- older than Huber. For this pattern in hysterics, see Angyal, , Neurosis and Treatment, p. 144,Google Scholar and especially Krohn, , Hysteria, pp. 256–57: “the hysterical neurosis may revolve around a pattern of relationships with men, particularly older men in positions of authority. This very common male hysterical pattern shows itself in a tendency to behave obsequiously”.Google Scholar
69 Glotz, , “Les papiers de Marie”, loc. cit., P. 158.Google Scholar
70 Longepied, and Laugier, , Comité; révolutionnaire, Club des clubs et de Ia commission, p. 57;Google Scholar Amann, , Revolution and Mass Democracy, Pp. 127–28. Exactly which ones among the Club of Clubs members met with Ledru-Rollin is not clear, but the president must have been kept informed, and perhaps attended meetings. Another thread linking Huber to Ledru-Rollin exists. The former was part of a delegation that visited the Justice Ministry, in Ledru-Rollin's name, to obtain a collection of material that included an 1839 pardon request of Huber's and that was not returned. Huber's request for a pardon, 0210, 1852, Archives Nationales, BB21, 545–49, Register S, Dossier 3322.Google Scholar
71 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 963;Google Scholar Auguste, Vermorel, Les hommes de 1848 (Paris, 1869). pp. 228–30.Google Scholar
72 Bouton, , Profils révolutionnaires, op. cit., p. 117.Google Scholar
73 Le, Moniteur Universel, 1849, pp. 1193, 1135.Google Scholar
74 La Révolution Démocratique et Sociale, 03 14, 1849.Google Scholar
75 Le, Moniteur Universel, 1849, pp. 1032, 1032, 3061.Google Scholar
76 Ibid., p. 1133.
77 Ibid., p. 1135. It is not clear whether the dossier and other dossiers to which Raspail referred would have been deposited at the Prefecture of Police or at the Archives. At any rate, they do not exist today. In the case of the Archives Nationales, the appropriate place would be as part of C 932 A, Commission d'enquête sur les évééements de mai and juin 1848, documents et correspondance au 2e volume publié par la Commission, I le dossier. Evidently the reports of Marrast's police and the most telling of the post-May- 15 evidence that was in dossiers has disappeared. Another possibility is C 908, but they are not there either. No scholar has ever found them. That they existed is obvious from Raspail's testimony. He referred at various times to dossier 11, listing numerous specific pages: 31, 60, 63, 64, 72, 75, 76, 81, 321, 368, 480,488. He also mentioned dossiers 63 and 76, pp. 56, 59 and 64. He could not have manufactured such exact nu bers. That the printed record was deliberately left incomplete is shown by how Raspail is quoted in relation to whom he referred. At p. 1135 he referred to Marrast himself as saying that he heard regularly from Huber. Turn to p. 963, and Marrast is not quoted as saying any such thing. Again, Raspail quoted from a dossier something that Huber's Club of Clubs companion, Danduran, said. We look at Danduran's testimony, p. 823, and no such statement is found. It is al soclear that the independent newspapers, as distinguished from the Moniteur, were not allowed a transcript of the testimony, because they reported Raspail's statements in only truncated form, without the dossier numbers or pages. See, as examples, Gazette, des Tribunaux, 03 30, 1849, Journal des Débats, 03 30, 1849, La Révolution Démocratique et Sociale, 03 30, 1849, and Le Constitutionnel, 03 31, 1849.Google Scholar
78 Le, Moniteur Universel, 1849, pp. 3044, 963.Google Scholar
79 Monnier's, testimony appeared 03 25, 1849, in light of which Delescluze's rather puzzled defense of Huber appeared in his newspaper. Raspail's testimony appeared 03 30, 1849, and from there on no further references to Huber were made. 80 Guillemin, La tragédie de quarante-huit, op. cit., pp. 231–57.Google Scholar
80 Glillemin, , La tragédie de quarante-huit, op. cit., pp. 231–57.Google Scholar
81 Amann, “The Huber Enigma”, passim; id., “A Journée in the Making”, loc. cit., passim.
82 For a closeup assessment of Marrast from a republican Constituent Assembly member, see Babaud-Laribière, Histoire de l'Assemblée nationale constituante, op. cit., I, p. 24, wherein the author found him to be perhaps careless in his duties, but incapable of treachery.
83 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, pp. 823, 3044, 3046, 3057.Google Scholar
84 Ibid., p. 3046.
85 Blanc, , Révélations historiques. op. cit., II, p. 85.Google Scholar
86 Stern, , Histoire de Ia Révolution, op. cit., III, pp. 34–35;Google Scholar Weiner, , Raspail, op. cit., pp. 225–26.Google Scholar
87 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 3047.Google Scholar
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89 Ibid., p. 3059.
90 Ibid., p. 3058; Alexis, de Tocqueville, Souvenirs (Paris, 1942), p. 123.Google Scholar
91 Le Moniteur Universel, 1849, p. 3059.Google Scholar
92 Ibid., pp. 3047, 3058, 3078.
93 Stern, , Histoire de la Révolution, I, pp. 254–57.Google Scholar
94 Le, Moniteur Universel, 1849, pp. 3045, 3047, 3063.Google Scholar
95 Ibid., pp. 3047, 3064; Amann, , ”A Journée in the Making”, pp. 66–68.Google Scholar
96 Ministry of Justice, Requests for Pardons, , 02 10, 1852, Archives Nationales, BB21.Google Scholar
97 Sébastien, Commissaire, Mémoires et souvenirs (Paris, 1882), II, p. 7.Google Scholar
98 Le Moniteur Universel, 1852, p. 251; Le Moniteur des Communes, 02 23, 1852.Google Scholar
99 Grand, Dictionnaire universel, IX, p. 426.Google Scholar
100 The Proudhon-Huber partnership is recounted in Darimon, A travers Ia révolution, op. cit., pp. 303–08.
101 Archives Nationales. BB30, Ministry of the Interior, 416. No 1303 P.Google Scholar
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103 See note 30.
104 Tocqueville, , Souvenirs, op. cit., p. 124.Google Scholar
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