V. 1789. CHAP. declared that nothing should induce her, in such an extremity, to separate from her husband. "I know," she added, "that they seek my life; but I am the daughter of Maria Theresa, and have learned not to fear death." Nothing could induce Louis to allow the troops in front of the palace to fire on the people. "Come now," said he, "would you have me declare war on women?" The cries, in consequence, redoubled; the crowd, seeing their impunity, became furious. Assailed by so many subjects of anxiety, the monarch at length resolved upon submission, and Mounier was authorised to announce to the Assembly his unqualified acceptance of the nineteen articles of the constitution already framed, and his adhesion to the Declaration of the Rights of Man. But matters had now arrived at a pass when these concessions could produce no effect. A multitude of drunken women had broken into the hall of the Assembly, lay extended on its benches, and one shameless Amazon occupied the President's chair, and in derision was ringing his bell. Moll. ii. 209, The deputies in vain endeavoured to restore order; the 21221 debates were incessantly interrupted by cries of “Bread! Th. i. 176. bread!" and nothing but the authority of Mirabeau could iii. 191, 193. procure silence even for the discussion of measures for Camp ii. 75, 76. Weber, providing for the public subsistence. At three in the Toul. i. 159. morning the sitting was broken up, and the hall left in possession of its unruly invaders.1 1 Bert. de vii. 215,219. Deux Amis, i. 432, 435. 64. retires to sleep. Lafayette had an interview with the royal family, Lafayette and, misled by his usual childish belief in the virtue of mankind, assured them in the strongest terms, in presence of a numerous circle, that he could guarantee the security of the palace. He added, that he was so well convinced of the pacific disposition of his army, and had so much confidence in the preservation of the public tranquillity, that he was resolved to retire to rest. Misled by these assurances, the Assembly dispersed and repaired to their several homes; and the King and Queen, overcome with fatigue, withdrew to their apartments. The Queen went V. to bed at two in the morning, and, being utterly exhausted, CHAP. fell asleep. The external posts were intrusted to the troops commanded by Lafayette; the interior were still 1789. in the hands of the body guard of the King. Unfortunately for his reputation, and for the honour of France, Campan, General Lafayette followed the example of the sovereign, 300. Weber, and repaired, for the remainder of the night, to the chateau i. 178. de Noailles, at some distance from the palace, where he soon after fell asleep.1 i. 441. Th. 65. again break heroic de fence of the body guard. Nothing occurred to interrupt the public tranquillity from three till five in the morning; but the aspect of the The mob populace presaged an approaching storm. Large groups into the paof savage men and intoxicated women assembled round lace, and the watchfires in all the streets of Versailles, and relieved the tedium of a rainy night by singing revolutionary songs. In one of these circles their exasperation was such, that, seated on the corpse of one of the body guard, they devoured the flesh of his horse half-roasted in the flames, while a ring of frantic cannibals danced round the group. Every thing announced that they were determined to assuage their thirst for blood by some indiscriminate massacre. The whole leaders of the Orleans party -Mirabeau, Laclos, Sillery, Latouche, and d'Aguilarwere in the crowd.* At six o'clock a furious mob surrounded the barracks of the body guard, broke them open, and pursued the flying inmates to the gates of the palace, where fifteen were seized, and doomed to immediate execution. At the same time another troop of insurgents besieged the avenues to the palace, and finding a gate open, rushed in, and speedily filled the staircases. and vestibules of the royal apartments. Two of the body guard, posted at the head of the stair, made the most heroic resistance, and by their efforts gave time to the Queen to escape into the apartments of the King, but * It was said by some of the witnesses at the trial relating to these proceedings, that the Duke of Orleans was there on horseback, but this was never clearly proved. V. 1789. CHAP. they perished in the heroic act. The assassins, by continued efforts, drove the body guard back into the apartment of the Queen, but did not reach it themselves. Meanwhile Marie Antoinette, in passing almost undressed into the apartments of the King, found an inner door barred, but by knocking violently, it was at length opened. The King was absent. Alarmed by the noise, he had repaired, by the principal passage through the Eil de Boeuf, into the Queen's apartment, which he found filled with the body guard; but, soon after, the dauphin and children came in, and the King having returned, the inner doors of the Eil de Boeuf were closed, and the antechamber filled with grenadiers, who succeeded in keeping out the mob from that last asylum. But, with that exception, the whole interior of the palace was ransacked by the savage multitude; the splendour of ages was suddenly exposed to the indiscriminate gaze of the lowest of the people. ii. 77, 78, 66 Apparet domus intus, et atria longa patescunt: But for the intrepid defence of the body guard, and the exertions of the Marquis de Vaudreuil, who succeeded in reviving in the French Guards some sparks of their Campan, ancient loyalty, the King himself, and the whole royal 80. Lac. vii. family, would have fallen a prey to the assassins. They Riv. 305, dragged the bodies of two of the body guard, who had 93. Th. I. been murdered, below the windows of the King, beheaded i. 442, 448.' them, and carried the bloody heads in triumph upon the point of their pikes through the streets of Versailles.1 234, 237. 307. Mig. i. 180. Weber, At the first alarm General Lafayette, whose unfortunate absence from the scene of danger had produced * "A mighty breach is made: the rooms conceal'd Appear, and all the palace is reveal'd— The halls of audience and of public state And where the lovely queen in secret sate, DRYDEN'S Virgil, Book II. V. 1789. Tardy ar fayette. such alarming effects, threw himself upon his horse, and CHAP. hastened to the spot. He made an impassioned harangue to the grenadiers of the guard, and succeeded in prevailing upon them to defend the captives. The fifteen pri- 66. soners were thus rescued from impending death; and the rival of GeKing himself having come to the windows and demanded neral Latheir lives from the multitude, they ultimately escaped. Three others, who had already the halter about their necks, and were on the point of being strangled, were saved by some of the Gardes Françaises, who flew to their deliverance, exclaiming, "Let us save the bodyguard, as they saved us at Fontenoy." Amidst the fury of the multitude, and the atrocities of faction, it is pleasing to record that, in moments of extreme danger, the ancient 1 Lac. vii. generosity of the French military character frequently 238. Riv. manifested itself on both sides during this dreadful i. 180. contest.1 309. Th. duct of the The conduct of the Queen during these moments of 67. alarm was worthy of the highest admiration, and she Heroic conthen, for the first time, gave proof of that heroic courage Queen. which has since given immortality to her name. Notwithstanding the shots which were fired at the windows, she persisted in standing on the balcony, to endeavour to obtain the pardon of the body-guards, who were in peril from the exasperated multitude; and when M. Luzerne strove to place himself between her and the danger, she gently removed him, alleging that that was her post, and that the King could not afford to lose so faithful a servant. Shortly after, the crowd vociferously demanded that she should appear at the window; she came forth, accompanied by her children: twenty thousand voices immediately exclaimed, "Away with the children!" and the Queen, sending them in, reappeared alone, in presence of Campan, a mob from whom she expected instant death.2 This Weber, i generous contempt of personal danger overcame the fury 312. Lac. of the populace, and universal shouts of applause testified Th. i. 182. at once their sense of the reality of the peril which she VOL. I. 2 R 2 ii. 81. 451. Riv. vii. 241. CHAP. had braved, and the impression which her courage had made upon the multitude.* V. 1789. 68. The mob royal family going to Paris. Oct. 6. The Republican leaders of the tumult, seeing themselves foiled in their design of making the King fly, resolved to insist on the derive some advantage from their success, by removing him and the royal family to Paris, where they would be entirely subjected to their control. Immediately the cry was raised among the populace, "Let us bring the King to Paris! it is the only way of securing bread to our children." Lafayette persuaded the monarch, as the only means of appeasing the tumult, to accede to the wishes of the people; and, accompanied by the King and Queen, appeared at the balcony of the palace, and gave that assurance to the multitude. Mirabeau and his associates violently opposed this design, as it entirely thwarted the views of the Orleans conspirators; but the incessant clamour of the populace, who deemed their victory complete if they could secure their august captives, overbore all opposition. My children," said the monarch, “you wish that I should go to Paris: I consent, provided I am not to be separated from my wife and children, and that my guards are to be protected." Loud cries of "Vive le Roi-Vivent les Gardes-du-Corps," immediately resounded on all sides. The Assembly, informed of his determination, hastily passed a resolution, that it was inseparable 1 Mig. i. 94, from the King, and would accompany him to the capital. 31. Th. i. Thus the democratic party, as the fruit of their violence, pan, ii. 81, obtained the immense advantage of having both branches of the legislature transferred to a place where their own influence was irresistible.1 95. Riv. 182. Cam 82. Weber, i. 452. At noon the royal party set out for Paris; a hundred deputies of the Assembly accompanied their carriage. "L'air de grandeur de la reine," says an eyewitness, "cette preuve de courage dans une obéissance si périlleuse, l'emportèrent à force de surprise sur la barbarie du peuple. Elle fut applaudie universellement. Son génie redressa tout-à-coup l'instinct de la multitude égarée : et il fallait à ses ennemis des crimes, des conjurations, et de longues pratiques pour la faire assassiner."— Témoin Oculaire, given in WEBER, i. 451. |