The Sword of Honor Part 27

The a.s.sembly of the Committee-men of the Sections, a.s.sembled with full power to save the common weal, considering that the first measure of safety is to seize all the powers that have been delegated to the Commune of Paris, and to remove from the staff of the National Guard the evil influence that it has upon the public liberty, decree:

1. The staff is suspended from its functions.

2. The Munic.i.p.al Council is suspended. Citizen Petion, Mayor, and Citizen Roederer, attorney for the Commune, shall continue their duties.

These measures taken in the name of the majority of the citizens of Paris, according to the powers conferred upon it, the new Commune of Paris organized and established itself in permanence in the City Hall, ready to conduct itself in line with the Revolution; while the people loaded their muskets and cannon and prepared to march on the palace of the Tuileries.

CHAPTER VII.

TRIUMPHANT INSURRECTION.

Called to my place in the battalion of my Section, the Section of the Pikes, I found myself on guard at the National a.s.sembly on this night of the 9th of August. About half after eleven, just as I finished my watch, I heard the a.s.sembly beat, and the bells ringing. Soon there arrived in haste, some alone, some in groups, a large number of the popular Representatives. Awakened by the tocsin and the drum, they were repairing to their meeting place, laboring under the presentiment of some untoward event. Otherwise the greatest quiet reigned about the quarter of the Tuileries. Being now off duty, I hastened to one of the public galleries of the a.s.sembly, which, despite the lateness of the hour, were not long in filling with an eager, restless crowd, composed, for the most part, of women, young girls, and old men. The male const.i.tuency which usually attended the sessions was this time occupied elsewhere; that is to say, they had scattered to the ends of Paris where they were preparing the revolt. All the working men were under arms.

In the center of the semicircle formed by the great hall of the Riding Academy, in which the a.s.sembly was sitting, rose the rostrum, with the arm-chair of the president. Behind the chair opened a sort of recess, enclosed by a grating. It was the place a.s.signed to the short-hand writers, or _logotachygraphes_ as they were called, persons skilled in the art of writing with the speed of speech, who were charged with transcribing the discourses of the speakers.

It was the common word in the galleries that all the Sections of Paris were a.s.sembling in arms in their respective quarters, and that their committee-men had gone to the City Hall to exercise the powers of the Commune of Paris. It was also said that the federates of Ma.r.s.eilles, gathered at the Cordeliers, had sent a patrol into the neighborhood of the Tuileries, and arrested, near the Carousel, a counter-patrol of royalists, among whom were the journalist Suleau, Abbot Bourgon, and an ex-bodyguard named Beau-Viguier. Further it was declared that two thousand former n.o.bles had been called together at the Tuileries, as well as a large number of veteran officers or body-guardsmen, to defend the palace. Some said that the Swiss regiments, re-enforced by those from the barracks of Courbevoie, were at the palace, supported by a formidable battery of artillery, and that Mandat, commander of the National Guard, had announced that he would crush the insurrection. The approaches to the palace were guarded by gendarmes afoot and on horse.

Everything pointed to a desperate resistance should a struggle be engaged between the people and the defenders of the Tuileries.

About two o'clock in the morning the Representatives, to the number of about two hundred, decided to convene the session. The tocsin, accompanied by the distant din of the drums beating the a.s.sembly or the forward march, was still to be heard. In the absence of the president of the a.s.sembly, Citizen Pastoret took the chair, and the secretaries a.s.sumed their places at the table.

Hardly had the session been opened when the delegates of the Lombards Section appeared. The leader of the deputation, wearing a red cap and carrying his gun, strode forward and cried:

"Citizen Representatives, the court is betraying the people! The Lombards Section has joined the insurrection, and at break of day will do its duty in the attack on the Tuileries. We go to meet our brothers."

"The people should respect the law and the Const.i.tution," was the answer of Pastoret.

At these words of Citizen Pastoret, loud murmurs arose from the extreme Left. Pastoret yielded the chair to Morlot, the president, who had come in; and at the same time there appeared at the bar of the a.s.sembly three officers of the old Munic.i.p.al Council.

"You have the floor," said the president to them.

Pale and quavering one of the officers spoke: "The alarm bell sounds in Paris! The ferment is at its height! Everywhere the Sections are gathering in arms. Several of our colleagues, sent to the City Hall to learn how matters stood, have been arrested. The insurgents are preparing to march at daybreak upon the Tuileries."

"An act of high justice!" cried one of the members of the Left. "Within the Tuileries' walls resides the bitterest enemy of the public good! He must be annihilated by the sovereign people!"

The words were greeted with enthusiastic applause from the galleries; in the midst of which a hussar hurriedly approached the chair and delivered a letter to the president. The latter read it, and touched his bell as a signal for silence. When the cries of the gallery had partially subsided, he said:

"Gentlemen, I am advised by the police officials that every minute messengers come from the Sections asking for Monsieur Petion at the City Hall, a.s.suring them that the rumor has spread that he went to-night to the palace, and that he runs great danger of death; it is feared the royalists may a.s.sa.s.sinate him."

At these words the uneasiness and agitation of the galleries was extreme. The patriotism, the courage of Petion, his boundless devotion to the Revolution, had made him dear to the people.

At this moment Petion himself entered the hall and advanced to the bar.

Thus rea.s.sured on the score of the dangers run at the Tuileries by the Mayor of Paris, the galleries broke into loud acclamations.

"Monsieur Petion," the president said, "the a.s.sembly has been keenly anxious for your safety. It would be pleased to receive your account of the dangers to which it is said you were exposed."

Petion answered, calm and grave: "Occupied solely with public affairs, I quickly forget what affects my own person. It is true that to-night, on my arrival at the palace, I was quite illy greeted. Swords leaped from their scabbards, and I heard threats uttered against me. These did not disconcert me--"

The first rays of the sun were beginning to dim the lamps which lighted the hall; nearly all the Representatives of the people were a.s.sembled in their accustomed places. The Right seemed thrown into consternation by Petion's calmness.

Of a sudden a deputy came tumbling into the hall, rushed to his seat on the Right, and, his features distorted, his clothes in disorder, he cried in a voice trembling with emotion:

"The Tuileries will be attacked! The Sections, in arms, hold all the approaches to the palace! Whole companies of the National Guard, notably the cannoniers, are fraternizing with the Sections. The cannon are trained upon the palace. The troops who defend it are decided on a desperate struggle. Blood will flow, the lives of the King and his family are in danger!"

The a.s.sembly maintained a solemn silence. One deputy on the Right arose, and with a trembling voice said: "I ask that a committee be appointed this instant to go and invite the King and his family to come and place themselves in the heart of the a.s.sembly, to be under our protection."

"There is no necessity for your motion," answered the president; "the Const.i.tution leaves the King the power of placing himself in the heart of the a.s.sembly whenever he finds it convenient."

A justice of the peace, in a condition of extreme agitation, presented himself at the bar. "Monsieur President," he exclaimed, "a quarter of an hour ago I was in the courtyard of the Tuileries. I witnessed grave things, which may enlighten the a.s.sembly on the situation at the palace, at this moment when a terrible struggle is about to break out, which may mark the foundering of the monarchy."

"Speak, sir," replied the president.

"This morning at six o'clock, the King descended into the courtyard of the Tuileries to review the troops. The Queen accompanied him; behind them went a group of gentlemen in civilian dress, armed some with swords, some with hunting-knives, others with carbines, or blunderbusses. This unaccustomed escort first of all produced a very bad impression upon the National Guard; then, as firm and decisive as was the Queen's countenance, that of the King was undecided, embarra.s.sed, I would even say sour. He seemed to be still half asleep. Some cries, nevertheless, of 'Long live the King!' were heard from some of the companies, but the battalions from Red-Cross and all the cannoniers cried 'Long live the Nation!' I even heard some cries of 'Down with Veto!' 'Down with the traitor!' The King turned pale, made a gesture of wrath, and returned brusquely into the palace. The Queen, left in the courtyard, approached the staffs of the battalions of Ill-Counsel and Arcis which had just arrived, and said to them, indicating the group of gentlemen who attended her, 'These gentlemen are our best friends. They follow us at the moment of danger. They will show the National Guard how one dies for his King--'"

The justice was interrupted, his voice was drowned in the great tumult which arose outside, in the courtyard of the Riding Academy. Nearer and nearer drew the clamors. Many of the deputies rose to their feet; some climbed down precipitately from their benches, crying in affright, "The people are invading the a.s.sembly!" "Keep your places!" called out several of their colleagues to those who had quitted their seats, "Let us know how to die, if die we must, at our posts." The agitation waxed its greatest in the hall and the galleries. In vain the president rang his bell, begging his colleagues to return to their benches and be seated. His exhortations falling unheeded, he rose and put on his hat, as a sign that the session was closed. The cries without came closer and closer. Several ushers burst in. One of them, leaping up the steps to the chair, spoke a few words to the president. The latter clasped his hands with a gesture of extreme surprise. Then he uncovered again, and began again to ring his bell vigorously, while the other ushers, going from group to group, or mounting on the benches, spread among the Representatives the news which seemed to produce so extraordinary a sensation. Little by little calm was established. The president was able to make himself heard, and said in a voice of emotion:

"Gentlemen, the King and his family have left the palace. They throw themselves upon the National a.s.sembly!"

Another member of the old Munic.i.p.al Council presented himself at the bar, saying:

"Monsieur President, the King asks leave to come to you accompanied by his guard, which will watch over him, and over the National a.s.sembly."

At this proposition a part of the Center, the Left, the extreme Left and the galleries, all gave vent to their indignation. On all sides people cried "No! No! The a.s.sembly is under the safekeeping of the people! No bayonets here! Down with the pretorians! Long live the Nation! Down with the King!"

Ringing his bell the president called out loudly: "I propose the following resolution: The National a.s.sembly, considering that it needs no other guard than the love of the people, charges its committee-men to watch over the tranquility within its precincts, and proceeds to the order of business."

A thunder of applause overwhelmed the closing words of this motion, which was adopted with an immense majority. The munic.i.p.al officer took his leave to report to the King the decision of the National a.s.sembly, when almost immediately another usher rushed in, crying:

"The King and Queen ask to be introduced to the care of the a.s.sembly."

So, indeed, it was. The King was garbed in a suit of violet silk, which disclosed his blue sash worn crosswise; he wore a hat of the National Guard, for which he had exchanged his bonnet with the white plume. His puffy features, empurpled with heat and emotion, and dripping perspiration, expressed a mixture of fear and crafty irritation. His obesity made his gait heavy and ungainly. Behind him advanced Marie Antoinette, giving her arm to Count Dubouchage, Minister of Marine, and leading the Dauphin by the hand. Trembling and terrified, the child pressed close to his mother, who, pale and haughty, and more enraged than frightened, trod with a firm step, casting about her looks of disdain. She preceded the King's sister, Madam Elizabeth, who leaned on the arm of Bigot of St. Croix, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The lady sustained herself with difficulty, and hid her face, bathed with tears, in her handkerchief. Then in order followed the Marchioness of Tourzel, the governess of the King's children, on the arm of Major Hervilly, one of the King's officers; and finally, behind her, the beautiful Princess Lamballe, the intimate friend of the Queen, accompanied by another seigneur of the court.

Profound was the silence that fell over the a.s.sembly. Louis, who so far had alone kept his hat on, now removed his National Guardsman's head-gear and said in a snappish voice that revealed at once fear and surly anger:

"I have come here to escape a great crime. I think I am safe among you, gentlemen?"

"You may count, Sire, on the firmness of the National a.s.sembly. Its members have sworn to die in the defense of the rights of the people and the authorities recognized by the Const.i.tution."

Representative Bazire rose to speak: "I propose that Louis XVI and his family be invited to occupy the logotachygraphes' room, which is within the a.s.sembly, but without the precincts of its deliberations."

The proposal was adopted. The royal family and its suite left the hall in order to reach the reporters' booth, the entry to which was in one of the corridors. Soon the King and his followers reappeared in the room a.s.signed to them, which was separated from the chamber of the a.s.sembly by an iron grating, Louis XVI being placed at the right, the Queen at the left, the Dauphin between them; and behind these three the other persons of the royal suite. No sooner had the King seated himself than he received from the hands of Major Hervilly some bread, a plate holding a fowl, a knife and a fork. Placing the plate on his knees, Louis commenced to dissect the pullet and devour it with avidity, obedient to the mandates of that formidable appet.i.te peculiar to the house of Bourbon.

Outside, in the deputies' chamber, Roederer, the legal attorney of the Commune, had appeared at the bar, and, at the invitation of the president, was speaking:

"I am come, gentlemen, to inform you of what is going on in Paris. I was with the King this morning, up till the time when Carousel Place and the surrounding streets were invaded by the Sections in arms and dragging their cannon. Seeing a large number of the National Guard fraternizing with the people, I counselled the King and the royal family to abandon the palace and place themselves under the protection of the National a.s.sembly. The people know that the King is here. The attack on the Tuileries being now objectless, it is to be hoped that it will not be entered upon, and that there will be no shedding of blood to be deplored."