书城公版The Origins of Contemporary France
19097600000491

第491章

[37] Deposition of M. Witinghof, lieutenant-general. --"Correspondence of Mirabeau and M. de la Marck." Letter of M. de Montmorin, June 21. "At two o'clock the gathering amounted to 8,000 or 10,000 persons."[38] Moniteur, XII. 717. "What a misfortune for the freemen who have transferred their powers to you, to find themselves reduced to the cruel necessity of dipping their hands in the blood of conspirators!"etc. -- The character of the leaders is apparent in their style. The incompetent copyist who drew up the address did not even know the meaning of words. "The people so wills it, and its head is of more account than that of crowned despots. That head is the genealogical tree of the nation, and before that robust head the feeble reed must bend!" He has already recited the fable of "The Oak and the Bulrush,"and he knows the names of Demosthenes, Cicero, and Catiline. It seems to be the composition of a school master turned public letter writer, at a penny a page.

[39] Hua, "Mémoires," 134.

[40] Moniteur, XII. 718.

[41] "Chronique des cinquante jours," by R?derer, syndic-attorney of the department.

[42] Hua, 134. -- Bourrienne, "Mémoires," I. 49. (He was with Bonaparte in a restaurant, rue Saint-Honoré, near the Palais-Royal.)"On going out we saw a troop coming from the direction of the market, which Bonaparte estimated at from 5,000 to 6,000 men, all in rags and armed in the oddest manner, yelling and shouting the grossest provocations, and turning towards the Tuileries. It was certainly the vilest and most abject lot that could be found in the faubourgs. 'Let us follow that rabble,' said Bonaparte to me." They ascend the terrace on the river bank. "I could not easily describe the surprise and indignation which these scenes excited in him. He did not like so much weakness and forbearance. 'Che coglione! he exclaimed in a loud tone.

'How could they let those rascals in? Four or five hundred of them ought to have been swept off with cannon, and the rest would still be running!'"[43] "Chronique des cinquante jours," by R?derer. - Deposition of Lareynie.

[44] Deposition of Lareynie.

[45] Report of Saint-Prix.

[46] Report by Mouchet. -- Deposition of Lareynie. (The interference of Sergent and Boucher-Réne is contested, but Raederer thinks it very probable.)[47] M. Pinon, in command of the 5th legion, and M. Vannot, commanding a battalion, tried to shut the iron gate of the archway, but are driven back and told: "You want thousands to perish, do you, to save one man?" This significant expression is heard over and over again during the Revolution, and it explains the success of the insurrections. -- Alexandre, in command of the Saint-Marcel battalion, says in his report: "Why make a resistance which can be of no usefulness to the public, one which may even compromise it a great deal more?..."[48] Deposition of Lareynie. The attitude of Santerre is here clearly defined. At the foot of the staircase in the court he is stopped by a group of citizens, who threaten "to make him responsible for any harm done," and tell him: "You alone are the author of this unconstitutional assemblage; it is you alone who have led away these worthy people. You are a rascal!" - "The tone of these honest citizens in addressing the sieur Santerre made him turn pale. But, encouraged by a glance from the sieur Legendre, he resorted to a hypocritical subterfuge, and addressing the troop, he said: 'Gentlemen, draw up a report, officially stating that I refuse to enter the king's apartments.' The only answer the crowd made, accustomed to divining what Santerre meant, was to hustle the group of honest citizens out of the way.

[49] Depositions of four of the national guard, Lecrosnier, Gossé, Bidault, and Guiboult. -- Reports of Acloque and de Lachesnaye, commanding officers of the legion. -- "Chronique des cinquante jours,"by R?derer. - Ibid. p.65: "I have to state that, during the Convention, the butcher Legendre declared to Boissy d'Anglas, from whom I had it, that the plan was to kill the king." -- Prudhomme, "Crimes de la Révolution," III.43. "The king was to be assassinated.

We heard citizens all in rags say that it was a pity; he looks like a good sort of a bastard."[50] Madame Campan, "Mémoires," II. 212. "M. Vannot, commander of the battalion, had turned aside a weapon aimed at the king. One of the grenadiers of the Filles-Saint-Thomas warded off a blow with a sword, aimed in the same direction with the same intention."[51] Declaration of Lachesnaye, in command of the legion. - Moniteur, XII. 719 (evening session of June 20). Speech of M. Alos, an eye-witness. (The king does this twice, using about the same words, the first time immediately on the irruption of the crowd, and the second time probably after Vergniaud's harangue.) Declaration of Lachesnaye, in command of the legion. - Moniteur, XII. 719 (evening session of June 20). Speech of M. Alos, an eye-witness. (The king does this twice, using about the same words, the first time immediately on the irruption of the crowd, and the second time probably after Vergniaud's harangue.)[52] The engraving in the "Révolutions de Paris" represents him seated, and separated from the crowd by an empty space; that is a falsehood of the party..

[53] The queen produces the same impression. Prudhomme, in his journal, calls her "the Austrian panther," which word well expresses the idea of her in the faubourgs. A prostitute stops before her and bestows on her a volley of curses. The reply of the queen is: "Have Iever done you any wrong?" "No; but it is you who do so much harm to the nation." You have been deceived," replies the queen. "I married the King of France. I am the mother of the dauphin. I am a French woman. I shall never again see my own country. I shall never be either happy or miserable anywhere but in France. When you loved me I was happy then." The prostitute burst into tears. "Ah. Madame, forgive me!

I did not know you. I see that you have been very good." Santerre, however, wishing to put an end to this emotion, cries out: "The girl is drunk " -(Madame Campan, II. 214. - Report by Mandat, an officer of the legion.)[54] Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 213. "Citizens, you have just legally made known your will to the hereditary representative of the nation; you have done this with the dignity, with the majesty of a free people!

There is no doubt that your demands will be reiterated by the eighty-three departments, while the king cannot refrain from acquiescing in the manifest will of the people. . . Retire now, . . . and if you remain any longer, do not give occasion to anything which may incriminate your worthy intentions."