-- On the 11th the Swiss Guards， collected in the Feuillants building， come near being massacred； the mob on the outside of it demand their heads；[6] "it conceives the project of visiting all the prisons in Paris to take out the prisoners and administer prompt justice on them." - On the 12th in the markets "diverse groups of the low class call Pétion a scoundrel，" because "he saved the Swiss in the Palais Bourbon"； accordingly， "he and the Swiss must be hung to-day."-In these minds turned topsy-turvy the actual， palpable truth gives way to its opposite； "the attack was not begun by them； the order to sound the tocsin came from the palace； it is the palace which was besieging the nation， and not the nation which was besieging the palace."[7]
The vanquished "are the assassins of the people，" caught in the act；and on the 14th of August the Federates demand a court-martial "to avenge the death of their comrades."[8] And even a court-martial will not answer. "It is not sufficient to mete out punishment for crimes committed on the 10th of August， but the vengeance of the people must be extended to all conspirators；" to that "Lafayette， who probably was not in Paris， but who may have been there；" to all the ministers， generals， judges， and other officials guilty of maintaining legal order wherever it had been maintained， and of not having recognized the Jacobin government before it came into being. Let them be brought before， not the ordinary courts， which are not to be trusted because they belong to the defunct régime， but before a specially organized tribunal， a sort of "chambre ardente，"[9] elected by the sections， that is to say， by a Jacobin minority. These improvised judges must give judgment on conviction， without appeal； there must be no preliminary examinations， no interval of time between arrest and execution， no dilatory and protective formalities. And above all， the Assembly must be expeditious in passing the decree； "otherwise，" it is informed by a delegate from the Commune，[10] "the tocsin will be rung at midnight and the general alarm sounded； for the people are tired of waiting to be avenged. Look out lest they do themselves justice！ -- Amoment later， new threats and with an advanced deadline. "If the juries are not ready to act in two or three hours great misfortunes will overtake Paris."Even if the new tribunal， set up on the spot， is quick， guillotining three innocent persons in five days； it does not move fast enough. On the 23rd of August one of the sections declares to the Commune in furious language that the people themselves， "wearied and indignant"with so many delays， mean to force open the prisons and massacre the inmates.[11] -- Not only do the sections harass the judges， but they force the accused into their presence： a deputation from the Commune and the Federates summons the Assembly " to transfer the criminals at Orleans to Paris to undergo the penalty of their heinous crimes".
"Otherwise，" says the speaker， "we will not answer for the vengeance of the people."[12] And in a still more imperative manner：
"You have heard and you know that insurrection is a sacred duty，" a sacred duty towards and against all： towards the Assembly if it refuses， and towards the tribunal if it acquits. They dash at their prey contrary to all legislative and judicial formalities， like a kite across the web of a spider， while nothing detach them from their fixed ideas. On the acquittal of M. Luce de Montmorin[13] the gross audience， mistaking him for his cousin the former minister of Louis XVI.， break out in murmurs. The president tries to enforce silence， which increases the uproar， and M. de Montmorin is in danger. On this the president， discovering a side issue， announces that one of the jurors is related to the accused， and that in such a case a new jury must be impaneled and a new trial take place； that the matter will be inquired into， and meanwhile the prisoner will be returned to the Conciergerie prison. Thereupon he takes M. de Montmorin by the arm and leads him out of the court-room， amidst the yells of the audience and not without risks to himself； in the outside court a soldier of the National Guard strikes at him with a saber， and the following day the court is obliged to authorize eight delegates from the audience to go and see with their own eyes that M. de Montmorin is really in prison.
At the moment of his acquittal a tragic remark is heard：
"You discharge him to-day and in two weeks he will cut our throats！"Fear is evidently an adjunct of hatred. The Jacobin rabble is vaguely conscious of their inferior numbers， of their usurpation， of their danger， which increases in proportion as Brunswick draws near. They feel that they live above a mine， and if the mine should explode！ --Since they think that their adversaries are scoundrels they feel they are capable of a dirty trick， of a plot， of a massacre. As they themselves have never behaved in any other way， they cannot conceive anything else. Through an inevitable inversion of thought， they impute to others the murderous intentions obscurely wrought out in the dark recesses of their own disturbed brains. -- On the 27th of August， after the funeral procession gotten up by Sergent expressly to excite popular resentment， their suspicions， at once specific and guided， begin to take the form of certainty. Ten "commemorative" banners，[14]
each borne by a volunteer on horseback， have paraded before all eyes the long list of massacres "by the court and its agents"：
1. the massacre at Nancy，2. the massacre at N？mes，3. the massacre at Montauban，4. the massacre at Avignon，5. the massacre at La Chapelle，6. the massacre at Carpentras，7. the massacre of the Champ de Mars， etc.
Faced with such displays， doubts and misgivings are out of the question. To the women in the galleries， to the frequenters of the clubs， and to pikemen in the suburbs it is from now beyond any doubt proved that the aristocrats are habitual killers.