t and could not be a Jacobin;
that the Revolution had been allowed to fall into the hands of a rabble
of disorganizers who, seeking only for pillage, were capable of
everything, and could furnish the Assembly with a formidable army,
ready to undermine the support of a throne already too much shaken.
While speaking with extreme warmth, he had seized the Queen's hand,
and, kissing it with transport, cried, 'Permit yourself to be saved!'
The Queen said to me that the protestations of a traitor could not be
believed, and that his entire conduct was so well known that
undoubtedly the wisest thing would be not to trust him."

Meantime, the danger constantly increased. Even the gates of the
Tuileries were no longer fastened. Hawkers of vile pamphlets and
sanguinary satires on the Queen cried their infamous wares under the
very windows of the palace; and the National Assembly, sitting close
beside, and hearing them--the National Assembly, terrorized by Jacobins
and pikemen--dared not even censure such baseness. On June 4, {156} a
deputy named Ribes, till then unknown, cited from the tribune the
titles of the following articles in Freron's journal, _l'Orateur du
Peuple_: "The crowned porcupine, a constitutional animal who behaves
unconstitutionally."--"Crimes of M. Capet since the
Revolution."--"Decree to be passed forbidding the Queen to sleep with
the King."--"The royal tigress, separated from her worthy spouse, to
serve as a hostage." "Rouse up!" cried the indignant deputy. "There
is still time. Join with me in proclaiming war on traitors and justice
for the seditious, and the country is safe!" Ribes preached in the
desert. The Assembly shrugged their shoulders and treated him as a
fool.

June 11, another deputy, M. Delsaux, said from the tribune: "Last
evening, at half-past seven, passing through the Tuileries, I saw an
orator standing on a chair and speaking with great vehemence. Mixing
with the crowd, I heard him read a libel strongly inciting to the
King's assassination. This libel is called, 'The Fall of the Idol of
the French,' and these sentences occur in it: 'This monster employs his
power and his treasures to hinder our regeneration. A new Charles IX.,
he wishes to bring desolation and death to France. Go, cruel wretch;
thy crimes shall have an end. Damiens was less guilty. He was
punished by most horrible tortures for having desired to deliver France
from a monster. And thou, whose offences are twen