. From Meaux to the suburbs of
Paris, the crowd thickened in every place as the king passed. The
passions of the city, the Assembly, the press, and the clubs worked more
intensely, and even closer in this population of the environs of Paris.
These passions, written on every countenance, were repressed by their
very violence. Indignation and contempt controlled their rage. Insult
escaped them only in under tones; the populace was sinister, and not
furious. Thousands of glances darted death into the windows of the
carriages, but not one tongue uttered a threat.

This calmness of hatred did not escape the king; the day was burning
hot. A scorching sun, reflected by the pavement and the bayonets, was
almost suffocating in the berlin, where ten persons were squeezed
together. Volumes of dust, raised by the trampling of two or three
hundred thousand spectators, was the only veil which from time to time
covered the humiliation of the king and queen from the triumph of the
people. The sweat of the horses, the feverish breath of this multitude
compact and excited, made the atmosphere dense and fetid. The travellers
panted for breath, the foreheads of the two children were bathed in
perspiration. The queen, trembling for them, let down one of the windows
of the carriage quickly, and addressing the crowd in an appeal to their
compassion, "See, gentlemen," she exclaimed, "in what a state my poor
children are--one is choking!" "We will choke you in another fashion,"
replied these ferocious men in an under tone.

From time to time violent attempts of the mob broke through the line,
pushed aside the horses, and men reaching the doors mounted on the
steps. Merciless ruffians, looking in silence on the king, the queen,
and the dauphin, seemed calculating on final crimes, and feeding on the
degradation of royalty. Bodies of _gendarmerie_ restored order from time
to time. The procession resumed its way in the midst of the clashing of
sabres, and the cries of men trampled under the horses' hoofs. La
Fayette, who feared attempts and surprises in the streets of Paris,
desired general Damas, the commandant of the escort, not to traverse the
city. He placed troops in deep line on the boulevard from the barrier De
l'Etoile to the Tuileries. The national guard bordered this line. The
Swiss guards were also drawn up, but their flags no longer lowered
before their master. No military honour was paid to the supreme head of
the army. The national g