helter,' as they phrased
it, 'in the bosom of the faithful Assembly.' The words, 'assembly of
traitors,' burst from my lips. A shout of approbation arose on all
sides. But I was more rewarded by a sorrowing smile from the queen. She
was indignant at the proposal. 'No; never shall I leave this spot but by
the king's command!' she exclaimed. 'I would rather be chained to the
walls.' As the guard pressed round her at the words, she suddenly
stopped, took a pistol from one of the Garde du Corps, and forcing it on
the king--'Now,' said the heroine--'now is the time to show yourself a
king of France!' An universal cry of enthusiasm arose, and hundreds of
swords were brandished in the air. The deputation, evidently expecting
to be massacred, made an effort to reach the door, and the monarchy was
on the point of being saved; when the leader of the party glanced back
at the royal circle. There stood unfortunate Louis, hesitating, with the
pistol in his hand. On such moments all depends. The villain crept up to
the king, and whispered in his ear--'Would you have all your family put
to death? In the Assembly all are safe.'--'Well, then, we shall go,' was
the simple answer. He might have added--'To the scaffold.' The queen
pressed her hands on her eyes, and wept bitterly. All were silent. In a
few minutes more our sad procession was crossing the garden to the door
of the Assembly, amid a roar, which could not have been fiercer or more
triumphant had we been going to execution."

It was already twilight; the fine summer's day, as if it had been
dimmed by the desperate scenes of which it was witness, set in sudden
clouds; and the distant shoutings of the populace seemed to be answered
by the voice of a storm. Lafontaine's wound began to bleed afresh by the
agitation of his story, and to find medical assistance, was my first
object. Having seen him conveyed to my bed, and leaving him in charge of
my valet, I hastened towards the residence of the physician to the
embassy. In doing this, I had to cross the Rue St Honore. But there my
course was stopped. I shrink from alluding to those horrid scenes and
times. The scene which there met my eyes has scarcely left them since.

The populace were returning from the conquest and plunder of the palace
to the Palais Royale, the headquarters of all convulsion; and they had
arranged their ranks into something like a triumphal procession on the
stage. The dead bodies of the brave Swiss were carried