第 82 节
作者:
雨帆 更新:2022-08-21 16:33 字数:9322
ions of the National Guard; the cry of 〃Vive le Roi!〃 was heard from a few places。 I was at a window on the garden side; I saw some of the gunners quit their posts; go up to the King; and thrust their fists in his face; insulting him by the most brutal language。 Messieurs de Salvert and de Bridges drove them off in a spirited manner。 The King was as pale as a corpse。 The royal family came in again。 The Queen told me that all was lost; that the King had shown no energy; and that this sort of review had done more harm than good。
I was in the billiard…room with my companions; we placed ourselves upon some high benches。 I then saw M。 d'Hervilly with a drawn sword in his hand; ordering the usher to open the door to the French noblesse。 Two hundred persons entered the room nearest to that in which the family were; others drew up in two lines in the preceding rooms。 I saw a few people belonging to the Court; many others whose features were unknown to me; and a few who figured technically without right among what was called the noblesse; but whose self…devotion ennobled them at once。 They were all so badly armed that even in that situation the indomitable French liveliness indulged in jests。 M。 de Saint…Souplet; one of the King's equerries; and a page; carried on their shoulders instead of muskets the tongs belonging to the King's antechamber; which they had broken and divided between them。 Another page; who had a pocket…pistol in his hand; stuck the end of it against the back of the person who stood before him; and who begged he would be good enough to rest it elsewhere。 A sword and a pair of pistols were the only arms of those who had had the precaution to provide themselves with arms at all。 Meanwhile; the numerous bands from the faubourgs; armed with pikes and cutlasses; filled the Carrousel and the streets adjacent to the Tuileries。 The sanguinary Marseillais were at their head; with cannon pointed against the Chateau。 In this emergency the King's Council sent M。 Dejoly; the Minister of Justice; to the Assembly to request they would send the King a deputation which might serve as a safeguard to the executive power。 His ruin was resolved on; they passed to the order of the day。 At eight o'clock the department repaired to the Chateau。 The procureur…syndic; seeing that the guard within was ready to join the assailants; went into the King's closet and requested to speak to him in private。 The King received him in his chamber; the Queen was with him。 There M。 Roederer told him that the King; all his family; and the people about them would inevitably perish unless his Majesty immediately determined to go to the National Assembly。 The Queen at first opposed this advice; but the procureur…syndic told her that she rendered herself responsible for the deaths of the King; her children; and all who were in the palace。 She no longer objected。 The King then consented to go to the Assembly。 As he set out; he said to the minister and persons who surrounded him; 〃Come; gentlemen; there is nothing more to be done here。〃
'The King hesitated; the Queen manifested the highest dissatisfaction。 'What!' said she;' are we alone; is there nobody who can act?''Yes; Madame; alone; action is uselessresistance is impossible。' One of the members of the department; M。 Gerdrot; insisted on the prompt execution of the proposed measure。 'Silence; monsieur;' said the Queen to him; 'silence; you are the only person who ought to be silent here; when the mischief is done; those who did it should not pretend to wish to remedy it。' 。 。 。
〃The King remained mute; nobody spoke。 It was reserved for me to give the last piece of advice。 I had the firmness to say; 'Let us go; and not deliberate; honour commands it; the good of the State requires it。 Let us go to the National Assembly; this step ought to have been taken long ago: 'Let us go;' said the King; raising his right hand; 'let us start; let us give this last mark of self… devotion; since it is necessary。' The Queen was persuaded。 Her first anxiety was for the King; the second for her son; the King had none。 'M。 Roederergentlemen;' said the Queen; 'you answer for the person of the King; you answer for that of my son。''Madame;' replied M。 Roederer; 'we pledge ourselves to die at your side; that is all we can engage for。'〃MONTJOIE; 〃History of Marie Antoinette。〃'
The Queen said to me as she left the King's chamber; 〃Wait in my apartments; I will come to you; or I will send for you to go I know not whither。〃 She took with her only the Princesse de Lamballe and Madame de Tourzel。 The Princesse de Tarente and Madame de la Roche…Aymon were inconsolable at being left at the Tuileries; they; and all who belonged to the chamber; went down into the Queen's apartments。
We saw the royal family pass between two lines formed by the Swiss grenadiers and those of the battalions of the Petits…Peres and the Filles Saint Thomas。 They were so pressed upon by the crowd that during that short passage the Queen was robbed of her watch and purse。 A man of great height and horrible appearance; one of such as were to be seen at the head of all the insurrections; drew near the Dauphin; whom the Queen was leading by the hand; and took him up in his arms。 The Queen uttered a scream of terror; and was ready to faint。 The man said to her; 〃Don't be frightened; I will do him no harm; 〃 and he gave him back to her at the entrance of the chamber。
I leave to history all the details of that too memorable day; confining myself to recalling a few of the frightful scenes acted in the interior of the Tuileries after the King had quitted the palace。
The assailants did not know that the King and his family had betaken themselves to the Assembly; and those who defended the palace from the aide of the courts were equally ignorant of it。 It is supposed that if they had been aware of the fact the siege would never have taken place。
'In reading of the events of the l0th of August; 1792; the reader must remember that there was hardly any armed force to resist the mob。 The regiments that had shown signs of being loyal to the King had been removed from Paris by the Assembly。 The Swiss had been deprived of their own artillery; and the Court had sent one of their battalions into Normandy at a time when there was an idea of taking refuge there。 The National Guard were either disloyal or disheartened; and the gunners; especially of that force at the Tuileries; sympathised with the mob。 Thus the King had about 800 or 900 Swiss and little more than one battalion of the National Guard。 Mandat; one of the six heads of the legions of the National Guard; to whose turn the command fell on that day; was true to his duty; but was sent for to the Hote1 de Ville and assassinated。 Still the small force; even after the departure of the King; would have probably beaten off the mob had not the King given the fatal order to the Swiss to cease firing。 (See Thiers's 〃Revolution Francaise;〃 vol。 i。; chap。 xi。) Bonaparte's opinion of the mob may be judged by his remarks on the 20th June; 1792; when; disgusted at seeing the King appear with the red cap on his head; he exclaimed; 〃Che coglione! Why have they let in all that rabble? Why don't they sweep off 400 or 500 of them with the cannon? The rest would then set off。〃 (〃Bourrienne;〃 vol。 i。; p。13; Bentley; London; 1836。) Bonaparte carried out his own plan against a far stronger force of assailants on the Jour des Sections; 4th October; 1795。'
The Marseillais began by driving from their posts several Swiss; who yielded without resistance; a few of the assailants fired upon them; some of the Swiss officers; seeing their men fall; and perhaps thinking the King was still at the Tuileries; gave the word to a whole battalion to fire。 The aggressors were thrown into disorder; and the Carrousel was cleared in a moment; but they soon returned; spurred on by rage and revenge。 The Swiss were but eight hundred strong; they fell back into the interior of the Chateau; some of the doors were battered in by the guns; others broken through with hatchets; the populace rushed from all quarters into the interior of the palace; almost all the Swiss were massacred; the nobles; flying through the gallery which leads to the Louvre; were either stabbed or shot; and the bodies thrown out of the windows。
M。 Pallas and M。 de Marchais; ushers of the King's chamber; were killed in defending the door of the council chamber; many others of the King's servants fell victims to their fidelity。 I mention these two persons in particular because; with their hats pulled over their brows and their swords in their hands; they exclaimed; as they defended themselves with unavailing courage; 〃We will not survive!this is our post; our duty is to die at it。〃 M。 Diet behaved in the same manner at the door of the Queen's bedchamber; he experienced the same fate。 The Princesse de Tarente had fortunately opened the door of the apartments; otherwise; the dreadful band seeing several women collect