y 
“gel 
“ guards.” 
‘«¢4eeond army of invaders, came: 
ftance, as to any thing; fo that it 
is hardly poflible in fome inftances 
to trace, what was the preceding 
‘or the fubfequent att; and we mult 
trult more to opinion than know- 
ledge for placing them tm their pro- 
per and natural order. 
We are informed ‘by Rabaut, that 
‘after Maillard, with his female 
‘army,’ had fet cut from Parts, 
« there iffued forth alfo a multitude 
«of men, armed with pikes, battle- 
« aves, and fharpened ftakes, men 
«-whofe hatred was principally di- 
“'yefted againit’ the queen, and 
* againit the warriors ‘of the life 
That, ©“ with this 
*< feyeral perfons, whofe appearance 
« betokened that they were foreign- 
“< ets, and who feemed to have been 
* fummoned for the'oceafion; for 
“the men\of Paris have a caft of 
‘« countenance peculiar to them- 
« felves, and thofe who are ac- 
“ quainted with it are well able to 
« diftinguifh fuch ftrangers as mtx 
“among them. ‘Thefé ferocious 
“& battalions had taken'the lead of 
“s* the national ‘guards, with whom 
« we mutt be caretul to avaid con- 
* founding them. They proved 
“ the caufe of all the difturbance 
© which enfued on‘ the following 
“day.” This ftrange flery~of 
imaginary foreigners, feems-calcu- 
lated merely to remove from _ his 
favourite Parifians fome part of the 
odium attached to thé enfuing atro- 
‘cities, and. to perfuade his readers 
that an infufion of foreign ferocity 
into the.milky difpofition of thofe 
peaceful citizens, was abfolutely ne- 
ceflary to their prodn¢tion. 
While the extraordinary appear- 
ance and conduct of thefe unnum- 
bered hofts of male and female ruf- 
fians ftruck terror into all beholders, 
5 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. 
and each of their movements feemed 
calculated to overwhelm every ob- 
ject that ‘came in their way, the firft 
~meaiure adopted by, the king was 
‘an order to the troops not ‘to fire by 
any means upon the people. The 
next'was naturally an enquiry into 
‘the means of protection and fafety 
which he poflefed; and ‘thefe were 
found muerably defeétive indeed. 
The dragoons of Flanders had al- 
ready been as thoroughly debauched . 
at Verfailles, and as totally fedaced 
from their duty, as the French 
guards had before been at Paris. 
The national guards of Verfailles, 
who amounted to about four thou- 
fand, and who might have been ex- 
pected to be the natural and zealous 
protectors of theirfovereign, who had 
fpent his life amoneft them, were in 
fa his molt determined enemies, 
and vied with the Parifians, if they 
‘did ‘not exceed them, in their‘invete- 
racy againit the whole royal family. 
As if this had not been fufficient, 
they likewife bore a long and par- 
ticular animofity to the life guards, 
which one Lé Cointre, of Verfailles, 
had for feveral days ‘been equally 
inceflant and fuccefsful im his en- 
deavours to. increafe ‘to the highett 
poffible pitch. In thefe circam- 
ftances, the king ordered the dra- 
goons to retire from Verfailles, re- 
tainmg only a fmall number, who 
-acted as centinels in the interior 
parts_of the palace. Thus his whole 
means offecurity and “defence, en- 
vironed ‘on ‘every fide, as he ‘was, 
with enemies and danger, was at 
length reduced to the fingle body of 
the gardes du corps: and thefe, 
whole courage and fidelity were un- 
doubted, were, however, far from 
being numerous; and were at’ the 
_ fame time furrounded by private as 
well as by public enemies. ; 
