The Uprising of June 20, i'/^2 15 



Couthon spoke of a conspiracy with the Tuileries at its head. 

 Scenes in the barracks were depicted in which white flags had 

 been found together with royalist songs and pamphlets attack- 

 ing the assembly. White cockades had been distributed among 

 the Swiss, libels on representatives of the people had been myste- 

 riously thrown about, and the cry, " To the devil with the nation," 

 was heard in the court of the Tnileries. The most extraordinary 

 excitement prevailed in the assembly and this was increased by 

 the insolence of the royalist members.-^ 



Public suspicion was strong against the king. It was felt that 

 he was in secret correspondence with his brothers, that he was 

 protecting the emigres and that he was surrounded by enemies of 

 the country. To dissolve the guard might baffle a plot and para- 

 lyze the work of the "Austrian committee. "-- 



The arguments were finally summed up by Gaudet who stated 

 three reasons why the guard should be dissolved : first, it was 

 illegally organized; second, its chiefs sought to inspire revolt; 

 third, the majority favored a counter-revolution. The assembly 

 decreed, May 29, 1792, that the guard should be dissolved and its 

 commandant, the Due de Brissac, put under arrest.-^ This decree 

 was executed at once.^* 



After his ministers had showed him the danger and the use- 

 lessness of resistance, Louis XVI signed unwillingly on May 31, 

 the decree against his guard. He, however, assured the guard of 

 his affection for them and his satisfaction at their service and 



^Moniteur, XII, 513-16; Revolutions de Paris, XII, 420; Chaumette, 

 Memoires, 5. 



^Revolutions de Paris, XII, 382; Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 

 306. 



" Moniteur, XII, 526-29. 



^Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXIII, 306; It was shown that an 

 order had been given to the guard by Sombreuil, governor of the Hotel 

 des Invalides, to allow all men who presented themselves armed from the 

 king's guard or the king's household to enter the hotel during the night. 

 This seemed to indicate that the Hotel des Invalides had been chosen as 

 a meeting place for all malcontents. Sombreuil, summoned before the 

 assembly May 29, admitted the charge, but explained nothing. Revolu- 

 tions de Paris, XII, 382, 419, 420. 



211 



