40 Laura B. Pfeiffer 



from carrying out their designs.^^ The fermentation continued 

 and during the following days the popular movement grew to 

 greater proportions. Alexandre said that after the 15th or i6th 

 one could easily foresee the approaching movement. By the i8th 

 and 19th people talked only of the coming event and the excite- 

 ment extended even to the Tuileries and vicinity.^* 



In the face of such an uprising as now threatened, it would 

 be expected that the mayor of Paris would adopt a vigorous 

 policy to suppress any disorder. He not only failed to meet this 

 expectation but the evidence seems to indicate that he carefully 

 avoided knowing anything about the movement. It was diffi- 

 cult for Petion to reconcile his personal feelings with his official 

 duties, but he evidently felt that he must keep up an appearance 

 of performing his duty so that if the movement failed he would 

 not lose his office. He was known for his attachment to the 

 principles of liberty.^^ That his sympathies were with the repub- 

 lican doctrines, we divine from his attitude toward the faubourg 

 Saint- Antoine when it asked permission on June 2 to form a club 

 which should meet in the church Enfants-Trouvees at the close 

 of services " for the purpose of being instructed in their rights 

 and their duties."^'' 



He was evidently absent from the Hotel de Ville, June 16, 

 when the deputation from the faubourgs presented their peti- 

 tion and so did not receive the decree of the council until June 18. 

 On that day two copies were addressed to him by the secretary 



** " Proces-verbal dresse par Borie"; Ternaux, (I, 318) makes this 

 statement on a declaration of J. J. Leroux, but the statement is not found 

 in his declaration. 



**Masson, Pctites hisioires, i. serie, 246-58: Extract from Alexandre's 

 Memoires; "Rapport que fait M. de Romainvilliers "; Journal d'urie bour- 

 geoise, 310, letter to her husband, June 19, 1792; "Rapport de police," 

 Soltho Douglas, " Observations du 19 et 20 juin, 1792," Archives Nationales 

 W/b 251 ; letter of Terrier to the directory, Tune 19, 1792 in Rapport du 

 ministre de I'interietir, i. 



*^ Memoires d'Alexandre" in Masson, Pctites histoires, 1. serie, 246-58; 

 Journal d'une bourgeoise, 130, Letter to her husband, June 19, 1792. She 

 says Petion was between Scylla and Char>'bdis. 



'* Letter of Petion to Roederer, June 2, 1792, referred to above. 



236 



