The Uprising of June 20, 1292 55 



national guards, who for the month of June was Romainvilliers, 

 was as embarrassed as his subordinates. After Petion had dis- 

 missed the cpmmandants of the faubourgs at one o'clock at 

 night he requested Alexandre to write to the general commandant 

 and inform him of what was occurring in the sections and ask 

 for such instructions as the chief thought suitable. Alexandre 

 dispatched this letter to Romainvilliers by a soldier at four o'clock 

 in the morning. At six o'clock, he received the response which 

 he says was given only after a half-hour's complaint about the 

 difficulty of his position and the hard lot of being wakened at five 

 o'clock when one has retired as late as ten, all good and true prin- 

 ciples, Alexandre remarked, but having no application to the 

 circumstances. ^° The commandant's response referred to the 

 law which forbade marching without a written order,''^ and yet 

 as we saw before, Santerre, Alexandre and Saint-Prix had all 

 received instructions at one o'clock this night by his orders to 

 hold themselves ready to march at the first call. Many other 

 officers also had this order. At eight o'clock in the morning the 

 commandant went to the Hotel de Ville where he had been sum- 

 moned by the mayor to await precise orders from the municipal 

 corps, Petion having told him the day before that the case was 

 too serious for him to act without the cooperation of the 

 municipality.^- 



The faubourgs, Saint-Marcel and Saint-Antoine, had been 

 assembled since five o'clock in the morning.^" At the faubourg 



IV, "Addition au rapport que le commandant," No. XXXI, in same; 

 " Rapport de Legard." 



^ " Rapport d' Alexandre," Ternaux I, 407. In this connection Alexan- 

 dre quotes from Scarron, 



" Cette response est bonne et belle, 

 Mais en enfer de quoi sert-elle?" 



" Alexandre to Petion, June 20, 1792. This letter tells Petion that Alex- 

 andre has written to the commandant as he was instructed to do and gives 

 the substance of the commandant's answer. Romainvilliers omits all men- 

 tion of this information and order from Petion in his report; "Rapport 

 que fait M. de Romainvilliers" and "Addition au rapport." 



*'" Rapport que fait M. de Romainvilliers" and "Addition au rapport"; 

 " Declaration de Desmousseaux." 



251 



