114 Laura B. Pfeiffer 



them of the dignity that ought to be maintained by men who 

 wished to remain free and who wished to preserve their consti- 

 tution. This brought great applause. He urged them to guard 

 against ill-intentioned persons who might slip into their midst and 

 incite to disorder and so caluminate the people and their magis- 

 trates. Passing on up the stairway, several persons asked him 

 if the king had withdrawn his vetoes and recalled the ministers. 

 He stopped and vehemently said that the will of the king must 

 be free and not forced and that the people could only prove its 

 cause by moderation. He urged them to retire peaceably. All 

 his words were greeted by applause.^^® 



Reaching the ceil-de-boeuf, Petion and Sergent saw the king 

 surrounded by several officers of the national guard, two chiefs 

 of the legion, Aclocque and LaChesnaye, two deputies from the 

 assembly, Isnard and Vergniaud, and some municipal officers in 

 scarfs, Patris, Vigner, Champion and others.^^^ Louis XVI still 

 wore the red cap and Petion later referred to him aS " covered by 

 the emblem of liberty."^^^ Raised on the shoulders of several 

 citizens, Petion pushed his way to the king amidst great applause. 

 "Long live Petion!" shouted the crowd.-^^ "Sire, I have just 

 this instant learned the situation you are in," said the mayor. To 

 this the king replied, " That is astonishing. This has lasted two 



'•^ " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Ser- 

 gent " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par Hu " ; " Conduite tenue par M. le 

 maire." 



"" " Proces-verbal dresse par Sergent " ; " Proces-verbal dresse par 

 Patris"; " Proces-verbal dresse par Mouchet "; "Proces-verbal dresse par 

 Leroux"; "Proces-verbal dresse par Champion." Champion, Borie and 

 Leroux had been to dinner at the home of Champion and returned to the 

 chateau just as Petion arrived. They followed by the same way that the 

 mayor took. Hii, who was with Petion, speaks of seeing Borie and 

 Leroux on the stairs. Champion soon reached the room where he found 

 the mayor with the king. See the proccs-verbaux of Champion, Borie, 

 Leroux and Hii. 



"°*" Conduite tenue par M. le maire." 



^^^Oelsner in Revue historique, LXXXVII, 82; Aulard, Socicte des 

 Jacobins, IV, 22, report given in the Jacobin Club, June 20, 1792; "Dec- 

 laration de Lesieur," Ternaux, I, 406; "Proces-verbal dresse par Patris." 



310 



