FRA 
tunes Marfeillois, from the place from which the greater 
number of them came. Next to thefe, dependence was 
placed in the populace of the fuburbs of the capital. Va¬ 
rious charges were firft brought again!!: La Fayette, and 
the 8th of Auguft was appointed for their difcuffion. In 
the mean time, on the 3d of Auguft, Petion the mayor, 
at the head of a deputation from the feCtions of Paris, ap¬ 
peared at the bar of the aftembly, and in a folemn fpeech 
demanded the depofition of the king. The difcuflion of 
the accufation againft La Fayette was confidered as a trial 
of ftrength between the parties: he was acquitted by a 
majority of nearly two hundred voices; and the republi¬ 
can party, defpairing of carrying their point by a vote of 
the national aftembly, refolved to have recourfe to vio¬ 
lence and infurre&ion. 
On the evening of the 9th of Auguft, about fifteen 
hundred gentlemen, officers of the army, and others, re¬ 
paired to the palace, and refolved to protect the royal fa¬ 
mily, or to die in their defence : added to thefe were fe- 
ven hundred Swifs guards, with a body of cavalry amount¬ 
ing to about one thoufand. Mandat, the commander of 
the national guards, a man firmly attached to the confti- 
tution, had procured two thoufand four hundred of that 
corps, and twelve pieces of cannon. With fuch a force, 
it has been generally thought, that, by vigorous and fteady 
councils, the palace might have been fuccefsfully defend¬ 
ed ; and what is now called a revolution , might have borne 
the name of a rebellion. Meanwhile the aftembly de¬ 
clared its fittings permanent. Petion was at the palace 
late on the evening of the 9th. Some apprehenfions were 
entertained for his fafety, and a deputation from the af- 
fembly brought him away. At midnight the tocfin or 
alarm-bell founded, and the drums beat to arms through 
the city. At this inftant a number of the raoft active lea¬ 
ders of the republican party aflembled, and elected a new 
council or commune. The perfons thus irregularly chofen 
took poffeflion of the common hall, and drove out the 
lawful members; who, with that weaknefs with which 
men are apt to fhrink from ftations of refponfibility in pe¬ 
rilous times, haftily gave place to the ufurpers. The 
new commune fent repeated meffages to M. Mandat, re¬ 
quiring his attendance upon important bufinefs. He was 
occupied in arranging the troops in the beft order around 
the palace ; but, fufpeCting nothing, he went to the com¬ 
mon hall, and was there aftonilhed to find a different af- 
fembly from what he expected. He was inftantly accufcd 
of a plot to maflacre the people, and ordered to prifon; 
but as he defcended the ftairs, he was fhot with a piftol, 
and Santerre was appointed in his ftead'to command the 
national guard. 
On this eventful night no perfon in the palace went to 
bed. About fix in the morning of the 10th the king de¬ 
fcended into the gardens to review the troops. He was 
received with Ihouts of Vive le roi, excepting from the 
artillery, who Ihouted Vive la nation. The king returned 
to the palace, and the multitude continued to colled:. 
The national guard feemed undetermined about what they 
were to do, as they aflembled in divifions near the palace ; 
and, had a fteady refiftance been made from within, it is 
probable they would have joined the royal party. But 
towards eight o’clock M. Roederer procured admittance 
to the palace, and told the king that armed multitudes 
were aftembling in hoftile array around the Thuilleries; 
that the national guard was not to be depended upon ; 
and that, in cafe of refiftance, the whole royal family 
would moft certainly be maflacred. He therefore advifed 
♦he king to fcek protection in the hall of the national af- 
fembly. With this advice the king, with his ufual fa¬ 
cility of temper, was ready to comply ; but the queen op- 
pofed with vehemence the humiliating propolal. Becom¬ 
ing, gradually, however, alarmed for the fafety of her 
children, (lie gave content; and the king and queen, the 
princefs Elizabeth, with the prince and princefs royal, 
went on foot to the hall of the aftembly. “ I am come 
hither ffaid his majefty) to prevent a great crime, 
Vql.VII. No.468. 
N C E. 781 
Among you, gentlemen, I believe myfclf in fafety.” By 
an article of the conftitution the aftembly could not deli¬ 
berate in the prefence of the king : the royal family were, 
therefore, placed in a narrow box feparated from the hall 
by a railing, where they remainded fourteen hours with¬ 
out any place to which they could retire for refreftiment, 
excepting a very fmall clofet adjoining. Here they fat 
liftening to debates, in which the royal character and of¬ 
fice were treated with every mark of ftubied infult and 
degradation. 
When the king left the palace of the Thuilleries, he un¬ 
fortunately forgot to order it to be immediately fui rendered , 
He recollefted this as foon as he reached the aftembly, and 
fent orders for the purpofe ; but it was too late. The in- 
furgents amounted to upwards of 20,000 effective men, 
commanded by Wefterman, a Pruffian, with about thirty 
pieces of cannon. The gentlemen within the palace, 
who had aflembled to proteft the king’s perfon, w'ere now 
difpirited, and knew not how to aCt. The commander 
of the Swifs, M. Affry, was abfent ; and the national 
guard had.no leader, in confequence of the death of Man- 
dat. About nine o’clock the outer gates were forced 
open ; and the infurgents formed their line in front of the 
place. A bloody combat commenced, chiefly between 
the Marfeillois and the Swifs. After a brave refiftance 
of about an hour, the Swifs were overpowered by num¬ 
bers, and gave way. All of them that could be found in 
the palace were maflacred ; fome even while imploring 
quarter on their knees. Others efcaped into the city, 
and were protected by individuals. Of this brave regi¬ 
ment only two hundred furvived; but every human be. 
ing, even the loweft fervants found in the palace, were 
put to death. The Swifs taken prifoners in various quar¬ 
ters were conducted to the door of the aftembly, and 
taken by a decree under the protection of the ftate. But 
the fanguinary multitude inflfted upon putting them to 
inftant death ; and the aftembly would, in all probability, 
have been unable to proteCt them, had not the Marfeillois 
interfered in their favour. The fufpenfion of the royal 
authority was inftantly decreed, and the nation was in¬ 
vited to eleCt a Convention to determine the nature of 
its future government. On this melancholy occafion all 
Frenchmen of twenty-one years of age were declared ca¬ 
pable of electing, and of being elected, deputies to the 
new National Convention. Commiflioners were, in the 
mean time, fent on the fame evening to give to the armies 
a falfe and favourable account of thefe tranfaCtions. The 
royal family were fent to the old palace of the Temple 
in the midft of the city, to remain there under a ftriCt 
guard; and all perfons of rank who had been attached 
to them were feized and committed to different prifons. 
To give an idea of the temper of the people of Paris 
at this memorable conjuncture, it is proper to remark, 
that at the fame inftant when the multitude with bloody 
fury were maffacring the menial fervants in the palace, 
and could fcarcely be reftrained from offering violence to 
every perfon devoted to the royal caufe, they would fuffer 
no onb aCt of pillage to pafs unpunifhed. Several at¬ 
tempts of this kind were accordingly followed by the in¬ 
ftant death of the criminals. The plate, the jewels, and 
money, found in the Thuilleries, were brought to the na¬ 
tional aftembly, and thrown down in the hall. One man, 
whofe drefs and appearance befpoke extreme poverty, 
caft upon the table an hat full of gold.—Such was the 
conduCf of men whofe minds were elevated by enthu. 
fiafm, and rendered frantic by falfe notions of liberty, or 
of a republican government. 
The fituation of France now became extremely critical, 
and it was very doubtful whether the new Convention 
would be fuffered to affemble. La Fayette had got 
fpeedy intelligence of the events of the 10th of Auguft.. 
He advifed the magiftrates of Sedan to imprifon the com¬ 
miflioners from the national aftembly when they fiiould 
arrive there; which was accordingly done. He alfo pub- 
lilhed an addrels to his army, calling upon them to lup- 
9 N port 
