CHAPTER XXVI.

THE DEATH OF LOUIS XVI.

THE King's death was the first signal for the struggle between the two factions which predominated in the Convention. The Gironde objected to the death of Louis XVI.; but the influence of the Montagne prevailed, and the monarch's appearance on the scaffold was the prelude to a series of wholesale executions. The people, too, was so infuriated that it frequently took the law into its own hands. Heads carried on pikes were often seen in the streets. Was the people, properly so called, wholly responsible for this cruelty? My grandfather was wont to tell us that he had often recognised gaol birds among the individuals who incited. to murder, and he had no doubt that most of the outrages so frequently perpetrated were committed at the instigation of those ruffians.

Charles Henri Sanson was then living with his son (my father), who was twenty-seven years of age; and his style of life was so quiet and secluded that on August 10 he was not even aware that the Tuileries had been attacked and devastated by the people. On that day my father went to breakfast with his uncle, Louis Cyr

Charlemagne Sanson. I cannot do better than allow him to describe what occurred on the occasion.

'After breakfast,' he writes, 'I had opened the window to air the room. I looked out and saw a crowd in the street, but, as the apartment was on the fourth floor, I could not see distinctly what was taking place. However, I espied a young fellow who was raising in the air something stuck on a pole. My aunt, who was also looking out, hastily retreated, exclaiming :

"Good heavens, it is a head!"

'This exclamation filled us with fear, and we felt the more anxious to know what had happened. But before we could get any information a larger crowd rushed down the street in pursuit of a young man, who, as we perceived, was a Swiss guard of the Poissonnière

barracks.

'The fugitive had a good start, and was anxiously looking about for a means of escape. I confess that both myself and my uncle were rather rash; but we could not resist our first impulse of compassion. I told my uncle that we could not allow a man to be massacred before our very door; and, in spite of the advice of those who had breakfasted with us, we hastily went down and opened the door.

"What do you want to do with this young man?" said I to some of those who gave chase.

"But, sir," answered one, "the Swiss guards are being killed."

"All I know is that this man has done you no harm, and that you want to murder him.”

'While we were thus parleying, the Switzer had retreated behind us. Two men tried to seize him, but I held them back; my uncle pushed the fugitive into the hall, and I was enabled to shut the door in the faces of the pursuers.

'The house was situate in the Rue Beauregard, and communicated with a butcher's shop in the Rue de Cléry. We escaped through these premises, and at the soldier's request we took him to the guard-house of the Bonne-Nouvelle section, which was then the Rue de Bourbon-Villeneuve, near the Cour des Miracles. We then returned home, escorted by twelve armed men, who easily dispersed the crowd which had gathered before our house. It was from our escort that we heard of the events which had taken place at the Tuileries on the same morning.

'The day which had so tragically begun, ended with an amusing incident. On our return, we found one of our relatives, who had just come from the country to pass a few days in Paris. The poor man was so frightened that he wanted to leave Paris without delay. But when he tried to depart, he found that the gates of the town had just been closed, and that no one could leave Paris without submitting to certain formalities, which increased our visitor's apprehensions. He gave way to the most ludicrous despair, tore his hair, cursed his own imprudence, and could only be appeased by my promising to provide for him a means of escape far more dangerous than

the formalities after which he might have quietly left Paris.

'I was acquainted with one of my grandfather Jugier's old friends, who had a garden which extended beyond the precincts of the town. Our timorous friend effected his escape by this opening, previously taking care to disguise himself as a gardener.

Up to this time neither I nor my father had attended very regularly the meetings of our section, and we had not been incorporated in the National Guard; but on the following day (August 11) two delegates of the section came to invite us to attend, and we were compelled to obey. One of these delegates was an old schoolfellow of mine, who had hitherto been in ignorance of my origin, and I was in fear that he would discard me. Far from doing so, however, he strove to convince me that he did not share the common prejudice with regard to my family.

'This first meeting of the Assembly was not marked by any interesting event; but on the following day a deputation of twelve members, of which I was one, was appointed to protest against the intrusion of an individual who had obtained the suffrages of the inhabitants of the district as member of the Commune by deceiving them.

'We went to the Hôtel-de-Ville, where the Commune was sitting, and the president of our deputation, a barrister of the name of Jacob, handed to the secretary a copy of the resolution of our section, which explained the object of our visit. When his turn came to support

this resolution, he was interrupted by Chaumette, who said that he as well as Robespierre knew the individual alluded to, that they had seen him enter the carriage in which the King, the Queen, and the royal family had been taken to the Temple prison, and that this was a sufficient proof of patriotism. Chaumette was not content with impeaching us; he also spoke of our section as a centre of aristocracy, and he described our deputation as a shameful cabal against a virtuous citizen.

'While this discussion was going on I was placed in a dangerous predicament. Being unable to find room in the hall with my colleagues, I sat down near strangers, among whom were some of the professional slaughterers who were constantly in quest of victims. Chaumette had hardly finished when Robespierre called an usher and said to him:

"Tell the President that I wish to speak."

'At the same moment, as I did not appear to belong to the deputation, several sinister-looking men eyed me, and one of them said:

"What are you doing here? I suppose you are one of the aristocrats? We'll just 'do' for you as we did for the Swiss soldiers."

'These threatening words frightened me, and I confess that I could not refrain from showing it. I nevertheless answered as firmly as I could:

"Citizens, you have a curious way of settling questions. You had better learn who I am before you try to murder me."