"How glad I should be，" says one man， "if I could only lay my hand on that she-devil， and strike off her head on the first curbstone ！"Towards morning， some cry out，"Where is that cursed cat？ We must eat her heart out... We'll take off her head， cut her heart out， and fry her liver I "-- With the first murders the appetite for blood has been awakened；the women from Paris say that "they have brought tubs to carry away the stumps of the Royal Guards，" and at these words others clap their hands. Some of the riffraff of the crowd examine the rope of the lamp post in the court of the National Assembly， and judging it not to be sufficiently strong， are desirous of supplying its place with another "to hang the Archbishop of Paris， Maury， and d'Espréménil." -- This murderous， carnivorous rage penetrates even among those whose duty it is to maintain order， one of the National Guard being heard to say that "the body-guards must be killed to the last man， and their hearts torn out for a breakfast."Finally， towards midnight， the National Guard of Paris arrives； but it only adds one insurrection to another， for it has likewise mutinied against its chiefs.[38]
"If M. de Lafayette is not disposed to accompany us，" says one of the grenadiers， "we will take an old grenadier for our commander."Having come to this decision， they sought the general at the H？tel-de-Ville， and the delegates of six of the companies made their instructions known to him.
"General， we do not believe that you are a traitor， but we think that the Government is betraying us.... The committee on subsistence is deceiving us， and must be removed. We want to go to Versailles to exterminate the body-guard and the Flemish regiment who have trampled on the national cockade. If the King of France is too feeble to wear his crown， let him take it off； we will crown his son and things will go better."In vain Lafayette refuses， and harangues them on the Place de Grève；in vain he resists for hours， now addressing them and now imposing silence. Armed bands， coming from the Faubourgs Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marceau， swell the crowd； they take aim at him； others prepare the lamp-post. He then dismounts and endeavors to return to the H？tel-de-Ville， but his grenadiers bar the way：
"Morbleu， General， you will stay with us； you will not abandon us ！"Being their chief it is pretty plain that he must follow them； which is also the sentiment of the representatives of the commune at the H？tel-de-Ville， who send him their authorization， and even the order to march， "seeing that it is impossible for him to refuse."Fifteen thousand men thus reach Versailles， and in front of and along with them thousands of ruffians， protected by the darkness.
On this side the National Guard of Versailles， posted around the chateau， together with the people of Versailles， who bar the way against vehicles， have closed up every outlet.[39] The King is prisoner in his own palace， he and his， with his ministers and his court， and with no defense. For， with his usual optimism， he has confided the outer posts of the chateau to Lafayette's soldiers， and， through a humanitarian obstinacy which he is to maintain up to the last，[40] he has forbidden his own guards to fire on the crowd， so that they are only there for show. With common right in his favor， the law， and the oath which Lafayette had just obliged his troops to renew， what could he have to fear？ What could be more effective with the people than trust in them and prudence？ And by playing the sheep one is sure of taming brutes！
>From five o'clock in the morning they prowl around the palace-railings. Lafayette， exhausted with fatigue， has taken an hour's repose，[41] which hour suffices for them.[42] A populace armed with pikes and clubs， men and women， surrounds a squad of eighty-eight National Guards， forces them to fire on the King's Guards， bursts open a door， seizes two of the guards and chops their heads off.
The executioner， who is a studio model， with a heavy beard， stretches out his blood-stained hands and glories in the act； and so great is the effect on the National Guard that they move off；through sensibility， in order not to witness such sights： such is the resistance！ In the meantime the crowd invade the staircases， beat down and trample on the guards they encounter， and burst open the doors with imprecations against the Queen. The Queen runs off；just in time， in her underclothes； she takes refuge with the King and the rest of the royal family， who have in vain barricaded themselves in the ？il-de-Boeuf， a door of which is broken in： here they stand， awaiting death， when Lafayette arrives with his grenadiers and saves all that can be save -- their lives， and nothing more. For， from the crowd huddled in the marble court the shout rises， "To Paris with the King ！" a command to which the King submits.
