1793. The viper has hardly left its nest before it begins to hiss. Afortnight before the 10th of August[44] it begins to uncoil， and the wise statesmen who have so diligently sheltered and fed it， stand aghast at its hideous， flattened head. Accordingly， they back away from it up to the last hour， and strive to prevent it from biting them. Pétion himself visits Robespierre on the 7th of August， in order to represent to him the perils of an insurrection， and to allow the Assembly time enough to discuss the question of dethronement. The same day Verginaud and Guadet propose to the King， through the medium of Thierry， his valet-de-chambre， that， until peace is assured， the government be carried on under a regency. Pétion， on the night of August 9-10， issues a pressing circular to the sections， urging them to remain tranquil.[45]
But it is too late. Fifty days of excitement and alarm have worked up the aberrations of morbid imaginations into a delirium. -- On the second of August， a crowd of men and women rush to the bar of the Assembly， exclaiming， "Vengeance！ Vengeance！ our brethren are being poisoned！"[46] The fact as ascertained is this： at Soissons， where the bread of the soldiery was prepared in a church， some fragments of broken glass were found in the oven， on the strength of which a rumor was started that 170 volunteers had died， and that 700 were lying in the hospital. A ferocious instinct makes men see their adversaries in their own image and thus justify them to take those measures which they imagine their enemies would have taken in their place.[47] --The committee of Jacobin leaders states positively that the Court is about to attack， and， accordingly， has devised "not merely signs of this， but of the most unmistakable proof."[48] -- "It is the Trojan horse，" exclaimed Panis； "We are lost if we do not succeed in disemboweling it. . . . The bomb explodes on the night of August 9-10. . . Fifteen thousand aristocrats stand ready to slaughter all patriots." Patriots， consequently， attribute to themselves the right to slaughter aristocrats. -- Late in June， in the Minimes section， "a French guardsman had already determined to kill the King，" if the King persisted in his veto. When the president of the section wanted to expulse the regicide， it was the latter who was retained and the president was expelled.[49] On the 14th of July， the day of the Federation festival， another predecessor of Louvel and Fieschi， provided with a cutlass， had introduced himself into the battalion on duty at the palace， for the same purpose； during the ceremony the crowd warmed up， and， for a moment， the King owed his life to the firmness of his escort. On the 27th of July， in the garden of the Tuileries， d'Espréménil， the old Constituent[50]， beaten， slashed， and his clothes torn， pursued like a stag across the Palais Royal， falls bleedings on a mattress at the gates of the Treasury.[51] On the 29th of July， whilst one of Lafayette's aides， M. Bureau de Pusy， is at the bar of the house， "they try to have a motion passed in the Palais Royal to parade his head on the end of a pike."[52] -- At this level of rage and fear， the brutal and the excited can wait no longer. On the 4th of August，[53] the Mauconseil section declares "to the Assembly， to the municipality， and to all the citizens of Paris， that it no longer recognizes Louis XVI. as King of the French". Its president， the foreman of a tailor's shop， and its secretary， employed in the leather market， support their manifesto with three lines of a tragedy floating vaguely in their minds，[54] and name the Boulevard Madeleine St. Honoré as a rendezvous on the following Sunday for all well-disposed persons. On the 6th of August， Varlet， a post-office clerk， makes known to the Assembly， in the name of the petitioners of the Champ de Mars， the program of the faction：
1. the dethronement of the King，2. the indictment， arrest， and speedy condemnation of Lafayette，3. the immediate convoking of the primary assemblies，4. universal suffrage，5. the discharge of all staff officers，6. the renewal of the departmental directories，7. the recall of all ambassadors，8. the suppression of diplomacy，9. and a return to the state of nature.
The Girondins may now delay， negotiate， beat about and argue as much as they please； their hesitation has no other effect that to consign them into the background， as being lukewarm and timid. Thanks to them， the (Jacobin) faction now has its deliberative assemblies， its executive powers， its central seat of government， its enlarged， tried， and ready army， and， forcibly or otherwise， its program will be carried out.
V.
Evening of August 8. -- Session of August 9. -- Morning of August 10.- Assembly purged. --The Assembly must first of all be made to depose the King. Several times already，[55] on the 26th of July and August 4， clandestine meetings had been held where strangers decided the fate of France， and gave the signal for insurrection. -- Restrained with great difficulty， they consented "to have patience until August 9， at 11 o'clock in the evening."[56] On that day the discussion of the dethronement is to take place in the Assembly， and calculations are made on a favorable vote under such a positive threat； its reluctance must yield to the certainty of a military occupation -- On the 8th of August， however， the Assembly refuses， by a majority of two-thirds， to indict the great enemy， Lafayette. The double amputation essential for State security， must therefore begin with the destruction of this majority.
The moment Lafayette's acquittal is announced， the galleries， usually so vociferous， maintain "gloomy silence."[57] The word of command for them is to keep themselves in reserve for the streets. One by one the deputies who voted for Lafayette are pointed out to the mob at the doors， and a shout is raised， "the rascals， the knaves， the traitors living on the civil list！ Hang them！ Kill them！ Put an end to them！
