A Trip to Paris in July and August 1792 Part 6

I have formerly given an account of the Spanish ladies enjoying the barbarities of the bull-fights.]

MISCELLANIES. NUMBER OF SLAIN.

ON that same Sat.u.r.day morning the dead Swiss, the broken furniture of the palace, and the burning woodwork of the barracks, were all gathered together in a vast heap, and set fire to. I saw this pile at twenty or thirty yards distance, and I was told that some of the women who were spectators took out an arm or a leg that was broiling, to taste: this I did _not see_, but I see no reason for _not believing it_.

On the afternoon of this day, the coffee-houses were, as usual, filled with idle people, who amused themselves with playing at the baby-game of _domino_.

No coaches except fiacres (hackney-coaches) were now to be seen about the streets; the theatres continued on the following mornings to advertise their performances, and in the afternoon fresh advertis.e.m.e.nts were pasted over these, saying, there would be _relache au theatre_ (respite, intermission.) A few days after, some of the theatres advertised to perform for the benefit of the families of the slain, but few persons attended the representation, through fear; because the _sans-culottes_ talked of pulling down all the theatres, which, they said, _gataient les moeurs_, (corrupted the morals) of the people.

Ever since the 10th, I knew the barriers had been guarded, to prevent any person from leaving Paris, but I now was informed that that had been the case, three days previous to that day, which may seem to imply that some apprehensions were formed, that violent measures would take place somewhere.

About this time the officers were obliged by the _sans-culottes_ to wear worsted instead of gold or silver shoulder-knots; and no more _cloudy_ carriages were to be seen in the streets.

Portraits of the king, with the body of a hog, and of the queen, with that of a tygress were engraven and publicly sold. A book was published, ent.i.tled, _Crimes of Louis_ XVI. the author of which advertised that he was then printing a book of the _Crimes of the Popes_, after which he intended to publish the crimes of all the potentates in Europe.

As I could not get out of Paris, to make any little excursions to nursery and other gardens, to _Vincennes_, to _Montreuil_, and as the inhabitants of Paris were too much alarmed to retain any relish for society, (public places out of the question,) I was desirous of getting away as soon as possible, and applied first to the usual officers for a pa.s.s, which was refused. That of _Lord Gower_ (the amba.s.sador) was at this time of no use, but it became so afterwards, as shall be mentioned.

On the Monday (13th August) I wrote a letter of about ten lines to the President of the National a.s.sembly, soliciting a pa.s.s. This I carried myself, and sent it in by one of the clerks. The President immediately read the letter, and the a.s.sembly decreed a pa.s.s for me; but the next day, when I applied for it to the _comite de surveillance_, (committee of inspection) it, or they, knew nothing of the matter. I then went to the _mairie_ (mayoralty house) but in vain.

Here an officer of the national guard who had been present during the whole of the battle of the 10th, said to me, "La journee a _ete un peu forte, nous avons eu plus de quinze cens des notres de tues_," (the day was rather warm; we have had more than fifteen hundred of our own people killed.) This was confirmed by many more of the officers there, with whom I had a quarter of an hour's conversation, and they all estimated the number of the slain at above six thousand, which may probably be accounted for in the following manner, but a demonstration is impossible.

Some a.s.sert that there were eight hundred Swiss soldiers in the _chateau_ of the _Tuileries_; others but five hundred: let us take the medium of six hundred and fifty. They had, as every one allows, six and thirty charges each, and they fired till their ammunition was expended.

This makes above three and twenty thousand shot, every one of which must have taken place, on a mob as thick as hailstones after a shower: but allowing for the Swiss themselves, who were killed during the engagement, which diminishes the number of shot, and then allowing likewise, that of two thousand persons who were in the palace, we here say nothing of the remaining thirteen or fourteen hundred, most of whom were firing as well as they could, perhaps it may not appear exaggerated to say, that out of above twenty thousand shot, four thousand must have taken place mortally; and this includes the fifteen hundred of the national guard, which were _certainly_ known to be missing. Of the other two thousand five hundred slain, the number could not so correctly be ascertained, as they consisted of citizens without regimentals or uniform, and of _sans-culottes_, none of whom were registered. All the persons in the palace were killed; of these, few, if any, were taken away immediately, whereas when any of the adverse party were killed, there were people enough who were glad of the opportunity of escaping from this slaughter, by carrying away the corpse. We must then reflect on the number of waggons and carts employed all night in the same offices, and then we shall see great reason to double the number of the slain, as has been done in various publications.

No idea of this number could be formed by seeing the field of battle, because several bodies were there lying in heaps, and of the others not above two or three could be seen at a time, as the streets were after the engagement filled with spectators, who walked among and over the carcases.

Of the feelings of these spectators, I judge by my own: I might perhaps have disliked seeing a single dead body, but the great number immediately reconciled me to the sight.

BREECHES. PIKES. NECESSARY Pa.s.sPORTS.

ANOTHER particular relative to the _sans-culottes_ is their standard, being an old pair of breeches, which they carry on the top of a pike, thrust through the waistband: the _poissardes_ likewise use the same standard, though it so happened that I never saw it. On the memorable 20th of June last, a pike-man got on the top of the Tuileries, where he waved the ensign, or rather shook the breeches to the populace.

The pike-staves for the army are of different lengths; of six, nine, and twelve feet: by this means three ranks of pike-bearers can use their arms at once, with the points of the three rows of pikes evenly extended.

The letter which I had written to the President, notwithstanding its eventual ill success, caused several English persons jointly to write a somewhat similar letter; in which, after having represented that their _wives_ and children _wanted_ them, they said, they hoped their reasons would appear _vrai-semblables_, or have the semblance of truth. The a.s.sembly on hearing this burst into a laugh, and pa.s.sed on to the order of the day.

On the 16th I carried a pa.s.sport from _Lord Gower_ to the office of _Mr.

le Brun_, the minister for foreign affairs; here I was told to leave it, and I should have another in its stead the next day. The next day I applied for it, and was told, no pa.s.sports could be delivered.

The matter now appeared to me to become serious, as the courier who had carried the account of the affair of the 10th to London was not yet returned, and that rumours were spread, that the English in Paris were almost all _grands seigneurs & aristocrates_; so that I saw only two probable means of safety; one of which was, to draw up a pet.i.tion to the National a.s.sembly, in behalf of all the British subjects, to get it signed by as many as I could find, and who might chuse to sign it, and to carry it to the a.s.sembly in a small body, which might have been the means of procuring a pa.s.s; and in case this was refused, the other plan would have been for all the British to have incorporated themselves into a _Legion Britannique_, and offered their services according to the exigence of the case.[32] This pet.i.tion was accordingly, on the 18th, drawn up by a member of the English Parliament; translated into French, and carried about to be signed; when at the bankers we fortunately met with a person who informed us, that our pa.s.ses were ready at the moment, at _Mr. Le Brun's_: thither we went; I obtained my pa.s.s at two o'clock afternoon, the pet.i.tion was torn and given to the winds; I took a hackney coach that instant, to carry me to the _Poste aux chevaux_, ordered the horses, and before three I was out of the barriers of Paris.

[Note 32: Before, and on the 10th of August, there were not above thirty British travellers in Paris, but after that day, in less than a week it was supposed that above two thousand had from all parts of the kingdom resorted to the capital, in order to obtain pa.s.sports to get away.]

Here follows a copy of my pa.s.sport.

At the top of the paper is an engraving of a shield, on which is inscribed _Vivre libre ou mourir_ (live free or die,) supported by two female figures, the _dexter_ representing _Minerva_ standing, with the cap of liberty at the end of a pike; the _sinister_, the French const.i.tution personified as a woman sitting on a lion, with one hand holding a book, on which is written _Const.i.tution Francaise, droits de l'homme_, and with the other supporting a crown over the shield, which crown is effaced by a dash with a pen.

Then follows:

_La nation, la loi, le roi_; this is also obliterated with a pen, and instead is written:

_Liberte, Egalite_ _Au nom de la nation_.

a tous officiers, civils et militaires, charges de surveiller et de maintenir l'ordre public dans les differents departemens du Royaume, et a tous autres qu'il appartiendra il est ordonne de laisser librement pa.s.ser _T---- anglais retournant en angleterre, porteur d'un certificat de son amba.s.sadeur_.[33] Sans donner ni souffrir qu'il lui soit donne aucun empechement, le present pa.s.se-port valable pour _quinze jours_ seulement.

Donne a _Paris_ le 16 aoust l'an 4 de la liberte

_Vu a la Mairie le_ 17 _aoust_ 1792.

_L'an 4e de la liberte._

_Petion_.

[Note 33: What is here in italics is in ma.n.u.script in the original.

There is no _Monsieur_ nor _Madame_, the word _anglais_ showing the gender of the person to whom the pa.s.s was granted, and is sufficient for the purpose.]

Here is an impression, in red wax, of the arms of Paris, which are _gules_, a three-mast ship in full sail, a chief _azur_, _seme_ with _fleurs de lis, or_, the shield environed with oak branches and the cap of liberty as a crest. The inscription underneath is _Mairie de Paris_, 1789. On one side of this seal is an escutcheon with the arms of France, crowned, and over the crown there is a dash with a pen. And underneath,

Gratis. Le ministre des affaires etrangeres.

_Vu pa.s.ser Abbeville en Le Brun_.

_Conseil permanent le_ 20 _Aoust_ 1792.

Signed by a munic.i.p.al officer.

And on the back of the pa.s.sport,

_Vu au comite de la section poissonniere_ _ce 18 aoust_ 1792.

Signed by two commissaries at the barriers of St. Denis, at Paris.

_Permis d'embarquer a Calais le 22 aoust_ 1792.

Signed by a Secretary.