Soon afterwards a fresh revolt in Paris caused the king and the Assembly
to migrate thither. The old causes of disorder were still working in
that city. The scarcity of bread was set down to conspirators against
the Revolution. Riots were frequent and persons supposed hostile to the
Assembly and the nation were murdered with impunity. The king still had
counsellors who wished for his departure as a means to regaining freedom
of action. At the end of September the Flanders regiment came to
Versailles to reinforce the Gardes du Corps. The officers of the Gardes
du Corps entertained the officers of the Flanders regiment and of the
Versailles National Guard at dinner in the palace. The king, queen and
dauphin visited the company. There followed a vehement outbreak of
loyalty. Rumour enlarged the incident into a military plot against
freedom. Those who wanted a more thorough revolution wrought up the
crowd and even respectable citizens wished to have the king among them
and amenable to their opinion. On the 5th of October a mob which had
gathered to assault the Hotel de Ville was diverted into a march on
Versailles. Lafayette was slow to follow it and, when he arrived, took
insufficient precautions. At daybreak on the 6th some of the rioters
made their way into the palace and stormed the apartment of the queen
who escaped with difficulty. At length the National Guards arrived and
the mob was quieted by the announcement that the king had resolved to go
to Paris. The Assembly declared itself inseparable from the king's
person. Louis and his family reached Paris on the same evening and took
up their abode in the Tuileries. A little later the Assembly established
itself in the riding school of the palace. Thenceforward the king and
queen were to all intents prisoners. The Assembly itself was subject to
constant intimidation. Many members of the Right gave up the struggle
and emigrated, or at least withdrew from attendance, so that the Left
became supreme.
Mirabeau and the court.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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