As they approached Paris, Barnave retook his seat at the back. No longer was it a seat of honor, but the place of danger. If a fanatic should fire on the King, which was, indeed, probable; if on the Queen, which was more than probable;—Barnave was there, to arrest with his own body the fell bullet aimed at royalty. M. Mathieu Damas had been charged by Lafayette, Royalist though he was, to protect their entry. This able strategist had drawn from all parties in order to diminish the danger. He confided the guarding of the carriage to the grenadiers, whose tall hats hid entirely the doors; a line of horse grenadiers formed a second ring. As for the three guards whom Louis XVI had not wished to go, two grenadiers, with their muskets bayoneted, sat a little behind the box-seat, ready to suppress any attempt at rescue or flight. The heat was tremendous. The carriage, the nearer it approached Paris, appeared to be entering the mouth of a furnace. The Queen, whom nothing hitherto had conquered, was beaten by the heat. Twice or thrice she cried, “I suffocate!” At Bourget, the King asked for wine. Broken down by fatigue, Madame Elizabeth slept. The change of places had brought Pétion close by her. The face of the future Mayor of Paris had a remarkable expression of joy. The Queen, who cared not for sleeping herself, shook her by the arm in order to awaken her. “Let her alone,” cried Pétion. “Nature must take its course.” They passed the barrier, and entered into the midst of a moving and agitated people. From time to time the crowd gave a tremendous yell. The King, trying to show _sang-froid_ began, apparently, to read. “Suppose one were to applaud the King!” “He shall be scourged!” “Suppose one were to insult him?” “He shall be hanged!” The crowd kept pace with the carriage. Mathieu Damas, commanding the escort, did not wish to enter Paris by the Faubourg St. Martin. He was nearer the Faubourg St. Antoine, of terrible memory, on account of the attack and seizure of the Bastille. He asked himself if he had a human barrier strong enough to protect the royal family from the crowd who had virtually sentenced them to death. He went round Paris by the external Boulevards, and entered it by the Champ Elysées and the Place Louis XV. On the Place Louis XV stood, at that period, the statue of the monarch whose name the place bore. They had bandaged the eyes of the statue with a handkerchief. This allusion, though ignored by the King, still disquieted him. “Why this bandage on the eyes of my predecessor?” inquired the King. “To show the blindness of the monarchy, sire,” replied Pétion. In the progress from the Champs Elysées to the Place Louis XV, the barrier of grenadiers was often broken. Then the Queen saw appear at the windows hideous faces, expressive of satisfaction and revenge. What caused those devils to turn away and bow?