They called to their protection a military body, and gave the order to Bailly to disperse the brigands by force. Bailly, who was not aware of the goings on, and who should, before all other things, obey the orders of the Assembly, forewarned Lafayette, and sounded the alarm. In these times, the paid guard, strongly addicted to aristocratic—or, rather, Lafayettish—principles, for it was nearly entirely composed of the conquerors of the Bastille, were always the first to answer such a call. This body, perfectly armed and perfectly commanded, were exasperated at the injuries they received from the Democratic journals, and particularly the _Friend of the People_, of Marat, in which he called them the spies of Lafayette; and one day demanded their noses to be cut off, another day their ears, and even hinted at finishing with them altogether with the assistance of the guillotine. They applauded vociferously, when suddenly the red flag was seen to float from the balcony of the Hotel de Ville, which was a signal to all the loyal citizens of the town of their help, and never did they require help more than on this occasion. In the midst of these cries, the Mayor, who was pale as the day on which he marched to the scaffold, descended the Place de Grève, and placed himself at the head of a column of the National Guard. Lafayette, at the head of another column, followed the left bank of the Seine, while Bailly took the right bank. The red flag was unhooked, and followed the column, headed by the Mayor. CHAPTER XLIV. THE MASSACRE OF THE CHAMP DE MARS. We thought but little of the danger we were running at the Champ de Mars, and knew nothing whatever of what was going on at the Hotel de Ville. The crowd was nothing more than an ordinary Sunday crowd. No weapons whatever were to be seen, save the sabres hanging to the belts of some stray National Guards, who might be taking a walk with their wives and children. Madame Roland says, in her “Memoirs,” that she remained there till ten o’clock. The only extraordinary proceeding that took place was that on the altar. They continued to sign the petition with a vigor that promised twelve or fifteen hundred signatures before night-fall. Generally the person signing cried out, “Vive la nation! Down with royalty!” threw his cap up in the air, and ceded the place to another. Two contrary currents were established on the north, south, and east sides of the altar of the country, between the persons ascending and the persons descending. The height of the altar was immense—that it is to say, about one hundred feet. At about four o’clock in the afternoon, it presented the aspect of an enormous hive, swarming with bees.