National Guard and municipalities are a mere toy, and that this sort of
thing will not last long." One of the leading members of the new club,
M. de Guiraitiand, an old officer of seventy-eight years, makes speeches
in public against the National Assembly, tries to enlist artisans in his
party, "affects to wear a white button on his hat fastened by pins with
their points jutting out," and, as it is stated, he has given to several
mercers a large order for white cockades. In reality, on examination,
not one is found in any shop, and all the dealers in ribbons, on
being interrogated, reply that they know of no transaction of that
description. But this simply proves that the culprit is a clever
dissimulator, and the more dangerous because he is eager to save the
country.--On the 12th of December, at four o'clock in the afternoon,
the two Jacobin clubs fraternise, and pass in long procession before
the place of meeting, "where some of the members, a few officers of the
Lyons regiment and other individuals, are quietly engaged at play
or seeing others play." The crowd hoot, but they remain quiet. The
procession passes by again, and they hoot and shout, "Down with the
aristocrats to the lamp post with them!" Two or three of the officers
standing on the threshold of the door become irritated, and one of them,
drawing his sword, threatens to strike a young man if he keeps on. Upon
this the crowd cries out, "Guard! Help! An assassin!" and rushes at
the officer, who withdraws into the house, exclaiming, "To arms!" His
comrades, sword in hand, descend in order to defend the door; M. de
Guiramand fires two pistol shots and receives a stab in the thigh. A
shower of stones smashes in the windows, and the door is on the point of
being burst open when several of the members of the club save themselves
by taking to the roof. About a dozen others, most of them officers,
form in line, penetrate the crowd with uplifted swords, strike and get
struck, and escape, five of them being wounded. The municipality orders
the doors and windows of the club-house to be walled up, sends the
Lyons regiment away, decrees the arrest of seven officers and of M. de
Guiramand, and all this in a few hours, with no other testimony than
that of the conquerors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account