Part 9

"Catherine of Medicis, the presiding demon, who scattered destruction in so many shapes, was not melted into pity at the view of such complicated and extensive misery; she gazed with savage satisfaction on the head of Coligni which was brought her."

Sully only slightly mentions this massacre of which he was notwithstanding an eye-witness, because he was but twelve years of age.

Mezeray gives the most circumstantial account of it; he says, "The streets were paved with dead or dying bodies, the portes-cocheres, (great gates of the hotels) were stopped up with them, there were heaps of them in the public squares, the street-kennels overflowed with blood, which ran gushing into the river. Six hundred houses were pillaged at different times, and four thousand persons were massacred with all the inhumanity and all the tumult than can be imagined."

"Among the slain was Charles de Quelleue Pontivy, likewise called Soubise, because he had married Catherine, only daughter and heiress of Jean de Partenay Baron de Soubise: this Lady had entered an action against him for impotence; His naked dead body being among others dragged before the Louvre, there were ladies curious enough to examine leisurely, if they could discover the cause or the marks of the defeat of which he had been accused."

Brantome, in his memoirs of Charles IX. says, "As soon as it was day the king looked out of the window, and seeing that many people were running away in the fauxbourg St. Germain, he took a large hunting arquebuse, and shot at them many times, but in vain, for the gun did not carry so far."

"He took great pleasure in seeing floating in the river, under his windows, more than four thousand dead bodies."

A French writer, Mr. du Laure, in a Description of Paris, just published, says, "About thirty thousand persons were killed on that night in Paris and in the country; few of the citizens but were either assassins or assassinated. Ambition, the hatred of the great, of a woman, the feebleness and cruelty of a king, the spirit of party, the fanaticism of the people, animated those scenes of horror, which do not depose so much against the French nation, at that time governed by strangers, as against the passions of the great, and the ill-directed zeal of the religion of an ignorant populace."

A few more modern instances of female fortitude are given in a note.

Mr. Thicknesse in his "Year's journey through France and Part of Spain," in a letter dated Dijon, in Burgundy, 1776, mentions a man whom he saw broke alive on the wheel by, "the executioner and his mother, who assisted at this horrid business, these both seemed to enjoy the deadly office."

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

MISCELLANIES. NUMBER OF SLAIN.

ON that same Saturday 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 advertisements 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, entitled, 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 pass, which was refused. That of Lord Gower (the ambassador) 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 Assembly, soliciting a pass. This I carried myself, and sent it in by one of the clerks. The President immediately read the letter, and the Assembly decreed a pass 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 assert 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 PASSPORTS.

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 Assembly on hearing this burst into a laugh, and passed on to the order of the day.

On the 16th I carried a passport 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 passports could be delivered.