THE FOES FACE TO FACE.
While the queen was looking from the palace to see the Austrians
coming, another was watching in her little reception-rooms. One was
revolution embodied, the other its opponents intensified; that was
Madame Roland, this the queen from Austria.
The real war at this period was between this pair.
A singular thing, both had such influence over their husbands as to
lead them to death, although by different roads.
Dumouriez had thrown a sop to the Jacobins without knowing who the
Colonel Servan was whom he took for Minister of War. He was a favorite
of Madame Roland. Like all the Girondists, of whom she was the light,
the fire, the egeria, he was inspired by that valiant spirit.
But he and Roland were neutralized at the council by Dumouriez. They
had forced the Royalist Constitutional Guards to disband, but they had
merely changed their uniform for that of the Swiss Guards, the sworn
defenders of royalty, and swaggered about the streets more insolently
than before.
Madame Roland suggested that, on the occasion of the July festivals,
a camp of twenty thousand volunteers should be established in Paris.
Servan was to present this as a citizen, apart from his being a
minister. In the same way, Roland was to punish the rebellious priests
who were preaching from the pulpits that taxpayers would be damned, by
ordering their exile.
Dumouriez supported the volunteer proposition at the council, in the
hope that the new-comers would be Jacobins; that is, the Invisibles, by
whom neither the Girondists nor the Feuillants would profit.
"If your majesty vetoes it," he said, firmly, "instead of the twenty
thousand authorized, we shall have forty thousand unruly spirits in
town, who may with one rush upset Constitution, Assembly, and the
throne. Had we been vanquishers--But we must give in--I say accept."
But the queen urged the king to stand firm. As we know, she would
rather be lost than be saved by Lafayette.
As for the decree against the priests, it was another matter. The king
said that he wavered in temporal questions as he judged them with his
mind, which was fallible; but he tried religious matters with his
conscience, which was infallible!
But they could not dispense with Dumouriez at this juncture.
"Accept the volunteer act," said the queen, at last; "let the camp be
at Soissons, where the general says he will gradually draft them off
out of the way; and--well, we will see about the decree aimed at the
priests. Dumouriez has your promise, but there must be some way of
evading the issue when you are the Jesuits' pupil!"
Roland, Servan, and Clavieres resigned, and the Assembly applauded
their act as deserving the thanks of the country.
Hearing of this, and that Dumouriez was badly compromised, the pupil of
Vauguyon agreed to the Volunteer Camp Bill, but pleading conscientious
scruples, deferred signing the decree banishing the refractory
priests. This made the new ministers wince, and Dumouriez went away
sore at heart. The king had almost succeeded in baffling him, the
fine diplomatist, sharp politician, and the general whose courage was
doubled by intrigue!
He found at home the spies' reports that the Invisibles were holding
meetings in the working quarters, and openly at Santerre's brewery. He
wrote to warn the king, whose answer was:
"Do not believe that I can be bullied; my mind is made up."
Dumouriez replied, asking for an audience, and requested his successor
to be sought for. It was clear that the anti-revolutionist party felt
strong.
Indeed, they were reckoning on the following forces:
The Constitutional Guards, six thousand strong, disbanded, but ready
to fly to arms at the first call; seven or eight thousand Knights of
the Order of St. Louis, whose red ribbon was the rallying token; three
battalions of Switzers, sixteen hundred men, picked soldiers, unshaken
as the old Helvetic rocks.
Better than all, Lafayette had written: "Persist, sire; fortified with
the authority the National Assembly has delegated to you, you will find
all good citizens on your side!"
The plan was to gather all the forces at a given signal, seize the
cannon of each section of Paris, shut up the Jacobin's Club-house and
the Assembly, add all the Royalists in the National Guard, say, a
contingent of fifteen thousand men, and wait for Lafayette, who might
march up in three days.
The misfortune was that the queen would not hear of Lafayette.
Lafayette was merely the Revolution moderated, and might prolong it and
lead to a republic like that he had brought round in America; while the
Jacobins' outrageous rule would sicken the people and could not endure.
Oh, had Charny been at hand! But it was not even known where he was;
and were it known, it would be too low an abasement for the woman, if
not the queen, to have recourse to him.
The night passed tumultuously at the palace, where they had the means
of defense and attack, but not a hand strong enough to grasp and hurl
them.
Dumouriez and his colleagues came to resign. They affirmed they were
willing to die for the king, but to do this for the clergy would only
precipitate the downfall of the monarchy.
"Sire," pleaded Dumouriez, "your conscience is misled; you are beguiled
into civil war. Without strength, you must succumb, and history, while
sorrowing for you, will blame you for causing the woes of France."
"Heaven be my witness that I wished but her happiness!"
"I do not doubt that; but one must account to the King of kings not
only for purity of intentions, but the enlightened use of intentions.
You suppose you are saving religion, but you will destroy it; your
priests will be massacred; your broken crown will roll in your blood,
the queen's, your children's, perhaps--oh, my king, my king!"
Choking, he applied his lips to the royal hand. With perfect serenity,
and a majesty of which he might not be believed capable, Louis replied.
"You are right, general. I expect death, and forgive my murderers
beforehand. You have well served me; I esteem you, and am affected by
your sympathy. Farewell, sir!"
With Dumouriez going, royalty had parted with its last stay. The king
threw off the mask, and stood with uncovered face before the people.
Let us see what the people were doing on their side.