him on the 9th of March, whereupon the assembly testified its confidence in Narbonne. De Lessart having incurred its anger by the tameness of his replies to Austrian dictation, the Assembly voted his impeachment.
The king, seeing no other course open, formed a new ministry which was chiefly Girondin. Roland became minister of the interior, Clavière of finance, De Grave of war, and Lacoste of marine. Far abler and more resolute than any of these men was Dumouriez, the new minister War declared against Austria. for foreign affairs. A soldier by profession, he had been employed in the secret diplomacy of Louis XV. and had thus gained a wide knowledge of international politics. He stood aloof from parties and had no rigid principles, but held views closely resembling those of Narbonne. He wished for a war with Austria which should restore some influence to the crown and make himself the arbiter of France. The king bent to necessity, and on the 20th of April came to the Assembly with the proposal that war should be declared against Austria. It was carried by acclamation. Dumouriez intended to begin with an invasion of the Austrian Netherlands. As this would awaken English jealousy, he sent Talleyrand to London with assurances that, if victorious, the French would annex no territory.
It was designed that the French should invade the Netherlands at three points simultaneously. Lafayette was to march against Namur, Biron against Mons, and Dillon against Tournay. But the first movement disclosed the miserable state of the army. Smitten with panic, Dillon’s force fled at sight of the enemy, and Dillon, after receiving a wound from one of his own soldiers, was murdered by the mob of Lille. Biron was easily routed before Mons. On hearing of these disasters Lafayette found it necessary to retreat. This shameful discomfiture quickened all the suspicion and jealousy fermenting in France. De Grave had to resign and was succeeded by Servan. The Austrian forces in the Netherlands were, however, so weak that they could not take the offensive. Austria demanded help from Prussia under the recent alliance, and the claim was admitted. Prussia declared war against France, and the duke of Brunswick was chosen to command the allied forces, but various causes delayed action. Austrian and Prussian interests clashed in Poland. The Austrian government wished to preserve a harmless neighbour. The Prussian government desired another partition and a large tract of Polish territory. Only after long discussion was it agreed that Prussia should be free to act in Poland, while Austria might find compensation in provinces conquered from France.
A respite was thus given and something was done to improve
the army. Meantime the Assembly passed three decrees: one
for the deportation of nonjuring priests, another to suppress the
king’s Constitutional Guard, and a third for the establishment
of a camp of fédérés near Paris. Louis consented to sacrifice
his guard, but vetoed the other decrees. Roland having addressed
to him an arrogant letter of remonstrance, the king with the
support of Dumouriez dismissed Roland, Servan and Clavière.
Dumouriez then took the ministry of war, and the other places
were filled with such men as could be had. Dumouriez, who
cared only for the successful prosecution of the war, urged the
king to accept the decrees. As Louis was obstinate, he felt that
he could do no more, resigned office on the 15th of June and
Émeute of
the 20th of
June 1792.
went to join the army of the north. Lafayette, who
remained faithful to the constitution of 1791, ventured
on a letter of remonstrance to the Assembly. It paid
no attention, for Lafayette could no longer sway the
people. The Jacobins tried to frighten the king into accepting the
decrees and recalling his ministers. On the 20th of June the
armed populace invaded the hall of the Assembly and the royal
apartments in the Tuileries. For some hours the king and queen
were in the utmost peril. With passive courage Louis refrained
from making any promise to the insurgents.
The failure of the insurrection encouraged a movement in favour of the king. Some twenty thousand Parisians signed a petition expressing sympathy with Louis. Addresses of like tenour poured in from the departments and the provincial cities. Lafayette himself came to Paris in the hope of rallying the constitutional party, but the king and queen eluded his offers of assistance. They had always disliked and distrusted Lafayette and the Feuillants, and preferred to rest their hopes of deliverance on the foreigner. Lafayette returned to his troops without having effected anything. The Girondins made a last advance to Louis, offering to save the monarchy if he would accept them as ministers. His refusal united all the Jacobins in the project of overturning the monarchy by force. The ruling spirit of this new revolution was Danton, a barrister only thirty-two years of age, who had not sat in either Assembly, although he had been the leader of the Cordeliers, an advanced republican club, and had a strong hold on the common people of Paris. Danton and his friends were assisted in their work by the fear of invasion, for the allied army was at length mustering on the frontier. The Assembly declared the country in danger. All the regular troops in or near Paris were sent to the front. Volunteers and fédérés were constantly arriving in Paris, and, although most went on to join the army, the Jacobins enlisted those who were suitable for their purpose, especially some 500 whom Barbaroux, a Girondin, had summoned from Marseilles. At the same time the National Guard was opened to the lowest class. Brunswick’s famous declaration of the 25th of July, announcing that the allies would enter France to restore the royal authority and would visit the Assembly and the city of Paris with military execution if any further outrage were offered to the king, heated the republican spirit to fury. It was resolved to strike the decisive blow on the 10th of August.
On the night of the 9th a new revolutionary Commune took
possession of the hôtel de ville, and early on the morning of the
10th the insurgents assailed the Tuileries. As the
preparations of the Jacobins had been notorious, some
measures of defence had been taken. Beside a few
Rising of
the 10th
of August.
gentlemen in arms and a number of National Guards
the palace was garrisoned by the Swiss Guard, about 950 strong.
The disparity of force was not so great as to make resistance
altogether hopeless. But Louis let himself be persuaded into
betraying his own cause and retiring with his family under the
shelter of the Assembly. The National Guards either dispersed
or fraternized with the assailants. The Swiss Guard stood firm,
and, possibly by accident, a fusillade began. The enemy were
gaining ground when the Swiss received an order from the king to
cease firing and withdraw. They were mostly shot down as they
were retiring, and of those who surrendered many were murdered
in cold blood next day. The king and queen spent long hours in
a reporter’s box while the Assembly discussed their fate and the
fate of the French monarchy. Little more than a third of the
deputies were present and they were almost all Jacobins. They
decreed that Louis should be suspended from his office and that
a convention should be summoned to give France a new constitution.
An executive council was formed by recalling Roland,
Clavière and Servan to office and joining with them Danton as
minister of justice, Lebrun as minister of foreign affairs, and
Monge as minister of marine.
When Lafayette heard of the insurrection in Paris he tried to rally his troops in defence of the constitution, but they refused to follow him. He was driven to cross the frontier and surrender himself to the Austrians. Dumouriez was named his successor. But the new government was The revolutionary Commune of Paris. still beset with danger. It had no root in law and little hold on public opinion. It could not lean on the Assembly, a mere shrunken remnant, whose days were numbered. It remained dependent on the power which had set it up, the revolutionary Commune of Paris. The Commune could therefore extort what concessions it pleased. It got the custody of the king and his family who were imprisoned in the Temple. Having obtained an indefinite power of arrest, it soon filled the prisons of Paris. As the elections to the Convention were close at hand, the Commune resolved to strike the public with terror by the slaughter of its prisoners. It found its opportunity in the progress of invasion. On the 19th Brunswick crossed the frontier. On the 22nd Longwy surrendered. Verdun was invested and seemed likely to fall. On the 1st of September the Commune decreed
