see-saw policy in
which he has succeeded so ill, and which constrains him to
dissimulation, that last resource of the feeble. Sent to Germany with
instructions written by Louis XVI., with his own hand, Mallet du Pan
recommends the sovereigns to be cautious in advancing into France, to
observe the greatest prudence in dealing with the inhabitants of the
invaded provinces, and to precede their arrival by a manifesto in which
they declare conciliatory and pacific intentions. It follows that
official ministers of the King did not possess his confidence and were
not the interpreters of his mind. A {136} sort of occult and
mysterious government existed, with a diplomacy, secret funds, and
agents abroad and at home. Such a system, lacking all grandeur and
sincerity, could accomplish nothing but catastrophes.

Meanwhile, the war had begun under the most painful conditions. The
invasion of Belgium, arranged for the end of April, failed miserably.
Near Mons, Biron's troops took to flight, threatening to fire on their
officers, and crying: "We are betrayed!" At Lille, General Theobald
Dillon was massacred by his own soldiers. Such news caused
indescribable emotion in Paris. Popular mistrust and irritation
reached their height. The different parties hurled reproaches and
accusations in each other's face. The Girondins, finding the National
Guard too conservative, demanded pikes for the men of the faubourgs who
had no guns. The _sans-culottes_ enlisted. The army of assassins was
organized. The only thing left to do before giving the signal for a
riot was to obtain from the King a last concession,--the disbanding of
his guard.

{137}

XIII.

THE DISBANDING OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL GUARD.

Louis XVI. had still some defenders, some heroes resolved to shed the
last drop of their blood for their King. Hence it was necessary to
remove them from his person. What means of doing so could be found?
Calumny. Fable on fable was spread among an always credulous public,
imaginary conspiracies invented, and the wretched monarch constrained
to deprive himself of his last resource, in order to deliver him, weak
and disarmed, into the hands of his enemies.

The Constitution provided a guard for Louis XVI. One third of it was
composed of soldiers of the line, and the remainder of National Guards,
chosen by the Departments themselves from among their best-formed,
richest, and best-bred citizens. It was commanded by one of t