ses brought her a glass of water: she
recovered, and, as she knelt to kiss the king's hand, Louis kissed her
himself, and, transported by his affability, she and her companions quit
the apartment, uttering loud cheers for the king and queen. But this had
not been the impression which their leaders had intended them to receive;
and, when they reached the streets, their new-born loyalty so exasperated
their comrades that the soldiers had some difficulty in saving them from
their fury.

Meanwhile, the mob increased every hour. They occupied the court-yard of
the palace, roaring out ferocious threats, the most sanguinary of which
were directed against the queen. The President of the Assembly moved that
the members should adjourn and repair to the palace for the protection of
the royal family, but Mirabeau resisted the proposal, and procured its
rejection; and when a large party of the members went, as individuals, to
place their services at the king's disposal, he mingled with the rioters,
tampering with the soldiers, and urging them to espouse what he called the
cause of the people. As it grew dark, the crowd grew more and more
tumultuous and violent. The Body-guard, who were all gentlemen, were
faithful and fearless; but it began to be seen that none of the other
troops, not even the regiment of Flanders, could be trusted. Some of them
even fired on the Body-guard, and mortally wounded its commander, the
Marquis de Savonieres; while Louis, adhering to his unhappy policy of
conciliation even at such a moment, sent down orders to the officer who
succeeded to the command that the men were not to use their weapons, and
that all bloodshed was to be avoided. "Tell the king," replied M.
d'Huillier, "that his orders shall be obeyed; but that we shall all be
assassinated."

The mob grew fiercer when it became known that La Fayette and his regiment
were approaching. No one knew what course he might take, but the
ringleaders of the rioters resolved on a strenuous effort to render his
arrival useless by their previous success. Guns were fired, heavy blows
were dealt on the railings of the inner court-yard and on the gates; and
the danger seemed so imminent that the mob might force its way into the
palace, that the deputies themselves besought the king to delay no longer,
but to retire to Rambouillet. He was still irresolute, and still trusting
to his plan of conciliating by non-resistance. The queen, though more
earnest than ever th