y of malefactors and the Chamber
of Horrors, we must bear this in mind, that our own laws punish the
slightest step towards absolute government with the same supreme
penalty as murder; so that morally the difference between the two
extremes is not serious. The agents are ferocious ruffians, and the
leaders are no better; but they are at the same time influenced by
republican convictions, as respectable as those of the _emigres_. The
function of this supplementary Commune was not to lead the
insurrection or direct the attack, but to disable the defence; for the
commander of the National Guard received his orders from the Hotel de
Ville, and he was a loyal soldier.

The forces of the Revolution were not overwhelming. The men from
Marseilles and Brest were intent on fighting, and so were some from
the departments. But when the tocsin rang from the churches soon after
midnight, the Paris combatants assembled slowly, and the event might
be doubtful. Ammunition was supplied to the insurgent forces from the
Hotel de Ville, but not to the National Guard. It is extremely
dangerous, said Petion, to oppose one public force to another. At the
Tuileries there were less than a thousand Swiss mercenaries, who were
sure to do their duty; one or two hundred gentlemen, come to defend
the king; and several thousand National Guards of uncertain fidelity
and valour. Petion showed himself at the palace, and at the Assembly,
and then was seen no more. By a happy inspiration he induced Santerre
to place him under arrest, with a guard of four hundred men to protect
him from the dangers of responsibility. He himself tells the story,
and is mean enough to boast of his ingenuity. But if the mayor was a
traitor and a coward, the commanding general, Mandat, knew his duty,
and was resolved to do it. He prepared for the defence of the palace,
and there was great probability that his men would fight. If they did,
they were strong enough to repulse attack. Therefore, early in the
morning of August 10, Mandat was summoned by his lawful superiors to
the Hotel de Ville. He appeared before them, made his report, and was
then taken to the revolutionary committee sitting separately. He
declared that he had orders to repel force by force, and that it would
be done. They required him to sign an order removing half of the
National Guard from the place they were to defend. Mandat refused to
save his life by an act of treachery, and by Danton's order he was
shot