Justthenthedooropenedandthekingentered。
“Sire,“saidthequeen,assheadvancedtomeethim,“helpmetopersuadethesenoblefriendsthattheyoughttoleaveus!“
“Thequeenisright,“saidLouis,sadly,“theymustgoatonce。Ourmisfortunecompelsustopartwithallwholoveandesteemus。I
havejustsaidfarewelltomybrother,nowIsaythesametoyou;I
commandyoutogo。Pityus,butdonotloseaminute’stime。Takeyourchildrenandyourservantswithyou。Reckonatalltimesuponme。Weshallmeetagaininhappierdays,afterourdangersarepast,andthenyoushallbothresumeyouroldplaces。Farewell!OncemoreIcommandyoutogo!“[Footnote:Theking’sownwords。Thisintensepartingsceneisstrictlyhistorical,accordingtotheconcurrentcommunicationsofMontjoieinhis“HistoiredeMarieAntoinette。“
Campan,Mem。,ii。Weber,Mem。,i。]
Andasthekingperceivedthatthetearswerestartingintohiseyes,andthathisvoicewastrembling,hesilentlybowedtohisfriends,andhastilywithdrew。
“Youhaveheardwhatthekingcommands,“saidMarieAntoinette,eagerly,“andyouwillnotventuretodisobeyhim。Hearalsothis:I
too,theQueenofFrance,commandyoutotakeyourdeparturethisveryhour。“
Thedukebowedlowbeforethequeen,whostoodwithpalecheeks,buterect,andwithanobleair。
“Yourmajestyhascommanded,anditbecomesustoobey。Weshallgo。“
Theduchesssank,withaloudcryofgrief,onherkneebeforethequeen,andburiedherfaceintheroyalrobe。
MarieAntoinettedidnotdisturbher,didnotventuretospeaktoher,forsheknewthat,withthefirstwordwhichsheshouldutter,thepainofherheartwouldfindexpressiononherlips,andshewouldbecomposed;shewouldnotletherfriendseehowseverethesacrificewaswhichherlovecompelledhertomake。
“Letmeremainwithyou,“imploredtheduchess,“donotdrivemefromyou,Marie,myMarie!“
Thequeenturnedhergreateyesupward,andherlookswereaprayertoGodtogiveherpowerandsteadfastness。Twicethensheattemptedtospeak,twicehervoicerefusedtoperformitsduty,andsheremainedsilent,wrestlingwithhergrief,andatlastovercomingit。
“Julia,“shesaid——andwitheverywordhervoicebecamefirmerandstronger——“Julia,wemustpart。Ishouldbedoublyunhappytodrawyouandyoursintomymisfortunes;itwill,inallmytroubles,beaconsolationtome,thatIhavebeenabletosaveyou。Idonotsay,asthekingdid,thatweshallmeetagaininhappierdays,andafterourperilsarepast——forIdonotbelieveinanymorehappydays——weshallnotbeabletosurvivethoseperils,butshallperishinthem。
Isay,farewell,tomeetnotinthis,butinabetterworld!Notawordmore。Icannotbearit!Yourqueencommandsyoutogoatonce!
Farewell!“
Sheextendedherhandfirmlytoher,butshecouldnotlookatherfriend,wholayatherfeetweepingandchoking;shesalutedthedukewithamerewaveofthehand,turnedquicklyaway,andhastenedintotheadjoiningroom,andthenontillshereachedherowntoilet-room,whereMadamedeCampanwasawaitingher。
“Campan,“shecried,intonesofanguish,“Campan,itisdone!I
havelostmyfriend!Ishallneverseeheragain。Closethedoor,drawthebolt,thatshecannotcomein,I——Ishalldie!“Andthequeenutteredaloudcry,andsankinaswoon。
Atmidnighttwowell-packedcarriagesdroveoutoftheinnercourtsofthepalace。TheywerethePolignacs;theywereleavingFrance,totakerefugeinSwitzerland。
InthefirstcarriagewastheDuchessdePolignac,withherhusbandandherdaughter。Sheheldtwolettersinherhand。Campanhadgivenherboth,inthenameofthequeen,asshewassteppingintothecarriage。
OnewasdirectedtoMinisterNecker,who,afterhisdismissal,hadwithdrawntoBasle。SincetheNationalAssembly,theclubs,thewholepopulationofParis,desiredNecker’sreturn,anddeclaredhimtobetheonlymanwhocouldrestoretheshatteredfinancesofthecountry;thequeenhadpersuadedherhusbandtorecalltheminister,althoughanopponentofhers,andappointhimagainministeroffinance。Theletterofthequeen,whichtheDuchessJuliawascommissionedtogivetoNecker,containedhisrecall,announcedtohiminflatteringwords。
Thesecondletterwasapartingwordfromthequeentoherfriend,alastcryfromherheart。“Farewell,“itran——“farewell,tenderly-
lovedfriend!Howdreadfulthispartingwordis!Butitisneedful。
Farewell!Iembracetheeinspirit!Farewell!“
Themorningdawned——awindyOctobermorning,surroundingthesunwiththickclouds;sothedaylightcamelatetoParis,asiffearingtoseewhathadtakenplaceonthestreetsandsquares。Thenationalguard,summonedtogetherbythealarm-signalofdrum-beatsandtheclangoroftrumpetsandhorns,collectedinthegraymorninglight,forafearfulrumorhadbeenspreadthroughParistheeveningbefore,andonehaswhisperedtoanotherthattomorrowhadbeenappointedbytheclubsandbytheagitatorsforasecondactintherevolution,andthepeoplearetooquiet,theymustberousedtonewdeeds。
“Thepeoplearetooquiet,“thatwasthewatchwordofthe4thofOctober,inalltheclubs,anditwasMaratwhohadcarriedit。
OntheplatformoftheClubdeCordeliers,thecrywasraisedloudlyandhoarsely:“Parisisindangeroffoldingitshandsinitslap,prayingandgoingtosleep。Theymustwakeoutofthisstateoflethargy,elsethehateful,tyrannicalmonarchywillrevive,anddrawthenightcapsofarovertheearsofthesleepingcapital,thatitwillstickasifcoveredwithpitch,andsufferitselftorelapseintobondage。WemustawakenParis,myfriends;Parismustnotsleep。“
Andonthenightofthe4thofOctober,Parishadnotslept,fortheagitatorshadkeptitawake。Thewatch-cryhadbeen:“Thebakersmustnotbaketo-night!Parismustto-morrowmorningbewithoutbread,thatthepeoplemayopentheireyesagainandawake。Thebakersmustnotbaketo-night!“
Alltheclubshadcaughtuptheirwatch-cry,andtheiremissarieshadspreaditthroughthewholecity,thatallthebakersshouldbeinformedthatwhoevershould“openhisstoreinthemorning,orgiveanyotheranswerthanthis:’ThereisnomoremealinParis;wehavenotbeenabletobake!’willberegardedasatraitortothenationalcause,andassuch,willbepunished。Beonyourguard!“
Thebakershadbeenintimidatedbythisthreat,andhadnotbaked。
WhenParisawokeonthemorningofthe5thofOctober,itwaswithoutbread。Peoplelackedtheirmostindispensablearticleoffood。
Attheoutset,thewomen,whoreceivedthesedreadfultidingsatthebake-shops,returneddumbwithhorrortotheirfamilies,toannouncetotheirhouseholdsandtheirhungrychildren:“Thereisnobreadto-day!Thesupplyofflourisexhausted!Wemuststarve!Thereisnomorebreadtobehad!“
Andfromthedarkabodeofthepoor,thesadcrysoundedoutintothenarrowanddirtystreetsandallthesquares,“Pariscontainsnobread!Parismuststarve!“
Thewomen,thechildrenutteredthesecriesinwildtonesofdespair。Themenrepeatedthewordswithclinchedfistsandwiththreateninglooks:“Pariscontainsnomorebread!Parismuststarve!“
“AnddoyouknowwhyParismuststarve?“croakedoutavoiceintotheearsofthepeoplewhowerecrowdingeachotherinwildconfusiononthePlacedeCarrousel。
“Doyouknowwhoisthecauseofallthismiseryandwant?“
“Tellus,ifyouknow!“criedaroughman’svoice。
“Yes,yes,tellus!“shoutedothervoices。“Wewanttoknow!“
“Iwilltellyou,“answeredthefirst,inraspingtones;andnowuponthestones,whichindicatedwherethecarriage-roadcrossedthesquare,alittle,shrunken,broad-shoulderedfigure,withanunnaturallylargehead,andugly,craftyface,couldbeseen。
“Marat!“criedsomemaninthecrowd。“Marat!“yelledthecobblerSimon,whohadbeensinceAugustthefriendandadmirerofMarat,andwastobeseeneverywhereathisside。“Listen,friends,listen!
Maratisgoingtospeaktous;hewilltellushowithappensthatParishasbreadnomore,andthatweshallallhavetostarvetogether!Maratisgoingtospeak!“
“Silence,silence!“scatteredmencommandedhereandthere。
“Silence!“ejaculatedagiganticwoman,withbroad,defiantface,aroundwhichherblackhairhungindishevelledmasses,andwhichwasgatheredupinpartly-securedknotsunderherwhitecap。Withherbroadshouldersandherrobustarmssheforcedherwaythroughthecrowd,directinghercoursetowardtheplacewhereMaratwasstanding,andnearhimSimonthecobbler,onwhosebroadshoulders,asuponadesk,Maratwasrestingonehand。
“Silence!“criedthegiantess。“Marat,thepeople’sfriend,isgoingtospeak!Letuslisten,foritwillcertainlydousgood。Maratiscleverandwise,andlovesthepeople!“
Marat’sgreen,blazingeyesfixedthemselvesuponthegiganticformofthewoman;heshrankbackasifanelectricalsparkhadtouchedhim,andwithawonderfulexpressionofmingledtriumphandjoy。
“Comenearer,goodwife!“heexclaimed;“letmepressyourhand,andbringalltheexcellent,industrious,well-mindedwomenofParistotakeMarat,thepatriot,bythehand!“
ThewomanstrodetotheplacewhereMaratwasstandingandreachedhimherhand。Nooneinthecrowdnoticedthatthishandofunwonteddelicacyandwhitenessdidnotseemtocomportwellwiththedressofavenderofvegetablesfromthemarket;noonenoticedthatononeofthetaperingfingersajewelofnoordinarysizeglistened。
Maratwastheonlyonetonoticeit,andwhilepressingtheofferedhandofthewomaninhisbonyfist,hestoopeddownandwhisperedinherear: