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Unfortunately the king was always just one letter behind。
He never understood this。 Even when he laid his head under
the guillotine； he felt that he was a much…abused man who had
received a most unwarrantable treatment at the hands of people
whom he had loved to the best of his limited ability。
Historical ‘‘ifs；'' as I have often warned you； are never of
any value。 It is very easy for us to say that the monarchy
might have been saved ‘‘if'' Louis had been a man of greater
energy and less kindness of heart。 But the king was not alone。
Even ‘‘if'' he had possessed the ruthless strength of Napoleon；
his career during these difficult days might have been easily
ruined by his wife who was the daughter of Maria Theresa of
Austria and who possessed all the characteristic virtues and
vices of a young girl who had been brought up at the most
autocratic and mediaeval court of that age。
She decided that some action must be taken and planned a
counter…revolution。 Necker was suddenly dismissed and loyal
troops were called to Paris。 The people； when they heard of
this； stormed the fortress of the Bastille prison； and on the
fourteenth of July of the year 1789； they destroyed this
familiar but much…hated symbol of Autocratic Power
which had long since ceased to be a political prison and
was now used as the city lock…up for pickpockets and second…
story men。 Many of the nobles took the hint and left the
country。 But the king as usual did nothing。 He had been
hunting on the day of the fall of the Bastille and he had shot
several deer and felt very much pleased。
The National Assembly now set to work and on the 4th of
August； with the noise of the Parisian multitude in their ears；
they abolished all privileges。 This was followed on the 27th
of August by the ‘‘Declaration of the Rights of Man；'' the
famous preamble to the first French constitution。 So far so
good； but the court had apparently not yet learned its lesson。
There was a wide…spread suspicion that the king was again
trying to interfere with these reforms and as a result； on the
5th of October； there was a second riot in Paris。 It spread to
Versailles and the people were not pacified until they had
brought the king back to his palace in Paris。 They did not
trust him in Versailles。 They liked to have him where they
could watch him and control his correspondence with his relatives
in Vienna and Madrid and the other courts of Europe。
In the Assembly meanwhile； Mirabeau； a nobleman who
had become leader of the Third Estate； was beginning to put
order into chaos。 But before he could save the position of the
king he died； on the 2nd of April of the year 1791。 The king；
who now began to fear for his own life； tried to escape on the
21st of June。 He was recognised from his picture on a coin；
was stopped near the village of Varennes by members of the
National Guard； and was brought back to Paris；
In September of 1791； the first constitution of France was
accepted； and the members of the National Assembly went
home。 On the first of October of 1791； the legislative assembly
came together to continue the work of the National
Assembly。 In this new gathering of popular representatives
there were many extremely revolutionary elements。 The
boldest among these were known as the Jacobins； after the old
Jacobin cloister in which they held their political meetings。
These young men （most of them belonging to the professional
classes） made very violent speeches and when the newspapers
carried these orations to Berlin and Vienna； the King of
Prussia and the Emperor decided that they must do something
to save their good brother and sister。 They were very busy
just then dividing the kingdom of Poland； where rival political
factions had caused such a state of disorder that the country
was at the mercy of anybody who wanted to take a couple of
provinces。 But they managed to send an army to invade
France and deliver the king。
Then a terrible panic of fear swept throughout the land
of France。 All the pent…up hatred of years of hunger and
suffering came to a horrible climax。 The mob of Paris stormed
the palace of the Tuilleries。 The faithful Swiss bodyguards
tried to defend their master； but Louis； unable to make up his
mind； gave order to ‘‘cease firing'' just when the crowd was
retiring。 The people； drunk with blood and noise and cheap
wine； murdered the Swiss to the last man； then invaded the
palace； and went after Louis who had escaped into the meeting
hall of the Assembly； where he was immediately suspended of
his office； and from where he was taken as a prisoner to the
old castle of the Temple。
But the armies of Austria and Prussia continued their advance
and the panic changed into hysteria and turned men and
women into wild beasts。 In the first week of September of
the year 1792； the crowd broke into the jails and murdered all
the prisoners。 The government did not interfere。 The Jacobins；
headed by Danton； knew that this crisis meant either the
success or the failure of the revolution； and that only the most
brutal audacity could save them。 The Legislative Assembly
was closed and on the 21st of September of the year 1792； a
new National Convention came together。 It was a body composed
almost entirely of extreme revolutionists。 The king was
formally accused of high treason and was brought before the
Convention。 He was found guilty and by a vote of 361 to 360
（the extra vote being that of his cousin the Duke of Orleans）
he was condemned to death。 On the 21st of January of the
year 1793； he quietly and with much dignity suffered himself
to be taken to the scaffold。 He had never understood what all
the shooting and the fuss had been about。 And he had been too
proud to ask questions。
Then the Jacobins turned against the more moderate element
in the convention； the Girondists； called after their southern
district； the Gironde。 A special revolutionary tribunal was
instituted and twenty…one of the leading Girondists were
condemned to death。 The others committed suicide。 They were
capable and honest men but too philosophical and too moderate
to survive during these frightful years。
In October of the year 1793 the Constitution was
suspended by the Jacobins ‘‘until peace should have been
declared。'' All power was placed in the hands of a small committee
of Public Safety； with Danton and Robespierre as its
leaders。 The Christian religion and the old chronology were
abolished。 The ‘‘Age of Reason'' （of which Thomas Paine had
written so eloquently during the American Revolution） had
come and with it the ‘‘Terror'' which for more than a year killed
good and bad and indifferent people at the rate of seventy or
eighty a day。
The autocratic rule of the King had been destroyed。 It
was succeeded by the tyranny of a few people who had such a
passionate love for democratic virtue that they felt compelled
to kill all those who disagreed with t