The National
Guard of Versailles had fraternized with the Parisians. Some
scattered soldiers of the royal guard had been threatened and
insulted, and even dragged from their horses!
The queen heard all, and heard besides the consultation of the king
and his ministers--still coming to no decisive results, doubting and
hesitating, while the fearful crisis was advancing from the street.
Already musket-shots were heard on the great square in front of the
palace, wild cries, and loud, harsh voices. Marie Antoinette left
her place at the door and hurried to the window, where a view could
be had of the whole square. She saw the dark dust-cloud which hung
over the road to Paris; she saw the unridden horses, running in
advance of the crowd, their riders, members of the royal guard,
having been killed; she heard the raging discords, which surged up
to the palace like a wave driven by the wind; she saw this black,
dreadful wave sweep along the Paris road, roaring as it went.
What a fearful mass! Howling, shrieking women, with loosened hair,
and with menacing gestures, extended their naked arms toward the
palace defiantly, their eyes naming, their mouths overflowing with
curses. Wild men's figures, with torn blouses, the sleeves rolled up
over dusty and dirty arms, and bearing pikes, knives, and guns, here
and there members of the National Guard marching with them arm in
arm, pressed on toward the palace.
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