The 10th of August came on, and in the manner in which Roland had
predicted: it was followed by the same consequences. The king was
deposed, after cruel massacres in the courts and the apartments of his
palace and in almost all parts of the city. In reward of his treason to
his old master, Roland was by his new masters named Minister of the Home
Department.
The massacres of the 2nd of September were begotten by the massacres of
the 10th of August. They were universally foreseen and hourly expected.
During this short interval between the two murderous scenes, the furies,
male and female, cried out havoc as loudly and as fiercely as ever. The
ordinary jails were all filled with prepared victims; and when they
overflowed, churches were turned into jails. At this time the relentless
Roland had the care of the general police;--he had for his colleague the
bloody Danton, who was Minister of Justice; the insidious Petion was
Mayor of Paris; the treacherous Manuel was Procurator of the Common
Hall. The magistrates (some or all of them) were evidently the authors
of this massacre. Lest the national guard should, by their very name, be
reminded of their duty in preserving the lives of their fellow-citizens,
the Common Council of Paris, pretending that it was in vain to think of
resisting the murderers, (although in truth neither their numbers nor
their arms were at all formidable,) obliged those guards to draw the
charges from their muskets, and took away their bayonets.
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