And on the other side there is another sign equally alarming "This lugubrious ceremony， which ought to inspire by turns both reflection and indignation， . . . did not generally produce that effect." The National Guard in uniform， who came "apparently to make up for not appearing on the day of action，" did not behave themselves with civic propriety， but， on the contrary， put on "an air of inattention and even of noisy gaiety"； they come out of curiosity， like so many Parisian onlookers， and are much more numerous than the sans-culottes with their pikes.[15] The latter could count themselves and plainly see that they are just a minority， and a very small one， and that their rage finds no echo. The organizers and their stooges are the only ones to call for speedy sentencing and for death-penalties. Aforeigner， a good observer， who questions the shop-keepers of whom he makes purchases， the tradesmen he knows， and the company he finds in the coffee-houses， writes that he never had "seen any symptom of a sanguinary disposition except in the galleries of the National Assembly and at the Jacobin Club，" but then the galleries are full of paid "applauders，'1 especially "females， who are more noisy and to be had cheaper than males." At the Jacobin Club are "the leaders， who dread a turnaround or who have resentments to gratify[16]"： thus the only enragés are the leaders and the populace of the suburbs. -- Lost in the crowd of this vast city， in the face of a National Guard still armed and three times their own number， confronting an indifferent or discontented bourgeoisie， the patriots are alarmed. In this state of anxiety a feverish imagination， exasperated by the waiting， involuntarily gives birth to imaginings passionately accepted as truths. All that is now required is an incident in order to put the final touch to complete the legend， the germ of which has unwittingly grown in their minds.
On the 1st of September a poor wagoner， Jean Julien，[17] condemned to twelve years in irons， has been exposed in the pillory. After two hours he becomes furious， probably on account of the jeers of the bystanders. With the coarseness of people of his kind he has vented his impotent rage by abuse， he has unbuttoned and exposed himself to the public， and has naturally chosen expressions which would appear most offensive to the people looking at him：
"Hurrah for the King！ Hurrah for the Queen！ Hurra for Lafayette！ To hell with the nation！"It is also natural that he missed being torn to pieces. He was at once led away to the Conciergerie prison， and sentenced on the spot to be guillotined as soon as possible， for being a promoter of sedition in connection with the conspiracy of August the 10th. -- The conspiracy， accordingly， is still in existence. It is so declared by the tribunal， which makes no declaration without evidence. Jean Julien has certainly confessed； now what has he revealed？ -- On the following day， like a crop of poisonous mushrooms， the growth of a single night， the story obtains general credence. "Jean Julien has declared that all the prisons in Paris thought as he did， that there would soon be fine times， that the prisoners were armed， and that as soon as the volunteers cleared out they would be let loose on all Paris."[18] The streets are full of anxious faces. "One says that Verdun had been betrayed like Longwy. Others shook their heads and said it was the traitors within Paris and not the declared enemies on the frontier that were to be feared."[19] On the following day the story grows：
"There are royalist officers and soldiers hidden away in Paris and in the outskirts. They are going to open the prisons， arm the prisoners， set the King and his family free， put the patriots in Paris to death， also the wives and children of those in the army. . . Isn't it natural for men to look after the safety of their wives and children， and to use the only efficient means to arrest the assassin's dagger."[20] --The working-class inferno has been stirred up， now it's up to the contractors of public revolt to fan and direct the flames.
III. Terror is their Salvation.
Rise of the homicidal idea among the leaders. -- Their situation. --The powers they seize. -- Their pillage. -- The risks they run --Terror is their rescue.
They have been fanning the flames for a long time. Already， on the 11th of August， the new Commune had announced， in a proclamation，[21]
that "the guilty should perish on the scaffold，" while its threatening deputations force the national Assembly into the immediate institution of a bloody tribunal. Carried into power by brutal force， it must perish if it does not maintain itself， and this can be done only through terror. - Let us pause and consider this unusual situation.