crime itself, swarming like insects, and wearing grenadiers' hairy caps, went continually to and fro, howling barbarous songs, embracing and insulting the Life Guards."
This is certainly an appalling picture.
IV.
PARIS DURING THE MASSACRE.
Lavalette also saw some of the September massacres. He had succeeded—and with no great difficulty—in releasing a lady from the prison at the Hôtel de la Force; and then had tried to muster a body of National Guards to prevent the massacre of the rest. His efforts proved vain. His narrative brings out clearly the fact of this, as of other scenes, that a small, resolute, and violent minority are more potent than the mass of the overwhelming majority which opposes them. Lavalette went to "some of the National Guards, whom we looked upon as the most steady," but "notwithstanding my most pressing entreaties I could make no impression upon them." All he could do under the circumstances was to go to the prison of La Force and see what he could do himself. His description of the scene is very remarkable in more respects than one:
"Before the wicket that leads to the Rue de Ballets, I found about fifty men at most. These were the butchers; the rest had been
