Page:Life of Louis Philippe, late king of the French.pdf/7

hanged to the lamp-post !' I asked the mayor what all this meant, and what it was all about. He replied, ' It is a nonjuring priest and his father, who have escaped into this house; the people allege that they have insulted M. Buisson, a priest, who has taken the civic oath, and who was carrying the holy sacrament, and I can no longer restrain them. I have sent for a voiture to convey them away. Have the goodness to send for two dragoons to escort them.' I did so immediately. The mayor stood motionless before the door, not opening his mouth. I therefore addressed some of the most violent of the mob, and endeavoured to explain how wrong it would be to hang men without trial; that moreover, they would be doing the work of the executioner, which they considered infamous; that there were judges whose duty it was to deal with these men.' The mob answered that the judges were aristocrats, and that they did not punish the guilty. I replied, 'That's your own fault, as they are elected by yourselves; but you must not take the law into your own hands.' There was now much confusion; at last one voice cried-'We will spare them for the sake of M. de Chartres. 'Yes, yes, yes,' cried the people; 'he is a good patriot; he edified us all this morning. Bring them out; we shall do them no harm. I went up to the room where the unhappy men were, and asked them if they would trust themselves to me; they said 'yes.' I preceded them down stairs, and exhorted the people not to forget what they had promised. They cried out again, 'Be easy; they shall receive no harm.' I called to the driver to bring up the carriage; upon which the crowd cried out, 'No voiture—on foot, on foot, that we may have the satisfaction of hooting them, and expelling them ignominiously from the town. 'Well,' I said, 'on foot; be it so ; 'tis the same thing to me, for you are too honest to forfeit your word.' We