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MADAME ROLAND.
CHAPTER XII.

DIES IRÆ.

"The country in danger!" was the cry which electrified France, as crowds of volunteers started from all parts for the frontier. Now, for the first time, the hymn of the Revolution resounded through the realm, as, solemnly singing it, five hundred Marseillais marched towards Paris. But the danger not only came from the foreign enemy, already victorious in several places on the frontier; it lurked at the very heart of the capital, in a hostile Court, ready to make common cause with the invader. Here lay the paramount cause of the 10th of August, collateral causes being the deposition of Pétion, the beloved Mayor of Paris, and the dismissal of the Girondin Ministry. Madame Roland declares that Roland and herself knew no more concerning the 10th of August—when the Palace of the Kings of France was stormed, and the Royal Family forced to take refuge in the bosom of the National Assembly—than did the outside public.

Came the question how to proceed with this poor King, from whom every shred of authority had departed! Suspension of the executive power, ap-