But the Jacobin leaders had now the upper hand in the Assembly; and they declared him guilty of treason. And when the chivalrous and true-hearted La Fayette waited upon the king, for whom he had risked his reputation and his life, “he was insulted by the courtiers, coolly received by the king, and the queen expressly forbade any one to give him the slightest support. His efforts at rallying around him the National Guard, in order to march upon the Jacobins and make them prisoners, proved equally fruitless. He returned full of grief, but not utterly discouraged, to the army, whence he continued to offer his services to the king; but all his offers were rejected. ‘The best counsel I can give M. de La Fayette,’ answered the king, ‘is to serve as a scarecrow to the factions in following his profession as a general.’”
PRINCESS ELIZABETH.
The Princess Elizabeth, more clear-sighted than Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, advised that the royal family should throw themselves with confidence into the protection of the only man who could save the king and deliver his family from the awful dangers which threatened them. But the imprudent queen is reported to have replied, “It is better to perish than to be saved by La Fayette and the Constitutionals.”
Thus was this noble-spirited man rewarded by those whom he had risked his life to try to save.
The awful Reign of Terror came remorselessly striding on in its resistless march of death. La Fayette made one more attempt to save the perverse and blinded king and queen. A plan was formed for removing the royal family from Paris, and placing them under the protection of the army of which La Fayette had command; but the haughty Marie Antoinette replied, “No; we have once owed our lives to La Fayette; but I should not wish it to be the case a second time.” Thus was their last chance of escape refused, and the Reign of Terror soon numbered them among its victims.
And the diabolical Reign of Terror also laid its ghastly hand upon the freedom of the Knight of Liberty, and against his illustrious name wrote this infamous “Decree of Accusation”:—
“National Assembly, Aug. 17, 1792.
“I. It appears to this Assembly that there is just ground for accusation against M. de La Fayette, heretofore commander of the army of the North.
“II. The executive power shall, in the most expeditious manner possible, carry the present decree into execution; and all constituted authorities, all citizens, and all soldiers are hereby enjoined, by every means in their power, to secure his person.