-- Meanwhile， at the entrance of the Convention， "the regulations have been violated"； a crowd of armed men "have spread through the passages and obstructed the approaches"； the deputies， Meillan， Chiappe and Lydon， on attempting to leave， are arrested， Lydon being stopped "by the point of a saber at his breast，"[130] while the leaders on the inside encourage， protect and justify their trusty aids outdoors. --Marat， with his usual audacity， on learning that Raffet， the commandant， was clearing the passages， comes to him "with a pistol in his hand and puts him under arrest，"[131] on the ground that the people and its sacred rights of petition and the petitioners must be respected. There are "five or six hundred， almost all of them armed，"[132] stationed for three hours at the doors of the hall； at the last moment， two other troops， dispatched by the Gravilliers and Croix-Rouge sections， arrive and bring them their final afflux. Thus strengthened， they spring over the benches assigned to them， spread through the hall， and mingle with the deputies who still remain in their seats. It is after midnight； many of the representatives， worn out with fatigue and disgust， have left； Pétion， Lasource， and a few others， who wish to get in， "cannot penetrate the threatening crowd."To compensate themselves， and in the places of the absent， the petitioners， constituting themselves representatives of France， vote with the "Mountain，" while the Jacobin president， far from turning them out， himself invites them "to set aside all obstacles prejudicial to the welfare of the people.." In this gesticulating crowd， in the half-light of smoky lamps， amidst the uproar of the galleries， it is difficult to hear well what motion is put to vote； it is not easy to see who rises or sits down， and two decrees pass， or seem to pass， one releasing Hébert and his accomplices， and the other revoking the commission of the Twelve.[133] Forthwith the messengers who await the issue run out and carry the good news to the H？tel-de-ville， the Commune celebrating its triumph with an explosion of applause.
The next morning， however， notwithstanding the terrors of a call of the House and the fury of the "Mountain，" the majority， as a defensive stroke， revokes the decree by which it is disarmed， while a new decree maintains the commission of the Twelve； the operation， accordingly， is to be done over again， but not the whole of it； for Hébert and the others imprisoned remain at liberty， while the majority， which， through a sense of propriety or the instinct of self-preservation， had again placed its sentinels on the outposts， consents， either through weakness or hopes of conciliation， to let the prisoners remain free.
The result is they have had the worst of the fight. Their adversaries， accordingly， are encouraged， and at once renew the attack， their tactics， very ******， being those which have already proved so successful on the 10th of August.
The matter now in hand is to invoke against the derived and provisional rights of the government， the superior and inalienable right of the people； also， to substitute for legal authority， which， in its nature， is limited， revolutionary power， which， in its essence， is absolute. To this end the section of the City， under the vice-presidency of Maillard， the "Septemberizer，" invites the other forty-seven sections each to elect two commissaries， with "unlimited powers." In thirty-three sections， purged， terrified， or deserted， the Jacobins， alone， or almost alone，[134] elect the most determined of their band， particularly strangers and rascals， in all sixty-six commissaries， who， on the evening of the 29th， meet at the Evêché， and select nine from their midst to form， under the presidency of Dobsen， a central and revolutionary executive committee. These nine persons are entirely unknown；[135] all are obscure subordinates，[136] mere puppets and manikins； eight days later， on finishing their performance， when they are no longer needed， they will be withdrawn behind the scenes. In the mean time they pass for the mandatories of the popular sovereign， with full power in all directions， because he has delegated his omnipotence to them， and the sole power， because their investiture is the most recent； under this sanction， they stalk around somewhat like supernumeraries at the Opera， dressed in purple and gold， representing a conclave of cardinals or the Diet of the Holy Empire. Never has the political drama degenerated into such an impudent farce！ -- On the 31st， at half-past six in the morning， Dobsen and his bullies present themselves at the council-general of the Commune， tender their credentials， and make known to it its deposition. The Council， with edifying complacency， accepts the fiat and leaves the department. With no less grateful readiness Dobsen summons it back， and reinstates it in all its functions， in the name of the people， and declares that it merits the esteem of the country.[137] At the same time another demagogue， Varlet， performs the same ceremony with the Council of the department， and both bodies， consecrated by a new baptism， join the sixty-six commissaries to share the dictatorship. -- What could be more legitimate？ The Convention would err in ****** any opposition：
"It was elected merely to condemn the tyrant and to frame a constitution； the sovereign people has invested it with no other power；[138] accordingly， the other acts， its warrants of arrest， are simply usurpations and despotism. Paris， moreover， represents France better than it does， for Paris is "the extract of all the departments， the mirror of opinion，"[139] the advance-guard of patriotism.
