After the Treaty of Campo Formio was signed, German Emperor Franz gave Napoleon six white horses and a luxurious carriage. On his first day moving into the Tuileries Palace, he rode in that carriage with Second Consul Cambacérès and Third Consul Lebrun, making a circuit through most of Paris. Crowds cheered along the way, and as they neared the Tuileries, guards lined both sides of the road.
It was entirely the pomp of a monarchy, yet above the gates of the Tuileries Palace they passed beneath hung a slogan: On August 10, 1792, France abolished the monarchy, never to restore it.
It was also on that day that Danton led armed men from Marseille into the Tuileries Palace. They had actually arrived around the evening of August 9, intending to seize City Hall. While his accomplices went to ring the bells at nearby churches, Danton took a brief rest. The bells rang throughout Paris, even the churches in the central and eastern districts joining in.
People who had already put out their lights lit their candles again. The bells sounded like crying infants, their rhythm distinct and unceasing, waking everyone.
It was destined to be a sleepless night. Louis XVI lay in bed only briefly before having the queen's sister wake the queen, and together they watched the sunrise from a balcony of the Tuileries Palace.
Someone had once said that royal power would not last until the leaves fell. When the king saw the leaves on the trees in the garden, he still sighed, "The leaves are falling so early this year."
At two in the morning, Danton organized an attack, only for it to be repelled by Swiss mercenaries. At six in the morning, Ledrell urged the king to take refuge at the riding school, but the queen