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"
Fix bayonets," said the captain. And turning towards the squads,
Charge!"
"
"
Vive la République!" cried out the Representatives.
The
bayonets were lowered, the companies moved forward, the soldiers came on
at the double upon the motionless Representatives.
It was a terrible and superb moment.
The seven Representatives saw the bayonets at their breasts without a
word, without a gesture, without one step backwards. But the hesitation
which was not in their soul was in the heart of the soldiers.
The soldiers felt distinctly that this was a double stain upon their
uniform--the outrage upon the Representatives of the People--which was
treason, and the slaughter of unarmed men, which was cowardice. Now
treason and cowardice are two epaulets to which a general sometimes
becomes reconciled, the soldier--never.
When the bayonets were so close to the Representatives that they touched
their breasts, they turned aside of their own accord, and the soldier's
by an unanimous movement passed between the Representatives without
doing them any harm. Schoelcher alone had his coat pierced in two
places, and in his opinion this was awkwardness instead of intention.
One of the soldiers who faced him wished to push him away from the
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