What did we know about this? As for Lawoëstyne, was he not double-faced?

Were they sure of him? Call to arms the 8th Legion? Forestier was no

longer Colonel. The 5th and 6th? But Gressier and Howyne were only

lieutenant-colonels, would these legions follow them? Order the

Commissary Yon? But would he obey the Left alone? He was the agent of

the Assembly, and consequently of the majority, but not of the minority.

These were so many questions. But these questions, supposing them

answered, and answered in the sense of success, was success itself the

question? The question is never Success, it is always Right. But here,

even if we had obtained success, we should not have Right. In order to

arrest the President an order of the Assembly was necessary; we should

replace the order of the Assembly by an act of violence of the Left. A

scaling and a burglary; an assault by scaling-ladders on the constituted

authority, a burglary on the Law. Now let us suppose resistance; we

should shed blood. The Law violated leads to the shedding of blood. What

is all this? It is a crime."

"No, indeed," he exclaimed, "it is the salus populi."

And he added,--

"Suprema Lex."

"Not for me," I said.

I continued,--

I would not kill a child to save a people."

571

The History of a Crime