vivelareine: A quick and horrific scene unfolded before my eyes. On seeing the bodies lying on the
A quick and horrific scene unfolded before my eyes. On seeing the bodies lying on the ground, the Princess made a gesture of horror and stepped back sharply. The two men who stood beside her seized her by the arms and spoke to her; she replied, with gestures, but I could not hear her words.
Some of the executioners approached the small group and laughed, probably mocking the fear of the princesse. One of them threatened her with his pike. She stepped back and raised her arms, as if to protect herself. The executioners had parted and I thought they were going to pass.
I breathed when, suddenly, two of those devils stood before her and beat her, one with a pike, the other with a sword. She screamed, staggered, put a hand on her chest, then fell onto a pile of bodies … she tried to get up, but she received fresh blows, her arms fluttered a moment, then did not move again.
–An account of the murder of the princesse de Lamballe during the September Massacres; witnessed by Jean Némery, quoted in La Princesse de Lamballe by Michel de Decker.
Fri, 04 Sep 2015 11:57:39