nearly noon
One of the bandits dared to separate from this poor body , defiled with mud , and later by the hands of its murderers , the lovely head that had surmounted it ; others , dividing it with a brutality that nothing could soften , quarrelled over the bleeding fragments . Then began a frightful massacre . Like wild beasts , bearing these spoils of the head as trophies of victory , the band of assassins rushed down the Rue de Sicile to carry terror to the heart of Paris . It was nearly noon when Coursegol and Dolores , having passed the Bastile , entered the Rue Saint Antoine to find a dense crowd of men , women and ragged children yelling at one another and singing coarse songs . Some of the National Guard were among the throng ; and they were stopped every few moments by the people to shout : `` Vive la Nation ! '' the patriotic cry that lent courage to the hearts of the soldiers of the Republic nobly fighting for the defence of our frontiers , but which had been caught up and was incessantly vociferated by the ruffians who inaugurated the Reign of Terror . All carriages that attempted to pass through this moving crowd were stopped , and their occupants were obliged to prove their patriotism by mingling their acclamations with those of the mob .