CHAP. 1789. the Tennis Court. prevented the entrance of the deputies, who consequently formed groups in the streets, every one detailing and exaggerating the tyrannical measures which were to be adopted, and the danger to which the Oath taken in people were exposed. In this ferment, they repaired to the Tennis Court of the palace, and there made that famous declaration, confirmed by an oath and ratified by the signature of all the members*, "that they "would never separate, but would continue to meet, "wherever circumstances should require, until the "constitution of the kingdom and the regeneration of "public order should be established and settled on a 66 permanent basis." 23rd. Conduct of Declaration of the King. At the royal sitting, the King made the declaraRoyal sitting. tions prepared for him by M. Necker, altered in a slight degree, but much to that minister's dissatisfaction, by his Majesty in council. This fact was unknown to the Assembly and to the public; but, when all the other ministers took their places around the Sovereign, the seat of M. Necker was vacant. The Keeper of the Seals read the first declaration, which directed that, in matters of finance and internal government, the three orders should deliberate together, but that subjects of constitutional regulation should be discussed by each order separately. The second declaration guaranteed the periodical assembling of the States-general, the extinction of all privileges in matter of taxation, the abolition of the corvée, or highway duty, which had been much complained of as unjust and oppressive; the assurance of the public debt, the removal of restraint from trade and industry, the establishment of states in every province, and the full enjoyment of personal liberty, except in cases where internal commotions might render the suspension necessary. To these proposals, which, with proper revision and explanation, might have satisfied every reasonable expectation, the King, under different advice from that of M. Necker, added a sentence which sounded like a threat, and, in the fevered state of * One only, Martin De Castelnaudary, refused to affix his name. men's minds, was calculated to destroy all the effect of his benevolent expressions. "If you desert me," he said, "in this undertaking, I alone will accomplish "the happiness of my people." He then commanded the deputies to adjourn until the following day, when they were to assemble in their respective halls. CHAP. LXVI. 1789. Assembly. Louis departed, followed by the nobility and all Energetic the clergy who had not previously separated from their conduct of the order. The tiers état, in defiance of the royal mandate, remained. M. De Brézé, Grand Master of the Ceremonies, then said, "Gentlemen, you have heard "the intentions of your Sovereign;" but the Comte de Mirabeau exclaimed, "Yes, Sir, we have heard "intentions which have been suggested to the King; “and you, who are not the interpreter of his inten"tions; you, who have neither seat nor vote in this place; you have no right to remind us of his speech. "I declare that we will not quit our post until expelled by the bayonet." This declaration was warmly echoed by many members; workmen were injudiciously introduced to remove the hangings and the seats; but the Assembly proceeded in its deliberations; and, on the motion of Mirabeau, decreed that the person of every member was inviolable. 66 66 This sitting was calculated to dispel any illusion, if Effect of these any could yet remain, of the royal authority. The proceedings. proceedings of the court, no less than the contrivances of the factions, contributed to its destruction. The King was led to put forth the assertion of a power which, it was obvious, he no longer possessed. The offensive forms, which had given so much disgust at the opening of the States-general, were still maintained. The nobility and higher clergy appeared in gorgeous array, while the deputies of the tiers état were still obliged to enter with only one folding door opened, and the hall was surrounded with troops; yet when the King's orders were contumaciously defied, and disobeyed; when a prepared mob insulted him on his departure from the hall, no one was found to lead the troops to act, or even to make a display; but, instead of the bayonet, which they had defied, the Assembly CHAP. 1789. Union of the three orders. 25th. 27th. Character of the Duke of Orléans. was dispersed by the sound of the hammer, the clatter and cries of artizans, and the dust which was created by their operations. It may be said, that the efforts of the nobility were prevented by the King's resolution that no man should be sacrificed, not a drop of blood shed in his cause. If they were restrained by this very childish declaration, no menace should have been used, no ostentation of force resorted to, nor any circumstance introduced which could irritate men who were struggling for untried power and unusual consideration. The King was a victim, alike to the factious intrigues of his enemies, the insidious plans of M. Necker, the ill-advised interposition and subsequent indifference of his friends; but, most of all, to his own want of resolution, his flexibility to persuasion, and his want of firmness to enforce resolutions which he could declare to be right, yet tamely see counteracted and defied. With the royal sitting, the dispute between the tiers état and the privileged orders may be said to have ended. Following up their resolutions, nine of the clergy united with the tiers état: and forty-seven of the nobility, headed by the Duke of Orléans, adopted the same measure. Two days more produced a complete junction, although a few deputies of each of the higher classes renounced their mission, and refused to verify their powers. They who entertained a hope that this event would produce harmony, or even tranquillity, must have been little versed in the human character; the members of the superior orders felt themselves vanquished, degraded, mortified; while those of the tiers état, assuming the air of victors, commanders, and protectors, evinced an insolence which rendered the situation of the others more galling, and tended to a perpetual itritation. In the body thus formed were some members whose character and conduct had a material influence on subsequent events. At the head of those must be placed, on account of his rank, wealth, and malignity, the Duke of Orléans. From the first meeting of the States-general he had lent all his influence to distress and ruin his near relative on the throne. Whatever might be the precise end sought by his ambition, he brought to the accomplishment of it neither mental resources nor personal bravery. His deficiency in both made him the jest of the country. Whether influenced by timidity or a better principle, he refused the presidency of the Assembly when it was offered. CHAP. Other LXVI. 1789. Lafayette. Many other individuals might be properly de- July 3rd. scribed in a history of France; but, in this work, it may members. be sufficient, on account of their subsequent renown, to mention Bailly, Sieyes, Robespierre, Target, Thouret, Barrere, Barnave, Duport, the two Lameths, and Talleyrand Perigord, bishop of Autun, as having taken a share adverse to the King in the discussions and proceedings of the Assembly. Lafayette, who contrived to attract a great degree of popular notice, is more particularly intitled to attention. Descended of a family of the highest class, and endowed with ample wealth, his weak mind was overloaded with the applause he received for his share in the American contest; and, while his flatterers termed him the deliverer of the new world, vanity led him to believe that he could be the regenerator of the old. But, at a great distance from all these, elevated by the powers of his mind, the energy of his character, and the strength of his judgment, stood the Comte de Mirabeau. In his personal Mirabeau. conduct he was most disadvantageously the reverse of Lafayette: his life was a series of debaucheries and meannesses: in his political character, infinitely elevated above him and all others by whom he was surrounded, he stood forth, at once, by his eloquence, vigour, and daring promptitude, the head, the inspirer, the undisputed governor of a party. Stigmatized by his numerous acts of misconduct, he was rejected in his own province as a representative of the nobility, to whose class he belonged. Known by his popular writings and eloquent speeches, he was easily returned to the tiers état. Attached to the Duke of Orléans, he was received with unbounded acclamations at the meetings of the States-general; and in all the conflicts CHAP. 1789. Royalist members. Abbé Mauri. Necker. which had hitherto taken place, he was, more than Of those who avowedly espoused the cause of the Crown, the church and the peerage, the most conspicuous were Malouet, Clermont Tonnere, d'Esprémenil, once idolized, but now execrated by the mob, and chief of all, the Abbé Mauri. This ecclesiastic, whose conduct did no honour to his order, and whose known eagerness for personal advantages diminished the effect of all his efforts, was, in oratorical talent, the only adequate opponent of Mirabeau; but although his equal in eloquence, presence of mind and courage, his want of popularity rendered his opposition to the giant of faction laborious and disadvantageous. Among the ministers, no one stood conspicuous but Necker; and, by dexterous management, he appeared to be the idol of the people. Doubts of his political integrity have been raised; and if they were not well founded, they leave no description for his character but that of extreme weakness. If, as many believe, he meant to subvert the throne, his hypocrisy is of the most odious and contemptible description; if he did not, it is impossible to account for his conduct, but by ascribing it to a degree of vanity and self-confidence which counteracted all the dictates of common sense. On the day of the royal sitting, he displayed, in full, the qualities of his mind. The populace of Versailles, while insulting the royal family, and all who were supposed guilty of attachment to them, hailed him with cheers and acclamations, as their friend, their protector, their only safeguard, and they implored him not to leave them. "Be comforted, my children," he answered, "I remain near the King, I remain in the "midst of you; only behave with mildness, conduct |