{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_68724/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_68724","id":"gutenberg_68724","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68724","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - European","Category: History - Modern (1750+)","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799 -- Causes"],"text":"[Illustration: Mary Wollstonecraft]\n\n\n\n\n AN\n HISTORICAL AND MORAL VIEW\n OF THE\n ORIGIN AND PROGRESS\n OF THE\n FRENCH REVOLUTION;\n AND THE\n EFFECT IT HAS PRODUCED\n IN\n EUROPE.\n\n\n BY MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT.\n\n VOLUME THE FIRST.\n\n LONDON:\n PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, IN ST. PAUL\u2019S CHURCH-YARD.\n\n 1794.\n\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT.\n\n\nThis history, taking in such a variety of facts and opinions, has grown\nunder my hand; especially as in writing I cannot avoid entering into\nsome desultory disquisitions, and descriptions of manners and things\nwhich, though not strictly necessary to elucidate the events, are\nintimately connected with the main object; I have also been led into\nseveral theoretical investigations, whilst marking the political effects\nthat naturally flow from the progress of knowledge. It is probable,\ntherefore, that this work will be extended to two or three more volumes,\na considerable part of which is already written.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE.\n\n\nThe revolution in France exhibits a scene, in the political world, not\nless novel and interesting than the contrast is striking between the\nnarrow opinions of superstition, and the enlightened sentiments of\nmasculine and improved philosophy.\n\nTo mark the prominent features of this revolution, requires a mind, not\nonly unsophisticated by old prejudices, and the inveterate habits of\ndegeneracy; but an amelioration of temper, produced by the exercise of\nthe most enlarged principles of humanity.\n\nThe rapid changes, the violent, the base, and nefarious assassinations,\nwhich have clouded the vivid prospect that began to spread a ray of joy\nand gladness over the gloomy horizon of oppression, cannot fail to chill\nthe sympathizing bosom, and palsy intellectual vigour. To sketch these\nvicissitudes is a task so arduous and melancholy, that, with a heart\ntrembling to the touches of nature, it becomes necessary to guard\nagainst the erroneous inferences of sensibility; and reason beaming on\nthe grand theatre of political changes, can prove the only sure guide to\ndirect us to a favourable or just conclusion.\n\nThis important conclusion, involving the happiness and exaltation of the\nhuman character, demands serious and mature consideration; as it must\nultimately sink the dignity of society into contempt, and its members\ninto greater wretchedness; or elevate it to a degree of grandeur not\nhitherto anticipated, but by the most enlightened statesmen and\nphilosophers.\n\nContemplating then these stupendous events with the cool eye of\nobservation, the judgement, difficult to be preserved unwarped under the\npressure of the calamitous horrours produced by desperate and enraged\nfactions, will continually perceive that it is the uncontaminated mass\nof the french nation, whose minds begin to grasp the sentiments of\nfreedom, that has secured the equilibrium of the state; often tottering\non the brink of annihilation; in spite of the folly, selfishness,\nmadness, treachery, and more fatal mock patriotism, the common result of\ndepraved manners, the concomitant of that servility and voluptuousness\nwhich for so long a space of time has embruted the higher orders of this\ncelebrated nation.\n\nBy thus attending to circumstances, we shall be able to discern clearly\nthat the revolution was neither produced by the abilities or intrigues\nof a few individuals; nor was the effect of sudden and short-lived\nenthusiasm; but the natural consequence of intellectual improvement,\ngradually proceeding to perfection in the advancement of communities,\nfrom a state of barbarism to that of polished society, till now arrived\nat the point when sincerity of principles seems to be hastening the\noverthrow of the tremendous empire of superstition and hypocrisy,\nerected upon the ruins of gothic brutality and ignorance.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS.\n\n\n _BOOK I._\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n _Introduction. Progress of society. End of government. Rise of\n political discussion amongst the french. Revolution in\n America. Virtue attempted to be built on false principles.\n The croisades, and the age of chivalry. Administration of\n Richelieu, and of Cardinal Mazarin. Theatrical\n entertainments, and dramatic poets of the\n french\u2014Moliere,\u2014Corneille,\u2014Racine. Louis XIV. The\n regency.\u2014Louis XV._ page 1.\n\n\n CHAP. II.\n\n _Marie-Antoinette. Louis XVI. Administration of Necker, and of\n Calonne. Notables convened. Calonne disgraced,\u2014and obliged to\n flee the kingdom. His character. Causes of the enslaved state\n of Europe._ p. 33.\n\n\n CHAP. III.\n\n _Administration of de Brienne. Dissolution of the notables.\n Land tax and stamp duty recommended by them, but refused to\n be sanctioned by the parliament. Bed of justice. The\n parliament banished to Troyes,\u2014but soon compromised for its\n recall. Struggles of the court party to prevent the\n convocation of the states-general. Banishment of the duke of\n Orleans, and two spirited members of the parliament. Cour\n pl\u00e9niere. Remarks on the parliaments. Imprisonment of the\n members. Deputies of the Province of Britanny sent to the\n Bastille. The soldiery let loose upon the people._ p. 48.\n\n\n CHAP. IV.\n\n _Necker recalled. His character. Notables convened a second\n time. Coalition of the nobility and clergy in defence of\n their privileges. Provincial assemblies of the people.\n Political publications in favour of the tiers-etat. General\n reflections on reform,\u2014on the present state of Europe,\u2014and on\n the revolution in France._ p. 59.\n\n\n _BOOK II._\n\n\n CHAP. I.\n\n _Retrospective view of grievances in France\u2014the nobles\u2014the\n military\u2014the clergy\u2014the farmers general. Election of deputies\n to the states-general. Arts of the courtiers. Assembly of the\n states. Riots excited at Paris. Opening of the\n states-general. The king\u2019s speech. Answer to it by the keeper\n of the seals. Speech of Mr. Necker. Contest respecting the\n mode of assembling. Tacit establishment of the liberty of the\n press. Attempt of the court to refrain it. The deputies\n declare themselves a national assembly._ p. 75.\n\n\n CHAP. II.\n\n _The national assembly proceed to business. Opposition of the\n nobles, bishops, and court. A s\u00e9ance royale proclaimed, and\n the hall of the assembly surrounded by soldiers. The members\n adjourn to the tennis-court, and vow never to separate till a\n constitution should be completed. The majority of the clergy\n and two of the nobles join the commons. S\u00e9ance royale. The\n king\u2019s speech. Spirited behaviour of the assembly. Speech of\n Mirabeau. Persons of the deputies declared inviolable.\n Minority of the nobles join the commons. At the request of\n the king the minority of the clergy do the same,\u2014and are at\n length followed by the majority of the nobles. Character of\n the queen of France,\u2014of the king,\u2014and of the nobles. Lectures\n on liberty at the palais royal. Paris surrounded by troops.\n Spirit of liberty infused into the soldiers. Eleven of the\n french guards imprisoned because they would not fire on the\n populace, and liberated by the people. Remonstrance of the\n national assembly. The king proposes to remove the assembly\n to Noyon, or Soissons. Necker dismissed. City militia\n proposed. The populace attacked in the garden of the\n Thuilleries by the prince of Lambesc. Nocturnal orgies at\n Versailles._ p. 109.\n\n\n CHAP. III.\n\n _Preparations of the parisians for the defence of the city. The\n guards, and city watch join the citizens. The armed citizens\n appoint a commander in chief. Conduct of the national\n assembly during the disturbances at Paris. They publish a\n declaration of rights,\u2014and offer their mediation with the\n citizens,\u2014which is haughtily refused by the king. Proceedings\n at Paris on the 14th of July. Taking of the bastille. The\n mayor shot. Proceedings of the national assembly at\n Versailles. Appearance of the king in the assembly. His\n speech._ p. 165.\n\n\n CHAP. IV.\n\n _Reflections on the conduct of the court and king. Injurious\n consequences of the complication of laws. General diffusion\n of knowledge. State of civilization amongst the ancients.\n It\u2019s progress. The croisades, and the reformation. Early\n freedom of Britain. The british constitution. State of\n liberty in Europe. Russia. Decline of the Aristotelian\n philosophy, Descartes. Newton. Education improved. Germany.\n Frederick II. of Prussia._ p. 215.\n\n\n _BOOK III._\n\n\n CHAP. I.\n\n _A deputation of the national assembly arrives at Paris.\n Baillie chosen mayor, and La Fayette commander in chief of\n the national guards. Resignation of the ministry. Necker\n recalled. The king visits Paris. Character of the parisians.\n The revolution urged on prematurely. Emigrations of several\n of the nobility and others. Calonne advises the french\n princes to stir up foreign powers against France. Foulon\n killed._ p. 241.\n\n\n CHAP. II.\n\n _The duke of Liancourt chosen president. The people arm for the\n defence of the country. The municipal officers appointed\n under the old government superseded by committees. Some\n people treacherously destroyed by springing a mine at a civic\n feast. The genevese resident taken up by the patrole. The\n french suspicious of the designs of Britain. Necker returns.\n General amnesty resolved by the debtors of Paris. Debate on a\n declaration of rights. Declaration of rights separate from\n the constitution determined on. Sacrifices made by the\n nobles, clergy, &c._ p. 263.\n\n\n CHAP. III.\n\n _Reflections on the members of the national assembly. Secession\n of several pseudo-patriots. Society ripe for improvement\n throughout Europe. War natural to men in a savage state.\n Remarks on the origin and progress of society. The\n arts\u2014property\u2014inequality of conditions\u2014war. Picture of\n manners in modern France._ p. 295.\n\n\n _BOOK IV._\n\n CHAP. I.\n\n _Opinions on the transactions of the fourth of August.\n Disorders occasioned by those transactions. Necker demands\n the assembly\u2019s sanction to a loan. A loan decreed. Tithes\n abolished. Debate on the declaration of rights. The formation\n of a constitution. Debate on the executive power. The\n suspensive veto adopted. Pretended and real views of the\n combination of despots against France. Debate on the\n constitution of a senate. Means of peaceably effecting a\n reform should make a part of every constitution._ p. 313.\n\n\n CHAP. II.\n\n _Observations on the veto. The women offer up their ornaments\n to the public. Debate whether the spanish branch of the\n Bourbons could reign in France. Conduct of the king\n respecting the decrees of the fourth of August. Vanity of the\n french. Debates on quartering a thousand regulars at\n Versailles. Individuals offer their jewels and plate to make\n up the deficiency of the loan. The king sends his rich\n service of plate to the mint. Necker\u2019s proposal for every\n citizen to give up a fourth of his income. Speech of Mirabeau\n on it. His address to the nation._ p. 359.\n\n\n CHAP. III.\n\n _Reflections on the new mode of raising supplies. No just\n system of taxation yet established. Paper money. Necessity of\n gradual reform._ p. 388.\n\n\n _BOOK V._\n\n\n CHAP. I.\n\n _Errour of the national assembly in neglecting to secure the\n freedom of France. It\u2019s conduct compared with that of the\n american states. Necessity of forming a new constitution as\n soon as an old government is destroyed. The declaring of the\n king inviolable a wrong measure. Security of the french\n against a counter-revolution. The flight of the king\n meditated._ p. 399.\n\n\n CHAP. II.\n\n _Entertainment at Versailles. The national cockade trampled\n under foot. A mob of women proceed to the h\u00f4tel-de-ville\u2014and\n thence to Versailles. The king\u2019s reply to the national\n assembly\u2019s request, that he would sanction the declaration of\n rights and the first articles of the constitution. Debates on\n it. Arrival of the mob at Versailles. The king receives a\n deputation from the women, and sanctions the decree for the\n free circulation of grain. The assembly summoned. La Fayette\n arrives with the parisian militia. The palace attacked by the\n mob\u2014who are dispersed by the national guards. Reflections on\n the conduct of the duke of Orleans._ p. 420.\n\n\n CHAP. III.\n\n _The mob demand the king\u2019s removal to Paris. This city\n described. The king repairs to the capital, escorted by a\n deputation of the national assembly and the parisian militia.\n The king\u2019s title changed. Proceedings of the national\n assembly. Reflections on the declaration of rights._ p. 470.\n\n\n CHAP. IV.\n\n _Progress of reform. The encyclopedia. Liberty of the press.\n Capitals. The french not properly qualified for the\n revolution. Savage compared with civilized man. Effects of\n extravagance\u2014of commerce\u2014and of manufactures. Excuse for the\n ferocity of the parisians._ p. 492.\n\n\n\n\n AN\n HISTORICAL AND MORAL VIEW\n OF THE\n FRENCH REVOLUTION.\n\n\n\n\n _BOOK I._\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\nINTRODUCTION. PROGRESS OF SOCIETY. END OF GOVERNMENT. RISE OF POLITICAL\n DISCUSSION AMONGST THE FRENCH. REVOLUTION IN AMERICA. VIRTUE ATTEMPTED\nTO BE BUILT ON FALSE PRINCIPLES. THE CROISADES, AND THE AGE OF CHIVALRY.\n ADMINISTRATION OF RICHELIEU, AND OF CARDINAL MAZARIN. THEATRICAL\n ENTERTAINMENTS, AND DRAMATIC POETS OF THE\n FRENCH,\u2014MOLIERE,\u2014CORNEILLE,\u2014RACINE. LOUIS XIV. THE REGENCY. LOUIS XV.\n\n\nWhen we contemplate the infancy of man, his gradual advance towards\nmaturity, his miserable weakness as a solitary being, and the crudeness\nof his first notions respecting the nature of civil society, it will not\nappear extraordinary, that the acquirement of political knowledge has\nbeen so extremely slow; or that public happiness has not been more\nrapidly and generally diffused.\n\nThe perfection attained by the ancients, it is true, has ever afforded\nthe imagination of the poetical historian a theme to deck with the\nchoicest flowers of rhetoric; though the cool investigation of facts\nseems clearly to prove, that the civilization of the world, hitherto,\nhas consisted rather in cultivating the taste, than in exercising the\nunderstanding. And were not these vaunted improvements also confined to\na small corner of the globe, whilst, the political view of the wisest\nlegislators seldom extending beyond the splendour and aggrandizement of\ntheir individual nation, they trampled with a ferocious affectation of\npatriotism on the most sacred rights of humanity? When the arts\nflourished in Greece, and literature began to shed it\u2019s blandishments on\nsociety, the world was mostly inhabited by barbarians, who waged eternal\nwar with their more polished neighbours, the imperfection of whose\ngovernment sapping it\u2019s foundation, the science of politics necessarily\nreceived a check in the bud\u2014and when we find, likewise, the roman empire\ncrumbling into atoms, from the germ of a deadly malady implanted in it\u2019s\nvitals; whilst voluptuousness stopped the progress of civilization,\nwhich makes the perfection of the arts the dawn of science; we shall be\nconvinced, that it demanded ages of improving reason and experience in\nmoral philosophy, to clear away the rubbish, and exhibit the first\nprinciples of social order.\n\nWe have probably derived our great superiority over those nations from\nthe discovery of the polar attraction of the needle, the perfection\nwhich astronomy and mathematics have attained, and the fortunate\ninvention of printing. For, whilst the revival of letters has added the\ncollected wisdom of antiquity to the improvements of modern research,\nthe latter most useful art has rapidly multiplied copies of the\nproductions of genius and compilations of learning, bringing them within\nthe reach of all ranks of men: the scientific discoveries also have not\nonly led us to new worlds; but, facilitating the communication between\ndifferent nations, the friction of arts and commerce have given to\nsociety the transcendently pleasing polish of urbanity; and thus, by a\ngradual softening of manners, the complexion of social life has been\ncompletely changed. But the remains of superstition, and the unnatural\ndistinction of privileged classes, which had their origin in barbarous\nfolly, still fettered the opinions of man, and sullied his native\ndignity; till several distinguished english writers discussed political\nsubjects with the energy of men, who began to feel their strength; and,\nwhilst only a rumour of these sentiments roused the attention and\nexercised the minds of some men of letters in France, a number of\nstaunch disputants, who had more thoroughly digested them, fled from\noppression, to put them to the test of experience in America.\n\nLocke, following the track of these bold thinkers, recommended in a more\nmethodical manner religious toleration, and analyzed the principles of\ncivil liberty: for in his definition of liberty we find the elements of\n_The Declaration of the Rights of Man_, which, in spite of the fatal\nerrours of ignorance, and the perverse obstinacy of selfishness, is now\nconverting sublime theories into practical truths.\n\nThe revolution, it is true, soon introduced the corruption, that has\never since been corroding british freedom.\u2014Still, when the rest of\nEurope groaned under the weight of the most unjust and cruel laws, the\nlife and property of englishmen were comparatively safe; and, if an\nimpress-warrant respected the distinction of ranks, when the glory of\nEngland was at stake, splendid victories hid this flaw in the best\nexisting constitution; and all exultingly recollected, that the life or\nliberty of a man never depended on the will of an individual.\n\nEnglishmen were then, with reason, proud of their constitution; and, if\nthis noble pride have degenerated into arrogance, when the cause became\nless conspicuous, it is only a venial lapse of human nature; to be\nlamented merely as it stops the progress of civilization, and leads the\npeople to imagine, that their ancestors have done every thing possible\nto secure the happiness of society, and meliorate the condition of man,\nbecause they have done much.\n\nWhen learning was confined to a small number of the citizens of a state,\nand the investigation of it\u2019s privileges was left to a number still\nsmaller, governments seem to have acted, as if the people were formed\nonly for them; and, ingeniously confounding their rights with\nmetaphysical jargon, the luxurious grandeur of individuals has been\nsupported by the misery of the bulk of their fellow creatures, and\nambition gorged by the butchery of millions of innocent victims.\n\nThe most artful chain of despotism has ever been supported by false\nnotions of duty, enforced by those who were to profit by the cheat. Thus\nhas the liberty of man been restrained; and the spontaneous flow of his\nfeelings, which would have fertilized his mind, being choked at the\nsource, he is rendered in the same degree unhappy as he is made\nunnatural. Yet, certain opinions, planted by superstition and despotism,\nhand in hand, have taken such deep root in our habits of thinking, it\nmay appear daringly licentious, as well as presumptuous, to observe,\nthat what is often termed virtue, is only want of courage to throw off\nprejudices, and follow the inclinations which fear not the eye of\nheaven, though they shrink from censure not founded on the natural\nprinciples of morality. But at no period has the scanty diffusion of\nknowledge permitted the body of the people to participate in the\ndiscussion of political science; and if philosophy at length have\nsimplified the principles of social union, so as to render them easy to\nbe comprehended by every sane and thinking being; if appears to me, that\nman may contemplate with benevolent complacency and becoming pride, the\napproaching reign of reason and peace.\n\nBesides, if men have been rendered unqualified to judge with precision\nof their civil and political rights, from the involved state in which\nsophisticating ignorance has placed them, and thus reduced to surrender\ntheir reasoning powers to noble fools, and pedantic knaves, it is not\nsurprizing, that superficial observers have formed opinions unfavourable\nto the degree of perfection, which our intellectual faculties are able\nto attain, or that despotism should attempt to check the spirit of\ninquiry, which, with colossian strides, seems to be hastening the\noverthrow of oppressive tyranny and contumelious ambition.\n\nNature having made men unequal, by giving stronger bodily and mental\npowers to one than to another, the end of government ought to be, to\ndestroy this inequality by protecting the weak. Instead of which, it has\nalways leaned to the opposite side, wearing itself out by disregarding\nthe first principle of it\u2019s organization.\n\nIt appears to be the grand province of government, though scarcely\nacknowledged, so to hold the balance, that the abilities or riches of\nindividuals may not interfere with the equilibrium of the whole. For, as\nit is vain to expect, that men should master their passions during the\nheat of action, legislators should have this perfection of laws ever in\nview, when, calmly grasping the interest of humanity, reason assures\nthem, that their own is best secured by the security of the commonweal.\nThe first social systems were certainly founded by passion; individuals\nwishing to fence round their own wealth or power, and make slaves of\ntheir brothers to prevent encroachment. Their descendants have ever been\nat work to solder the chains they forged, and render the usurpations of\nstrength secure, by the fraud of partial laws: laws that can be\nabrogated only by the exertions of reason, emancipating mankind, by\nmaking government a science, instead of a craft, and civilizing the\ngrand mass, by exercising their understandings about the most important\nobjects of inquiry.\n\nAfter the revolution in 1688, however, political questions were no\nlonger discussed in England on a broad scale; because that degree of\nliberty was enjoyed, which enabled thinking men to pursue without\ninterruption their own business; or, if some men complained, they\nattached themselves to a party, and descanted on the unavoidable misery\nproduced by contending passions.\n\nBut in France the bitterness of oppression was mingled in the daily cup,\nand the serious folly of superstition, pampered by the sweat of labour,\nstared every man of sense in the face. Against superstition then did the\nwriters contending for civil liberty principally direct their force,\nthough the tyranny of the court increased with it\u2019s viciousness.\n\nVoltaire leading the way, and ridiculing with that happy mixture of\nsatire and gaiety, calculated to delight the french, the inconsistent\npuerilities of a puppet-show religion, had the art to attach the bells\nto the fool\u2019s cap, which tinkled on every side, rousing the attention\nand piquing the vanity of his readers. Rousseau also ranged himself on\nthe same side; and, praising his fanciful state of nature, with that\ninteresting eloquence, which embellishes reasoning with the charms of\nsentiment, forcibly depicted the evils of a priest-ridden society, and\nthe sources of oppressive inequality, inducing the men who were charmed\nwith his language to consider his opinions.\n\nThe talents of these two writers were particularly formed to effect a\nchange in the sentiments of the french, who commonly read to collect a\nfund for conversation; and their biting retorts, and flowing periods,\nwere retained in each head, and continually slipped off the tongue in\nnumerous sprightly circles.\n\nIn France, indeed, new opinions fly from mouth to mouth, with an\nelectrical velocity, unknown in England; so that there is not such a\ndifference between the sentiments of the various ranks in one country,\nas is observable in the originality of character to be found in the\nother. At our theatres, the boxes, pit, and galleries, relish different\nscenes; and some are condescendingly born by the more polished part of\nthe audience, to allow the rest to have their portion of amusement. In\nFrance, on the contrary, a highly wrought sentiment of morality,\nprobably rather romantic than sublime, produces a burst of applause,\nwhen one heart seems to agitate every hand.\n\nBut men are not content merely to laugh at oppression, when they can\nscarcely catch from his gripe the necessaries of life; so that from\nwriting epigrams on superstition, the galled french began to compose\nphilippics against despotism. The enormous and iniquitous taxes, which\nthe nobles, the clergy, and the monarch, levied on the people, turned\nthe attention of benevolence to this main branch of government, and the\nprofound treatise of the humane M. Quesnai produced the sect of the\n_economists_, the first champions for civil liberty.\n\nOn the eve of the american war, the enlightened administration of the\ncomptroller general Turgot, a man formed in this school, afforded France\na glimpse of freedom, which, streaking the horizon of despotism, only\nserved to render the contrast more striking. Eager to correct abuses,\nequally impolitic and cruel, this most excellent man, suffering his\nclear judgment to be clouded by his zeal, roused the nest of wasps, that\nrioted on the honey of industry in the sunshine of court favour; and he\nwas obliged to retire from the office, which he so worthily filled.\nDisappointed in his noble plan of freeing France from the fangs of\ndespotism, in the course of ten years, without the miseries of anarchy,\nwhich make the present generation pay very dear for the emancipation of\nposterity, he has nevertheless greatly contributed to produce that\nrevolution in opinion, which, perhaps, alone can overturn the empire of\ntyranny.\n\nThe idle caprices of an effeminate court had long given the tone to the\nawe-struck populace, who, stupidly admiring what they did not\nunderstand, lived on a _vive le roi_, whilst his blood-sucking minions\ndrained every vein, that should have warmed their honest hearts.\n\nBut the irresistible energy of the moral and political sentiments of\nhalf a century, at last kindled into a blaze the illuminating rays of\ntruth, which, throwing new light on the mental powers of man, and giving\na fresh spring to his reasoning faculties, completely undermined the\nstrong holds of priestcraft and hypocrisy.\n\nAt this glorious era, the toleration of religious opinions in America,\nwhich the spirit of the times, when that continent was peopled with\npersecuted europeans, produced, aided, not a little, to diffuse these\nrational sentiments, and exhibited the phenomenon of a government\nestablished on the basis of reason and equality. The eyes of all Europe\nwere watchfully fixed on the practical success of this experiment in\npolitical science; and whilst the crowns of the old world were drawing\ninto their focus the hard-earned recompense of the toil and care of the\nsimple citizens, who lived detached from courts, deprived of the\ncomforts of life, the just reward of industry, or, palsied by\noppression, pined in dirt and idleness; the anglo-americans appeared to\nbe another race of beings, men formed to enjoy the advantages of\nsociety, and not merely to benefit those who governed; the use to which\nthey had been appropriated in almost every state; considered only as the\nballast which keeps the vessel steady, necessary, yet despised. So\nconspicuous in fact was the difference, that, when, frenchmen became the\nauxiliaries of those brave people, during their noble struggle against\nthe tyrannical and inhuman ambition of the british court, it imparted to\nthem that stimulus, which alone was wanting to give wings to freedom,\nwho, hovering over France, led her indignant votaries to wreak their\nvengeance on the tottering fabric of a government, the foundation of\nwhich had been laid by benighted ignorance, and it\u2019s walls cemented by\nthe calamities of millions that mock calculation\u2014and, in it\u2019s ruins a\nsystem was entombed, the most baneful to human happiness and virtue.\n\nAmerica fortunately found herself in a situation very different from all\nthe rest of the world; for she had it in her power to lay the first\nstones of her government, when reason was venturing to canvass\nprejudice. Availing herself of the degree of civilization of the world,\nshe has not retained those customs, which were only the expedients of\nbarbarism; or thought that constitutions formed by chance, and\ncontinually patched up, were superiour to the plans of reason, at\nliberty to profit by experience.\n\nWhen society was first regulated, the laws could not be adjusted so as\nto take in the future conduct of it\u2019s members, because the faculties of\nman are unfolded and perfected by the improvements made by society:\nconsequently the regulations established as circumstances required were\nvery imperfect. What then is to hinder man, at each epoch of\ncivilization, from making a stand, and new modelling the materials, that\nhave been hastily thrown into a rude mass, which time alone has\nconsolidated and rendered venerable?\n\nWhen society was first subjugated to laws, probably by the ambition of\nsome, and the desire of safety in all, it was natural for men to be\nselfish, because they were ignorant how intimately their own comfort was\nconnected with that of others; and it was also very natural, that\nhumanity, rather the effect of feeling than of reason, should have a\nvery limited range. But, when men once see, clear as the light of\nheaven,\u2014and I hail the glorious day from afar!\u2014that on the general\nhappiness depends their own, reason will give strength to the fluttering\nwings of passion, and men will \u201c_do unto others, what they wish they\nshould do unto them_.\u201d\n\nWhat has hitherto been the political perfection of the world? In the two\nmost celebrated nations it has only been a polish of manners, an\nextension of that family love, which is rather the effect of sympathy\nand selfish passions, than reasonable humanity. And in what has ended\ntheir so much extolled patriotism? In vain glory and barbarity\u2014every\npage of history proclaims. And why has the enthusiasm for virtue thus\npassed away like the dew of the morning, dazzling the eyes of it\u2019s\nadmirers? Why?\u2014because it was factitious virtue.\n\nDuring the period they had to combat against oppression, and rear an\ninfant state, what instances of heroism do not the annals of Greece and\nRome display! But it was merely the blaze of passion, \u201clive smoke;\u201d for\nafter vanquishing their enemies, and making the most astonishing\nsacrifices to the glory of their country, they became civil tyrants, and\npreyed on the very society, for whose welfare it was easier to die, than\nto practise the sober duties of life, which insinuate through it the\ncontentment that is rather felt than seen. Like the parents who forget\nall the dictates of justice and humanity, to aggrandize the very\nchildren whom they keep in a state of dependence, these heroes loved\ntheir country, because it was their country, ever showing by their\nconduct, that it was only a part of a narrow love of themselves.\n\nIt is time, that a more enlightened moral love of mankind should\nsupplant, or rather support physical affections. It is time, that the\nyouth approaching manhood should be led by principles, and not hurried\nalong by sensations\u2014and then we may expect, that the heroes of the\npresent generation, still having their monsters to cope with, will\nlabour to establish such rational laws throughout the world, that men\nwill not rest in the dead letter, or become artificial beings as they\nbecome civilized.\n\nWe must get entirely clear of all the notions drawn from the wild\ntraditions of original sin: the eating of the apple, the theft of\nPrometheus, the opening of Pandora\u2019s box, and the other fables, too\ntedious to enumerate, on which priests have erected their tremendous\nstructures of imposition, to persuade us, that we are naturally inclined\nto evil: we shall then leave room for the expansion of the human heart,\nand, I trust, find, that men will insensibly render each other happier\nas they grow wiser. It is indeed the necessity of stifling many of it\u2019s\nmost spontaneous desires, to obtain the factitious virtues of society,\nthat makes man vicious, by depriving him of that dignity of character,\nwhich rests only on truth. For it is not paradoxical to assert, that the\nsocial virtues are nipt in the bud by the very laws of society. One\nprincipal of action is sufficient\u2014Respect thyself\u2014whether it be termed\nfear of God\u2014religion; love of justice\u2014morality; or, self-love\u2014the desire\nof happiness. Yet, how can a man respect himself; and if not, how\nbelieve in the existence of virtue; when he is practising the daily\nshifts, which do not come under the cognisance of the law, in order to\nobtain a respectable situation in life? It seems, in fact, to be the\nbusiness of a civilized man, to harden his heart, that on it he may\nsharpen the wit; which, assuming the appellation of sagacity, or\ncunning, in different characters, is only a proof, that the head is\nclear, because the heart is cold.\n\nBesides, one great cause of misery in the present imperfect state of\nsociety is, that the imagination, continually tantalized, becomes the\ninflated wen of the mind, draining off the nourishment from the vital\nparts. Nor would it, I think, be stretching the inference too far, to\ninsist, that men become vicious in the same proportion as they are\nobliged, by the defects of society, to submit to a kind of self-denial,\nwhich ignorance, not morals, prescribes.\n\nBut these evils are passing away; a new spirit has gone forth, to\norganise the body-politic; and where is the criterion to be found, to\nestimate the means, by which the influence of this spirit can be\nconfined, now enthroned in the hearts of half the inhabitants of the\nglobe? Reason has, at last, shown her captivating face, beaming with\nbenevolence; and it will be impossible for the dark hand of despotism\nagain to obscure it\u2019s radiance, or the lurking dagger of subordinate\ntyrants to reach her bosom. The image of God implanted in our nature is\nnow more rapidly expanding; and, as it opens, liberty with maternal wing\nseems to be soaring to regions far above vulgar annoyance, promising to\nshelter all mankind.\n\nIt is a vulgar errour, built on a superficial view of the subject,\nthough it seems to have the sanction of experience, that civilization\ncan only go as far as it has hitherto gone, and then must necessarily\nfall back into barbarism. Yet thus much appears certain, that a state\nwill infallibly grow old and feeble, if hereditary riches support\nhereditary rank, under any description. But when courts and\nprimogeniture are done away, and simple equal laws are established, what\nis to prevent each generation from retaining the vigour of youth?\u2014What\ncan weaken the body or mind, when the great majority of society must\nexercise both, to earn a subsistence, and acquire respectability?\n\nThe french revolution is a strong proof how far things will govern men,\nwhen simple principles begin to act with one powerful spring against the\ncomplicated wheels of ignorance; numerous in proportion to their\nweakness, and constantly wanting repair, because expedients of the\nmoment are ever the spawn of cowardly folly, or the narrow calculations\nof selfishness. To elucidate this truth, it is not necessary to rake\namong the ashes of barbarous ambition; to show the ignorance and\nconsequent folly of the monarchs, who ruled with a rod of iron, when the\nhordes of european savages began to form their governments; though the\nreview of this portion of history would clearly prove, that narrowness\nof mind naturally produces ferociousness of temper.\n\nWe may boast of the poetry of those ages, and of those charming flights\nof imagination, which, during the paroxysms of passion, flash out in\nthose single acts of heroic virtue, that throw a lustre over a whole\nthoughtless life; but the cultivation of the understanding, in spite of\nthese northern lights, appears to be the only way to tame men, whose\nrestlessness of spirit creates the vicious passions, that lead to\ntyranny and cruelty. When the body is strong, and the blood warm, men do\nnot like to think, or adopt any plan of conduct, unless broken-in by\ndegrees: the force that has often spent itself in fatal activity becomes\na rich source of energy of mind.\n\nMen exclaim, only noticing the evil, against the luxury introduced with\nthe arts and sciences; when it is obviously the cultivation of these\nalone, emphatically termed the arts of peace, that can turn the sword\ninto a ploughshare. War is the adventure naturally pursued by the idle,\nand it requires something of this species, to excite the strong emotions\nnecessary to rouse inactive minds. Ignorant people, when they appear to\nreflect, exercise their imagination more than their understanding;\nindulging reveries, instead of pursuing a train of thinking; and thus\ngrow romantic, like the croisaders; or like women, who are commonly idle\nand restless.\n\nIf we turn then with disgust from ensanguined regal pomp, and the\nchildish rareeshows that amuse the enslaved multitude, we shall feel\nstill more contempt for the order of men, who cultivated their\nfaculties, only to enable them to consolidate their power, by leading\nthe ignorant astray; making the learning they concentrated in their\ncells, a more polished instrument of oppression. Struggling with so many\nimpediments, the progress of useful knowledge for several ages was\nscarcely perceptible; though respect for the public opinion, that great\nsoftner of manners, and only substitute for moral principles, was\ngaining ground.\n\nThe croisades, however, gave a shake to society, that changed it\u2019s face;\nand the spirit of chivalry, assuming a new character during the reign of\nthe gallant Francis the first, began to meliorate the ferocity of the\nancient gauls and franks. The _point d\u2019honneur_ being settled, the\ncharacter of a _gentleman_, held ever since so dear in France, was\ngradually formed; and this kind of bastard morality, frequently the only\nsubstitute for all the ties that nature has rendered sacred, kept those\nmen within bounds, who obeyed no other law.\n\nThe same spirit mixed with the sanguinary treachery of the Guises, and\ngave support to the manly dignity of Henry the fourth, on whom nature\nhad bestowed that warmth of constitution, tenderness of heart, and\nrectitude of understanding, which naturally produce an energetic\ncharacter.\u2014A supple force, that, exciting love, commands esteem.\n\nDuring the ministry of Richelieu, when the dynasty of _favouritism_\ncommenced, the arts were patronized, and the italian mode of governing\nby intrigue tended to weaken bodies, polished by the friction of\ncontinual finesse. Dissimulation imperceptibly slides into falshood, and\nMazarin, dissimulation personified, paved the way for the imposing pomp\nand false grandeur of the reign of the haughty and inflated Louis 14th;\nwhich, by introducing a taste for majestic frivolity, accelerated the\nperfection of that species of civilization, which consists in the\nrefining of the senses at the expence of the heart; the source of all\nreal dignity, honour, virtue, and every noble quality of the mind.\nEndeavouring to make bigotry tolerate voluptuousness, and honour and\nlicentiousness shake hands, sight was lost of the line of distinction,\nor vice was hid under the mask of it\u2019s correlative virtue. The glory of\nFrance, a bubble raised by the heated breath of the king, was the\npretext for undermining happiness; whilst politeness took place of\nhumanity, and created that fort of dependance, which leads men to barter\ntheir corn and wine, for unwholesome mixtures of they know not what,\nthat, flattering a depraved appetite, destroy the tone of the stomach.\n\nThe feudal taste for tournaments and martial feasts was now naturally\nsucceeded by a fondness for theatrical entertainments; when feats of\nvalour became too great an exertion of the weakened muscles to afford\npleasure, and men found that resource in cultivation of mind, which\nrenders activity of body less necessary to keep the stream of life from\nstagnating.\n\nAll the pieces written at this period, except Moliere\u2019s, reflected the\nmanners of the court, and thus perverted the forming taste. That\nextraordinary man alone wrote on the grand scale of human passions, for\nmankind at large, leaving to inferiour authors the task of imitating the\ndrapery of manners, which points out the _costume_ of the age.\n\nCorneille, like our Dryden, often tottering on the brink of absurdity\nand nonsense, full of noble ideas, which, crouding indistinctly on his\nfancy, he expresses obscurely, still delights his readers by sketching\nfaint outlines of gigantic passions; and, whilst the charmed imagination\nis lured to follow him over enchanted ground, the heart is sometimes\nunexpectedly touched by a sublime or pathetic sentiment, true to nature.\n\nRacine, soon after, in elegant harmonious language painted the manners\nof his time, and with great judgement gave a picturesque cast to many\nunnatural scenes and factitious sentiments: always endeavouring to make\nhis characters amiable, he is unable to render them dignified; and the\nrefined morality, scattered throughout, belongs to the code of\npoliteness rather than to that of virtue[1]. Fearing to stray from\ncourtly propriety of behaviour, and shock a fastidious audience, the\ngallantry of his heroes interests only the gallant, and literary people,\nwhose minds are open to different species of amusement. He was, in fact,\nthe father of the french stage. Nothing can equal the fondness which the\nfrench suck in with their milk for public places, particularly the\ntheatre; and this taste, giving the tone to their conduct, has produced\nso many stage tricks on the grand theatre of the nation, where old\nprinciples vamped up with new scenes and decorations, are continually\nrepresented.\n\nTheir national character is, perhaps, more formed by their theatrical\namusements, than is generally imagined: they are in reality the schools\nof vanity. And, after this kind of education, is it surprising, that\nalmost every thing is said and done for stage effect? or that cold\ndeclamatory extasies blaze forth, only to mock the expectation with a\nshow of warmth?\n\nThus sentiments spouted from the lips come oftner from the head than the\nheart. Indeed natural sentiments are only the characters given by the\nimagination to recollected sensations; but the french, by the continual\ngratification of their senses, stifle the reveries of their imagination,\nwhich always requires to be acted upon by outward objects; and seldom\nreflecting on their feelings, their sensations are ever lively and\ntransitory; exhaled by every passing beam, and dissipated by the\nslightest storm.\n\nIf a relish for the broad mirth of _fun_ characterize the lower class of\nenglish, the french of every denomination are equally delighted with a\nphosphorical, sentimental gilding. This is constantly observable at the\ntheatres. The passions are deprived of all their radical strength, to\ngive smoothness to the ranting sentiments, which, with mock dignity,\nlike the party-coloured rags on the shrivelled branches of the tree of\nliberty, stuck up in every village, are displayed as something very\ngrand and significant.\n\nThe wars of Louis were, likewise, theatrical exhibitions; and the\nbusiness of his life was adjusting ceremonials, of which he himself\nbecame the dupe, when his grandeur was in the wane, and his animal\nspirits were spent[2]. But, towards the close even of his reign, the\nwritings of Fenelon, and the conversation of his pupil, the duke of\nBurgundy, gave rise to different political discussions, of which the\ntheoretical basis was the happiness of the people\u2014till death, spreading\na huge pall over the family and glory of Louis, compassion draws his\nfaults under the same awful canopy, and we sympathize with the man in\nadversity, whose prosperity was pestiferous.\n\nLouis, by imposing on the senses of his people, gave a new turn to the\nchivalrous humour of the age: for, with the true spirit of quixotism,\nthe french made a point of honour of adoring their king; and the glory\nof the _grand monarque_ became the national pride, even when it cost\nthem most dear.\n\nAs a proof of the perversion of mind at that period, and the false\npolitical opinions which prevailed, making the unhappy king the slave of\nhis own despotism, it is sufficient to select one anecdote.\n\nA courtier assures us,[3] that the most humiliating circumstance that\never happened to the king, and one of those which gave him most pain,\nwas the publication of a memorial circulated with great diligence by his\nenemies throughout France. In this memorial the allies invited the\nfrench to demand the assembling of their ancient _states-general_. They\ntell them, \u201cthat the ambition and pride of the king were the only causes\nof the wars during his reign; and that, to secure themselves a lasting\npeace, it was incumbent on them not to lay down their arms till the\nstates-general were convoked.\u201d\n\nIt almost surpasses belief to add, that, in spite of the imprisonment,\nexile, flight, or execution of two millions of french, this memorial\nproduced little effect. But the king, who was severely hurt, took care\nto have a reply written[4]; though he might have comforted himself with\nthe recollection, that, when they were last assembled, Louis XIII\ndismissed them with empty promises, forgotten as soon as made.\n\nThe enthusiasm of the french, which, in general, hurries them from one\nextreme to another, at this time produced a total change of manners.\n\nDuring the regency, vice was not only bare-faced, but audacious; and the\ntide completely turned: the hypocrites were now all ranged on the other\nside, the courtiers, labouring to show their abhorrence of religious\nhypocrisy, set decency at defiance, and did violence to the modesty of\nnature, when they wished to outrage the squeamish puerilities of\nsuperstition.\n\nIn the character of the regent we may trace all the vices and graces of\nfalse refinement; forming the taste by destroying the heart. Devoted to\npleasure, he so soon exhausted the intoxicating cup of all it\u2019s sweets,\nthat his life was spent in searching amongst the dregs, for the novelty\nthat could give a gasp of life to enjoyment. The wit, which at first was\nthe zest of his nocturnal orgies, soon gave place, as flat, to the\ngrossest excesses, in which the principal variety was flagitious\nimmorality. And what has he done to rescue his name from obloquy, but\nprotect a few debauched artists and men of letters? His goodness of\nheart only appeared in sympathy. He pitied the distresses of the people,\nwhen before his eyes; and as quickly forgot these yearnings of heart in\nhis sensual stye.\n\nHe often related, with great pleasure, an anecdote of the prior de\nVend\u00f4me, who chanced to please a mistress of Charles II, and the king\ncould only get rid of his rival by requesting Louis XIV to recall him.\n\nAt those moments he would bestow the warmest praises on the english\nconstitution; and seemed enamoured of liberty, though authorising at the\ntime the most flagrant violations of property, and despotic arts of\ncruelty. The only good he did his country[5] arose from this frivolous\ncircumstance; for introducing the fashion of admiring the english, he\nled men to read and translate some of their masculine writers, which\ngreatly contributed to rouse the sleeping manhood of the french. His\nlove of the fine arts, however, has led different authors to strew\nflowers over his unhallowed dust\u2014fit emblem of the brilliant qualities,\nthat ornamented only the soil on which they grew.\n\nThe latter part of the reign of Louis XV is notorious for the same\natrocious debaucheries, unvarnished by wit, over which modesty would\nfain draw a veil, were it not necessary to give the last touches to the\nportrait of that vile despotism, under the lash of which twenty-five\nmillions of people groaned; till, unable to endure the increasing weight\nof oppression, they rose like a vast elephant, terrible in his anger,\ntreading down with blind fury friends as well as foes.\n\nImpotence of body, and indolence of mind, rendered Louis XV the slave of\nhis mistresses, who sought to forget his nauseous embraces in the arms\nof knaves, who found their account in caressing them. Every corner of\nthe kingdom was ransacked to satiate these cormorants, who wrung the\nvery bowels of industry, to give a new edge to sickly appetites;\ncorrupting the morals whilst breaking the spirit of the nation.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n MARIE-ANTOINETTE. LOUIS XVI. ADMINISTRATION OF NECKER, AND OF CALONNE.\n NOTABLES CONVENED. CALONNE DISGRACED,\u2014AND OBLIGED TO FLEE THE KINGDOM.\n HIS CHARACTER. CAUSES OF THE ENSLAVED STATE OF EUROPE.\n\n\nDuring this general depravation of manners, the young and beautiful\n_dauphine_ arrived; and was received with a kind of idolatrous\nadoration, only to be seen in France; for the inhabitants of the\nmetropolis, literally speaking, could think and talk of nothing else;\nand in their eagerness to pay homage, or gratify affectionate curiosity,\nan immense number were killed.\n\nIn such a voluptuous atmosphere, how could she escape contagion? The\nprofligacy of Louis XIV, when love and war were his amusements, was\nsoberness, compared with the capricious intemperance of the inebriated\nimagination at this period. Madame du Barry was then in the zenith of\nher power, which quickly excited the jealousy of this princess, whose\nstrongest passion was that intolerable family pride, which heated the\nblood of the whole house of Austria. An inclination for court intrigue,\nunder the mask of the most profound dissimulation, to preserve the\nfavour of Louis XV, was instantly called into action; and it soon became\nthe only business of her life, either to gratify resentment, or cheat\nthe satiety, which the continual and unrestrained indulgence of pleasure\nproduced.\n\nHer character thus formed, when she became absolute mistress, the court\nof the passive Louis, not only the most dissolute and abandoned that\never displayed the folly of royalty, but audaciously negligent with\nrespect to that attention to decency, which is necessary to delude the\nvulgar, was deserted by all persons, who had any regard for their moral\ncharacter, or the decorum of appearances. Constrained by the\n_etiquette_, which made the principal part of the imposing grandeur of\nLouis XIV, the queen wished to throw aside the cumbersome brocade of\nceremony, without having discernment enough to perceive, that it was\nnecessary to lend mock dignity to a court, where there was not\nsufficient virtue, or native beauty, to give interest or respectability\nto simplicity. The harlot is seldom such a fool as to neglect her\nmeretricious ornaments, unless she renounces her trade; and the\npageantry of courts is the same thing on a larger scale. The lively\npredilection, likewise, of the queen for her native country, and love\nfor her brother Joseph, to whom she repeatedly sent considerable sums,\npurloined from the public, tended greatly to inspire the most ineffable\ncontempt for royalty, now stript of the frippery which had concealed\nit\u2019s deformity: and the sovereign disgust excited by her ruinous vices,\ncompletely destroying all reverence for that majesty, to which power\nalone lent dignity, contempt soon produced hatred.\n\nThe infamous transaction of the necklace, in which she was probably the\ndupe of the knaves she fostered, exasperated also both the nobility and\nthe clergy; and, with her messalinian feasts at _Trianon_, made her the\ncommon mark of ridicule and satire.\n\nThe attention of the people once roused was not permitted to sleep; for\nfresh circumstances daily occurred, to give a new spring to discussions,\nthat the most iniquitous and heavy taxes brought home to every bosom;\ntill the extravagance of the royal family became the general subject of\nsharpening execrations.\n\nThe king, who had not sufficient resolution to support the\nadministration of Turgot, whom his disposition for moderation had\nchosen, being at a loss what measures to take, called to the helm the\nplausible Necker. He, only half comprehending the plans of his able\npredecessor, was led by his vanity cautiously to adopt them; first\npublishing his _Comte-rendu_, to clear the way to popularity. This work\nwas read with astonishing rapidity by all ranks of men; and alarming the\ncourtiers, Necker was, in his turn, dismissed. He retired to write his\nobservations on the administration of the finances, which kept alive the\nspirit of inquiry, that afterwards broke the talisman of courts, and\nshowed the disenchanted multitude, that those, whom they had been taught\nto respect as supernatural beings, were not indeed men\u2014but monsters;\ndeprived by their station of humanity, and even sympathy.\n\nSeveral abortive attempts were then made by two succeeding ministers, to\nkeep alive public credit, and find resources to supply the expenditure\nof the state, and the dissipation of the court, when the king was\npersuaded to place the specious Calonne at the head of these embarrassed\naffairs.\n\nDuring the prodigal administration of this man, who acted with an\naudacity peculiar to the arrogance common in men of superficial yet\nbrilliant talents, every consideration was sacrificed to the court; the\nsplendid folly and wanton prodigality of which eclipsing all that has\nbeen related in history, or told in romance, to amuse wondering fools,\nonly served to accelerate the destruction of public credit, and hasten\nthe revolution, by exciting the clamourous indignation of the people.\nNumberless destructive expedients of the moment brought money into the\nstate coffers, only to be dissipated by the royal family, and it\u2019s train\nof parasites; till all failing, the wish of still supporting himself in\na situation so desirable as that of comptroller general of the finances,\ndetermined him to convene an assembly of _notables_: whose very\nappellation points them out as men in the aristocratical interest.\n\nLouis XVI, with a considerable portion of common sense, and a desire to\npromote useful reformation, though always governed by those around him,\ngave without hesitation the necessary orders for calling together the\nassembly, that afforded the wearied nation the most pleasing prospect,\nbecause it was a new one; but conveyed to their astonished minds at the\nsame time the knowledge of the enormity of a _deficit_, which a series\nof vice and folly had augmented beyond all precedent.\n\nThe immoralities of Calonne, however, had created a general distrust of\nall his designs: but with an overweening presumption, the characteristic\nof the man, he still thought, that he could dexterously obtain the\nsupplies wanted to keep the wheels of government in motion, and quiet\nthe clamours of the nation, by proposing the equalization of taxes;\nwhich, humbling the nobility and dignified clergy, who were thus to be\nbrought down from their privileged height, to the level of citizens,\ncould not fail to be grateful to the rest of the nation. And the\nparliaments, he concluded, would not dare to oppose his system, lest\nthey should draw on themselves the distrust and hatred of the public.\n\nWithout canvassing Calonne\u2019s intentions, which the most enlarged\ncharity, after his former extravagance, can scarcely suppose to have\nbeen the interest of the people, moderate men imagined this project\nmight have been productive of much good; giving the french all the\nliberty they were able to digest; and, warding off the tumults that have\nsince produced so many disastrous events, whilst coolly preparing them\nfor the reception of more, the effervescence of vanity and ignorance\nwould not have rendered their heads giddy, or their hearts savage. Yet\nsome sensible observers, on the contrary, rather adopted the opinion,\nthat as the people had discovered the magnitude of the _deficit_, they\nwere now persuaded, that a specific remedy was wanting, _a new\nconstitution_; to cure the evils, which were the excrescences of a\ngigantic tyranny, that appeared to be draining away the vital juices of\nlabour, to fill the insatiable jaws of thousands of fawning slaves and\nidle sycophants. But though the people might, for the present, have been\nsatisfied with this salutary reform, which would gradually have had an\neffect, reasoning from analogy, that the financier did not take, into\nhis account, the nobility were not sufficiently enlightened to listen to\nthe dictates of justice or prudence. It had been, indeed, the system of\nministers, ever since Richelieu, to humble the nobles, to increase the\npower of the court; and as the ministry, the generals, and the bishops,\nwere always noble, they aided to support the favourite, who depressed\nthe whole body, only for the chance of individual preferment. But this\nbare-faced attempt to abolish their privileges raised a nest of hornets\nabout his ears, eager to secure the plunder on which they lived; for by\nwhat other name can we call the pensions, places and even estates of\nthose who, taxing industry, rioted in idleness duty free[6]?\n\nAn approaching national bankruptcy was the ostensible reason assigned\nfor the convening of the _notables_ in 1787; but the convocation, in\ntruth, ought to be ascribed to the voice of reason, founded through the\norgan of twenty-five millions of human beings, who, though under the\nfetters of a detestable tyranny, felt, that the crisis was at hand, when\nthe rights of man, and his dignity ascertained were to be enthroned on\nthe eternal basis of justice and humanity.\n\nThe _notables_, once assembled, being sensible, that their conduct would\nbe inspected by an awakened public, now on the watch, scrupulously\nexamined into every national concern; and seriously investigated the\ncauses, that had produced the _deficit_, with something like the\nindependent spirit of freemen. To their inquiries, however, the minister\ngave only the evasive reply, \u2018that he had acted in obedience to the\npleasure of the king:\u2019 when it was notorious to all Europe, that his\nmajesty was merely a cipher at Versailles; and even the accusation\nbrought against Calonne, by La Fayette, of exchanging the national\ndomains, and appropriating millions of it\u2019s revenue to gratify the\nqueen, the count d\u2019Artois, and the rest of the cabal, who kept him in\nplace, was generally believed. In fact, the state had been fleeced, to\nsupport the unremitting demands of the queen; who would have dismembered\nFrance, to aggrandize Austria, and pamper her favourites. Thus the court\nconniving at peculation, the minister played a sure game; whilst the\nhonest labourer was groaning under a thousand abuses, and yielding the\nsolace of his industry, or the hoards, which youthful strength had\nreserved for times of scarcity or decrepit age, to irritate the\nincreasing wants of a thoughtless, treacherous princess, and the avarice\nof her unprincipled agents.\n\nThis artful, though weak, machiavelian politician suffered no other\nperson to approach the king; who, seduced into confidence by his\ncolloquial powers, could not avoid being dazzled by his plausible\nschemes. He had, nevertheless, a powerful enemy to contend with, in M.\nde Breteuil; who, having gratified some of the little passions of the\ndauphine, during her first struggles for dominion, was now protected by\nthe absolute power of the queen. Endeavouring to measure his strength\nwith her\u2019s, the minister was discomfited; and the whole swarm of\nflatterers, who had partaken of the spoil of rapine, were instantly\nalert to open the eyes of Louis, over which they had long been\nscattering poppies, and soon convinced him of the perfidy of his\nfavourite; whilst the two privileged orders joined their forces, to\noverwhelm their common enemy, attending to their vengeance at the very\ntime they followed the dictates of prudence.\n\nThe accusations of La Fayette served, perhaps, as the ostensible reason\nwith the public, and even with the king; yet it can hardly be supposed,\nthat they had any effect on the cabal, who invented, or connived at the\nplans necessary to raise a continual supply for their pleasures. The\nfact is, that, most probably being found unequal to the task, or no\nlonger choosing to be a docile instrument of mischief, he was thrown\naside as unfit for use.\n\nDisgraced, he quickly retired to his estate; but was not long permitted\nto struggle with the malady of exiled ministers, in the gloomy silence\nof inactivity; for, hearing that he had been denounced by the\nparliament, he fled in a transport of rage out of the kingdom, covered\nwith the execrations of an injured people, in whose hatred, or\nadmiration, the mellowed shades of reflection are seldom seen.\n\nThe extravagance of his administration exceeded that of any other\nscourge of France; yet it does not appear, that he was actuated by a\nplan, or even desire, of enriching himself. So far from it, with wild\nprodigality he seems to have squandered away the vast sums he extorted\nby force or fraud, merely to gratify or purchase friends and dependents;\ntill, quite exhausted, he was obliged to have recourse to Necker\u2019s\nscheme of loans. But not possessing like him the confidence of the\npublic, he could not with equal facility obtain a present supply, the\nweight of which would be thrown forward to become a stumbling-block to\nhis successors. Necker, by the advantageous terms which he held out to\nmoney-holders, had introduced a pernicious system of stock-jobbing, that\nwas slowly detected, because those who could best have opened the eyes\nof the people were interested to keep them closed.\u2014Still Calonne could\nnot induce the same body of men to trust to his offers; which, not\nchoosing to accept, they made a point of discrediting, to secure the\ninterest and exorbitant premiums that were daily becoming due.\n\nWith an uncommon quickness of comprehension, and audacity in pursuing\ncrude schemes, rendered plausible by a rhetorical flow of words,\nCalonne, a strong representative of the national character, seems rather\nto have wanted principles than feelings of humanity; and to have been\nled astray more by vanity and the love of pleasure, which imperceptibly\nsmooth away moral restraints, than by those deep plans of guilt, that\nforce men to see the extent of the mischief they are hatching, whilst\nthe crocodile is still in the egg. Yet, as mankind ever judge by events,\nthe inconsiderate presumption, if not the turpitude of his conduct,\nbrought on him universal censure: for, at a crisis when the general\ngroans of an oppressed nation proclaimed the disease of the state, and\neven when the government was on the verge of dissolution, did he not\nwaste the treasures of his country, forgetful not only of moral\nobligations, but the ties of honour, of that regard for the tacit\nconfidence of it\u2019s citizens, which a statesman ought to hold sacred?\nsince which he has been caressed at almost every court in Europe, and\nmade one of the principal agents of despotism in the croisades against\nthe infant liberty of France.\n\nReflecting on the conduct of the tools of courts, we are enabled in a\ngreat measure to account for the slavery of Europe; and to discover,\nthat it\u2019s misery has not arisen more from the imperfection of\ncivilization, than from the fallacy of those political systems, which\nnecessarily made the favourite of the day a knavish tyrant, eager to\namass riches sufficient to save himself from oblivion, when the honours,\nso hardly wrestled for, should be torn from his brow. Besides, whilst\nministers have found impunity in the omnipotence, which the seal of\npower gave them, and in the covert fear of those who hoped one day to\nenjoy the same emoluments, they have been led by the prevalence of\ndepraved manners, to the commission of every atrocious folly. Kings have\nbeen the dupes of ministers, of mistresses, and secretaries, not to\nnotice sly valets and cunning waiting-maids, who are seldom idle; and\nthese are most venal, because they have least independence of character\nto support; till in the circle of corruption no one can point out the\nfirst mover. Hence proceeds the great tenacity of courts to support\nthem; hence originates their great objection to republican forms of\ngovernment, which oblige their ministers to be accountable for\ndelinquency; and hence, likewise, might be traced their agonizing fears\nof the doctrine of civil equality.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\nADMINISTRATION OF DE BRIENNE. DISSOLUTION OF THE NOTABLES. LAND TAX AND\n STAMP DUTY RECOMMENDED BY THEM, BUT REFUSED TO BE SANCTIONED BY THE\nPARLIAMENT. BED OF JUSTICE. THE PARLIAMENT BANISHED TO TROYES,\u2014BUT SOON\nCOMPROMISED FOR IT\u2019S RECALL. STRUGGLES OF THE COURT PARTY TO PREVENT THE\n CONVOCATION OF THE STATES-GENERAL. BANISHMENT OF THE DUKE OF ORLEANS,\n AND TWO SPIRITED MEMBERS OF THE PARLIAMENT. COUR PLENIERE. REMARKS ON\n THE PARLIAMENTS. IMPRISONMENT OF THE MEMBERS. DEPUTIES OF THE PROVINCE\n OF BRITANNY SENT TO THE BASTILLE. THE SOLDIERY LET LOOSE UPON THE\n PEOPLE.\n\n\nAfter the dismission of Calonne, M. de Brienne, a man whose talents\nTurgot had overrated, was now chosen by the queen, because he had\nformerly seconded her views, and was still the obsequious slave of that\npower, which he had long been courting, to obtain the so much envied\nplace of minister. Having taken more pains to gain the post than to\nprepare himself to fulfil it\u2019s functions, his weak and timid mind was in\na continual tumult; and he adopted with head-long confusion the taxes\nproposed by his predecessor; because money must be had, and he knew not\nwhere to turn to procure it by an unhacknied mode of extortion.\n\nThe _notables_ were now dissolved; and it would have been a natural\nconsequence of the dismission of the minister who assembled them, even\nif their spirited inquiries had not rendered their presence vexatious to\nthe court. This, however, was an impolitic measure; for they returned\nhighly disgusted to their respective abodes, to propagate the free\nopinions, to which resentment and argumentation had given birth.\n\nBefore the breaking up of the _notables_, they were nevertheless\nprevailed upon to recommend a land and stamp tax; and the edicts were\nsent to the parliament to be enregistered. But these magistrates, never\nforgetting that they enjoyed, in virtue of their office, the privileged\nexemption from taxes, to elude sanctioning the first, which was to have\nbeen an equal impost, took advantage of the public odiousness of the\nsecond; thus avoiding, with a show of patriotism, an avowed opposition\nto the interest of the people, that would clearly have proved, how much\ndearer they held their own.\n\nThe gaudy and meretricious pageantry of the court was now displayed, to\nintimidate the parliament, at what was termed a bed of justice, though\nin reality of all justice a solemn mockery; and, whilst pretending to\nconsult them, the edicts were enregistered by a mandate of state. The\nparliament, in the mean time, making a merit of necessity, declared,\nthat the right of sanctioning the impost belonged only to the\nstates-general, the convocation of which they demanded. Provoked by\ntheir sturdy opposition, the court banished them to Troyes; and they\ncompromised for their recall by enregistering the prolongation of the\n_deuxieme vingtieme_, a cowardly desertion of their former ground.\n\nA century before (a proof of the progress of reason) the people,\ndigesting their disappointment, would have submitted, with brutal\nacquiescence, to the majestic WILL of the king, without daring to scan\nit\u2019s import; but now, recognizing their own dignity, they insisted, that\nall authority, which did not originate with them, was illegal and\ndespotic, and loudly resounded the grand truth\u2014That it was necessary to\nconvoke the states-general. The government, however, like a dying wretch\ncut off by intemperance, whilst the lust of enjoyment still remaining\nprompts him to exhaust his strength by struggling with death, fought\nsome time longer inauspiciously for existence, depending on the succour\nof the court empirics, who vainly flattered themselves, that they could\nprevent it\u2019s dissolution. From the moment, indeed, that Brienne\nsucceeded Calonne, all the machinery, which the demon of despotism could\ninvent, was put in motion, to divert the current of opinion, bearing on\nit\u2019s fair bosom the new sentiments of liberty with irresistible force,\nand overwhelming, as it swelled, the perishing monuments of venerable\nfolly, and the fragile barriers of superstitious ignorance.\n\nBut supplies were still wanting; and the court, being fruitful in\nstratagems to procure a loan, which was the necessary lever of it\u2019s\ninsidious designs, coalesced with some of the members of the parliament,\nand the agreement was to have been ratified in a _s\u00e9ance royale_. Yet,\nas the parliament had determined to be governed by a clear majority, the\nscheme of the keeper of the seals, who intended to have the business\nhurried over without telling the votes, was completely defeated.\n\nThe discovery of this unfair attempt made the indignant magistrates,\nglad to seize an occasion to recover their popularity, maintain with\nboldness their own character, and the interest of the people. The duke\nof Orleans, also, somewhat tauntingly suggesting to the king, that this\nwas only another bed of justice, was exiled, with two other members, who\nhad remonstrated with courage. These magistrates, now become the objects\nof public adoration, were considered by the grateful public as their\nonly bulwark against the attacks of the ministry; which continued to\nharrass invention, to contrive means to counteract a concurrence of\ncircumstances, that were driving before them all opposition.\n\nThe court, for I consider the government, at this period, completely at\nan end, continued to stumble out of one blunder into another, till at\nlast they rested all their hopes on the popular reforms projected by\nBrienne, in conjunction with Lamoignon, a man with more strength of\ncharacter, to cajole the people and crush the parliament. Several\nstrokes, the feeble blows of angry men, who wished still to retain the\nstolen sweets of office, were aimed at this body, calculated to mislead\nthe people, who were also promised a reformed code of penal laws. But\nthe time when partial remedies would have been eagerly swallowed was\npast, and the people saw distinctly, that their will would soon be law,\nand their power omnipotent. But the minister, Brienne, not aware of\nthis, to steer clear of further opposition, proposed the plan of a _cour\npl\u00e9niere_: an heterogeneous assembly of princes, nobles, magistrates,\nand soldiers. A happy substitute, as he imagined, for the parliament;\nand which, by restoring the ancient forms of the kings of France, would\nawe and amuse the people. He did not consider, that their minds were now\nfull of other objects, and their enthusiasm turned into another channel.\n\nThis conduct proved more destructive to the court than any former folly\nit\u2019s advisers had committed. Imbecility now characterized every measure.\nThe parliament however fell into the snare, and forfeited the esteem and\nconfidence of the people by opposing some popular edicts; particularly\none in favour of the protestants, which they themselves had demanded ten\nyears before, and to which they now objected, only because it came from\nanother quarter. Yet the court, regardless of experience, endeavoured to\nrestore it\u2019s credit by persecution; whilst, making all the clashing\nmovements that fear could dictate to manifest it\u2019s power and overawe the\nnation, it united all parties, and drew the whole kingdom to one point\nof action.\n\nThe despotic and extravagant steps taken, to give efficiency to the\n_cour pl\u00e9niere_, awakened the sensibility of the most torpid; and the\nvigilance of twenty-five millions of centinels was roused, to watch the\nmovements of the court, and follow it\u2019s corrupt ministers, through all\nthe labyrinths of sophistry and tergiversation, into the very dens of\ntheir nefarious machinations. To prevent the different parliaments from\ndeliberating, and forming in consequence a plan of conduct together, the\nedict to sanction this packed cabinet was to be presented to them all on\nthe same day; and a considerable force was assembled, to intimidate the\nmembers, who should dare to prove refractory. But, they were forewarned\nin time, to avoid being surprised into acquiescence: for, having\nreceived an intimation of the design, a copy of the edict had been\npurloined from the press, by means of the universal engine of\ncorruption, money.\n\nWarmed by the discovery of this surreptitious attempt to cheat them into\nblind obedience, they bound themselves by an oath, to act in concert;\nand not to enregister a decree, that had been obtained through a medium,\nwhich violated the privilege they had usurped of having a share in the\nlegislation, by rendering their sanction of edicts necessary to give\nthem force: a privilege that belonged only to the states-general. Still,\nas the government had often found it convenient to make the parliaments\na substitute for a power they dreaded to see in action, these\nmagistrates sometimes availed themselves of this weakness, to\nremonstrate against oppression; and thus, covering usurpation with a\nrespectable veil, the twelve parliaments were considered by the people\nas the only barriers to resist the encroachments of despotism. Yet the\nsagacious chancellor L\u2019H\u00f4pital, not deceived by their accidental\nusefulness, guarded the french against their illegal ambition: for was\nit not a dangerous courtesy of the people, to allow an aristocracy of\nlawyers, who bought their places, to be as it were the only\nrepresentatives of the nation? Still their resistance had frequently\nbeen an impediment in the way of tyranny, and now provoked a discussion,\nwhich led to the most important of all questions\u2014namely, in whose hands\nought the sovereignty to rest?\u2014who ought to levy the impost, and make\nlaws?\u2014and the answer was the universal demand of a fair representation,\nto meet at stated periods, without depending on the caprice of the\nexecutive power. Unable to effect their purpose by art or force, the\nweak ministry, stung by the disappointment, determined at least to wreak\ntheir vengeance on two of the boldest of the members. But the united\nmagistrates disputing the authority of the armed force, it was necessary\nto send to Versailles, to make the king sign an express order; and\ntowards five o\u2019clock the next morning the sanctuary of justice was\nprofaned, and the two members dragged to prison, in contempt of the\nvisible indignation of the people. Soon after, to fill up the measure of\nprovocations, a deputation sent by the province of Brittany, to\nremonstrate against the establishment of the _cour pl\u00e9niere_, were\ncondemned to silence in the Bastille.\n\nWithout money, and afraid to demand it, excepting in a circumlocutory\nmanner, the court, like mad men, spent themselves in idle exertions of\nstrength: for, whilst the citizens of Paris were burning in effigy the\ntwo obnoxious ministers, who thus outraged them in the person of their\nmagistrates, they were delivered up to the fury of the hired slaves of\ndespotism, and trampled under foot by the cavalry; who were called in to\nquell a riot purposely excited.\n\nCries of horrour and indignation resounded throughout the kingdom; and\nthe nation, with one voice, demanded justice\u2014Alas! justice had never\nbeen known in France. Retaliation and vengeance had been it\u2019s fatal\nsubstitutes. And from this epoch we may date the commencement of those\nbutcheries, which have brought on that devoted country so many dreadful\ncalamities, by teaching the people to avenge themselves with blood!\n\nThe hopes of the nation, it is true, were still turned towards the\npromised convocation of the states-general; which every day became more\nnecessary. But the infatuated ministers, though unable to devise any\nscheme to extricate themselves out of the crowd of difficulties, into\nwhich they had heedlessly plunged, could not think of convening a power,\nwhich they foresaw, without any great stretch of sagacity, would quickly\nannihilate their own.\n\nThe ferment, mean time, continued, and the blood that had been shed\nserved only to increase it; nay, the citizens of Grenoble prepared with\ncalmness to resist force by force, and the myrmidons of tyranny might\nhave found it a serious contest, if the intelligence of the dismission\nof the ministers had not produced one of those moments of enthusiasm,\nwhich by the most rapid operation of sympathy unites all hearts. Touched\nby it, the men who lived on the wages of slaughter threw down their\narms, and melting into tears in the embraces of the citizens whom they\ncame to murder, remembered that they were countrymen, and groaned under\nthe same oppression: and, their conduct, quickly applauded with that\nglow of sensibility which excites imitation, served as an example to the\nwhole army, forcing the soldiers to think of their situation, and might\nhave proved a salutary lesson to any court less depraved and insensible\nthan that of Versailles.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n NECKER RECALLED. HIS CHARACTER. NOTABLES CONVENED A SECOND TIME.\n COALITION OF THE NOBILITY AND CLERGY IN DEFENCE OF THEIR PRIVILEGES.\nPROVINCIAL ASSEMBLIES OF THE PEOPLE. POLITICAL PUBLICATIONS IN FAVOUR OF\n THE TIERS-ETAT. GENERAL REFLECTIONS ON REFORM,\u2014ON THE PRESENT STATE OF\n EUROPE,\u2014AND ON THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE.\n\n\nSuch were the measures pursued to exasperate a people beginning to open\ntheir eyes, and now clamourously demanding the restitution of their\nlong-estranged rights; when the court, having in vain attempted to\nterrify or deceive them, found it expedient to still the storm by\nrecalling Necker. This man had the confidence of France, which he in\nsome degree merited for the light he had thrown on the state of the\nrevenue, and for the system of economy, that he had endeavoured to adopt\nduring his former administration: but unfortunately he did not possess\ntalents or political sagacity sufficient to pilot the state in this\nperilous season. Bred up in a counting-house, he acquired that knowledge\nof detail, and attention to little advantages, so necessary when a man\ndesires to amass riches with what is termed a fair character: and,\nhaving accumulated a very large fortune by unremitting industry; or, to\nborrow the commercial phrase, _attention to the main chance_, his house\nbecame the resort of the men of letters of his day.\n\nThe foibles of a rich man are always fostered, sometimes perhaps\ninsensibly, by his numerous dependents and visitants, who find his table\namusing or convenient. It is not then surprizing, that, with the\nabilities of a tolerable financier, he was soon persuaded, that he was a\ngreat author, and consummate statesman. Besides, when the manners of a\nnation are very depraved, the men who wish to appear, and even to be,\nmore moral than the multitude, in general become pedantically virtuous;\nand, continually contrasting their morals with the thoughtless vices\naround them, the artificial, narrow character of a sectary is formed;\nthe manners are rendered stiff, and the heart cold. The dupes also of\ntheir flimsey virtue, many men are harshly called hypocrites, who are\nonly weak; and popularity often turns the head giddy, that would have\nsoberly fulfilled the common duties of a man in the shade of private\nlife.\n\nHaving adopted with a timid hand many of the sagacious plans of his\nmodel, the clear headed, unaffected Turgot, Necker was considered by the\ngreater part of the nation as a consummate politician: neither was it\nsurprizing, that the people, snatched from despondency, should have\nmistaken the extent of his political knowledge, when they had estimated\nit by that of the greatest statesman, which France, or, perhaps, any\nother country, ever produced.\n\nHaving written on a subject, that naturally attracted the attention of\nthe public, he had the vanity to believe, that he deserved the\nexaggerated applause he received, and the reputation of wise, when he\nwas only shrewd. Not content with the fame he acquired by writing on a\nsubject, which his turn of mind and profession enabled him to\ncomprehend, he wished to obtain a higher degree of celebrity, by forming\ninto a large book various metaphysical shreds of arguments, which he had\ncollected from the conversation of men, fond of ingenious subtilties;\nand the style, excepting some declamatory passages, was as inflated and\nconfused as the thoughts were far fetched and unconnected[7].\n\nAs it is from this period, that we must date the commencement of those\ngreat events, which, outrunning expectation, have almost rendered\nobservation breathless, it becomes necessary to enter on the task with\ncaution; as it ought not to be more the object of the historian to fill\nup the sketch, than to trace the hidden springs and secret mechanism,\nwhich have put in motion a revolution, the most important that has ever\nbeen recorded in the annals of man. This was a crisis that demanded\nboldness and precision; and no man in France, excepting Necker, had the\nreputation of possessing extensive political talents; because the old\nsystem of government scarcely afforded a field, in which the abilities\nof men could be unfolded, and their judgment matured by experience. Yet,\nwhilst the kingdom was in the greatest fermentation, he seems to have\nthought of none but those timid half-way measures, which always prove\ndisastrous in desperate cases, when the wound requires to be probed to\nthe quick.\n\nThe old government was then only a vast ruin; and whilst it\u2019s pillars\nwere trembling on their baseless foundations, the eyes of all France\nwere directed towards their admired minister. In this situation, with\nall his former empiricism he began his second career, like another\nSangrado. But the people could no longer bear bleeding\u2014for their veins\nwere already so lacerated, it was difficult to find room to make a fresh\nincision; and the emollient prescriptions, the practice of former times,\nwere now insufficient to stop the progress of a deadly disease. In this\nsituation, listening to the voice of the nation, because he was at a\nloss what step to take to maintain his popularity, he determined to\nhasten the convocation of the states-general: first recalling the exiled\nmagistrates, and restoring the parliaments to the exercise of their\nfunctions. His next care was to dissipate all apprehension of a famine;\na fear that had been artfully excited by the court agents, in order to\nhave a pretext to form magazines of provision for an army, which they\nhad previously resolved to assemble in the vicinity of Paris.\n\nThus far he seems to have acted with some degree of prudence, at least;\nbut, inattentive to the robust strength which the public opinion had\nthen acquired, he wavered as to the mode of constituting the\nstates-general, whilst the parliament passed a decree to prevent their\nassembling in any other manner than they did in 1614. This obstinate\npretention to legislate for the nation was no longer to be tolerated,\nwhen they opposed the wishes of the people: yet, with the common\ninstinct of corporate bodies, they wrapped themselves up in the\nprecedents that proved their winding-sheet, provoking universal\ncontempt; for the herculean force of the whole empire was now clearing\naway every obstacle to freedom.\n\nAt this critical moment, the minister, enjoying great popularity, had it\nin his power, could he have governed the court, to have suggested a\nsystem, which might ultimately have proved acceptable to all parties;\nand thus have prevented that dreadful convulsion, which has shook the\nkingdom from one extremity to the other. Instead of that, he convened a\nsecond time the _notables_, to take their opinion on a subject,\nrespecting which the public had already decided, not daring himself to\nsanction it\u2019s decision. The strongest proof he could give, that his mind\nwas not sufficiently elastic to expand with the opening views of the\npeople; and that he did not possess the eye of genius, which, quickly\ndistinguishing what is possible, enables a statesman to act with firm\ndignity, resting on his own centre.\n\nCarried away by the general impulsion, with the inconsiderate fervour of\nmen, whose hearts always grow hard as they cool, when they have been\nwarmed by some sudden glow of enthusiasm or sympathy, the _notables_\nshowed, by their subsequent conduct, that, though they had been led by\neloquence to support some questions of a patriotic tendency, they had\nnot the principles necessary to impel them to give up local advantages,\nor personal prerogatives, for the good of the whole community, in which\nthey were only eventually to share. Indeed romantic virtue, or\nfriendship, seldom goes further than professions; because it is merely\nthe effect of that fondness for imitating great, rather than acquiring\nmoderate qualities, common to vain people.\n\nThe _notables_ had now two essential points to settle; namely, to\nregulate the election of the deputies, and how they were afterwards to\nvote. The population and wealth of several provinces, from commercial\nadvantages and other causes, had given a new face to the country since\nthe former election; so much so, that, if the ancient division were\nadhered to, the representation could not fail to be very unequal. Yet if\nthe natural order of population were followed, the grand question of\nvoting by orders or by voices seemed to be prejudged by the great\nincrease of the members of the _tiers-etat_.\n\nThe nobles and the clergy immediately rallied round the standard of\nprivileges, insisting, that France would be ruined, if their _rights_\nwere touched: and so true were they now to their insulated interest,\nthat all the committees into which the _notables_ were divided,\nexcepting that of which _monsieur_ was president, determined against\nallowing the _tiers-etat_ that increase of power necessary to enable\nthem to be useful. Whilst, however, these disputes and cabals seemed to\npromise no speedy determination, the people, weary of procrastination,\nand disgusted with the obstacles continually thrown in the way of the\nmeeting of the states-general, by a court that was ever secretly at\nwork, to regain the trifling privileges, which it pretended to sacrifice\nto the general good, began to assemble, and even to decide the previous\nquestion, by deliberating together in several places. Dauphine set the\nexample; and the three orders uniting sketched a plan for the\norganization of the whole kingdom, which served as a model for the other\nprovincial states, and furnished grounds for the constituent assembly to\nwork on when forming the constitution. Though the rumour was spread\nabroad, the court, still so stupidly secure as not to see, that the\npeople, who at this period dared to think for themselves, would not now\nbe noosed like beasts, when strength is brought into subjection by\nreason, beheld with wonder the arrival of deputations from different\nquarters, and heard with astonishment the bold tones of men speaking of\ntheir rights, tracing society to it\u2019s origin, and painting with the most\nforcible colours the horrid depredations of the old government. For\nafter the minds of men had been fatigued by the stratagems of the court,\nthe feeble measures of the minister, and the narrow, selfish views of\nthe parliaments, they examined with avidity the productions of a number\nof able writers, who were daily pouring pamphlets from the press, to\nexcite the _tiers-etat_, to assert it\u2019s rights on enlarged principles,\nand to oppose vigorously the exorbitant claims of the privileged orders,\nwho stood up for ancient usurpations, as if they were the natural rights\nof a particular _genus_ of man. Those of the abb\u00e9 Sieyes and the marquis\nde Condorcet were the most philosophical; whilst the unctuous eloquence\nof Mirabeau softened these dry researches, and fed the flame of\npatriotism.\n\nIn this posture of affairs, Necker, perceiving that the people were\ngrown resolute, prevailed on the council to decree, that the number of\nthe deputies of the _tiers-etat_ should be equal to that of the two\nother orders taken together: but whether they were to vote by chambers,\nor in the same body, was still left undetermined.\n\nThe people, whose patience had been worn out by injuries and\ninsults, now only thought of preparing instructions for their\nrepresentatives.\u2014But, instead of looking for gradual improvement,\nletting one reform calmly produce another, they seemed determined to\nstrike at the root of all their misery at once: the united mischiefs\nof a monarchy unrestrained, a priesthood unnecessarily numerous, and\nan over grown nobility: and these hasty measures, become a subject\nworthy of philosophical investigation, naturally fall into two\ndistinct subjects of inquiry.\n\n1st. If, from the progress of reason, we be authorized to infer, that\nall governments will be meliorated, and the happiness of man placed on\nthe solid basis, gradually prepared by the improvement of political\nscience: if the degrading distinctions of rank born in barbarism, and\nnourished by chivalry, be really becoming in the estimation of all\nsensible people so contemptible, that a modest man, in the course of\nfifty years would probably blush at being thus distinguished: if the\ncomplexion of manners in Europe be completely changed from what it was\nhalf a century ago, and the liberty of it\u2019s citizens tolerably secured:\nif every day extending freedom be more firmly established in consequence\nof the general dissemination of truth and knowledge: it then seems\ninjudicious for statesmen to force the adoption of any opinion, by\naiming at the speedy destruction of obstinate prejudices; because these\npremature reforms, instead of promoting, destroy the comfort of those\nunfortunate beings, who are under their dominion, affording at the same\ntime to despotism the strongest arguments to urge in opposition to the\ntheory of reason. Besides, the objects intended to be forwarded are\nprobably retarded, whilst the tumult of internal commotion and civil\ndiscord leads to the most dreadful consequence\u2014the immolating of human\nvictims.\n\nBut, 2dly, it is necessary to observe, that, if the degeneracy of the\nhigher orders of society be such, that no remedy less fraught with\nhorrour can effect a radical cure; and if enjoying the fruits of\nusurpation, they domineer over the weak, and check by all the means in\ntheir power every humane effort, to draw man out of the state of\ndegradation, into which the inequality of fortune has sunk him; the\npeople are justified in having recourse to coercion, to repel coercion.\nAnd, further, if it can be ascertained, that the silent sufferings of\nthe citizens of the world under the iron feet of oppression are greater,\nthough less obvious, than the calamities produced by such violent\nconvulsions as have happened in France; which, like hurricanes whirling\nover the face of nature, strip off all it\u2019s blooming graces; it may be\npolitically just, to pursue such measures as were taken by that\nregenerating country, and at once root out those deleterious plants,\nwhich poison the better half of human happiness. For civilization\nhitherto, by producing the inequality of conditions, which makes wealth\nmore desirable than either talents or virtue, has so weakened all the\norgans of the body-politic, and rendered man such a beast of prey, that\nthe strong have always devoured the weak till the very signification of\njustice has been lost sight of, and charity, the most specious system of\nslavery, substituted in it\u2019s place. The rich have for ages tyrannized\nover the poor, teaching them how to act when possessed of power, and now\nmust feel the consequence. People are rendered ferocious by misery; and\nmisanthropy is ever the offspring of discontent. Let not then the\nhappiness of one half of mankind be built on the misery of the other,\nand humanity will take place of charity, and all the ostentatious\nvirtues of an universal aristocracy. How, in fact, can we expect to see\nmen live together like brothers, when we only see master and servant in\nsociety? For till men learn mutually to assist without governing each\nother, little can be done by political associations towards perfecting\nthe condition of mankind.\n\nEurope will probably be, for some years to come, in a state of anarchy;\ntill a change of sentiments, gradually undermining the strongholds of\ncustom, alters the manners, without rousing the little passions of men,\na pack of yelping curs pampered by vanity and pride. It is in reality\nthese minor passions, which during the summer of idleness mantle on the\nheart, and taint the atmosphere, because the understanding is still.\n\nSeveral acts of ferocious folly have justly brought much obloquy on the\ngrand revolution, which has taken place in France; yet, I feel confident\nof being able to prove, that the people are essentially good, and that\nknowledge is rapidly advancing to that degree of perfectibility, when\nthe proud distinctions of sophisticating fools will be eclipsed by the\nmild rays of philosophy, and man be considered as man\u2014acting with the\ndignity of an intelligent being.\n\nFrom implicitly obeying their sovereigns, the french became suddenly all\nsovereigns; yet, because it is natural for men to run out of one extreme\ninto another, we should guard against inferring, that the spirit of the\nmoment will not evaporate, and leave the disturbed water more clear for\nthe fermentation. Men without principle rise like foam during a storm\nsparkling on the top of the billow, in which it is soon absorbed when\nthe commotion dies away. Anarchy is a fearful state, and all men of\nsense and benevolence have been anxiously attentive, to observe what use\nfrenchmen would make of their liberty, when the confusion incident to\nthe acquisition should subside: yet, whilst the heart sickens over a\ndetail of crimes and follies, and the understanding is appalled by the\nlabour of unravelling a black tissue of plots, which exhibits the human\ncharacter in the most revolting point of view; it is perhaps, difficult\nto bring ourselves to believe, that out of this chaotic mass a fairer\ngovernment is rising than has ever shed the sweets of social life on the\nworld.\u2014But things must have time to find their level.\n\n\n\n\n AN\n HISTORICAL AND MORAL VIEW\n OF THE\n FRENCH REVOLUTION.\n\n\n\n\n _BOOK II._\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF GRIEVANCES IN FRANCE\u2014THE NOBLES\u2014THE MILITARY\u2014THE\nCLERGY\u2014THE FARMERS GENERAL. ELECTION OF DEPUTIES TO THE STATES-GENERAL.\n ARTS OF THE COURTIERS. ASSEMBLY OF THE STATES. RIOTS EXCITED AT PARIS.\n OPENING OF THE STATES-GENERAL. THE KING\u2019S SPEECH. ANSWER TO IT BY THE\n KEEPER OF THE SEALS. SPEECH OF MR. NECKER. CONTEST RESPECTING THE MODE\nOF ASSEMBLING. TACIT ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. ATTEMPT\nOF THE COURT TO RESTRAIN IT. THE DEPUTIES DECLARE THEMSELVES A NATIONAL\n ASSEMBLY.\n\n\nBefore we enter on the grand business produced by the meeting of the\nstates-general, it is necessary to take a retrospective glance over the\noppressions of which frenchmen so loudly complained; and, whilst we\ntrace their justness, the question will only be, why they did not sooner\nraise their shoulders to heave off the mighty load. To ascertain this\ntruth, we need not enter into deep researches, though it may be\ndifficult to collect all the parts of the feudal chain, which linked the\ndespotism of sixty thousand nobles, who not only exercised all the\ntyranny that the system authorized, but countenanced the still more\nextensive depredations of their numerous dependents. What, indeed, could\nequal the slavery of the poor husbandman; not only pillaged by the tythe\nand game laws, but even obliged to let whole flocks of pigeons devour\nhis grain, without daring to destroy them, because those pigeons\nbelonged to the chateau; and afterwards forced to carry the scanty crop\nto be tolled at the mill of _monseigneur_, which, to follow a\nfrenchman\u2019s staff of life through all it\u2019s stages of taxation, must then\nbe baked at the privileged oven?\n\nIt would be captious, perhaps, to dwell on some of the abominable\ntenures of personal servitude, which, though grown obsolete, were not\nabrogated; especially as more specious, if not less grinding, not less\ndebasing exactions were in force, to deprave every moral feeling of the\ntwo divisions of society; the governing, and governed.\n\nWhen chased from the country, of which the chief charm is independence,\nby such worrying restraints, a man wished to pursue any occupation in a\ntown, he must previously purchase a patent of some privileged person, to\nwhom this tax had been sold by a farmer-general, or the parasite of a\nminister.\n\nAll lived by plunder; and it\u2019s universality gave it a sanction, that\ntook off the odium, though nothing could varnish the injustice. Yet,\nsuch was the insensibility of the great, the pleasures these extortions\nprocured were not less grateful to the senses, because paid by the sweat\nof industry.\u2014No; like Vespasian\u2019s obnoxious tax, money was money; and\nwho cared on what it was levied? Thus the rich necessarily became\nrobbers, and the poor thieves. Talking of honour, honesty was\noverlooked; and, custom giving a soft name to different atrocities, few\nthought it a duty to investigate disregarded principles; or to\nrelinquish their share of the plunder, to satisfy a romantic singularity\nof opinion, which excited ridicule rather than imitation.\n\nThe military, a pest in every country, were here also all noble, and\nleagued with a hundred thousand privileged persons, of different\ndescriptions, to support their prerogative of receiving a revenue, which\nwas a dead weight on agriculture; whilst they were not obliged, in a\ndirect way, to advance any thing towards defraying the public\nexpenditure.\n\nThe gabelle, the corv\u00e9e, the obligation to supply horses to transport\nthe troops from one part of the kingdom to another, even when most\nnecessary at the farm; clogs on husbandry, equally unjust and vexatious;\nwere riveted only on the ankles of labour. Activity then being\ncontinually damped by such various restrictions, instead of being braced\nby encouragement, an invincible impediment was thrown in the way of\nagricultural improvements; for each individual, insulated by oppression,\nlived, strictly speaking, from hand to mouth; not caring to store up\ncomforts, at the expence of extraordinary toil, when the enjoyment\ndepended on so many casualties. Yet, never beginning to be sensible of\nthe effect, the people were not, probably, aware of the cause; and only\nexclaimed against new impositions, because they did not think\nsufficiently deep to detect the old.\n\nBeside which, France maintained two hundred thousand priests, united in\nthe same spirit of licentiousness; who indulged themselves in all the\ndepraved pleasures of cloaked immorality, at the same time they embruted\nthe people by sanctifying the most diabolical prejudices; to whose\nempire every consideration of justice and political improvement was\nsacrificed.\n\nAdded to evils of this magnitude, there were the canker-worms that\nlurked behind monastic walls. For sixty thousand persons, who by\nrenouncing the world cut the thread of nature, served as a prop to the\npriesthood that enjoyed more than a fourth of the produce of all France;\nindependent of the estates it possessed, which were immense. And this\nbody of men, the leeches of the kingdom, the idols of the ignorant, and\nthe palladium of tyranny, contributed not a farthing to the support of\nthe hydra, whom they were anxious to protect, as a guard to themselves.\nOstentatiously boasting of their charity, whilst revelling on the spoil\nof fraud, by a sacrilege the most nefarious, their whole lives were a\nmockery of the doctrines, which they taught, and pretended to reverence.\nBeside these, and other vexations, almost innumerable, one entangled in\nanother; each petty monopoly contributed to strengthen the massy fabric\nof despotism, which reared it\u2019s head in defiance of time and reason.\nMuch, indeed, depended on the caprice of the individuals of the\nprivileged orders, whom the court could actuate at will, giving them\noccasionally a sop to silence any peevish growl.\n\nThere were also the farmers general, with their army of fifty thousand\ncollectors, who, by their manner of levying and amassing the revenue,\ngave an additional gripe to an oppression, the most wringing that could\nbe invented, because it\u2019s very principles led to the exercise of the\nvilest peculation; and impunity was secured by a coalition of robbers,\nthat multitude of men in office, whose families and flatterers all\nlived, and fattened on the spoil of their continual war with justice.\nAnd, whilst the interest of the people was continually sacrificed by the\nparliaments, the inferiour courts of law were still more venal, because\ncomposed of those litigious practitioners, who thicken like spawn on\nputrid bodies, when a state is become corrupt.\n\nSuch were the grievances!\u2014Such the impositions, \u2018that, taken together,\nlevied a tax on the kingdom,\u2019 says Rabaud, \u2018which the imagination is\nafraid to calculate.\u2019 This body of men we may consider as constituting\nFrance, till the great bulk of the people, who were slaves and dwarfs,\nbursting their shackles and rising in stature, suddenly appeared with\nthe dignity and pretentions of human beings: Yes; With the same\nfeelings; or perhaps stronger, because more natural; and claiming equal\nrights with those nobles, who, like the giants of old, were only great\nby the courtesy of the imagination. Who is so callous to the interest of\nhumanity as to say it was not a noble regeneration? Who is so benumbed\nby selfish fears, as not to feel a glow of warmth, at seeing the\ninhabitants of a vast empire exalted from the lowest state of beastly\ndegradation to a summit, where, contemplating the dawn of freedom, they\nmay breathe the invigorating air of independence; which will give them a\nnew constitution of mind? Who is so much under the influence of\nprejudice, as to insist, that frenchmen are a distinct race, formed by\nnature, or by habit, to be slaves; and incapable of ever attaining those\nnoble sentiments, which characterize a free people? When the dawn of\nthem appeared conspicuously at the elections for the states-general,\nwhich were the preparatory struggles to make a change of opinion produce\nan essential alteration in government.\n\nSix millions of men were now in motion to choose the deputies, and\nprepare their instructions; and in these assemblies the commons\ncommenced their political career; discussing, on new ground, subjects\nthat quickly became the only interesting topics throughout the kingdom.\n\nIn some few places, the three orders meeting together seemed to decide\nthe important question respecting the equality of the representatives\nbut, in general, the first two chambered themselves to guard tenaciously\ntheir trembling prerogatives; and the third, with a cautious jealousy,\nto demand the redress of grievances, which they could scarcely expect\nthe others to denominate by so harsh a name.\n\nGreat decorum reigned in the chamber of the nobility, though split into\nvarious ranks; the lower of which had ill brooked, for a long time, the\noverbearing insolence of those princes and peers, who haughtily\ncontested every step of honour. Still all agreed, to resign their\npecuniary privileges, and joined in vague terms, with the public voice,\nto demand a constitution.\n\nThe same divisions produced more visible effects amongst the clergy: for\nconsiderable tumults were the consequence of the struggle of the\nparish-priests, the commons of this order, to have their due weight in\nthe scale; and their success seemed a sure prognostic of the turn things\nwere going to take in the nation. In fact, every diocess was become the\ncentre of a petty despotism, more galling than the great, because at\neach man\u2019s elbow; and the parish-priests, who were not in the high road\nto preferment, most oppressed, led the van in the new contest for\nequality; whilst disrespect for the mitre paved the way to a contempt\nfor the crown.\n\nIndivisible as had hitherto been the clerical body, the indecent pride\nof the dignitaries of the church, at this juncture, produced the schism,\nwhich induced the majority of the clergy to side with the people; whilst\nonly a small minority of the nobility deserted the common cause of the\nparty. The parish-priests, in fact, appeared, from the time of their\nelection, a corps in reserve for the third-estate; where they sought for\nthe consequence they were denied in their own chamber, finding\nthemselves more nearly allied by interest, as well as inclination, to\nthis order than to the rich pastors, who, separating the sheep from the\ngoats, bade them stand aloof, as possessing less riches\u2014the holiness of\nthat body, as of all others. The electing of so many of the inferiour\nclergy, in spite of the menaces and intrigues of their numerous\nsuperiours, was a striking proof, that the power of the church was in\nthe wane; and that the people were beginning to feel their own strength.\nThe disturbances at this time seemed the rumbling of the approaching\ntempest; and orators, formed in these provincial assemblies, to figure\nafterwards in national, were encouraged by applause to persevere.\n\nHaving the same mark in view, an uniformity of sentiment breathed\nthroughout the instructions of the third-estate; principally levelled at\nthe privileges of the two other orders: for on these abuses the most\npopular publications had hinged, rivetting conviction in the minds of\nthe suffering people. A celebrated pamphlet, written by the abb\u00e9 Sieyes,\nwent through sixty editions; and the duke of Orleans, piqued at the\nroyal family, took great pains to spread abroad opinions, which were far\nfrom being congenial with his own; thus, with purblind ambition,\nlabouring to overturn a court, the ruins of which have rebounded on his\nown head.\n\nBut the temper of the nation, sore with suffering, and warmed by these\ndiscussions, so ran a-head of their judgment, as to lead the electors,\nwith hasty zeal, to instruct their representatives, to demand the\nimmediate suppression of a host of abuses, without guarding against the\nconsequences.\u2014Such, unfortunately, is always the conduct pursued by\nexasperated passions; for, during the rage to correct abuses, one is,\ntoo frequently, only exchanged for another. So difficult is it to\nimpress the salutary lessons of experience on irritated minds!\u2014And so\napt are men, in the moment of action, to fly from one extreme to the\nother, without considering, that the strongest conviction of reason\ncannot quickly change a habit of body; much less the manners that have\nbeen gradually produced by certain modes of thinking and acting.\n\nWith one voice, however, the whole nation called for a constitution, to\nestablish equal rights, as the foundation of freedom; and to guard\nagainst the depredations of favourites, whether they attacked person or\nproperty. So that the liberty of the press, and the abolition of\n_lettres de cachet_, were, in general, the articles that followed the\npositive injunction of confining the right of taxation to the\nrepresentative body of the nation. The institution of juries was\nrecommended, and the deputies were requested to take into consideration,\nwhether the number of capital punishments could not be lessened, or\ntotally abolished; remarks were made on the evil tendency of lotteries,\nand on the vexatious impediments thrown in the way of trade, by barriers\nand monopolies. In short, against the tyranny and injustice of the\ncourt, the nobility, and the clergy, all remonstrated; unmasking one\nspecies of oppression, and dilating on another; yet, among these\nnumerous animadversions, prayers and praises alone were addressed to the\nking; and nothing like a glance at republicanism rendered their\nsincerity doubtful.\n\nTo divert the gathering storm from breaking over their heads, the cabal\ndetermined to rest all their hopes on the aid of the foreign troops;\nwhich they were collecting from different parts of the kingdom, not\ncaring to trust to the french soldiery, who were assuming the character\nof citizens. Mean while, with the usual chicanery of courtiers, they\ncontinued to amuse the deputies, till they could crush them at once; and\neffectually blast the hopes of the people. The human heart is naturally\ngood, though so often the dupe of passion.\u2014For though it\u2019s feelings be\nsophisticated, or stifled; though the head contrives the blackest\nmachinations; even in the silence of solitude, who will whisper to\nhimself that he is a villain? Will he not rather try, like Milton\u2019s\ndevil, to find out a damned plea of necessity, to cover his\nguilt?\u2014paying homage, in spite of himself, to the eternal justice he\nviolates under the pretext of self-preservation. But, it is not alone\nthe virtues of man, those changing hues, of which the colour is\nundecided, that proclaim his native dignity. No; his vices have the same\nstamp of the divinity: and it is necessary to pervert the understanding,\nbefore the heart can be led astray. Men, likewise, indolently adopt the\nhabits of thinking of their day, without weighing them. Thus these very\ncourtiers, who could coolly contemplate the massacre, which must be the\nconsequence of assembling the foreign troops, because it was a\ncontinuance of the established course of things, have since started,\nprobably with real horrour, from the contemplation of the butcheries,\nwhich their very tenacity produced. Such is the deceitfulness of the\nhuman heart, and so necessary is it to render the head clear to make the\nprinciples of action pure.\n\nThe deputies, however, who were mostly collected from remote parts of\nthe country, had become in their villages the hale sons of independence.\nAnd, though the french mania, of adoring their monarch, extended to\nevery part of the kingdom, it only gave hilarity to the cheering glass\nat the homely tables of which they were masters; or activity to the\ndance, that was a real burst of animal spirits. Very different from the\nlascivious provocations to vice, exhibited at the opera, which, by\ndestroying the social affections that attach men to each other, stifle\nall public spirit; for what is patriotism but the expansion of domestic\nsympathy, rendered permanent by principle? Besides, the writings that\nhad awakened the spirit of these men had a little inebriated their\nbrain. Such is, for the most part, the baneful effect of eloquence,\nthat, persuading instead of convincing, the glory of the enthusiasm it\ninspires is sullied by that false magnanimity, which vanity and\nignorance continually mistake for real elevation of soul; though, like\nthe scorching rays of the sun after rain, it dries into sterility the\nheart, whose emotions are too quickly exhaled.\n\nThe courtiers, despising their rusticity, and still considering the\npeople as ciphers, continued to discharge the usual routine of office,\nby adjusting the ceremonials of reception; all which tended to insult\nthe third-estate, and show, that the deputies of the privileged orders\nwere to be still treated as if they were a distinct class of beings. The\ninsolence of such proceedings could not fail to provoke the honest\nindignation, and pique the vanity of those, who had been discussing on a\nbroad scale the rights of man; whilst a little disconcerted by the\nceremony that constrained them, they were obliged, every moment, to\nrecollect, that they were the equals of these courtiers; and blushed\neven to own to themselves, that they could for an instant have been awed\nby such childish pomp. Nor were they more astonished at the pageantry of\nVersailles, than disgusted with the haughtiness of a court, whose\nmagnificence was a proof how much they had impoverished the people, who\nnow demanded emancipation. Full, therefore, of the new notions of\nindependence, which made them spurn at every idea of a distinction of\nmen, they took advantage of the majority accorded them by the council,\nand began to rally their forces. Perceiving also, as they acted\ndecidedly, that they possessed the confidence of the people, who,\nforgetting _vive le roi_, exclaimed only vive le tiers-etat!\u2014they every\nday became more firm.\n\nThe courtiers immediately fixed on a house of rendezvous, where they\nwere regularly to concert the best measures to crush the rising power of\nthe commons; and these, not without a portion of the mistrust, which\ncharacterizes the nation, assembled in different places, till a mutual\ninterest united them in that chosen by the deputies from Brittany. The\ndisrespect, likewise, which the orders relative to their dress\nannounced, prepared them for the contempt they were destined to receive,\nwhen separated like the indian casts, amongst whom a man fears to be\npolluted by the touch of an inferiour: for true to the inveterate\nprejudice in favour of precedents[8], the nobility were gaudily\ncaparisoned for the show, whilst the commons were stupidly commanded to\nwear the black mantle, that distinguishes the lawyers. But, the tide of\nopinion once turned, every thing contributes to accelerate it\u2019s course.\n\nBefore the meeting of the states-general, the question that was first to\nagitate the various interests, whether they were to vote by orders or\npoll, had been so thoroughly discussed, that it made, in many of the\ninstructions, one of the foremost articles. For it was evident to the\nnation, were the different orders allowed to assemble in their separate\nchambers, each invested with the old privilege of putting a negative on\nthe decisions of the other two, that they should be gulled with promises\nof reform, whilst the coffers of the court were replenished with a show\nof legality. It was, in fact, prudent in the court party to maintain\nthis ground, because it appeared to be the only way to render abortive\nall the plans of reformation that struck at their authority. This then\nwas the prefatory business, by which they were to measure their\nstrength; and, would to God! the vigour manifested on this occasion had\nalways been displayed by the representatives of those misled people.\n\nWe have seen the plots of this weak, headstrong cabinet every where\ndefeated, and traced their bloody footsteps; but we shall find them\nstill true to their scent, having recourse again to violence, when fraud\nwas of no avail.\n\nTo furnish a pretext to introduce adroitly a considerable military\nforce, at the time of the assembling of the states-general, two or three\nriots had been excited at Paris, in which many of the thoughtless\npopulace were killed. One in particular, though still involved in the\nshades of mystery, occasioned great confusion and considerable\nslaughter, just at the eve of their meeting.\n\nA respectable manufacturer in the suburbs of Paris, with the fairest\ncharacter, employed a number of poor, whom he paid liberally; yet\nagainst this man some idle stories were industriously circulated, well\ncontrived to mislead and exasperate the people, because they touched\ntheir vanity, and their most pressing want, the want of bread. The\nscarcity, real or factitious, of this article, has always been taken\nadvantage of by those who wished to excite tumults in Paris; and at this\njuncture the duped parisians rose, at the instigation of the court\nagents, to destroy themselves. The riot was permitted to get a-head\nbefore any serious attempts to quell it were taken, which rendered the\ninterference of a little army, the point aimed at, necessary; and\nestablished an opinion, that the turbulent mob required to be awed by\nthe presence of troops, whilst the states-general deliberated.\n\nDuring this effervescence, or, at least, when it was subsiding, the\nstates-general was opened, the 5th of may, 1789, by a speech from the\nthrone, to which courtiers, in the usual phraseology, would naturally\ntack the epithet\u2014_gracious_. The king commenced with a heartless\ndeclaration of his satisfaction at seeing himself surrounded by the\nrepresentatives of the people; and then enumerating the heavy debts of\nthe nation, a great part of which had been accumulated during his reign,\nhe added one of those idle falsehoods, which swelled his declamation\nwithout throwing dust into any one\u2019s eyes, _that it was in an honourable\ncause_; when it was notorious, that the cause ought to have been\nreckoned most dishonourable, if power had not hitherto been the true\nphilosopher\u2019s stone, that transmuted the basest actions into sterling\nhonour. He afterwards alluded to the spirit of innovation, that had\ntaken possession of the minds of the people, and the general discontent\nthat agitated the nation: but, in the true cant of courts, dictating\nwhilst complimenting, he assured them, that he depended on their wisdom\nand moderation; concluding with the words of course, _the humble servant\nof kings_, a declaration of his attachment to the public welfare.\n\nThe disregarded speech of the keeper of the seals was, like the reply\nusually made to the king\u2019s, in the house of commons in England, merely\nan echo of his majesty\u2019s, recommending moderation in the measures\nadopted to reform the abuses of government, with the necessary quantum\nof panegyric on the goodness of the king.\n\nAttention and applause, however, awaited Necker, though followed by\nweariness and disgust. He spoke for three hours, introducing, with his\ncustomary pomp of words, a number of trivial observations; trying thus\nto escape, in a mist of rhetorical flourishes, from the subject he\nfeared to bring forward, because he was equally apprehensive of\noffending the court, and desirous of maintaining his reputation with the\npeople. Not a word was uttered relative to the sole right of the\nstates-general to levy taxes, the first demand of the nation. And men\nwho for some time had been talking of nothing but liberty and reform,\nwere astonished, and dissatisfied, that he avoided all mention of a new\nconstitution. Leaning to the side of the privileged orders, he asserted,\nthat the mode of deliberating and voting in separate assemblies was the\npillar of the nation\u2014yet, cautiously adding a salvo, to have a pretext\nto use another language should it be necessary, he remarked, that\n_sometimes_ it was better to poll. This ill-timed management naturally\ndispleased both parties, as is always the case, when men of weak,\ncompound characters, who have not the courage to act right, want\neffrontery to brave the censure, that would follow an open avowal of\ntheir undecided opinions; or rather, their determination to keep well\nwith the strongest. Dwelling on the arrangement of the finances, he\nassured them, that a public bankruptcy might easily be avoided; and that\neven the _deficit_, which had been exaggerated by France, and Europe,\nwas only fifty-six millions; and would appear of less consequence, when\nthey recollected, that, since _his_ administration, the revenue was\naugmented twenty-five millions. It is true, that, on entering into\ndetails, the greater part of this sum was found to be still in\nperspective; and at the same time was to be raised by taxes, which all\ngood citizens hoped would soon disappear. In short, the french, after\napplauding with rapture this brilliant bird\u2019s-eye view, observed, with\nthe shrug of _sang froid_, \u2018that these hypothetical resources were\nmerely faith and hope, on condition that they should be charitable.\u2019\nWith respect to the abolishing of privileges, that warred with humanity,\nhe made use of some of the same species of jesuitical arguments, which\nare employed by the opposers of the abolition of the infamous traffic\nfor slaves; that, as these privileges were a kind of property, it was\nnecessary to find out a compensation, an indemnity, before they could be\ndone away\u2014with justice.\n\nThus has the spirit of justice\u2014it is difficult to keep down indignation\nwhen attacking such sophisms\u2014been always outraged by the mock respect of\nselfishness; for, without parrying off tergiversation, it is sufficient\nto prove, that certain laws are not just, because no government had a\nright to make them; and, though they may have received what is termed a\nlegal sanction during the times of ignorance, \u201cthe duty lies in the\nbreach and not in the observance.\u201d Besides, these pitiful arguments are\nan insult to the common sense, and to the distress of a people.\u2014Where,\nindeed, could the french, or english, find a fund to indemnify the\nprivileged orders or the planters? The abuses then, must continue to the\nend of time\u2014out of sheer respect to the sacredness of public faith!\n\nThus spoke the king and Necker; but these addresses, instead of\nconciliating, only rendered both parties more obstinate; so that the\nsmothering dispute respecting the manner of voting broke out\nimmediately, when they met to constitute themselves a legal assembly.\nFor the next day, even the deputies of the third-estate repaired to the\ncommon hall, and agreed, that the three orders should proceed to verify\ntheir powers together; clearly perceiving, that, were the orders once\nallowed to do business separately, an union would be impracticable, and\nall their efforts to obtain a constitution null, should they attempt to\nmake equality of rights the basis. The nobility and clergy not joining\nthe commons, they resolved to renew their meeting the following morning;\nonly as an aggregate of individuals, who had no power to act, not having\nyet a political character. This very contest seemed to call upon them to\nsupport their claim to equality, because it emphatically warned them,\nthat all their operations would be rendered perfectly nugatory, should\nthey permit the orders to be a check on each other. The most sensible\nmen of the commons being of opinion, that all expectations of a\npermanent reform were chimerical, unless the whole representation was\nformed into an indivisible assembly, encouraged the more undecided to\npersevere; though the nobles signified to them, the 13th, that they had\nascertained the legality of their election.\n\nThe clergy, however, divided in their interest, proceeded with more\ncaution; and the most discerning of them, perceiving that their order\nwas becoming obnoxious to the people, who now deified the third-estate,\nproposed a committee of conciliation, with a view, as they pretended, to\npromote a good understanding between all parties. The king also, in his\nturn, when the nobles rejected the mediation of the clergy, offered a\nplan of accommodation; a mighty nothing, that the court brought\nforth.\u2014But this tub, thrown out to the whale, did not divert the\nattention of either party from the main object; though the nobles, many\nof whom were in the secret of the approach of the army, should things be\ncarried to extremes, pretended to acquiesce; yet guarding carefully at\nthe same time all their ancient pretentions: and this insincerity drew\non them the universal odium they merited, mixed with the contempt which\nineffectual struggles always produce. Conciliatory measures, in fact,\nwere only a solemn farce at this time; though the clergy, rather\ninsidiously, to ingratiate themselves with the people, lamenting the\nhigh price of bread, requested, that deputies from the three orders\nshould meet to deliberate how this grievance might be lessened. The\ndeputies of the commons, with becoming dignity, tempered with prudence,\nadhered to their point; and dexterously parrying off the artful stroke\nlevelled at their popularity, they represented to the clergy, that this\nwas another powerful motive, to make them entreat all parties to rally\nround the same point, to remedy evils, which excited equal sympathy in\ntheir bosoms.\n\nThe inactivity occasioned by these disputes could not fail to inflame\nthe public mind, especially as fresh publications were daily affording\nit fuel. For the liberty of the press was now tacitly established, and\nthe freest sentiments uttered, with the heat of superficial knowledge,\nin defiance of court manifestoes. Still, as a proof that the court\nmerely endured, for a season, what they could not prevent, the journal\nof the proceedings of the states-general was stopped, by an express\norder; to evade which it was continued in the form of letters from\nMirabeau to his constituents.\n\nThis prohibition was probably dictated by a desire of keeping the\nprovinces quiet in the stupor of ignorance, in which they had so long\ndozed; but it was injudicious to awaken attention by rigorous steps,\nthat, quickly abandoned, had the very contrary effect, exciting, instead\nof intimidating, the spirit of opposition. In reality, the eyes of all\nFrance were at present directed towards the commons. The hopes of the\nnation rested on their magnanimity; and the future happiness of millions\ndepended upon their perseverance. It was in this state of things, that\nthey afforded a convincing proof to the whole world, and to posterity,\nthat vigour and precision alone are requisite in the representatives of\na people, to give dignity to their proceedings, and to secure them\nagainst the machinations of all the combined powers of despotism.\n\nAlmost five weeks having elapsed, and the patience of the nation being\nquite exhausted by the delay, the commons resolved to present an address\nto the king, written by Mirabeau, explanatory of their motives, and then\nto proceed to business. But, previously, they sent a deputation to the\nother orders, for the last time, to invite them once more to repair to\nthe common hall, that their powers might be verified together; adding,\nthat in default of their appearance, they should constitute themselves,\nand act accordingly. This determination was a deadly blow to the power\nof the two other chambers, and struck directly at the root of all\ndistinction.\n\nThe nobles, whose inveterate pride and ignorance had prevented them from\njoining the third-estate at the first assembling of the deputies, now\nsaw with dismay, that their power and influence, like the musty rolls of\ntheir pedigree, were mouldering into common dust. The clergy, however,\nmore adroit, or rather a few of the parochial priests, by degrees,\nattended the summons, and repaired to the hall. There can be little\ndoubt, but that the commons, at the first meeting, and for a long time\nafter, would gladly have coalesced with the nobles; by which means the\nlatter would have retained many of their privileges, and preserved a\nweight in the nation, necessary to hinder that preponderance, on the\nside of the people, which it was easy to foresee would be productive of\nmany excesses. This conclusion continual experience warranted; because\nit generally happens, that men, who are not directed by practical\nknowledge, in whatever business they engage, run precipitately from one\nextreme to the other. And certainly, from the state of servility in\nwhich the french nation was sunk, retaliation was to be expected; or, at\nleast, dreaded, from unbridled liberty. Like boys dismissed from school,\nthey might wish to ascertain their freedom by acts of mischief; and by\nshowing a total disregard of the arbitrary commands, that kept down\ntheir spirits without exercising their understandings. However, the\nstupid arrogance of the nobles stript them, before the time reason would\nhave determined, of those idle distinctions of opinion, the symbols of\nbarbarism, which were not completely worn out of esteem.\n\nThe minister, still afraid to act independent of the court, blamed this\nspirited conduct of the commons, as an act of temerity, which the king\nought not to sanction. Yet they, firm and resolute, though fearing that\nthe court, like a dying savage, mortally wounded by his enemy, might,\nduring the agonies of death, aim a desperate stroke at them, took the\nmost prudent precautions, to avoid exasperating the falling foe. But\nthese mild resolutions having been mistaken by the infatuated nobles,\nwho confounded the true fortitude of moderation with cowardice, the die\nwas cast, and the deputies declared themselves a _NATIONAL ASSEMBLY_.\n\nEnthusiasm fired every heart, and extended itself like thought from one\nend of the kingdom to the other. The very novelty of this measure was\nsufficient to animate a people less volatile than the french; and,\nperhaps, it is impossible to form a just conception of the transports\nwhich this decision excited in every corner of the empire. Europe also\nheard with astonishment what resounding through France excited the most\nlively emotions; and posterity must read with wonder the recital of the\nfollies and atrocities committed by the court and nobles at that\nimportant crisis.\n\nThe Social Contract of Rousseau, and his admirable work on the origin of\nthe inequalities amongst mankind, had been in the hands of all France,\nand admired by many, who could not enter into the depth of the\nreasoning. In short, they were learned by heart, by those whose heads\ncould not comprehend the chain of argument, though they were\nsufficiently clear to seize the prominent ideas, and act up to their\nconviction. Perhaps, the great advantage of eloquence is, that,\nimpressing the results of thinking on minds alive only to emotion, it\ngives wings to the slow foot of reason, and fire to the cold labours of\ninvestigation. Yet it is observable, that, in proportion as the\nunderstanding is cultivated, the mind grows attached to the exercise of\ninvestigation, and the combination of abstract ideas. The nobles of\nFrance had also read these writings for amusement; but they left not on\ntheir minds traces of conviction sufficiently strong to overcome those\nprejudices self-interest rendered so dear, that they easily persuaded\nthemselves of their reasonableness. The nobility and clergy, with all\ntheir dependents under the influence of the same sentiments, formed a\nconsiderable proportion of the nation, on the rest of which they looked\ndown with contempt, considering them as merely the grass of the land,\nnecessary to clothe nature; yet only fit to be trodden under foot. But\nthese despised people were beginning to feel their real consequence, and\nrepeated with emphasis the happy comparison of the abb\u00e9 Seiyes, \u2018that\nthe nobility are like vegetable tumours, which cannot exist without the\nsap of the plants they exhaust.\u2019 Nevertheless, in treating with the\nnobles, the angles of pride, which time alone could have smoothed\nsilently away, were, perhaps, too rudely knocked off, for the folly of\ndistinctions was rapidly wearing itself out, and would probably have\nmelted gradually before the rational opinions, that were continually\ngaining ground, fructifying the soil as they dissolved; instead of which\nit was drifted by a hurricane, to spread destruction around as it fell.\n\nMany of the officers, who had served in America during the late war, had\nbeheld the inhabitants of a whole empire living in a state of perfect\nequality; and returned, charmed with their simplicity and integrity, the\nconcomitants of a just government, erected on the solid foundation of\nequal liberty, to scan the rectitude, or policy of a different system.\nConvinced of their inutility as nobles, these, when fired with the love\nof freedom, seconded the views of the commons with heart and voice. But\nthe sycophants of the court, and the greater part of the nobility, who\nwere grossly ignorant of every thing that was not comprised in the art\nof living in a continual round of pleasure, insensible of the precipice\non which they were standing, would not, at first, recede a single step\nto save themselves; and this obstinacy was the chief cause that led to\nthe entire new organization of the constitution, framed by the national\nassembly. The french in reality were arrived, through the vices of their\ngovernment, at that degree of false refinement, which makes every man,\nin his own eyes, the centre of the world; and when this gross\nselfishness, this complete depravity, prevails in a nation, an absolute\nchange must take place; because the members of it have lost the cement\nof humanity, which kept them together. All other vices are, properly\nspeaking, superfluous strength, powers running to waste; but this morbid\nspot shows, that there is death in the heart. Whatever, indeed, may be\nthe wisdom or folly of a mixed government of king, lords, and commons,\nis of no consequence in the present history; because it appears\nsufficiently obvious, that the aristocracy of France destroyed itself,\nthrough the ignorant arrogance of it\u2019s members; who, bewildered in a\nthick fog of prejudices, could discern neither the true dignity of man,\nnor the spirit of the times.\n\nIt also deserves to be noted, that the regeneration of the french\ngovernment, at this crisis, depended on the fortitude of the national\nassembly at the outset of the contest for, if the court party had\nprevailed, the commons would have rested in their usual state of\ninsignificancy, and their whole proceedings proved only a solemn farce.\nThey would have wrapped themselves up in their black mantles, like the\nherd of undertaker\u2019s men at a funeral, merely to follow with servile\nsteps the idle cavalcade to it\u2019s resting place; and the people would\nonly have seen their ancient tyranny revive, tricked out in new\nhabiliments.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PROCEED TO BUSINESS. OPPOSITION OF THE NOBLES,\n BISHOPS, AND COURT. A SEANCE ROYALE PROCLAIMED, AND THE HALL OF THE\n ASSEMBLY SURROUNDED BY SOLDIERS. THE MEMBERS ADJOURN TO THE TENNIS\n COURT, AND VOW NEVER TO SEPARATE TILL A CONSTITUTION SHOULD BE\n COMPLETED. THE MAJORITY OF THE CLERGY AND TWO OF THE NOBLES JOIN THE\n COMMONS. SEANCE ROYALE. THE KING\u2019S SPEECH. SPIRITED BEHAVIOUR OF THE\n ASSEMBLY. SPEECH OF MIRABEAU. PERSONS OF THE DEPUTIES DECLARED\n INVIOLABLE. MINORITY OF THE NOBLES JOIN THE COMMONS. AT THE REQUEST OF\n THE KING, THE MINORITY OF THE CLERGY DO THE SAME,\u2014AND ARE AT LENGTH\n FOLLOWED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE NOBLES\u2014CHARACTER OF THE QUEEN OF\n FRANCE,\u2014OF THE KING,\u2014AND OF THE NOBLES. LECTURES ON LIBERTY AT THE\nPALAIS ROYAL. PARIS SURROUNDED BY TROOPS. SPIRIT OF LIBERTY INFUSED INTO\nTHE SOLDIERS. ELEVEN OF THE FRENCH GUARDS IMPRISONED BECAUSE THEY WOULD\n NOT FIRE ON THE POPULACE, AND LIBERATED BY THE PEOPLE. REMONSTRANCE OF\n THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. THE KING PROPOSES TO REMOVE THE ASSEMBLY TO\n NOYON, OR SOISSONS. NECKER DISMISSED. CITY MILITIA PROPOSED. THE\n POPULACE ATTACKED IN THE GARDEN OF THE THUILLERIES BY THE PRINCE OF\n LAMBESC. NOCTURNAL ORGIES AT VERSAILLES.\n\n\nThe third-estate, having constituted themselves a national assembly, now\nproceeded to business, with calm prudence, taking into consideration the\nurgent necessities of the state. Closely also attending to their\ninstructions, they first pronounced, that all taxes not enacted by the\nconsent of the representatives of the people were illegal; and\nafterwards gave a temporary sanction to the present levies, to avoid\ndissolving one government before they had framed another. They then\nturned their attention to the object next in importance, and declared,\nthat, as soon as, in concert with his majesty, they should be able to\nfix the principles of national regeneration, they would employ\nthemselves to examine and liquidate the national debt; mean time the\ncreditors of the state were declared to be under the safe-guard of the\nhonour of the french nation. These decrees concluded with a resolve,\nthat the assembly, now become active, should dedicate it\u2019s first moments\nto inquire into the cause of the scarcity that afflicted the kingdom;\nand to search for a remedy the most prompt and effectual.\n\nThe nobles, bishops, and, in fact, the whole court, now seriously began\nto rally all their forces; convinced that it was become necessary, to\noppose their united strength against the commons, to prevent their\ncarrying every thing before them.\n\nThe chamber of the clergy had been engaged for several days, in\ndiscussing the question, where they should verify their powers. A number\nof them, during this discussion, appear to have advanced, feeling their\nway; for when they now came to divide, the majority decided to join the\nnational assembly.\n\nAlarmed by the prospect of this junction, one of the members of the\nchamber, which almost arrogated to itself the prerogative of\nlegislation, that of the nobles, proposed an address to the king,\nbeseeching him to dissolve the states-general; whilst the cause of the\npeople was there vigorously supported by a minority, feeble as to\nnumbers, but powerful in argument, animated by the popularity, which\ntheir bold declaration could not fail to produce during the reign of\nenthusiasm.\n\nThis was a moment pregnant with great events. The court still trusted to\nsubterfuge, and, holding the representatives of the people in\nsuperlative contempt, affected in some degree to yield to the prayer of\nthe nation; though signifying, that the king was the only fountain of\njustice, and that he would grant every thing which his faithful subjects\ncould reasonably demand. A trick as palpable as the design was flagrant;\nfor at the instant they were pretending to see some reason in their\nrequisitions, they were guarding against their obtaining the only thing\nthat could secure their rights, an equal representation; holding for\nthis purpose mischievous councils, composed of characters most obnoxious\nin the eyes of the people. In these meetings it was resolved, to amuse\nthe commons, until the army could be assembled; and then, in case of\nobstinacy, they would draw on themselves the consequence. Accordingly\nthe 20th of june, the day on which the majority of the clergy was to\njoin the commons, the herald proclaimed a _s\u00e9ance royale_; and a\ndetachment of guards surrounded the hall of the national assembly, to\ntake care (such was the shallow pretext) that it should be properly\nprepared for the reception of the king. The deputies came to the door at\nthe usual hour; but only the president (Baillie) and the secretaries\nwere permitted to enter to take away their papers; and they saw, that\nthe benches were already removed, and that all the entrances were\nguarded by a great number of soldiers.\n\nCourage is seldom relaxed by persecution; and the firm and spirited\nproceedings of the assembly on this day, gave the decided blow to the\nstratagems of the court. During the first tumult of surprise, it is\ntrue, some of the deputies talked of going immediately to Marly, to\ninvite the king to come among them, and in a truly paternal manner to\nunite his power with their\u2019s to promote the public good; and thus by an\nenergetic appeal to his heart and understanding, to convince him that\nthey spoke the language of truth and reason. But others, more\nexperienced in ministerial wiles, calmly advised to adjourn the sittings\nto the neighbouring tennis-court. For they knew, that the hearts of\ncourtiers are fortified with icy prejudices; and that, though a moment\nof sympathy, a flow of life-blood, may thaw them at the instant, it is\nonly to render them more hard, when the glow of genial heat is passed.\n\nAssembled at the tennis-court, they encouraged each other; and one mind\nactuating the whole body, in the presence of an applauding crowd, they\njoined hands solemnly, and took God to witness, that they would not\nseparate, till a constitution should be completed. The benedictions that\ndropped from every tongue, and sparkled in tears of joy from every eye,\ngiving fresh vigour to the heroism which excited them, produced an\noverflow of sensibility that kindled into a blaze of patriotism every\nsocial feeling. The dungeons of despotism and the bayonets sharpened for\nmassacre, were then equally disregarded even by the most fearful; till,\nin one of those instants of disinterested forgetfulness of private\npursuits, all devoted themselves to the promotion of public happiness,\npromising to resist, to the last extremity, all the efforts of such an\ninveterate tyranny. The absent deputies were sent for; and one, who\nhappened to be sick, had himself carried to unite his feeble voice with\nthe general cry. The very soldiers also, disobeying their officers, came\nto be willing centinels at the entrance of the sanctuary of liberty,\neagerly imbibing the sentiments, which they afterwards spread through\ntheir garrisons.\n\nThis indignity offered to the third-estate could not fail to excite new\nsensations of disgust at Paris; and give a fresh spring to the animation\nof the people at large. Yet, this spirited behaviour of the commons\nexcited only supercilious contempt at court. For the gay circles there\nwere so far sunk in fastidious delicacy, and squeamish respect for\npolished manners, that they could not even discover magnanimity in the\nconduit of a peasant, or a shopkeeper; much less grandeur in an assembly\nregardless of ceremonials. And not to be deficient themselves in these\nrespects, the _s\u00e9ance royale_ was put off another day, in order that the\ngalleries, which had been erected for the accommodation of spectators by\nthe national assembly, might be removed.\n\nThis was another injudicious step on the part of the cabinet; because it\nafforded time for the clergy to unite with the commons, who were in\nsearch of a place sufficiently capacious to contain such a body. At\nlength, collected in a church, the clergy, with several bishops at their\nhead, and two nobles of Dauphine, joined them; and the place, seeming to\nreflect a sanctity on their union, tended to consolidate, under a nobler\nconcave, the resolution taken in the tennis-court.\n\nThe following day, the _s\u00e9ance royale_ really took place, with all the\nexteriour splendour usually exhibited at these shows; which hitherto\ncould scarcely be termed empty, because they produced the desired\neffect. But the public, having their attention turned to other things,\nnow viewed with contempt, what had formerly inspired almost idolatrous\nrespect. The deputies of the third-estate were again ordered to enter by\na separate door, and even left a considerable time standing exposed to a\nheavy shower. The people, who were totally excluded, formed themselves\ninto groups, making indignant comments on the repeated affronts offered\nto their representatives, whole minds likewise recoiled at the idle\nattempt to impress them with an opinion of their insignificancy; when\nthe very pains taken to do it proclaimed their growing importance in the\nstate.\n\nThe object of the king\u2019s speech, on this occasion, was to annul the\nwhole proceedings of the national assembly, and to hold out certain\nbenefits, as lures to submission, which the king meant to grant to the\npeople; as if, observes Mirabeau, \u2018the rights of the people, were the\nfavours of the king.\u2019 A declaration of his sovereign will and pleasure\nwas then read, in which, making an insidious attempt to withdraw from\nthe assembly the confidence of the public, he declared, that, is they\nabandoned him, he would provide for the happiness of his people, without\ntheir assistance, knowing the purport of the instructions given to the\ndeputies. The first article of the king\u2019s benevolent _intentions_, was\nto grant to the states-general the power of furnishing supplies;\ncarefully specifying, however, that it was to consist of the three\norders, who were to vote according to the ancient mode. Some other\nsalutary plans of reform were also brought forward; but always with\nartful modifications, that would enable the old abuses to keep a sure\nfooting. For example, the taxes were to be levied equally; yet a\ncautious respect for property sanctioned almost every other feudal\nprivilege; and the absolute abolition of _lettres de cachet_,[9] though\nhis majesty wished to secure personal freedom, was hinted at as\nincompatible with public safety, and the preservation of the honour of\nprivate families. The liberty of the press was allowed to be necessary;\nbut the states-general were requested to point out a mode of rendering\nit compatible with the respect due to religion, to morality, and to the\nhonour of the citizens. The tenour of all the rest of the articles was\nthe same; commencing with a plan of reform, and concluding with the\n_ifs_ and _buts_, that were to render it void.\u2014Then, winding round to\nthe grand object of the meeting, the king terminated his discourse, with\nsaying, forgetful that this was not the period to imagine himself\nreigning at Constantinople, \u2018I _command_ you to separate immediately,\nand to attend, each of you, to-morrow, at the chamber appropriated for\nyour order, there to resume your sittings; and I have commanded, in\nconsequence, the grand master of the ceremonies to order the halls to be\nprepared.\u2019\n\nThe majority of the nobles, and the minority of the clergy, obeyed this\nperemptory order, and obsequiously followed the king, like the trained\nhorses of his court. The members of the national assembly, however,\nremained sitting, preserving a silence, more menacing and terrible, than\nthe _I will_, or _I command_, of the cabinet; when the grand master of\nthe ceremonies entered, and addressing himself to the president,\nreminded him, in the king\u2019s name, of the order given to separate\nimmediately. The president answered, \u2018that the assembly was not\nconstituted to receive orders from any person;\u2019 but Mirabeau, who\nthought this reply too tame, started up, and addressing the messenger,\nsaid: \u2018yes; we have heard the intentions which the king has been induced\nto utter; and you cannot be his organ in this assembly.\u2014You, who have\nneither seat, nor right to speak, ought not to remind us of his\ndiscourse. However, to avoid all equivocation or delay, I declare to\nyou, that if you are charged to make us go from hence, you should demand\norders to employ force; for only the bayonet can oblige us to quit our\nplaces.\u2019 It is difficult to conceive the ardour inspired by this prompt\neloquence. It\u2019s fire flew from breast to breast, whilst a whisper ran\nround, that what Mirabeau had just uttered, gave a finishing stroke to\nthe revolution.\n\nA warm debate ensued; and the assembly declaring their adherence to\ntheir former decrees, the abb\u00e9 Sieyes said, in his dry, cogent manner:\n\u2018gentlemen, you are to day what you were yesterday.\u2019 A motion was then\nmade, by Mirabeau, who suggested, as a prudent precaution against the\nmeasures of a desperate cabal, that the person of each deputy should be\npronounced inviolable; and, after a slight discussion, it was carried\nunanimously.\n\nFrom this moment we may consider the nation and court at open war. The\ncourt had at their command the whole military force of the empire,\namounting, at least, to 200,000 men. The people, on the contrary, had\nonly their bare arms, invigorated, it is true, by the new-born love of\nfreedom, to oppose to the various weapons of tyranny. But the army,\npartaking of the common misery, were not deaf to the complaints or\narguments of their fellow citizens: and they were particularly led to\nconsider them with complacency, because a just apprehension, or prudent\nforesight, had induced many of the popular assemblies, to insert a\nclause in their instructions, recommending, that the pay of the soldiers\nshould be augmented. Thus recognized as fellow citizens, this class of\nmen, whom it had been the policy of the despots of Europe to keep at a\ndistance from the other inhabitants, making them a distinct class, to\noppress and corrupt the rest, began to feel an interest in the common\ncause. But the court, who either could not, or would not, combine these\nimportant facts, rashly precipitated themselves into the very quicksand,\ninto which they were vainly endeavouring to drive the commons.\n\nAs Necker had not attended in his place, at the _s\u00e9ance royale_, it gave\ncolour to the rumour, which had for some time prevailed, that he\npurposed to retire from the ministry: so that, when the king returned,\nhe was followed by an immense crowd, who could not conceal their\ndiscontent. Under the influence also of the same fear, a number of the\ndeputies hastened to Necker, to entreat him not to resign. And the\nconsternation increasing, the queen, who has ever been the first to\ndesert her own plans, when there appeared a shadow of personal danger,\nsent for him; and, the better to cover the project of the cabinet,\nprevailed on him not to quit his post. The object of the cabinet he\neither had not the penetration to discover; or he had not sufficient\nmagnanimity to resign a place, that gratified equally his pride and his\navarice. This measure tended to tranquillize the minds of the people,\nthough it was undermining their cause; for trusting to the integrity of\nthis minister, who promised, \u2018to live or die with them,\u2019 they did not\nperceive, that he wanted the energy of soul necessary to enable him to\nact up to the principles he professed. However, the cause of liberty, as\ncircumstances have proved, did not depend on the talents of one or two\nmen.\u2014It was the fiat of the nation; and the machinations of the tyrants\nof Europe have not yet been able to overturn it; though false patriots\nhave led them, in their ardour for reform, to the commission of actions\nthe most cruel and unjust. Every thing was effected by natural causes;\nand we shall find, is we take a cursory view of the progress of\nknowledge, that it\u2019s advance towards simple principles is invariably in\na ratio, which must speedily change the tangled system of european\npolitics.\n\nThe _s\u00e9ance royale_ produced so little effect, that the assembly, as if\ntheir sittings had never been interrupted, met the next day at the old\nhall; and the day after, the minority of the nobles, which consisted of\nforty-seven members, came to incorporate themselves with the commons.\nAll of these, and particularly the duke of Orleans, who led them,\nacquired by this popular conduct, the love and confidence of the nation.\nHow far they merited it, deceiving the public, or themselves, their\nfuture conduct will best explain.\n\nThe interesting events, in fact, which almost daily occurred, at the\ncommencement of the revolution, fired the fancies of men of different\ndescriptions; till, forgetting every selfish consideration, the rich and\npoor saw through the same focus. But, when the former had time to cool,\nand felt more forcibly than the latter the inconveniences of anarchy,\nthey returned with fresh vigour to their old ground; embracing, with\nredoubled ardour, the prejudices which passion, not conviction, had\nchased from the field, during the heat of action. This was a strong\nreinforcement for the staunch aristocrats; because these were mostly\ngood, but short-sighted people, who really wished, that justice might be\nestablished, as the foundation of the new government, though they\nflinched when their present ease was disturbed; and it was necessary to\ngive more than good wishes.\n\nThis minority of nobles must certainly be allowed to have acted more\nprudently than their peers; and several of them, the most respectable\nmen of that class, both in talents and morals, were probably actuated by\nhalf comprehended principles. The great body of the nobles,\nnevertheless, and the minority of the clergy, continued to meet in\ndifferent chambers, where their idle deliberations marked their decayed\ninfluence. For, shrinking into nothing, their present struggles to\nregain their power were as fruitless, as their former efforts had been\npresumptuous. Yet the jealousies and contumely of the nobility continued\nto agitate the commons; who, animated by a consciousness of the justice\nof their cause, and feeling, that they possessed the confidence of the\npublic, determined to proceed with the objects of their meeting, without\nthe concurrence of the first order; proving to them, when it was too\nlate to preserve their factitious distinctions, that their power and\nauthority were at an end. In vain were they told, that they were acting\ncontrary to their true interest, and risking the salvation of their\nprivileges. In vain did one of the most moderate of the deputies[10]\nremonstrate with them, on what, most probably, would be the consequence\nof their obstinacy. No argument could move them; and, blind to the\ndanger with which they were threatened, they persisted to attend their\ncouncils, without any determinate rule of action. It is true, the duke\nof Luxembourg declared, in a private committee held by the king, the\n26th of june, that \u2018the division of the orders would controul the\nexorbitant claims of the people, and preserve those of the monarch;\nunited,\u2019 added he, \u2018they know no master, divided, they are your\nsubjects:\u2019 and he concluded, with emphatically saying, that \u2018it would\nsave the independence of the crown, and stamp with nullity the\nproceedings of the national assembly.\u2019 These were manly, though not\npatriotic sentiments; and if the court had rallied round them, and\ndefended them to the last extremity, they would at any rate have\nprevented their disgrace, by avoiding the crooked path of treachery. But\nabandoning all dignity of conduct, they trusted to the art of\nman\u0153uvring, which defeated by the people, they were left entirely at\ntheir mercy.\n\nWith respect to the improvement of society, since the destruction of the\nroman empire, England seems to have led the way, rendering certain\nobstinate prejudices almost null, by a gradual change of opinion. This\nobservation, which facts will support, may be brought forward, to prove,\nthat just sentiments gain footing only in proportion as the\nunderstanding is enlarged by cultivation, and freedom of thought,\ninstead of being cramped by the dread of bastilles and inquisitions. In\nItaly and France, for example, where the mind dared to exercise itself\nonly to form the taste, the nobility were, in the strictest sense of the\nword, a cast, keeping aloof from the people; whilst in England they\nintermingled with the commercial men, whose equal or superiour fortunes\nmade the nobles overlook their inequality of birth: thus giving the\nfirst blow to the ignorant pride that retarded the formation of just\nopinions respecting true dignity of character. This monied interest,\nfrom which political improvement first emanates, was not yet formed in\nFrance; and the ridiculous pride of her nobles, which led them to\nbelieve, that the purity of their families would be sullied, if they\nagreed to act in the same sphere with the people, was a prevailing\nmotive, that prevented their junction with the commons. But the more\nlicentious part of the clergy, who followed with a truer scent their own\ninterest, thought it expedient to espouse, in time, the cause of the\npower, from whence their influence derived its greatest force; and from\nwhich alone they could hope for support. This schism proved, as it\npromised, dangerous to the views of the court.\n\nThe desertion of the clergy rendered the mobility outrageous, and\nhastened the crisis when the important contest was to be brought to an\nissue.\u2014Then it was that the king perceived how contemptible his\nundecided conduct had been, and exclaiming, it is said confidently,\n\u2018that he remained _ALONE_ in the midst of the nation, occupied with the\nestablishment of concord.\u2019 Vain words! and this affectation was\nparticularly reprehensible, because he had already given orders for the\nassembling of the foreign troops: the object of which was to establish\nconcord with the point of the bayonet.\n\nThis total want of character caused him to be flattered by all parties,\nand trusted by none. Insignificancy had distinguished his manners in his\nown court. Actions without energy, and professions without sincerity,\nexhibiting a conduct destitute of steadiness, made the cabinet concert\nall their measures regardless of his opinion, leaving to the queen the\ntask of persuading him to adopt them. The evil did not rest even here;\nfor the different parties following separate views, the flexibility of\nhis temper led him to sanction things the most at variance, and most\ndangerous to his future honour and safety. For it appears obvious, that\nwhatever party had prevailed, he could only be considered as an\ninstrument; which, becoming useless when the object should be achieved,\nwould be treated with disrespect. Periods of revolution drawing into\naction the worst as well as the best of men; and as audacity, in\ngeneral, triumphs over modest merit, when the political horizon is\nruffled by tempest; it amounted to a moral certainty, that the line of\nconduct pursued by the king would lead to his disgrace and ruin.\n\nSeeing, however, that the people were unanimous in their approbation of\nthe conduct of their representatives, and watchful to discover the\ndesigns of their enemies; it could not but occur to the cabinet, that\nthe only way to lull attention to sleep, was to affect to submit to\nnecessity. Besides, fearing, if they continued to resort to their\ndifferent chambers, that their plot would take wind before all the\nagents were assembled, a fresh instance of dissimulation evinced, that\ntheir depravity equalled their stupidity. For the king was now prevailed\non to write to the presidents of the nobility, and the minority of the\nclergy, requesting them, to represent to those two orders the necessity\nof uniting with the third, to proceed to the discussion of his\nproposals, made at the _s\u00e9ance royale_.\n\nThe clergy immediately acquiesced; but the nobility continued to oppose\na junction so humiliating, till the court invented a pretext of honour\nto save the credit of their mock dignity, by declaring, that the life of\nthe king would be in imminent danger, should the nobles continue to\nresist the desire of the nation. Pretending to believe this report, for\nthe secret of the cabinet was buzzed amongst them, and appearing to wish\nto bury all rivalry in royalty, they attended at the common hall, the\n27th. Yet even there, the first step they took was to enter a protest,\nin order to guard against this concession being made a precedent.\n\nA general joy succeeded the terrour which had been engendered in the\nminds of the people by their contumelious perverseness; and the\nparisians, cherishing the most sanguine expectations, reckoned, that an\nunity of exertions would secure to them a redress of grievances.\n\nIt is perhaps unnecessary to dwell, for a moment, on the insensibility\nof the court, and the credulity of the people; as they seem the only\nclues, that will lead us to a precise discrimination of the causes,\nwhich completely annihilated all confidence in the ministers, who have\nsucceeded the directors of those infamous measures, that swept away the\nwhole party; measures which involved thousands of innocent people in the\nsame ruin, and have produced a clamour against the proceedings of the\nnation, that has obscured the glory of her labours. It is painful to\nfollow, through all their windings, the crimes and follies produced by\nwant of sagacity, and just principles of action. For instance, the\n_s\u00e9ance royale_ was held on the 23d, when the king, not deigning to\nadvise, commanded the deputies to repair to their different chambers;\nand only four days after he implored the nobility and clergy to wave\nevery consideration, and accede to the wish of the people. Acting in\nthis contradictory manner, it is clear, that the cabal thought only of\nrendering sure the decided blow, which was to level with the dust the\npower, that extorted such humiliating concessions.\n\nBut the people, easy of belief, and glad to be light-hearted again, no\nsooner heard that an union of the orders had taken place, by the desire\nof the king, than they hurried from all quarters, with good-humoured\nconfidence, called for the king and queen, and testified, in their\npresence, the grateful joy this acquiescence had inspired. How different\nwas this frankness of the people, from the close hypocritical conduct of\nthe cabal!\n\nThe courtly, dignified politeness of the queen, with all those\ncomplacent graces which dance round flattered beauty, whose every charm\nis drawn forth by the consciousness of pleasing, promised all that a\nsanguine fancy had pourtrayed of future happiness and peace. From her\nfascinating smiles, indeed, was caught the careless hope, that,\nexpanding the heart, makes the animal spirits vibrate, in every nerve,\nwith pleasure:\u2014yet, she smiled but to deceive; or, if she felt some\ntouches of sympathy, it was only the unison of the moment.\n\nIt is certain, that education, and the atmosphere of manners in which a\ncharacter is formed, change the natural laws of humanity; otherwise it\nwould be unaccountable, how the human heart can be so dead to the tender\nemotions of benevolence, which most forcibly teach us, that real or\nlasting felicity flows only from a love of virtue, and the practice of\nsincerity.\n\nThe unfortunate queen of France, beside the advantages of birth and\nstation, possessed a very fine person; and her lovely face, sparkling\nwith vivacity, hid the want of intelligence. Her complexion was\ndazzlingly clear; and, when she was pleased, her manners were\nbewitching; for she happily mingled the most insinuating voluptuous\nsoftness and affability, with an air of grandeur, bordering on pride,\nthat rendered the contrast more striking. Independence also, of whatever\nkind, always gives a degree of dignity to the mien; so that monarchs and\nnobles, with most ignoble souls, from believing themselves superiour to\nothers, have actually acquired a look of superiority.\n\nBut her opening faculties were poisoned in the bud; for before she came\nto Paris, she had already been prepared, by a corrupt, supple abb\u00e9, for\nthe part she was to play; and, young as she was, became so firmly\nattached to the aggrandizement of her house, that, though plunged deep\nin pleasure, she never omitted sending immense sums to her brother, on\nevery occasion. The person of the king, in itself very disgusting, was\nrendered more so by gluttony, and a total disregard of delicacy, and\neven decency in his apartments: and, when jealous of the queen, for whom\nhe had a kind of devouring passion, he treated her with great brutality,\ntill she acquired sufficient finesse to subjugate him. Is it then\nsurprizing, that a very desirable woman, with a sanguine constitution,\nshould shrink abhorrent from his embraces; or that an empty mind should\nbe employed only to vary the pleasures, which emasculated her circean\ncourt? And, added to this, the histories of the Julias and Messalinas of\nantiquity, convincingly prove, that there is no end to the vagaries of\nthe imagination, when power is unlimited, and reputation set at\ndefiance.\n\nLost then in the most luxurious pleasures, or managing court intrigues,\nthe queen became a profound dissembler; and her heart hardened by\nsensual enjoyments to such a degree, that when her family and favourites\nstood on the brink of ruin, her little portion of mind was employed only\nto preserve herself from danger. As a proof of the justness of this\nassertion, it is only necessary to observe, that, in the general wreck,\nnot a scrap of her writing has been found to criminate her; neither has\nshe suffered a word to escape her to exasperate the people, even when\nburning with rage, and contempt. The effect that adversity may have on\nher choked understanding time will show[11]; but during her prosperity,\nthe moments of languor, that glide into the interstices of enjoyment,\nwere passed in the most childish manner; without the appearance of any\nvigour of mind, to palliate the wanderings of the imagination.\u2014Still she\nwas a woman of uncommon address; and though her conversation was\ninsipid, her compliments were so artfully adapted to flatter the person\nshe wished to please or dupe, and so eloquent is the beauty of a queen,\nin the eyes even of superiour men, that she seldom failed to carry her\npoint when she endeavoured to gain an ascendancy over the mind of an\nindividual. Over that of the king she acquired unbounded sway, when,\nmanaging the disgust she had for his person, she made him pay a kingly\nprice for her favours. A court is the best school in the world for\nactors; it was very natural then for her to become a complete actress,\nand an adept in all the arts of coquetry that debauch the mind, whilst\nthey render the person alluring.\n\nHad the hapless Louis possessed any decision of character, to support\nhis glimmering sense of right, he would from this period have chosen a\nline of conduct, that might have saved his life by regulating his future\npolitics. For this returning affection of the people alone was\nsufficient to prove to him, that it was not easy to eradicate their love\nfor royalty; because, whilst they were contending for their rights with\nthe nobility, they were happy to receive them as acts of beneficence\nfrom the king. But the education of the heir apparent of a crown must\nnecessarily destroy the common sagacity and feelings of a man; and the\neducation of this monarch, like that of Louis XV, only tended to make\nhim a sensual bigot.\n\nPriests have, in general, contrived to become the preceptors of kings;\nthe more surely to support the church, by leaning it against the throne.\nBesides; kings, who without having their understandings enlarged, are\nset above attending to the forms of morality, which sometimes produce\nit\u2019s spirit, are always particularly fond of those religious systems,\nwhich, like a sponge, wipe out the crimes that haunt the terrified\nimagination of unsound minds.\n\nIt has been the policy of the court of France, to throw an odium on the\nunderstanding of the king, when it was lavishing praises on the goodness\nof his heart. Now it is certain, that he possessed a considerable\nportion of sense, and discernment; though he wanted that firmness of\nmind, which constitutes character; or, in more precise words, the power\nof acting according to the dictates of a man\u2019s own reason. He was a\ntolerable scholar; had sufficient patience to learn the english\nlanguage; and was an ingenious mechanic. It is also well known, that in\nthe council, when he followed only the light of his own reason, he often\nfixed on the most sage measures, which he was afterwards persuaded to\nabandon. But death seems to be the sport of kings, and, like the roman\ntyrant, whose solitary amusement was transfixing flies, this man, whose\nmilkiness of heart has been perpetually contrasted with the pretended\nwatriness of his head, was extremely fond of seeing those grimaces, made\nby tortured animals, which rouse to pleasure sluggish, gross sensations.\nThe queen, however, prevailed on him not to attempt to amuse her, or\nraise a forced laugh, in a polite circle, by throwing a cat down the\nchimney, or shooting an harmless ass. Taught also to dissemble, from his\ncradle, he daily practised the despicable shifts of duplicity; though\nled by his indolence to take, rather than to give the tone to his\ndomineering parasites.\n\nThe french nobility, perhaps, the most corrupt and ignorant set of men\nin the world, except in those objects of taste, which consist in giving\nvariety to amusement, had never lived under the controul of any law, but\nthe authority of the king; and having only to dread the Bastille for a\nlittle time, should they commit any enormity, could not patiently brook\nthe restraints, the better government of the whole society required.\nHaughtily then disregarding the suggestions of humanity, and even\nprudence, they determined to subvert every thing, sooner than resign\ntheir privileges; and this tenacity will not appear astonishing, if we\ncall to mind, that they considered the people as beasts of burden, and\ntrod them under foot with the mud. This is not a figure of rhetoric; but\na melancholy truth! For it is notorious, that, in the narrow streets of\nParis, where there are no footways to secure the walkers from danger,\nthey were frequently killed, without slackening, by the least emotion of\nfellow-feeling, the gallop of the thoughtless being, whose manhood was\nburied in a factitious character.\n\nI shall not now recapitulate the feudal tyrannies, which the progress of\ncivilization has rendered nugatory; it is sufficient to observe, that,\nas neither the life nor property of the citizens was secured by equal\nlaws, both were often wantonly sported with by those who could do it\nwith impunity. Arbitrary decrees have too often assumed the sacred\nmajesty of law; and when men live in continual fear, and know not what\nthey have to apprehend, they always become cunning and pusillanimous.\nThus the abject manners, produced by despotism of any species, seem to\njustify them, in the eyes of those who only judge of things from their\npresent appearance. This leads, likewise, to an observation, that partly\naccounts for the want of industry and cleanliness in France; for people\nare very apt to sport away their time, when they cannot look forward,\nwith some degree of certainty, to the consolidation of a plan of future\nease.\n\nEvery precaution was taken to divide the nation, and prevent any ties of\naffection, such as ought always to unite man with man, in all the\nrelationships of life, from bringing the two ranks together with any\nthing like equality to consolidate them. If, for instance, the son of a\nnobleman happened so far to forget his rank, as to marry a woman of low\nbirth; what misery have not those unfortunate creatures\nendured!\u2014confined in prisons, or hunted out of the common nest, as\ncontagious intruders. And if we remember also, that, while treated with\ncontempt, only a twentieth part of the profit of his labour fell to the\nshare of the husbandman, we shall cease to inquire, why the nobles\nopposed innovations, that must necessarily have overturned the fabric of\ndespotism.\n\nThe inveterate pride of the nobles, the rapacity of the clergy, and the\nprodigality of the court, were, in short, the secret springs of the\nplot, now almost ripe, aimed at the embryo of freedom through the heart\nof the national assembly. But Paris, that city which contains so many\ndifferent characters\u2014that vortex, which draws every vice into it\u2019s\ncentre\u2014that repository of all the materials of voluptuous\ndegeneracy\u2014that den of spies and assassins\u2014contained likewise a number\nof enlightened men, and was able to raise a very formidable force, to\ndefend it\u2019s opinions.\n\nThe cabinet saw it\u2019s rising spirit with suspicion; and, resorting to\ntheir old wiles, produced a scarcity of bread, hoping that, when the\npeople should be disheartened, the approaching army under Broglio would\nbring the whole affair to a speedy issue. But circumstances seemed\nfavourable to the people; for the electors of Paris, after they had\nchosen their deputies, the election having been protracted very late,\ncontinued to meet at the _H\u00f4tel-de-Ville_, to prepare the instructions,\nwhich they had not time to digest before the assembling of the\nstates-general.\n\nAt this juncture also, a spacious square, equally devoted to business\nand pleasure, called the _Palais Royal_, became the rendezvous of the\ncitizens. There the most spirited gave lectures, whilst more modest men\nread the popular papers and pamphlets, on the benefits of liberty, and\nthe crying oppressions of absolute governments. This was the centre of\ninformation; and the whole city flocking thither, to talk or to listen,\nreturned home warmed with the love of freedom, and determined to oppose,\nat the risk of life, the power that should still labour to enslave\nthem\u2014and when life is put on the cast, do not men generally gain that\nfor which they strive with those, who, wanting their enthusiasm, set\nmore value on the stake?\n\nThe turbulence of the metropolis, produced in great measure by the\ncontinual arrival of foreign troops, furnished, nevertheless, a\nplausible pretext for blockading it; and thirty-five thousand men, at\nleast, mostly consisting of hussars and mercenary troops, were drawn\nfrom the frontiers, and collected round Versailles. Camps were traced\nout for still more; and the posts, that commanded the roads leading to\nParis, were filled with soldiers. The courtiers, then unable to repress\ntheir joy, vaunted, that the national assembly would soon be dissolved,\nand the rebellious deputies silenced by imprisonment, or death. And\nshould even the french soldiers abandon them, among whom there were some\nsymptoms of revolt, the court depended on the foreign troops, to strike\nterrour into the very heart of Paris and Versailles. The gathering army\nwas already a very formidable force; but the spirit of enthusiasm, and a\nkeen sense of injuries, rendered more sharp by insults, had such an\neffect on the people, that, instead of being intimidated, they coolly\nbegan to prepare for defence.\n\nAll had heard, or were now informed, of the efforts made by the\namericans to maintain their liberty.\u2014All had heard of the glorious\nfirmness of a handful of raw bostonian militia, who, on Bunker\u2019s-hill,\nresisted the british disciplined troops, crimsoning the plains of\nCharles-town with the blood of the flower of their enemy\u2019s army. This\nlesson for tyrants had resounded through the kingdom; and it ought to\nhave taught them, that men determined to be free are always superiour to\nmercenary battalions even of veterans.\n\nThe popular leaders had also taken the surest means to ingratiate\nthemselves with the soldiery, by mixing with them, and continually\ninsinuating, that citizens ought not to allow the base ministers of\npower, to treat them like passive instruments of mischief. Besides, it\nwas natural to expect, that the military, the most idle body of men in\nthe kingdom, should attend to the topics of the day, and profit by the\ndiscussions, that disseminated new political principles. And such an\ninfluence had the arguments in favour of liberty on their minds, that,\nso early as the 23d of june, during a slight riot, two companies of the\ngrenadiers refused to fire on the people, whom they were sent to\ndisperse. But these symptoms of refractoriness roused the resentment of\nthe court, instead of putting it on it\u2019s guard: consequently several\nwere sent to prison, and the troops were confined to their barracks;\nyet, regardless of these orders, they came in crowds to the _Palais\nRoyal_, a day or two after, eager to unite their voices with the general\nshout, _vive la nation_, which spoke the present sentiments of the\npeople. The regiments of french, also, that now arrived, to be stationed\nwith the foreign troops round Paris, were conducted to this hot-bed of\npatriotism; and, meeting with the most cordial reception, they listened\nwith interest to the lively representations of the enormities committed\nby their old government, and of the meanness of those men, who could\nlive on the bread earned by butchering their fellow citizens.\n\nWhilst these opinions were taking root, the people heard, that eleven of\nthe french guards, confined in the abbey, because they would not obey\nthe order to fire on the populace, were to be transferred to the\n_Bicetre_, the most ignominious of all the prisons. The contest now\ncommenced; for the people hastened to deliver them, and, forcing their\nway, emancipated their friends; and even the hussars, who were called\nout to quell the disturbance, laid down their arms. Yet, attentive to\njustice, they sent back to confinement a soldier, who had been\npreviously committed by the police, for some other misdemeanour.\n\nExasperated as they were, the people, not yet become lawless, guarded\nthe men they had rescued; whilst they sent a deputation to the national\nassembly, to intercede with the king in their behalf. This spirited, yet\nprudent, behaviour produced the desired effect; and the assembly named a\ncertain number of the deputies, who with scrupulous decorum were to\ndemand this grace of the king: and he accordingly granted their pardon,\nlaying a cautious stress on it\u2019s being the first request made by the\nassembly. But it was still questionable, whether this extorted act of\nlenity were not done, like the other actions of the court, only to blind\nthe preparations that were making, to humble effectually the soldiery,\nthe metropolis, and the assembly.\n\nDuring this period of general suspicion, the presence of such a\nconsiderable force, as now was encamped on every side of the capital,\nparticularly alarmed the electors, who held their deliberations very\nconstantly to watch over the public peace; and, in order to avert the\nthreatening storm, they proposed raising the city militia. Yet, before\nthey determined, they sent to apprise the national assembly of their\nintention; wishing the king to be informed, that, if an armed force were\nnecessary to secure the public tranquillity, the citizens themselves\nwere the most proper persons to be entrusted with the commission.\n\nThe unsettled state of Paris, now suffering from a scarcity of bread,\nfurnished, however, a plausible pretext for the augmentation of the\ntroops, which increased the calamity. \u2018When it is with the greatest\ndifficulty,\u2019 says one of the electors, \u2018that we can procure provision\nfor the inhabitants, was it necessary to increase the famine and our\nfears, by calling together a number of soldiers, who were dispersed\nthrough all the provinces? These troops,\u2019 he adds, \u2018were destined to\nguard the frontiers, whilst the representatives of the nation are\ndeliberating on the formation of a constitution. But this constitution,\ndesired by the king, and demanded by all the provinces of France, has to\ncope with dangerous interiour enemies.\u2019\n\nThe national assembly, likewise, could not but perceive, that more\nsoldiers were stationed near them, than would have been sufficient to\nrepel a foreign invasion; and Mirabeau, with his usual fervour, animated\nthem to action, by a lively picture of their situation. \u2018Thirty-five\nthousand men,\u2019 he observed, \u2018are now distributed between Paris and\nVersailles; and twenty thousand more are expected. Trains of artillery\nfollow them; and places are already marked out for batteries. They have\nmade sure of all the communications.\u2014All our entrances are intercepted;\nour roads, our bridges, and our public walks, are changed into military\nposts. The notorious events, the secret orders, and precipitate\ncounter-orders\u2014in short, preparations for war, strike every eye, and\nfill with indignation every heart. Gentlemen, if the question were only\nthe insulted dignity of the assembly, it would demand the attention of\nthe king himself; for should he not take care, that we be treated with\ndecency, since we are deputies of the nation from which his glory\nemanates, which alone constitutes the splendour of the throne?\u2014Yes; of\nthat nation, who will render the person of the king honourable in\nproportion as he respects himself? Since his wish is to command free\nmen, it is time to banish the old odious forms, those insulting\nproceedings, which too easily persuade the courtiers, who surround the\nprince, that royal majesty consists in the abasing relation of master\nand slave; that a legitimate and beloved king ought on all occasions to\nshow himself with the aspect of an irritated tyrant; or, of those\nusurpers condemned by their melancholy fate, to mistake the tender and\nflattering sentiments of confidence.\u2014And who will dare to say, that\ncircumstances have rendered necessary these menacing measures? On the\ncontrary, I am going to demonstrate, that they are equally useless and\ndangerous, considered either with respect to good order, the quieting of\nthe public, or the safety of the throne: and, far from appearing the\nfruit of a sincere attachment to the person of the monarch, they can\nonly gratify private passions, and cover perfidious designs. Undoubtedly\nI do not know every pretext, every artifice of the enemies of\nreformation, since I cannot divine with what plausible reason they have\ncoloured the pretended want of troops, at a moment, when not only their\ninutility, but their danger strikes every mind.\n\n\u2018With what eye will the people, harassed by so many calamities, see this\nswarm of idle soldiers come to dispute with them their morsel of bread?\nThe contrast of the plenty enjoyed by one, with the indigence of the\nother; of the security of the soldiers, to whom the manna falls, without\nit\u2019s being necessary for them to think of to-morrow, with the anguish of\nthe people, who obtain nothing but by hard labour and painful sweat; is\nsufficient to make every heart sink with despondency. Added to this,\ngentlemen, the presence of the troops heats the imagination of the\npopulace; and, by continually presenting new fears, excites an universal\neffervescence, till the citizens are at their very fire-sides a prey to\nevery kind of terrour. The people, roused and agitated, form tumultuous\nassemblies; and, giving way to their impetuosity, precipitate themselves\ninto danger\u2014for fear neither calculates nor reasons!\u2019 He concluded with\nmoving an address to the king, representing, that the people were\nextremely alarmed by the assembling of such a number of troops, and the\npreparations made to form camps during this season of scarcity; and to\nremonstrate respecting the conduct of those, who sought to destroy the\nconfidence that ought to subsist between the king and the\nrepresentatives of the people\u2014a confidence, which alone can enable them\nto fulfil their functions, and establish the reform expected from their\nzeal by a suffering nation.\n\nThis speech produced the desired effect; and the motion being carried,\nMirabeau was requested to prepare an address for their consideration.\n\nThe purport of the address was an abridgement of the above speech;\nrespectful; nay, even affectionate; but spirited and noble.\n\nYet this remonstrance, so well calculated to preserve the dignity of the\nmonarch, and appease the agitation of the public, produced no other\neffect than a supercilious answer, that only tended to increase the want\nof confidence, to which disgust gave a new edge. For, instead of\nattending to the prayer of the nation, the king asserted, that the\ntumultuous and scandalous scenes, which had passed at Paris, and at\nVersailles, under his own eyes, and those of the national assembly, were\nsufficient to induce him, one of whose principal duties it was to watch\nover the public safety, to station troops round Paris.\u2014Still, he\ndeclared, that, far from intending to interrupt their freedom of debate,\nhe only wished to preserve them even from all apprehension of tumult and\nviolence. If, however, the necessary presence of the troops continue to\ngive umbrage, he was willing, at the request of the assembly, to\ntransfer the states-general to Noyon or Soissons; and to repair himself\nto Compi\u00e9gne, in order to maintain the requisite intercourse with the\nassembly. This answer signified nothing; or, rather, it formally\nannounced, that the king would not send away the troops. Obvious as was\nthe meaning, and contemptible as was the dissimulation; yet, as it came\nfrom the sovereign, the fountain of fortune and honours, some of the\nsupple hands of the deputies applauded.\u2014But, Mirabeau was not to be\ncajoled by such shallow fallacy. \u2018Gentlemen,\u2019 said he, impatiently, \u2018the\ngoodness of the king\u2019s heart is so well known, that we might tranquilly\nconfide in his virtue, did he always act from himself.\u2014But, the\nassurances of the king are no guarantee for the conduct of his\nministers, who have not ceased to mislead his good disposition.\u2014And have\nwe yet to learn, that the habitual confidence of the french in their\nking is less a virtue than a vice, if it extend to all parts of the\nadministration?\n\n\u2018Who amongst us is ignorant, in fact, that it is our blind, giddy\ninconsideration, which has led us from century to century, from fault to\nfault, to the crisis that now afflicts us, and which ought at last to\nopen our eyes, if we have not resolved to be headstrong children and\nslaves, till the end of time?\n\n\u2018The reply of the king is a pointed refusal. The ministry would have it\nregarded only as a simple form of assurance and goodness; and they have\naffected to think, that we have made our demand, without attaching much\ninterest to it\u2019s success, and only to appear to have made it. It is\nnecessary to undeceive the ministry\u2014Certainly, my opinion is, not to\nfail in the confidence and respect which we owe to the virtues of the\nking; but I likewise advise, that we be no more inconsistent, timid, and\nwavering in our measures.\u2014Certainly, there is no need to deliberate on\nthe removal proposed; for, in short, notwithstanding the king\u2019s answer,\nwe will not go to Noyon, nor to Soissons\u2014We have not demanded this\npermission; nor will we, because it is scarcely probable, that we should\never desire to place ourselves between two or three bodies of troops;\nthose which invest Paris, and those which might fall upon us from\nFlanders and Alsace. We have demanded the removal of the troops\u2014that was\nthe object of our address!\u2014We have not asked permission to flee before\nthem; but only that they should be sent from the capital. And it is not\nfor ourselves, that we have made this demand; for they know very well,\nthat it was suggested by a concern for the general interest, not by any\nsentiment of fear. At this moment, the presence of the troops disturbs\nthe public order, and may produce the most melancholy events.\u2014Our\nremoval, far from preventing, would, on the contrary, only aggravate the\nevil. It is necessary, then, to restore peace, in spite of the friends\nof disorder; it is necessary, to be consistent with ourselves; and to be\nso, we have only to adhere to one line of conduct, which is to insist,\nwithout relaxing, that the troops be sent away, as the only sure way to\nobtain it.\u2019\n\nThis speech, delivered on the 11th of july, produced no further decision\nin the assembly, though it kept the attention of the members fixt to a\npoint.\n\nBut things were now drawing rapidly to a crisis; for this very day\nNecker, who had been retained in place, only to hoodwink the people, was\ndismissed, with an injunction not to mention his dismission; and to\nleave the kingdom in twenty-four hours. These orders he servilely\nobeyed; and, with all the promptitude of personal fear, said, without\nthe least emotion, to the nobleman, who brought the king\u2019s commands, \u2018we\nshall meet this evening at the council;\u2019 and continued to converse, in\nhis usual strain of smoothness, with the company at dinner. Miserable\nweakness! This man, who professed himself the friend of the people, and\nwho had so lately promised \u2018to live or die with them,\u2019 had not, when,\nbrought to the test, sufficient magnanimity to warn them where danger\nthreatened.\u2014For he must have known, that this dismission was the signal\nof hostilities: yet, fleeing like a felon, he departed in disguise,\nkeeping the secret with all the caution of cowardice.[12]\n\nThe next day, the appointment of the new ministry, men particularly\nobnoxious to the public, made it known to the people; who viewed with\nmelancholy horrour the awful horizon, where had long been gathering the\nstorm, now ready to burst on their devoted heads. The agitation of the\npublic mind, indeed, resembled a troubled sea; which, having been put in\nmotion by a raging tornado, gradually swells, until the whole element,\nwave rolling on wave, exhibits one unbounded commotion. All eyes were\nnow opened, all saw the approaching blast; the hollow murmurs of which\nhad inspired a confused terrour for some time past.\n\nIt had been proposed on the 10th, at the _H\u00f4tel-de-Ville_, as a\nregulation of the _Garde-Bourgeoise_, that twelve hundred men should be\nraised at a time, to be relieved every week; and the capital having been\ndivided, at the election, into sixty districts, only twenty would be\ncalled out of each. And it was further resolved, that the districts\nshould rest embodied until the entire evacuation of the troops,\nexcepting those who formed the common compliment of the guards. The\nfollowing day it was decreed; an address was voted to the national\nassembly, to request their mediation with the king, to sanction\nimmediately the city militia; and the sittings of the committee were\nadjourned till monday, the 13th. But some of the electors, having heard\non sunday, that the populace were all repairing to the _H\u00f4tel-de-Ville_,\nhastened there about six o\u2019clock in the evening, and found the hall\nindeed crowded with people of all conditions. A thousand confused voices\ndemanded arms, and orders to found the _tocsin_.\n\nAt eight o\u2019clock, the patrol guard was relieved, at the\n_H\u00f4tel-de-Ville_, and the multitude pressed on the soldiers to disarm\nthem; redoubling the cry for arms at the moment; and even threatened to\nset fire to the hall. But, still observing some respect for\nsubordination, they demanded, a little imperiously, it is true, an\norder, in virtue of which, the citizens might arm themselves to repulse\nthe danger that menaced the capital\u2014and amidst these clamours, several\nprecipitate reports painted, in the most lively colours, this danger.\n\nOne of the crowd said, that, no sooner had the news of the dismission of\nNecker reached Paris, than the people hastened to a sculptor\u2019s, and,\nseizing the bulls of that minister, and of the duke of Orleans, they\nwere now actually carrying them through the streets:\u2014Another informed\nthem, that the multitude had rushed into the different theatres, at the\nhour of opening them, and required, that they should be instantly\nshut;[13] and that in consequence all the spectators had been sent\naway:\u2014A third announced four cannons, placed at the entrance of the\n_Champs Elys\u00e9es_, with their cannoneers ready to light their matches,\nwhich were to begin the combat; and that these four cannons were\nsupported by a regiment of cavalry, which, advancing under the command\nof the prince de Lambesc to the place of Louis 15th, was stationed by\nthe bridge that leads to the Thuilleries. He added also, that a\n_cavalier_ of this regiment, passing by a soldier of the french guards,\nhad fired his pistol at him; and, that the prince de Lambesc himself had\ngalloped into the garden, sabre in hand, followed by a detachment, who\nput to flight the old men, women, and children, that were peaceably\ntaking their customary walk; nay, that he had actually killed, with his\nown hand, an old man, who was escaping from the tumult. The reporter, it\nis true, forgot to notice, that the populace had begun to pelt the\nprince with the stones, that were lying ready, near the buildings which\nwere not finished. Startled, perhaps, by this resistance, and despising\nthe mob, that he expected, only by his presence, to have intimidated, in\na delirium, most probably, of terrour and astonishment, he wounded an\nunarmed man, who fled before him. Be that as it may, this wanton outrage\nexcited the indignation necessary to fire every spirit.\n\nThe electors being still pressed for arms, and unable to furnish them,\nat eleven o\u2019clock decreed, that the districts should be immediately\nconvoked; and that they would repair to all the posts of armed citizens,\nto beg them, in the name of their country, to avoid all species of\nriot.\u2014But this was not the moment to talk of peace, when all were making\nready for battle.\u2014The tumult now became general. To arms! To arms!\nre-echoed from all quarters\u2014and the whole city was instantly in motion,\nseeking for weapons of defence. Whilst the women and children rent the\nair with shrieks and lamentations, the cannons were fired; and the\n_tocsins_ of the different parish churches joined by degrees, to excite,\nand continue, the universal alarm.\n\nStill all their thoughts were turned on defensive measures. Many of the\ncitizens, by ransacking the warehouses of arms, and catching up spits\nand pokers, appeared with weapons in their hands to second their\ndeterminate countenances; and being joined by some of the french guards,\nmore completely accoutred, forced those foreign mercenaries, who had\nfirst awakened their fury, to retreat, fleeing like the beasts of the\ndesert, before the bold and generous lion. Though victorious in this\nmidnight fray, because determined to conquer, still they had scarcely\nany fire arms; and were as inexpert in the use of those they found, as\nthe inhabitants of capitals commonly are\u2014But indignation made each of\nthem, so restless was their courage, seize something to defend himself\nwith: hammers, axes, shovels, pikes, all were sought for, and clenched\nin hands nerved by heroism; yes, by true heroism, for personal safety\nwas disregarded in the common danger. Wives assisted to beat out pikes\nfor their husbands, and children ran about to pile up stones in\nreadiness for to-morrow. To increase the apprehensions of the night, one\nof the barriers was set on fire; and a band of desperate robbers, taking\nadvantage of the confusion, began to pillage some houses. To arms! was\nthe cry of danger, and the watch-word of the city\u2014for who could close\ntheir eyes? Whilst the tocsin drowning the murmurs of rage, and\ndistress, made the confusion solemn.\n\nDifferent sounds excited different emotions at Versailles; for there the\nheart, beating high with exultation, gave way to the most intemperate\njoy.\u2014Already the courtiers imagined, that the whole mischief was\ncrushed, and that they had the assembly at their mercy.\n\nIntoxicated by success, a little too soon reckoned on, the queen, the\ncount d\u2019Artois, and their favourites, visited the haunt of the bribed\nruffians, who were lurking in ambush, ready to fall upon their prey;\nencouraging them by an engaging affability of behaviour, and more\nsubstantial marks of favour, to forget every consideration, but their\ncommands. And so flattered were they by the honied words, and coquetish\nsmiles of the queen, that they promised, as they drained the cup in her\nhonour, not to sheath their swords, till France was compelled to\nobedience, and the national assembly dispersed. With savage ferocity\nthey danced to the sound of music attuned to slaughter, whilst plans of\ndeath and devastation gave the zest to the orgies, that worked up their\nanimal spirits to the highest pitch. After this account, any reflections\non the baneful effects of power, or on the unrestrained indulgence of\npleasure, that could thus banish tenderness from the female bosom, and\nharden the human heart, would be an insult to the reader\u2019s sensibility.\n\nHow silent is now Versailles!\u2014The solitary foot, that mounts the\nsumptuous stair-case, rests on each landing-place, whilst the eye\ntraverses the void, almost expecting to see the strong images of fancy\nburst into life.\u2014The train of the Louises, like the posterity of the\nBanquoes, pass in solemn sadness, pointing at the nothingness of\ngrandeur, fading away on the cold canvass, which covers the nakedness of\nthe spacious walls\u2014whilst the gloominess of the atmosphere gives a\ndeeper shade to the gigantic figures, that seem to be sinking into the\nembraces of death.\n\nWarily entering the endless apartments, half shut up, the fleeting\nshadow of the pensive wanderer, reflected in long glasses, that vainly\ngleam in every direction, slacken the nerves, without appalling the\nheart; though lascivious pictures, in which grace varnishes\nvoluptuousness, no longer seductive, strike continually home to the\nbosom the melancholy moral, that anticipates the frozen lesson of\nexperience. The very air is chill, seeming to clog the breath; and the\nwasting dampness of destruction appears to be stealing into the vast\npile, on every side.\n\nThe oppressed heart seeks for relief in the garden; but even there the\nsame images glide along the wide neglected walks\u2014all is fearfully still;\nand, if a little rill creeping through the gathering moss down the\ncascade, over which it used to rush, bring to mind the description of\nthe grand water works, it is only to excite a languid smile at the\nfutile attempt to equal nature.\n\nLo! this was the palace of the great king!\u2014the abode of\nmagnificence! Who has broken the charm?\u2014Why does it now inspire only\npity?\u2014Why;\u2014because nature, smiling around, presents to the\nimagination materials to build farms, and hospitable mansions,\nwhere, without raising idle admiration, that gladness will reign,\nwhich opens the heart to benevolence, and that industry, which\nrenders innocent pleasure sweet.\n\nWeeping\u2014scarcely conscious that I weep, O France! over the vestiges of\nthy former oppression; which, separating man from man with a fence of\niron, sophisticated all, and made many completely wretched; I tremble,\nlest I should meet some unfortunate being, fleeing from the despotism of\nlicentious freedom, hearing the snap of the _guillotine_ at his heels;\nmerely because he was once noble, or has afforded an asylum to those,\nwhose only crime is their name\u2014and, if my pen almost bound with\neagerness to record the day, that levelled the Bastille with the dust,\nmaking the towers of despair tremble to their base; the recollection,\nthat still the abbey is appropriated to hold the victims of revenge and\nsuspicion, palsies the hand that would fain do justice to the assault,\nwhich tumbled into heaps of ruins walls that seemed to mock the\nresistless force of time.\u2014Down fell the temple of despotism;\nbut\u2014despotism has not been buried in it\u2019s ruins!\u2014Unhappy country!\u2014when\nwill thy children cease to tear thy bosom?\u2014When will a change of\nopinion, producing a change of morals, render thee truly free?\u2014When will\ntruth give life to real magnanimity, and justice place equality on a\nstable seat?\u2014When will thy sons trust, because they deserve to be\ntrusted; and private virtue become the guarantee of patriotism? Ah!\u2014when\nwill thy government become the most perfect, because thy citizens are\nthe most virtuous!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n PREPARATIONS OF THE PARISIANS FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE CITY. THE GUARDS,\n AND CITY WATCH, JOIN THE CITIZENS. THE ARMED CITIZENS APPOINT A\n COMMANDER IN CHIEF. CONDUCT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DURING THE\n DISTURBANCES AT PARIS. THEY PUBLISH A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS,\u2014AND OFFER\n THEIR MEDIATION WITH THE CITIZENS,\u2014WHICH IS HAUGHTILY REFUSED BY THE\n KING. PROCEEDINGS AT PARIS ON THE FOURTEENTH OF JULY. TAKING OF THE\n BASTILLE. THE MAYOR SHOT. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AT\n VERSAILLES. APPEARANCE OF THE KING IN THE ASSEMBLY. HIS SPEECH.\n\n\nEarly in the morning of the 13th, the electors hastened to the centre of\nthe general alarm, the _h\u00f4tel-de-ville_, and, urged by the necessity of\nthe moment, passed the decrees, under deliberation, for the immediate\nembodying the _garde-bourgeoise_, without waiting for the requested\nsanction of the national assembly. The greater number then withdrew, to\nconvoke their districts; whilst the few that remained endeavoured to\ncalm the tumult, that was every moment augmenting, by informing the\npeople of this decree; representing at the same time, to the citizens,\nthe cogent motives which should induce them to separate, and each repair\nto his own district to be enrolled. But the crowd again called for arms,\npretending, that there was a great number concealed in an arsenal, which\nnobody could point out. To quiet these clamours for a moment, the people\nwere referred to the _pr\u00e9vot des marchands_[14]. He accordingly came,\nand requested, that the multitude would confirm his nomination to the\nfunction, which his majesty had confided to him. A general acclamation\nwas the signal of their consent; and the assembled electors immediately\nturned their attention to the serious business before them.\n\nThey then established a _permanent committee_, to keep up a constant\nintercourse with the different districts, to which the citizens were\nagain exhorted instantly to return, with all the arms they had\ncollected; that those arms might be properly distributed amongst the\nparisian militia. But, it was impossible to pursue these important\ndeliberations, with any degree of order, for a fresh multitude was\ncontinually rushing forward, to report fresh intelligence; often false\nor exaggerated, and always alarming. The barriers, they were told, were\non fire; a religious house had been pillaged; and a hostile force was on\nthe road, in full march, to fall upon the citizens. An immense number of\ncoaches, waggons, and other carriages, were actually brought to the door\nof the hotel; and the demands of the concourse, who had been stopped\ngoing out of Paris, mingling with the cries of the multitude, eager to\nbe led towards the troops, whose approach had been announced, were only\ndrowned by the more lively instances of the deputies of the sixty\ndistricts, demanding arms and ammunition, to render them active. To\nappease them, and gain time, the mayor promised, if they would be\ntranquil till five o\u2019clock in the evening, then to distribute a number\nof fusils; which were to be furnished by the director of a manufactory.\n\nThese assurances produced a degree of calm. Taking advantage of it, the\ncommittee determined, that the parisian militia, for the present, should\nconsist of 48,000 citizens; and that the officers should be named by\neach district. Many subordinate decrees also passed, all tending to\nprevent the disasters naturally produced by confusion; and to provide\nfor the subsistence of the city. The french guards, who had during the\nnight assisted the citizens, now came to testify their attachment to the\ncommon cause; and to beg to be enrolled with them. The commander of the\ncity watch, a military body, likewise presented himself; to assure the\ncommittee, that the troops under his direction were disposed to obey\ntheir orders, and assist in defending the city.\n\nAmong the carriages stopped was one of the prince de Lambesc. The people\nimagined, that they had caught the prince himself; and, when they were\nconvinced of their mistake, it was impossible to save the coach, though\nthe horses were put into a neighbouring stable; and the portmanteau,\ncarefully detached, was lodged in the hall. This trivial circumstance is\nworthy of notice, because it shows the respect then paid to property;\nand that the public mind was entirely fixed on those grand objects,\nwhich absorb private passions and interests. Stung also to the quick by\nthe insulting disregard of their claims, the people forcibly felt an\nindignant sense of injustice, which rendered the struggle heroic.\n\nPreparations of a warlike cast were made during the whole course of this\nday; and every thing was conducted with a degree of prudence scarcely to\nhave been expected from such impetuosity. Trenches were thrown up,\nseveral of the streets unpaved, and barricadoes formed in the\nsuburbs.\u2014Defence was the sole object of every person\u2019s thoughts, and\nderiding personal danger, all were preparing to sell their lives at a\ndear rate, furbishing up old weapons, or forging new. The old men,\nwomen, and children, were employed in making pikes, whilst the able\nbodied men paraded the streets, in an orderly manner, with most resolute\nlooks, yet avoiding every kind of violence: there was, in fact, an\ninconceivable solemnity in the quick step of a torrent of men, all\ndirecting their exertions to one point, which distinguished this rising\nof the citizens from what is commonly termed a riot.\u2014Equality, indeed,\nwas then first established by an universal sympathy; and men of all\nranks joining in the throng, those of the first could not be\ndiscriminated by any peculiar decency of demeanour, such public spirited\ndignity pervaded the whole mass.\n\nA quantity of powder had been carried to the _h\u00f4tel-de-ville_, which the\npopulace, for the most unruly always collected round this central spot,\nwould probably have blown up in seizing, if a courageous elector[15] had\nnot, at the continual risk of his life, insisted on distributing it\nregularly to the people. This engaged their attention a short time; but\nin the evening the demand for arms became more pressing than ever,\nmingled with a hoarse cry of perfidy and treason, levelled against the\nmayor; which, for a while, was silenced by the arrival of a number of\nmilitary chests, thought to contain arms, and these were supposed to be\nthose promised by the mayor. Every possible precaution was immediately\ntaken by the electors, to have them speedily conveyed into the cellar,\nthat they might be given to those who knew best how to make use of them;\ninstead of being caught up by the unskilful. The french guards had\nmerited the confidence of the citizens; and four members of the\ncommittee, after some deliberation, were appointed to hasten to them, to\nrequest that they would come and take charge of the distribution. In\nshort, great preparations were made, previous to the opening of the\nchests; but\u2014when the chests were at last opened, in the presence of a\nconcourse of people, and found to contain only pieces of old\ncandlesticks, and such like rubbish, the impatience of the multitude,\nwhose courage and patriotism had been played with all day, instantly\nchanged into indignation and fury; and the suspicion of treason on the\npart of the mayor was extended to the whole committee, whom they\nthreatened to blow up in their hall.\n\nOne of the electors, the marquis de la Salle, now observed, \u2018that the\ngreatest inconvenience in their present cruel situation was the want of\norder, and subordination; and that a correspondence of the different\nparts of the grand machine, so necessary to promote expedition and\nsuccess, could not subsist without a commander, known and acknowledged\nby the public: for all the citizens, become soldiers, are perpetually,\u2019\nhe adds, \u2018exposed to spend their zeal and intrepidity in superfluous\nefforts; sometimes even counteracting their own designs. It is necessary\nthen to name a general of the first abilities and experience; I am far\nfrom thinking myself worthy of your choice, though I offer all that I\ncan offer, my fortune and my life; and shall willingly serve in any\npost.\u2019 This motion produced a new discussion; and the duke d\u2019Aumont was\nappointed commander in chief. But, he half declining it, though he tried\nto procrastinate his refusal, the post devolved to the marquis de la\nSalle, who had been unanimously named second; and he entered immediately\non the discharge of this important trust. And this nomination\ncontributed to support the exertions of the committee; for in spite of\nthe chaotic shock, which seemed to have thrown into confusion all the\nparts of this great city, the centre of union formed at the\n_h\u00f4tel-de-ville_, by the assembling of the electors, was in a great\nmeasure the salvation of the public. This municipal power, created by\ncircumstances, and tacitly consented to by the citizens, established a\ngreat degree of order and obedience, even in the midst of terrour and\nanarchy. The _garde-bourgeoise_ had been assembled in all the districts;\nand the patrols relieved with the greatest exactness. The streets were\nilluminated, to prevent confusion or dismay during the night; private\nproperty was respected, and all the posts carefully superintended; but,\nat the barriers, every carriage and every person was stopped, and\nobliged to go to the _h\u00f4tel-de-ville_ to give an account of themselves.\nThe public particularly mistrusted the design of those who were going to\nVersailles, or coming from it. Deputations had been regularly sent, to\ninform the national assembly of the disturbances, which their danger and\nthe dread of a siege had occasioned in Paris, and of the measures\npursued to restrain the head-long fury of the people.\n\nThe national assembly, indeed, now appeared with the dignified aspect\nbecoming the fathers of their country; seeing their own danger, without\ntimidly shrinking from the line of conduct, which had provoked the\nviolence of the court: and the president, an old man, not being thought\nequal to the present toils of office, a vice-president was appointed.\n\nTo fill this post, the marquis la Fayette was chosen: a deputy for\nseveral reasons popular. In America, where he voluntarily risked his\nlife and fortune, before the french nation espoused their cause, he had\nacquired certain just principles of government; and these he digested to\nthe extent of his understanding, which was somewhat confined. He\npossessed great integrity of heart, though he was not without his\nportion of the national vanity. He had already distinguished himself at\nthe meeting of the notables, by detecting, and exposing the peculation\nof Calonne, and opposing the arbitrary proceedings of the count\nd\u2019Artois. Governed by the same motives, he had proposed, likewise,\nduring their sittings, some bold plans of reform, calculated to reduce\nthe public revenue, and lessen the grievances of the nation, at the same\nstroke.\u2014Amongst these was a motion for the abolition of the Bastille,\nand other state prisons, throughout the kingdom; and the suppression of\n_lettres de cachet_. And still having the same objects in view, he, the\nvery day the king\u2019s sneering reply was received (the 11th), laid before\nthe assembly a proposal for a _DECLARATION OF RIGHTS_, similar to that\nof some of the american states. The marquis de Condorcet had published a\ndeclaration of this kind, to instruct the deputies, previous to their\nmeeting. La Fayette had transmitted a copy of his declaration of rights\nto the assembled electors, to be read to the people; and nothing could\nbe better adapted to keep them firm, telling them to what point they\nought to adhere, than the short address with which it commenced.\u2014\u2018Call\nto mind the sentiments, that nature has engraven on the heart of every\ncitizen; and which take a new force, when recognized by all.\u2014For a\nnation to love liberty, it is sufficient that she knows it; and, to be\nfree, it is sufficient that she wills it[16].\u2019\n\nMirabeau, even whilst supporting tenaciously the dignity of the national\nassembly, felt a pang of envy, that another should bring forward such an\nimportant business, as the sketch of a new constitution; avowedly that\nthe world might know how they had been employed, and what they were\ncontesting for, should they become the victims of their magnanimity.\n\nIt was impossible now for the whole assembly not to see in the change of\nthe ministry the danger at hand, the approach of which some had affected\nto treat as a chimera. Determined, however, to continue their labours,\nin the very face of such hostile preparations; yet taking every prudent\nprecaution to secure their safety, they sent to inform the king of the\ndisturbances at Paris; and to point out the evils which menaced the\nstate, if the troops that invested the metropolis were not sent to more\ndistant quarters:\u2014offering, at the same time, to throw themselves\nbetween the army and the citizens, to endeavour to ward off the\ncalamities that were likely to ensue. But the king, obstinately bent to\nsupport the present measures, or controlled by the cabal, replied, \u2018that\nhe was the only judge of the necessity of withdrawing the troops;\u2019 and,\ntreating the offered interposition of the deputies with the most\nineffable contempt, told them, \u2018that they could be of no use at Paris,\nand were necessary at Versailles, to pursue those important labours,\nwhich he should continue to recommend.\u2019\n\nThis answer was no sooner communicated, than La Fayette moved, that\nthe present ministry should be declared responsible for the\nconsequence of their obstinacy: and the assembly further decreed, that\nNecker and the rest of the ministry, who had just been sent away,\ncarried with them their esteem and regret:\u2014that, alarmed by the\napprehensions of danger produced by the reply of the king, they would\nnot cease to insist on the removal of the troops, and the\nestablishment of a _garde-bourgeoise_.\u2014They repeated their\ndeclaration, that no intermediate power can subsist between the king\nand the national assembly:\u2014and that the public debt, having been\nplaced under the safe-guard of french honour, the nation not refusing\nto pay the interest of it, no power had a right to utter the infamous\nword\u2014bankruptcy.\u2014In short, the assembly declared, that they persisted\nin their former decrees:\u2014and that the present resolves should be\npresented to the king, by the president, and printed for the\ninformation of the public.\n\nStill the court, despising the courageous remonstrances of the assembly,\nand untouched by the apprehensions of the people, which seemed to be\ndriving them to the desperation that always conquers, stimulated the\nking to persist in the prosecution of the measures, which they had\nprevailed on him to adopt. The assembly, thus rendered vigilant by the\nvarious tokens, that the crisis was arrived, which was to determine\ntheir personal and political fate, in which that of their country was\ninvolved, thought it prudent to make their sittings permanent. Animated\nand united by the common danger, they reminded each other, \u2018that, should\nthey perish, their country still surviving would recover it\u2019s vigour;\nand that their plans for the good of the public again warming the hearts\nof frenchmen, a brave and generous people would erect on their tomb, as\nan immortal trophy, a constitution solid as reason, and durable as\ntime:\u2014whilst their martyrdom would serve as an example, to prove, that\nthe progress of knowledge and civilization is not to be stopped by the\nmassacre of a few individuals.\u2019\n\nWhatever might have been the object of the court, respecting the\nnational assembly, which was probably the slaughter or imprisonment\nnecessary to disperse them, and disconcert their theories of reform, it\nis certain, that their situation wore the most threatening aspect; and\ntheir escape was owing to the courage and resolution of the people; for\nthe breast of the cabinet was too callous, to feel either respect or\nrepugnance, when emoluments and prerogatives were in question.\n\nIt was a circumstance favourable to the people, and the cause of\nhumanity, that the want of common foresight in the court prevented their\nguarding against resistance. For so negligent were they, that the\ncitizens, who were early in the morning of the 14th every where scouring\nabout in search of arms, requested of the committee an order to demand\nthose they heard were stored up at the _h\u00f4tel des invalides_; and one of\nthe electors was accordingly sent with them, to desire the governor to\ngive up to the nation all the arms and ammunition committed to his care.\nHe replied, that a body of citizens having already been with him, he had\nsent to Versailles for orders, and entreated them to wait till the\nreturn of the courier, whom he expected in the course of an hour or two.\nThis, answer at first satisfied the people, who were preparing to wait\ncontentedly, till one of them observing, that this was not a day to lose\ntime, they insisted on entering immediately; and instantly made\nthemselves masters of all the arms they found, to the amount of 30,000\nmuskets, and six pieces of cannon. A considerable quantity of different\nsorts of arms were also carried away from the _garde meuble_, by a less\norderly party; and fell into the hands of vagabonds, who always mix in a\ntumult, merely because it is a tumult. A hundred and fifty persons of\nthis description had been disarmed the preceding night at the\n_h\u00f4tel-de-ville_, where they had dropped asleep on the stairs and\nbenches, stupefied by the brandy they had stolen: but, when they awoke,\nand requested work, not having any money or bread, they were sent to\nassist in the making of pikes, and the fabricating of other weapons,\nwhich required little skill. None of the citizens appeared, in fact,\nwithout some weapon, however uncouth, to brandish defiance, whilst sixty\nthousand men, enrolled and distributed in different companies, were\narmed in a more orderly, though not in a more warlike manner. The army\nof liberty now, indeed, assumed a very formidable appearance; yet the\ncabinet, never doubting of success, neglected in the thoughtlessness of\nsecurity, the only way left to oblige the roused people to accept of any\nterms.\n\nParis, that immense city, second, perhaps, to none in the world, had\nfelt a scarcity of bread for some time, and now had not sufficient flour\nto support the inhabitants for days to come[17].\n\nIf, therefore, the mareschal Broglio had cut off the supplies, the\ncitizens would have been reduced to the alternative of starving, or\nmarching in confusion to fight his army, before they could have been\ndisciplined for a regular action. But directed only by the depraved\nsentiments of tyranny, they deemed assassination the most speedy method\nof bringing the contest to an end favourable to their designs.\nUnaccustomed to govern freemen, they dreamt not of the energy of a\nnation shaking off it\u2019s fetters; or, if their classical reveries had\ntaught them a respect for man, whilst reading the account of that brave\nhandful of spartans, who drove back, at the straits of Thermopyl\u00e6,\nmillions of marshalled slaves; they had no conception, that the cause of\nliberty was still the same, and that men obeying her impulse will always\nbe able to resist the attacks of all the enervated mercenaries of the\nglobe.\n\nThe imaginations of the parisians, full of plots, created hourly many of\nthe objects of terrour from which they started; though the troops being\nin motion around Paris naturally produced many false alarms, that their\nsuspicious temper might have exaggerated sufficiently, without the help\nof invention. Various accounts of massacres and assassinations were\nconsequently brought to the _h\u00f4tel-de-ville_, which inflamed the people,\nthough afterwards they proved to be the idle rumours of fear. Thus much,\nhowever, appeared certain; a squadron of hussars had actually been seen\nhovering about the entrance of the _fauxbourg Saint-Antoine_, who\ndisappeared when two companies of the french guards approached. The\npeople of the same fauxbourg observed also, that the cannons of the\nBastille were turned towards their street. On receiving this\ninformation, a message was sent from the committee to the governor of\nthe Bastille, to expostulate with him; and one to each of the districts,\ndesiring them to sound an alarm throughout, to break up the pavement of\nthe streets, dig ditches, and oppose every obstacle, in their power, to\nthe entrance of the troops. But, though the accounts of the hostile\ndemeanour of some of the detachments in the skirts of Paris excited\nterrour, there was still reason to doubt the real disposition of the\nsoldiery; for a considerable number, belonging to different regiments,\nhad presented themselves at the barriers with arms and baggage,\ndeclaring their decided intention to enter into the service of the\nnation. They were received by the districts, and conducted to the\n_h\u00f4tel-de-ville_: and the committee distributed them amongst the\nnational troops, with the precaution necessary to guard against the\nsurprise of treason.\n\nThe deputation, sent to the Bastille, now returned, to give an account\nof their mission. They informed the committee, that the people, rendered\nfurious by the menacing position of the cannon, had already surrounded\nthe walls; but that they had entered without much difficulty, and were\nconducted to the governor, whom they had requested to change the\ndisposition of his cannons; and that the reply he gave was not as\nexplicit as they could have wished. They then demanded to pass into the\nsecond court, and did not without great difficulty obtain permission.\nThe little draw-bridge, they continued, was let down; but the great one,\nwhich led to this court yard was raised, and they entered by an iron\ngate, opened at the call of the governor. In this court they had seen\nthree cannons ready for action, with two cannoneers, thirty-six swiss,\nand a dozen of invalids, all under arms; and the staff officers were\nalso assembled.\u2014They immediately summoned them, in the name of the\nhonour of the nation, and for the sake of their country, to change the\ndirection of the cannons; and, at the instance even of the governor\nhimself, all the officers and soldiers swore, that the cannons should\nnot be fired, or would they make any use of their arms, unless they were\nattacked. In short, another deputation from one of the districts had\nlikewise been received with great politeness by the governor; and while\nthey were taking some refreshment, he had actually ordered the cannons\nto be drawn back; and a moment after they were informed, that the order\nwas obeyed.\n\nTo calm the people, these very men descended the stair-case of the\n_h\u00f4tel-de-ville_, to proclaim the assurances they had received of the\namicable intentions of the governor; but, whilst the trumpet was\nsounding to demand silence, the report of a cannon from the quarter of\nthe Bastille was heard; and at the same moment, an immense crowd\nprecipitated themselves into the square, fronting the hotel, with the\ncry of treason. And to support the charge, they brought with them a\ncitizen, and a soldier of the french guards, both wounded. The rumour\nwas, that fifteen or twenty more, wounded at the same time, were left to\nbe taken care of, in different houses on the way; for that the governor,\nDelaunay, had let down the first draw-bridge to engage the people to\napproach, who were demanding arms; and that they, entering with\nconfidence on this invitation, had immediately received a discharge of\nall the musketry of the fortress. This report, confirmed by the presence\nof the two wounded men, demonstrated to the committee the perfidy of the\ntroops who guarded the Bastille, and the necessity of sending succour to\nthose, who, without order or sufficient force, had commenced the attack.\nMean time the fury of the people was directed against the mayor, who\nendeavoured by various subterfuges to appease the rage which had been\nexcited by his vain promises of procuring arms. He had, it is true,\nseveral times dispersed the multitude by sending them to different\nplaces with orders for arms, where he knew they were not to be found;\nand now, to silence the suspicions that threatned to break out in some\ndreadful acts of violence, involving the whole committee in the same\ndestruction, he offered to make one of the third deputation; the second\nappearing to be detained, to remonstrate with Delaunay, and try to\nprevent an effusion of blood. A drum and colours were ordered to attend\nthem, because it was supposed, that the want of some signal had\nprevented the others from executing their commission.\n\nShortly after their departure, however, the second deputation returned,\nand informed the committee, that, in their way to the Bastille, they had\nmet a wounded citizen, carried by his companions, who informed them,\nthat he had received a shot from a fusil, fired from the Bastille into\nthe street St. Antoine; and that immediately after they had been stopped\nby a crowd, who were guarding three invalids, taken firing on their\nfellow citizens. Judging by these events, added they, that the danger\nwas increasing, we hastened our steps, animated by the hope of putting a\nstop to such an unequal combat. Arrived within a hundred paces of the\nfortress, we perceived the soldiers on the towers firing upon the street\nSt. Antoine, and we heard the report of the guns of the citizens in the\ncourt, discharged on the garrison. Drawing nearer, we made several\nsignals to the governor, which were either unobserved, or disregarded.\nWe then approached the gate, and saw the people, almost all without any\nthing to defend themselves, rushing forward exposed to the brisk fire of\nartillery, that hailed directly down upon them, making great havoc. We\nprevailed on those who had arms, to stop firing for a moment, whilst we\nreiterated our signal of peace; but the garrison, regardless of it,\ncontinued their discharges, and we had the grief to see fall, by our\nsides, several of the people, whose hands we had stopped. The courage of\nthe rest, again inflamed by indignation, pushed them forward.\u2014Our\nremonstrances, our prayers, had no longer any effect; and they declared,\nthat it was not a deputation they now wished for.\u2014It was the siege of\nthe Bastille\u2014the destruction of that horrible prison\u2014the death of the\ngovernor, that they demanded, with loud cries. Repulsed by these brave\ncitizens, we partook their momentary indignation, so fully justified by\nthe abominable act of perfidy, with which they charged the\ngovernor.\u2014They then repeated to us the information which has already\nreached you\u2014that in the morning a crowd having approached the Bastille\nto demand arms, the governor had allowed a certain number to enter, and\nthen had fired upon them. Thus the treason of the governor had been the\nfirst signal of a war, that he himself had begun with his fellow\ncitizens, and seemed willing to continue obstinately, since he refused\nto attend to the deputation. Through all parts it was now\nresounded.\u2014\u2018Let us take the Bastille!\u2019\u2014And five pieces of cannon,\nconducted by this cry, were hastening to the action.\n\nSome time after, the third deputation also came back, and recounted,\nthat, at the sight of their white flag, one had been hoisted on the top\nof the Bastille, and the soldiers had grounded their arms;\u2014that, under\nthe auspices of these ensigns of peace, the deputies had engaged the\npeople, in the name of the permanent committee, to retire to their\ndistricts, and take the measures the most proper to re-establish\ntranquillity\u2014and, that this retreat was actually taking place; the\npeople all naturally passing through the court where the deputation\nremained.\u2014When, notwithstanding the white emblem of a pacific\ndisposition, displayed on the tower, the deputies saw a piece of cannon\nplanted directly at the court, and they received a sudden discharge of\nmusketry, which killed three persons at their feet\u2014that this atrocity,\nat the moment they were calming the people, had thrown them into a\ntransport of rage; and many of them had even held their bayonets at the\nbreasts of the deputies; saying, \u2018you are also traitors, and have\nbrought us here that we might be more easily killed\u2019\u2014and it would have\nbeen difficult to calm them, is one of the deputies had not bid them\nobserve, that they shared the same danger. The effervescence then\nabating, they hastened back and met 300 of the french guards, followed\nby the cannons taken at the invalids, all marching with a quick step,\ncrying that they were going to take the Bastille. One of the deputies,\nwho had been separated from the rest, further recited;\u2014that having been\nobliged to scramble over the dead and dying to escape, the people, who\nrecognized him as an elector, desired him to save himself\u2014for that the\ntreason was manifest. \u2018It is rather you, my friends, he replied, who\nought to retire; you who hinder our soldiers and cannons from entering\nthis encumbered court, where you are all going to perish, for no\npurpose.\u2019 But, that they interrupted him in a transport,\nexclaiming\u2014\u2018No!\u2014No! our dead bodies will serve to fill up the trench.\u2019\nHe therefore retired with the balls hissing about his ears. These\nrecitals, and the rumour of the second act of treachery, spreading\nthrough the city, violently agitated minds already alive to suspicion.\n\nFresh crowds continually rushed into the _h\u00f4tel-de-ville_, and again\nthey threatened to set fire to it, repeating how many times the mayor\nhad deceived them. And, when he attempted to calm them by making\nplausible excuses, they stopped his mouth by saying, with one voice,\u2014\u2018he\nseeks to gain time by making us lose our\u2019s.\u2019 Two intercepted billets\nalso having been read aloud, addressed to the principal officers of the\nBastille, desiring them to stand out, and promising succour; increased\nthe public fury, principally directed against the governor of the\nBastille, the mayor, and even the permanent committee.\u2014Outcry followed\noutcry, and naked arms were held up denouncing vengeance\u2014when an old man\nexclaimed, my friends, what do we here with these traitors!\u2014Let us march\nto the Bastille! at this cry, as at a signal of victory, all the people\nhastily left the hall, and the committee unexpectedly found themselves\nalone.\n\nIn this moment of solitude and terrour, a man entered with affright\nvisible on every feature, saying, that the square trembled with the rage\nof the people; and that they had devoted all of them to death.\u2014\u2018Depart!\u2019\nhe exclaimed, running out, \u2018save yourselves while you can\u2014or you are all\nlost!\u2019 But they remained still; and were not long permitted in silence\nto anticipate the approach of danger; for one party of people following\nanother, brought in a number of their wounded companions:\u2014and those who\nbrought them, described with passion the carnage of the citizens\nsacrificed under the ramparts of the Bastille. This carnage, the\nmilitary officers attributed to the disorder of the attack, and to the\nintrepidity of the assailants still greater than the disorder.\n\nThe accounts of the slaughter, nevertheless, were certainly very much\nexaggerated; for the fortress appears to have been taken by the force of\nmind of the multitude, pressing forward regardless of danger. The ardour\nof the besiegers, rather than their numbers, threw the garrison into\nconfusion; for the Bastille was justly reckoned the strongest and most\nterrific prison in Europe, or perhaps in the world. It was always\nguarded by a considerable number of troops, and the governor had been\npreviously prepared for it\u2019s defence; but the unexpected impetuosity of\nthe parisians was such as nothing could withstand. It is certain, that\nDelaunay, at first, despised the attempt of the people; and was more\nanxious to save from injury or pillage, a small elegant house he had\nbuilt in the outer court, than to avoid slaughter. Afterwards, however,\nin the madness of despair, he is said to have rolled down large masses\nof stone from the platform on the heads of the people, to have\nendeavoured to blow up the fortress, and even to kill himself. The\nfrench guards, it is true, who mixed with the multitude, were of\nessential service in storming the Bastille, by advising them to bring\nthe cannon, and take some other measures, that only military experience\ncould have dictated; but the enthusiasm of the moment rendered a\nknowledge of the art of war needless; and resolution, more powerful than\nall the engines and batteries in the world, made the draw-bridges fall,\nand the walls give way.\n\nWhilst then the people were carrying every thing before them, the\ncommittee only thought of preventing the further effusion of blood.\nAnother deputation was therefore nominated, more numerous than had\nhitherto been sent; and they were just setting out on this errand of\npeace, when some voices announced, that the Bastille was taken. Little\nattention, however, was paid them; and the news was so improbable, that\nthe impression made by the rumour was not sufficiently strong to stop\nthe outrages of the mob, who still were menacing the mayor and the\ncommittee.\u2014When a fresh uproar, heard at first at such a distance that\nit could not be distinguished, whether it were a cry of victory or of\nalarm, advancing with the crash and rapidity of a tempest, came to\nconfirm the unlooked for intelligence.\u2014For the Bastille was taken!\n\nAt the instant even the great hall was inundated by a crowd of all\nranks, carrying arms of every kind.\u2014The tumult was inexpressible\u2014and to\nincrease it, some one called out, that the hotel was giving way, under\nthe mingled shout of victory and treason! vengeance and liberty!\u2014About\nthirty invalids and swiss soldiers were then dragged into the hall,\nwhose death the multitude imperiously demanded.\u2014Hang them! Hang them!\nwas the universal roar.\n\nAn officer of the queen\u2019s regiment of guards (M. Elie) was brought in on\nthe shoulders of the conquerors of the Bastille, and proclaimed by them,\nas the first of the citizens, who had just made themselves masters of\nit. The efforts he used to repress the testimonies of honour, which were\nlavished on him, were of no avail; and he was placed, in spite of his\nmodesty, on a table opposite the committee, and surrounded by the\nprisoners, who seemed to be standing in fearful expectation of their\ndoom. In this situation he was crowned, and trophies of arms awkwardly\nplaced around, to which sentiment and circumstances gave dignity. All\nthe plate taken at the Bastille was brought to him, and his comrades\npressed him, in the most earnest manner, to accept it, as the richest\nspoil of the vanquished enemy. But he refused with firmness, explaining\nthe motives of his refusal so eloquently, he persuaded all who heard\nhim, that the spoil did not belong to them; and that patriotism, jealous\nonly of glory and honour, would blush at receiving a pecuniary\nrecompense.\u2014And, making a noble use of the ascendency which he had over\nthe people, he began to recommend moderation and clemency.\u2014But he was\nsoon interrupted by the account of the death of Delaunay; seized in the\ncourt of the Bastille, and dragged by the furious populace almost to the\n_h\u00f4tel-de-ville_, before he was massacred.\u2014And soon after the death of\nthree other officers was reported.\n\nThe prisoners listened to these tales with the countenances of victims\nready to be sacrificed, whilst the exasperated crowd demanded their\ninstant execution. One of the electors spoke in their favour, but was\nscarcely permitted to go on. The people, indeed, were principally\nenraged against three of the invalids, whom they accused of being the\ncannoneers, that had fired so briskly on the citizens. One of them was\nwounded, and consequently inspired more compassion. The marquis de la\nSalle placed himself before this poor wretch, and forcing, in some\ndegree, the people to hear him, he insisted on the authority which he\nought to have as commander in chief; adding, that he only wished to\nsecure the culprits, that they might be judged with all the rigour of\nmartial law. The people seemed to approve of his reasoning; and taking\nadvantage of this favourable turn, he made the wounded invalid pass into\nanother apartment.\u2014But, whilst he was preserving the life of this\nunfortunate man, the mob hurried the other two out of the hall, and\nimmediately hung them on the adjacent lamp-post[18]. The effervescence,\nnevertheless, in spite of this overflowing of fury, still continued, and\nwas not even damped by these cruel acts of retaliation. Two sentiments\nagitated the public mind\u2014the joy of having conquered, and the desire of\nvengeance. Confused denunciations of treason resounded on all sides, and\neach individual was eager to show his sagacity in discovering a plot, or\nsubstituted suspicion instead of conviction with equal obstinacy. The\nmayor, however, had given sufficient proofs of his disposition to\nsupport the court, to justify the rage which was breaking out against\nhim; and a general cry having been raised around him, that it was\nnecessary for him to go to the _palais royal_, to be tried by his fellow\ncitizens, he agreed to accompany the people.\n\nMean time the clamour against the rest of the invalids redoubled. But\nthe french guards, who entered in groups, requested as a recompense for\nthe service which they had rendered to their country the pardon of their\nold comrades; and M. Elie joined in the request; adding, that this\nfavour would be more grateful to his heart, than all the gifts and\nhonours which they wished to lavish on him. Touched by his eloquence,\nsome cried out\u2014Pardon! and the same emotion spreading throughout the\ncircle\u2014Pardon! Pardon! succeeded the ferocious demand of vengeance,\nwhich had hitherto stifled sympathy. And to assure their safety, M. Elie\nproposed making the prisoners take an oath of fidelity to the nation and\nthe city of Paris: and this proposition was received with testimonies of\ngeneral satisfaction. The oath being administered, the french guards\nsurrounded the prisoners and carried them away, in the midst of them,\nwithout meeting with any resistance.\n\nThe committee now endeavoured to re-establish something like order, for\nin the tumult the table had been broken down, and destruction menaced on\nevery side\u2014when a man entered to inform them, that an unknown, but,\nindeed, a merciful hand had shot the mayor, and thus by the only\npossible mean snatched him from the popular fury, The whole tenour of\nhis conduct, in fact, justified the charge brought against him, and\nrendered at least this effect of public indignation excusable.\u2014So\nexcusable, that had not the passions of the people, exasperated by\ndesigning men, afterwards been directed to the commission of the most\nbarbarous atrocities, the vengeance of this day could hardly be cited as\nacts of injustice or inhumanity.\n\nThe Bastille was taken about four o\u2019clock in the afternoon; and after\nthe struggle to save the prisoners, some necessary regulations were\nproposed, to secure the public safety. The conduct of the men in office\nhad so irritated the people, that the cry against aristocrats was now\nraised; and a number of persons of distinction were brought to the\n_h\u00f4tel-de-ville_ this evening, by the restless populace, who, roving\nabout the streets, seemed to create some of the adventures, which were\nnecessary to employ their awakened spirit. Breathless with victory,\nthey, for the moment, gave a loose to joy; but the sounds of exultation\ndying away with the day, night brought back all their former\napprehensions; and they listened with fresh affright to the report, that\na detachment of troops was preparing to enter one of the barriers. Not,\ntherefore, allowing themselves to sleep on their conquering arms, this\nwas, likewise, a watchful night; for the taking of the Bastille, though\nit was a proof of the courage and resolution of the parisians, by no\nmeans secured them against the insidious schemes of the court. They had\nshown their determination to resist oppression very forcibly; but the\ntroops that excited their resistance were still apparently waiting for\nan opportunity to destroy them. Every citizen then hurried to his post,\nfor their very success made them the more alive to fear. The _tocsin_\nwas again rung, and the cannon that had forced the Bastille to surrender\ndragged hastily to the place of alarm. The pavement of the adjacent\nstreets was torn up, with astonishing quickness, and carried to the tops\nof the houses; where the women, who were equally animated, stood\nprepared to hurl them down on the soldiers.\u2014All Paris, in short, was\nawake; and this vigilance either frustrated the designs of the cabal, or\nintimidated the hostile force, which never appeared to have entered with\nearnestness into it\u2019s measures. For it is probable, that some decisive\nstroke had been concerted; but that the officers, who expected by their\npresence only to have terrified into obedience the citizens, whose\ncourage, on the contrary, they roused, were rendered irresolute by the\ndisaffection of the soldiers. Thus was the nation saved by the almost\nincredible exertion of an indignant people; who felt, for the first\ntime, that they were sovereign, and that their power was commensurate to\ntheir will. This was certainly a splendid example, to prove, that\nnothing can resist a people determined to live free; and then it\nappeared clear, that the freedom of France did not depend on a few men,\nwhatever might be their virtues or abilities, but alone on the will of\nthe nation.\n\nDuring this day, while the parisians were so active for it\u2019s safety, the\nnational assembly was employed in forming a committee, to be charged\nwith digesting the plan of a constitution, for the deliberation of the\nwhole body: to secure the rights of the people on the eternal principles\nof reason and justice; and thereby to guarantee the national dignity and\nrespectability. Towards the evening, the uncertainty of what was passing\nat Paris, the mysterious conduct of the cabinet, the presence of the\ntroops at Versailles, the substantiated facts, and the suspected\nproscriptions, gave to this sitting the involuntary emotions, that must\nnaturally be produced by the approach of a catastrophe, which was to\ndecide the salvation or destruction of a state. Mirabeau, firm to his\npoint, showed the necessity of insisting on the sending away the troops\nwithout delay; and soon after the viscount de Noailles, arriving from\nParis, informed them, that the arms had been taken from the _h\u00f4tel des\ninvalides_; and that the Bastille was actually besieged. The first\nimpulse was for them to go altogether, and endeavour to open the king\u2019s\neyes; but, after some reflection, a numerous deputation was\nnominated;\u2014to insist on the removal of the troops; and to speak to his\nmajesty with that energetic frankness, so much more necessary as he was\ndeceived by every person by whom he was surrounded. Whilst they were\nabsent, two persons, sent by the electors of Paris, informed the\nassembly of the taking of the Bastille, and the other events of the day;\nwhich were repeated to them, when they returned with the king\u2019s vague\nanswer.\n\nA second deputation was then immediately sent, to inform him of these\ncircumstances:\u2014To which he replied\u2014\u2018You more and more distress my heart,\nby the recitals you bring me of the miseries of Paris. But I cannot\nbelieve, that the orders which I have given to the troops, is the cause\nof them: I have, therefore, nothing to add to the answer that you have\nalready received from me.\u2019\n\nThis reply tended to increase the general alarm; and they determined\nagain to prolong the sitting all night; either to be ready to receive\nthe enemy in their sacred function, or to make a last effort near the\nthrone to succour the metropolis. Nothing could surpass the anxious\nsuspense of this situation; for the most resolute of the deputies were\nuneasy respecting their fate, because their personal safety was\nconnected with the salvation of France. Their nocturnal conversation\nnaturally turned on the late events that had taken place at Paris; the\ncommotions in the provinces; and the horrours of famine, ready to\nconsume those whom a civil war spared. The old men sought for an hour of\nrepose upon the tables and carpets; the sick rested on the benches.\u2014All\nsaw the sword suspended over them, and over their country\u2014and all feared\na morrow still more dreadful.\n\nImpressed by their situation, and the danger of the state, one of the\ndeputies (the duke de Liancourt) left his post, and sought a private\naudience with the king, with whom he warmly expostulated, pointing out\nthe critical situation of the kingdom; and even of the royal family,\nshould his majesty persist to support the present measures. Monsieur,\nthe king\u2019s eldest brother, and not only the most honest, but the most\nsensible of the blood royal, immediately coincided with the duke,\nsilencing the rest of the cabal. They had at first treated with contempt\nthe intelligence received of the Bastille\u2019s being taken; and now were so\nstunned by the confirmation, that, at a loss how to direct the king,\nthey left him to follow the counsel of whoever dared to advise him.\u2014And\nhe, either convinced, or persuaded, determined to extricate himself out\nof the present difficulties, by yielding to necessity.\n\nOn the morning of the 15th, the national assembly, not informed of this\ncircumstance, resolved to send another remonstrance to the king;\u2014and\nMirabeau, giving a sketch of the address, drew a rapid and lively\npicture of the exigencies of the moment. \u2018Tell him,\u2019 said he, \u2018that the\nhordes of foreigners, by whom we are besieged, have yesterday been\nvisited by the princes and princesses, their favourites, and their\nminions, who, lavishing on them caresses and presents, exhorted them to\nperseverance\u2014tell him, that the whole night these foreign satellites,\ngorged with gold and wine, have, in their impious camp, predicted the\nsubjugation of France, and, that they invoked, with brutal vehemence,\nthe destruction of the national assembly\u2014tell him, that, even in his own\npalace, the courtiers have mingled in the dance to the sound of this\nbarbarous music\u2014and, tell him, that such was the scene, which announced\nSt. Bartholomew.\n\n\u2018Tell him, that the Henry, whose memory the world blesses, the ancestor,\nwhom he ought to wish to take for a model, allowed provision to pass\ninto Paris in a state of revolt, when he was in person besieging it;\nwhilst his ferocious counsellors are turning back the flour, that the\ncourse of commerce was bringing to his faithful and famished city.\u2019\n\nThe deputation left the hall; but was stopped by the duke de Liancourt;\nwho informed them, that the king was then coming to restore them to\ntranquillity and peace. Every heart was relieved by this intelligence;\nand a cynic, probably, would have found less dignity in the joy, than\nthe grief of the assembly. A deputy, however, moderated these first\nemotions, by observing, that those transports formed a shocking contrast\nwith the distress which the people had already endured.\u2014He added, \u2018that\na respectful silence was the proper reception of a monarch during a\nmoment of public sorrow: for the silence of the people is the only\nlesson of kings.\u2019\n\nShortly after, the king appeared in the assembly, standing uncovered;\nand without any attention to ceremony. He addressed the representatives\nof the people with artful affection: for as it is impossible to avoid\ncomparing his present affectionate style, with the cold contempt with\nwhich he answered their repeated remonstrances the preceding evening, it\nis not judging harshly to despise the affectation, and to suggest, that\nit was dictated rather by selfish prudence than by a sense of justice,\nor a feeling of humanity. He lamented the disorder that reigned in the\ncapital, and requested them to think of some method to bring back order\nand tranquillity. He alluded to the report, that the personal safety of\nthe deputies had been menaced; and, with contemptible duplicity asked,\nif his well-known character did not give the lie to such a\nrumour.\u2014Reckoning then, he concluded, on the love and fidelity of his\nsubjects, he had given orders to the troops to repair to more distant\nquarters\u2014and he authorized, nay, invited them, to make known his\nintentions to the metropolis.\n\nThis speech was interrupted and followed by the most lively expression\nof applause; though the sagacity of a number of the deputies could not\npossibly have been clouded by their sympathy: and the king returning to\nthe palace on foot, great part of the assembly escorted him, joined by a\nconcourse of people, who rent the air with their benedictions. The\ndeclaration of Louis, that, trusting to the representatives of the\npeople, he had ordered the troops to withdraw from Versailles, being\nspread abroad, every person, feeling relieved from the oppression of\nfear, and unshackled from the fetters of despotism, threw off care; and\nthe national assembly immediately appointed eighty-four of it\u2019s most\nrespectable members, to convey to Paris the glad intelligence; that the\nharrassed parisians might participate in the joy they had procured the\nassembly, by the most noble exertions.\n\nArrived at Paris, they were received with enthusiasm, as the saviours of\ntheir country; and saw there more than a hundred thousand men in arms,\nformed into companies; showing the superiority of a nation rising in\nit\u2019s own defence, compared with the mercenary machines of tyranny. The\ntransports of the people, and the sympathy of the deputies, must have\nformed a highly interesting scene: success elevating the heart for the\nmoment, and hope gilding the future prospect.\u2014But the imagination would\nlanguidly pourtray this dazzling sunshine, depressed by the recollection\nof the sinister events, that have since clouded the bright beams.\nPrecluded then by melancholy reflections from rejoicing with the happy\nthrong, it is necessary to turn our attention to the circumstances, from\nwhich mankind may draw instruction:\u2014and the first that present\nthemselves to our notice are those which disconcerted the flagitious\nplan of the ministry;\u2014the regulations that preserved order in the\nmetropolis;\u2014the astonishing reduction of the Bastille;\u2014the union of the\nfrench guards with the citizens;\u2014the prompt establishment of a city\nmilitia;\u2014and, in short, the behaviour of the people, who showed neither\na thirst for pillage, nor a fondness for tumult.\n\nThe court by their criminal enterprises had entirely disorded the\npolitical machines, that sustained the old worn out government[19];\nwhich, worm-eaten in all it\u2019s pillars, and rotten in all it\u2019s joints,\nfell at the first shock\u2014never to rise again. The destruction of the\nBastille\u2014that fortress of tyranny! which for two centuries had been the\nshame and terrour of the metropolis[20], was the sentence of death of\nthe old constitution.\n\nThe junction of the three orders in fact securing the power of the\nnational assembly, and making the court appear a cipher, could not fail\nto prove sorely mortifying to it\u2019s old minions; and the success of the\npeople on the 14th of july proclaiming their supremacy, the courtiers,\nresorting to their old arts, suggested to the king a line of conduct the\nmost plausible and flattering to the inconsiderate partizans of a\nrevolution; whilst it betrayed to the more discerning a dissimulation as\npalpable as the motives of the advisers were flagrantly interested. For\ntheir views being narrowed by the depravity of their character, they\nimagined, that his apparent acquiescence, exciting the admiration and\naffection of the nation, would be the surest mode of procuring him that\nconsequence in the government, which ultimately might tend to overthrow\nwhat they termed an upstart legislature; and, by the appropriation of\nchances, reinstate the tyranny of unlimited monarchy.\n\nThis serious farce commenced previous to that memorable epocha; and in\nmarking the prominent features of the events that led to the disasters,\nwhich have sullied the glory of the revolution, it is impossible to keep\ntoo near in view the arts of the acting parties; and the credulity and\nenthusiasm of the people, who, invariably directing their attention to\nthe same point, have always been governed in their sentiments of men by\nthe most popular anarchists. For this is the only way to form a just\nopinion of the various changes of men, who, supplanting each other, with\nsuch astonishing rapidity, have produced the most fatal calamities.\n\nThe cabinet, indeed, the better to disguise their secret machinations,\nmade the king declare, the 23d of june, that \u2018he annulled and dissolved\nall powers and restrictions, which by cramping the liberty of the\ndeputies would hinder them either from adopting the form of deliberation\nby orders separately, or in common, by the distinct voice of the three\norders,\u2019 absolutely gave his sanction for constituting the national\nassembly one and indivisible.\u2014And in the same declaration, article the\n6th, he says, \u2018that he will not suffer the _cahiers_, or mandates, to be\nregarded as dictatorial; for they were only to be considered as simple\ninstructions, entrusted to the conscience and free opinion of the\ndeputies, who have been chosen.\u2019 This was giving them unbounded latitude\nfor their actions.\u2014This was not only a tacit consent to their\nproceedings; but it was granting them all his authority to frame a\nconstitution.\u2014It was legalizing their actions, even according to the\narbitrary rules of the old despotism; and abrogating in a formal manner\nthat imaginary authority, the sanction of which, at a former period,\nwould have been necessary to their existence as representatives of the\npeople.\u2014But happily that period had passed away; and those men, who had\nknown no rule of action paramount to the commands of their sovereign,\nwere now sufficiently enlightened, to demand a restitution of their\nlong-estranged rights;\u2014and a constitution, upon which they could\nconsolidate their liberty and national fraternity.\n\nThis imperious demand was irresistible; and the cabinet, unable to check\nthe current of opinion, had recourse to those stratagems, which, leading\nto their ruin, has buried in the wreck all that vain grandeur elevated\non the spoil of industry, whilst it\u2019s gilding obscured the sad objects\nof misery that pined under it\u2019s shade. Lively sanguine minds, disgusted\nwith the vices and artificial manners produced by the great inequality\nof conditions in France, naturally hailed the dawn of a new day, when\nthe Bastille was destroyed; and freedom, like a lion roused from his\nlair, rose with dignity, and calmly shook herself.\u2014With delight they\nmarked her noble pace, without ever supposing that the tiger, who\nthirsts for blood, and the whole brutal herd, must necessarily unite\nagainst her.\u2014Yet this has been the case; the dogs of war have been let\nloose, and corruption has swarmed with noxious life.\u2014But let not the\ncoldly wise exult, that their heads were not led astray by their hearts;\nor imagine, that the improvement of the times does not betoken a change\nof government, gradually taking place to meliorate the fate of man; for,\nin spite of the perverse conduct of beings spoilt by the old system, the\npreponderancy of truth has rendered principles in some respects\ntriumphant over men; and instruments of mischief have wondered at the\ngood which they have unwittingly produced.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\nREFLECTIONS ON THE CONDUCT OF THE COURT AND KING. INJURIOUS CONSEQUENCES\n OF THE COMPLICATION OF LAWS. GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. STATE OF\nCIVILIZATION AMONGST THE ANCIENTS, IT\u2019S PROGRESS. THE CROISADES, AND THE\nREFORMATION. EARLY FREEDOM OF BRITAIN. THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. FATE OF\n LIBERTY IN EUROPE. RUSSIA. DECLINE OF THE ARISTOTELIAN PHILOSOPHY.\nDESCARTES. NEWTON. EDUCATION IMPROVED. GERMANY. FREDERIC II. OF PRUSSIA.\n\n\nThe effect produced by the duplicity of courts must be very great, when\nthe vicissitudes, which had happened at Versailles, could not teach\nevery person of common sense, that the moment was arrived, when\nsubterfuge and treachery could no longer escape detection and\npunishment; and that the only possibility of obtaining the durable\nconfidence of the people was by that strict attention to justice, which\nproduces a dignified sincerity of action. For after the unravelling of\nthe plot, contrived to cheat the expectation of the people, it was\nnatural to suppose, that they would entertain the most wakeful suspicion\nof every person who had been privy to it.\n\nIt would have been fortunate for France, and the unhappy Louis, if his\ncounsellors could have profited by experience. But, still pursuing the\nold track, bounding over the mine, the bursting of which had for a\nmoment disconcerted them, we shall find, that the continual\ndissimulation of the king, and the stratagems of his advisers, were the\nprincipal, though perhaps not the sole cause of his ruin. He appears to\nhave sometimes mistrusted the cabal; yet, with that mixture of facility\nand obstinacy in his character, the concomitants of indolence of mind,\nhe allowed himself to be governed without attempting to form any\nprinciple of action to regulate his conduct. For if he had ever really\ndesired to be useful to his people, and to lighten their accumulated\nburdens, as has been continually insisted, he was astonishingly\ndefective in judgment not to see, that he was surrounded with\nsycophants, who fattened on their hearts blood, using his own hand to\nbrand his name with infamy. It may possibly be urged in reply, that this\nyielding temper was a proof of the king\u2019s benign desire to promote the\nfelicity of his subjects, and prevent the horrours of anarchy. To\nconfute such remarks, it is only necessary to state, that the\npreparations which had been made to dissolve the national assembly, and\nto reduce the people to entire subjection, if they were not his\nimmediate contrivance, must have had his sanction, to give them\nefficiency; and that the tergiversation, which he employed on this\noccasion, was sufficient to make every other transaction of his reign\nsuspected. And this will be found to be the case in all the steps he\nafterwards took to conciliate the people, which were little regarded\nafter the evaporation of the lively emotions they excited; whilst the\nwant of morals in the court, and even in the assembly, made a prevailing\nmistrust produce a capriciousness of conduct throughout the empire.\nPerhaps, it is vain to expect, that a depraved nation, whatever examples\nof heroism, and noble instances of disinterested conduct, it may exhibit\non sudden emergencies, or at the first statement of an useful reform,\nwill ever pursue with steadiness the great objects of public good, in\nthe direct path of virtuous ambition.\n\nIf the calamities, however, which have followed in France the taking of\nthe Bastille, a noble effort, be attributed partly to ignorance, or only\nto want of morals, the evils are in no degree lessened; neither does it\njustify the conduct of the virulent opposers of those manly exertions\ninspired by the voice of reason. The removal of a thousand grinding\noppressions had been demanded;\u2014and promised, to delude the public; who\nfinding, at last, that the hopes, which had softened their misery, were\nlikely to be blasted by the intrigues of courtiers, can we wonder, that\nthe worm these courtiers were trying to crush, turned on the foot\nprepared to stamp it to nothing.\n\nThe complication of laws in every country has tended to bewilder the\nunderstanding of man in the science of government; and whilst artful\npoliticians have taken advantage of the ignorance or credulity of their\nfellow citizens, it was impossible to prevent a degeneracy of morals,\nbecause impunity will always be a stimulus to the passions. This has\nbeen the cause of the insincerity, which has so long disgraced the\ncourts of Europe, and pervading every class of men in their offices or\nemploy, has extended it\u2019s poison throughout the higher orders of\nsociety; and it will require a simplification of laws, an establishment\nof equal rights, and the responsibility of ministers, to secure a just\nand enlightened policy. But till this be effected, it ought not to\nsurprize us, should we hear the mock patriots of the day declaiming\nabout public reform, merely to answer sinister purposes; or should we\nchance to discover, that the most extolled characters have ben actuated\nby a miserable selfishness, or prompted by corroding resentment, to\nexertions for the public good; whilst historians have ignorantly\nattributed the political advantages, which have been attained by a\ngradual improvement of manners, to their resolution, and the virtuous\nexercise of their talents.\n\nAnd we ought not to be discouraged from attempting this simplification,\nbecause no country has yet been able to do it; since it seems clear,\nthat manners and government have been in a continual and progressive\nstate of improvement, and that the extension of knowledge, a truth\ncapable of demonstration, was never at any period so general as at\npresent.\n\nIf at one epocha of civilization we know, that all the improvements\nwhich were made in arts and sciences were suddenly overturned, both in\nGreece and Rome, we need not inquire, why superficial reasoners have\nbeen induced to think, that there is only a certain degree of\ncivilization to which men are capable of attaining, without receding\nback to a state of barbarism, by the horrid consequences of anarchy;\nthough it may be necessary to observe, that the causes which produced\nthat event can never have the same effect again:\u2014because a degree of\nknowledge has been diffused through society by the invention of\nprinting, which no inundation of barbarians can eradicate. Besides, the\nimprovement of governments do not now depend on the genius of particular\nmen; but on the impetus given to the whole society by the discovery of\nuseful truths. The opposers then of popular governments may tell us, if\nthey please, that Themistocles had no motive in saving his country, but\nto gratify his ambition; that Cicero was vain, and Brutus only envious\nof the growing greatness of C\u00e6sar.\u2014Or, to approach our own times;\u2014that,\nif the supercilious Wedderburne had not offered an indignity to\nFranklin, he never would have become an advocate for american\nindependence; and that, if Mirabeau had not suffered in prison, he never\nwould have written against the _lettres de cachet_, or espoused the\ncause of the people.\u2014All of which assertions I am willing to admit,\nbecause they exactly prove what I wish to enforce; namely, that\u2014though\nbad morals, and worse laws, have helped to deprave the passions of men\nto such a degree, as to make the benefits which society has derived from\nthe talents or exertions of individuals to arise from selfish\nconsiderations, still it has been in a state of gradual improvement, and\nhas arrived at such a pitch of comparative perfection, that the most\narbitrary governments in Europe, Russia excepted, begin to treat their\nsubjects as human beings, feeling like men, and with some powers of\nthinking.\n\nThe most high degree of civilization amongst the ancients, on the\ncontrary, seems to have consisted in the perfection the arts, including\nlanguage, attained; whilst the people, only domesticated brutes, were\ngoverned and amused by religious shows, that stand on record as the most\negregious insult ever offered to the human understanding. Women were in\na state of bondage; though the men, who gave way to the most unbridled\nexcesses, even to the outraging of nature, expected that they should be\nchaste; and took the only method to render them so in such a depraved\nstate of society, by ruling them with a rod of iron; making them,\nexcepting the courtezans, merely household, breeding animals.\n\nThe state of slavery, likewise, of a large proportion of men, tended\nprobably, more than any other circumstance, to degrade the whole circle\nof society. For whilst it gave that air of arrogance, which has falsely\nbeen called dignity, to one class, the other acquired the servile mien\nthat fear always impresses on the relaxed countenance. It may be\ndelivered, I should imagine, as an aphorism, that when one leading\nprinciple of action is founded on injustice, it sophisticates the whole\ncharacter.\n\nIn the systems of government of the ancients, in the perfection of the\narts, and in the ingenious conjectures which supplied the place of\nscience, we see, however, all that the human passions can do to give\ngrandeur to the human character; but we only see the heroism that was\nthe effect of passion, if we except Aristides. For during this youth of\nthe world, the imagination alone was cultivated, and the subordinate\nunderstanding merely exercised to regulate the taste, without extending\nto it\u2019s grand employ, the forming of principles.\n\nThe laws, made by ambition rather than reason, treated with contempt the\nsacred equality of man, anxious only to aggrandize, first the state and\nafterwards individuals: consequently, the civilization never extended\nbeyond polishing the manners, often at the expence of the heart, or\nmorals; for the two modes of expression have, I conceive, precisely the\nsame signification, though the latter may have more extent. To what\npurpose then do semi-philosophers exultingly show, that the vices of one\ncountry are not the vices of another; as if this would prove, that\nmorality has no solid foundation; when all their examples are taken from\nnations just emerging out of barbarism, regulating society on the narrow\nscale of opinions suggested by their passions, and the necessity of the\nmoment? What, indeed, do these examples prove? Unless they be allowed to\nsubstantiate my observation, that civilization has hitherto been only a\nperfection of the arts; and a partial melioration of manners, tending\nmore to embellish the superiour rank of society, than to improve the\nsituation of all mankind. Sentiments were often noble, sympathies\njust\u2014yet the life of most men of the first class was made up of a series\nof unjust acts, because the regulations thought expedient to cement\nsociety, did violence to natural justice. Venerable as age has rendered\nmany of these regulations, cold substitutes for moral principles, it\nwould be a kind of sacrilege not to strip them of their gothic vests.\nAnd where then will be found the man who will simply say\u2014that a king can\ndo no wrong; and that, committing the vilest crimes to sully his mind,\nhis person still remains sacred?\u2014Who will dare to assert, that the\npriest, who takes advantage of the dying fears of a vicious man, to\ncheat his heirs, is not more despicable than a highwayman?\u2014or that\nobedience to parents should go one jot beyond the deference due to\nreason, enforced by affection?\u2014And who will coolly maintain, that it is\njust to deprive a woman, not to insist on her being treated as an\noutcast of society, of all the rights of a citizen, because her\nrevolting heart turns from the man, whom, a husband only in name, and by\nthe tyrannical power he has over her person and property, she can\nneither love nor respect, to find comfort in a more congenial or humane\nbosom? These are a few of the leading prejudices, in the present\nconstitution of society, that blast the blossoms of hope, and render\nlife wretched and useless\u2014And, when such were tolerated, nay, reckoned\nsacred, who can find more than doubtful traces of the perfection of man\nin a system of association pervaded with such abuses? Voluptuousness\nalone softened the character down to tenderness of heart; and as taste\nwas cultivated, peace was sought, rather because it was convenient, than\nbecause it was just. But, when war could not be avoided, men were hired\nby the rich to secure to them the quiet enjoyment of their luxuries; so\nthat war, become a trade, did not render ferocious all those who\ndirectly, or indirectly waged it.\n\nWhen, therefore, the improvements of civil life consisted almost\nentirely in polishing the manners, and exercising the transient\nsympathies of the heart, it is clear, that this partial civilization\nmust have worn itself out by destroying all energy of mind. And the\nweakened character would then naturally fall back into barbarism,\nbecause the highest degree of sensual refinement violates all the\ngenuine feelings of the soul, making the understanding the abject slave\nof the imagination. But, when the advances of knowledge shall make\nmorality the real basis of social union, and not it\u2019s shadow the mask of\nselfishness, men cannot again lose the ground so surely taken, or forget\nprinciples, though they may accomplishments.\n\nAnd that a civilization founded on reason and morality is, in fact,\ntaking place in the world, will appear clear to all those, who have\nconsidered the atrocious vices and gigantic crimes, that sullied the\npolish of ancient manners. What nobleman, even in the states where they\nhave the power of life and death, after giving an elegant entertainment,\nwould now attract the detestation of his company, by ordering a domestic\nto be thrown into a pond to fatten the fish.[21]\u2014What tyrant would dare,\nat this time, to poison his brother at his own table; or stab his\nenemy\u2019s mother, not to mention his own, without colouring over the deed?\nand do not the exclamations against boxing matches, in England, also\nprove, that the amphitheatre would not now be tolerated, much less\nenjoyed? If the punishment of death be not yet abolished, tortures worse\nthan twenty deaths are exploded, merely by the melioration of manners. A\nhuman being is not now forced to feed the lamp that consumes him; or\nallowed vainly to call for death, whilst the flesh is pinched off his\nquivering limbs. Are not, likewise, many of the vices, that formerly\nbraved the face of day, now obliged to lurk, like beasts of prey, in\nconcealment, till night allows them to roam at large. And the odium\nwhich now forces several vices, that then passed as merely the play of\nthe imagination, to hide their heads, may chase them out of society,\nwhen justice is common to all, and riches no longer stand in the place\nof sense and virtue. Granting then to the ancients that savage grandeur\nof imagination, which, clashing with humanity, does not exclude\ntenderness of heart, we should guard against paying that homage to\nsentiment, only due to principles formed by reason.\n\nTheir tragedies, this is still but a cultivation of the passions and the\ntaste, have been celebrated and imitated servilely; yet, touching the\nheart, they corrupted it; for many of the fictions, that produced the\nmost striking stage effect, were absolutely immoral. The sublime\nterrour, with which they fill the mind, may amuse, nay, delight; but\nwhence comes the improvement? Besides, uncultivated minds are the most\nsubject to feel astonishment, which is often only another name for\nsublime sensations. What moral lesson, for example, can be drawn from\nthe story of Oedipus, the favourite subject of such a number of\ntragedies?\u2014The gods impel him on, and, led imperiously by blind fate,\nthough perfectly innocent, he is fearfully punished, with all his\nhapless race, for a crime in which his will had no part.\n\nFormerly kings and great men openly despised the justice they violated;\nbut, at present, when a degree of reason, at least, regulates\ngovernments, men find it necessary to put a gloss of morality on their\nactions, though it may not be their spring. And even the jargon of crude\nsentiments, now introduced into conversation, shows to what side leans\nvanity, the true thermometer of the times.\u2014An affectation of humanity is\nthe affectation of the day; and men almost always affect to possess the\nvirtue, or quality, that is rising into estimation.\n\nFormerly a man was safe only in one civilized patch of the globe, and\neven there his life hung by a thread. Such were the sudden vicissitudes,\nwhich, keeping the apprehension on the stretch, warmed the imagination,\nthat clouded the intellect. At present a man may reasonably expect to be\nallowed tranquilly to follow any scientific pursuit; and when the\nunderstanding is calmly employed, the heart imperceptibly becomes\nindulgent. It is not the same with the cultivation of the arts. Artists\nhave commonly irritable tempers; and, inflaming their passions as they\nwarm their fancy, they are, generally speaking, licentious; acquiring\nthe manners their productions tend to spread abroad, when taste, only\nthe refinement of weakened sensations, stifles manly ardour.\n\nTaste and refined manners, however, were swept away by hordes of\nuncivilized adventurers; and in Europe, where some of the seeds\nremained, the state of society slowly meliorating itself till the\nseventeenth century, nature seemed as much despised in the arts, as\nreason in the sciences. The different professions were much more knavish\nthan at present, under the veil of solemn stupidity. Every kind of\nlearning, as in the savage state, consisted chiefly in the art of\ntricking the vulgar, by impressing them with an opinion of powers, that\ndid not exist in nature\u2014The priest was to save their souls without\nmorality; the physician to heal their bodies without medicine; and\njustice was to be administered by the immediate interposition of\nheaven:\u2014all was to be done by a charm. Nothing, in short, was founded on\nphilosophical principles; and the amusements being barbarous, the\nmanners became formal and ferocious. The cultivation of the mind,\nindeed, consisted rather in acquiring languages, and loading the memory\nwith facts, than in exercising the judgment; consequently, reason\ngoverned neither law, nor legislation; and literature was equally devoid\nof taste. The people were, strictly speaking, slaves; bound by feudal\ntenures, and still more oppressive ecclesiastical restraints; the lord\nof the domain leading them to slaughter, like flocks of sheep; and the\nghostly father drawing the bread out of their mouths by the idlest\nimpositions. The croisades, however, freed many of the vassals; and the\nreformation, forcing the clergy to take a new stand, and become more\nmoral, and even wiser, produced a change of opinion, that soon appeared\nin humanizing the manners, though not in improving the different\ngovernments.\n\nBut whilst all Europe was enslaved, suffering under the caprice or\ntyranny of despots, whose pride and restless ambition continually\ndisturbed the tranquillity of their neighbours; the britons, in a great\ndegree, preserved the liberty that they first recovered. This singular\nfelicity was not more owing to the insular situation of their country,\nthan to their spirited efforts; and national prosperity was the reward\nof their exertions. Whilst, therefore, englishmen were the only free\npeople in existence, they appear to have been not only content, but\ncharmed with their constitution; though perpetually complaining of the\nabuses of their government. It was then very natural, in such an\nelevated situation, for them to contemplate with graceful pride their\ncomparative happiness; and taking for granted, that it was the model of\nperfection, they never seem to have formed an idea of a system more\nsimple, or better calculated to promote and maintain the freedom of\nmankind.\n\nThat system, so ingenious in theory, they thought the most perfect the\nhuman mind was capable of conceiving; and their contentions for it\u2019s\nsupport contributed more to persuade them, that they actually possessed\nan extensive liberty, and the best of all possible governments, than to\nsecure the real possession. However, if it had no specific basis beside\nmagna charta, till the habeas corpus act passed; or before the\nrevolution of 1688, but the temper of men; it is a sufficient\ndemonstration, that it was a government resting on principles emanating\nfrom the consent, if not from the sense of the nation.\n\nWhilst liberty had been consumed by the lascivious pleasures of the\ncitizens of Venice and Genoa;\u2014corroded in Switzerland by a mercenary\naristocracy;\u2014entombed in the dykes of the covetous Hollanders;\u2014driven\nout of Sweden by an association of the nobles;\u2014and hunted down in\nCorsica by the ambition of her neighbours;\u2014France was insensible to her\nvalue;\u2014Italy, Spain, and Portugal, cowering under a contemptible\nbigotry, which sapped the remains of the rude liberty they had enjoyed,\nformed no political plans;\u2014and all Germany was not only enslaved, and\ngroaning beneath the weight of the most insulting civil tyranny, but\nit\u2019s shackles were riveted by a redoubtable military phalanx.\u2014Despotism,\nin fact, had existed in that vast empire for a greater length of time\nthan in any other country;\u2014whilst Russia stretched out her arms with\nmighty grasp, embracing Europe and Asia. Sullen as the amphibious bear\nof the north; and so chilled by her icy regions, as to be insensible to\nthe charms of social life, she threatened alternate destruction to every\nstate in her vicinity. Huge in her projects of ambition, as her empire\nis extensive, the despotism of her court seems as insatiable, as the\nmanners of her boors are barbarous.\u2014Arrived at that stage of\ncivilization, when the grandeur and parade of a palace are mistaken for\nthe improvement of manners, and the false glory of desolating provinces\nfor wisdom and magnanimity, the tzarina would sooner have abandoned her\nfavourite plan of imitating the conduct of Peter the great, in labouring\nto civilize her kingdom, than have allowed freedom to find a firm seat\nin her dominions to assist her. She has vainly endeavoured, indeed, to\nmake the sweet flowers of liberty grow under the poisonous shade of\ndespotism; giving the russians a false taste for the luxuries of life\nbefore the attainment of it\u2019s conveniences. And this hasty attempt to\nalter the manners of a people has produced the worst effect on their\nmorals: mixing the barbarism of one state of society, deprived of it\u2019s\nsincerity and simplicity, with the voluptuousness of the other, void of\nelegance and urbanity, the two extremes have prematurely met.\n\nThus pursued and mistaken, liberty, though still existing in the small\nisland of England, yet continually wounded by the arbitrary proceedings\nof the british ministry, began to flap her wings, as if preparing for a\nflight to more auspicious regions\u2014And the anglo-americans having carried\nwith them to their place of refuge the principles of their ancestors,\nshe appeared in the new world with renovated charms, and sober matron\ngraces.\n\nFreedom is, indeed, the natural and imprescriptible right of man;\nwithout the enjoyment of which, it is impossible for him to become\neither a reasonable or dignified being. Freedom he enjoys in a natural\nstate, in it\u2019s full extent: but formed by nature for a more intimate\nsociety, to unfold his intellectual powers, it becomes necessary, for\ncarrying into execution the main objects, which induces men to establish\ncommunities, that they should surrender a part of their natural\nprivileges, more effectually to guard the most important. But from the\nignorance of men, during the infancy of society, it was easy for their\nleaders, by frequent usurpations, to create a despotism, which choking\nup the springs that would have invigorated their minds, they seem to\nhave been insensible to the deprivations under which they lived; and\nexisting like mere animals, the tyrants of the world have continued to\ntreat them only as machines to promote their purposes.\n\nIn the progress of knowledge, which however was very tardy in Europe,\nbecause the men who studied were content to see nature through the\nmedium of books, without making any actual experiments themselves, the\nbenefits of civil liberty began to be better understood: and in the same\nproportion we find the chains of despotism becoming lighter. Still the\nsystematizing of pedants, the ingenious fallacy of priests, and the\nsupercilious meanness of the literary sycophants of courts, who were the\ndistinguished authors of the day, continued to perplex and confound the\nunderstandings of unlettered men. And no sooner had the republics of\nItaly risen from the ashes of the roman jurisprudence, than their\nprinciples were attacked by the apostles of Machiavel, and the efforts\nmade for the revival of freedom were undermined by the insidious tenets\nwhich he gave to his prince.\n\nThe arts, it is true, were now recovering themselves, patronized by the\nfamily of the Medicis: but the sciences, that is, whatever claimed the\nappellation, had still to struggle with aristotelean prejudices; till\nDescartes ventured to think for himself; and Newton, following his\nexample, explained the laws of motion and gravity, displaying the\nmechanism of the universe with wonderful perspicacity; for the analysis\nof ideas, which has since diffused such light through every branch of\nknowledge, was not before this period applied even to mathematics. The\nextension of analytical truths, including political, which at first were\nonly viewed as splendid theories, now began to pervade every part of\nEurope; stealing into the very seminaries of learning in Germany, where\nformerly scholastic, dry theology, laborious compilations of the\nwanderings of the human understanding, and minute collations of the\nworks of the ancients, had consumed the fervour of youth, and wasted the\npatience of age. The college and the court are always connected:\u2014and\nliterature beginning to attract the attention of several of the petty\nsovereigns of the empire, they were induced to patronize those daring\nmen who were persecuted by the public for attacking religious or\npolitical prejudices; and allowing them an asylum at their courts, they\nacquired a relish for their conversation. The amusements of the chace\nthen yielding to the pleasures of colloquial disquisition on subjects of\ntaste and morals, the ferocity of northern despotism began imperceptible\nto wear away, and the condition of it\u2019s slaves to become more tolerable.\n\nEducation, in particular, has been studied; and the rational modes of\ninstruction in useful knowledge, which are taking place of the exclusive\nattention formerly paid to the dead languages, promise to render the\ngermans, in the course of half a century, the most enlightened people in\nEurope. Whilst their simplicity of manners, and honesty of heart are in\na great degree preserved, even as they grow more refined, by the\nsituation of their country; which prevents that inundation of riches by\ncommercial sources, that destroys the morals of a nation before it\u2019s\nreason arrives at maturity.\n\nFrederic the IId of Prussia, with the most ardent ambition, was\nnevertheless as anxious to acquire celebrity as an author, as he was\nfame as a soldier. By writing an examination of Machiavel\u2019s Prince, and\nthe encouragement he gave to literary talents and abilities, he\ncontributed very much to promote the acquirement of knowledge in his\ndominions; whilst, by granting his confidence to the philosophical\nHertzberg, the administration of his government grew considerably\nmilder.\n\nHis splendid reputation as a soldier continued to awe the restless\nambition of the princes of the neighbouring states, which afforded an\nopportunity to the inhabitants of the empire to follow, during the reign\nof tranquillity, those literary pursuits, which became fashionable even\nat the half civilized court of Petersbourg. It now, indeed, appeared\ncertain, that Germany would gain in future important political\nadvantages; for men were beginning to presume to think, and scanned the\nconduct of the supercilious Joseph with freedom, treating his vanity\nwith contempt.\n\nIt is by thus teaching men from their youth to think, that they will be\nenabled to recover their liberty; and useful learning is already so far\nadvanced, that nothing can stop it\u2019s progress:\u2014I say peremptorily\nnothing; for this is not the era hesitatingly to add, short of\nsupernatural events. And though the unjustifiable proceeding of the\nenglish courts of justice, or rather of the arbitrary chief judge\nMansfield, who established it as a law precedent, that the greater the\ntruth the greater the libel, tended materially to prevent the authors of\nthe american war from being attacked for those tyrannical steps, that\nultimately tended to stop the progress of knowledge and the\ndissemination of political truth; yet the clamour which was raised\nagainst that unpopular war is a proof, that, if justice slept, liberty\nof thought had not forsaken the island.\n\nThe overweening presumption, however, of men ignorant of true political\nscience; who beheld a nation prosperous beyond example, whilst all the\nneighbouring states were languishing, and knew not how to account for\nit; foolishly endeavouring to preserve this prosperity, by mad attempts\nto throw impediments in the way of those very principles, which had\nraised Great Britain to the elevated rank she has attained in Europe,\nserved only to accelerate their diffusion. And France being the first\namong the nations on the continent, that had arrived at a civilization\nof manners, which they have termed the only art of living, we find was\nthe first to throw off the yoke of her old prejudices.\n\nIt was at this crisis of things, that the despotism of France was\ncompletely overturned, and twenty-five millions of human beings unloosed\nfrom the odious bands, which had for centuries benumbed their faculties,\nand made them crouch under the most ignominious servitude\u2014And it now\nremains to observe the effect of this important revolution, which may\nfairly be dated from the taking of the Bastille.\n\n\n\n\n AN\n HISTORICAL AND MORAL VIEW\n OF THE\n FRENCH REVOLUTION.\n\n\n\n\n _BOOK III._\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n A DEPUTATION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ARRIVES AT PARIS. BAILLIE CHOSEN\n MAYOR, AND LA FAYETTE COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL GUARDS.\n RESIGNATION OF THE MINISTRY. NECKER RECALLED. THE KING VISITS PARIS.\n CHARACTER OF THE PARISIANS. THE REVOLUTION URGED ON PREMATURELY.\n EMIGRATIONS OF SEVERAL OF THE NOBILITY AND OTHERS. CALONNE ADVISES THE\nFRENCH PRINCES TO STIR UP FOREIGN POWERS AGAINST FRANCE. FOULON KILLED.\n\n\nThe presence of the deputies had diffused throughout the capital the\nmost intoxicating joy\u2014for where is joy expressed with such infantile\nplayfulness, such entire forgetfulness of to-morrow, as at Paris? and\nthe citizens, with their usual burst of gratitude, which always\nresembles adoration, made choice of Baillie, the first acting president\nof the national assembly, for mayor, and of La Fayette for commander in\nchief of the national guards: the name now given to the\n_garde-bourgeoise_, and the other soldiers incorporated with them. But\nthe rapture of the parisians, as transient as lively, dwindled, as their\nspirits were exhausted, into the murmurs of suspicion.\u2014The ministry,\nsaid they, who were chosen to depress us, are not yet dismissed; and the\ntroops, that were to have been their instruments of mischief, still\nhover round Paris, and are even augmented by the arrival of two fresh\nregiments at St. Denis. A rumour was spread, that a convoy of flour had\nbeen intercepted by the order of the ministers, in it\u2019s way to Paris;\nand some disturbances at the Bastille had given colour to a report, that\nthey had attempted to make themselves once more masters of this\nimportant fortress. The night of the 15th was then another devoted to\nwatchfulness and anxiety; and in the morning a deputation was sent to\nthe national assembly, praying them to demand the dismission of the\npresent ministry, and the recall of Necker.\n\nThe assembly took the subject into deliberation; but still attentive to\n_etiquette_, they debated about the decorum of interfering with the\nappointment of the executive power. This roused the genius of Mirabeau;\nand the bubbles of fear, and the straw-like objections of timidity, were\ncarried away by the torrent of his eloquence. The discussion grew warm;\nyet for the present occasion soon became of little importance, because\nthe ministry, finding that they could not stand the brunt of the storm,\nresigned; Necker also, in whom the public had still the most implicit\nconfidence, was invited to return;\u2014and the king, appearing to be anxious\nto give every proof of his desire to establish general tranquillity,\nsignified, that he wished to visit Paris. A short time after they were\nofficially informed that the troops were promptly removing to more\ndistant quarters. The national assembly accordingly sent some of their\nmembers to communicate to the parisians this welcome intelligence, to\nprepare for the reception of the king by calming the fears of the\npeople.\n\nAnd he, adhering to his purpose, left Versailles the next day (the\n17th), though his family ridiculously endeavoured to dissuade him;\ninsinuating, that he ought not to trust his sacred person to the mercy\nof an enraged multitude; whilst rumours of projected assassinations were\nrepeated before him, with exaggerated comments. But, being a man of\nconsiderable animal courage, and now almost perceiving, that all the\nevils with which he was struggling had been produced by his headstrong\nadvisers, he seemed determined, at least for the present, not to be\ngoverned by their dangerous councils. And he had even the sagacity to\nforesee, that, convulsed as the kingdom was, they would occasion a civil\nwar, and his life might then be still more exposed. In this instance, as\nwe shall find in many others, Louis appears to have been directed by a\nkind of glimmering instinct of propriety; for at the present juncture it\nwas particularly discreet, considering the little effect the pageantry\nof the court had produced at the _s\u00e9ance royale_, to meet the people\nwithout the parade of robes or guards. And, in fact, the hundred\ndeputies who followed him, were now the only retinue that would have\nappeared respectable in the eyes of the people. What too must have been\nhis surprise, in spite of all he had heard, to pass through an immense\navenue of armed parisians with such a new aspect.\u2014Till now he had always\nseen a timid multitude flying before the watch, giving vent to their\nvengeance in vain songs, and to their grief in feeble murmurs:\u2014to-day he\nsaw them triumphant, moving orderly along, calling out on every side,\nduring the procession, for a constitution and laws! marching in unison\nwith their reflections, they advanced, but slowly; for, almost afraid to\nhope, they proceeded with the measured step of thought, or rather\nsadness; and the people, whose mind was still agitated, as the swell of\nthe sea continues after the storm has subsided, uttered not the shout of\ngladness\u2014_vive le roi_;\u2014but the menacing memento\u2014_vive la nation_.\n\nThis was as ominous a sound, as the woe! woe! resounding through the\nsilent streets of a besieged city\u2014for it was equally the voice of fate,\nproclaiming the will of the people, disgusted with courts, and\nsuspicious even of the king. Louis seems to have been forcibly struck by\nthe energy every where displayed; and not more by the eloquent\ndiscourses addressed to him at the h\u00f4tel-de-ville, than by the\ncountenance of each citizen: for the fire of liberty had already lighted\nup in every face the serene lustre of manly firmness.\u2014So impressed,\nindeed, was his mind by the whole scene, that, when the animated\nspeakers were silent, he exclaimed in reply\u2014\u2018My people! my people, may\nalways rely on my love.\u2019\u2014And taking the national cockade from the hands\nof the mayor, he appeared at the window with his heart in his eyes, as\nif eager to convince the multitude of his sincerity: and perhaps\nconscious, that, first submitting to necessity, he now yielded to\nfeeling. At these words, the repetition of which flew like lightning\nfrom rank to rank, the whole concourse of people caught the electrical\nsympathy.\u2014_Vive le roi_ was shouted from every quarter; and revived\naffection glowed with the fresh fervour, that effaces the remembrance of\ndoubts, and makes the fear of having been unjust, the most powerful\nspring of tenderness. And persuading themselves, for the moment, that\nthe disposition of the king was not so much at variance with their\nhappiness as his conduct, they poured blessings on him, bestowing all\ntheir execrations on his counsellors.\n\nPleasure, now almost mounting to a feverish height, set all Paris\nquickly in motion; and the sound of the thundering artillery was the\nswift harbinger of the tidings of reconciliation to Versailles, where\nthe royal family must have been anxiously alive to the events of the\nday.\n\nThese sudden transitions from one extreme to another, without leaving\nany settled conviction behind, to confirm or eradicate the corroding\ndistrust, could not be seen in such a strong light any where as at\nParis, because there a variety of causes have so effeminated reason,\nthat the french may be considered as a nation of women; and made feeble,\nprobably, by the same combination of circumstances, as has rendered\nthese insignificant. More ingenious than profound in their researches;\nmore tender than impassioned in their affections; prompt to act, yet\nsoon weary; they seem to work only to escape from work, and to reflect\nmerely how they shall avoid reflection. Indolently restless, they make\nthe elegant furniture of their rooms, like their houses, voluptuously\nhandy. Every thing, in short, shows the dexterity of the people, and\ntheir attention to present enjoyment.\n\nAnd so passive appears to be their imagination, it requires to be roused\nby novelty; and then, more lively than strong, the evanescent emotions\nscarcely leave any traces behind them. From being devoted to pleasure in\ntheir youth, old age is commonly passed in such merely animal\ngratifications, that a respectable looking aged man or woman is very\nrarely to be seen. Independent, likewise, of the vanity which makes them\nwish to appear polite, at the very moment they are ridiculing a person,\ntheir great susceptibility of disposition leads them to take an interest\nin all the sensations of others, which are forgotten almost as soon as\nfelt. And these transient gusts of feeling prevent their forming those\nfirm resolves of reason, that, bracing the nerves, when the heart is\nmoved, make sympathy yield to principles, and the mind triumph over the\nsenses.\n\nBesides, the climate of France is so genial, and the blood mounted so\ncheerily in the veins, even of the oppressed common people, that, living\nfor the day, they continually basked in the sunshine, which broke from\nbehind the heavy clouds that hung over them.\n\nIt is impossible, after tracing the horrid conspiracy formed by the\ncourt against the lives and liberty of the people, not to feel the most\nineffable contempt for that kind of government, which leaves the\nhappiness of a nation at the mercy of a capricious minister of state.\nThe awful and interesting lesson, which the developement of this\ntreachery afforded, was such as ought to have made an indelible\nimpression on their minds.\u2014It was a lesson, the very thought of which\nstops for a moment the genial current of the heart.\u2014It was a lesson,\nthat should be repeated to mankind, to bring home to their very senses a\nconviction of the lengths to which a depraved and absolute government\nwill go, for the sake of holding fast it\u2019s power.\u2014It was, in short, a\ndeduction of experience, which will teach posterity that life, and every\nthing dear to man, can be secured only by the preservation of liberty.\n\nThe want of decision in the character of Louis seems to have been the\nfoundation of all his faults, as well as of all his misfortunes; and\nevery moment fresh occasions to make the observation arise as we trace\nhis misconduct, or compassionate his situation.\n\nTo give a striking instance, it is only necessary to turn our attention\nto the fatal effects that flowed from his consenting to assemble an army\nof foreigners, to intimidate the states-general. He could not resist the\ncourt, who counselled this measure; or silence the misgivings of his\nheart, which made him averse to the troops taking any decisive step,\nthat might lead to slaughter. And still governed by these undisciplined\nfeelings, when he dismissed the army, he pursued the advice of the very\ncabal, that had led him into this errour; giving way to the wishes of\nthe people, yet dissembling with them even in the act of reconciliation.\nThus, for ever wavering, it is difficult to mark any fixt purpose in his\nactions; excepting that which does him honour\u2014the desire to prevent the\nshedding of blood. This principle has, in general, directed his conduct;\nthough the short-sighted measures of timid humanity, devoid of strength\nof mind, turned all his efforts to a very contrary effect.\n\nFrom the presence of these troops, and their abortive attempt to crush\nliberty in the egg, the shell was prematurely broken, and the enthusiasm\nof frenchmen excited before their judgment was in any considerable\ndegree formed. Intoxicated by conquest, each began to descant on the\nexisting abuses, to show his own cleverness in pointing out the remedy;\nand arms being once in the hands of the people, it was difficult to\npersuade them to give them up for the occupations of peace. It is true,\nhad the national assembly been allowed quietly to have made some\nreforms, paving the way for more, the Bastille, though tottering on it\u2019s\ndungeons, might yet have stood erect.\u2014And, if it had, the sum of human\nmisery could scarcely have been increased. For the _guillotine_ not\nfinding it\u2019s way to the splendid square it has polluted, streams of\ninnocent blood would not have flowed, to obliterate the remembrance of\nfalse imprisonment, and drown the groans of solitary grief in the loud\ncry of agony\u2014when, the thread of life quickly cut in twain, the\nquivering light of hope is instantly dashed out\u2014and the billows suddenly\nclosing, the silence of death is felt!\u2014This tale is soon told.\u2014We hear\nnot of years languished away in misery, whilst dissolution by inches\npalsies the frame, or disturbs the reason: yet, who can estimate the sum\nof comfort blasted; or tell how many survivors pine the prey of an\nimagination distracted by sorrow?\n\nThe character of the french, indeed, had been so depraved by the\ninveterate despotism of ages, that even amidst the heroism which\ndistinguished the taking of the Bastille, we are forced to see that\nsuspicious temper, and that vain ambition of dazzling, which have\ngenerated all the succeeding follies and crimes. For, even in the most\npublic-spirited actions, celebrity seems to have been the spur, and the\nglory, rather than the happiness of frenchmen, the end.\u2014This observation\ninforces the grand truth on mankind, that without morality there can be\nno great strength of understanding, or real dignity of conduct. The\nmorals of the whole nation were destroyed by the manners formed by the\ngovernment.\u2014Pleasure had been pursued, to fill up the void of rational\nemployment; and fraud combined with servility to debase the\ncharacter;\u2014so that, when they changed their system, liberty, as it was\ncalled, was only the acme of tyranny\u2014merely with this difference, that,\nall the force of nature being roused, the magnitude of the evil\npromised, by some mighty concussion, to effect it\u2019s own cure.\n\nThe reunion of the king and people not only routed, but terrified, the\ncabal; and as cowardly in adversity, as presumptuous in prosperity, they\nimmediately took to flight different ways, and even disguised. One man,\nwho had long been obnoxious to the people on account of inordinate\ncovetousness, and, vulgar tyranny, not softened by the graceful\ncondescension of the nobility, caused it to be reported, that he was\ndead. The renowned mareschal Broglio sought an asylum at Luxemburgh,\nwhilst madame Polignac fled to Basle. Thus went into exile an amiable\nwoman, who had been the instrument of the ambition of a family, that\nrapaciously availed themselves of her great favour with the queen, whose\nstrange predilection for handsome women blighted the reputation of every\none, whom she distinguished.\n\nThe count d\u2019Artois, with several others of the blood royal and principal\nnobility, likewise thought it prudent to leave the kingdom for the\npresent; either to provide for their safety, or to seek vengeance. At\nBrussels they met the unquiet Calonne, who, having heard of the\ndismission of Necker, was lured back by the first glimpse of hope. For\nwishing to wipe away the indignity, which he had so impatiently brooked;\nand fondly believing, that the army had had sufficient time to quash the\nverbal disputes of the nation; he was hastening towards France, to be\nready to come in for his share of the triumph.\n\nTo his country this meeting has proved a source of evil, that could only\nhave been hatched in such an unprincipled brain, fertile in plans of\nmischief, and prone to puzzle the cause which he wanted force to\nsubvert. His last effort for power had been to obtain a seat in the\nstates-general. And, had not the remembrance of his former\nadministration stood in his way, it is probable he would have succeeded,\nand there have become a flaming patriot, could he have been the leader\nof a party; for he possessed the showy talents necessary to procure\ninstantaneous applause in a popular assembly\u2014a deceiving, rather than a\ncommanding eloquence. Mirabeau, on the contrary, seems to have had from\nnature a strong perception of a dignified propriety of conduct; and\ntruth appearing to give earnestness to his arguments, his hearers were\ncompelled to agree with him out of respect to themselves. Leaving then\nplausibility far behind, he always stood forth as the sturdy champion of\nreason; even when, laying down his club, he loitered to dally with the\nimagination. Whilst therefore Mirabeau was teaching the national\nassembly dignity[22], the resentment of the vain-glorious Calonne,\nsharpened to the keenest edge by disappointment, made him suggest to\nthose crest-fallen princes, the necessity of engaging foreign aid, to\nreinstate the king in his former plenitude of power, and to heal their\nwounded pride. Unfortunately, the plausibility of his manners, and the\ningenuity of his arguments, awakened their fears, and nourished their\nprejudices; and quickly persuaded to assert what they wished to believe,\nthey protested against the conduct of the national assembly;\ninsinuating, that the body of the people did not support their\npretensions. The delusion, however, did not rest here; for he even\nconvinced them, that, if the appeal made to the national honour of the\nfrench did not recall crowds to their chivalrous allegiance, it would\nnot be a difficult task to engage all the powers of Europe in behalf of\nhis most christian majesty, by showing them, that, if freedom were once\nestablished in France, it would soon extend beyond it\u2019s confines,\nbounding over the Alps and Pyrenees.\n\nSuch are the opposite sentiments, or rather conduct of court parasites,\nand men struggling to be free, that it is sufficient to contrast them.\nThe deputies, whose lives had been threatened, and their persons grossly\ninsulted, not only excused the ill advised monarch for the countenance\nwhich he had given to the violation of the most sacred principles; but\nexpressed a conciliatory disposition to all parties. The mob, it is\ntrue, in the heat of rage, inhumanly butchered two of the vile\ninstruments of despotism. But this violence offered to justice ought not\nto be attributed to the temper of the people, much less to the\nconnivance of the national assembly, who acted with a degree of\nmagnanimity, at this time, of which it can never be enough lamented that\nthey have since lost sight. The behaviour however of the hardened\nchildren of oppression in all countries is the same; whether in the\namphitheatre at Rome, or around the lantern-post in Paris.\n\nThe king\u2019s eldest brother alone remained with the court, a man with more\nresources of understanding in himself, than the rest of his family; yet,\nmaking it a point of honour to be treated like his younger brother the\ncount d\u2019Artois, he contributed by his rapacity to drain the royal\ntreasure, though such an expensive variety of amusements was not\nnecessary to give a zest to his pleasures.\n\nThe noble depredators had now escaped; yet Foulon, the minister, the\nmost desperate and pusillanimous of the gang, was taken, in spite of his\nmock funeral.\u2014I purposely use the word gang; for a squeamish delicacy\nwith respect to terms makes us sometimes confound characters to such a\ndegree, that the great villain is not stigmatized with the epithet\nassociated with the idea of a gallows; because, by the grossest\nsubversion of reason, the aggravation of guilt has so palliated the\npunishments, that the head, which would have disgraced a halter, has\nbeen respectfully severed on a block.\n\nOnce seized, no authority could prevent the murder of this miserable\nwretch; and the same evening the intendant of Paris, his son-in-law, met\na death still more shocking, being prolonged by the humane interposition\nof the respectable mayor, and La Fayette, in his favour.\n\nStrange, that a people, who often leave the theatre before the\ncatastrophe, should have bred up such monsters! Still we ought to\nrecollect, that the sex, called the tender, commit the most flagrant\nacts of barbarity when irritated.\u2014So weak is the tenderness produced\nmerely by sympathy, or polished manners, compared with the humanity of a\ncultivated understanding. Alas!\u2014It is morals, not feelings, which\ndistinguish men from the beasts of prey! These were transactions, over\nwhich, for the honour of human nature, it were to be wished oblivion\ncould draw the winding-sheet, that has often enwrapped a heart, whose\nbenevolence has been felt, but not known. But, if it be impossible to\nerase from the memory these foul deeds, which, like the stains of\ndeepest dye revived by remorse in the conscience, can never be rubbed\nout\u2014why dwell circumstantially on the excesses that revolt humanity, and\ndim the lustre of the picture, on which the eye has gazed with rapture,\noften obliged to look up to heaven to forget the misery endured on\nearth? Since, however, we cannot \u2018out the damned spot,\u2019 it becomes\nnecessary to observe, that, whilst despotism and superstition exist, the\nconvulsions, which the regeneration of man occasions, will always bring\nforward the vices they have engendered, to devour their parents.\n\nServility, destroying the natural energy of man, stifles the noblest\nsentiments of the soul.\u2014Thus debased, heroic actions are merely directed\nby the head, and the heart drops not into them it\u2019s balm, more precious\nthan the trees of Arabia ever distilled! Ought we then to wonder, that\nthis dry substitute for humanity is often burnt up by the scorching\nflame of revenge? This has now actually been the case; for there has\nbeen seen amongst the french a spurious race of men, a set of cannibals,\nwho have gloried in their crimes; and tearing out the hearts that did\nnot feel for them, have proved, that they themselves had iron bowels.\n\u2018But, if the anger of the people be terrible,\u2019 exclaims Mirabeau, \u2018it is\nthe sang froid of despotism, that is atrocious; those systematic\ncruelties, which have made more wretches in a day than the popular\ninsurrections have immolated in a course of years![23] We often fear,\u2019\nadds he, \u2018the people, because we have injured them; and thus are forced\nto fetter those we oppress.\u2019\n\nThe example of the capital was followed by the provinces; and all the\ncitizens flew to arms, whilst the soldiers grounded their\u2019s, swearing\nnot to stain their hands with the blood of their fellow citizens. Added\nto the account of the conspiracy to dissolve the states-general, and\nmassacre their representatives, a number of idle rumours of present\ndanger tended to make the country people not only eager to guard against\nthey scarcely knew what, but also desirous to enter into the adventures,\nand share the honours of the parisians.\n\nIn all civil wars, personal vengeance mixing with public, or taking\nadvantage of it, has directed the dagger of the assassin: and in France\nit ought particularly to have been dreaded; because, when fear induces a\nman to smother his just resentment, the festering wound is only to be\ncured by revenge. It is then highly probable, that most of the\nbarbarities in the towns were the effervescence of private anger, or the\nsport of depraved, uncultivated minds, who found the same pleasure in\ntormenting men, as mischievous boys in dismembering insects; for public\nindignation, directed against aristocratical tyranny, was elsewhere, in\ngeneral, displayed only in burning the country castles, and the archives\nof nobility. But, in the country, indeed, men rarely commit such crimes,\nas lift up their reptile heads in the capital, where the rank atmosphere\naffords the noxious particles necessary to give virulence to the poison.\nThe vices of villagers are, in fact, rather the rich exuberance of the\npassions, than the vile dregs of exhausted nature.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n THE DUKE OF LIANCOURT CHOSEN PRESIDENT. THE PEOPLE ARM FOR THE DEFENCE\n OF THE COUNTRY. THE MUNICIPAL OFFICERS APPOINTED UNDER THE OLD\nGOVERNMENT SUPERSEDED BY COMMITTEES. SOME PEOPLE TREACHEROUSLY DESTROYED\nBY SPRINGING A MINE AT A CIVIC FEAST. THE GENEVESE RESIDENT TAKEN UP BY\n THE PATROL. THE FRENCH SUSPICIOUS OF THE DESIGNS OF BRITAIN. NECKER\nRETURNS. GENERAL AMNESTY RESOLVED BY THE ELECTORS OF PARIS. DEBATE ON A\n DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS SEPARATE FROM THE\n CONSTITUTION DETERMINED ON. SACRIFICES MADE BY THE NOBLES, CLERGY, &C.\n\n\nThe duke of Liancourt, whose warning voice had made the king look around\nhim, when danger was at his heels, was now chosen president. At this\nmoment the obstacles, which at first clogged the exertions of the\nassembly, seemed to have been overcome: still fresh ones starting up\nthrew a damp on their exultation; and the apprehensions of a famine,\nreal or factitious, were not the least alarming, though the most\nfrequent.\n\nNew conspiracies were already formed on the borders of France, by the\nprinces, and those who had subsisted by the corruptions of the old\nsystem. But this only proved a stimulus; because the nation, being\ndetermined to secure the rights it had so suddenly regained, raised new\nregiments in every part of the country, and was soon in a situation to\nrepel any attack, which it was possible for all Germany to have made;\nthe only quarter from which the fugitive princes, at that period, could\nexpect assistance. So rapid was the spirit, so general the momentum,\nthat in the course of a week upwards of three millions of men in arms\nwere formed into companies by a common interest resembling an electrical\nsympathy. Such was the quick succession of events\u2014Such the unanimous\nsense of the nation; and such the formidable force which instantly\nopposed itself to the impotent threats of departing despotism. History\nwill record this memorable era, when the disciplined forces of the most\npuissant tyranny vanished before the force of truth, though still but\nhalf unveiled; obliging the haughty sycophants to search for shelter in\nthe recesses of a forest, whither they stole under cover of the night\nfrom the presence of an injured people.\n\nThe conduct of the _garde-bourgeoise_, during the progress of the\nrevolution, without varnishing over the excesses produced by ebullitions\nof zeal, is of itself sufficient to prove, that a national militia\nshould every where take place of standing armies, did not experience\ninvariably attest, that the laws were never respected by men, whose\nbusiness is war, unless they are reduced to mere machines by despotism.\n\nThe old municipal officers, mostly suspected, because nominated by the\nfriends of the court, were now obliged to give place to committees\nelected by the common voice. These taking the administration of public\nbusiness into their hands, a new order of things began every where to\nprevail. Still, however, the disturbed imagination of the people was\nfilled with plots, to which some mysterious and fatal incidents gave\nlife.\n\nThe municipality of Soissons informed the national assembly, that troops\nof banditti had cut down the corn before it was ripe, and obliged the\nvillagers to take refuge in the towns. But on further inquiry, it\nappeared, that this report arose from a simple quarrel of the peasants\namongst themselves, which had alarmed some labourers, who flew to the\nneighbouring town, imagining that they had thousands of banditti at\ntheir heels.\n\nParis was also disturbed by an idle rumour of a riot at St. Denis; so\nseriously affirmed by those, who declared that they had been\neye-witnesses of the violence, that troops and cannon were sent, but\nthey could find no traces of the disturbance.\n\nAnother, more serious, had exasperated the people against the nobility,\nand roused the indignation of the national assembly. A nobleman and\ncounsellor of the parliament gave a civic feast in his castle to the\ninhabitants of his village; from which, on some pretext, he was absent.\nAll was joy and festivity; but in the midst of the dance of gladness,\nthe sudden explosion of a mine spread around affright and death.\u2014Hearing\nof this treachery, the people, catching up their rustic weapons,\nfirebrands, hastened to the neighbouring castles; some of which they\nburnt, others they demolished by pulling them down.\n\nThe recital of this atrocity produced a great effect in the national\nassembly; and, says Mirabeau, \u2018though great assemblies are often much\ntoo susceptible of theatrical emotions; and this narration was\naccompanied with circumstances, of which the invention is seldom\npresumed; and though it was also attested by a public officer; yet the\natrocity of the crime gave it an air of improbability.\u2019 This wanton act\nof barbarity, which the historian also would fain believe a monstrous\nchimera of heated brains, was, nevertheless, as well substantiated, as\nsuch a fact could be; which nothing, but the confession of the guilty\nparty, can render absolutely certain, because it seems equally foolish\nand barbarous.\n\nThese disorders, warmly represented by Lally-Tolendal, determined the\nassembly, on the 23d of july, to publish a proclamation, inviting all\ngood citizens to the maintenance of order; and declaring, that to try\nand punish for all crimes of _leze-nation_ was the sole prerogative of\nthe national assembly, till, by the constitution which it was about to\nestablish, a regular tribunal should be instituted, for the trial of\nsuch offences. After endeavouring to excuse the violence, or, more\nproperly speaking, to account for it, Mirabeau observed to the assembly,\n\u2018that they ought to be thoroughly convinced, that the continuation of\nthis formidable dictator would expose liberty to as much risk as the\nstratagems of her enemies. Society,\u2019 he continues, \u2018would soon be\ndissolved, if the multitude, accustomed to blood and disorder, placed\nthemselves above the magistrates, and braved the authority of the law.\nInstead of running to meet freedom, the people would soon throw\nthemselves into the abyss of servitude; for danger too often rallies men\nround the standard of absolute power; and in the bosom of anarchy, a\ndespot even appears a saviour. For Carthage is not yet destroyed; there\nremains a mass of instruments to impede our operations, and to excite\ndivisions in an assembly, that has only been united by danger.\u2019\n\nSome trifling incidents, swelled into importance by supposition, kept\nalive the inventive mistrust of the nation, to which some innocent\nvictims were sacrificed, without allaying it\u2019s brooding propensity to\nproduce, like jealousy, the evil it feared. Suspecting every body, and a\nlittle vain of authority, the patroles of parisian citizens sometimes\nofficiously arrested whomever they thought fit, without assigning a\nsufficient cause; and among the rest, they stopped the resident in\nFrance from Geneva. Three letters were found on him; and one of them\nbeing addressed to the count d\u2019Artois, rendered suspicious the\ncircumstance of his tearing a fourth.\n\nThe letters were sent by the mayor of Paris to the assembly; and the\nfacts laid before them afforded Mirabeau an opportunity, to display his\neloquence on a subject, that recalled to his mind abuses, which had\nformerly touched himself\u2014the violation of private correspondence.\u2014Though\nthis did not appear to be exactly the present question; for they were\nnot intercepted letters, but letters to which chance had annexed some\nsuspicious characters, to point them out for inspection. The despotism\nof opening indiscriminately all letters, to enable the government to\njudge of the character and sentiments of each individual, is too obvious\nto need animadversion.\u2014And who, indeed, will not exclaim against the\ntyranny, be it even parental, that dares to steal into the secrets of\nthe heart; or the impertinent curiosity, that seeks for information only\nto diversify an idle life? The latter may be termed petty larceny; yet\noften the peace of whole families is invaded by these cowardly thefts,\nand quarrels are rendered irreconcilable, by giving air to angry\nexpressions, the utterance solely of the passion of the moment. The\nallowing letters, also, surreptitiously obtained, to appear as evidence,\nin courts of justice, is a gross violation of the first principle of\nlaw; because no letters can lawfully be opened, but as other suspected\nthings are sought for\u2014after information given to a magistrate. But, when\nseals are broken at the discretion of an individual, and brought forward\nto criminate a person, it is to the full as unjust, as to make a man\nplead against himself.\u2014And for justice to be awarded in consequence of\nan act of injustice, is an abuse that demands investigation. But the\npresent was not a case in point. It was not a clandestine ransacking of\nall letters, to search for the clue of some suspected plot; or like the\nreading of the correspondence of a babbling conspirator, after the\ndanger was over, whose letters might contain a list of timid\naccomplices, who would be driven to desperation by publicity. However,\nthe decided turn was given to the question by the bishop of Langres\nobserving, that all ages had applauded the generosity of Pompey, who\ncommitted to the flames the letters, which the senators had addressed to\nSertorius. The mania of imitating the romans on this began to appear,\nproducing one of those instances of false magnanimity, that always arise\nfrom imitation: yet so trifling, indeed, in it\u2019s present consequence,\nthat it would scarcely deserve to be ridiculed, much less censured, had\nnot the same affectation afterwards brought forth more serious and even\nfatal follies.\n\nThe temper also of the parisians, who mix in the world very early in\nlife, leads them to imagine, that they have acquired the profound\nknowledge of the springs of human passions, which enables a sagacious\nman almost to foresee future events, only because they have often\ndetected the weaknesses of the human heart. This made them now suppose,\nthat the court of Great Britain was about to profit by their intestine\ntroubles. The phraseology had long been in both countries, that they\nwere the natural enemies of each other; and the mistrustful french\nquickly imagined, that the english meant immediately to take vengeance\nfor their interference in favour of the americans, by seizing some of\ntheir West-India islands. The duke of Dorset, in his justification of\nEngland, only changed the object of mistrust, by giving rise to some\nvague conjectures respecting a conspiracy for delivering Brest into the\nhands of the english; and, as there was no clue to lead to the discovery\nof the traitors, several nobles of Brittany, probably innocent, were\narrested.\n\nThese were, nevertheless, but slight impediments; for the invigorating\nvoice of the awakened nation gave energy to the assembly, who now named\ncommittees to expedite the present business, preparatory to their grand\ntalk of framing a constitution. The authority and respectability of the\nassembly being acknowledged, they attentively considered the state of\nthe kingdom; and, mindful of the present distress of the people, issued\norders for the free circulation of provision, which had been obstructed\nby the ancient forms, so opposite to the true principles of political\neconomy.\n\nAt this juncture, Necker, still esteemed by the nation, unfortunately\nreturned. Intoxicated by popularity, this minister had not sufficient\nprudence to decline the honours, which he could not support by that\ndignity of conduct the present crisis required. In his way to Paris,\nhaving heard, that the life of the baron de Benzenval, commandant of the\nswiss guards, who had been with Broglio, was in danger, he humanely\ninterposed to stop the hand of violence; and so far he deserves praise.\nBut when, arrived at Paris, he was received, by the lively inhabitants,\nas the tutelar genius of France, this apotheosis had it\u2019s usual effect;\nand assuming the demi-god, at the _H\u00f4tel-de-Ville_, he was not content\nto preserve this victim from the public fury, without recommending a\ngeneral amnesty; a measure which was as inconsiderately adopted, as\nproposed. For the electors pretending to issue laws for the whole\nnation, gave great umbrage to the parisians, who had winked at the\nstretch of their power, which the pressing exigency of circumstances\nrequired, during the moment danger menaced the capital. The wild current\nthus turned, the men, who in the morning had declared, \u2018that liberty was\nsafe, since Necker was allowed to watch over her,\u2019 now accused him of\nambition, and a desire to keep well with the court, by facilitating the\nreturn, or escape, of it\u2019s minions. Such in fact was the inconstancy of\na people, always running after theatrical scenes, that the tocsin was\nrung to denounce Necker as a courtier in one quarter of the city, at the\nvery time the _Palais Royal_ was illuminated to celebrate his return as\na patriot.\n\nThe business, however, being referred to the national assembly, with a\nmodifying explanation, they decided it mildly, paying the respect due to\nthe good intentions from which it proceeded, though they did not pretend\nto sanction the hasty resolve of the electors.\n\nAfter this tumult had subsided the narrow capacity of the minister did\nnot allow him to take a determined part in the grand work, in which the\ndeputies were engaged. His mind had not sufficient strength to burst the\nshackles of it\u2019s old opinions; and, acting with his usual commercial\ncalculations, he seems to have been one cause of the divisions, which\nbegan to agitate an assembly, united rather by circumstances than by\nsentiments. Besides, the sudden emancipation of the people occasioned a\ndelirium of joy, which required to be managed with the greatest\ndelicacy. A vigorous ministry was certainly necessary to check the\nlicentious spirit manifesting itself continually by acts of violence, in\nso many parts of the kingdom, where tumults and assassinations were the\neffects of the giddiness of unexpected success. Whilst complaining of\nthe old government, every man in his sphere seemed to be eager to try\nhow he himself could govern, and make up for the time he had delegated\nhis authority. Besides, the procrastination of the relief looked for as\nthe immediate consequence of the Revolution, however unavoidable, made\nthe people not only murmur, but, disregarding all reason, attempt to\ngain more by force than could, for a long time, be granted by\njustice\u2014even had justice been unbiased by self-interest.\n\nThe nation called for a constitution; and the assembly debated about the\ndeclaration of rights inherent to man, and those he gives up when he\nbecomes a citizen, on which they designed to rest it, as an explanatory\nsupport.\n\nSeveral members argued, that the declaration ought to conclude, and not\nprecede the constitution; insisting, that it was dangerous to awaken a\n_somnambulist_ on the brink of a precipice; or to take a man to the top\nof a mountain, to show him a vast country that belonged to him, but of\nwhich he could not immediately claim the possession. \u2018It is a veil,\u2019\nsaid they, \u2018that it would be imprudent to raise suddenly.\u2014It is a\nsecret, that it is necessary to conceal, till the effect of a good\nconstitution puts them into a situation to hear it with safety[24].\u2019\n\nBut Barnave terminated the sitting, though the question was still in\ndebate, by observing, \u2018that the declaration of rights was in two\nrespects practically useful;\u2014first, as it fixed the spirit of the\nlegislation, in order that it might not vary in future;\u2014and, secondly,\nas it would direct the representatives of the nation in the formation of\nlaws, in all the details of legislation, the completion of which could\nonly be the work of time. As to the apprehension expressed of the people\nabusing these rights, when they acquire a knowledge of them, it is,\u2019\nsaid he, \u2018futile,\u2014and we need only turn over the page of history, to\nlose these vain fears; for we shall constantly find the people tranquil\nin the same proportion as they are enlightened.\u2019\n\nPoizing thus the pillars of equal liberty, the discussion was the next\nday interrupted by the report made by the committee appointed for the\npurpose of digesting the information sent to the assembly, of the\nmelancholy intelligence which they daily received from the\nprovinces.\u2014\u2018The taxes, the rents were no longer paid, the revenue was\nexhausted, the laws were without force; and the social ties almost\nbroken.\u2019 To remedy so many evils, the committee proposed to the assembly\nto publish, as soon as possible, a solemn declaration to testify their\ndeep sense of the misery of the provinces, and their disapprobation of\nthe non-payment of taxes and rents; and to declare, that, till the\nassembly had time to consider the decrees necessary to be passed to\nregulate these objects, there did not exist any cause to justify similar\nrefusals. This proposition occasioned a warm debate.\n\nSome of the deputies represented, that the feudal laws were too\niniquitous,\u2014the taxes too unequally assessed\u2014the wretchedness too\ngeneral, to hope for any happy effect from such a declaration\u2014it would\nsoon fall into oblivion, as had done the proclamation for peace:\u2014it\nwould aggravate the misery of the state, by manifesting the impotence of\nthe national assembly:\u2014it would irritate even the people, who had need\nof comfort; and of whom they could not, without a kind of derision, in\ntheir present circumstances, require the payment of taxes, of which they\nknew well that each of them felt the injustice.\n\nOthers did not fail to insist on the danger of letting the disorder\nincrease; on the sacredness of property; and on the immense _deficit_\nwith which the nation was menaced; adding, that the national assembly\nwould become contemptible, if it did not take the most vigorous\nmeasures.\u2014They further dilated on the necessity of re-establishing the\nauthority of the courts of justice;\u2014and other arguments of the same\ntendency, which would have been more conclusive, more useful, if the\nsupporters of the declaration had brought forward the shadow of a mode\nto assure it\u2019s execution. The debate from being warm became bitter, till\nit was at length resolved, that a declaration should be issued for the\nsecurity of property, and that the remaining proposals of the committee\nshould be discussed the next evening, the 4th of august.\n\nBut, before they separated, the assembly was informed, that Broglio had\nordered all the arms, deposited at the town-house of Thionville, to be\ncarried away.\u2014This step appeared to them the height of imprudence, at a\nmoment when the community was obliged to arm itself to watch over the\npublic safety.\n\nThe following morning it was decided by a great majority, that there\nshould be a declaration of rights separate from the constitution. The\nsitting of the evening was impatiently expected, and the opposers of a\nnew proclamation flattered themselves, that they should secure the\ngeneral suffrage, by making it appear, that patriotism demanded great\nsacrifices; and that instead of the vain formality of an exhortation,\nsoon despised by the people, it was necessary to carry real offerings to\nthe altar of peace.\u2014This was the purport of a speech made by one of the\nnobles, the viscount de Noailles; who showed, in a very forcible manner,\n\u2018that the kingdom, at this moment, fluctuated between the alternative of\nthe destruction of society, or of a government which would be admired\nand imitated by all Europe. How is this government to be obtained?\u2019 said\nhe, \u2018how are the relaxed ties of society to be strengthened? By calming\nthe people,\u2019 he continues, \u2018by letting them see, that we are really\nemployed for their good; and that we resist them only where it is\nmanifestly conducive to their interest, that they should be resisted,\u2014To\nattain then this tranquillity, so necessary, I propose:\n\n\u20181st. That it be declared, before the proclamation digested by the\ncommittee, that the representatives of the nation have decided to levy\nthe impost, henceforward, in proportion to the income of each\nindividual.\n\n\u20182dly. That all the public charges shall, in future, be equally\nsupported by the whole community.\n\n\u20183dly, That all the feudal claims shall be redeemable, on a fair\nvaluation.\n\n\u20184thly, That all the manorial claims, the _mains-mortes_, and other\npersonal services, shall be done away, without any ransom.\n\n\u20185thly. That the manorial rents in poultry, and other kinds of\nprovision, shall be redeemable by the proprietor or contractor, at a\njust valuation.\u2019\n\nThe duke d\u2019Aiguillon seconded this motion, which had been warmly\napplauded; or rather made another tending to the same end. For dreading\nthe suppression of his pension, when the _Livre Rouge_ should be\nreviewed, he suddenly, from being a minion of the old court, became a\nloud patriot. And further to evince his zeal in the cause of liberty, he\ndeclared, \u2018that the insurrection sound it\u2019s excuse in the vexations to\nwhich the people were subject. The lords of manors,\u2019 he observes,\n\u2018seldom commit the excesses of which their vassals complain; but their\nagents are often devoid of humanity, and the wretched husbandmen,\nsubject to the barbarous feudal laws still in force, groan under the\nrestriction to which they become the victims. At this happy era, when\nunited for the public good, and disengaged from all personal interest,\nwe are going to labour for the regeneration of the state, it seems to\nme, gentlemen, that it is necessary, before establishing this\nconstitution, so desired by the nation, to prove to all the citizens,\nthat our intention is to establish, as soon as possible, that equality\nof rights which alone can assure their liberty.\u2019\n\nIt too frequently happens, that men run from one extreme to another, and\nthat despair adopts the most violent measures. The french people had\nlong been groaning under the lash of a thousand oppressions; they were\nthe hewers of wood, and drawers of water, for the chosen few. It was,\ntherefore, to be apprehended, after they had once thrown off the yoke,\nwhich had imprinted on their character the hateful fears of servitude,\nthat they would expect the most unbridled freedom, detesting all\nwholesome restraints, as reins they were not now bound to obey. From\nobserving, perhaps, that this was the disposition of the times, the\npolitical empirics have continually inflamed the foibles of the\nmultitude, by flattering them. Thus the nobility, whose order would\nprobably lose most by the revolution, made the most popular motions, to\ngain favour with the people; tickling the spirit they could not tame.\nThus also we have seen the desperate leaders of factions selecting\ningeniously the terms _sans-culottes_, _citoyen_, and _egalit\u00e9_, in\norder to cajole the minds of the vulgar; and hence it has happened,\nthat, in proportion as this cajolery was more highly seasoned, the power\nof ruling has descended to the most desperate and impudent of the\nsmatterers in politics; whilst public anarchy, and private discord, have\nbeen productive of the dreadful catastrophes, and wanton outrages, which\nhave given such home thrusts to the dignity of freedom.\n\nThe feudal claims that insult humanity, and show how near man is to the\nbrute creation when laws are first made, were afterwards attempted to be\nenumerated; but a general cry of indignation and horrour prevented the\ndeputy from finishing the frightful picture of human debasement and\nbrutality. The vestiges of these direful oppressions, however, were\nstill held dear by these very men, who, not having the compass of\nmorality to direct their politics, were humane rather through weakness\nof nerves than soundness of understanding.\n\nBe this as it may, the motion of the viscount de Noailles excited a\nsudden enthusiasm, mixed with anger. The members of the privileged\norders, like children, seemed to say, by their actions, if you force me\nto give up this toy, it is fair that you should resign your\nsugar-plumb.\u2014One gave a blow in the face; and the retort courteous was a\nback-handed stroke. For a member, that the duke d\u2019Aiguillon should not\nbe generous at the expence of others, proposed the _immediate_\nsuppression of all places and emoluments granted so profusely by the\ncourt, as the heaviest burthen of the people\u2014because obliged to support\nwith their necessaries the luxuries of the great; who, detained as a\nkind of guards at court, were not only prevented from enlivening the\nprovinces by their presence, but distressed them by drawing away their\nproduce. Distinguishing, however, between the pensions obtained by\nintrigue, and those that were the reward of actual services,\u2014he moved,\nthat the former should be suppressed, and the latter reduced.\n\nA motion was then made, that not only feudal rights, but all the\njurisdiction of the lords of manors, established on the same arbitrary\nground, should be abolished.\n\nThe president now, according to rule, perceiving that no one attempted\nto speak against the motion, was proceeding to put it to the vote\u2014but he\npaused, reproaching himself for attempting to put an end to such an\ninteresting discussion before such among the clergy, as wished to speak,\nhad had an opportunity of declaring their sentiments.\n\nThis artful compliment roused the bishop of Nancy to declare, \u2018that, the\ncontinual and sympathizing witnesses of the misery of the people, the\nclergy undoubtedly sighed after an opportunity to contribute to their\nrelief; and that the motion anticipated their desire: yet, to show their\nentire approbation of it, he must be permitted to propose in addition,\nthat the price of the ransom of ecclesiastical feudalities should not be\nconverted to the profit of the actual incumbent; but thrown into a fund\nfor the relief of the poorer part of the body.\u2019\n\nThe bishop of Chartres, after approving of the sacrifices already made,\ndemanded, that the suppression of the game laws should be joined to\nthem. This worthy prelate painted the injustice of those laws, not less\nabsurd than oppressive, which force the farmer to be the tranquil\nspectator of the ravages of his harvest; condemning him to endure cruel\npunishments, if he follow the first impulse of nature, which would lead\nhim to kill the animals that injure him. A number of the nobility\nconcurred in these sentiments; for who would be outdone in heroism? and\ndemanded the renunciations of these unnatural privileges.\n\nThe president de Saint-Fargeau now rose, to demand an explanation\nrelative to the taxes of which the clergy and nobility offered to divide\nthe weight. \u2018We have given,\u2019 said he, \u2018hopes to the people; but we ought\nto give them something more substantial; we have decreed, that,\nprovisionally, the taxes should continue to be paid as they have been\nhitherto; that is to say, we have reserved to the clergy and the\nnobility the benefit of their exemptions, till they are expressly\nrevoked.\u2014Why do we delay to pronounce this revocation, so strictly\nimposed in almost all our instructions?\u2014I propose, therefore, that not\nonly for the last six months, but from the very commencement of the\nyear, all privileged persons, without exception, support their\nproportional part of the public impost.\u2019\n\nAs the discussion of the propositions of the viscount de Noailles\nadvanced, the necessity of effacing all the traces of servitude became\nmore and more obvious; and all the members seemed eager to point out to\ntheir colleagues the new sacrifices, that ought to be made to the good\nof their country. One demanded the suppression of the exclusive right to\nwarrens;\u2014another that of fisheries; a third the sale of offices, and\nthat justice should be administered gratuitously.\n\nThe parish priest of Soupes, in the name of his brethren, joined the\noblations of the poor to the hecatombs, of which the most part cost\nnothing to those who proposed them; \u2018he declared, that, animated by a\ndesire to contribute to the relief of the people, they would relinquish,\nfrom the present time, all their casual (or surplice) fees.\u2019 This offer,\nmade with great simplicity of heart, affected the assembly; nor could a\nvery different proposal, made by the duke du Ch\u00e2telet, respecting the\nbuying up of the tithes, efface it entirely.\n\nThe transition to gaiety, when a member asked permission to offer also\nhis sparrow, was very natural in a people, who always mix a degree of\nsarcastic pleasantry, the good-humoured face of which first appears,\nwith the most serious things. However, after the laughter ceased,\u2014he\ncontinued to make his demand more seriously, by observing, that an\nobject, trifling in appearance, was a real grievance to the husbandmen;\nhe moved, therefore, for the total demolition of all the _dove-cotes_\nthroughout the kingdom.\n\nThe respectable duke de la Rochefoucault, after having applauded all\nthese propositions, remarked, that the king had given the example of\nfreeing the serfs in his demesnes; and that the moment was come, to\nextend this benefit to all the kingdom. This benevolent citizen did not\nstop here; but added a wish, that, before the close of the sessions, the\nassembly would take into consideration the fate of the unhappy victims\nof covetousness, retained in slavery under another hemisphere.\n\nA member now made a motion, that excited testimonies of the most sincere\nsatisfaction from the assembly; it was to augment the stipends of the\nparish priests, the most respectable part of the clergy.\n\nSeveral dignitaries of the church, possessing two or more benefices,\nunwilling to be left behind in generosity, followed with a declaration,\nthat, conformable to the canons, they were resolved to limit themselves\nto a single one.\n\nThe deputies of the provinces enjoying peculiar privileges receiving a\nhint, that the appellation of french citizens, all partaking the same\nrights, was the most glorious they could bear, immediately came forward\nto renounce them. A number of propositions, more or less important,\nbrought up the rear. The suppression of the first fruits; the rights of\nwardenship; and the abrogation of those barbarous vows, which fetter\nunfortunate beings for life.\u2014In short, full and entire liberty for the\nnon-catholics.\u2014Admission of all the citizens into all offices,\necclesiastical, civil, and military.\u2014Abolition of the plurality of\necclesiastical pensions.\u2014And then, not forgetting their national\ncharacter, it was proposed, that a medal should be struck in\ncommemoration of this night[25]; and a decree also passed, conferring\ngratuitously on the king the august title, it might savour of a style\nthat scarcely befits the dignity of history, to say _nick-name_, of\n_RESTORER OF FRENCH LIBERTY_. A deputation was accordingly appointed to\ncarry this new mark of homage to the king, and to request his presence\nat a solemn _Te Deum_, to be celebrated throughout the kingdom.\u2014And\nbehold night closed on the renowned 4th of august!\n\nIt is not possible, says a journalist of the day, to give a distinct\ndescription of the scenes which were continually shifting during this\nsitting.\u2014The vivacity of the sentiments, the quick transition from a\ngenerous emotion to an epigrammatical sensation, the disorder which made\nsensibility predominate over legislative dignity\u2014the reciprocal\nmistrust, and the combat of generosity\u2014all diversified by the amiable\nand seducing enthusiasm, so characteristic of the nation, made this an\nepocha in the history of the revolution, on which the contemplative\nmind, accustomed to consider the varied character of man, will ponder.\n\nAnother observation, also, naturally occurs; for it is just to remark,\nas a proof of the crudeness of the political notions, not to mention\nprinciples, of these legislators, that all talked of _sacrifices_, and\nboasted of generosity, when they were only doing common justice, and\nmaking the obvious practical comment on the declaration of rights, which\nthey had passed in the morning.\u2014If such were the rights of man\u2014they were\nmore or less than men, who withheld them; and the resignation, rather a\nresumption of their reason than a sacrifice of their property, was\ncalled for, the moment they acknowledged the sovereignty of the people\nby becoming their representatives.\n\nIt is very possible, that the next morning the different parties could\nscarcely believe, that they had more than the imperfect recollection of\na dream in their heads. So quick, indeed, had been the determinations of\nthe meeting, which encroached on the midnight hour, that they had not\nthe sober cast of thought to give them dignity. They seem in reality to\nhave been mostly the effect of passion, of ambition, or a vain desire of\nvengeance; for those who were led only by enthusiasm, and the vanity of\nthe moment, esteemed their conduct as highly extravagant, when they had\ntime to cool. But the commons, who had the deepest views, knew to what\nthey had urged them, and would not let them recede.\n\nIt is true, the abolition of these privileges and powers had been\nstrictly enjoined, in the instructions given to the deputies by their\nconstituents; but, it is doubtful, whether they would have been attended\nto, had not the most sagacious foreseen, that the neglect might occasion\na civil war. Knowing, that then property would not be cautiously\nrespected, they began by attacking that of their presumptuous\nadversaries; and actually surprised the assembly into the unanimous\nrenunciation of all revenues arising from feudal dues, and even into the\nabolition of tithes. The nobility, also, who saw, that they should gain\nmore by the suppression of tithes, than they should lose by the\nsacrifice of the obnoxious manorial fees, came into the same system. The\nsteps likewise taken to increase the salaries of the indigent clergy,\nthe most numerous part of the body in the assembly, secured their\ninfluence. And by destroying the monopoly of municipal and judicial\nemployments, the support of the cities was obtained.\u2014Thus the national\nassembly, without a struggle, found itself omnipotent. Their only\nenemies were individuals, seemingly of importance, it is true, as they\nhad been accustomed to lead the great corporate bodies; but what was\ntheir empire, when all their former subjects were withdrawn from their\ncontrol? of these enemies, the church dignitaries were of the most\nconsequence; but, after the confiscation of ecclesiastical property, it\nwould have been impossible for the court, even supposing a\ncounter-revolution, to provide for them; as they would have been a dead\nweight on the royalists.\n\nUnfortunately, almost every thing human, however beautiful or splendid\nthe superstructure, has, hitherto, been built on the vile foundation of\nselfishness; virtue has been the watch-word, patriotism the trumpet, and\nglory the banner of enterprize; but pay and plunder have been the real\nmotives. I do not mean to assert, that there were not any real patriots\nin the assembly.\u2014I know there were many. By real patriots, I mean men\nwho have studied politics, and whose ideas and opinions on the subject\nare reduced to principles; men who make that science so much their\nprincipal object, as to be willing to give up time, personal safety, and\nwhatever society comprehends in the phrase, _personal interest_, to\nsecure the adoption of their plans of reform, and the diffusion of\nknowledge.\n\nBut most of the leaders of the national assembly were guided by the\nvulgar import of the word, a vain desire of applause, or deep schemes of\nemolument. The Lameths, for instance, who had been the obsequious slaves\nof the queen, were among the hottest advocates for popular power; and\nthroughout the assembly there were traces of a similar spirit.\n\nDuring the first struggle, the national assembly and the people were\ndivided into republicans and royalists; but we shall find, from the\nmoment all danger of disturbance appeared to be over, the higher class\nwere receding from the patriots, and recruiting from the royalists, to\nform for themselves, under the appellation of the _impartiaux_, the\nelements of a growing aristocracy.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n REFLECTIONS ON THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. SECESSION OF\nSEVERAL PSEUDO-PATRIOTS. SOCIETY RIPE FOR IMPROVEMENT THROUGHOUT EUROPE.\nWAR NATURAL TO MEN IN A SAVAGE STATE. REMARKS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS\n OF SOCIETY. THE ARTS\u2014PROPERTY\u2014INEQUALITY OF CONDITIONS\u2014WAR. PICTURE OF\n MANNERS IN MODERN FRANCE.\n\n\nThe despotism of the former government of France having formed the most\nvoluptuous, artificial characters, in the higher orders of society,\nmakes it less extraordinary to find the leading patriots men without\nprinciples or political knowledge, excepting what they had casually\ngleaned from books, only read to while away an idle hour not employed in\npleasure. So superficial indeed was their acquaintance with any subject\nthat demanded thought\u2014and so great the degeneracy of their manners, it\nwas natural for every man of reflection to infer, that a considerable\nlength of time must elapse before the new order of things, which they\nwere about to create, could attain stability. But this was not a\ndiscouraging consideration, when it was obvious, that important\nadvantages had already been gained by the people; and by the improvement\nof morals, which would necessarily follow, it was to be presumed, that\nthe evils, the old system produced, would vanish before gradual\namendments; whilst, by a practical knowledge of political and civil\nliberty, the great objects of the revolution would be ascertained;\nnamely, just laws, and equal liberty.\n\nThe depravity of the higher class, and the ignorance of the lower\nrespecting practical political science, rendered them equally incapable\nof thinking for themselves; so that the measures which flattered the\nfoibles, or gratified the weakness of either, were sure to have great\ninfluence in producing a schism in the public mind; which gave an\nopportunity to the enemies of the revolution to impede it\u2019s course. And\nthe number of the lower class having it\u2019s due weight, when they became\nfree, the most daring innovators became the greatest favourites with the\npublic, to whose will every prudential consideration was obliged to\nyield.\n\nMuch had been gained on the 4th of august by the nation: the old forms\nof feudal vassalage were completely overturned\u2014and France then stood at\nthe point the most advantageous in which a government was ever\nconstructed.\u2014She stood fair as the dawn of her liberty, having shaken\noff the prejudices of ages; and reason was tracing out the road, which\nleads to virtue, glory, and happiness\u2014Still ambitious selfishness,\nmelancholy drawback! governed too great a proportion of the assembly;\nand the nobles and clergy who had been averse to the junction of the\norders now intriguing, every debate became a bitter or violent contest,\nin which the popular advocates continued to gain an ascendency.\n\nThis disposition to intrigue, and want of sincerity, so generally\nremarked in the French character, laid the foundation of universal\ndistrust; and the coalesced parties, who had not been actuated by a love\nof liberty, or regard for the prosperity of the kingdom, but dexterously\nfell in with the spirit of the day, were not aware, that a watchful,\nsuspicious multitude, would be as likely to mistrust them in their turn,\nas the court, which had thriven on the ruin of their happiness. This was\na blindness so gross, that it appears not a little wonderful, after\nconsidering the different characters, who succeeded each other in the\nministry, or directed the helm of the state, that men should not acquire\nsufficient judgment to adopt the integrity of conduct, with which alone\npeople in their senses, awake to their interest and rights, will ever be\nsatisfied.\n\nFor a vain-glorious ambition, mixing with the abortions of giddy\npatriotism, acts as the most fatal poison to political disquisitions,\nduring seasons of public ferment. The solid views of deep thinkers are\nadapted to the spirit of the times, and the state of reason of their\ncompeers. And if they find, that the current of opinion, in overturning\ninveterate prejudices, and the decayed walls of laws, that no longer\nsuit the manners, threatens the destruction of principles the most\nsacred; they ought firmly to wait at their post, until, the fervour\nabating, they could, by diverting the stream, gradually restrain it\nwithin proper bounds.\u2014But such patriotism is of slow growth; requiring\nboth a luxuriant public soil, and to be fostered by virtuous emulation.\nYet this emulation will never flourish in a country where intriguing\nfinesse, supplying the place of exalted merit, is the surest ladder to\ndistinction. It was by debasing artifices, under the old government,\nthat men obtained favour and consequence; and whilst such men, men who\nwere educated and ossified by the ancient _regimen_, act on the\npolitical stage of France, mankind will be continually distressed and\namused by their tragic and comic exhibitions.\n\nArt applied to art, and stratagem against stratagem, may produce, for a\ntime, alternate defeats; but ultimately the most cunning will triumph.\n\nVanity had made every frenchman a theorist, though political aphorisms\nwere never ascertained under the reign of tyranny or caprice. The\nsagacious part of the nation, it is true, clearly perceived, that the\nperiod was arrived, when a revolution was inevitable; but selfishness\nbeing incompatible with noble, comprehensive, or laudable views, it is\nnot wonderful, keeping in sight the national foible, that at the meeting\nof the states-general every deputy had his particular plan to suggest.\nFew of the leaders embraced the same; and acting, without coalescing,\nthe most violent measures were sure to be the most applauded. We shall\nfind also, that some of the most strenuous advocates for reforming\nabuses, and establishing a constitution, when their favourite systems\nwere exploded, peevishly retired in disgust: and by afterwards venting\nit, have hurried into action a race of monsters, the most flagitious\nthat ever alarmed the world by the murder of innocents, and the mockery\nof justice; and whilst the profanation of her temple, besprinkled with\nblood, has branded with an indelible stigma the sanguinary brutes, the\ndeserters cannot escape without a share of the odium.\n\nContemplating the progress of the revolution, a melancholy reflection is\nproduced by observing, that almost every precipitate event has been the\nconsequence of a tenacity and littleness of mind in the political\nactors, whilst they were affecting a roman magnanimity of conduct\u2014to\nwhich they appear to have been as great strangers, as they were\ndestitute of legitimate patriotism, and political science.\n\nWe have first seen Calonne, in order to secure his popularity and place,\nproposing an equalization of taxes; and, when he found that his\nconsequence and power were lost, abandoning his country in disgust, and\nemploying the most unwarrantable means to involve his fellow citizens in\nall the horrours of a civil war. We shall find, likewise, several other\ndeclaimers, for their subsequent conduct obliges me to consider them in\nno better light, when their plans were disregarded, if not acting the\nsame shameful part, yet leaving their posts; their patriotism expiring\nwith their popularity.\u2014And it will be only necessary to keep in mind the\nconduct of all the leading men, who have been active in the revolution,\nto perceive, that the disasters of the nation have arisen from the same\nmiserable source of vanity, and the wretched struggles of selfishness;\nwhen the crisis required, that all enlightened patriots should have\nunited and formed a band, to have consolidated the great work; the\ncommencement of which they had accelerated. In proportion as these\ndesertions have taken place, the best abilities which the country\ncontained have disappeared. And thus it has happened, that ignorance and\naudacity have triumphed, merely because there were not found those\nbrilliant talents, which, pursuing the straight forward line of\npolitical economy, arrest, as it were, the suffrage of every well\ndisposed citizen.\u2014Such talents existed in France: and had they combined,\nand directed their views by a pure love of their country, to one point;\nall the disasters, which in overwhelming the empire have destroyed the\nrepose of Europe, would not have occurred to disgrace the cause of\nfreedom.\n\nEvery great reform requires systematic management; and however lightly\nweak daring heads may treat the gravity of such a remark, the pacific\nprogress of every revolution will depend, in a very material degree, on\nthe moderation and reciprocity of concessions made by the acting\nparties. It is true, that in a nation chiefly celebrated for wit so much\nprudence could scarcely be expected\u2014yet that is not a sufficient reason\nfor condemning all the principles, that produced the revolution: for\nliberty cannot be considered as belonging exclusively to any particular\nclimate, or temper of mind, as a physical effect. It was peculiarly\nurgent, indeed, to form such a coalition, to counteract the dangerous\nconsequences of old prejudices. The stubborn habits of men, whom\npersonal interest kept firm to their ground, it was morally certain\nwould interrupt the tranquil march of the revolution: it would have been\nprudent then for men, who agreed in the main objects, to have overlooked\ntrifling differences of opinion, till they were secured: and of this\nseveral members seem to have been aware.[26]\n\nHad the conduct of men been sincere, and had they really pursued that\nfraternity, about which they so continually declaimed; they might, in\nconsolidating the rights of french citizens, have established every\npolitical advantage, which the then state of reason was capable of\nadopting for the immediate benefit of society. But resentment bursting\nforth, which had long lain concealed (the effect of servitude and\ncontumely), joined with the vanity of excelling all other nations in the\nscience of government, to produce an insolent audacity of conduct,\nwhich, aiming at overturning every thing, discouraged the wavering, and\nfrightened the timid. Designing knaves then conceived the plan of rising\nto eminence by the accumulating foibles of the multitude, who, loosened\nfrom all restraint, were easily caught by the insidious arts of the most\ncontemptible anarchists.\n\nThe object of those monsters, who were meditating the violation of the\nsacred ties of honour and humanity, was early perceived by the more\npenetrating; but instead of opposing themselves to their designs, they\nfor the most part became initiated into their clubs; whilst others, more\nhaughty, though perhaps less under the direction of principles,\u2014if there\nwere any among them,\u2014emigrated, leaving their country verging towards\nthe whirlpool of civil discord, and all it\u2019s concomitant wretchedness.\n\nIt is necessary for us to attend closely to these considerations, in\norder to be enabled to form a just opinion of the various revolutions\nwhich have succeeded each other:\u2014because, from a superficial view of\nthings of this nature, we frequently attribute to the passions, or\ninnate turpitude of man, what was merely the effect of moral depravity.\nHence it has happened, that so many of the admirers of the revolution,\nin its infancy, now talk of extravagant innovations, tending to overturn\nall the barriers of justice,\u2014to trample on the feelings of humanity, and\nto destroy every thing splendid and beautiful,\u2014the production of ages,\nindustry, taste, and learning.\n\nBut this revolution did not interest frenchmen alone; for it\u2019s influence\nextending throughout the continent, all the passions and prejudices of\nEurope were instantly set afloat. That most favoured part of the globe\nhad risen to an astonishing pre-eminence, though every where it\u2019s\ninhabitants have had to contend with distinctions the most unnatural,\nand prejudices the most veteran. But, having overcome those formidable\nobstacles to the happiness of her citizens, society seems to have\narrived at that point of civilization, when it becomes necessary for\ngovernments to meliorate it\u2019s condition, or a dissolution of their power\nand authority will be the consequence of a wilful disregard of the\nintimations of the times. This is a truth, which the people have\nperceived; but which the parasites of courts, and the advocates for\ndespotism have not been willing to believe. And besides, their support,\nit might be said existence, being attached to the continuation of those\nsavage abuses, they have fought with unusual intrepidity in their\ndefence. Thus wars have been the business of courts, in which they have\nartfully interested the passions of the people.\n\nMen in a savage state, without intellectual amusements, or even fields\nor vineyards to employ them, depending for subsistance on the casual\nsupply of the chace, seem continually to have made war, one with\nanother, or nation with nation; and the booty taken from their enemies\nformed the principal object of contest, because war was not, like\nindustry, a kind of abridgement of their liberty. But the social\nfeelings of man, after having been exercised by a perilous life, flow\nover in long stories, when he reaches garrulous old age. Whilst his\nlistening progeny wondering at his feats, their hearts are fired with\nthe ambition of equaling their fire. His soul also warmed by sympathy,\nfeeling for the distresses of his fellow creatures, and particularly for\nthe helpless state of decrepit age; he begins to contemplate, as\ndesirable, associations of men, to prevent the inconveniencies arising\nfrom loneliness and solitude. Hence little communities living together\nin the bonds of friendship, securing to them the accumulated powers of\nman, mark the origin of society: and tribes growing into nations,\nspreading themselves over the globe, form different languages, which\nproducing different interests, and misunderstandings, excite distrust.\n\nThe invention of the arts now affords him employment; and it is in\nproportion to their extension that he becomes domestic, and attached to\nhis home. For whilst they were in their infancy his restless temper, and\nsavage manners, still kept alive his passion for war and plunder; and we\nshall find, if we look back to the first improvement of man, that as his\nferocity wore away, the right of property grew sacred. The prowess or\nabilities of the leaders of barbarians gave them likewise an ascendency\nin their respective dynasties; which gaining strength in proportion to\nthe ignorance of the age, produced the distinctions of men, from which\nthe great inequality of conditions has originated; and they have been\npreserved long since the necessity has ceased to exist.\n\nDuring the reign of ignorance, the disagreements of states could be\nsettled only by combats; and the art of dexterously murdering seems to\nhave decided differences, where reason should have been the arbitrator.\nThe custom then of settling disputes at the point of the bayonet, in\nmodern Europe, has been justified by the example of barbarians; and\nwhilst fools continually argue from the practice of inhuman savages,\nthat wars are necessary evils, courts have found them convenient to\nperpetuate their power: thus slaughter has furnished a plausible pretext\nfor peculation.\n\nFortunately, in spite of the various impediments that have thwarted the\nadvancement of knowledge, the blessings of society have been\nsufficiently experienced to convince us, that the only solid good to be\nexpected from a government must result from the security of our persons\nand property. And domestic felicity has given a mild lustre to human\nhappiness superiour to the false glory of sanguinary devastation, or\nmagnificent robberies. Our fields and vineyards have thus gradually\nbecome the principal objects of our care\u2014and it is from this general\nsentiment governing the opinion of the civilized part of the world, that\nwe are enabled to contemplate, with some degree of certainty, the\napproaching age of peace.\n\nAll that could be done by a body of manners, without a soul of morals,\nto improve mankind, had been tried in France\u2014The result was polished\nslavery; and such an inordinate love of pleasure, as led the majority to\nsearch only for enjoyment, till the tone of nature was destroyed. Yet\nsome few really learned the true art of living; giving that degree of\nelegance to domestic intercourse, which, prohibiting gross familiarity,\nalone can render permanent the family affections, whence all the social\nvirtues spring.\n\nIt is a mistake to suppose that there was no such thing as domestic\nhappiness in France, or even in Paris. For many french families, on the\ncontrary, exhibited an affectionate urbanity of behaviour to each other,\nseldom to be met with where a certain easy gaiety does not soften the\ndifference of age and condition. The husband and wife, if not lovers,\nwere the civilest friends and the tenderest parents in the world\u2014the\nonly parents, perhaps, who really treated their children like friends;\nand the most affable masters and mistresses. Mothers were also to be\nfound, who, after suckling their children, paid a degree of attention to\ntheir education, not thought compatible with the levity of character\nattributed to them; whilst they acquired a portion of taste and\nknowledge rarely to be found in the women of other countries. Their\nhospitable boards were constantly open to relations and acquaintance,\nwho, without the formality of an invitation, enjoyed there cheerfulness\nfree from restraint; whilst more select circles closed the evening, by\ndiscussing literary subjects. In the summer, when they retired to their\nmansion houses, they spread gladness around, and partook of the\namusements of the peasantry, whom they visited with paternal solicitude.\nThese were, it is true, the rational few, not numerous in any\ncountry\u2014and where is led a more useful or rational life?\n\nIn the provinces, likewise, more simplicity of manners prevailing, their\nmorals were more pure: though family pride, as in England, made the most\nnoble house the royal family of each village, who visited the grand\ncourt only to import it\u2019s follies. Besides, in France, the women have\nnot those factitious, supercilious manners, common to the english; and\nacting more freely, they have more decision of character, and even more\ngenerosity. Rousseau has taught them also a scrupulous attention to\npersonal cleanliness, not generally to be seen elsewhere: their coquetry\nis not only more agreeable, but more natural: and not left a prey to\nunsatisfied sensations, they were less romantic indeed than the english;\nyet many of them possessed delicacy of sentiment.\n\nIt is, perhaps, in a state of comparative idleness\u2014pursuing employments\nnot absolutely necessary to support life, that the finest polish is\ngiven to the mind, and those personal graces, which are instantly felt,\nbut cannot be described: and it is natural to hope, that the labour of\nacquiring the substantial virtues, necessary to maintain freedom, will\nnot render the french less pleasing, when they become more respectable.\n\n\n\n\n AN\n HISTORICAL AND MORAL VIEW\n OF THE\n FRENCH REVOLUTION.\n\n\n\n\n _BOOK IV._\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n OPINIONS ON THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE FOURTH OF AUGUST. DISORDERS\nOCCASIONED BY THOSE TRANSACTIONS. NECKER DEMANDS THE ASSEMBLY\u2019S SANCTION\n TO A LOAN. A LOAN DECREED. TITHES ABOLISHED. DEBATE ON THE DECLARATION\n OF RIGHTS. THE FORMATION OF A CONSTITUTION. DEBATE ON THE EXECUTIVE\n POWER. THE SUSPENSIVE VETO ADOPTED. PRETENDED AND REAL VIEWS OF THE\n COMBINATION OF DESPOTS AGAINST FRANCE. DEBATE ON THE CONSTITUTION OF A\n SENATE. MEANS OF PEACEABLY EFFECTING A REFORM SHOULD MAKE A PART OF\n EVERY CONSTITUTION.\n\n\nThe numerous offerings made to their country by the deputies, on the 4th\nof august, excited loud applause; but not without a mixture of sarcastic\ncensure, and murmurs of disapprobation.\n\nSome blamed the decrees, which, said they, have sacrificed the property\nof several thousand families to the vain desire of popularity.\u2014Others\ncomplained of the neglect of those forms, by which every assembly, that\naspires at putting some maturity into it\u2019s decrees, ought to direct it\u2019s\ndebates;\u2014they disapproved of an afternoon sitting;\u2014of the rapid\nsuccession of subjects, not allowing time for any to be weighed;\u2014of the\nmultiplicity of them;\u2014and of the continual acclamations, which rendered\na calm discussion physically impossible.\u2014\u2018What!\u2019 they continued, \u2018shall\nthe most important business always be treated with the levity, which\ncharacterized us before we deserved to be termed a nation? Eternally the\nsport of our vivacity, a happy turn decides with us the most serious\npoint; and gay sallies are ever our substitutes for arguments.\u2014We do\nmadly the wisest things; and even our reason is always connected by some\nfilament or other to inconsistency.\u2014The national assembly had been a\nlong time reproached for dwelling on trifling objects; and not attending\nsufficiently to the promotion of general good.\u2014When suddenly\u2014in a single\nnight, more than twenty important laws are decided by an uproar. So much\ndone, in such a short time, is so astonishing, that it appears like a\ndream.\u2019\n\nIn reply it was said\u2014\u2018Why deliberate, when all are agreed?\u2014Does not a\ngeneral good always appear self-evident?\u2014Was it not sufficient to\ndeclare these patriotic propositions to prove their justness?\u2014The first\nperson, who pointed out a new tribute to the public interest, only gave\nutterance to what we all before felt\u2014there was no need then of\ndiscussion or eloquence, to make that be adopted, which had already been\nresolved by the greater number of the deputies, and commanded by the\nawful authority of the nation, in their mandates.\u2014The assembly might\nhave proceeded more methodically; but the result could not have been\nmore advantageous. It seemed as if all the old effects, all the\nmouldering titles of feudal oppressions were then put up to auction: and\nthe kind of mistrust of the different orders, which provoked reciprocal\nconcessions, was still for the public good.\u2019\n\nThe nobles and clergy of the provinces, who had not been carried away by\nthe enthusiasm of the 4th of august, felt themselves particularly\naggrieved. Those who were recently noble did not like to mix again on\nequal terms in towns where they had received the homage paid to princes;\nand the people, eager to exercise their liberty, began to hunt down the\ngame, regardless of the mischief they did to the standing corn. The very\nconcessions of the nobility seemed to rouse the vengeance it ought to\nhave allayed; and the populace vented their rage by burning the castles,\nwhich had been, as it were, legally dismantled of their feudal\nfortifications.\n\nThe clergy, in particular, complained, that their deputies had exceeded\nall bounds in voting away the private property of the body; for they\nwould not allow, that tithes came within the description of feudal\ntenures. The want of provision, likewise, tended to make the people\nclamour about present grievances, without suffering the prospect of\nfuture comfort and respectability to have it\u2019s due force towards calming\ntheir minds. All, therefore, flew to arms, and three millions of men\nwearing the military garb, showed the natural disposition of the nation;\nand their present resolve, no longer to couch supinely under oppression.\nMany excesses were the consequence of this sudden change; and it is\nnotorious, that the people, in some instances, became the instruments of\nthe routed party; who continued to use every stratagem to render the\nnation dissatisfied with the revolution.\n\nIt is the nature of man, either in a savage state or living in society,\nto protect his property; and it is wise in a government to encourage\nthis spirit. For the example now displayed by France is a notable proof\nof the inexpediency of standing armies, so long as the people have an\ninterest in supporting the political system under which they live. The\nnational assembly, aware of this, invited the militia and the\nmunicipalities, to endeavour to quell the disorders which did violence\nto persons and property; and they were particularly requested to take\nthe most watchful care, that the convoys of wheat and flour were not\nstopped by the idle and lawless. For several of the most fatal tumults\nhad originated from this cause.\n\nThe decrees of the 4th of august, were then brought forward to be\nexamined and explained; and some attempts were made to argue away the\nessence of many of the vaunted sacrifices.\u2014But the discussion was\ninterrupted, to attend to business of a more pressing nature. The\npresent state of the nation was most alarming; and the ministers, not\nknowing how to act under the new trammels of responsibility, came to\nrepresent to the assembly;\u2014that the laws were without force;\u2014the courts\nof justice without activity;\u2014and they requested them, immediately to\npoint out the coercive measures necessary to give to the executive\nauthority the influence it had lost.\u2014\u2018For,\u2019 observed they, \u2018whether the\nirritated sense of the abuses, which the king wishes to reform, and you\ndesire to proscribe for ever, have led the people astray; or, the\ndeclaration of an universal regeneration have shaken the various powers\nupon which the social order reposed\u2014or whatever, in fact, be the cause,\ngentlemen, the truth is, that public order and tranquillity are\ndisturbed in aloft every part of the kingdom.\u2019\n\nNecker, afterwards, having explained the deplorable state of the\nfinances, the extraordinary expences, and the diminution in the produce\nof the revenue, demanded, in the name of the king, that the assembly\nwould sanction a loan of thirty millions of livres, to fulfil the\nengagements, and discharge the inevitable expenditure of the two\napproaching months; by which time, he presumed, the constitution would\nbe nearly established. Thinking also, that the patriotism of\nmoneylenders was not to be reckoned upon, he proposed to add to the five\nper cent. he mentioned some allurements of speculation, to quicken the\ndetermination of the lenders\u2014and he further inferred, that private\ninterest would then tend to quiet the kingdom, whilst they were\nadvancing in the formation of the constitution, which was to secure it\u2019s\nfuture tranquillity, and provide a permanent revenue.\n\nThis proposal produced the most warm and loud applause.\u2014One member\nproposed, that the loan should instantly be voted in the presence of the\nminister, as a mark of their entire satisfaction\u2014another offered six\nhundred thousand livres as a security, that he would raise the loan in\nhis own province. This effervescence, so contagious, which is after all\nonly physical sensibility, excited by a commotion of the animal spirits,\nproves, that a considerable length of time is necessary to accustom men\nto exercise their rights with deliberation; that they may be able to\ndefend themselves from a kind of instinctive confidence in men; and to\nmake them substitute respect for principles, to a blind faith in\npersons, even of the most distinguished abilities.\u2014But to elevate a\nnumerous assembly to this calm grandeur; to that permanent dignity,\nwhich represses the emotions of the moment, demands, it is probable, a\nmore advanced state of reason.\n\nLally-Tolendal supported the necessity of adopting the measures proposed\nfor the obtaining a loan to supply the exigencies of government, which\nwere become very urgent; and he refuted the objection, made by several\ndeputies, who were against the grant, that in their instructions they\nhad been strictly enjoined not to sanction any tax or loan before the\nconstitution was formed. On this side Mirabeau ranged himself; for with\nall his great talents and superiority of genius, he could not avoid\nenvying inferiour abilities, when they attracted the least popularity.\nHe therefore, with plausible rhetoric, but shallow arguments, opposed\nthe loan; and with great parade moved, that the deputies should offer\ntheir individual credit, instead of departing from the very letter of\ntheir instructions. This was one of those instances of pretended\ndisinterestedness, or false patriotism, calculated to dazzle the people,\nwhilst it involved the nation in fresh embarrassments.\n\nThe plan was referred to the consideration of the committee, appointed\nto make financial reports: and they accordingly acknowledged the\nnecessity of a prompt supply; but thought, that the loan might now be\nobtained without the additional advantages, which Necker mentioned as a\nnecessary bait. The discussion was then renewed with great heat, and\neven personality; till at last the interest of the loan was fixed at\nfour and an half per cent.; and to slip through the knot they were\nafraid to cut, it was to be sanctioned under the wing of the decrees of\nthe 4th of august.\n\nIt did not, however, prove productive; for in the course of three weeks,\nonly two millions, six hundred thousand livres were subscribed. And this\ndelay of business induced the assembly to adopt, with less scruple,\nanother proposal for a fresh loan, instead of the one that did not\npromise to answer, at a rate less advantageous to the nation: or rather\nthey yielded to the necessity, into which they had plunged themselves;\nand lest the mode of obtaining it to the executive power, in spite of\ntheir former objection. But it was not an easy task to inspire the\nbankers and money-holders with sufficient faith in the new government,\nto induce them to come forward to support it; besides, the previous\ndiscussion had converted caution into timidity; and the more desperate\nthe state of the finances appeared, the stronger grew the suspicion,\nthat threw insurmountable obstacles in the way of a temporary relief.\n\nSettling the precise terms of the decrees, which were to abolish\nfeudal vassalage, the question respecting the including of tithes was\nagitated with most earnestness; and the objections urged against the\nabolition were not only ingenious, but reasonable[27]. The abb\u00e9 Sieyes\nspoke with great good sense, asserting, \u2018that the tithes were not a\ntax levied on the nation; but a rent-charge, for which a proper\nallowance had been made to the present possessors of the estates, to\nnot one of whom they actually belonged. He, therefore, insisted, that,\nif the sacrifice were necessary, it ought to be made to the public, to\nrelieve the people, and not to enrich the proprietors; who were,\ngenerally speaking, of the most opulent part of the community.\u2019 He\nadvised the assembly to be on their guard, lest avarice, under the\nmask of zeal, should deceive them, leading the nation to reward rather\nthan indemnify the nobility. The fact was, that the landed interest\nwere only resigning obsolete privileges, which they scarcely dared\nexercise, to secure a solid advantage. Society has hitherto been\nconstructed in such a vicious manner, that to relieve the poor you\nmust benefit the rich. The present subject was a delicate one; the\nabolition of tithes would remove a very heavy vexatious clog, that had\nlong hung on the neck of industry; yet it were to be wished, that it\ncould have been settled in such a way as not to have secured a great\npecuniary advantage to the nobility. For though it was physically\nimpossible, to make this sacrifice to society at large immediately;\nbecause the proprietors, and more particularly the leaseholders of the\nestates, could not have redeemed the tithes, without distressing\nthemselves to a degree, that would nearly have stopped the course of\nhusbandry; not to mention agricultural improvements, so necessary in\nFrance, and to be looked for as the fruit of liberty:\u2014yet a gradual\ntax on the original landlord would have prevented the nobility from\nbeing the great gainers by their so much extolled disinterestedness,\nin their fallacious sacrifice of privileges. Because, for all real\nproperty they were to be reimbursed; and for the obnoxious feudal\ntenures, such as personal servitude, with others they were ashamed to\nenumerate as being due from man to man, the tithes were an ample\nindemnity; or more properly speaking clear profit, except to those who\nparted with the plumes which raised them above their fellows with\ngreat regret. It was, indeed, very difficult to separate the evil from\nthe good, that would redound to the nation by the doing away of this\ntax.\u2014The clergy, however, cut the debate short, by resigning their\nright, offering to trust to the justice of the public for the stipend\nin return necessary to enable them to support the dignity of their\nfunction.\n\nOn the 13th, therefore, the whole discussion closed; for the other\narticles did not admit of much disputation. The president accordingly\nwaited on the king, who received his new title with the decrees, to\nwhich he afterwards made some objections, though the assembly considered\nthem as virtually sanctioned[28].\n\nA committee of five had been employed to digest a declaration of rights,\nto precede the constitution. The opinion of those, who thought that this\ndeclaration ought to have been kept back, has already been alluded to;\nyet the subject seems to require a little further consideration. And,\nperhaps, it will appear just to separate the character of the\nphilosopher, who dedicates his exertions to promote the welfare, and\nperfection of mankind, carrying his views beyond any time he chooses to\nmark; from that of the politician, whose duty it is to attend to the\nimprovement and interest of the time in which he lives, and not\nsacrifice any present comfort to a prospect of future perfection or\nhappiness. If this definition be just, the philosopher naturally becomes\na passive, the politician an active character. For though the desire of\nloudly proclaiming the grand principles of liberty to extend them\nquickly, be one of the most powerful a benevolent man, of every\ndescription of mind, feels; he no sooner wishes to obey this impulse,\nthan he finds himself placed between two rocks.\u2014Truth commands him to\nsay all; wisdom whispers to him to temporize.\u2014A love of justice would\nlead him to bound over these cautious restraints of prudence; did not\nhumanity, enlightened by a knowledge of human nature, make him dread to\npurchase the good of posterity too dearly, by the misery of the present\ngeneration.\n\nThe debates respecting the adoption of the declaration of rights became\nvery spirited; and much heterogeneous matter was introduced, to lengthen\nthe discussion, and heat the disputants, as the different articles were\nreviewed. The article respecting religion particularly arrested the\nattention of the assembly, and produced one of those tumultuous scenes,\nwhich have so often disgraced their deliberations. The intolerant\nsentiments uttered; and even the insertion of some amendments, which\ncould not, without a contradiction in terms, find a place in a\ndeclaration of rights; proved, that the assembly contained a majority,\nwho were still governed by prejudices inimical to the full extent of\nthat liberty, which is the unalienable right of each citizen, when it\ndoes not infringe on the equal enjoyment of the same portion by his\nneighbour[29]. The most sensible part of the assembly asserted, that\nreligion ought not to be mentioned, unless to declare, that the free\nexercise of it was a right in common with the free utterance of all\nopinions; which came under civil cognizance only when they assumed a\nform, namely, when they produced effects, that clashed with the laws;\nand even then it was the criminal action, not the passive opinion, which\nwas proscribed by the penalty of punishment.\n\nIn this declaration are found the principles of political and civil\nliberty, introduced by a very solemn exordium:\u2014Declaring \u2018that, as\nignorance, forgetfulness, and contempt of the rights of men, are the\nsole causes of public grievances, and of the corruption of governments,\nthe assembly had resolved to re-establish, in a solemn declaration, the\nnatural, imprescriptible, and sacred rights of man; in order that this\ndeclaration, constantly present to all the members of the social body,\nmay continually remind them of their rights, and of their duties; that,\nhaving it in their power every moment to compare the acts of the\nlegislative and executive authorities with the purpose of all political\ninstitutions, they may the more respect them; and that the remonstrances\nof the citizens, founded, in future, on simple and incontestible\nprinciples, may always tend to support the constitution, and to promote\nthe happiness of the whole community.\u2019\n\nSome temporary business, towards restoring public tranquillity, and to\ngive force to the laws, insulted by the licentious conduct of men\ninebriated merely by the expectation of freedom, scented from afar,\nbeing dispatched, the formation of a constitution became the standing\nlabour of the assembly.\n\nThe first question naturally fell under this head\u2014what share of power\nought the king to be allowed to possess in the legislature? This was an\nimportant consideration for men, who were all politicians in theory; and\nmany of whom, having suffered under the absolute sway of the king\u2019s\nministers, still felt the smart of their oppression, and a contempt for\nthe power that authorized their dominion: whilst the blind zealots for\nthe indefeasible rights of kings, though they were ashamed of the\nphrase, heated the imagination of their party, by the most inflated\nencomiums on the benefits arising from extensive kingly prerogatives,\nand vapid remarks on the british constitution, and other forms of\ngovernment, obviously to display their erudition. The most noisy\nindecorus debates ensued, and the assembly seemed to meet rather to\nquarrel than deliberate. A division the most decided consequently took\nplace; which, under different appellations, and professing different\nprinciples, has ever since continued to convulse the senate; if the\nlegislative assembly, or the convention, deserve a name so dignified.\n\nIn discussing whether the royal sanction should be necessary to the\nvalidity of the acts of the legislative body, a variety of extraneous\nsubjects, and others prematurely brought forward, so entangled the main\nquestion, as to render it difficult to give a clear and brief account of\nthe debates; without lending a degree of reasonableness to them, that\nthe manner of arguing, rudely personal, and loudly uncivil, seemed to\ndestroy. For good lungs soon became more necessary in the assembly than\nsound arguments, to enable a speaker to silence the confusion of\ntongues; and make known his opinion to men, who were eager only to\nannounce their own. Thus modest men had no chance to be heard, though\npersuasion dwelt on their lips: and even Mirabeau, with his commanding\neloquence, and justness of thought, procured attention as much by the\nthundering emphasis, which he gave to his periods, as by his striking\nand forcible association of ideas.\n\nAs a nation, the french are certainly the most eloquent people in the\nworld; their lively feelings giving the warmth of passion to every\nargument they attempt to support. And speaking fluently, vanity leads\nthem continually to endeavour to utter their sentiments, without\nconsidering whether they have any thing to recommend them to notice,\nbeside a happy choice of expressions. Only thinking then of speaking,\nthey are the most impatient of hearers, coughing, hemming, and scraping\nwith their feet, most audibly, to beguile the time. Laying aside also,\nin the assembly, not only their national politeness, but the common\nrestraints of civility; good manners seldom supply the place of reason,\nwhen they are angry. And as the slightest contradiction sets them on\nfire, three parts out of four of the time, which ought to have been\nemployed in serious investigation, was consumed in idle vehemence.\nWhilst the applauses and hisses of the galleries increased the tumult;\nmaking the vain still more eager to mount the stage. Thus every thing\ncontributing to excite the emotions, which lead men only to court\nadmiration, the good of the people was too often sacrificed to the\ndesire of pleasing them. And so completely was the tide of their\naffection for the king turned, that they seemed averse to his having any\nportion of legislative authority in the new constitution.\n\nThe duke de Liancourt divided the question respecting the share of power\nhe was to enjoy as a part of the government. _1st. Is the royal sanction\nindispensably necessary, to give the actual force of law to the decrees\nof the national assembly? 2dly. Ought the king to be an integrant\nportion of the legislature?_ In England the phrase _royal assent_ has\nbeen adopted, as expressive of a positive act; but the french, rather\nchoosing to distinguish the same act of power by a negative, fixed on\nthe latin word _veto_, _I forbid_. And then it became a question, how\nfar this _veto_ ought to extend, supposing the prince to be invested\nwith it.\u2014Was it decisively to obstruct the enaction of a law passed by\nthe legislative body? or only to suspend it, till an appeal could be\nmade to the people by a new election?\n\nThe assembly in this instance seem to have acted with strange confusion\nof mind, or a total ignorance of the nature of a mixed government: for\neither the question was nugatory, or a king useless. Lally-Tolendal,\nMounier, and Mirabeau, argued for the absolute _veto_.\u2014\u2018Two powers,\u2019\nsays Mirabeau, \u2018are necessary to the existence of the body-politic, in\nthe orderly discharge of it\u2019s functions:\u2014To will\u2014and to act. By the\nfirst, society establishes the regulations which ought all to conspire\nto one end\u2014the good of all:\u2014By the second, these regulations are carried\ninto execution; and public authority is exerted, to make society triumph\nover the obstacles, which might arise from the opposite wills of\nindividuals. In a great nation, these two powers cannot be exercised by\nthe people: whence comes the necessity of representatives, to exercise\nthe faculty of willing, or the legislative power; and also of another\nspecies of representation, to exercise the faculty of acting; or, the\nexecutive power.\u2019\n\nHe further insists, that \u2018the possession of this power is the only way\nto render a king useful, and to enable him to act as a check on the\nlegislative body: the majority of which might tyrannize in the most\ndespotic manner, even in the senate, to the very expulsion of the\nmembers, who dared to thwart the measures they could not approve. For\nunder a weak prince, a little time and address alone would be necessary,\nto establish legally the dominion of an army of aristocrats; who, making\nthe royal authority only the passive instrument of their will, might\nreplunge the people into their old state of debasement.\n\n\u2018The prince, therefore, being the perpetual representative of the\npeople, as the deputies are their representatives elected at certain\nperiods, is equally their safe-guard.\n\n\u2018No person exclaims against the _veto_ of the national assembly; which\nis, in reality, only a right the people have confided in their\nrepresentatives, to oppose every proposition, that would tend to\nre-establish ministerial despotism. Why then object to the _veto_ of the\nprince, which is but another right, especially confided in him by the\npeople, because he and they are equally interested to prevent the\nestablishment of an aristocracy?\u2019\n\nHe proceeds to prove, \u2018that, whilst the legislative body is respectable,\nthe _veto_ of the king cannot do harm, though it is a salutary check on\ntheir deliberations; and granting, that the influence of the crown has a\ntendency to increase, a permanent assembly would be a sufficient\ncounterpoise for the royal negative. Let us,\u2019 he concludes, \u2018have an\nannual national assembly, let ministers be made responsible; and the\nroyal sanction, without any specified restrictions, but, in fact,\nperfectly limited, will be the palladium of national liberty, and the\nmost precious exercise of the liberty of the people.\u2019\n\nHaving suffered by the abuse of absolute power, many of the deputies,\nafraid to entrust their constitutional monarchs with any, opposed the\n_veto_; lest it should palsy the operations of the national assembly,\nand bring back the old despotism of the cabinet. The discussion likewise\nextending beyond it\u2019s walls, was as superficially and as warmly treated\nby those, who thought only of the old government, when they talked of\nframing a new one. And as the people were now led by hot-headed men, who\nfound it the shortest way to popularity, to deliver exaggerated elogiums\non liberty, they began to look for a degree of freedom in their\ngovernment, incompatible with the present state of their manners; and of\nwhich they had no perfect idea. It is not then surprising, that it\nshould become a mark of patriotism, to oppose the _veto_; though\nMirabeau never gave a stronger proof of his, than in supporting it;\nconvinced that it was the interest of the people he was espousing,\nwhilst he risked their favour.\n\nThe will of the public was, in reality, so decided, that they would\nscarcely allow the _veto_ to be mentioned; and the assembly, to steer a\nmiddle course, adopted the _suspensive veto_; after considering some\nother important elements of the constitution, which seemed to them to be\nintimately connected with the royal prerogative.\n\nCertainly a few of the most judicious deputies must have perceived the\nimpolicy of the _suspensive veto_; and they could only have agreed to\nfall into the measure, under an idea that the minds of the people not\nbeing completely ripe for a total change of government\u2014from absolute\ndespotism to complete republicanism, it was politically necessary still\nto maintain the shadow of monarchy. \u2018To assign,\u2019 says one of the\ndeputies, \u2018a term to the _veto_, is at last to force the king to execute\na law of which he disapproves: and making him thus a blind and passive\ninstrument, a secret war is fomented between him and the national\nassembly. It is, in short, to refuse him the _veto_; though those who\nrefuse it have not the courage openly to say, that France has no longer\nany need of a king.\u2019\n\nBut, from the commencement of the revolution, the misery of France has\noriginated from the folly or art of men, who have spurred the people on\ntoo fast; tearing up prejudices by the root, which they should have\npermitted to die gradually away. Had they, for example, allowed the king\nto have enjoyed the share in the government promised by the _absolute\nveto_, they would have let him gently down from the altitude of\nunlimited sway, without making him feel the ground he lost in the\ndescent. And this semblance of his former authority would have gratified\nhim; or rather, breaking his fall, have induced him to submit patiently\nto other restraints, less humiliating to him, though more beneficial to\nthe people. For it is evident from experience, and might have been\nforeseen, that the determination on this question was one grand source\nof the continual bickerings of the assembly with the court and ministry;\nwho took care to make the king see, that he was set up as an idol,\nmerely to receive the mock respect of the legislative body, till they\nwere quite sure of the people.\n\nCould it, indeed, have been ascertained, that Louis, or rather the\nqueen, would have tamely born with such a diminution of power, this\nmeasure might have been deemed prudent; because it was then morally\ncertain, that the monarchy would have expired naturally with the\ndissolution of the king. But, when the pride and restless spirit of the\nqueen were well known; and that it was probable, from the whole tenour\nof her former life, she would contrive to have the ministry composed of\nthe most dissolute and headstrong men; it must appear the height of\nfolly only to have left the king the power of perplexing their\nproceedings, after they had piqued his pride. And when, to give, as it\nwere, efficiency to the conspiracies, which would naturally be formed by\nthe courtiers, to recover the authority rest from them, we find they\nafterwards voted such an enormous sum to defray the civil list, as was\nsufficient to move like puppets hundreds of the corrupt french; it must\nbe confessed, that their absurdity and want of discernment appear not\nless reprehensible, than the subsequent conduct of the court flagitious.\n\nThe constitutional committee had given it as their opinion, that the\ncontested _veto_ did not concern the national assembly then existing;\nwhich, being a constituting body, it was their duty to see that the\nconstitution was accepted, not sanctioned. This report carries with it\nan air of imbecility, which renders it almost incredible: for, if the\nassembly were determined to oblige the king to accept their decrees,\nthey had better have told him so with becoming dignity, and made\nprovision for his retiring from a post in which he was useless. Instead\nof this, he was in a manner shuffled off the throne; and treated with\ncruelty as well as contempt. It would have been at least ingenuous, and\nmight be deemed magnanimous, had they allowed him to retire with a third\nof the stipend, which they afterwards voted him, when he continued to\nappear like a theatrical king, only to excite the pity of the vulgar,\nand to serve as a pretext for the despots of Europe to urge in\njustification of their interference. The liberating an imprisoned\nmonarch was a plausible motive, though the real one was obviously to\nstop the progress of principles, which, once permitted to extend\nthemselves, would ultimately sap the foundation of their tyranny, and\noverturn all the courts in Europe. Pretending then only to have in view\nthe restoration of order in France, and to free an injured king, they\naimed at crushing the infant brood of liberty.\n\nSimilar sentiments must have occurred to every thinking person, who ever\nseriously reflected on the conduct of the germanic courts, which has\nactually destroyed the tranquillity of Europe for centuries past. War is\nthe natural consequence of their wretched systems of government.\u2014They\nare supported by military legions; and without wars they could not have\nveteran soldiers. Their aggrandisement then, and half-lived pleasures,\ncast in a mould of ceremony, spring out of the miseries, and are\nfostered by the blood of human beings; whom they have sacrificed with as\nmuch _sang froid_, sending them in herds to slaughter, as the\nhard-hearted savage romans viewed the horrid spectacle of their\nprize-fighters; from the bare idea of which the mind turns, disgusted\nwith the whole empire, and particularly with the government that dared\nto boast of it\u2019s heroism and respect for justice, when not only\ntolerating, but encouraging such enormities.\n\nTo the sympathizing princes of the continent, therefore, the king should\nhave been given up; or, if it were necessary to humour the prejudice of\nthe nation, and still suffer frenchmen to have a most christian king, or\n_grand monarque_, to amuse them by devouring capons or partridges before\nthem; it would have been but just, both in reason and policy, to have\nallowed him such a portion of liberty and power, as would have formed a\nconsistent government. This would have prevented those clamours, which\nwere sure to draw together an host of enemies, to impede the settlement\nof rational laws; flowing from a constitution, that would peaceably have\nundermined despotism, had it been allowed gradually to change the\nmanners of the people. Though had this power been granted, it might have\nbeen productive perhaps of great inconveniences; as it is not likely,\nthat a court accustomed to exercise unbridled sway would contentedly\nhave co-operated with the legislature, when possessing only reasonable\nprerogatives.\n\nSome apprehensions of this kind may have occurred to the assembly:\nthough it rather appears, that they were either influenced by a\nridiculous pride, not being willing to take the british constitution, so\nfar as it respected the prerogative, for their model; or intimidated by\nthe people, who, during the long debate, had outrageously expressed\ntheir will, and even handed about a list of proscriptions, in which the\n_vetoists_ were denounced as traitors worthy of death. Be this as it\nmay, they determined on a half-way measure, that irritated the court\nwithout appeasing the people. Having previously decreed, that the\nnational assembly should be permanent, that is always existing, instead\nof being dissolved at the close of every session, they resolved, that\nthe _veto_ of the king should suspend the enaction of a law only during\ntwo legislatures. \u2018The wisdom of this law,\u2019 says Rabaud, \u2018was\nuniversally acknowledged:\u2019 though the folly of it rather merited\nuniversal reprobation.\n\nFrom the manner indeed, in which the assembly was constituted, it was to\nbe dreaded, that it\u2019s members would not long sustain the dignity, with\nwhich they commenced the career of their business: because the party,\nthat opposed with such bitterness the junction of the three orders,\nstill opposing with rancorous heat, and wily stratagems, every measure\nproposed by the really patriotic members, were indirectly seconded by\nthe insincere and wavering; who, having no motive to govern their\nconduct, but the most detestable selfishness, the offspring of vanity or\navarice, always took the side best calculated to gratify the crude\nwishes of the multitude. And this unyoked multitude, now suddenly\ninitiated into the science of civil and natural rights, all become\nconsummate politicians, began to control the decisions of a divided\nassembly, rendered timid by intestine broils.\n\nThere were besides many circumstances, which tended to make any attempt\nto counteract this influence very difficult. At the meeting of the\nstates-general, the whole court party, with the greater proportion of\nboth the nobility and clergy, were in opposition to the third-estate:\nand though the number of the latter was equal to that of the other two\norders, they had also to contend with the inveterate prejudices of ages.\nThe court had thought only of devising means to crush them; and had the\nsoldiery acted with the blind zeal common to men of this profession, it\nwould of itself have been sufficient to have completely disconcerted\ntheir views. This conduct of the cabinet, and the discovery of the\natrocious conspiracy, which had been formed against the people and their\nidolized representatives, provoking the resentment and vengeance of the\nnation, palsied all authority, and rendered the laws that had emanated\nfrom it contemptible. To oppose this torrent of opinions, like an\nimpetuous current, that after heavy rains, defying all resistance, bears\naway on it\u2019s raging bosom every obstacle, required the most enlightened\nprudence and determined resolution.\n\nSo much wisdom and firmness seldom fall to the lot of any country: and\nit could scarcely have been expected from the depraved and volatile\nfrench; who proudly, or ignorantly, determining to follow no political\ntrack, seem to have fixed on a system proper only for a people in the\nhighest stage of civilization;\u2014a system of itself calculated to\ndisorganize the government, and throw embarrassments into all it\u2019s\noperations. This was an errour so gross, as to demand the severest\nanimadversions. For this political plan, ever considered as utopian by\nall men who had not traced the progress of reason, or calculated the\ndegree of perfectibility the human faculties are capable of attaining,\nwas, it might be presumed, the most improper for the degenerate society\nof France. The exertions of the very admirers of the revolution were,\nlikewise, far from being permanent; and they could hardly have been\nexpected to possess sufficient virtue to support a government, the\nduration of which they at least feared would be short. The men termed\nexperienced believed it physically impossible; and no arguments were\ncogent enough to convince them of the contrary: so that, they leaving\nthe task to mock patriots and enthusiasts, a fresh odium has been thrown\non principles, which, notwithstanding are gaining ground. Things must be\nleft to their natural course; and the accelerating progress of truth\npromises to demonstrate, what no arguments have hitherto been able to\nprove.\n\nThe foundation of liberty was laid in the declaration of rights; the\nfirst three articles of which contain the great principles of natural,\npolitical, and civil liberty.\u2014First, that men are born, and always\ncontinue, free, and equal in respect to their rights:\u2014civil\ndistinctions, therefore, can be founded only on public utility.\nSecondly, the end of all political associations is the preservation of\nthe natural and imprescriptible rights of man: which rights are\u2014liberty,\nproperty, security, and resistance of oppression. Thirdly, the nation is\nthe source of all sovereignty: no body of men, no individual, can then\nbe entitled to any authority, which is not derived from it. The first\narticle, establishing the equality of man, strikes at the root of all\nuseless distinctions:\u2014the second, securing his rights against\noppression, maintains his dignity:\u2014and the third, acknowledging the\nsovereignty of the nation, confirms the authority of the people.\u2014These\nare the essential points of a good government: and it is only necessary,\nwhen these points are ascertained by a nation, and solemnly ratified in\nthe hearts of it\u2019s citizens, to take care, in the formation of a\npolitical system, to provide against the abuse of the executive part;\nwhilst equal caution should be observed, not to destroy it\u2019s efficiency,\nas on that depend it\u2019s justice, vigour, and promptitude. The other\narticles are explanatory of the nature and intent of these rights, and\nought to have had more attention paid to them, when the structure was\nraised, to which they served as a basis.\n\nWhilst defining the authority of the king, or rather determining, that\nhe should have no authority, unless the option of disturbing the\nlegislation deserve that name, they debated the question of two chambers\nwith equal inconsideration, and all the puerile self-sufficiency of\nignorance. The opposers of two chambers, without allowing, that there\nwas any political wisdom in appointing one house of representatives to\nreconsider the resolves of the other, ridiculed the idea of a balance of\npower, and instanced the abuses of the english government to give force\nto their objections. At the same time fearing, that the nobles of the\ncourt would contend for an hereditary senate, similar to the british\nhouse of peers; or, at least, for a seat during life, paramount to the\nrepresentatives who they determined should be elected every two years;\nthey fought to bring the business to a speedy issue. The very division\nof the nobility served to hasten it, and strengthened the arguments of\nthe popular members; who finding that they could rely on the concurrence\nof the parish-priests, whose wishes in favour of the unity of the\nassembly were quickly betrayed by the opinions of their leading orators,\ndemanded the decision of a question, that had been agitated in the most\ntumultuous manner.\n\nMirabeau wished to prove, that the decision of the question respecting\nthe permanency of the assembly had prejudged that of the two chambers;\nand the plan of a senate, proposed by the constitutional committee, only\nexcited fresh apprehensions, that the ancient hydra would again rear\nit\u2019s head. They represented this senate as the cradle of a new\naristocracy; as a dangerous counterpoise to popular violence, because it\nwould still foster the prejudices, which produced inequalities amongst\nmen, and give continual play to the overbearing passions, that had\nhitherto degraded mankind. And to show previously their entire\ndisinterestedness, as well as fear of allowing the exercise of power to\nbecome familiar, much less necessary to any members of the community,\nthey unanimously voted, that for each legislature, the name given to the\nmeeting of the representatives, a total change of the deputies should\ntake place.\n\nThe very nobility, in fact, were far from being united in support of two\nchambers. The order was a numerous one: and to establish an equality of\nprivileges, it was necessary, that they should all concur to elect the\nupper chamber, as the representatives of the whole body; whilst the\nnobles of the court, and of the ancient houses, secretly indulged the\nhope of establishing a peerage; which would not only raise them above\nthe commons, but keep at a proper distance the upstart nobility, with\nwhom they had heretofore impatiently jostled. There was even another\ncause of jealousy: for it was presumed, that the forty-seven nobles, who\nfirst joined the assembly, would now be rewarded. In short, the idle\nfears and more contemptible vanity of the different parties now operated\nso much in favour of an indivisible senate, that the question was\ndecided by a great majority, to the entire satisfaction of the public,\nwho were almost as eager for one chamber, as averse to the _veto_.\n\nThe deputies, who opposed the upper chamber to promote the good of\nsociety, did it from a belief, that it would be the asylum of a new\naristocracy; and from a total ignorance, or obscurity of ideas,\nrespecting it\u2019s utility. Whilst the oppressions of the feudal system\nbeing still present to the minds of the people, they considered a\ndivision of the legislative body as inconsistent with the freedom and\nequality they were taught to expect as the prime blessings of a new\nconstitution. The very mention of _two chambers_ carried them back to\nthe old dispute, respecting the negative of the different orders; and\nseemed to subvert the revolution. Such fears, degenerating into\nweakness, can only be accounted for by recollecting the many cruel\nthraldoms, from which they had so recently escaped. Besides, the\nremembrance of their former servitude, and the resentment excited by the\nlate struggle to prove they were men, created in their enthusiastic\nimaginations such a multitude of horrours, and fantastic images of new\ndangers, as did not allow them to exercise the full powers of their\nreason. So that to convince them of the propriety of a new institution,\nand heat the supporters of it, nothing more was necessary, than to show,\nthat it was the very reverse of those maintained by the partizans of the\nold government.\n\nThe wisdom of giving to the executive part of a government an absolute\n_veto_ might very justly have been questioned; as it seems to be giving\na power to one man to counteract the will of a whole people\u2014an absurdity\ntoo gross to merit refutation. Still, whilst crowns are a necessary\nbauble to please the multitude, it is also necessary, that their\ndignity, should be supported, in order to prevent an overweening\naristocracy from concentrating all authority in themselves. This seems\nto have been expedient, likewise, as long as the manners of barbarians\nremained: as savages are naturally pleased with glass and beads, in\nproportion as they afford a striking contrast to the rude materials of\ntheir own fabrication.\n\nIn the progressive influence of knowledge on manners, both dress and\ngovernments appear to be acquiring simplicity; it may therefore be\ninferred, that, as the people attain dignity of character, their\namusements will flow from a more rational source than the pageantry of\nkings, or the view of the fopperies exhibited at courts. If these have\nbeen supported hitherto by childish ignorance, they seem to be losing\ntheir influence, as the understanding of the world approaches to\nmanhood: for, as they grow wiser, the people will look for the solid\nadvantages of society; and watching with sufficient vigilance their own\ninterest, the _veto_ of the executive branch of the government would\nbecome perfectly useless; though in the hands of an unprincipled, bold\nchief magistrate, it might prove a dangerous instrument. In forming a\nrepresentative plan of government it appears necessary then to take care\nonly, that it be so constructed, as to prevent hasty decisions; or the\ncarrying into laws dangerous, impolitic measures, which have been urged\nby popular declaimers, who are too apt to gain an ascendancy in a\nnumerous assembly. Until the principles of governments become\nsimplified, and a knowledge of them be disseminated, it is to be feared,\nthat popular assemblies will often be influenced by the fascinating\ncharms of eloquence: and as it is possible for a man to be eloquent\nwithout being either wise or virtuous, it is but a common precaution of\nprudence in the framers of a constitution, to provide some check to the\nevil.\n\nBesides, it is very probable, in the same state of reason, that a\nfaction may arise, which will control the assembly; and, acting contrary\nto the dictates of wisdom, throw the state into the most dangerous\nconvulsions of anarchy: consequently, it ought to form a primary object\nwith a constituting assembly, to prevent, by some salutary contrivance,\nthe mischief flowing from such sources. The obvious preventative is a\nsecond chamber, or senate, which would not, it is most likely, be under\nthe influence of the same faction; and it is at least certain, that it\u2019s\ndecisions would not be directed by the same orators. The advantage would\nbe more certain if business were not conducted in the two chambers in a\nsimilar manner. Thus by making the most numerous assembly the most\nactive, the other would have more time to weigh the probable consequence\nof any act or decree, which would prevent those inconveniences; or, at\nleast, many of them, the consequence of haste or faction.\n\nThis system in an old government is susceptible of improvement. The\nminds of young men generally having more fire, activity, and invention,\nit would be politically wise to restrict the age of the senators to\nthirty-five, or forty years; at which period of life they most likely\nwould have gone through a certain routine of business; and become more\nsage, and steady, they would be better calculated to decide respecting\nthe policy, or wisdom of the acts of the chamber of representatives.\n\nIt is true France was in such a state at the time of the revolution,\nthat a like improvement could not have been instantly carried into\nexecution, because the aristocratical influence was justly to be\ndreaded. The constituting assembly then should have remained\nindivisible; and as the members became in some measure acquainted with\nlegislative business, they would have prepared senators for the upper\nchamber. All the future legislatures being divided into two chambers, a\nhouse of representatives, and a senate, the members of the national\nassembly might have been permitted to be elected for the senate, though\nthey should not have attained the age prescribed; for the restriction\nneeded not to have taken place until the government found it\u2019s level,\nand even then, the members of the preceding house of representatives\nmight have been allowed to be returned for the senate.\n\nIt has been a common remark of moralists, that we are the least\nacquainted with our own characters. This has been literally the case\nwith the french: for certainly no people stand in such great need of a\ncheck; and, totally destitute of experience in political science, it\nmust have been clear to all men of sound understanding, that some such\nplan alone would have enabled them to avoid many fatal errours.\n\nThe first efforts of the national assembly were truly magnanimous; but\nthe character of the men was too light, to maintain the same heroism,\nwhen not warmed by passion\u2014too giddy, to support with grave dignity the\nsplendour of sudden glory. Their vanity was also unbounded; and their\nfalse estimate of disinterestedness of conduct, whilst they betrayed\npuerility of sentiment, was not among the least of the misfortunes,\nwhich have befallen that unhappy country. Their hearts had been too long\nsophisticated, to suggest the best mode of communicating freedom to\nmillions; and their heads were still less calculated to lay down a\npracticable plan of government, adapted to the state of knowledge of the\nage. So much so, that they seem to have selected from books only the\nregulations proper for a period of perfect civilization.\n\nThe revolutions of states ought to be gradual; for during violent or\nmaterial changes it is not so much the wisdom of measures, as the\npopularity they acquire by being adapted to the foibles of the great\nbody of the community, which gives them success.\u2014Men are most easily led\naway by the ingenious arguments, that dwell on the equality of man, and\nthese are always employed by the different leaders of popular\ngovernments.\n\nWhilst the most ingenious theorists, or desperate partizans of the\npeople, take advantage of this infirmity of our nature, the consequences\nmust sometimes prove destructive to society, is they do not end in the\nmost dreadful anarchy. For when the members of a state are not directed\nby practical knowledge, every one produces a plan of polity, till the\nconfusion becomes general, and the nation plunges into wretchedness,\npursuing the schemes of those philosophers of genius who, advancing\nbefore their age, have sketched the model of a perfect system of\ngovernment. Thus it happened in France, that Hume\u2019s idea of a perfect\ncommonwealth, the adoption of which would be eligible only when\ncivilization has arrived at a much greater degree of perfection, and\nknowledge is more generally diffused than at the present period, was\nnevertheless chosen as the model of their new government, with a few\nexceptions, by the constituent assembly: which choice doubtless\nproceeded from the members not having had an opportunity to acquire a\nknowledge of practical liberty. Some of the members, it is true, alluded\nto the improvements made by the americans on the plan of the english\nconstitution; but the great majority, despising experience, were for\nforming, at once, a system much more perfect. And this self-sufficiency\nhas produced those dreadful outrages, and attacks, made by the\nanarchists of that country, on personal liberty, property, and whatever\nelse society holds sacred.\n\nThese melancholy considerations seem to me to afford irrefragable\narguments, to prove that it is necessary for all governments, which have\nfor their object the happiness of the people, to make the power of\naltering peaceably a fundamental principle of their constitution.\n\nStill, if the attempt to carry prematurely into execution the sublime\ntheory, which has occupied some of the best heads to form, have afforded\nan opportunity to superficial politicians, to condemn it as absurd and\nchimerical, because it has not been attended with immediate success, the\nadvocates for the extension of truth and reason ought not to despair.\nFor when we contemplate the slow improvement, that has been made in the\nscience of government; and, that even the system of the british\nconstitution was considered, by some of the most enlightened ancients,\nas the sublimest theory the human mind was able to conceive, though not\nreducible to practice, they should not relax in their endeavours to\nbring to maturity a polity more simple\u2014which promises more equal\nfreedom, and general happiness to mankind.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n OBSERVATIONS ON THE VETO. THE WOMEN OFFER UP THEIR ORNAMENTS TO THE\nPUBLIC. DEBATE WHETHER THE SPANISH BRANCH OF THE BOURBONS COULD REIGN IN\n FRANCE. CONDUCT OF THE KING RESPECTING THE DECREES OF THE FOURTH OF\nAUGUST. VANITY OF THE FRENCH. DEBATES ON QUARTERING A THOUSAND REGULARS\n AT VERSAILLES. INDIVIDUALS OFFER THEIR JEWELS AND PLATE TO MAKE UP THE\nDEFICIENCY OF THE LOAN. THE KING SENDS HIS RICH SERVICE OF PLATE TO THE\n MINT. NECKER\u2019S PROPOSAL FOR EVERY CITIZEN TO GIVE UP A FOURTH OF HIS\n INCOME. SPEECH OF MIRABEAU ON IT. HIS ADDRESS TO THE NATION.\n\n\nAfter the national assembly had determined, that the legislative body\nshould consist of one house, to be renewed every two years, they appear\nto have had some suspicion of the impolicy of the decree; but not\nallowing themselves time to comprehend the use of a senate taken from\nthe body of the people, they attempted to silence the fears, some\nmoderate men entertained, of the bad consequences which might arise from\nthe decisions of an impetuous assembly without a check, by assuring\nthem, that the delay, the _veto_ would occasion, was a sufficient\ncounterpoise. They represented the king\u2019s _veto_ as the negative\narchetype of the national will; adding, that it would be the duty of the\nsovereign to examine with vigilance the justice or wisdom of their\ndecrees; and by the exertion of his power prevent the hasty\nestablishment of any laws inimical to the public good. So easy is it for\nmen to frame arguments, to cover the homely features of their own\nfolly\u2014so dangerous is it to follow a refined theory, however feasible it\nmay appear, when the happiness of an empire depends on it\u2019s success; and\nso inconsiderately did the national assembly act in this great business,\nthat they did not wait even to determine the precise meaning of the word\n_sanction_.\n\nIf the king then represented the negative will of the nation, which the\nassembly pretended to say he did; and if he possessed the supreme wisdom\nand moderation necessary to guaranty that will, which supposing he did\nnot, it was a folly too gross to require any comment; in the name of\ncommon sense\u2014why was his _veto suspensive_?\n\nThe truth is obvious,\u2014the assembly had not sufficient courage to take a\ndecided part.\u2014They knew, that the king and court could not be depended\nupon; yet they had not the magnanimity to give them up altogether. They\njustly dreaded the depravity and influence of the nobles; but they had\nnot the sagacity to model the government in such a manner, as would have\ndefeated their future conspiracies, and rendered their power nugatory;\nthough they had the example of the Thirteen States of America before\nthem, from which they had drawn what little practical knowledge of\nliberty they possessed.\u2014But, no; the regeneration of France must lead to\nthe regeneration of the whole globe. The political system of frenchmen\nmust serve as a model for all the free states in the universe!\u2014_Vive la\nlibert\u00e9_ was the only cry\u2014and _la bagatelle_ entered into every\ndebate\u2014whilst the whole nation, wild with joy, was hailing the\ncommencement of the golden age.\n\nThe women too, not to be outdone by the roman dames, came forward,\nduring this discussion, to sacrifice their ornaments for the good of\ntheir country. And this fresh example of public spirit was also given by\nthe third-estate; for they were the wives and daughters of artizans, who\nfirst renounced their female pride\u2014or rather made one kind of vanity\ntake place of another. However, the offering was made with theatrical\ngrace; and the lively applauses of the assembly were reiterated with\ngreat gallantry.\n\nAnother interruption had likewise occurred, of a more serious\nnature.\u2014For after they had decreed, with an unanimous voice\u2014That _the\nperson of the king is sacred and inviolable_, that _the throne is\nindivisible_; that _the crown is hereditary, in the males of the\nreigning family, according to the order of primogeniture, to the\nperpetual exclusion of females_, a deputy proposed, that, before going\nany further, they should decide \u2018whether the branch reigning in Spain\ncould reign in France, though it had renounced the crown of the latter\nkingdom by the most authentic treaties.\u2019\n\nSeveral of the most respectable members represented, that this was a\ndelicate business, with which it was impolitic to meddle at present, and\nas unnecessary as imprudent. Mirabeau was of this opinion; but when he\nfound, that much time was likely to be consumed in idle debates, and\ncontemptible vehemence, he endeavoured to cut the matter short by moving\na new question\u2014namely, \u2018that no one could reign in France, who was not\nborn in the kingdom.\u2019\n\nBut nothing could prevent the agitation of the same subject for three\ndays; prolonged either by the fears of one party, or the desire of\nanother to embroil the assembly, and retard the formation of a\nconstitution. Mirabeau made several severe, but just remarks, on the\ncharacter of Louis XIV, whose ambition had produced the dispute; and\nreprobated with dignity, their manner of treating a people, as if they\nwere the property of a chief. Should any difficulty arise, in future, he\nmaintained, that the nation would then be competent to judge of it; and\nhad an equal right to determine the succession, as to choose a new\nsystem of government.\n\nThe assembly, though generally so inattentive to the suggestions of\nsound policy, despising moderation, became now beyond measure\nscrupulous. Some deputies represented the danger of alienating to the\nenglish the commerce of Spain, by disgusting it\u2019s court; and others\nanticipated the intestine troubles, which a doubt respecting the\nunchangeable descent of the crown might produce. At last they resolved\nto add to the declaration, respecting the monarchy, that they did not\nmean to make the decree, _by any means prejudge the effect of\nrenunciations_.\n\nWhilst they were settling these things in the assembly, the refractory\nnobles and clergy were intriguing to prevent the king from giving his\nassent to the promulgation of the decrees of the 4th of august. The\nroyal _sanction_ had been demanded before the import of the word was\nscanned; and the court taking advantage of this ambiguity, made the king\npretend he misunderstood the demand; and imagined that they merely asked\nfor his opinion, and not to know his will. Instead then of a simple\nmonosyllable, he replied by a memoire. He approved, in general, of the\nspirit of these determinations; but entered into an investigation, more\nor less copious, of every article. He weighed the advantages and\ninconveniences; and pointed out precautions and modifications, which\nappeared to him necessary to realize the former and prevent the latter.\nHe objected particularly to the abolition of some rents; which, though\nsubstitutes for personal service, were now actual property; he suggested\nsome difficulty that might attend the abolition of tithes; and hinted,\nthat the german princes, who had possessions in Alsace, secured to them\nby treaty, might resent the infringement. In answer to the last\nobjection, a member observed, that the inhabitants of this province, who\nhad long been sinking under the weight of these privileges, daily\naugmented by the connivance of ministers, had inserted an article in\ntheir instructions expressly demanding the abolition of this destructive\nsystem; which reduced them to despair, and forced them continually to\nemigrate. Several of the deputies wished to have the king\u2019s reply\nreferred to the examination of a committee; yet, a great majority\ninsisting, that the decrees of the 4th of august were not new laws, to\nbe carried into force by the executive power, but abuses which it was\nabsolutely necessary to clear away before the formation of the\nconstitution, demanded their immediate promulgation. Accordingly they\nresolved, that the president should wait on the king and request him\nimmediately to order the promulgation of the decrees; assuring him at\nthe same time, that the national assembly, when considering each article\nseparately, would pay the most scrupulous attention to the observations\ncommunicated by his majesty.\n\nThis imperative petition had the desired effect, and the king acceded,\nthe 20th of september, to their will, sanctioning decrees he did not\napprove.\n\nThis was the first glaring instance of the constituting assembly acting\ncontrary to it\u2019s pretensions; and the king, long in the habit of\ndissembling, always yielding to the pressure of remonstrances, no matter\nfrom what quarter they came, with criminal insincerity acknowledging\nhimself a cipher, laid the foundation of his own insignificancy, by\nordering the promulgation of decrees, which he believed were\nincompatible with justice, and might involve the french monarchy in\ndisagreeable disputes with foreign princes, when peace was particularly\nnecessary to calm it\u2019s internal convulsions.\n\nIf a chief magistrate be of any consequence to a state, his wisdom ought\nto appear in the dignity and firmness of his actions.\u2014But, if he be\nconsidered as the fountain of justice and honour, and do not possess the\nabilities and magnanimity of a common man, in what a wretched light must\nhe be viewed by the eyes of discernment and common sense?\u2014And, if the\nframers of a constitution create a power that must continually act at\nvariance with itself, they not only undermine the pillars of their own\nfabric, but they insert the scion of a disease the most destructive to\ntruth and morals.\n\nAfter complying with this compulsatory request, Louis, who, finding that\nhe was left without any share of power, seems to have thought very\nlittle of his _suspensive veto_, determined to play a part that would\ngive an air of sincerity to his present conduct, whilst his object was\nsecretly to favour the efforts of the counter-revolutionists; and if\npossible effect his own escape.\u2014But, in the mean time, he endeavoured to\nmake such use of it as might prevent the total derangement of the old\nsystem, without unveiling his secret views, and intentions. It is\ndifficult to determine which was the most reprehensible, the folly of\nthe assembly, or the duplicity of the king. If Louis were without\ncharacter, and controlled by a court without virtue, it amounted to a\ndemonstration, that every insidious mean would be employed by the\ncourtiers to reinstate the old government; and recover, if possible,\ntheir former splendour and voluptuous ease. For, though they were\ndispersed, it was notorious to all France, nay, to all Europe, that a\nconstant correspondence was kept up between the different parties, and\ntheir projects concerted by one of the most intriguing of disappointed\nmen[30]. It was obvious, therefore, to Mirabeau, that the king ought to\nbe gained over to the side of the people; and made to consider himself\nas their benefactor, in order to detach him from the cabal. But in this\nrespect he was unfortunately over-ruled. This mixture of magnanimity,\nand timidity, of wisdom and headstrong folly, displayed by the assembly,\nappears, at the first view, to involve such a contradiction, that every\nperson unacquainted with the french character would be ready to call in\nquestion the truth of those undeniable facts, which crowd on the heels\nof each other during the progress of the great events, that formed the\nrevolution. A superficial glance over the circumstances, will not enable\nus to account for an inconsistency, which borders on improbability.\u2014We\nmust, on the contrary, ever keep in our thoughts, that, whilst they were\ndirected in their political plans, by a wild, half comprehended theory,\ntheir sentiments were still governed by the old chivalrous sense of\nhonour, which diffusing a degree of romantic heroism into all their\nactions, a false magnanimity would not permit them to question the\nveracity of a man, on whom they believed they were conferring favours;\nand for whom they certainly made great allowance, if they did not\nforgive him for countenancing plots, which tended to undermine their\nfavourite system.\n\nIt is, perhaps, the characteristic of vanity, to become enamoured with\nideas, in proportion as they were remote from it\u2019s conception, until\nbrought to the mind by causes so natural, as to induce it to believe,\nthat they are the happy and spontaneous flow of it\u2019s own prolific brain.\nTheir splendour then eclipsing his judgment, the man is hurried on by\nenthusiasm and self-sufficiency, like a ship at sea, without ballast or\nhelm, by every breath of wind: and, to carry the comparison still\nfurther, should a tempest chance to rise in the state, he is swallowed\nup in the whirlpools of confusion, into the very midst of which his\nconceit has plunged him; as the vessel, that was not prepared to stem\nthe violence of a hurricane, is buried in the raging surge.\n\nThe occasions of remarking, that frenchmen are the vainest men living,\noften occur, and here it must be insisted on; for no sooner had they\ntaken possession of certain philosophical truths, persuading themselves,\nthat the world was indebted to them for the discovery, than they seem to\nhave overlooked every other consideration, but their adoption. Much evil\nhas been the consequence; yet France is certainly highly indebted to the\nnational assembly for establishing many constitutional principles of\nliberty, which must greatly accelerate the improvement of the public\nmind, and ultimately produce the perfect government, that they vainly\nendeavoured to construct immediately with such fatal precipitation.\n\nThe consideration of several other articles of the constitution was\ncontinually interrupted, and not more by the variety of business, which\ncame under the cognizance of the assembly, than by the want of a proper\narrangement of them. Much time was lost in disputing about the choice of\nsubjects of deliberation; and the order in which they ought to proceed.\nThe business of the day was perpetually obliged to give place to\nepisodical scenes; and men, who came prepared to discuss one question,\nbeing obliged to turn to another, lost in some measure the benefit of\nreflection, and the energy, so different from the enthusiasm of the\nmoment, with which a man supports a well digested opinion.\n\nTwo or three slight debates had arisen on the subject of quartering a\nthousand men, of the regular troops, at Versailles. The commandant of\nthe guards had requested permission of the municipality; pointing out\nthe necessity for the security of the town, the national assembly, and\nthe person of the king. The necessity did not appear so obvious to the\npublic, and, in fact, the demand seemed calculated to provoke the\ntumults, against which they were so officiously guarding. Mirabeau also\nobserved, \u2018that the executive power had undoubtedly a right to augment\nthe military force, in any particular place, when private information,\nor urgent circumstances, appeared to require it; and that the\nmunicipality had, likewise, a right to demand the troops they judged\nnecessary; yet he could not help thinking it singular, that the\nministers should have entrusted the municipality with a secret, which\nthey did not communicate to the assembly,\u2014who might be supposed at least\nas anxious to take every precaution for the safety of the town and the\nking\u2019s person.\u2019 To these pertinent remarks no attention was paid; and a\nletter from the mayor of Paris, informing the assembly, that a great\nnumber of the districts of the metropolis had remonstrated against the\nintroduction of regular troops into Versailles, to awe the national\nguards, was equally neglected; whilst a letter to the president, in the\nname of the king, informing him, that he had taken the different\nmeasures necessary to prevent any disturbances in the place where the\nnational assembly were sitting, was thrown aside without any comment.\n\nThe loan still failing, several individuals made magnificent presents;\nsacrificing their jewels and plate, to relieve the wants of their\ncountry. And the king sent his rich service to the mint, in spite of the\nremonstrances of the assembly.\u2014The disinterestedness of this action, it\nis absurd to talk of benevolence, may fairly be doubted; because, had he\nescaped, and the escape was then in contemplation, it would have been\nconfiscated; whilst the voluntary offer was a popular step, which might\nserve for a little time to cover this design, and turn the attention of\nthe public from the subject of the reinforcement of the guards to the\npatriotism of the king.\n\nThese donations, which scarcely afforded a temporary supply, rather\namused than relieved the nation; though they suggested a new plan to the\nminister. Necker, therefore, incapable of forming any great design for\nthe good of the nation, yet calculating on the general enthusiasm, which\npervaded all descriptions and ranks of people, laid before the assembly\nthe ruinous state of the finances, proposing at the same time, as the\nonly mode of remedying the evil, to require of the citizens a\ncontribution of one-fourth of their income. The assembly was startled by\nthis proposal, but Mirabeau, believing that the people would now grant\nwhatever their representatives required, prevailed on the assembly, by a\nlively representation of the perilous state of the kingdom, to adopt the\nonly plan of salvation which had yet been suggested\u2014insisting, that this\nwas the only expedient to avoid an infamous national bankruptcy. \u2018Two\ncenturies of depredations and pillage,\u2019 he exclaimed, \u2018have hollowed out\nan immense gulph, in which the kingdom will soon be swallowed. It is\nnecessary to fill up this frightful abyss. Agreed!\u2014Choose out the rich,\nthat the sacrifice may fall on the fewer citizens; but, determine\nquickly! There are two thousand notables, who have sufficient property\nto restore order to your finances, and peace and prosperity to the\nkingdom. Strike; immolate without pity these victims!\u2014precipitate them\ninto the abyss\u2014it is going to close on them\u2014ye draw back, with\nhorrour\u2014ye men! pusillanimous and inconsistent!\u2014and see ye not in\ndecreeing a bankruptcy, or, which is still more contemptible, rendering\nit inevitable, ye are sullied by an act a thousand times more criminal?\u2019\n\nBut it is impossible to do justice to this burst of eloquence, in a\ntranslation; besides, the most energetic appeals to the passions always\nlose half their dignity, or, perhaps, appear to want the support of\nreason, when they are coolly perused.\u2014Nothing produces conviction like\npassion\u2014it seems the ray from heaven, that enlightens as it warms.\u2014Yet\nthe effect once over, something like a fear of having been betrayed into\nfolly clings to the mind it has most strongly influenced; and an obscure\nsense of shame lowers the spirits that were wound up too high.\n\nFrom the whole tenour of this speech it is clear, that Mirabeau was in\nearnest; and that he had fired his imagination, by considering this plan\nas an act of heroism, that would ennoble the revolution, and reflect\nlasting honour on the national assembly. In this extemporary flow of\neloquence, probably the most simple and noble of modern times, mixed\nnone of the rhetoric which frequently entered into his studied\ncompositions; for his periods were often artfully formed;\u2014but it was the\nart of a man of genius. He proposed to the assembly to address their\nconstituents on this occasion; and he was accordingly requested to\nprepare an address for their consideration.\n\nHis address to the nation is, indeed, a master-piece; yet, being written\nto persuade, and not spoken to carry a point immediately, and overwhelm\nopposition, there is more reasoning in it; and more artful, though less\nforcible, appeals to the passions. And, though this expedient appears to\nbe the most wild that folly could have blundered upon, the arguments\nought to be preserved with which it was glossed over.\n\nTo expect a man to give the fourth of what he lived on; and that in the\ncourse of fifteen months, leaving it to him to make the estimate, was\nexpecting that from virtue, which could only have been produced by\nenthusiasm. All the ancient acts of heroism, were excited by the spur of\npresent danger; and of this kind of virtue the french were equally\ncapable; yet, though the plan afforded them an opportunity to give a\nsplendid proof of their patriotism, it by no means answered; because, it\nbeing the effect rather of temper than of principle, selfishness had\ntime to find a plausible pretext to elude it; and vanity is seldom\nwilling to hide it\u2019s good works in the common measure.\n\nAs the removing the national assembly to Paris forms an epocha in the\nhistory of the revolution, it seems proper to close this chapter with\nMirabeau\u2019s address.\n\n\u2018The deputies of the national assembly suspend a while their labours to\nlay before their constituents the wants of the state, and to call upon\ntheir patriotism to second the measures, which a country in danger\ndemands.\n\n\u2018It were betraying you to dissemble. Two ways are open\u2014the nation may\nstride forward to the most glorious pre-eminence, or fall head-long into\na gulph of misfortune.\n\n\u2018A great revolution, the very plan of which some months ago would have\nappeared chimerical, has taken place amongst us. Accelerated by\nunforeseen circumstances, the momentum has suddenly overthrown our\nancient institutions. Without allowing us time to prop what must be\npreserved, or to replace what ought to be destroyed, it has at once\nsurrounded us with ruins.\n\n\u2018Our efforts to support the government are fruitless, a fatal numbness\ncramps all it\u2019s powers. The public revenue is no more; and credit cannot\ngain strength at a moment, when our fears equal our hopes.\u2014This spring\nof social power unbent, has weakened the whole machine; men and things,\nresolution, courage, and even virtue itself, have lost their tension. If\nyour concurrence do not speedily restore life and motion to the\nbody-politic, the grandest revolutions, perishing with the hopes it\ngenerated, will mingle again in the chaos, whence noble exertions have\ndrawn it; and they, who shall still preserve an unconquerable love of\nliberty, will refuse to unworthy citizens the disgraceful consolation of\nresuming their fetters.\n\n\u2018Since your deputies have buried all their rivalry, all their contending\ninterests, in a just and necessary union, the national assembly has\nlaboured to establish equal laws for the common safety. It has repaired\ngreat errours, and broken the links of countless thraldoms, which\ndegraded human nature: it has kindled the flame of joy and hope in the\nbosoms of the people, the creditors of earth and nature, whose dignity\nhas been so long tarnished, whose hearts have been so long discouraged:\nit has restored the long-obscured equality of frenchmen, estabblished\ntheir common right to serve the state, to enjoy it\u2019s protection, to\nmerit it\u2019s rewards: in short, conformably to your instructions, it is\ngradually erecting, on the immutable basis of the imprescriptible rights\nof man, a constitution mild as nature, lasting as justice, and the\nimperfections of which, the consequence of the inexperience of it\u2019s\nauthors, will easily be repaired. We have had to contend with the\ninveterate prejudices of ages, whilst harassed by the thousand\nuncertainties which accompany great changes. Our successors will have\nthe beaten track of experience before them; we have had only the compass\nof theory to guide us through the pathless desert. They may labour\npeaceably; though we have had to bear up against storms. They will know\ntheir rights, and the limits of their power: we have had to recover the\none, and to fix the other. They will consolidate our work\u2014they will\nsurpass us\u2014What a recompense! Who shall dare, mean while, to assign\nlimits to the grandeur of France? Who is not elevated by hope? Who does\nnot felicitate himself on being a citizen of it\u2019s empire?\n\n\u2018Such, however, is the crisis of the finances, that the state is\nthreatened with dissolution before this grand order of things can find\nit\u2019s centre. The cessation of the revenue has banished specie. A\nthousand circumstances hasten it\u2019s exportation. The sources of credit\nare exhausted; and the wheels of government are almost at a stand. If\npatriotism then step not forward to the succour of government, our\narmies, our fleets, our subsistence, our arts, our trade, our\nagriculture, our national debt, our country itself, will be hurried\ntowards that catastrophe, when she will receive laws only from disorder\nand anarchy\u2014Liberty would have glanced on our sight, only to disappear\nfor ever, only to leave behind the bitter consciousness, that we did not\nmerit the possession. And to our shame, in the eyes of the universe, the\nevil could be attributed solely to ourselves. With a soil so fertile,\nindustry so productive, a commerce so flourishing, and such means of\nprosperity\u2014what is this embarrassment of our finances? Our wants amount\nnot to the expence of a summer\u2019s campaign\u2014and our liberty, is it not\nworth more than those senseless struggles, when even victory has proved\nruinous?\n\n\u2018The present difficulty overcome, far from burdening the people, it will\nbe easy to meliorate their condition. Reductions, which need not\nannihilate luxury; reforms, which will reduce none to indigence; a\ncommutation of the oppressive taxes, an equal assessment of the impost,\ntogether with the equilibrium which must be restored between our revenue\nand our expenditure; an order that must be rendered permanent by our\nvigilant superintendency.\u2014These are the scattered objects of your\nconsolatory perspective.\u2014They are not the unsubstantial coinage of\nfancy; but real, palpable forms\u2014hopes capable of proof, things\nsubordinate to calculation.\n\n\u2018But our actual wants\u2014the paralysis of our public strength, the hundred\nand sixty extra millions necessary for this year, and the next\u2014What can\nbe done? The prime minister has proposed as the great lever of the\neffort, which is to decide the kingdom\u2019s fate, a contribution\nproportional to the income of each citizen.\n\n\u2018Between the necessity of providing instantly for the exigencies of the\npublic, and the impossibility of investigating so speedily the plan\nbefore us; fearing to enter into a labyrinth of calculations, and seeing\nnothing contrary to our duty in the minister\u2019s proposal, we have obeyed\nthe dictates of our consciences, presuming they would be yours. The\nattachment of the nation to the author of the plan, appeared to us a\npledge of it\u2019s success; and we confided in his long experience, rather\nthan trust to the guidance of our speculative opinions.\n\n\u2018To the conscience of every citizen is left the valuation of his income:\nthus the effect of the measure depends on your own patriotism. When the\nnation is bursting from the nothingness of servitude to the creation of\nliberty\u2014when policy is about to concur with nature in unfolding the\ninconceivable grandeur of her future destiny\u2014shall vile passions oppose\nher greatness? interest stay her flight? and the salvation of the state\nweigh less than a personal contribution?\n\n\u2018No; such madness is not in nature; the passions even do not listen to\nsuch treacherous reckonings. If the revolution, which has given us a\ncountry, cannot rouse some frenchmen out of the torpor of indifference,\nat least the tranquillity of the kingdom, the only pledge of their\nindividual security, will influence them. No; it is not in the whirl of\nuniversal overthrow, in the degradation of tutelary authority, when a\ncrowd of indigent citizens, shut out from the work-shops, will be\nclamouring for impotent pity; when the soldiery disbanded will be\nforming itself into hungry gangs of armed plunderers, when property will\nbe violated with impunity, and the very existence of individuals\nmenaced\u2014terrour and grief waiting at the door of every family\u2014it is not\namidst such complicated wretchedness, that these cruel and selfish men\nwill enjoy in peace the hoards which they denied their country. The only\ndistinction that awaits them, in the general wreck, will be the\nuniversal opprobrium they deserve, or the useless remorse that will\ncorrode the inmost recesses of their hearts.\n\n\u2018Ah! how many recent proofs have we of the public spiritedness, which\nrenders all success so easy! With what rapidity was formed the national\nmilitia, those legions of citizens armed for the defence of the country,\nthe preservation of tranquillity, and the maintenance of the laws! A\ngenerous emulation has beamed on all sides. Villages, towns, provinces,\nhave considered their privileges as odious distinctions, and solicited\nthe honour of depriving themselves of peculiar advantages, to enrich\ntheir country. You know it: time was not allowed to draw up the mutual\nconcessions, dictated by a purely patriotic sentiment, into decrees; so\nimpatient was every class of citizens to restore to the great family\nwhatever endowed some of it\u2019s members to the prejudice of others.\n\n\u2018Above all, since the embarrassment of our finances, the patriotic\ncontributions have increased. From the throne, the majesty of which a\nbeneficent prince exalts by his virtues, has emanated the most\nstriking example.\u2014O thou, so justly the dearly beloved of thy\npeople\u2014king\u2014citizen\u2014man of worth! it was thine to cast a glance over\nthe magnificence that surrounded thee, and to convert it into national\nresources. The objects of luxury which thou hast sacrificed, have\nadded new lustre to thy dignity; and whilst the love of the french for\nthy sacred person makes them murmur at the privation, their\nsensibility applauds thy magnanimity; and their generosity will repay\nthy beneficence by the return it covets, by an imitation of thy\nvirtues, by pursuing thy course in the career of public utility.\n\n\u2018How much wealth, congealed by ostentation into useless heaps, shall\nmelt into flowing streams of prosperity! How much the prudent economy of\nindividuals might contribute to the restoration of the kingdom! How many\ntreasures, which the piety of our forefathers accumulated on the altars\nof our temples, will forsake their obscure cells without changing their\nsacred destination! \u201cThis I set apart, in times of prosperity;\u201d says\nreligion; \u201cit is fitting that I dispense it in the day of adversity. It\nwas not for myself\u2014a borrowed lustre adds nothing to my greatness\u2014it was\nfor you, and the state, that I levied this honourable tribute on the\nvirtues of your forefathers.\u201d\n\n\u2018Who can avoid being affected by such examples? What a moment to display\nour resources, to invoke the aid of every corner of the empire!\u2014O\nprevent the shame, with which the violation of our engagements, our most\nsacred engagements, would stain the birth of freedom! Prevent those\ndreadful shocks, which, in overturning the most solid institutions, and\nshattering the most established fortunes, would leave France covered\nwith the sad ruins of a shameful hurricane. How mistaken are those, who\nat a certain distance from the capital contemplate not the links, which\nconnect public faith with national prosperity, and with the social\ncontract! They who pronounce the infamous term bankruptcy, are they not\nrather a herd of ferocious beasts, than a society of men just and free?\nWhere is the frenchman who will dare to look his fellow citizens in the\nface, when his conscience shall upbraid him with having contributed to\nempoison the existence of millions of his fellow creatures? Are we the\nnation to whose honour it\u2019s enemies bear witness, who are about to sully\nthe proud distinction by a _BANKRUPTCY_?\u2014Shall we give them cause to\nsay, we have only recovered our liberty and strength to commit, without\nshuddering, crimes which paled even the cheek of despotism?\n\n\u2018Would it be any excuse to protest, that this execrable mischief was not\npremeditated? Ah! no: the cries of the victims, whom we shall scatter\nover Europe, will drown our voice. Act then!\u2014Be your measures swift,\nstrong, sure. Dispel the cloud, that lowers over our heads, the gloom of\nwhich sheds terrour into the hearts of the creditors of France.\u2014If it\nburst, the devastation of our national resources will be more tremendous\nthan the terrible plague, which has lately ravaged our provinces.\n\n\u2018How will our courage in the exercise of the functions, you have\nconfided to us, be renewed! With what vigour shall we labour in forming\nthe constitution, when secured from interruption! We have sworn to save\nour country\u2014judge of our anguish, whilst it trembles on the verge of\ndestruction. A momentary sacrifice is sufficient; a sacrifice offered to\nthe public good, and not to the encroachments of covetousness. And is\nthis easy expiation of the faults and blunders of a period, stigmatized\nby political servitude, above our strength? Think of the price which has\nbeen paid for liberty by other nations, who have shown themselves worthy\nof it:\u2014for this, rivers of blood have streamed\u2014long years of woe, and\nhorrid civil wars, have every where preceded the glorious birth!\u2014Of us\nnothing is required, but a pecuniary sacrifice\u2014and even this vulgar\noffering is not an impoverishing gift:\u2014it will return into our bosom, to\nenrich our cities, our fields; augmenting our national glory and\nprosperity.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n REFLECTIONS ON THE NEW MODE OF RAISING SUPPLIES. NO JUST SYSTEM OF\n TAXATION YET ESTABLISHED. PAPER MONEY. NECESSITY OF GRADUAL REFORM.\n\n\nThe task certainly was very difficult, at this crisis, for a minister to\ngive satisfaction to the people, and yet supply the wants of the state;\nfor it was not very likely that the public, who had been exclaiming\nagainst the incessant demands of the old government, would have been\npleased with new burdens, or patiently endured them. Still it is always\nthe height of folly in a financier, to attempt to supply the exigencies\nof government by any but specific and certain means: for such vague\nmeasures will ever produce a _deficit_, the consequences of which are\nmost pernicious to public credit and private comfort.\n\nA man, who has a precise sum to live upon, generally takes into his\nestimate of expences a certain part of his income as due to the\ngovernment, for the protection and social advantages it secures him.\nThis proportion of his income being commonly the same from period to\nperiod, he lays it by for that particular purpose, and contentedly\nenjoys the remainder. But, should a weak minister, or a capricious\ngovernment, call on him for an additional sum, because the taxes have\nproved unproductive, either through the inability of some of the members\nof the state, or that they were laid on articles of consumption, and the\nconsumption has not been equal to the calculation; it not only deranges\nhis schemes of domestic economy, but may be the cause of the most\nserious inconvenience.\n\nA man who has a limited income, and a large family, is not only obliged\nto be very industrious to support them, but he is likewise necessitated\nto make all his arrangements with the greatest circumspection and\nexactness; because a trifling loss, by involving him in debt, might lead\nto his ruin, including that of his family. The rich man, indeed, seldom\nthinks of these most cruel misfortunes; for a few pounds, more or less,\nare of no real importance to him. Yet the poor man, nay even the man of\nmoderate fortune, is liable to have his whole scheme of life broken by a\ncircumstance of this kind, and all his future days embittered by a\nperpetual struggle with pecuniary vexations.\n\nGovernments, which ought to protect, and not oppress mankind, cannot be\ntoo regular in their demands; for the manner of levying taxes is of the\nhighest importance to political economy, and the happiness of\nindividuals. No government has yet established a just system of\ntaxation[31]: for in every country the expences of government have\nfallen unequally on the citizens; and, perhaps, it is not possible to\nrender them perfectly equal, but by laying all the taxes on land, the\nmother of every production.\n\nIn this posture of affairs, the enthusiasm of the french in the cause of\nliberty might have been turned to the advantage of a new and permanent\nsystem of finance. An able, bold minister, who possessed the confidence\nof the nation, might have recommended with success the taking of the\nnational property under the direct management of the assembly; and then\nendeavouring to raise a loan on that property, he would have given\nrespectability to the new government, by immediately procuring the\nsupplies indispensably necessary not only to keep it, but to put it in\nmotion.\n\nIn times of civil commotion, or during a general convulsion, men who\nhave money, and they are commonly most timid and cautious, are very apt\nto take care of it, even at the expence of their interest; and,\ntherefore, it was to be presumed, that the monied men of France would\nnot have been very ready to subscribe to the different loans proposed by\nthe minister, unless the security had been obvious, or the speculative\nadvantages exorbitant. But if Necker, whom the prudent usurer adored as\nhis tutelar god, had said to the nation \u2018there is a property worth\n4,700,000,000 _l._ independent of the property of the emigrants, take it\ninto your immediate possession; and, whilst the sales are going on, give\nit as a guarantee for the loan you want. This just and dignified measure\nwill not only relieve your present necessities, but it will be\nsufficient to enable you to fulfil great part of your former\nengagements.\u2019 There would have been then no need of the eloquence of\nMirabeau; reason would have done the business; and men, attending to\ntheir own interest, would have promoted the public good, without having\ntheir heads turned giddy by romantic flights of heroism.\n\nThe immediate and incessant wants of a state must always be supplied;\nprudence therefore, requires, that the directors of the finances should\nrather provide by anticipation for it\u2019s wants than suffer a _deficit_.\nThe government being once in arrears, additional taxes become\nindispensable to bring forward the balance, or the nation must have\nrecourse to paper notes; an expedient, as experience has shown, always\nto be dreaded, because by increasing the debt it only extends the evil.\nAnd this increasing debt, like a ball of snow, gathering as it rolls,\nsoon attains a wonderful magnitude. Every state, which has unavoidably\naccumulated it\u2019s debt, ought, provided those at the helm wish to\npreserve the government, and extend the security and comforts of it\u2019s\ncitizens, to take every just measure to render the interest secure, and\nto fund the principal; for as it augments, like the petrifying mass, it\nstands in the way of all improvement, spreading the chilling miseries of\npoverty around\u2014till the evil baffling all expedients, a mighty crash\nproduces a new order of things, overwhelming, with the ruins of the old,\nthousands of innocent victims.\n\nThe precious metals have been considered as the best of all possible\nsigns of value, to facilitate the exchange of commodities, to supply our\nreciprocal wants: and they will ever be necessary to our comfort, whilst\nby the common consent of mankind they are the standards of exchange.\nGold and silver have a specific value, because it is not easy to\naccumulate them beyond a certain quantity. Paper, on the contrary, is a\ndangerous expedient, except under a well established government: and\neven then the business ought to be conducted with great moderation and\nsagacity.\u2014Perhaps it would be wise, that it\u2019s extent should be\nconsistent with the commerce of the country, and the quantity of species\nactually in it\u2014But it is the spirit of commerce to stretch credit too\nfar. The notes, also, which are issued by a state before it\u2019s government\nis well established, will certainly be depreciated; and in proportion as\nthey grow precarious, the gold and silver, which was formerly in\ncirculation will vanish, and every article of trade, and all the\ncomforts of life, will bear a higher price.\n\nThese are considerations, which ought to have occurred to the french\nminister, and have led him to take decided measures. The interest of the\nnational debt was 255,395,141 _l._ by a report for the year\n1792.\u2014Necker, by his account dated the 1st of may, 1789, states the\nincome at 475,294,000 _l._, and the expences at 531,533,000 _l._:\nconsequently there was a deficiency of 56,239,000 _l._; and it was not\nprobable, it could not even be expected, that during the convulsions of\na revolution, the taxes would be regularly paid: the debt, then, and the\ndemands of the state, must increase.\n\nThe credit of every government greatly depends on the regulation of it\u2019s\nfinances; and the most certain way to have given stability to the new\nsystem, would have been by making such arrangements as would have\ninsured promptitude of payment. No minister ever had it so much in his\npower to have taken measures glorious for France, beneficial to Europe,\nhappy for the people of the day, and advantageous to posterity. No\nepocha, since the inflated system of paper (the full blown bladders of\npublic credit, which may be destroyed by the prick of a pin) was\ninvented, ever appeared so favourable as that juncture in France, to\nhave overturned it completely: and by overlooking these circumstances,\nthe nation has probably lost most of the advantages, which her finances\nmight have gained by the revolution.\n\nSuch mistakes, whilst they involve in them a thousand difficulties,\nprove the necessity of gradual reform; lest the light, suddenly\nbreaking-in on a benighted people, should overpower the understanding it\nought to direct. The line in which Necker had been accustomed to move,\nby restraining what little energy his mind was capable of exerting,\nprecluded the possibility of his seeing the faint lines marked on an\nexpansive scale, which afforded the data for calculations; and the\nnation, confiding to him the direction of a business for which he had\nnot sufficient talents, seems to have contemplated in imagination a\nprospect, which has not yet been realized; and whilst expectation\nhovered on it\u2019s margin, the dazzling scenery was obscured by clouds the\nmost threatening and tremendous.\n\nThese are evils that from the beginning of time have attended\nprecipitate and great changes. The improvements in philosophy and morals\nhave been extremely tardy. All sudden revolutions have been as suddenly\noverturned, and things thrown back below their former state. The\nimprovements in the science of politics have been still more slow in\ntheir advancement than those of philosophy and morals; but the\nrevolution in France has been progressive. It was a revolution in the\nminds of men; and only demanded a new system of government to be adapted\nto that change. This was not generally perceived; and the politicians of\nthe day ran wildly from one extreme to the other, without recollecting,\nthat even Moses sojourning forty years in the wilderness could but\nconduct the jews to the borders of the promised land, after the first\ngeneration had perished in their prejudices; the most inveterate sins of\nmen.\n\nThis is not a discouraging consideration. Our ancestors have laboured\nfor us; and we, in our turn, must labour for posterity. It is by tracing\nthe mistakes, and profiting from the discoveries of one generation, that\nthe next is able to take a more elevated stand. The first inventor of\nany instrument has scarcely ever been able to bring it to a tolerable\ndegree of perfection; and the discoveries of every man of genius, the\noptics of Newton excepted, have been improved, if not extended, by their\nfollowers.\u2014Can it then be expected, that the science of politics and\nfinance, the most important, and most difficult of all human\nimprovements; a science which involves the passions, tempers, and\nmanners of men and nations, estimates their wants, maladies, comforts,\nhappiness, and misery, and computes the sum of good or evil flowing from\nsocial institutions; will not require the same gradations, and advance\nby steps equally slow to that state of perfection necessary to secure\nthe sacred rights of every human creature?\n\nThe vanity and weakness of men have continually tended to retard this\nprogress of things: still it is going forward; and though the fatal\npresumption of the headstrong french, and the more destructive ambition\nof their foreign enemies, have given it a check, we may contemplate with\ncomplacent serenity the approximation of the glorious era, when the\nappellations of fool and tyrant will be synonymous.\n\n\n\n\n AN\n HISTORICAL AND MORAL VIEW\n OF THE\n FRENCH REVOLUTION.\n\n\n\n\n _BOOK V._\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n ERROUR OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN NEGLECTING TO SECURE THE FREEDOM OF\n FRANCE. IT\u2019S CONDUCT COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE AMERICAN STATES.\nNECESSITY OF FORMING A NEW CONSTITUTION AS SOON AS AN OLD GOVERNMENT IS\n DESTROYED. THE DECLARING THE KING INVIOLABLE A WRONG MEASURE. SECURITY\n OF THE FRENCH AGAINST A COUNTERREVOLUTION. THE FLIGHT OF THE KING\n MEDITATED.\n\n\nThe conduct of the assembly in losing so much time\u2014the most precious\ntime to secure the happiness of their country, and enable the present\ngeneration to participate in the blessings they were preparing for\nposterity, instead of having to encounter all the miseries of anarchy,\ncan never be sufficiently lamented. France had already gained her\nfreedom; the nation had already ascertained certain, and the most\nimportant, political truths: it ought, therefore, to have been the next\nconsideration, how these were to be preserved, and the liberty of the\nempire consolidated on a basis that time would only render more firm.\n\nModerate men, or real patriots, would have been satisfied with what had\nbeen gained, for the present, allowing the rest to follow progressively.\nIt was the most political and the most reasonable way to secure the\nacquisition. In this situation France had to contend with the prejudices\nof half Europe, at least, and to counteract the influence of the\ninsidious intriguers, who were opposing themselves to her regeneration;\nto facilitate which the assembly ought to have made it one of their main\nobjects to render the king contented with the change; and then the\nmachinations of all the underminers of the revolution, would not have\nloosened one fundamental stone, to endanger the rising edifice.\n\nSuch is the difference between men acting from a practical knowledge,\nand men who are governed entirely by theory, or no principle whatever.\nMost of the United States of America formed their separate constitutions\nwithin a month, and none took more than three, after the declaration of\ntheir independence by congress. There certainly was a vast distinction\nbetween those States, then the colonies of Great Britain, and France\nafter the 14th of july; but both countries were without a government.\nAmerica with an enemy in the heart of their empire, and France\nthreatened with an attack. The leading men of America, however, knew,\nthat there was a necessity of having some kind of government, and seem\nto have perceived the ease, with which any subsequent alterations could\nbe effected. The members of the national assembly, on the contrary,\nfound themselves surrounded with ruins; and aiming at a state of\nperfection for which the minds of the people were not sufficiently\nmature; affecting likewise to be directed by a magnanimous\ndisinterestedness, they not only planted the germ of the most dangerous\nand licentious spirit, but they continued to irritate the desperate\ncourtiers, who, having determined to oppose stratagem to force, and not\nsucceeding, rested all their future hopes on the king\u2019s escape.\n\nThe liberty of the press, which had been virtually established, at this\nperiod, was a successful engine employed against the assembly. And to a\nnation celebrated for epigrammatic fancy, and whose taste had been so\nrefined by art, that they had lost the zest of nature, the simplicity of\nsome of the members, their awkward figures, and rustic gait, compared\nwith the courtly mien, and easy assurance of the chevaliers of\nVersailles, afforded an excellent subject. Some of these satires were\nwritten with considerable wit, and such a happy turn of caricature, that\nit is impossible not to laugh with the author, though indirectly\nridiculing the principles you hold sacred. The most respectable decrees,\nthe most important, and serious discussions, were twisted into jests;\nwhich divided the people without doors into two distinct parties; one,\nspeaking of the assembly with sovereign contempt, as a set of upstarts\nand babbling knaves; and the other, setting up new thrones for their\nfavourites, and viewing them with blind admiration, as if they were a\nsynod of demi-gods. The contenancing of this abuse of freedom was\nill-judged. The different parties were already sufficiently heated; yet\nit would have been impossible, perhaps, to have restrained the temper of\nthe times, so strong is the intoxication of a new folly, though it would\nhave been easy for the assembly to have passed a decree respecting\nlibels. But so ardent was become their passion for liberty, that they\nwere unable to discriminate between a licentious use of that important\ninvention, and it\u2019s real utility. Treating then with an untimely disdain\nthe many abusive publications, which were sold within the very walls\nwhere they were sitting, they were not aware of the effect which they\nproduced on the minds of mock heroes, who, having no principle but\nhonour, were ready to risk their lives to sooth distressed beauty, no\nmatter what produced it; or to alleviate the sufferings of a king,\nthough the consequence of his turpitude or tergiversation.\n\nAfter the wreck of a government the plan of a new constitution ought to\nbe immediately formed, that is, as soon as circumstances will possibly\nadmit, and presented to the citizens for their acceptance; or rather the\npeople should depute men for that purpose, and give them a limited time\nfor framing one. A constitution is a standard for the people to rally\nround. It is the pillar of a government, the bond of all social unity\nand order. The investigation of it\u2019s principles makes it a fountain of\nlight; from which issue the rays of reason, that gradually bring forward\nthe mental powers of the whole community. And whenever the wheels of\ngovernment, like the wheels of any other machine, are found clogged, or\ndo not move in a regular manner, they equally require alteration and\nimprovement: and these improvements will be proportionably perfect as\nthe people become enlightened.\n\nThe authority of the national assembly had been acknowledged nearly\nthree months previous to this epocha, without their having taken any\ndecided steps to secure these important ends. Indeed it does not appear\nto have been their first object. They seem not to have known, or at\nleast not to have been apprehensive, that, in proportion to the length\nof time that the people are without an established government,\nanarchists gain an ascendancy over their minds; and it then becomes no\neasy task to form a constitution adapted to their wayward tempers.\n\nWhen a few fundamental principles are ascertained, and the state has\ndetermined that they shall form the basis of it\u2019s polity, it seems to be\nno difficult matter to give motion to the new springs of government. It\nis true, that many of the prejudices of frenchmen were still inveterate,\nand in some measure influenced them; and it is also certain, that their\ntotal ignorance of the operations of any rational system of government\nwas an impediment to this motion; but it is nevertheless to be presumed,\nthat, the liberty of frenchmen having been previously secured by the\nestablishment of the declaration of rights, if the assembly had formed\nsome kind of a constitution, and proposed it to the nation, and to the\nking, if he were considered as forming a part of it, for their\nacceptation, the dispute between the people and court would have been\nbrought to a speedy issue; and the public attention directed to a point\nwould have given dignity and respectability to their proceedings. If\nsuch measures had been followed, and it appears a little strange they\nwere not, most probably the king and court, perceiving that their future\nconsequence wholly depended on their acquiescence with the state of\nreason, and temper of the times, would have relinquished all those\nabsurd and dangerous projects for overturning the rising political\nfabric of the nation, which anarchy fostered.\n\nIt is the pillars of a building, which indicate it\u2019s durability, and not\nthe minor beams that are inserted through them, in order to rear the\nstructure. The natural, civil, and political rights of man are the main\npillars of all social happiness; and by the firm establishment of them,\nthe freedom of men will be eternally secured. The moment, therefore, a\nstate has gained those important and sacred privileges, it is clear,\nthat it ought to form some kind of government, grounded upon this firm\nand broad basis, that being the only possible way to give them\npermanency. But the constituent assembly, unmindful of the dreadful\neffects beginning to flow from an unbounded licentiousness, continued to\npursue a romantic sublimity of character, dangerous to all sublunary\nlaws; whilst most interestedly attentive to things that should have been\nsubordinate to their first object, they were led into a procrastination,\nwhich in it\u2019s consequence has been fatal in the extreme.\n\nThe decree which made the king inviolable, passed on the 15th of\nSeptember, at the time the crown was declared hereditary, and the empire\nindivisible, was the most idle, if not the most dangerous measure, both\nfor him and France, which could have been devised. The former life of\nLouis had exhibited a series of follies, and displayed an insincerity\nnot to be tolerated, much less encouraged; and it was likely, if this\ndoctrine, a relict of the abasement of ignorance, that kings can do no\nwrong, should be carried into a law, forming part of the constitution,\nthat he would avail himself of the decree of the assembly to cover his\ncontempt of the national sovereignty. When kings are considered by the\ngovernment of a country merely as ciphers, it is very just and proper,\nthat their ministers should be responsible for their political conduct:\nbut at the moment when a state is about to establish a constitution on\nthe basis of reason, to undermine that foundation by a master-piece of\nabsurdity, appears a solecism as glaring as the doctrine itself is\nlaughable, when applied to an enlightened policy. In fact, whilst\nMirabeau contended for the infallibility of the king, he seems to have\nhad no right from reason to deride those who respected that of the\nchurch: for, if the government must necessarily be supported by a pious\nfraud, one was as respectable as the other.\n\nThe bigotry of Louis was well known; nay, it was notorious, that he\nemployed his confessor to erase from his tender conscience the\nremembrance of the vices he resolved to indulge, and to reconcile the\nmeanest dissimulation with a servile fear of the Being whose first\nattribute is truth.\u2014This man, whose bestiality had been carefully\npampered by the queen and count d\u2019Artois, because in those moments of\nrevelry, prolonged to the most disgusting excess of gluttony and\nintoxication, he would sanction all their demands, was made in his\nperson and conduct sacred and unimpeachable. This was the extreme folly\nof weakness. But, when it is also kept in view, that, at the very period\nwhen he was declared inviolable, he was suspected, in concert with the\ncourt, to be actually meditating his flight, there seems to be a\npusillanimity in it as contemptible as the pretended dignity of the\nassembly was ridiculous.\n\nTrue firmness consists in doing whatever is just and reasonable,\nuninfluenced by any other consideration. The defining the power of the\ncrown in the assembly to be subordinate to the authority of the people\nmust have appeared to the kings of Europe a dangerous encroachment on\ntheir indefeasible rights:\u2014a heresy tending to undermine their\nprivileges, should such audacity pass unchastized, and to destroy the\nsplendour of royalty by presuming to control it\u2019s omnipotence. It was\nthen scarcely to be expected, that their resentment would be appeased by\nshielding the person of Louis against the danger of intrigue and\nviolence. It was not, indeed, the preservation of the life of this\nunfortunate man, that interested them so sensibly as to appall the\nsycophants of Europe.\u2014No; it was the attack made on despotism; and the\nattempt to draw aside the splendid curtain which concealed it\u2019s folly,\nthat threw them into a general ferment and agitation. This agitation\ncould not fail to inspire the court of Versailles with hope, and they\nstood prepared to take advantage of the gathering storm, as eagerly as a\ndistressed mariner, who has long laid becalmed, perceiving at length a\ngentle heaving of the sea, and feeling the undulating motion of his\nbark, foresees the approaching breeze, and spreads his sails to catch\nthe first breath of wind. The effect of the feigned or real pity of many\nof the admirers of the old system, who were deeply wounded by the wrong\ndone, as they insisted, to their king, was to be dreaded; for it was not\nto be supposed, that the chivalrous spirit of France would be destroyed\nin an instant, though _swords had ceased to leap out of their scabbards_\nwhen beauty was not deified. It was then undoubtedly to be feared, that\nthey would risk their lives and fortunes to support the glory of their\nmaster, and their own notions of honour: and the assembly, by making\nLouis not accountable for any of his actions, however insincere, unjust,\nor atrocious, was affording all his abettors a shelter, encouraging at\nthe same time his hypocrisy, and relaxing the little energy of\ncharacter, which his misfortune seemed to be calling into play.\n\nMistaken lenity in politics is not more dangerous than a false\nmagnanimity is palpable littleness in the eyes of a man of simple\nintegrity. Besides, had the representatives of the people considered\nLouis merely as a man, it is probable he would have acted more like one.\nInstead of palliating the matter, they should, on the contrary, have\nproclaimed to all Europe, with a tone of dignified firmness, that the\nfrench nation, willing for themselves, regardless of the rights and\nprivileges of others, though respecting their prejudices, finding that\nno compromise could be formed between the court and people, whose\ninterest neither justice nor policy ever required should be distinct, do\nnot consider themselves accountable to any power or congress on earth,\nfor any measure they may choose to adopt in framing a constitution to\nregulate their own internal polity. That treating their monarch like a\nman, and not as a mere idol for state pageantry, they would wish, by\nestablishing the dignity of truth and justice, to give stability to the\nfreedom of frenchmen, and leave a monument in their institutions to\nimmortalize a sincere and acquiescing king. But that, though their ideas\nmight differ greatly from those of their neighbours, with whom they\ndesired to live on the most amicable terms, they would pursue the path\nof eternal reason in consolidating the rights of man; and by a striking\nexample lay the foundation of the liberty of the whole globe, of that\nliberty which had hitherto been confined to the small island of England,\nand enjoyed imperfectly even there.\n\nThe house of Austria was at this period engaged in a war with the turks,\nwhich obliged it to withdraw most of it\u2019s troops from Flanders; and the\nintelligence, that the flemings, highly discontented with the\ninnovations, which the vain weathercock Joseph the Second had made in\ntheir form of worship, were on the eve of an insurrection, more against\nthe folly of the man than the despotism of his court, calmed the fears\nof the french, as to the danger of being immediately attacked by\nGermany. This security, for they had no dread of Sardinia, made them\nconsider the possibility of a counter-revolution being effected by\nforeign enemies as far from alarming. It is true, there was not any just\ncause of apprehension, unless they took into the calculation, that the\npolicy of Europe for ages past had been subject to sudden changes; a\nstate of profound tranquillity giving place to sanguinary scenes of\nconfusion, and inhuman butcheries\u2014often about such trifling insults and\nidle pretentions, as individuals would be ashamed to make a pretext for\nquarrelling; and having reason to expect these changes as long as the\nsystems of courts preserve their existence, France could not reckon,\nwith any degree of certainty, on the continuation of peace.\u2014Neither did\nthe national assembly appear to have calculated upon it; for they\nundoubtedly betrayed symptoms of pusillanimity, when they suffered their\nconduct to be in the smallest degree influenced by the apprehension of a\ncombination of the crowned heads of Europe to replace the royal diadem\nof France, should the most brilliant of it\u2019s jewels be touched by\nprofane hands.\n\nThese fears, perhaps, were the secret cause, combined with the old habit\nof adoring the king, as a point of honour, and loving the court, as an\naffair of taste, that induced them to preserve the shadow of monarchy in\nthe new order of things. It\u2019s preservation might have been politically\nnecessary; because, before abolishing any ancient form, it is necessary\nto secure whatever political good may have flowed from it, and guard\nagainst being exhausted by cutting off an excrescence.\u2014But, if the\ncontinuance of a king in the new system were expedient to avert present\nevil, they should have allowed him the power necessary to give energy to\nthe government; and making him responsible for the rectitude of his\nactions, the man would have had a fair trial, and posterity, judging of\nhis conduct, would have been enabled to form a just estimate of a kingly\ngovernment.\n\nMachiavelian cunning, however, still directed the movements of all the\ncourts of Europe; and these political moles, too well perceiving the\ntimidity that was mixed with the blustering courage of the assembly,\nonly waited for a favourable season to overturn the rising edifice.\nTheir agents had private instructions to promote the escape of Louis, as\nthe surest mode of making a decided schism in the national politics; and\nthey firmly believed, that the affection still subsisting for his\nchristian majesty would facilitate the execution of their plan. The\ncourt also presuming on the divisions and lenity of the assembly, took\nthe most indefatigable pains to foster in the mind of the public, nay,\nin that of all Europe, pity for the degraded person of the king, and\ndetestation of the sacrilege, which had been committed on the dignity of\nroyalty. Their continual theme was the ignominious state to which the\nmost mild of the Bourbons was reduced, by men, who usurped the reins of\ngovernment, and trampled on the honours of that august and ancient\nfamily. Restraining the authority of a throne, which supported the most\nabominable tyranny, they were shaking the despotism, which held in\nbondage nine-tenths of the inhabitants of the world. These were alarming\nsignals to a certain class of men, to the drones and myrmidons who live\non the spoil and blood of industry and innocence. The intrusion of\nknowledge, which was sure to render them an useless set of beings in\nsociety, was to be prevented by ingenious clamours, whilst a great\nnumber of weak, well-meaning people, and still more knaves, enlisted\nunder their banner.\n\nThe universal damp, which the revolution had given to the courts of\nEurope, producing among them a lively sympathy for the sombre atmosphere\nof Versailles, a general sorrow was consequently expressed by all their\nminions, and expressed with unfeigned concern; for the want of the usual\nroutine of amusements tended to make it real. Hope, indeed, began again\nto animate them, when the king was prevailed on to concert his escape;\nyet their eagerness to accelerate his departure for the frontiers, where\nthey purposed to erect the royal standard, to avail themselves of the\nproximity of german connections, was in a great degree the cause of\ndefeating that ill-contrived design.\n\nA design formed very early, and systematically pursued, was probably\nrendered entirely abortive by the obstinacy of the court; who still\npersisted to cherish the belief, that the public opinion was changed\nonly for the moment, and that their deeply rooted love of royalty would\nbring them back to what they termed their duty, when the effervescence\nexcited by novelty had subsided. And thinking, that the cordial\nreception given by the parisians to the soldiery had contributed to\nestrange them, and effect the revolution, they determined to regain\ntheir lost ground, and dazzle them by feasts, instead of stealing on\ntheir affections by hospitality.\u2014Still, bearing impatiently their\nhumiliating situation, the courtiers could not help vauntingly exposing\ntheir project; and the babbling of joy showed the weakness of the heads,\nthat could so soon be intoxicated by hope.\n\nA preparatory step was thought necessary to awaken a sense of allegiance\nin the breasts of the people, and to promote a division amongst them, if\nnot their entire concurrence, after the cabinet should have securely in\ntheir possession the person of the king; and this division would then\nenable them to calculate their strength, and act accordingly. For this\npurpose, in spite of the comments that had been made on the festivity at\nVersailles, which seemed before to insult the misery of the people, and\ngreatly tended to provoke the exertions that overturned the Bastille and\nchanged the whole face of things, they projected another entertainment\nto seduce the military, encouraged to throng round the court, whilst\nfamine was at the very gates of Paris. But previously the old french\nguards, who had been incorporated with the _garde-bourgeoise_, began to\nmanifest some symptoms of discontent at not being allowed to guard the\nperson of the king. Whether they considered their honour as wounded, or\nwere spirited up to aspire at regaining this privilege, is not decided;\nbut it is clear, that the court, either to facilitate the entrance of\nfresh troops, or from a real dislike to men, who had taken such an\nactive part in disconcerting their first plot, opposed their wish; and\neven the municipality, as has been already noticed, was induced to\nrequest, that a regiment of fresh troops might be called in to guard the\nperson of the king, and keep the peace, which this trifling dispute,\nswelled into an insurrection in the report, threatened to disturb.\n\nThe king\u2019s body-guards, whose time of service expired the first of\noctober, were still retained with those who came to replace them; and an\nimmense crowd of supernumeraries continued daily to increase this corps,\nwhich had not yet sworn allegiance to the nation. The officers, in\nparticular, flocked to Versailles, amounting to between eleven or twelve\nhundred, constantly parading together. The universal topic was\ncommiseration of the king\u2019s fate, and insinuations respecting the\nambition of the assembly. Yet, even there the court party seemed to be\nprevailing: a president attached to loyalty was elected; and Mirabeau\u2019s\nremonstrances, respecting the augmentation of the troops, were\ndisregarded.\n\nMean time, not only the officers of the new regiment, but those of the\nnational guards, were caressed by the court, whilst the citizens, with\nmore sagacity, were lavish of their attention to the soldiers. The\ncabinet had not sufficient discernment to perceive, that the people were\nnow to be led, not driven; and the popular promoters of anarchy, to\nserve their private interest, availed themselves, unfortunately, but too\nwell of this want of judgment.\u2014Thus whilst one party, declaiming on the\nnecessity of order, seemed to be endeavouring to rivet on them the\nchains of servitude, the other lifted them above the law with vain\nglorious notions of their sovereignty.\u2014And this sovereignty of the\npeople, the perfection of the science of government, only to be attained\nwhen a nation is truly enlightened, consisted in making them tyrants;\nnay the worst of tyrants, because the instruments of mischief of the\nmen, who pretended to be subordinate to their will, though acting the\nvery part of the ministers whom they execrated.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\nENTERTAINMENT AT VERSAILLES. THE NATIONAL COCKADE TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT. A\nMOB OF WOMEN PROCEED TO THE HOTEL-DE-VILLE\u2014AND THENCE TO VERSAILLES. THE\nKING\u2019S REPLY TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY\u2019S REQUEST, THAT HE WOULD SANCTION\n THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS AND THE FIRST ARTICLES OF THE CONSTITUTION.\n DEBATES ON IT. ARRIVAL OF THE MOB AT VERSAILLES. THE KING RECEIVES A\n DEPUTATION FROM THE WOMEN, AND SANCTIONS THE DECREE FOR THE FREE\nCIRCULATION OF GRAIN. THE ASSEMBLY SUMMONED. LA FAYETTE ARRIVES WITH THE\n PARISIAN MILITIA. THE PALACE ATTACKED BY THE MOB\u2014WHO ARE DISPERSED BY\nTHE NATIONAL GUARDS. REFLECTIONS ON THE CONDUCT OF THE DUKE OF ORLEANS.\n\n\nOn the first of october, in consequence of these fresh machinations, a\nmagnificent entertainment was given in the name of the king\u2019s\nbody-guards; but really by some of their principal officers, at the\nopera-house of the castle. The affectation of excluding the dragoons,\ndistinguished for their attachment to liberty, seemed to show, but too\nplainly, the end in view, rendered still more conspicuous by the unusual\nfamiliarity of persons of the first rank with the lowest soldiers.\n\nWhen their heads were heated by a sumptuous banquet, by the tumult of an\nimmense crowd, and the great profusion of delicious wines and\n_liqueurs_, the conversation, purposely turned into one channel, became\nunrestrained, and a chivalrous scene completed the folly. The queen, to\ntestify her satisfaction for the homage paid to her, and the wishes\nexpressed in her favour, exhibited herself to this half-drunken\nmultitude; carrying the dauphin in her arms, whom she regarded with a\nmixture of sorrow and tenderness, and seeming to implore in his favour\nthe affection and zeal of the soldiers.\n\nThis acting, for it is clear that the whole was a preconcerted business,\nwas still more intoxicating than the wine.\u2014The exclamation _vive le roi,\nvive la reine_, resounded from all sides, and the royal healths were\ndrunk over drawn swords, whilst that of the nation was rejected with\ncontempt by the body-guards. The music, the choice could not have been\nthe effect of chance, played the well known air\u2014O Richard! O my king!\nthe universe abandons thee[32]! and during this moment of fascination\nsome voices, perhaps bribed for the occasion, mingled execrations\nagainst the assembly. A grenadier even darted from the midst of his\ncomrades, and accusing himself of having been unfaithful to his prince,\nendeavoured, several times, to plunge his sword into his bosom. His held\narm was not indeed allowed to search for the disloyal heart; but some\nblood was permitted to flow\u2014and this theatrical display of sensibility,\ncarried to the highest pitch, produced emotions almost convulsive in the\nwhole circle, of which an english reader can scarcely form an idea. The\nking, who is always represented as innocent, though always giving proofs\nthat he more than connived at the attempts to recover his power, was\nlikewise prevailed on to show himself at this entertainment. And some of\nthe same soldiery, who had refused to second the former project of the\ncabal, were now induced to utter insults and menaces against the very\nauthority, they then supported. \u2018The national cockade,\u2019 exclaimed\nMirabeau, \u2018that emblem of the defenders of liberty, has been torn in\npieces, and stamped under foot; and another ensign put in it\u2019s\nplace.\u2014Yes; even under the eye of the monarch, who allowed himself to be\nstyled\u2014_Restorer of the rights of his people_, they have dared to hoist\na signal of faction.\u2019\n\nThe same scene was renewed two days after, though with less parade; and\ninvitations for a similar treat were given for the following week.\n\nThe rumour respecting them, which reached Paris, contained many\nexaggerated circumstances; and was regarded as the commencement of fresh\nhostilities, on the part of the court. The cry now was, that the stunned\naristocracy had again reared it\u2019s head; and that a number of old\nofficers, chevaliers of St. Louis, had signed a promise to join the\nbody-guards in a new attempt. This list was said to contain thirty\nthousand signatures; and idle as the tale was, it seemed to be confirmed\nby the appearance of white and black cockades, which inconsiderate\nindividuals displayed at the risk of their lives. These, said the\nparisians, are the first indications of a projected civil war\u2014the court\nwish only to have the king safe to head them before they speak out:\u2014he\nought, therefore, to be removed to Paris, inferred the politicians of\nthe palais royal. The exasperating of the people in this manner was\ncertainly the most absurd blundering folly that could have ruined a\nparty, who apparently saw the necessity of dividing the people in order\nto conquer them. It was, in fact, a species of madness, and can be\naccounted for only by recollecting the ineffable contempt really felt by\nthe court for the _canaille_, which made them still imagine the\nrevolution to be only a temporary convulsion, not believing it possible,\nin spite of the daily events, that they could be crushed by the mass\nthey despised. Their presumption proceeded from their ignorance, and was\nincurable.\n\nThe queen was supposed to be at the head of this weak conspiracy, to\nwithdraw the soldiery from siding with the people. She had presented\ncolours to the national guards of Versailles, and when they waited on\nher to express their thanks, she replied, with the most winning\naffability, \u2018the nation and the army ought to be as well affected to the\nking as we ourselves are. I was quite charmed with what passed on\nthursday.\u2019 This was the day of the feast.\n\nA scarcity of bread, the common grievance of the revolution, aggravated\nthe vague fears of the parisians, and made the people so desperate, that\nit was not difficult to persuade them to undertake any enterprize; and\nthe torrent of resentment and enthusiasm required only to be directed to\na point to carry every thing before it. Liberty was the constant watch\nword; though few knew in what it consisted.\u2014It seems, indeed, to be\nnecessary, that every species of enthusiasm should be fermented by\nignorance to carry it to any height. Mystery alone gives full play to\nthe imagination, men pursuing with ardour objects indistinctly seen or\nunderstood, because each man shapes them to his taste, and looks for\nsomething beyond even his own conception, when he is unable to form a\njust idea.\n\nThe parisians were now continually brooding over the wrongs they had\nheretofore only enumerated in a song; and changing ridicule into\ninvective, all called for redress, looking for a degree of public\nhappiness immediately, which could not be attained, and ought not to\nhave been expected, before an alteration in the national character\nseconded the new system of government.\n\nFrom the enjoyment of more freedom than the women of other parts of the\nworld, those of France have acquired more independence of spirit than\nany others; it has, therefore, been the scheme of designing men very\noften since the revolution, to lurk behind them as a kind of safe-guard,\nworking them up to some desperate act, and then terming it a folly,\nbecause merely the rage of women, who were supposed to be actuated only\nby the emotions of the moment. Early then on the fifth of october a\nmultitude of women by some impulse were collected together; and\nhastening to the _h\u00f4tel-de-ville_ obliged every female they met to\naccompany them, even entering many houses to force others to follow in\ntheir train.\n\nThe concourse, at first, consisted mostly of market women, and the\nlowest refuse of the streets, women who had thrown off the virtues of\none sex without having power to assume more than the vices of the other.\nA number of men also followed them, armed with pikes, bludgeons, and\nhatchets; but they were strictly speaking a mob, affixing all the odium\nto the appellation it can possibly import; and not to be confounded with\nthe honest multitude, who took the Bastille.\u2014In fact, such a rabble has\nseldom been gathered together; and they quickly showed, that their\nmovement was not the effect of public spirit.\n\nThey first talked of addressing the committee appointed by the\nmunicipality to superintend the operations necessary to obtain provision\nfor the city, and to remonstrate respecting their inattention or\nindifference to the public calamity. Mean time a new cord was fixed to\nthe notorious lamp-iron, where the amusement of death was first\ntolerated. The national guards, forming a hedge of bayonets to prevent\nthe women from entering the hotel, kept them in suspense a few\nmoments.\u2014When, uttering a loud and general cry, they hurled a volley of\nstones at the soldiers, who, unwilling, or ashamed, to fire on women,\nthough with the appearance of furies, retreated into the hall, and left\nthe passage free. They then sought for arms; and breaking open the doors\nof the magazines, soon procured fusils, cannons, and ammunition; and\neven took advantage of the confusion to carry off money and notes\nbelonging to the public. In the interim some went to search for the\nvolunteers of the Bastille, and chose a commander from among them to\nconduct the party to Versailles; whilst others tied cords to the\ncarriages of the cannons to drag them along.\u2014But these, being mostly\nmarine artillery, did not follow with the alacrity necessary to accord\nwith their wishes; they, therefore, stopped several coaches, forcing the\nmen to get out and the ladies to join them; fastening the cannons\nbehind, on which a number of the most furious mounted, brandishing\nwhatever weapon they had found, or the matches of the cannons. Some\ndrove the horses, and others charged themselves with the care of the\npowder and ball, falling into ranks to facilitate their march. They took\nthe road by the _Champs Elys\u00e9es_ about noon, to the number of four\nthousand, escorted by four or five hundred men, armed with every thing\non which they could lay their hands.\n\nMean time the _tocsin_ sounded from all parts; the french guards, still\nurged on by wounded pride, loudly declared, that the king ought to be\nbrought to Paris; and many of the citizens, not on duty, concurred with\nthe rest of the national guards in the same opinion, particularly those\naccustomed to attend the harangues at the Palais Royal. La Fayette,\nrefusing to accompany, endeavoured to calm them. But finding, that the\ntumult increased, and that prayers were giving place to menaces, he\noffered to make known to the king, at their head, the wishes of the\ncapital, if the municipality gave him orders to this effect. Their\ncouncil was now assembled; yet prolonging the deliberation till between\nfour and five o\u2019clock in the afternoon, the people became so very\nimpatient, that it was thought prudent to allow them to set out: and the\nexclamations of the populace proved how easy it was to govern, or lead\nthem astray, by every fresh hope.\n\nFew events have happened at Paris, that have not been attributed by the\ndifferent parties to the machinations of the leaders on the other side;\nto blacken whose characters, when they had the upper hand, the most\naudacious falsehoods have been industriously circulated; the detection\nof which has induced many calm observers to believe, that all the\naccounts of plots and conspiracies were fabricated in the same manner;\nnot considering, that even the universality of these suspicions was a\nproof of the intriguing character of the people, who from a knowledge of\nthemselves became thus mistrustful of others. It was currently reported,\nthat very considerable sums had been distributed amongst the mob, before\nit marched to Versailles; and, though many fabulous stories of showers\nof gold have since been retailed by the credulous, this seems, from\ntheir subsequent conduct, to have had some foundation: for nothing like\nthe heroism, the disinterestedness, appeared, which, in most other\nrisings of the parisians, has formed a striking contrast with their\nbarbarity; sometimes sufficient to oblige us, lamenting the delusions of\nignorance, to give the soft name of enthusiasm to cruelty; respecting\nthe intention, though detesting the effects. Now, on the contrary,\nacting like a gang of thieves, they gave colour to the report\u2014that the\nfirst instigators of the riot were hired assassins.\u2014And hired by\nwhom?\u2014The public voice repeats, on every side, the despicable duke of\nOrleans, whose immense estate had given him an undue influence in the\nbailliages, and who still exercised all the means that cunning could\ndevise, and wealth produce, to revenge himself on the royal family. He\nwas particularly incensed against the queen, who having treated him with\nthe contempt which he doubtless merited, and even influenced the king to\nbanish him to one of his country seats, when he uttered some popular\nsentiments, he continued to nourish the most implacable hatred to her\nperson, whilst the changing sentiments of the nation respecting the\npresent branch of his family excited in him hopes, that would at once\nhave gratified both his revenge and his ambition.\n\nThere is no calculating the mischief which may be produced by a\nrevengeful cunning knave, possessing the forcible engine of gold to move\nhis projects, and acting by agency, which, like a subterraneous fire,\nthat for a long time has been putting the combustible matter into a\nstate of fusion, bursts out unexpectedly, and the sudden eruption\nspreads around terrour and destruction.\n\nThe agents of despotism, and of vengeful ambition, employed the same\nmeans to agitate the minds of the parisians; and covered as they now are\nwith foul stains, it is an acknowledgement due to their original good\ndisposition, to note, that at this period they were so orderly it\nrequired considerable management to lead them into any gross\nirregularity of conduct. It was, therefore, necessary for the duke\u2019s\ninstruments to put in motion a body of the most desperate women; some of\nwhom were half famished for want of bread, which had purposely been\nrendered scarce to facilitate the atrocious design of murdering both the\nking and queen in a broil, that would appear to be produced solely by\nthe rage of famine.\n\nThe shameless manner in which the entertainment of the officers of the\nbody-guards had been conducted; the indiscreet visit of the queen to\ninterest the army in the cause of royalty, coming in artfully after the\nrabble of soldiers had been allowed to enter; together with the\nimprudent expressions of which she afterwards made use; served as\npretexts, nay, may have been some of the causes of these women\nsuspecting, that the dearth of bread in the capital was owing to the\ncontrivance of the court, who had so often produced the same effect to\npromote their sinister purposes. They believed then, that the only sure\nway to remedy such a grievous calamity, in future, would be to implore\nthe king to reside at Paris: and the national militia, composed of more\norderly citizens, who thought the report of a premeditated escape was\nnot without foundation, imagined, that they should nip a civil war in\nthe bud, by preventing the king\u2019s departure, and separate him\neffectually from the cabal, to whom they attributed all his misconduct.\n\nWhilst the multitude were advancing, the assembly were considering the\nking\u2019s reply to their request to sanction the declaration of rights, and\nthe first articles of the constitution, before the supplies were\ngranted. The reply was couched in terms somewhat vague, yet it\u2019s meaning\ncould not be misunderstood.\u2014He observed, that the articles of the\nconstitution could be judged of only in their connection with the whole;\nnevertheless he thought it natural, that at the moment the nation was\ncalled upon to assist the government by a signal act of confidence and\npatriotism, they should expect to be re-assured respecting their\nprincipal interest.\u2014\u2018Accordingly,\u2019 he continues, \u2018taking it for granted,\nthat the first articles of the constitution, which you have presented to\nme, united to the completion of your labours, will satisfy the wishes of\nmy people, and secure the happiness and prosperity of the kingdom,\nconformably to your desire I accept them; but with one positive\ncondition, from which I will never depart; namely, that from the general\nresult of your deliberations the executive power shall have it\u2019s entire\neffect in the hands of the monarch. Still it remains for me to assure\nyou with frankness, that, if I give my sanction of acceptance to the\nseveral articles, which you have laid before me, it is not because they\nindiscriminately give me an idea of perfection; but I believe it\nlaudable in me to pay this respect to the wishes of the deputies of the\nnation, and to the alarming circumstances, which so earnestly press us\nto desire above all things the prompt re-establishment of peace, order,\nand confidence.\n\n\u2018I shall not deliver my sentiments respecting your declaration of the\nrights of man and of citizens. It contains excellent maxims proper to\ndirect your deliberations; but principles susceptible of application,\nand even of different interpretations, cannot be justly appreciated, and\nhave only need of being so when their true sense is determined by the\nlaws, to which they ought to be the basis.\u2019\n\nIn the subterfuge employed in this answer, the profound dissimulation of\nthe king appears; and that \u2018pitiful respect for false honour,\u2019 which\nmakes a man boggle at a naked untruth, even when uttering a number of\ncontemptible prevarications. Thus did he at first struggle against every\nconcession, against granting any real freedom to the people; yet\nafterwards unable to maintain his ground, he impotently gave way before\nthe storm he had raised, every time losing a part of the authority which\ndepended on opinion.\n\nThe assembly manifested an universal discontent. One of the members\nremarked, that the king withheld his acceptance of the declaration of\nrights; and only yielded to circumstances in accepting the\nconstitutional articles: he, therefore, moved, that no taxes should be\nlevied, before the declaration of rights and the constitution should be\naccepted, without any reservation.\u2014Another asserted, that the king\u2019s\nreply ought to have been counter-signed by one of the ministers. What an\nabsurdity! yet the inviolability of the king standing in their way, it\nseemed to be necessary to secure ministerial responsibility, to render\nit null; not only to prevent the ministers from finding shelter behind\nit, but to make it utterly useless to the king, who was thus, literally\nspeaking, reduced to a cipher. Mirabeau, however, after alluding with\nenergy to the entertainment, which, out of derision, had been termed\npatriotic, made three or four motions. One was, \u2018that no act emanating\nfrom the king should be declared without the signature of a secretary of\nstate.\u2019\u2014So inconsistent was the man, who argued with such eloquence for\nthe absolute _veto_:\u2014Another was, \u2018that his majesty would please to be\nexplicit; and not by a conditional consent, extorted by circumstances,\nleave any doubt of his sincere concurrence in the mind of the people.\u2019\nIt was also noticed, to corroborate the inference, that the king was\nonly yielding, for the moment, to opinions which he hoped to see\nexploded, that the decree for the circulation of grain had been altered\nbefore the publication, and the usual preamble, _for such is our\npleasure_, formed a strange contrast with an acknowledgement of the\nlegislative rights of the nation. Robespierre, particularly, maintained,\nthat the nation had not any need of the assistance of the monarch to\nconstitute itself\u2014that the king\u2019s reply was not an acceptance, but a\ncensure; and, consequently, an attack on the rights of the people.\n\nThis seemed virtually the opinion of the assembly, though Mirabeau\u2019s\nsoft style of expressing their will was adopted. It was particularly in\nthis decision, that the deputies displayed a great degree of the\nweakness, which mistakes temerity for courage, and the shadow of justice\nfor verity.\u2014And affecting to say, to reconcile a contradiction, that the\nauthority of kings is suspended as often as the sovereign is occupied in\nframing the elements of the constitution, or altering fundamental laws,\nthey demonstrated the inconsistency of their own system, and\nacknowledged it\u2019s absurdity; which is still more flagrantly shown in\nMirabeau\u2019s irrational declaration, that, \u2018by a pious fiction of the law,\nthe king cannot himself deceive; but the grievances of the people\ndemanding victims, these victims are the ministers.\u2019\n\nAt this juncture of the debate the tumultuous concourse of women arrived\nat Versailles: but it must not be unnoticed, that there was a number of\nmen with them, disguised in women\u2019s clothes; which proves, that this was\nnot, as has been asserted, a sudden impulse of necessity, There were\nbesides men in their own garb armed like ruffians, with countenances\nanswerable, who, swearing vengeance against the queen and the\nbody-guards, seemed to be preparing to put their threats in execution.\nSome barbarians, volunteers in guilt, might perhaps have joined, spurred\non solely by the hope of plunder, and a love of tumult; but it is clear,\nthat the principal movers played a surer game.\n\nThe women had taken two routes; and one party, without arms, presented\nthemselves at the gate of the assembly, whilst the other clustered round\nthe palace waiting for them. The avenues were already filled with\nbody-guards, the flanders regiment was drawn up in ranks; in short, the\nsoldiers were gathered together quickly in one quarter, though the\npeople of Versailles were exceedingly alarmed, and particularly by the\nappearance of the vagabonds, who followed the female mob.\n\nWith some difficulty the women were prevailed on to allow a few to enter\norderly into the assembly, with a spokesman to make known their demand;\nwhilst crowds, taking refuge in the galleries from the rain, presented\nthere the strange sight of pikes, fusils, and tremendous sticks bound\nwith iron. Their orator represented the grievances of the people, and\nthe necessity of continually providing for their subsistence: he\nexpressed the concern of the parisians on account of the slow formation\nof the constitution, and attributed this delay to the opposition of the\nclergy. A bishop then presided in the absence of Mounier, the president,\nwho had been dispatched by the assembly with their expostulatory\npetition to the king. A deputy, to spare him the embarrassment of a\nreply to the insinuation against his order, reprimanded the petitioner\nfor calumniating that respectable body. He accordingly made an apology,\nyet justified himself by declaring, that he only reported the purport of\nthe discontentment of Paris. They were informed, in reply, by the\nvice-president, that a deputation was already sent to the king,\nrequesting his sanction of a decree to facilitate the interiour\ncirculation of grain and flour: and finding, that it was impossible to\nattend to the business of the day, he adjourned the assembly, without\nwaiting for the return of the president.\n\nThe women about the palace entered into conversation with the soldiers,\nsome of whom said, \u2018that were the king to recover all his authority, the\npeople would never want bread!\u2019 This indiscreet insinuation exasperated\nthem; and they replied in the language, that is proverbial for being the\nmost abusive. A fray also ensuing, brought on by a dispute relative to\nthe affair of the cockades, one of the body-guards drew his sword, which\nprovoked a national guard of Versailles to give him a blow with his\nmusket, that broke his arm.\n\nThe national troops were eager to convince the mob, that they were\nequally offended at the disrespect paid to the emblem of liberty; and\nthe flemish regiment, though they were in battle array, made the women\nlet their rings drop into their guns, to be convinced that they were not\ncharged: saying, \u2018It was true, they had drunk the wine of the body\nguards; but what did that engage them to do? They had also cried, _vive\nle roi_, as the people themselves did every day; and it was their\nintention to serve him faithfully, but not against the nation!\u2019\u2014with\nother speeches to the same effect;\u2014adding, \u2018that one of their officers\nhad ordered a thousand cockades; and they knew not why they were not\ndistributed!\u2019 Enraged by the tenour of this discourse, a body-guard\u2019s\nman struck one of the soldiers talking thus, who, in return, fired on\nhim, and fractured his arm. All was now confusion; and every thing\ntended to render the body-guards more odious to the populace.\n\nThe king arrived in the midst of it from hunting, and admitted at the\nsame time the deputation from the national assembly, and an address from\nthe women. He received the latter with great affability, testified his\nsorrow on account of the scarcity of bread at Paris, and immediately\nsanctioned the decree, relative to the free circulation of grain, which\nhe had just received from the assembly. The woman who spoke, attempting\nto kiss his hand, he embraced her with politeness, and dismissed them in\nthe most gentleman-like manner. They immediately rejoined their\ncompanions, charmed by the reception they had met with; and the king\nsent orders to the guards not to make use of their arms. The count\nd\u2019Estaing, the commander in chief, announced likewise to the militia of\nVersailles, that the body-guards would the next day take the oath of\nallegiance to the nation, and put on the patriotic cockade. \u2018They are\nnot worthy,\u2019 was the indignant growl of the multitude.\n\nSome women now returning to Paris, to report the gracious behaviour of\nthe king, were unfortunately maltreated by a detachment of body-guards,\ncommanded by a nobleman; and the volunteers of the Bastille coming to\ntheir assistance, two men, and three horses, were killed on the spot.\nThese same irritated women meeting, likewise, the parisian militia, on\ntheir way to Versailles, gave them an exaggerated description of the\nconduct of the guards.\n\nThe court now taking the alarm, fearing that their plan would be\ndefeated, by the king\u2019s being obliged to go to Paris, urged him\nimmediately to get out for Metz, and the carriages were actually\nprepared. It is scarcely credible that they would have gone so far\nwithout his concurrence.\n\nOne loaded coach had been permitted to go out of the gate; but the\nnational troops beginning to suspect what was going forward, obliged it\nto re-enter. The king then, with his usual address, finding his escape\nat that time impracticable, and not wishing to shed blood in forcing his\nway, made a merit of necessity, and declared he would rather perish than\nsee the blood of frenchmen streaming in his quarrel! So easy is it for a\nman, versed in the language of duplicity, to impose on the credulous;\nand to impress on candid minds a belief of an opinion that they would\ngladly receive without any doubting allay, did not other circumstances\nmore strongly contradict the persuasion. This declaration, however,\nwhich was re-echoed with great eagerness, was considered as a manifest\nproof of the purity of his intentions, and a mark of his fixed adherence\nto the cause which he affected to espouse. Yet, to prove the contrary,\nit is only necessary to observe, that he put off the acceptance of the\ndeclaration of rights, and the first articles of the constitution, till\nafter the attempt to escape was frustrated: for it was near eleven\no\u2019clock when he sent for the president, to put into his hands a simple\nacceptation, and to request him to convoke the assembly immediately,\nthat he might avail himself of their counsel at this crisis; alarmed by\nthe mob without, who, exposed to all the inclemency of the weather, it\nbeing a very wet and stormy night, were uttering the most horrid\nimprecations against the queen and the body-guards.\n\nA drum instantly summoned the assembly; and La Fayette arriving with his\narmy in less than an hour after, the president was again called for, who\nreturned to the assembly with the king\u2019s assurance, that he had not even\nthought of leaving them, nor would he ever separate himself from the\nrepresentatives of the people.\n\nLa Fayette had previously assured the king of the fidelity of the\nmetropolis, and that he had been expressly sent by the municipality of\nParis to guard his august person. A rumour had prevailed, ever since the\narrival of the women, that the parisian militia were coming to second\nthem; but as the _commune_ of Paris had not determined till late in the\nafternoon, the messenger from La Fayette to the palace could not have\nreached Versailles long before him: but the court supposing that they\nwould come, and having heard of the wish of the parisians to bring the\nking to Paris, where they had always spies to give them the earliest\nnotice of what was going forward, pressed him to set out without loss of\ntime; still they were actuated solely by the desire of getting him away,\nand not from any apprehension that his life was in danger.\n\nAfter tranquilizing the king, La Fayette joined the parisian militia in\nthe avenue, to inform them, that the king had sanctioned the decree of\nthe assembly for expediting the more speedy circulation of provisions;\nthat he accepted, without any reservation, of the declaration of rights,\nwith the first articles of the constitution, declaring at the same time\nhis unshaken resolution to remain among his people; and that he\nconsented also to have a detachment of the national troops of Paris to\ncontribute to guard his person.\n\nJoy now took place of dread at Versailles; and the citizens distributed\ntheir addresses amongst the soldiers, offering them lodgings; they\nhaving been previously requested, by the beating of a drum, to receive\nas many of the parisian militia as they possibly could. The rest, after\npassing several hours in arms round the palace, sought for shelter, as\nthe morning began to dawn, in the churches. Every thing appearing quiet,\nthe harassed king and queen were prevailed on to seek the repose they\nneeded; and La Fayette, about five in the morning, retired to his\nchamber, to write to the municipality an account of his proceedings,\nbefore he likewise endeavoured to snatch a little rest.\n\nScarcely an hour after, the restless mob, great part of which had taken\nrefuge in the hall and galleries of the assembly, began to prowl about.\nThe most decent of the women, who had been pressed into the service,\nstole away during the night. The rest, with the whole gang of ruffians,\nrushed towards the palace, and finding its avenues unguarded, entered\nlike a torrent; and some among them, most probably, conceived, that this\nwas the moment to perpetrate the crime for which they had been drawn\nfrom their lurking-holes in Paris.\n\nInsulting one of the body-guards who opposed their entrance, he fired,\nand killed a man. This was a fresh pretext for entering to search for\nthe murderer, as he was termed by these rioters; and driving the guards\nbefore them up the grand stair-case, they began to break into the\ndifferent apartments, vowing vengeance against the body-guards, in which\nwere mingled the bitterest curses, all levelled at the queen.\n\nCatching one unfortunate guard by himself, he was dragged down the\nstairs; and his head, instantly severed from his body, was mounted on a\npike, which rather served to irritate than glut the fury of the\nmonsters, who were still hunting after blood or plunder.\n\nThe most desperate found their way to the queen\u2019s chamber, and left for\ndead the man who courageously disputed their entrance. But she had been\nalarmed by the tumult, though the miscreants were not long in making\ntheir way good, and, throwing a wrapping-gown around her, ran, by a\nprivate passage, to the king\u2019s apartment, where she found the dauphin;\nbut the king was gone in quest of her: he, however, quickly returning,\nthey waited together in a horrid state of suspense. Several of the\nguards, who endeavoured to keep back the mob, were wounded; yet all this\nhappened in a very short space of time.\n\nThe promptitude and rapidity of this movement, taking every circumstance\ninto consideration, affords additional arguments in support of the\nopinion, that there had been a premeditated design to murder the royal\nfamily. The king had granted all they asked the evening before; sending\naway great part of the multitude delighted with his condescension; and\nthey had received no fresh provocation to excite this outrage. The\naudacity of the most desperate mob has never led them, in the presence\nof a superiour force, to attempt to chastise their governors; and it is\nnot even probable that banditti, who had been moved by the common causes\nof such insurrections, should have thought of murdering their sovereign,\nwho, in the eyes of the greater number of frenchmen, was still shrouded\nby that divinity, tacitly allowed to hover round kings, much less have\ndared to attempt it.\n\nLa Fayette was quickly roused; and, sending his _aides-de-camp_ to\nassemble the national guards, he followed the ruffians with equal\ncelerity. They had actually forced the king\u2019s apartment at the moment he\narrived; and the royal family were listening to the increasing tumult as\nthe harbinger of death,\u2014when all was hushed,\u2014and the door opening a\nmoment after, the national guards entered respectfully, saying they came\nto save the king;\u2014\u2018and we will save you too, gentlemen,\u2019 added they,\naddressing the body-guards, who were in the chamber.\n\nThe vagabonds were now pursued in their turn, and driven from room to\nroom, in the midst of their pillage, for they had already begun to\nransack that sumptuously furnished palace. From the palace they repaired\nto the stables, still intent on plunder, and carried away some horses,\nwhich were as quickly retaken. Every where they pursued the body-guards,\nand every where the generous parisian troops, forgetting their piqued\npride and personal animosity, hazarded their lives to save them.\u2014Till,\nat length, order was perfectly established.\n\nSuch was the termination of this most mysterious affair; one of the\nblackest of the machinations that have since the revolution disgraced\nthe dignity of man, and sullied the annals of humanity. Disappointed in\ntheir main object, these wretches beheaded two of the guards, who fell\ninto their hands; and hurried away towards the metropolis, with the\n_insignia_ of their atrocity on the points of the barbarous instruments\nof vengeance\u2014showing in every instance, by the difference of their\nconduct, that they were a set of monsters, distinct from the people.\n\nWhilst nature shudders at imputing to any one a plan so inhuman, the\ngeneral character and life of the duke of Orleans warrant the belief,\nthat he was the author of this tumult. And when we compare the\nsingularly ferocious appearance of the mob, with the brutal violation of\nthe apartment of the queen, there remains little doubt, but that a\ndesign was on foot against the lives of both her and the king.\u2014Yet in\nthis, and most other instances, the man has wanted courage to consummate\nhis villany, when the plot he had been following up was ripe.\n\nIt is, perhaps, not the least noble faculty of the mind, to question the\nmotives of action, which are repugnant to the feelings of nature,\noutraging the most sacred feelings of the human soul. But it is the\ndevelopement of a character, that enables us to estimate it\u2019s depravity;\nand had the conduct of that wretch ever varied, the veil of mystery\nmight still have remained unrent, and posterity, hearing of the judgment\nof the ch\u00e2telet, would have believed _Egalit\u00e9_ innocent. The court had\nbecome highly obnoxious to the nation, and with it the king was\nimplicated, in spite of the efforts of Mirabeau, and some other\nfavourites of the people, to render him respectable; so that there\nwanted not a plausible: reason for suspecting, that the duke might\naspire at obtaining the regency, though Louis was neither massacred, nor\nallowed to escape. But the present scheme being disconcerted, fear, for\na while, damped his ambition: and La Fayette, finding that these\nsuspicions still formed a pretext to excite commotions, with a view to\nquiet the minds of the parisians, seconded the importunities of the\nduke, who wished to visit England, till the affair blew over. The king,\ntherefore, was prevailed on to give him a nominal commission, to be made\nuse of as a plea to obtain liberty of absence from the assembly, of\nwhich he was a member.\n\nHe was certainly very apprehensive of an investigation of the business;\nand revenge and ambition equally giving way to personal fear, he left\nhis colleagues to finish the constitution, and his agents to recover his\nfame, by representing the story as a calumny of the royalists, against\nwhom the public were sufficiently enraged to credit any aspersion.\n\nThe bold tone he assumed the july following was far from being a proof\nof his innocence; because it was not very probable, that a cunning man\nshould take his measures in such a critical affair without due\nprecaution.\u2014On the contrary, he would labour to sink so entirely into\nthe back-ground of the plot, as to render it difficult, if not\nimpossible, for him to be perceived. And this was practicable to a man,\nwho was willing, in the promotion of his purpose, to dissipate the most\nsplendid fortune.\n\nTo a disposition for low intrigue was added also a decided preference of\nthe grossest libertinism, seasoned with vulgarity, highly congenial with\nthe manners of the heroines, who composed the singular army of the\nfemales.\n\nHaving taken up his abode in the centre of the palais royal, a very\nsuperb square, yet the last in which a person of any delicacy, not to\nmention decorum, or morality, would choose to reside; because, excepting\nthe people in trade, who found it convenient, it was entirely occupied\nby the most shameless girls of the town, their hectoring protectors,\ngamesters, and sharpers of every denomination. In short, by the vilest\nof women; by wretches, who lived in houses from which the stript bodies,\noften found in the Seine, were supposed to be thrown[33]\u2014and he was\nconsidered as the grand sultan of this den of iniquity. Living thus in\nthe lap of crime, his heart was as tainted as the foul atmosphere he\nbreathed.\u2014Incapable of affection, his amours were the jaundiced caprices\nof satiety; and having proved in the affair of Keppel and d\u2019Orvilliers,\nthat he wanted the courage of a man, he appears to have been as fit for\ndark under-hand assassinations as he was unequal to any attempt flowing\nfrom virtuous ambition.\n\nThat a body of women should put themselves in motion to demand relief of\nthe king, or to remonstrate with the assembly respecting their tardy\nmanner of forming the constitution, is scarcely probable; and that they\nshould have undertaken the business, without being instigated by\ndesigning persons, when all Paris was dissatisfied with the conduct and\nthe procrastination of the assembly, is a belief which the most\ncredulous will hardly swallow, unless they take into their view, that\nthe want of bread was the bye word used by those, who in a great measure\nproduced it; for perceiving the turn the public mind was taking, they\ndrove the mob on to perpetrate the mischief long designed, under the\nsanction of national indignation.\n\nIt is evident, that the court was not concerned, however desirous the\ncabinet might have been to render the people discontented with the new\norder of things; for they seem to have been entirely occupied with the\nscheme, on which they built the most sanguine expectation, of prevailing\non the king to retire to Metz. Besides, the course the project took is a\ncircumstantial evidence, that, designed against Versailles, it was not\nmeditated there.\n\nThat the Ch\u00e2telet should not have been able to substantiate any proof of\nhis guilt, is not in the least extraordinary.\u2014It is only necessary to be\nacquainted with the general propensity of the french to intrigue, to\nknow, that there is no service, however dangerous, or purpose, however\nblack, for which gold will not find a man. There were wretches, who\nwould have considered exile as an escape from the continual dread of\nmenaced detection, could they carry with them a sum to commence anew\ntheir fraudulent practices in another country; and money the duke did\nnot spare to gratify his passions, though sordidly mean when they were\nout of the question.\n\nHis remaining also in England for such a length of time, merely to avoid\ndisturbing the tranquillity of the state, when it was possible, that by\nit\u2019s disorder and agitation he might gain a sceptre, cannot be credited;\nbecause it is well known, that he never sacrificed any selfish\nconsideration to the general good. Such examples of self-denial and true\npatriotism are uncommon, even from the most virtuous men; and it is idle\nto imagine, that a man, whom all the world allowed to be vicious, should\nrisk the popularity, which he had been at such pains to acquire, unless\nit were to guard his life.\n\nOn his return, nevertheless, finding that all was safe, he appeared in\nthe assembly, provoking the inquiry from which he had before skulked;\nand braving detection, when the danger was passed, he had the address to\npersuade the public of his innocence. Nay, the mock patriots of the day,\npretending to despise princes, were glad to have a prince on their side.\n\nThe report, that Mirabeau, always an avowed advocate for a limited\nmonarchy, was concerned in the plot, was certainly a calumny; because it\nis notorious, that he had an habitual contempt for the duke, which had\neven produced a decided coolness some time before. And, if any\ncollateral proof of his innocence were necessary, it would be sufficient\nto add, that the abb\u00e9 Maury, his competitor in eloquence, and opponent\nin opinion, declared there was no ground for his impeachment.\n\nIt is unfortunate, indeed, that some of the villains employed were not\nimmediately interrogated. The soldiery, in chasing them from one quarter\nto another, gave proofs not only of their intrepidity, but attachment to\nthe new government; and the only reprehensible part of their conduct was\nsuffering the murderers to escape, instead of apprehending as many as\nthey could, and bringing them to condign punishment. Such an omission,\nit was to be feared, would produce the most fatal consequences, because\nimpunity never fails to stimulate the wretches, who have arrived at such\na pitch of wickedness, to commit fresh, and, if possible, still more\natrocious crimes; and it is by suspending the decrees of justice, that\nhardened miscreants, made so by oppression, give full scope to all the\nbrutality of their sanguinary dispositions.\n\nThis neglect, in their turn, was not the least reprehensible or fatal\nerrour, produced by the factions of the assembly. The crisis demanded\nvigour and boldness.\u2014The laws had been trampled on by a gang of banditti\nthe most desperate\u2014The altar of humanity had been profaned\u2014The dignity\nof freedom had been tarnished\u2014The sanctuary of repose, the asylum of\ncare and fatigue, the chaste temple of a woman, I consider the queen\nonly as one, the apartment where she consigns her senses to the bosom of\nsleep, folded in it\u2019s arms forgetful of the world, was violated with\nmurderous fury\u2014The life of the king was assailed, when he had acceded to\nall their demands\u2014And, when their plunder was snatched from them, they\nmassacred the guards, who were doing their duty.\u2014Yet these brutes were\npermitted triumphantly to escape\u2014and dignified with the appellation of\nthe people, their outrage was in a great measure attempted to be excused\nby those deputies, who sometimes endeavoured to gain an undue influence\nthrough the interposition of the mob.\n\nAt this moment the assembly ought to have known, that the future\nrespectability of their laws must greatly depend on the conduct they\npursued on the present occasion; and it was time to show the parisians,\nthat, giving freedom to the nation, they meant to guard it by a strict\nadherence to the laws, that naturally issue from the simple principles\nof equal justice they were adopting; punishing with just severity all\nsuch as should offer to violate, or treat them with contempt. Wisdom,\nprecision, and courage, are the permanent supports of authority\u2014the\ndurable pillars of every just government, and they only require to be,\nas it were, the porticos of the structure, to obtain for it, at once,\nboth the admiration and obedience of the people. To maintain\nsubordination in a state by any other means is not merely difficult,\nbut, for any length of time, impossible.\n\nThey ought to have stood up as one man in support of insulted justice;\nand by directing the arm of the law, have smothered in embryo that\nspirit of rebellion and licentiousness, which, beginning to appear in\nthe metropolis, it was to be feared would attain herculean strength by\nimpunity, and ultimately overturn, with wanton thoughtlessness, or\nheadstrong zeal, all their labours. Yet, so contrary was their conduct\nto the dictates of common sense, and the common firmness of rectitude of\nintention, that they not only permitted that gang of assassins to regain\ntheir dens; but instantly submitted to the demand of the soldiery, and\nthe peremptory wish of the parisians\u2014that the king should reside within\nthe walls of Paris.\n\nThe firmness of conduct, which the representatives of a people should\nalways maintain, had been wanting in the assembly from the moment their\npower had been acknowledged; for instead of being directed by any\nregular plan of proceeding, a line equally marked out by integrity and\npolitical prudence, they were hurried along by a giddy zeal, and by a\nburlesque affectation of magnanimity; as puerile as the greater part of\ntheir debates were frivolous. Whilst their vanity was gratified by the\nlively applauses lavished on their inflated and popular declamation,\nthey set fire to the foibles of the multitude, teaching their desperate\ndemagogues to become their rivals in this species of eloquence, till the\nplans of the leaders of clubs, and popular societies, were generally\nadmired and pursued.\n\nThe will of the people being supreme, it is not only the duty of their\nrepresentatives to respect it, but their political existence ought to\ndepend on their acting conformably to the will of their constituents.\nTheir voice, in enlightened countries, is always the voice of reason.\nBut in the infancy of society, and during the advancement of the science\nof political liberty, it is highly necessary for the governing authority\nto be guided by the progress of that science; and to prevent, by\njudicious measures, any check being given to it\u2019s advancement, whilst\nequal care is taken not to produce the miseries of anarchy by\nencouraging licentious freedom. The national assembly, however,\ndelighted with their blooming honours, suffered themselves to be hurried\nforward by a multitude, on whom political light had too suddenly\nflashed, and seemed to have no apprehension of the danger, which has so\nfatally resulted from their tame acquiescence.\n\nThe people of Paris, who have more than their portion of the national\nvanity, believed that they had produced the revolution; and thinking\nthemselves both the father and mother of all the great events, which had\nhappened since it\u2019s commencement, and that the national assembly, whose\nconduct indeed betrayed symptoms of an understanding not adult, ought to\nbe directed by their leading-strings, frequently declared, that liberty\nwould not be secured, until the court and the assembly were brought\nwithin the walls of the capital. This was the subject of club debates,\ndecided with legislative pomposity, on the rumour of the intended\nevasion of the king; and the insult offered to the national cockade, the\nfirst of october, brought them to the determination\u2014that it was proper\nhe should be there.\u2014Such was their will, the capital of the nation\u2014now\nsovereign. Foreseeing also, as they had already dreaded, that the only\nsecurity for infant freedom would be to guard the court, and place in\nthe centre of information their infant representatives; whom they\nalternately idolized and suspected.\n\nThe decorum of manners in a people, long subordinate to the authority of\ntheir magistrates, had on several occasions, and even on the fifth of\noctober, controlled the impetuous populace, who had undertaken, or\njoined in the enterprize; and considering the manner in which they were\npushed on, it is extraordinary, that they did not commit greater\ndepredations. For with all their brutality, and eagerness to plunder the\npalace, they did not attempt to pillage Versailles, though half\nfamished.\n\nThe army of La Fayette indeed, principally composed of citizens, behaved\nnot only in an irreproachable manner; but the celerity of their\nmovements, their obedience to the discipline which they had so promptly\nacquired, joined to the clemency and moderation they displayed, excited\nthe gratitude and respect of all parties.\u2014Still, trembling for the\nrights that had been so gloriously snatched out of the clinched hand of\ndespotism\u2014it was the wish of all the leaders to have the king at Paris.\nIt was in fact the general sentiment at Paris, and of the greater part\nof the nation.\n\nThat city, which had contributed so essentially in effecting the\nrevolution, viewed with anxiety the influence of a party spirit in the\nassembly, though themselves split into several political sects, who\nalmost execrated each other. And finding, that the indecision of the\nmembers had given fresh hopes to the court, which at last might render\ntheir emancipation merely a dazzling meteor, they were restlessly bent\non having the king and assembly more immediately in their power. The\nreport, likewise, of Louis\u2019s intended escape; which had he effected, it\nwas probable, that he would have been in the next place prevailed on to\njoin the discontented princes and nobles, thus producing a schism in the\nkingdom, that must infallibly have brought on not only a cruel civil\nwar, but have embroiled them with all the different powers of Europe;\nwas a still more urgent motive: for whilst they were constantly\naffecting to believe in the goodness of his heart, they never showed by\ntheir conduct, that they had any confidence in his sincerity.\u2014Their\nopinion of the assembly was equally unfixed.\u2014One day a deputy was\nextolled as the hero of liberty, and the next denounced as a traitorous\npensioner of despotism.\n\nThese sentiments were dangerous to the authority of the new government;\nbut they were sentiments which never would have been promulged, even had\nthey existed, had the assembly acted with integrity and magnanimity.\nBecause, though the people do not always reason in the most logical or\nrhetorical style, yet they generally perceive in what consists the\ndefects of their legislators. And in every free government, when the\ndeputies of the state, convened to form laws, do not act with precision\nand judgment, they will be sure to lose their respectability; and the\nconsequence will be a dissolution of all authority.\n\nIt appears to amount to a certainty, that the assembly did not at that\ntime possess the implicit confidence of the people, by their demanding,\nthat the king should be obliged to reside within the barriers of the\ncapital.\u2014It was surely as possible to guard him at Versailles as at\nParis; and if it were necessary, that he should be kept as a prisoner of\nstate, or hostage, the government was the proper authority to determine\nhow, and where:\u2014and in giving up this necessary privilege of authority,\nthey surrendered their power to the multitude of Paris.\n\nOr rather a minority of the assembly, who wished to be removed to the\ncapital, by exciting and humouring the people, directed the majority;\nand in the same manner has the dignity of the representative body ever\nsince been trampled under foot by selfishness, or the blind zeal of\nvanity.\u2014It is in reality from this epocha, not forgetting such a leading\ncircumstance, that the commencement of the reign of anarchy may be\nfairly dated. For, though a tolerable degree of order was preserved a\nconsiderable time after, because a multitude long accustomed to\nservitude do not immediately feel their own strength; yet they soon\nbegan to tyrannize over one part of their representatives, stimulated by\nthe other. They, however, continued to respect the decrees of the\nnational assembly especially as there were rarely any passed on which\nthe public opinion had not been previously consulted, directed as it was\nby the popular members, who gained their constant suffrage by the stale\ntrick of crying out for more freedom. It was the indispensable duty of\nthe deputies to respect the dignity of their body\u2014Instead of which, for\nsinister purposes, many of them instructed the people how to tyrannize\nover the assembly; thus deserting the main principle of representation,\nthe respect due to the majority. This first grand desertion of the\nprinciples, which they affected to adopt in all their purity, led to\npublic misery; involving these short-sighted men in the very ruin they\nhad themselves produced by their mean intrigues.\n\nThe authoritative demand of the parisians was striking so directly at\nthe freedom of the assembly, that they must either have been conscious\nof wanting power, or they had no conception of dignity of action,\notherwise they would not have suffered the requisition of the people to\nhave been complied with. Yet they seem to have considered it, if it be\nnot paradoxical to assert it, as an advancement of their independence;\nor, perhaps, as giving security to their authority, childishly proud of\nregulating the business of the nation, though under the influence of the\nparisian despotism.\n\nIt is true, such things are the natural consequence of weakness, the\neffects of inexperience, and the more fatal errours of cowardice. And\nsuch will always be the effects of timid, injudicious measures. Men who\nhave violated the sacred feelings of eternal justice, except they are\nhardened in vice, are never afterwards able to look honest men in the\nface; and a legislature, watched by an intelligent public, a public that\nclaims the right of thinking for itself, will never after go beyond it,\nor pass one decree which is not likely to be popular.\n\nTo consult the public mind in a perfect state of civilization, will not\nonly be necessary, but it will be productive of the happiest\nconsequences, generating a government emanating from the sense of the\nnation, for which alone it can legally exist. The progress of reason\nbeing gradual, it is the wisdom of the legislature to advance the\nsimplification of it\u2019s political system, in a manner best adapted to the\nstate of improvement of the understanding of the nation. The sudden\nchange which had happened in France, from the most fettering tyranny to\nan unbridled liberty, made it scarcely to be expected, that any thing\nshould be managed with the wisdom of experience: it was morally\nimpossible. But it is nevertheless a deplorable reflection, that such\nevils must follow every revolution, when a change of politics equally\nmaterial is required.\u2014Thus it becomes more peculiarly the duty of the\nhistorian to record truth; and comment with freedom.\n\nEvery nation, deprived by the progress of it\u2019s civilization of strength\nof character, in changing it\u2019s government from absolute despotism to\nenlightened freedom, will, most probably, be plunged into anarchy, and\nhave to struggle with various species of tyranny before it is able to\nconsolidate it\u2019s liberty; and that, perhaps, cannot be done, until the\nmanners and amusements of the people are completely changed.\n\nThe refinement of the senses, by producing a susceptibility of temper,\nwhich from it\u2019s capriciousness leaves no time for reflection, interdicts\nthe exercise of the judgment. The lively effusions of mind,\ncharacteristically peculiar to the french, are as violent as the\nimpressions are transitory: and their benevolence evaporating in sudden\ngusts of sympathy, they become cold in the same proportion as their\nemotions are quick, and the combinations of their fancy brilliant.\nPeople who are carried away by the enthusiasm of the moment, are most\nfrequently betrayed by their imagination, and commit some errour, the\nconviction of which not only damps their heroism, but relaxes the nerve\nof common exertions. Freedom is a solid good, that requires to be\ntreated with reverence and respect.\u2014But, whilst an effeminate race of\nheroes are contending for her smiles, with all the blandishments of\ngallantry, it is to their more vigorous and natural posterity, that she\nwill consign herself with all the mild effulgence of artless charms.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n THE MOB DEMAND THE KING\u2019S REMOVAL TO PARIS. THIS CITY DESCRIBED. THE\n KING REPAIRS TO THE CAPITAL, ESCORTED BY A DEPUTATION OF THE NATIONAL\nASSEMBLY AND THE PARISIAN MILITIA. THE KING\u2019S TITLE CHANGED. PROCEEDINGS\n OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. REFLECTIONS ON THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.\n\n\nAfter the wild tumult, on the morning of the 6th of october, abated, the\nking showed himself to the people, in the balcony, and the queen\nfollowed with the dauphin in her arms. At first, he vainly attempted to\nspeak; but La Fayette informed the people, that his majesty came forward\nto assure them, that it should be the business of his life to contribute\nto the happiness of his people. _The king at Paris_, exclaimed a voice,\nwhich was quickly re-echoed by the crowd. \u2018My children,\u2019 replied the\nking, \u2018you wish me to be at Paris, and I will go; but it is on the\ncondition, that my wife and family accompany me.\u2019 A loud shout of _vive\nle roi_ testified the extacy of the moment. The king made a sign to\ndemand silence; and then, with tears in his eyes addressed them\nagain.\u2014\u2018Ah! my children, run to the relief of my guards.\u2019 Immediately\ntwo or three appeared in the balcony with the national cockade in their\nhats, or the cap of liberty on their heads. The king threw his arms\nround one of them, and the people following his example embraced those\nwhom they had taken prisoners in the court. One sentiment of gladness\nseemed to animate the whole concourse of people; and their sensibility\nproduced as mad demonstrations of joy as lately had been displayed of\nferocity. The soldiery all mingled together, exchanging swords, hats, or\nshoulder belts\u2014exhibiting in the most striking manner the prominent\nfeatures of the french character.\n\nMeanwhile the assembly, instead of instantly examining into the\nparticulars of that alarming convulsion, and exerting themselves to\ncause a proper respect to be paid to the sovereignty of the law,\nchildishly gave way to the universal transport: instead of considering\nthe peremptory wish of the people to remove the king to Paris as a\ndistrust of their wisdom, as well as of the veracity of the court, which\nwas in some measure the case, they unanimously agreed to the motion of\nMirabeau, seconded by Barnave, \u2018that the king and assembly should not be\nseparated during the present sessions.\u2019 Mirabeau, and other popular\nmembers, were probably glad to have the person of the king secured,\nwithout being obliged to appear, in an ostensible manner, in the affair;\nbecause they always endeavoured to keep a little hold on the court,\nwhilst they led the people. Such are the pitiful shifts of men, who are\nnot guided by the compass of moral principles, which alone render the\ncharacter dignified or consistent. Readily then acquiescing in a measure\nthe most fatal and contemptible, they decreed, that the assembly was\ninseparable from the person of the king, and sent a deputation to inform\nhim of this resolve, previous to his departure.\n\nThat Louis, finding all his projects for the present defeated, and after\nsuch a narrow escape for his life, should readily have acceded to the\ndemand of the multitude, is not in the least extraordinary.\u2014But, that\nthe representatives of the nation should, without resistance or\nremonstrance, have surrendered their authority, and thrown themselves\nhead-long into the heart of a city, which could be suddenly agitated,\nand put into the most disorderly and dangerous commotion, by the\nintrigues or folly of any desperate or factious leader of the\nmultitude\u2014suffering themselves to be environed by it\u2019s wall, shut in by\nit\u2019s barriers\u2014in a word\u2014choosing to live in a capacious prison; for men\nforced, or drawn into any such situation, are in reality slaves or\nprisoners,\u2014almost surpasses belief. This absurd conduct, in fact, can be\naccounted for only by considering the national character, and the\ndifferent though equally interested views, of the court and popular\nparties, in the assembly.\n\nIndependent of the additional incense of praise, with which Mirabeau\nwished to be continually regaled, in the metropolis, he had a decided\npreference for it, frequently asserting, that it was the only place\nwhere society was truly desirable; the people and place, in spite of\ntheir vices and follies, equally attaching the taste they cultivated.\n\nExclaiming against capitals, the impartial observer must acknowledge,\nthat much has been done to render this a superb monument of human\ningenuity.\n\nThe entrance into Paris, by the Thuilleries, is certainly very\nmagnificent. The roads have an expansion that agrees with the idea of a\nlarge luxurious city, and with the beauty of the buildings in the noble\nsquare, that first attracts the travellers eye. The lofty trees on each\nside of the road, forming charming alleys, in which the people walk and\nlounge with an easy gaiety peculiar to the nation, seem calculated\nequally to secure their health and promote their pleasure. The barriers,\nlikewise, are stately edifices, that tower with grandeur, rendering the\nview, as the city is approached, truly picturesque.\n\nBut\u2014these very barriers, built by Calonne, who liked to have Paris\ncompared with Athens, excite the most melancholy reflections.\u2014They were\nfirst erected by despotism to secure the payment of an oppressive tax,\nand since have fatally assisted to render anarchy more violent by\nconcentration, cutting off the possibility of innocent victims escaping\nfrom the fury, or the mistake, of the moment.\u2014Thus miscreants have had\nsufficient influence to guard these barriers, and caging the objects of\ntheir fear or vengeance, have slaughtered them; or, violating the purity\nof justice, have coolly wrested laws hastily formed to serve sinister\ndesigns\u2014changing it\u2019s sacred sword into a dagger, and terming the\nassassin\u2019s stab the stroke of justice, because given with the mock\nceremonials of equity, which only rendered the crime more atrocious. The\ntyrant, who, bounding over all restraint, braves the eternal law he\ntramples on, is not half so detestable as the reptile who crawls under\nthe shelter of the principles he violates. Such has been the effect of\nthe enclosure of Paris: and the reflections of wounded humanity\ndisenchanting the senses, the elegant structures, which served as gates\nto this great prison, no longer appear magnificent porticos.\n\nStill the eye of taste rests with pleasure on its buildings and\ndecorations: proportion and harmony gratify the sight, whilst airy\nornaments seem to toss a simple, playful elegance around. The heavens\ntoo smile, diffusing fragrance: and as the inhabitants trip along the\ncharming boulevard, the genial atmosphere seems instantaneously to\ninspire the animal spirits, which give birth to the varied graces that\nglide around. Clustering flowers, with luxuriant pomp, lend their\nsweets, giving a freshness to the fairy scene\u2014nature and art combining\nwith great felicity to charm the senses, and touch the heart, alive to\nthe social feelings, and to the beauties most dear to fancy.\n\nWhy starts the tear of anguish to mingle with recollections that\nsentiment fosters\u2014even in obedience to reason?\u2014For it is wise to be\nhappy!\u2014and nature and virtue will always open inlets of joy to the\nheart. But how quickly vanishes this prospect of delights! of delights\nsuch as man ought to taste!\u2014The cavalcade of death moves along, shedding\nmildew over all the beauties of the scene, and blasting every joy! The\nelegance of the palaces and buildings is revolting, when they are viewed\nas prisons, and the sprightliness of the people disgusting, when they\nare hastening to view the operations of the guillotine, or carelessly\npassing over the earth stained with blood. Exasperated humanity then,\nwith bitterness of soul, devotes the city to destruction; whilst turning\nfrom such a nest of crimes, it seeks for consolation only in the\nconviction, that, as the world is growing wiser, it must become happier;\nand that, as the cultivation of the soil meliorates a climate, the\nimprovement of the understanding will prevent those baneful excesses of\npassion which poison the heart.\n\nA deputation of the national assembly accompanied the royal family to\nParis, as well as the parisian militia. A number of the women preceded\nthem, mounted on the carriages which they had taken in their way to\nVersailles, and on the cannons, covered with national cockades, and\ndragging in the dirt those that were considered as symbols of\naristocracy. Soon after they set out, either by chance, or, which is\nmore probable, pursuant to a plan contrived by some person in power,\nforty or fifty loads of wheat and flour fell into the procession, just\nbefore the king, giving weight to the exclamation of the populace, that\nthey had brought the baker and his family to town.\n\nThe assembly continued to sit at Versailles till the nineteenth; and\nseveral interesting debates were entered upon, particularly one brought\nforward by the bishop of Autun, respecting the appropriation of the\nestates of the clergy to supply the exigences of the government. The\nabolition of _lettres de cachet_ was considered, and a fresh\norganization of the municipalities proposed; but as none of these\nmotions were carried before they were more fully discussed at Paris, it\nseems best to bring the different arguments on those important subjects\nunder one point of view.\n\nSettling the articles of the constitution, however, which previously\noccupied them, several frivolous discussions, respecting the style of\nexpression to be adopted to signify the king\u2019s acceptance of their\ndecrees, were lengthened out with warmth, and puerile objections made to\nancient forms\u2014that were merely forms. After some disputation, the title\nof the monarch was changed from king of France, with the rest of the\nformule, for that of king of the French; because Rousseau had remarked,\nperhaps fastidiously, that the title ought to express rather the chief\nof the people, than the master of the soil.\n\nThe intended removal of the assembly to Paris also produced several warm\ndebates. This resolution, indeed, excited, not without reason,\napprehensions in the breasts of some of the deputies, relative to their\npersonal safety, should they, in future, venture to oppose any of the\nmotions of the popular party, which that party instructed the mob of\nParis to support.\n\nThe president, Mounier, pleading his bad state of health, begged to be\ndismissed; and Lally-Tolendal, thinking that he could not stem the\ntorrent, retired from public business at the same time. A great many of\nthe members hinting their fears, that the assembly would not be free at\nParis, on various pretexts demanded such a number of passports, as to\nmake the president express some apprehension lest the assembly should\nthus indirectly dissolve itself; whilst other deputies uttered a\nprofusion of indecent sarcasms on a conduct, which the behaviour of the\npopulace, and even of these very orators, seemed to justify. Mirabeau,\nwho so earnestly desired to be at Paris, ridiculed with unbecoming\nbitterness every opposition made to the removal of the assembly; yet,\nlistening to the representation, that the allowing so many malecontents\nto retire into the provinces might produce dangerous fermentations, he\nproposed that no passport should be granted, till the deputy who\ndemanded it had made known his reason for so doing to the assembly. A\nletter from the king, notifying his intention of residing most part of\nhis time at Paris, and expressing his assurance, that they did not mean\nto separate themselves from him, now requested them to send\ncommissioners to Paris, to search for a proper place, where they might\nin future hold their sessions. They accordingly determined to go\nthither, conformably to the decree of the sixth of october, when a\nconvenient situation should be found.\n\nAfter this determination, several members gave an account of the gross\ninsults they had received at Paris. One in particular, who was not\nobnoxious to the public, narrowly escaped with life, only because he was\nmistaken for a deputy against whom the mob had vowed vengeance. Another,\nwho had also been insulted, with proper spirit moved, that a decree\nrespecting libels should instantly be passed. \u2018Are we,\u2019 he asked, \u2018to be\nled to liberty only by licentiousness? No; the people, deceived and\nintoxicated, are rendered furious. How many times (he added) have I\nlamented the impetuosity of this assembly, who have accustomed the\npublic, seated in our galleries, to praise, to blame, to deride our\nopinions, without understanding them.\u2014And who has inspired them with\nthis audacity?\u2019\u2014He was interrupted by signs of disapprobation; and\npersonalities now disgraced the debate, in which Mirabeau mingled\nsatirical observations and retorts, that did more credit to his\nabilities than to his heart. But, a day or two after, recollecting\nhimself, he presented the plan of a decree to prevent riots, which he\nintroduced, by saying, that it was an imitation, though not a copy, of\nthe English riot act.\n\nThe evening before the departure of the assembly for Paris, passports\nbeing still demanded with earnestness, a decree was made, \u2018that\npassports should be granted only for a short and determinate time, on\naccount of urgent business; and that unlimited passports, in cases of\nill health, should not be granted before the deputies were replaced by\ntheir substitutes;\u2019 and further, cutting a knot that might have revived\nold claims and animosities, had it been brought forward alone, they\ndecreed, \u2018that in future the substitutes should be nominated by the\ncitizens at large; and that, eight days after the first session at\nParis, there should be a call of the house; suspending till then the\nconsideration of the propriety of printing and sending to the provinces\nthe list of the absent deputies.\u2019\n\nThe constraining so many members to remain at their posts, and\ncondemning a man to a state of ignominious servitude, whilst they were\ntalking of nothing but liberty, was as contemptibly little, as the\npolicy was injudicious. For if the king pretended to acquiesce in their\nmeasures the better to disguise his real intention, which doubtless was\nto fly as soon as he could find an opportunity, or was at liberty, what\ndid they gain? For as they must have known, that his emancipation would\nbe the consequence of his acceptance of the constitution, his\nimprisonment could only tend to retard their operations: yet they had\nneither the magnanimity to allow him to depart with an handsome stipend,\nif such were his wish; nor to grant him such a portion of power, in the\nnew constitution, as would, by rendering him respectable in his own\neyes, have reconciled him to the deprivation of the rest. But, as things\nwere settled, it was morally certain, that, whenever his friends were\nready, a blow would be directed against them, which they were then as\nwell prepared to meet as they could be at a subsequent period.\n\nUnder the influence of fixed systems, certain moral effects are as\ninfallible as physical.\u2014That every insidious attempt would be made by\nthe courts of Europe, to overturn the new government of France, was\ntherefore certain; and, unless they had all been overturned at the same\ntime, was as much to be expected as any effect from a natural cause. The\nmost likely mean then to have parried the evil would have been a decided\nfirmness of conduct, which, flowing from a real love of justice,\nproduces true magnanimity; and not a parading affectation of the virtues\nof romans, with the degenerate minds of their posterity.\n\nPrecision, wisdom, and courage, never fail to secure the admiration and\nrespect of all descriptions of people; and every government thus\ndirected will keep in awe it\u2019s licentious neighbours. But fear and\ntimidity betray symptoms of weakness, that, creating contempt and\ndisrespect, encourage the attempts of ambitious despots; so that the\nnoblest causes are sometimes ruined or vilified by the folly or\nindiscretion of their directors. All Europe saw, and all good men saw\nwith dread, that the french had undertaken to support a cause, which\nthey had neither sufficient purity of heart, nor maturity of judgment,\nto conduct with moderation and prudence; whilst malevolence has been\ngratified by the errours they have committed, attributing that\nimperfection to the theory they adopted, which was applicable only to\nthe folly of their practice.\n\nHowever, frenchmen have reason to rejoice, and posterity will be\ngrateful, for what was done by the assembly.\n\nThe economy of government had been so ably treated by the writers of the\npresent age, that it was impossible for them, acting on the great scale\nof public good, not to lay the foundations of many useful plans, as they\nreformed many grievous and grinding abuses.\u2014Accordingly we find, though\nthey had not sufficient penetration to foresee the dreadful consequences\nof years of anarchy, the probable result of their manner of proceeding,\nstill by following, in some degree, the instructions of their\nconstituents, who had digested, from the bright lines of philosophical\ntruths, the prominent rules of political science, they, in laying the\nmain pillars of the constitution, established beyond a possibility of\nobliteration, the great principles of liberty and equality.\n\nIt is allowed by all parties, that civilization is a blessing, so far as\nit gives security to person and property, and the milder graces of taste\nto society and manners. If, therefore, the polishing of man, and the\nimprovement of his intellect, become necessary to secure these\nadvantages, it follows, of course, that the more general such\nimprovement grows, the greater the extension of human happiness.\n\nIn a savage state man is distinguished only by superiority of genius,\nprowess, and eloquence. I say eloquence, for I believe, that in this\nstage of society he is most eloquent, because most natural. For it is\nonly in the progress of governments, that hereditary distinctions,\ncruelly abridging rational liberty, have prevented man from rising to\nhis just point of elevation, by the exercise of his improveable\nfaculties.\n\nThat there is a superiority of natural genius among men does not admit\nof dispute; and that in countries the most free there will always be\ndistinctions proceeding from superiority of judgment, and the power of\nacquiring more delicacy of taste, which may be the effect of the\npeculiar organization, or whatever cause produces it, is an\nincontestible truth. But it is a palpable errour to suppose, that men of\nevery class are not equally susceptible of common improvement: if\ntherefore it be the contrivance of any government, to preclude from a\nchance of improvement the greater part of the citizens of the state, it\ncan be considered in no other light than as a monstrous tyranny, a\nbarbarous oppression, equally injurious to the two parties, though in\ndifferent ways. For all the advantages of civilization cannot be felt,\nunless it pervades the whole mass, humanizing every description of\nmen\u2014and then it is the first of blessings, the true perfection of man.\n\nThe melioration of the old government of France arose entirely from a\ndegree of urbanity acquired by the higher class, which insensibly\nproduced, by a kind of natural courtesy, a small portion of civil\nliberty. But, as for political liberty, there was not the shadow of it;\nor could it ever have been generated under such a system: because,\nwhilst men were prevented not only from arriving at public offices, or\nvoting for the nomination of others to fill them, but even from\nattaining any distinct idea of what was meant by liberty in a practical\nsense, the great bulk of the people were worse than savages; retaining\nmuch of the ignorance of barbarians, after having poisoned the noble\nqualities of nature by imbibing some of the habits of degenerate\nrefinement. To the national assembly it is, that France is indebted for\nhaving prepared a simple code of instruction, containing all the truths\nnecessary to give a comprehensive perception of political science; which\nwill enable the ignorant to climb the mount of knowledge, whence they\nmay view the ruins of the ingenious fabric of despotism, that had so\nlong disgraced the dignity of man by it\u2019s odious and debasing claims.\n\nThe declaration of rights contains an aggregate of principles the most\nbeneficial; yet so simple, that the most ordinary capacity cannot fail\nto comprehend their import. It begins by asserting, that the rights of\nmen are equal, and that no distinctions can exist in a wholesome\ngovernment, but what are founded on public utility. Then showing, that\npolitical associations are intended only for the preservation of the\nnatural and imprescriptible rights of man, which are his liberty,\nsecurity of property, and resistance against oppression; and asserting\nalso, that the nation is the source of all sovereignty; it delineates,\nin a plain and perspicuous manner, in what these rights, and this\nsovereignty, consist. In this delineation men may learn, that, in the\nexercise of their natural rights, they have the power of doing whatever\ndoes not injure another; and that this power has no limits, which are\nnot determined by law\u2014the laws being at the same time an expression of\nthe will of the community, because all the citizens of the state, either\npersonally, or by their representatives, have a right to concur in the\nformation.\n\nThus, having taught the citizens the fundamental principles of a\nlegitimate government, it proceeds to show how the opinion of each may\nbe ascertained; which he has a right to give personally, or by his\nrepresentatives, to determine the necessity of public contributions,\ntheir appropriation, mode of assessment, and duration.\n\nThe simplicity of these principles, promulged by the men of genius of\nthe last and present ages, and their justness, acknowledged by every\ndescription of unprejudiced men, had not been recognised by any senate\nor government in Europe; and it was an honour worthy to be reserved for\nthe representatives of twenty-five millions of men, rising to the sense\nand feeling of rational beings, to be the first to dare to ratify such\nsacred and beneficial truths\u2014truths, the existence of which had been\neternal; and which required only to be made known, to be generally\nacknowledged\u2014truths, which have been fostered by the genius of\nphilosophy, whilst hereditary wealth and the bayonet of despotism have\ncontinually been opposed to their establishment.\n\nThe publicity of a government acting conformably to the principles of\nreason, in contradistinction to the maxims of oppression, affords the\npeople an opportunity, or at least a chance, of judging of the wisdom\nand moderation of their ministers; and the eye of discernment, when\npermitted to make known it\u2019s observations, will always prove a check on\nthe profligacy or dangerous ambition of aspiring men.\u2014So that in\ncontemplating the extension of representative systems of polity, we have\nsolid ground on which to rest the expectation\u2014that wars and their\ncalamitous effects will become less frequent, in proportion as the\npeople, who are obliged to support them with their sweat and blood, are\nconsulted respecting their necessity and consequences.\n\nSuch consultations can take place under representative systems of\ngovernment only\u2014under systems which demand the responsibility of their\nministers, and secure the publicity of their political conduct. The\nmysteries of courts, and the intrigues of their parasites, have\ncontinually deluged Europe with the blood of it\u2019s most worthy and heroic\ncitizens, and there is no specific cure for such evils, but by enabling\nthe people to form an opinion respecting the subject of dispute.\n\nThe court of Versailles, with powers the most ample, was the most busy\nand insidious of any in Europe; and the horrours which she has\noccasioned, at different periods, were as incalculable, as her ambition\nwas unbounded, and her councils base, unprincipled, and dishonourable.\nIf, then, it were only for abolishing her sway, Europe ought to be\nthankful for a change, that, by altering the political systems of the\nmost improved quarter of the globe, must ultimately lead to universal\nfreedom, virtue, and happiness.\n\nBut it is to be presumed, when the effervescence, which now agitates the\nprejudices of the whole continent, subsides, the justness of the\nprinciples brought forward in the declaration of the rights of men and\ncitizens will be generally granted; and that governments, in future,\nacquiring reason and dignity, feeling for the sufferings of the people,\nwhilst reprobating the sacrilege of tyranny, will make it their\nprincipal object, to counteract it\u2019s baneful tendency, by restraining\nwithin just bounds the ambition of individuals.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n PROGRESS OF REFORM. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA. LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. CAPITALS.\n THE FRENCH NOT PROPERLY QUALIFIED FOR THE REVOLUTION. SAVAGE COMPARED\n WITH CIVILIZED MAN. EFFECTS OF EXTRAVAGANCE\u2014OF COMMERCE\u2014AND OF\n MANUFACTURES. EXCUSE FOR THE FEROCITY OF THE PARISIANS.\n\n\nPeople thinking for themselves have more energy in their voice, than any\ngovernment, which it is possible for human wisdom to invent; and every\ngovernment not aware of this sacred truth will, at some period, be\nsuddenly overturned. Whilst men in a savage state preserve their\nindependence, they adopt no regular system of policy, nor ever attempt\nto digest their rude code of laws into a constitution, to ensure\npolitical liberty. Consequently we find in every country, after it\u2019s\ncivilization has arrived at a certain height, that the people, the\nmoment they are displeased with their rulers, begin to clamour against\nthem; and, finally rejecting all authority but their own will, in\nbreaking the shackles of folly or tyranny, they glut their resentment by\nthe mischievous destruction of the works of ages, only considering them\nas the moments of their servitude.\n\nFrom the social disposition of man, in proportion as he becomes\ncivilized, he will mingle more and more with society. The first interest\nhe takes in the business of his fellow-men is in that of his neighbour;\nnext he contemplates the comfort, misery, and happiness of the nation to\nwhich he belongs, investigates the degree of wisdom and justice in the\npolitical system, under which he lives, and, striding into the regions\nof science, his researches embrace all human kind. Thus he is enabled to\nestimate the portion of evil or good which the government of his country\nproduces, compared with that of others; and the comparison, granting him\nsuperiour powers of mind, leads him to conceive a model of a more\nperfect form.\n\nThis spirit of inquiry first manifests itself in hamlets; when his views\nof improvement are confined to local advantages: but the approximation\nof different districts leading to further intercourse, roads of\ncommunication are opened, until a central or favourite spot becomes the\nvortex of men and things. Then the rising spires, pompous domes, and\nmajestic monuments, point out the capital; the focus of information, the\nreservoir of genius, the school of arts, the seat of voluptuous\ngratification, and the hot-bed of vice and immorality.\n\nThe centrifugal rays of knowledge and science now stealing through the\nempire, the whole intellectual faculties of man partake of their\ninfluence, and one general sentiment governs the civil and political\nbody. In the progress of these improvements the state undergoing a\nvariety of changes, the happiness or misery produced occasions a\ndiversity of opinions; and to prevent confusion, absolute governments\nhave been tolerated by the most enlightened part of the people. But,\nprobably, this toleration was merely the effect of the strong social\nfeelings of men; who preferred tranquillity, and the prosperity of their\ncountry, to a resistance, which, judging from the ignorance of their\nfellow citizens, they believed would bring more harm than good in it\u2019s\ntrain. In short, however long a combination of tyranny has retarded the\nprogress, it has been one of the advantages of the large cities of\nEurope] to light up the sparks of reason, and to extend the principles\nof truth.\n\nSuch is the good and evil flowing from the capitals of states, that\nduring the infancy of governments, though they tend to corrupt and\nenervate the mind, they accelerate the introduction of science, and give\nthe tone to the national sentiments and taste.\n\nBut this influence is extremely gradual; and it requires a great length\nof time, for the remote corners of the empire to experience either the\none, or the other of these effects. Hence we have seen the inhabitants\nof a metropolis feeble and vitiated, and those of the provinces robust\nand virtuous. Hence we have seen oppositions in a city (riots as they\nare called) to illegal governments instantly defeated, and their leaders\nhanged or tortured; because the judgment of the state was not\nsufficiently matured to support the struggle of the unhappy victims in a\nrighteous cause. And hence it has happened, that the despots of the\nworld have found it necessary to maintain large standing armies, in\norder to counteract the effects of truth and reason.\n\nThe continuation of the feudal system, however, for a great length of\ntime, by giving an overgrown influence to the nobility of France, had\ncontributed, in no small degree, to counteract the despotism of her\nkings. Thus it was not until after the arbitrary administration of\nRichelieu, who had terrified the whole order by a tyranny peculiar to\nhimself, that the insidious Mazarine broke the independent spirit of the\nnation by introducing the sale of honours; and that Louis XIV, by the\nmagnificence of his follies, and the meretricious decorations of stars,\ncrosses, and other marks of distinction, or badges of slavery, drew the\nnobles from their castles; and, by concentrating the pleasures and\nwealth of the kingdom in Paris, the luxury of the court became\ncommensurate to the product of the nation. Besides, the encouragement\ngiven to enervating pleasures, and the venality of titles, purchased\neither with money, or ignoble services, soon rendered the nobility as\nnotorious for effeminacy as they had been illustrious for heroism in the\ndays of the gallant Henry.\n\nThe arts had already formed a school, and men of science and literature\nwere hurrying from every part of the kingdom to the metropolis, in\nsearch of employment and of honour; and whilst it was giving it\u2019s tone\nto the empire, the parisian taste was pervading Europe.\n\nThe vanity of leading the fashions, in the higher orders of society, is\nnot the smallest weakness produced by the sluggishness into which people\nof quality naturally fall. The depravity of manners, and the sameness of\npleasure, which compose a life of idleness, are sure to produce an\ninsupportable _ennui_; and, in proportion to the stupidity of the man,\nor as his sensibility becomes deadened, he has recourse to variety,\nfinding a zest only from a new creation of charms; and commonly the most\nunnatural are necessary to rouse sickly, fastidious senses. Still in the\nsame degree as the refinement of sentiment, and the improvement of taste\nadvance, the company of celebrated literary characters is sought after\nwith avidity; and from the prevalence of fashion, the empire of wit\nsucceeds the reign of formal insipidity, after the squeamish palate has\nbeen rendered delicate even by the nauseous banquets of voluptuousness.\n\nThis is the natural consequence of the improvement of manners, the\nharbinger of reason; and from the ratio of it\u2019s advancement throughout\nsociety, we are enabled to estimate the progress of political science.\nFor no sooner had the disquisition of philosophical subjects become\ngeneral in the select parties of amusement, extending by degrees to\nevery class of society, than the rigour of the ancient government of\nFrance began to soften; till it\u2019s mildness became so considerable, that\nsuperficial observers have attributed the exercise of lenity in the\nadministration to the wisdom and excellence of the system itself.\n\nA confederacy of philosophers, whose opinions furnished the food of\ncolloquial entertainment, gave a turn for instructive and useful reading\nto the leaders of circles, and drew the attention of the nation to the\nprinciples of political and civil government. Whilst by the compilation\nof the Encyclopedia, the repository of their thoughts, as an abstract\nwork, they eluded the dangerous vigilance of absolute ministers; thus in\na body disseminating those truths in the economy of finance, which,\nperhaps, they would not have had sufficient courage separately to have\nproduced in individual publications; or, if they had, they would most\nprobably have been suppressed.\n\nThis is one of the few instances of an association of men becoming\nuseful, instead of being cramped by joint exertions. And the cause is\nclear:\u2014the work did not require a little party spirit; but each had a\ndistinct subject of investigation to pursue with solitary energy. His\ndestination was traced upon a calm sea, which could not expose him to\nthe Scylla or Charybdis of vanity or interest.\n\nThe economists, carrying away the palm, from their opponents, showed\nthat the prosperity of a state depends on the freedom of industry; that\ntalents should be permitted to find their level; that the unshackling of\ncommerce is the only secret to render it flourishing, and answer more\neffectually the ends for which it is politically necessary; and that the\nimposts should be laid upon the surplus remaining, after the husbandman\nhas been reimbursed for his labour and expences.\n\nIdeas so new, and yet so just and simple, could not fail to produce a\ngreat effect on the minds of frenchmen; who, constitutionally attached\nto novelty and ingenious speculations, were sure to be enamoured with a\nprospect of consolidating the great advantages of such a novel and\nenlightened system; and without calculating the danger of attacking old\nprejudices; nay, without ever considering, that it was a much easier\ntask to pull down than to build up, they gave themselves little trouble\nto examine the gradual steps by which other countries have attained\ntheir degree of political improvement.\n\nThe many vexatious taxes, which under the french government not only\nenervated the exertions of unprivileged persons, stagnating the live\nstream of trade, but were extremely teasing inconveniences to every\nprivate man, who could not travel from one place to another without\nbeing stopped at barriers, and searched by officers of different\ndescriptions, were almost insuperable impediments in the way of the\nimprovements of industry: and the abridgment of liberty was not more\ngrievous in it\u2019s pecuniary consequences, than in the personal\nmortification of being compelled to observe regulations as troublesome\nas they were at variance with sound policy.\n\nIrritations of the temper produce more poignant sensations of disgust\nthan serious injuries. Frenchmen, indeed, had been so long accustomed to\nthese vexatious forms, that, like the ox who is daily yoked, they were\nno longer galled in spirit, or exhaled their angry ebullitions in a\nsong. Still it might have been supposed, that after reflecting little,\nand talking much, about the sublimity and superiour excellence of the\nplans of _french_ writers above those of other nations, they would\nbecome as passionate for liberty, as a man restrained by some idle\nreligious vow is to possess a mistress, to whose charms the imagination\nhas lent all it\u2019s own world of graces.\n\nBesides, the very manner of living in France gives a lively turn to the\ncharacter of the people; for by the destruction of the animal juices, in\ndressing their food, they are subject to none of that dulness, the\neffect of more nutritive diet in other countries; and this gaiety is\nincreased by the moderate quantity of weak wine, which they drink at\ntheir meats, bidding defiance to phlegm. The people also living entirely\nin villages and towns are more social; so that the tone of the capital,\nthe instant it had a note distinct from that of the court, became the\nkey of the nation; though the inhabitants of the provinces polished\ntheir manners with less danger to their morals, or natural simplicity of\ncharacter. But this mode of peopling the country tended more to civilize\nthe inhabitants, than to change the face of the soil, or lead to\nagricultural improvements. For it is by residing in the midst of their\nland, that farmers make the most of it, in every sense of the word\u2014so\nthat the rude state of husbandry, and the awkwardness of the implements\nused by these ingenious people, may be imputed solely to this cause.\n\nThe situation of France was likewise very favourable for collecting the\ninformation, acquired in other parts of the world. Paris, having been\nmade a thoroughfare to all the kingdoms on the continent, received in\nit\u2019s bosom strangers from every quarter; and itself resembling a full\nhive, the very drones buzzed into every corner all the sentiments of\nliberty, which it is possible for a people to possess, who have never\nbeen enlightened by the broad sunshine of freedom; yet more romantically\nenthusiastic, probably, for that very reason. Paris, therefore, having\nnot only disseminated information, but presented herself as a bulwark to\noppose the despotism of the court, standing the brunt of the fray, seems\nwith some reason, to pride herself on being the author of the\nrevolution.\n\nThough the liberty of the press had not existed in any part of the\nworld, England and America excepted, still the disquisition of political\nquestions had long occupied the intelligent parts of Europe; and in\nFrance, more than in any other country, books written with licentious\nfreedom were handed from house to house, with the circumspection that\nirritates curiosity. Not to lay great stress on the universality of the\nlanguage, which made one general opinion on the benefits arising from\nthe advancement of science and reason pervade the neighbouring states,\nparticularly Germany; where original compositions began to take place of\nthat laborious erudition, which being employed only in the elucidation\nof ancient writers, the judgment lies dormant, or is merely called into\naction to weigh the import of words rather than to estimate the value of\nthings. In Paris, likewise, a knot of ingenious, if not profound\nwriters, twinkled their light into every circle; for being caressed by\nthe great, they did not inhabit the homely recesses of indigence,\nrusticating their manners as they cultivated their understandings; on\nthe contrary, the finesse required to convey their free sentiments in\ntheir books, broken into the small shot of innuendoes, gave an oiliness\nto their conversation, and enabled them to take the lead at tables, the\nvoluptuousness of which was grateful to philosophers, rather of the\nepicurean than the stoic sect.\n\nIt had long been the fashion to talk of liberty, and to dispute on\nhypothetical and logical points of political economy; and these\ndisputations disseminated gleams of truth, and generated more demagogues\nthan had ever appeared in any modern city.\u2014The number exceeded, perhaps,\nany comparison with that of Athens itself.\n\nThe habit also of passing a part of most of their evenings at some\ntheatre gave them an ear for harmony of language, and a fastidious taste\nfor sheer declamation, in which a sentimental jargon extinguishes all\nthe simplicity and fire of passion: the great number of play-houses[34],\nand the moderate prices of the pit and different ranges of boxes,\nbringing it within the compass of every citizen to frequent the\namusement so much beloved by the french.\n\nThe arrangement of sounds, and the adjustment of masculine and feminine\nrhymes, being the secrets of their poetry, the pomp of diction gives a\nsemblance of grandeur to common observations and hackneyed sentiments;\nbecause the french language, though copious in the phrases that give\neach shade of sentiment, has not, like the italian, the english, the\ngerman, a phraseology peculiar to poetry; yet it\u2019s happy turns,\nequivocal, nay even concise expressions, and numerous epithets, which,\nwhen ingeniously applied, convey a sentence, or afford matter for half a\ndozen, make it better adapted to oratorical flourishes than that of any\nother nation. The french therefore are all rhetoricians, and they have a\nsingular fund of superficial knowledge, caught in the tumult of pleasure\nfrom the shallow stream of conversation; so that if they have not the\ndepth of thought which is obtained only by contemplation, they have all\nthe shrewdness of sharpened wit; and their acquirements are so near\ntheir tongue\u2019s end, that they never miss an opportunity of saying a\npertinent thing, or tripping up, by a smart retort, the arguments with\nwhich they have not strength fairly to wrestle.\n\nEvery political good carried to the extreme must be productive of evil;\nyet every poison has it\u2019s antidote; and there is a pitch of luxury and\nrefinement, which, when reached, will overturn all the absolute\ngovernments in the world. The ascertainment of these antidotes is a task\nthe most difficult; and whilst it remains imperfect, a number of men\nwill continue to be the victims of mistaken applications. Like the\nempirics, who bled a patient to death to prevent a mortification from\nbecoming fatal, the tyrants of the earth have had recourse to cutting\noff the heads, or torturing the bodies, of those persons who have\nattempted to check their sway, or doubt their omnipotence. But, though\nthousands have perished the victims of empirics, and of despots, yet the\nimprovements made both in medicine and moral philosophy have kept a\nsure, though gradual pace.\u2014And, if men have not clearly discovered a\nspecific remedy for every evil, physical, moral, and political, it is to\nbe presumed, that the accumulation of experimental facts will greatly\ntend to lessen them in future.\n\nWhilst, therefore, the sumptuous galas of the court of France were the\ngrand source of the refinement of the arts, taste became the antidote to\n_ennui_; and when sentiment had taken place of chivalrous and gothic\ntournaments, the reign of philosophy succeeded that of the imagination.\nAnd though the government, enveloped in precedents, adjusted still the\nidle ceremonials, which were no longer imposing, blind to the\nimperceptible change of things and opinions, as if their faculties were\nbound by an eternal frost, the progress was invariable; till, reaching a\ncertain point, Paris, which from the particular formation of the empire\nhad been such an useful head to it, began to be the cause of dreadful\ncalamities, extending from individuals to the nation, and from the\nnation to Europe. Thus it is, that we are led to blame those, who\ninsist, that, because a state of things has been productive of good, it\nis always respectable; when, on the contrary, the endeavouring to keep\nalive any hoary establishment, beyond it\u2019s natural date, is often\npernicious and always useless.\n\nIn the infancy of governments, or rather of civilization, courts seem to\nbe necessary to accelerate the improvement of arts and manners, to lead\nto that of science and morals. Large capitals are the obvious\nconsequences of the riches and luxury of courts; but as, after they have\narrived at a certain magnitude and degree of refinement, they become\ndangerous to the freedom of the people, and incompatible with the safety\nof a republican government, it may be questioned whether Paris will not\noccasion more disturbance in settling the new order of things, than is\nequivalent to the good she produced by accelerating the epocha of the\nrevolution.\n\nHowever, it appears very certain, that should a republican government be\nconsolidated, Paris must rapidly crumble into decay. It\u2019s rise and\nsplendour were owing chiefly, if not entirely, to the old system of\ngovernment; and since the foundation of it\u2019s luxury has been shaken, and\nit is not likely that the disparting structure will ever again rest\nsecurely on it\u2019s basis, we may fairly infer, that, in proportion as the\ncharms of solitary reflection and agricultural recreations are felt, the\npeople, by leaving the villages and cities, will give a new complexion\nto the face of the country\u2014and we may then look for a turn of mind more\nsolid, principles more fixed, and a conduct more consistent and\nvirtuous.\n\nThe occupations and habits of life have a wonderful influence on the\nforming mind; so great, that the superinductions of art stop the growth\nof the spontaneous shoots of nature, till it is difficult to distinguish\nnatural from factitious morals and feelings; and as the energy of\nthinking will always proceed, in a great measure, either from our\neducation or manner of living, the frivolity of the french character may\nbe accounted for, without taking refuge in the old hiding place of\nignorance\u2014occult causes.\n\nWhen it is the object of education to prepare the pupil to please every\nbody, and of course to deceive, accomplishments are the one thing\nneedful; and the desire to be admired ever being uppermost, the passions\nare subjugated, or all drawn into the whirlpool of egotism[35]. This\ngives to each person, however different the temper, a tincture of\nvanity, and that weak vacillation of opinion, which is incompatible with\nwhat we term character.\n\nThus a frenchman, like most women, may be said to have no character\ndistinguishable from that of the nation; unless little shades, and\ncasual lights, be allowed to constitute an essential characteristic.\nWhat then could have been expected, when their ambition was mostly\nconfined to dancing gracefully, entering a room with easy assurance, and\nsmiling on and complimenting the very persons whom they meant to\nridicule at the next fashionable assembly? The learning to fence with\nskill, it is true, was useful to a people, whose false notions of honour\nrequired that at least a drop of blood should atone for the shadow of an\naffront. The knack also of uttering sprightly repartees became a\nnecessary art, to supply the place of that real interest only to be\nnourished in the affectionate intercourse of domestic intimacy, where\nconfidence enlarges the heart it opens. Besides, the desire of eating of\nevery dish at table, no matter if there were fifty, and the custom of\nseparating immediately after the repast, destroy the social affections,\nreminding a stranger of the vulgar saying\u2014\u2018every man for himself, and\nGod for us all.\u2019 After these cursory observations, it is not going too\nfar to advance, that the french were in some respects the most\nunqualified of any people in Europe to undertake the important work in\nwhich they are embarked.\n\nWhilst pleasure was the sole object of living among the higher orders of\nsociety, it was the business of the lower to give life to their joys,\nand convenience to their luxury. This cast-like division, by destroying\nall strength of character in the former, and debasing the latter to\nmachines, taught frenchmen to be more ingenious in their contrivances\nfor pleasure and show, than the men of any other country; whilst, with\nrespect to the abridgment of labour in the mechanic arts, or to promote\nthe comfort of common life, they were far behind. They had never, in\nfact, acquired an idea of that independent, comfortable situation, in\nwhich contentment is sought rather than happiness; because the slaves of\npleasure or power can be roused only by lively emotions and extravagant\nhopes. Indeed they have no word in their vocabulary to express\n_comfort_\u2014that state of existence, in which reason renders serene and\nuseful the days, which passion would only cheat with flying dreams of\nhappiness.\n\nA change of character cannot be so sudden as some sanguine calculators\nexpect: yet by the destruction of the rights of primogeniture, a greater\ndegree of equality of property is sure to follow; and as Paris cannot\nmaintain it\u2019s splendour, but by the trade of luxury, which can never be\ncarried to the same height it was formerly, the opulent having strong\nmotives to induce them to live more in the country, they must acquire\nnew inclinations and opinions.\u2014As a change also of the system of\neducation and domestic manners will be a natural consequence of the\nrevolution, the french will insensibly rise to a dignity of character\nfar above that of the present race; and then the fruit of their liberty,\nripening gradually, will have a relish not to be expected during it\u2019s\ncrude and forced state.\n\nThe late arrangement of things seems to have been the common effect of\nan absolute government, a domineering priesthood, and a great inequality\nof fortune; and whilst it completely destroyed the most important end of\nsociety, the comfort and independence of the people, it generated the\nmost shameful depravity and weakness of intellect; so that we have seen\nthe french engaged in a business the most sacred to mankind, giving, by\ntheir enthusiasm, splendid examples of their fortitude at one moment,\nand at another, by their want of firmness and deficiency of judgment,\naffording the most glaring and fatal proofs of the just estimate, which\nall nations have formed of their character.\n\nMen so thoroughly sophisticated, it was to be supposed, would never\nconduct any business with steadiness and moderation: but it required a\nknowledge of the nation and their manners, to form a distinct idea of\ntheir disgusting conceit and wretched egotism; so far surpassing all the\ncalculations of reason, that, perhaps, should not a faithful picture be\nnow sketched, posterity would be at loss to account for their folly; and\nattribute to madness, what arose from imbecility.\n\nThe natural feelings of man seldom become so contaminated and debased as\nnot sometimes to let escape a gleam of the generous fire, an ethereal\nspark of the soul; and it is these glowing emotions, in the inmost\nrecesses of the heart, which have continued to feed feelings, that on\nsudden occasions manifest themselves with all their pristine purity and\nvigour. But, by the habitual slothfulness of rusty intellects, or the\ndepravity of the heart, lulled into hardness on the lascivious couch of\npleasure, those heavenly beams are obscured, and man appears either an\nhideous monster, a devouring beast; or a spiritless reptile, without\ndignity or humanity.\n\nThose miserable wretches who crawl under the feet of others are seldom\nto be found among savages, where men accustomed to exercise and\ntemperance are, in general, brave, hospitable, and magnanimous; and it\nis only as they surrender their rights, that they lose those noble\nqualities of the heart. The ferocity of the savage is of a distinct\nnature from that of the degenerate slaves of tyrants. One murders from\nmistaken notions of courage; yet he respects his enemy in proportion to\nhis fortitude, and contempt of death: the other assassinates without\nremorse, whilst his trembling nerves betray the weakness of his\naffrighted soul at every appearance of danger. Among the former, men are\nrespected according to their abilities; consequently idle drones are\ndriven out of this society; but among the latter, men are raised to\nhonours and employments in proportion as a talent for intrigue, the sure\nproof of littleness of mind, has rendered them servile. The most\nmelancholy reflections are produced by a retrospective glance over the\nrise and progress of the governments of different countries, when we are\ncompelled to remark, that flagrant follies and atrocious crimes have\nbeen more common under the governments of modern Europe, than in any of\nthe ancient nations, if we except the jews. Sanguinary tortures,\ninsidious poisonings, and dark assassinations, have alternately\nexhibited a race of monsters in human shape, the contemplation of whose\nferocity chills the blood, and darkens every enlivening expectation of\nhumanity: but we ought to observe, to reanimate the hopes of\nbenevolence, that the perpetration of these horrid deeds has arisen from\na despotism in the government, which reason is teaching us to remedy.\nSometimes, it is true, restrained by an iron police, the people appear\npeaceable, when they are Only stunned; so that we find, whenever the mob\nhas broken loose, the fury of the populace has been shocking and\ncalamitous. These considerations account for the contradictions in the\nfrench character, which must strike a stranger: for robberies are very\nrare in France, where daily frauds and sly pilfering, prove, that the\nlower class have as little honesty as sincerity. Besides murder and\ncruelty almost always show the dastardly ferocity of fear in France;\nwhilst in England, where the spirit of liberty has prevailed, it is\nusual for an highwayman, demanding your money, not only to avoid\nbarbarity, but to behave with humanity, and even complaisance.\n\nDegeneracy of morals, with polished manners, produces the worst of\npassions, which floating through the social body, the genial current of\nnatural feelings has been poisoned; and, committing crimes with\ntrembling inquietude, the culprits have not only drawn on themselves the\nvengeance of the law, but thrown an odium on their nature, that has\nblackened the face of humanity. And whilst it\u2019s temple has been\nsacrilegiously profaned by the drops of blood, which have issued from\nthe very hearts of the sad victims of their folly; a hardness of temper,\nunder the veil of sentiment, calling it vice, has prevented our sympathy\nfrom leading us to examine into the sources of the atrocity of our\nspecies, and obscured the true cause of disgraceful and vicious habits.\n\nSince the existence of courts, whose aggrandisement has been conspicuous\nin the same degree as the miseries of the debased people have\naccumulated, the convenience and comfort of men have been sacrificed to\nthe ostentatious display of pomp and ridiculous pageantry. For every\norder of men, from the beggar to the king, has tended to introduce that\nextravagance into society, which equally blasts domestic virtue and\nhappiness. The prevailing custom of living beyond their income has had\nthe most baneful effect on the independence of individuals of every\nclass in England, as well as in France; so that whilst they have lived\nin habits of idleness, they have been drawn into excesses, which,\nproving ruinous, produced consequences equally pernicious to the\ncommunity, and degrading to the private character. Extravagance forces\nthe peer to prostitute his talents and influence for a place, to repair\nhis broken fortune; and the country gentleman, becomes venal in the\nsenate, to enable himself to live on a par with him, or reimburse\nhimself for the expences of electioneering, into which he was led by\nsheer vanity. The professions, on the same account, become equally\nunprincipled. The one, whose characteristic ought to be integrity,\ndescends to chicanery; whilst another trifles with the health, of which\nit knows all the importance. The merchant likewise enters into\nspeculations so closely bordering on fraudulency, that common straight\nforward minds can scarcely distinguish the devious art of selling any\nthing for a price far beyond that necessary to ensure a just profit,\nfrom sheer dishonesty, aggravated by hard-heartedness, when it is to\ntake advantage of the necessities of the indigent.\n\nThe destructive influence of commerce, it is true, carried on by men who\nare eager by overgrown riches to partake of the respect paid to\nnobility, is felt in a variety of ways. The most pernicious, perhaps, is\nit\u2019s producing an aristocracy of wealth, which degrades mankind, by\nmaking them only exchange savageness for tame servility, instead of\nacquiring the urbanity of improved reason. Commerce also, overstocking a\ncountry with people, obliges the majority to become manufacturers rather\nthan husbandmen; and then the division of labour, solely to enrich the\nproprietor, renders the mind entirely inactive. The time which, a\ncelebrated writer says, is sauntered away, in going from one part of an\nemployment to another, is the very time that preserves the man from\ndegenerating into a brute; for every one must have observed how much\nmore intelligent are the blacksmiths, carpenters, and masons in the\ncountry, than the journeymen in great towns; and, respecting morals,\nthere is no making a comparison. The very gait of the man, who is his\nown master, is so much more steady than the slouching step of the\nservant of a servant, that it is unnecessary to ask which proves by his\nactions he has the most independence of character.\n\nThe acquiring of a fortune is likewise the least arduous road to\npre-eminence, and the most sure; thus are whole knots of men turned into\nmachines, to enable a keen speculator to become wealthy; and every noble\nprinciple of nature is eradicated by making a man passes his life in\nstretching wire, pointing a pin, heading a nail, or spreading a sheet of\npaper on a plain surface. Besides, it is allowed, that all associations\nof men render them sensual, and consequently selfish; and whilst lazy\nfriars are driven out of their cells as stagnate bodies that corrupt\nsociety, it may admit of a doubt whether large work-shops do not contain\nmen equally tending to impede that gradual progress of improvement,\nwhich leads to the perfection of reason, and the establishment of\nrational equality.\n\nThe deprivation of natural, equal, civil and political rights, reduced\nthe most cunning of the lower orders to practise fraud, and the rest to\nhabits of stealing, audacious robberies, and murders. And why? because\nthe rich and poor were separated into bands of tyrants and slaves, and\nthe retaliation of slaves is always terrible. In short, every sacred\nfeeling, moral and divine, has been obliterated, and the dignity of man\nsullied, by a system of policy and jurisprudence as repugnant to reason,\nas at variance with humanity.\n\nThe only excuse that can be made for the ferocity of the parisians is\nthen simply to observe, that they had not any confidence in the laws,\nwhich they had always found to be merely cobwebs to catch small flies.\nAccustomed to be punished themselves for every trifle, and often for\nonly being in the way of the rich, or their parasites; when, in fact,\nhad the parisians seen the execution of a noble, or priest, though\nconvicted of crimes beyond the daring of vulgar minds?\u2014When justice, or\nthe law, is so partial, the day of retribution will come with the red\nsky of vengeance, to confound the innocent with the guilty. The mob were\nbarbarous beyond the tiger\u2019s cruelty: for how could they trust a court\nthat had so often deceived them, or expect to see it\u2019s agents punished,\nwhen the same measures were pursuing?\n\nLet us cast our eyes over the history of man, and we shall scarcely find\na page that is not tarnished by some foul deed, or bloody transaction.\nLet us examine the catalogue of the vices of men in a savage state, and\ncontrast them with those of men civilized; we shall find, that a\nbarbarian, considered as a moral being, is an angel, compared with the\nrefined villain of artificial life. Let us investigate the causes which\nhave produced this degeneracy, and we shall discover, that they are\nthose unjust plans of government, which have been formed by peculiar\ncircumstances in every part of the globe.\u2014Then let us coolly and\nimpartially contemplate the improvements, which are gaining ground in\nthe formation of principles of policy; and I flatter myself it will be\nallowed by every humane and considerate being, that a political system\nmore simple than has hitherto existed would effectually check those\naspiring follies, which, by imitation, leading to vice, have banished\nfrom governments the very shadow of justice and magnanimity.\n\nThus had France grown up, and sickened on the corruption of a state\ndiseased. But, as in medicine there is a species of complaint in the\nbowels which works it\u2019s own cure, and, leaving the body healthy, gives\nan invigorated tone to the system, so there is in politics: and whilst\nthe agitation of it\u2019s regeneration continues, the excrementitious\nhumours exuding from the contaminated body will excite a general dislike\nand contempt for the nation; and it is only the philosophical eye, which\nlooks into the nature and weighs the consequences of human actions, that\nwill be able to discern the cause, which has produced so many dreadful\neffects.\n\n\n END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n What else could be expected from the courtier, who could write in\n these terms to madame de Maintenon: _God has been so gracious to me,\n madam, that, in whatever company I find myself, I never have occasion\n to blush for the gospel or the king_.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n For example, the reception of a portuguese adventurer, under the\n character of a persian ambassador. A farce made by the court to rouse\n the blunted senses of the king.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n Memoires du marechal de Richelieu.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n In this reply will be found many of the reasons, that have been lately\n repeated; and some (a proof of the progress of reason), which no one\n had the audacity to repeat, when standing up in defence of privileges.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n It is well known, that for a long time he wished to convoke the\n states-general; and it was not without difficulty, that Dubois made\n him abandon this design. During the year 1789, a curious memorial has\n been reprinted, which he wrote on this occasion; and it is, like the\n author, a model of impudence.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n Since the constituent assembly equalized the impost, Calonne has\n boasted, that he proposed a mode of levying equal taxes; but that the\n nobility would not listen to any such motion, tenaciously maintaining\n their privileges. This blind obstinacy of opposing all reform, that\n touched their exemptions, may be reckoned among the foremost causes,\n which, in hurrying the removal of old abuses, tended to introduce\n violence and disorder.\u2014And if it be kept in remembrance, that a\n conduct equally illiberal and disingenuous warped all their political\n sentiments, it must be clear, that the people, from whom they\n considered themselves as separated by immutable laws, had cogent\n grounds to conclude, that it would be next to impossible to effect a\n reform of the greater part of those perplexing exemptions and\n arbitrary customs, the weight of which made the peculiar urgency, and\n called with the most forcible energy for the revolution. Surely all\n the folly of the people taken together was less reprehensible, than\n this total want of discernment, this adherence to a prejudice, the\n jaundiced perception of contumelious ignorance, in a class of men, who\n from the opportunity they had of acquiring knowledge, ought to have\n acted with more judgment. For they were goaded into action by inhuman\n provocations, by acts of the most flagrant injustice, when they had\n neither rule nor experience to direct them, and after their temperance\n had been destroyed by years of sufferings, and an endless catalogue of\n reiterated and contemptuous privations.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n Importance of religious opinions.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n \u2018The code of \u00e9tiquette\u2019, says Mirabeau, \u2018has been hitherto the sacred\n fire of the court and privileged orders.\u2019\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n Under the reign of Louis XV two hundred and thirty thousand _lettres\n de cachet_ had been issued; and after this, who will assert, that this\n was not an inveterate evil, which ought to be eradicated; for it is an\n insult to human reason, to talk of the modification of such abuses, as\n seem to be experiments to try how far human patience can be stretched.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n Count Lally-Tolendal.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n This was written some months before the death of the queen.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n Such is ever the conduct of _soi-disant_ patriots.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n This is an event much more important at Paris, than it would be in\n London.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n The mayor.\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n This man, the abb\u00e9 Lefebure, remained all night, and the greater part\n of the next day, standing over a barrel of gun-powder, persisting to\n keep off the people, with undaunted courage, though several of them,\n to torment him, brought pipes to smoke near it; and one actually fired\n a pistol close by, that set fire to his hair.\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n Lally-Tolendal said of La Fayette, at this time, that \u2018he spoke of\n liberty as he had defended it.\u2019\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n The supplying of Paris with provision always depended on a nice\n arrangement of circumstances, capable of being controlled by the\n government of the state. It is not like London, and other great\n cities, the local position of which was previously pointed out by\n nature, and of which the welfare depends on the great and perpetual\n movements of commerce, which they themselves regulate. To cut off the\n provision from London, you must block up the port, and interdict in an\n open manner an intercourse, on which the wealth of the nation in a\n great measure depends. Paris, on the contrary, might be famished in a\n few days by a secret order of the court. All the people of the place\n would feel the effect, and no person be able to ascertain the cause.\n These considerations render it easy to account for the continued\n scarcity of provision in Paris during the summer of 1789. No person\n can doubt, but the court viewed the revolution with horrour; and that,\n among the measures which they took to prevent it, they would not\n overlook so obvious an expedient, as that of cutting off the supplies\n from the capital; as they supposed the people would lay the blame on\n the new order of things, and thus be disgusted with the revolution.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n The lamp-posts, which are only to be found in squares, and places\n where there are not two rows of houses, are much more substantial than\n in England.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n \u2018In August 1778,\u2019 says Lally-Tolendal, \u2018the laws were overturned; and\n twenty-five millions of men without justice or judges;\u2014the public\n treasury without funds, and without resource;\u2014the sovereign authority\n was usurped by the ministers;\u2014and the people without any other hope\n than the states-general;\u2014yet without confidence in the promise of the\n king.\u2019\n\n And, Mounier also gives a similar sketch. \u2018We have not a fixed or\n complete form of government\u2014we have not a constitution, because all\n the powers are confounded\u2014because no boundary is traced out.\u2014The\n judicial power is not even separated from the legislative.\u2014Authority\n is dispersed; it\u2019s various parts are always in opposition; and amidst\n their perpetual shocks the rights of the lower class of citizens are\n betrayed.\u2014The laws are openly despised, or rather we are not agreed\n what ought to be called laws.\u2019\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n In the Bastille, it is true, were found but seven prisoners.\u2014Yet, it\n ought to be remarked, that three of them had lost their reason\u2014that,\n when the secrets of the prison-house were laid open, men started with\n horrour from the inspection of instruments of torture, that appeared\n to be almost worn out by the exercise of tyranny\u2014and that citizens\n were afraid even for a moment to enter the noisome dungeons, in which\n their fellow creatures had been confined for years.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n The cruelties of the half civilized romans, combined with their\n unnatural vices, even when literature and the arts were most\n cultivated, prove, that humanity is the offspring of the\n understanding, and that the progress of the sciences alone can make\n men wiser and happier.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n Mirabeau appears to have been continually hurt by the want of dignity\n in the assembly.\u2014By the inconsistency, which made them stalk as heroes\n one moment, with a true theatrical stride, and the next cringe with\n the flexible backs of habitual slaves.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n \u2018Let us compare,\u2019 he further adds, \u2018the number of innocents sacrificed\n by mistake, by the sanguinary maxims of the courts of criminal\n judicature, and the ministerial vengeance exercised secretly in the\n dungeons of Vincennes, and in the cells of the Bastille, with the\n sudden and impetuous vengeance of the multitude, and then decide on\n which side barbarity appears. At the moment when the hell created by\n tyranny for the torment of it\u2019s victims opens itself to the public\n eye; at the moment when all the citizens have been permitted to\n descend into those gloomy caves, to poize the chains of their friends,\n of their defenders; at the moment when the registers of those\n iniquitous archives are fallen into all hands; it is necessary, that\n the people should be essentially good, or this manifestation of the\n atrocities of ministers would have rendered them as cruel as\n themselves!\u2019\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n These members seem to have formed a just estimate of the french\n character.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n Some french wags have laid a great stress on these decrees passing\n after dinner.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n Lally-Tolendal, in particular; for giving his opinion on the subject\n of two chambers, he said:\u2014\u2018It is not doubtful at present, and for this\n first assembly, that a single chamber is preferable, and perhaps\n necessary\u2014There are so many difficulties to be surmounted, so many\n prejudices to be conquered, so many sacrifices to be made, such old\n habits to root out, so great a power to control; in a word so much to\n destroy, and almost all to create anew. This moment, gentlemen, which\n we are so happy as to have seen, of which it is impossible a\n description can be given\u2014when private characters, orders of men, and\n provinces, are vying with each other, who will make the greatest\n sacrifices to the public good\u2014when all press together at the tribune,\n to renounce voluntarily, not only odious privileges, but even those\n just rights, which appear to you an obstacle to the fraternity and\n equality of all the citizens. This moment, gentlemen, this noble and\n rich enthusiasm which hurries you along, this new order of things\n which you have begun\u2014all this\u2014most assuredly, could never have been\n produced but from the union of all persons, of all opinions, and of\n all hearts.\u2019\u2014\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n \u2018It is worthy of remark, that the _divine right_ of tithes was never\n insisted on,\u2019 says a french writer, \u2018even by the clergy, during this\n debate. Yet the year before, when the same question was brought\n forward in the irish house of parliament, great stress was laid on\n this gothic idea of their origin.\u2019\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n It is observable, that the satisfaction of the people was by no means\n equal to the discontent manifested by the privileged orders.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n See the article 10. \u2018No man ought to be molested on account of his\n opinions, not even on account of his religious opinions, provided his\n avowal of them does not disturb the public order established by law.\u2019\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n Calonne.\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n In Holland almost all the taxes are collected in the shape of excise.\n\n In France, formerly, the taxes were generally internal; but, since the\n mode established of making a revenue of 300,000,000 _l._ by the land\n and house tax part of the 580,000,000 _l._ estimated to be the peace\n establishment, it appears, that this was too great a proportion to be\n obtained in that way. Hence the revenue of France has lately failed in\n a great degree.\n\n In America the taxes of the federal government have been lately\n established solely on the customs, that is to say, on goods imported.\n These operate two ways; encouraging home manufactures, and\n discouraging the manufactures of other countries.\n\n Great Britain has levied her revenue on customs both inwards and\n outwards; on excise, principally internal; on stamps, which operate\n both internally and externally; and on fixed objects, as well as\n internal consumption, (as salt).\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n \u2018O Richard, O mon roi,\n L\u2019univers t\u2019abandonne!\u2019\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n They used to lie to be owned in a conspicuous part of the city.\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n There are upwards of thirty scattered throughout the city.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n I use this word according to the french acceptation, because we have\n not one to express so forcibly the same signification.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n _Lately published_,\n\n RIGHTS OF WOMAN.\n\n BY MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT.\n\n THE SECOND EDITION:\n\n (PRICE SIX SHILLINGS IN BOARDS.)\n\n PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON IN ST. PAUL\u2019S CHURCH-YARD.\n\n\n _Where may be had_,\n\n 1. MARY: A Fiction. 3s. sewed.\n\n 2. THOUGHTS on the EDUCATION of DAUGHTERS. 2s. 6d. sewed.\n\n 3. ORIGINAL STORIES from REAL LIFE; calculated to regulate the\n Affections, and form the Mind to Truth and Goodness. 2s. 6d. bound,\n with cuts; or 2s. without.\n\n 4. ELEMENTS of MORALITY, with fifty copper-plates. 3 vols. 10s. 6d.\n bound.\n\n 5. YOUNG GRANDISON: Letters from Young Persons to their Friends. 2\n vols. 6s. bound.\n\n 6. The FEMALE READER: Select Pieces in Prose and Verse, from the best\n Writers, for the Improvement of Young Women. With a PREFACE on\n FEMALE EDUCATION. 3s. 6d. bound.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in\n spelling.\n 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.\n 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.","title":"An historical and moral view of the origin and progress of the French Revolution; and the effect it has produced in Europe","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":99776}