The SPY of the FRENCH REVOLUTION
CHAPTER 4
The Estates General are supplanted by a National Assembly; proclamation of the king to have them suspended; firmness of the president; the king goes to the assembly; extract of his speech; he cancels the decree which constitutes the National Assembly and restores the three constituent orders; the effect of this act; the organization of an army close to Paris; a portrait of the Duke of Orleans; several overtures of kindness; how he was corrupted.
On June 17, 1789, their powers being checked, the third estate (strengthened by the addition of some priests), and in an effort to embarrass the clergy and nobility, proclaimed an oath to fulfill its aims, calling itself the National Assembly. In so doing, the third estate became the absolute master over the fate of France, and by this victory the royal court recognized the impotence
34 of its adversaries and even the weak power it held in its own hands. This was a crucial moment for better or worse. It could make things better through the establishment of law and order, and to found a happy, new and humane government under a flexible king. However, the new reasoning took place on a romanesque model, namely it controlled without a compass of right and wrong. The first decree laid down was that any contribution not adopted by the assembly would cease in all the provinces. Now, what kind of disorganizing genius would dictate such a law? It was designed to bring the apparatus of government to a halt. It was absolute madness to pass such a law.
The archbishop of Paris went to throw himself at the feet of the king. He prophesied the toppling of his throne if the National Assembly were allowed to invade precincts in which it was impossible to calculate the ends thereof. He presented to the king the notion that he could, if he were willing to declare his supremacy, prevent any insurrections by ordering out a sizeable number of soldiers.
This initiative of the prelate became known and street people got wind of it. On the way back, stones were hurled at the archbishop and if it weren't for the shouts of his coachman and the swiftness of his horses, he certainly would have been the revolution's first victim.
35 In the middle of these circumstances the king showed himself but not in a manner appropriate for the situation. The very embarrassed monarch was at a loss to know which path to take. He held a council in Marly where Mr. Necker developed the plan for a royal meeting which was approved. All had agreed to this when an officer suddenly spoke into the ear of the king. His majesty then arose and returned half an hour later having since changed his mind and was now opposed to the draft plan. Who could have made the king rise? The queen alone had this power, and she was adamant. The meeting of the orders, so crucial at this particular moment, was missed and this event too must be put down in the long litany of grave mistakes.
On June 20, the monarch announced a proclamation that the work of the Estates General was suspended until he re-opened it again. On the 22nd, a royal meeting took place and then the doors of the assembly were shut. Bailly, the president, obtained permission to take some papers there. Then, inviting all his colleagues to follow him, he made a coup. Then the heads were surprised, for this was when the famous oath was made never to separate, and to assemble whenever circumstances demanded until the regeneration of the kingdom was established on a firm foundation.
[Background Note:
The king locked the self-styled assembly out. The former third estate held an unatuhorized meeting in an indoor tennis court where it swore its famous oath - that "wherever its members are gathered the National Assembly is in being," and that it would not disband "until the Constitution of the kingdom is laid and established in secure foundations."
- Source: "The World of the French Revolution" by R.R. Palmer, p55-56.]36 On the 21st, the rebels came across to the third-estate. They were transported to the Saint-Louis hospital where a large part of the clergy met with them. It was open revolt then, but public opinion gave great moral support to the dissidents and the cries of "Long live the third estate!" by the rabble increased their boldness. The royal meeting announced for the 22nd did not take place until the 23rd.
The king appeared there with the usual trappings of justice. There he had a speech read whose object was to preserve the three orders and to annul the act by which the third estate had ceded, thus forming the National Assembly. "If you devote yourselves to me," he said, "I will do only what's good for my people, only I will regard myself as a representative who is aware of your grievances, also knowing the perfect accord which exists between the wishes of most people and my own beneficial intentions. Thus I require the confidence which must inspire this harmony."
The king then departed, accompanied by the nobility and by the high clergy, after having pronounced these words: "I order you, gentlemen, to disband and to return tomorrow morning, each one in your own chambers to resume your meetings there." The third-estate appeared stunned but it remained in
37 the hall. The grand Master of Ceremonies was then instructed to read the order to have them withdraw without delay.
"Be aware," said Bailly, the president, "that the representatives of the people do not take orders. On the contrary, I will take those of the assembly which I have the honor to chair." Mirabeau added, "You have neither place here, nor voice, nor right to speak. The king has no authority at the Estates General. I warn you that we will leave our place only in the presence of bayonets." In unison the assembly proclaimed that it would persist in its decrees and declared the deputies inviolable.
From the 24th to the 26th, there was a meeting of considerable importance. On the 26th, the rabble was much riled up. On the 27th the king rejoined the whole assembly in which the nobility still wanted to vote by order but the assembly foiled that plan. Meanwhile Paris was encircled by a formidable army commanded by marshal de Broglie. It was made up of foreign troops and it is certain the king had all he could stand. It was said rather publicly in Versailles, that the king was going to leave for Metz and that once in
38 this fortified town he would adjourn the Estates General. And one could not fail to add this initiative to thousands of other outrages deserving of revenge.
The moment was favorable to turn the people bitter. Paris lacked food and the uneasiness was generally felt. Meanwhile the nation awaited anxiously for reform of the abuses in the administration of finances. What had the constituent assembly accomplished? It had dealt with the nation's political constitution before thinking of the object of its mission. Instead of bringing remedy, it made bad things worse than before. And it did more than that, it put the whole circulation of the nation into stagnation.
During these precious moments, the duke d'Orleans assembled in the gardens of his palace many brigands to shake the multitude because those who were devoted to him knew that the beginning of a revolution always involves massacre.
This prince played a very large role in the revolution. Allow me here to give an idea of his personal qualities such as stature and morals. He was raised by a virtuous father, and his teachers were very well chosen. Above average in size, one can
39 say he was, by his bearing, very elegant. In his youth he had a charming aspect and to this exterior was attached a great spirit - knowledgeable and a manner which expressed noblility and pleasantness. However, he had a caustic side and frequently used sarcastic epigrams.
He wasn't born malicious, and here's the proof. Having accidentally wounded one of his jockeys, he was seen crying bitterly. He gave instructions to have manure put under the windows of the wounded chap to remind him of horses and thus ease his shock during convalescence. Seeing this had not been done, he entered the stable and took a pitchfork and placed the stuff there himself. Caught in the act by someone in the house, he defended his actions and his kindness was appreciated.
On another occasion when another one of his jockeys was drowning, the duke, a good swimmer, dived into the water and rescued him. The jockey, on his knees, thanked him for saving his life. "My friend," said the prince to him as he raised him up, "the only thing I desire by way of thanks is to have you cut your hair shorter so I'll have less trouble the next time this accident should happen to you in my presence!"
An obsession of the duke, however, was
40 to appear hard. He didn't like it when one responded with surprise to an act of sensitivity, neither did he like it when anyone spoke in praise of the court.
While lavishly dressed upon special occasions, nobody generally dressed more humbly than he, and nobody was more courteous in the course of everyday commerce. Unfortunately he fell in with bad company, was induced to become a crook, took on the manner of a dishonest person, and exhibited a certain cynicism while participating in vice. As the man matured, the vice put its seal on his soul as well as his face, and he became the most despicable of men.
It is likely he never desired to become a king since his character didn't lend itself to this kind of ambition. However, I believe his courtiers wished it and plotted with the English prime minister to change the reigning branch of the Bourbons. This was an event believed by Chatham to be essential for the absolute domination of England on the high seas. [A case in point proves that England was hostile to Louis XVI. In the year May 1789 the English had a superabundance of grain. When the king requested 20,000 bags, Pitt opposed the deal so they weren't delivered. However, after the insurrection of October 5, he transferred the grain by handing it over to the duke d'Orleans. However the English people, full of contempt for d'Orleans, forced him to shout in public, "God save the King!"]
41 I believe that because of weakness, d'Orleans did not go along with all that was proposed to him, and that by weakness again he broke all standards of measurement. He was a dissembler of excessive timidity which is not a trait of a natural born trouble-maker. He was influenced to do what he did, and that is the truth. In fact, in critical situations he always acted impulsively. I am far from being an apologist for this prince. Indeed, he was a monster, but I believe his crimes were exaggerated and that the history of his conspiracy is false.
[i.e., The assassination of Pinet in the forest of Vésinet, and the theft of his wallet are falsehoods. Pinet shot himself with a pistol and his wound was bandaged by a surgeon named Daran whom I knew. And the wound wasn't behind the head. As for the wallet, it belonged to a lady from Paris and contained a large sum of money. When she went to reclaim it, Pinet indicated where the wallet was to be found but it wasn't there any more. However, his family, which was very poor at the time, shortly thereafter started living ostentatiously. These are known facts. The author of the conspiracy of Louis Philippe d'Orleans, therefore, deviated in a multitude of circumstances from the truth by striving to do everything to tally with his thesis.
For example, it says in Volume 2, page 131, "D'Orleans believed so much in becoming the head of the nation, that he made all the provisions necessary for the moment when they would assume the throne. The coat-of-arms of his branch replaced everywhere that of the elder branch of the Bourbons."
This reasoning is very bad. The junior branches carry in their arms a lambel, or certain design. It is probable that if d'Orleans wanted to reign, he would have put that in his arms. However, the words, Long Live d'Orleans, written on the plates mentioned by the author of the conspiracy, prove that d'Orleans could wish to be a lieutenant-general of the kingdom, but not the king of France.]
42 The duke d'Orleans was a man devoid of scruples, prone to the highest hatred, and able to devote himself to all the excesses of vengeance. These were the qualities necessary to fulfil the aims of those who controlled him, and they destroyed perfectly any notions of virtue he drew from the company of his wife.
The occasion to humiliate the king, the queen and all the court which had scorned him, appeared fortuitously. He found flatterers and schemers to assist him, and puffed himself up to the point where he failed to realize that he was at the same time the instrument being used to pay for the insurrections, and the hope on which a horde of rascals established their fortune. [Note that when I mention the duke d'Orleans, I also mean the atrocious brigands who directed him.]
[It cannot at the same time be denied that treasonable combinations had been attributed to Freemasons, who, on their part, indignantly denied the imputation, asserting that their name had been abused by persons unconnected with their body, to cover conspiracies against the State. An explanation of the rumour may, however, be found in the occurrences which had shortly before taken place in France, where there was a deadly raid against Freemasons generally, as attached to the old order of things, and where the Grand Master, Philippe Joseph of Orleans, commonly known as Egalite, despite his treason to his family and class, lost his head on the scaffold on the 6th of November, 1793.
Source: "The Amalgamated Guild of Freemasons and Masons", published 1875]
