Part 2 (1/2)
The a.s.sembly, full of resolution and dignity, began the debate accordingly. On the motion of Camus, it was determined to persist in the decrees already made; and upon that of Mirabeau the inviolability of the members of the a.s.sembly was decreed.
On that day the royal authority was lost. The initiative in law and moral power pa.s.sed from the monarch to the a.s.sembly. Those who, by their counsels, had provoked this resistance, did not dare to punish it. Necker, whose dismissal had been decided on that morning, was, in the evening, entreated by the queen and Louis XVI. to remain in office. This minister had disapproved of the royal sitting, and, by refusing to be present at it, he again won the confidence of the a.s.sembly, which he had lost through his hesitation. The season of disgrace was for him the season of popularity. By this refusal he became the ally of the a.s.sembly, which determined to support him. Every crisis requires a leader, whose name becomes the standard of his party; while the a.s.sembly contended with the court, that leader was Necker.
At the first sitting, that part of the clergy which had united with the a.s.sembly in the church of Saint Louis, again sat with it; a few days after, forty-seven members of the n.o.bility, among whom was the duke of Orleans, joined them; and the court was itself compelled to invite the n.o.bility, and a minority of the clergy, to discontinue a dissent that would henceforth be useless. On the 27th of June the deliberation became general. The orders ceased to exist legally, and soon disappeared. The distinct seats they had hitherto occupied in the common hall soon became confounded; the futile pre-eminences of rank vanished before national authority.
The court, after having vainly endeavoured to prevent the formation of the a.s.sembly, could now only unite with it, to direct its operations. With prudence and candour it might still have repaired its errors and caused its attacks to be forgotten. At certain moments, the initiative may be taken in making sacrifices; at others, all that can be done is to make a merit of accepting them. At the opening of the states-general, the king might himself have made the const.i.tution, now he was obliged to receive it from the a.s.sembly; had he submitted to that position, he would infallibly have improved it. But the advisers of Louis XVI., when they recovered from the first surprise of defeat, resolved to have recourse to the use of the bayonet, after they had failed in that of authority. They led the king to suppose that the contempt of his orders, the safety of his throne, the maintenance of the laws of the kingdom, and even the well-being of his people depended on his reducing the a.s.sembly to submission; that the latter, sitting at Versailles, close to Paris, two cities decidedly in its favour, ought to be subdued by force, and removed to some other place or dissolved; that it was urgent that this resolution should be adopted in order to stop the progress of the a.s.sembly, and that in order to execute it, it was necessary speedily to call together troops who might intimidate the a.s.sembly and maintain order at Paris and Versailles.
While these plots were hatching, the deputies of the nation began their legislative labours, and prepared the anxiously expected const.i.tution, which they considered they ought no longer to delay. Addresses poured in from Paris and the princ.i.p.al towns of the kingdom, congratulating them on their wisdom, and encouraging them to continue their task of regenerating France. The troops, meantime, arrived in great numbers; Versailles a.s.sumed the aspect of a camp; the Salle des etats was surrounded by guards, and the citizens refused admission. Paris was also encompa.s.sed by various bodies of the army, ready to besiege or blockade it, as the occasion might require. These vast military preparations, trains of artillery arriving from the frontiers, and the presence of foreign regiments, whose obedience was unlimited, announced sinister projects. The populace were restless and agitated; and the a.s.sembly desired to enlighten the throne with respect to its projects, and solicit the removal of the troops. At Mirabeau's suggestion, it presented on the 9th of July a firm but respectful address to the king, which proved useless. Louis XVI. declared that he alone had to judge the necessity of a.s.sembling or dismissing troops, and a.s.sured them, that those a.s.sembled formed only a precautionary army to prevent disturbances and protect the a.s.sembly. He moreover offered the a.s.sembly to remove it to Noyon or Soissons, that is to say, to place it between two armies and deprive it of the support of the people.
Paris was in the greatest excitement; this vast city was unanimous in its devotion to the a.s.sembly. The perils that threatened the representatives of the nation, and itself, and the scarcity of food disposed it to insurrection. Capitalists, from interest and the fear of bankruptcy; men of enlightenment and all the middle cla.s.ses, from patriotism; the people, impelled by want, ascribing their sufferings to the privileged cla.s.ses and the court, desirous of agitation and change, all had warmly espoused the cause of the revolution. It is difficult to conceive the movement which disturbed the capital of France. It was arising from the repose and silence of servitude; it was, as it were, astonished at the novelty of its situation, and intoxicated with liberty and enthusiasm. The press excited the public mind, the newspapers published the debates of the a.s.sembly, and enabled the public to be present, as it were, at its deliberations, and the questions mooted in its bosom were discussed in the open air, in the public squares. It was at the Palais Royal, more especially, that the a.s.sembly of the capital was held. The garden was always filled by a crowd that seemed permanent, though continually renewed. A table answered the purpose of the _tribune_, the first citizen at hand became the orator; there men expatiated on the dangers that threatened the country, and excited each other to resistance. Already, on a motion made at the Palais Royal, the prisons of the Abbaye had been broken open, and some grenadiers of the French guards, who had been imprisoned for refusing to fire on the people, released in triumph. This outbreak was attended by no consequences; a deputation had already solicited, in behalf of the delivered prisoners, the interest of the a.s.sembly, who had recommended them to the clemency of the king. They had returned to prison, and had received pardon. But this regiment, one of the most complete and bravest, had become favourable to the popular cause.
Such was the disposition of Paris when the court, having established troops at Versailles, Sevres, the Champ de Mars, and Saint Denis, thought itself able to execute its project. It commenced, on the 11th of July, by the banishment of Necker, and the complete reconstruction of the ministry.
The marshal de Broglie, la Galissonniere, the duke de la Vauguyon, the Baron de Breteuil, and the intendant Foulon, were appointed to replace Puysegur, Montmorin, La Luzerne, Saint Priest, and Necker. The latter received, while at dinner on the 11th of July, a note from the king enjoining him to leave the country immediately. He finished dining very calmly, without communicating the purport of the order he had received, and then got into his carriage with Madame Necker, as if intending to drive to Saint Omer, and took the road to Brussels.
On the following day, Sunday, the 12th of July, about four in the afternoon, Necker's disgrace and departure became known at Paris. This measure was regarded as the execution of the plot, the preparations for which had so long been observed. In a short time the city was in the greatest confusion; crowds gathered together on every side; more than ten thousand persons flocked to the Palais Royal all affected by this news, ready for anything, but not knowing what measure to adopt. Camille Desmoulins, a young man, more daring than the rest, one of the usual orators of the crowd, mounted on a table, pistol in hand, exclaiming: ”Citizens, there is no time to lose; the dismissal of Necker is the knell of a Saint Bartholomew for patriots! This very night all the Swiss and German battalions will leave the Champ de Mars to ma.s.sacre us all; one resource is left; to take arms!” These words were received with violent acclamations. He proposed that c.o.c.kades should be worn for mutual recognition and protection. ”Shall they be green,” he cried, ”the colour of hope; or red, the colour of the free order of Cincinnatus?” ”Green!
green!” shouted the mult.i.tude. The speaker descended from the table, and fastened the sprig of a tree in his hat. Every one imitated him. The chestnut-trees of the palace were almost stripped of their leaves, and the crowd went in tumult to the house of the sculptor Curtius.
They take busts of Necker and the duke of Orleans, a report having also gone abroad that the latter would be exiled, and covering them with c.r.a.pe, carry them in triumph. This procession pa.s.ses through the Rues Saint Martin, Saint Denis, and Saint Honore, augmenting at every step. The crowd obliges all they meet to take off their hats. Meeting the horse-patrol, they take them as their escort. The procession advances in this way to the Place Vendome, and there they carry the two busts twice round the statue of Louis XIV. A detachment of the Royal-allemand comes up and attempts to disperse the mob, but are put to flight by a shower of stones; and the mult.i.tude, continuing its course, reaches the Place Louis XV. Here they are a.s.sailed by the dragoons of the prince de Lambesc; after resisting a few moments they are thrown into confusion; the bearer of one of the busts and a soldier of one of the French guards are killed. The mob disperses, part towards the quays, part fall back on the Boulevards, the rest hurry to the Tuileries by the Pont Tournant. The prince de Lambesc, at the head of his hors.e.m.e.n, with drawn sabre pursues them into the gardens, and charges an unarmed mult.i.tude who were peaceably promenading and had nothing to do with the procession. In this attack an old man is wounded by a sabre cut; the mob defend themselves with the seats, and rush to the terraces; indignation becomes general; the cry _To arms!_ soon resounds on every side, at the Palais Royal and the Tuileries, in the city and in the faubourgs.
We have already said that the regiment of the French guard was favourably disposed towards the people: it had accordingly been ordered to keep in barracks. The prince de Lambesc, fearing that it might nevertheless take an active part, ordered sixty dragoons to station themselves before its depot, situated in the Chaussee-d'Antin. The soldiers of the guards, already dissatisfied at being kept as prisoners, were greatly provoked at the sight of these strangers, with whom they had had a skirmish a few days before. They wished to fly to arms, and their officers using alternately threats and entreaties, had much difficulty in restraining them. But they would hear no more, when some of their men brought them intelligence of the attack at the Tuileries, and the death of one of their comrades: they seized their arms, broke open the gates, and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the barracks, and cried out, ”_Qui vive?_”--”Royal- allemand.”--”Are you for the third estate?” ”We are for those who command us.” Then the French guards fired on them, killed two of their men, wounded three, and put the rest to flight. They then advanced at quick time and with fixed bayonets to the Place Louis XV. and took their stand between the Tuileries and the Champs elysees, the people and the troops, and kept that post during the night. The soldiers of the Champ de Mars were immediately ordered to advance. When they reached the Champs elysees, the French guards received them with discharges of musketry. They wished to make them fight, but they refused: the Pet.i.ts-Suisses were the first to give this example, which the other regiments followed. The officers, in despair, ordered a retreat; the troops retired as far as the Grille de Chaillot, whence they soon withdrew into the Champ de Mars. The defection of the French guard, and the manifest refusal even of the foreign troops to march on the capital, caused the failure of the projects of the court.
During the evening the people had repaired to the Hotel de Ville, and requested that the tocsin might be sounded, the districts a.s.sembled, and the citizens armed. Some electors a.s.sembled at the Hotel de Ville, and took the authority into their own hands. They rendered great service to their fellow-citizens and the cause of liberty by their courage, prudence, and activity, during these days of insurrection; but in the first confusion of the rising it was with difficulty they succeeded in making themselves heard. The tumult was at its height; each only answered the dictates of his own pa.s.sions. Side by side with well-disposed citizens were men of suspicious character, who only sought in insurrection opportunities for pillage and disorder. Bands of labourers employed by government in the public works, for the most part without home or substance, burnt the barriers, infested the streets, plundered houses, and obtained the name of brigands. The night of the 12th and 13th was spent in tumult and alarm.
The departure of Necker, which threw the capital into this state of excitement, had no less effect at Versailles and in the a.s.sembly. It caused the same astonishment and discontent. The deputies repaired early in the morning to the Salle des etats; they were gloomy, but their silence arose from indignation rather than dejection. ”At the opening of the session,” said a deputy, ”several addresses of adherence to the decrees were listened to in mournful silence by the a.s.sembly, more attentive to their own thoughts than to the addresses read.” Mounier began; he exclaimed against the dismissal of ministers beloved by the nation, and the choice of their successors. He proposed an address to the king demanding their recall, showing him the dangers attendant on violent measures, the misfortunes that would follow the employment of troops, and telling him that the a.s.sembly solemnly opposed itself to an infamous national bankruptcy. At these words, the feelings of the a.s.sembly, hitherto restrained, broke out in clapping of hands, and cries of approbation. Lally-Tollendal, a friend of Necker, then came forward with a sorrowful air, and delivered a long and eloquent eulogium on the banished minister. He was listened to with the greatest interest; his grief responded to that of the public; the cause of Necker was now that of the country. The n.o.bility itself sided with the members of the third estate, either considering the danger common, or dreading to incur the same blame as the court if it did not disapprove its conduct, or perhaps it obeyed the general impulse.
A n.o.ble deputy, the count de Virieu, set the example, and said: ”a.s.sembled for the const.i.tution, let us make the const.i.tution; let us tighten our mutual bonds; let us renew, confirm, and consecrate the glorious decrees of the 17th of June; let us join in the celebrated resolution made on the 20th of the same month. Let us all, yes, all, all the united orders, swear to be faithful to those ill.u.s.trious decrees which now can alone save the kingdom.” ”_The const.i.tution shall be made, or we will cease to be_,”
added the duc de la Rochefoucauld. But this unanimity became still more confirmed when the rising of Paris, the excesses which ensued the burning of the barriers, the a.s.sembling of the electors at the Hotel de Ville, the confusion of the capital, and the fact that citizens were ready to be attacked by the soldiers or to slaughter each other, became known to the a.s.sembly. Then one cry resounded through the hall: ”Let the recollection of our momentary divisions be effaced! Let us unite our efforts for the salvation of the country!” A deputation was immediately sent to the king, composed of eighty members, among whom were all the deputies of Paris. The archbishop of Vienne, president of the a.s.sembly, was at its head. It was to represent to the king the dangers that threatened the capital, the necessity of sending away the troops, and entrusting the care of the city to a militia of citizens; and if it obtained these demands from the king, a deputation was to be sent to Paris with the consolatory intelligence.
But the members soon returned with an unsatisfactory answer.
The a.s.sembly now saw that it must depend on itself, and that the projects of the court were irrevocably fixed. Far from being discouraged, it only became more firm, and immediately voted unanimously a decree proclaiming the responsibility of the present ministers of the king, and of all his counsellors, _of whatever rank they might be_; it further pa.s.sed a vote of regret for Necker and the other disgraced ministers; it resolved that it would not cease to insist upon the dismissal of the troops and the establishment of a militia of citizens; it placed the public debt under the safeguard of French honour, and adhered to all its previous decrees.
After these measures, it adopted a last one, not less necessary; apprehending that the Salle des etats might, during the night, be occupied by a military force for the purpose of dispersing the a.s.sembly, it resolved to sit permanently till further orders. It decided that a portion of the members should sit during the night, and another relieve them early in the morning. To spare the venerable archbishop of Vienne the fatigue of a permanent presidency, a vice-president was appointed to supply his place on these extraordinary occasions. Lafayette was elected to preside over the night sittings. It pa.s.sed off without a debate; the deputies remaining in their seats, observing silence, but apparently calm and serene. It was by these measures, this expression of public regret, by these decrees, this unanimous enthusiasm, this sustained good sense, this inflexible conduct, that the a.s.sembly rose gradually to a level with its dangers and its mission.
On the 13th the insurrection took at Paris a more regular character. Early in the morning the populace flocked to the Hotel de Ville; the tocsin was sounded there and in all the churches; and drums were beat in the streets to call the citizens together. The public places soon became thronged.
Troops were formed under the t.i.tles of volunteers of the Palais Royal, volunteers of the Tuileries, of the Basoche, and of the Arquebuse. The districts a.s.sembled, and each of them voted two hundred men for its defence. Arms alone were wanting; and these were eagerly sought wherever there was any hope of finding them. All that could be found at the gun- smiths and sword-cutlers were taken, receipts being sent to the owners.
They applied for arms at the Hotel de Ville. The electors who were still a.s.sembled, replied in vain that they had none; they insisted on having them. The electors then sent the head of the city, M. de Flesselles, the Prevot des marchands, who alone knew the military state of the capital, and whose popular authority promised to be of great a.s.sistance in this difficult conjuncture. He was received with loud applause by the mult.i.tude: ”_My friends_,” said he, ”_I am your father; you shall be satisfied_.” A permanent committee was formed at the Hotel de Ville, to take measures for the general safety.
About the same time it was announced that the Maison des Lazaristes, which contained a large quant.i.ty of grain, had been despoiled; that the Garde- Meuble had been forced open to obtain old arms, and that the gun-smiths'
shops had been plundered. The greatest excesses were apprehended from the crowd; it was let loose, and it seemed difficult to master its fury. But this was a moment of enthusiasm and disinterestedness. The mob itself disarmed suspected characters; the corn found at the Lazaristes was taken to the Halle; not a single house was plundered, and carriages and vehicles filled with provisions, furniture and utensils, stopped at the gates of the city, were taken to the Place de Greve, which became a vast depot.
Here the crowd increased every moment, shouting _Arms!_ It was now about one o'clock. The provost of the merchants then announced the immediate arrival of twelve thousand guns from the manufactory of Charleville, which would soon be followed by thirty thousand more.
This appeased the people for some time, and the committee was enabled to pursue quietly its task of organizing a militia of citizens. In less than four hours the plan was drawn up, discussed, adopted, printed, and proclaimed. It was resolved that the Parisian guard should, till further orders, be increased to forty-eight thousand men. All citizens were invited to enrol their names; every district had its battalion; every battalion its leaders; the command of this army of citizens was offered to the duc d'Aumont, who required twenty-four hours to decide. In the meantime the marquis de la Salle was appointed second in command. The green c.o.c.kade was then exchanged for a blue and red one, which were the colours of the city. All this was the work of a few hours. The districts gave their a.s.sent to the measures adopted by the permanent committee. The clerks of the Chatelet, those of the Palais, medical students, soldiers of the watch, and what was of still greater value, the French guards offered their services to the a.s.sembly. Patrols began to be formed, and to perambulate the streets.
The people waited with impatience the realisation of the promise of the provost of the merchants, but no guns arrived; evening approached, and they feared during the night another attack from the troops. They thought they were betrayed when they heard of an attempt to convey secretly from Paris nearly fifty cwt. of powder, which had been intercepted by the people at the barriers. But soon after some cases arrived, labelled _Artillery_. At this sight, the commotion subsided; the cases were escorted to the Hotel de Ville, it being supposed that they contained the guns expected from Charleville. On opening them, they were found to contain old linen and pieces of wood. A cry of treachery arose on every side, mingled with murmurs and threats against the committee and the provost of the merchants. The latter apologized, declaring he had been deceived; and to gain time, or to get rid of the crowd, sent them to the Chartreux, to seek for arms. Finding none there, the mob returned, enraged and mistrustful. The committee then felt satisfied there was no other way of arming Paris, and curing the suspicions of the people, than by forging pikes; and accordingly gave orders that fifty thousand should be made immediately. To avoid the excesses of the preceding night, the town was illuminated, and patrols marched through it in every direction.
The next day, the people that had been unable to obtain arms on the preceding day, came early in the morning to solicit some from the committee, blaming its refusal and failures of the day before. The committee had sent for some in vain; none had arrived from Charleville, none were to be found at the Chartreux, and the a.r.s.enal itself was empty.
The mob, no longer satisfied with excuses, and more convinced than ever that they were betrayed, hurried in a ma.s.s to the Hotel des Invalides, which contained a considerable depot of arms. It displayed no fear of the troops established in the Champ de Mars, broke into the Hotel, in spite of the entreaties of the governor, M. de Sombreuil, found twenty-eight thousand guns concealed in the cellars, seized them, took all the sabres, swords, and cannon, and carried them off in triumph. The cannon were placed at the entrance of the Faubourgs, at the palace of the Tuileries, on the quays and on the bridges, for the defence of the capital against the invasion of troops, which was expected every moment.
Even during the same morning an alarm was given that the regiments stationed at Saint Denis were on the march, and that the cannon of the Bastille were pointed on the Rue Saint Antoine. The committee immediately sent to ascertain the truth; appointed bands of citizens to defend that side of the town, and sent a deputation to the governor of the Bastille, soliciting him to withdraw his cannon and engage in no act of hostility.
This alarm, together with the dread which that fortress inspired, the hatred felt for the abuses it s.h.i.+elded, the importance of possessing so prominent a point, and of not leaving it in the power of the enemy in a moment of insurrection, drew the attention of the populace in that direction. From nine in the morning till two, the only rallying word throughout Paris was ”a la Bastille! a la Bastille!” The citizens hastened thither in bands from all quarters, armed with guns, pikes, and sabres.