The genius of the French was to make many reforms when needed, but a destroying spirit seized the members who had the most influence and this malevolent spirit directed almost all of the operations. At no time did it ever appear to be a plan based on love for the public welfare.

The king was sincere. He sought sweeping renewal of his empire and its economy. He knew strict honesty and virtue in the monarchy would be necessary if France was to operate successfully. However the third estate, having just defeated the nobility and clergy, wanted to humiliate the royalty as well.

In vain did Louis XVI double the deputies of the third-estate. In vain did he seek to reconcile their grievances. In vain did he reduce his expenditures. And in vain did he conduct this gathering of the three orders which were in a state of war. [I must relate a very poignant anecdote here. When the king had returned to his room after having addressed the third-estate, he found the portrait of Charles 1, examined it a few minutes, and muttered, "I hear you, but the deed is done." It was probably a miniature.] No matter what he did, he could not succeed in pleasing anyone. Nothing he did was satisfactory.

One strange fact is that the insurrection of July 14, about which we will speak
in more detail, had been stopped at Passy when launched earlier by the party of d'Orleans, and the articles of
conspiracy were distributed publicly at the Royal Palace; money was lavished on the soldiers;

prostitutes were taught the art of corruption; packages of money were thrown out the windows with these words, "You're ours now; the money won't miss you!" The Royal Palace was a volcano from which lept fires that embraced all of France. The greatest number of the French guards was corrupted by a man named Valadi, a former officer of the corps.

But here are the articles of the conspiracy at Passy:

"There will be a general insurrection in Paris and in the provinces. This movement will be beneficial and is intended to:

* proclaim d'Orleans lieutenant-general of the kingdom.

* fabricate a total bread shortage

* make the king odious and to oblige the soldiers to take up arms

* assassinate Flesselles, provost of the merchants; Berthier, intendant; Foulon, his father-in-law; the count d' Artois; the princes of Condé; Conti; Lambesc; the abbot Maury, etc.

* assassinate whoever will be opposed to the monopolization of grains"

* plunder all the chateaux

* massacre all the royalists."

This plan had hardly been stopped when the large cities were already infested with brigands and their inflammatory campaigns. They carried phony orders and false documents which ordered, by royal proclamation, the burning of all the chateaux.

In Dauphiné alone, three months after the assembly of the Estates General, there were thirty-six such torchings and plunderings, while in Caen, Cherbourg, Burgundy, Mans, and
everywhere else the same atrocities occurred.

Bordier, a comic actor, was sent to Rouen where the Parlement had him hanged.
Belzunce, a man who wanted to preserve Caen from famine, was massacred and eaten. [He said to the women who were torturing him with slashes from a knife, "Leave the men alone. Such barbarism wouldn't come from our sex."]

Chatel, the mayor of Saint-Denis who had tried to save his homeland from
famine was cut in pieces. [Here is a fact which proves that the massacre of the mayor of Saint-Denis was not the product of spontaneous passion. A peasant confronted Chatel and asked him for a plug of tobacco. The mayor duly opened his snuffbox when the peasant said to him: "Behold, our Mister mayor. This evening we will be playing ball with your head, and that's why I wanted to hold a plug of your tobacco."]

When the States General, by the counsel of Sieyes, were converted into the national assembly without considering that the king is only one branch of the crown and that he could not infringe upon the oath which he made when it convened to support their rights and to pass them on to his successors, there arose a move to make the king seem almost like a nobody and one who was against the wishes of the people. This act broke the pyramidal hierarchy of subordination and broke the relationship between the king and his subjects. It destroyed the executive power; made the legislative body absolute, and sacrificed the empire to the disorder of the oligarchy.

The assembly was persuaded that it was necessary to call for a popular uprising; to resort to means of terror; and for patriotic associations to be formed. Thus many committees were started. One was called "The Committee of Research". At its head were Cochon, Pardieu, Sillery, Voidel, etc. Another initiative was to establish various clubs to recruit members and raise soldiers. The duke de Chartres, Menou, Carra, Sillery and others were the directors while Sieyes worked behind the scenes.

Anti-Orléanistes Malouet, Virieux and

Clermont-Tonnerre, wanted to establish 'anti-clubs' but they didn't succeed. At that time, the chains of criminals were removed while patriots were seized on the main roads and thrown in dungeons. Common folk were awarded the baton of municipal authority and used this as a license to sin. It was easy to persuade the vile populace that the love of freedom consisted in theft and pillage, and in order to be patriotic, one had only to become a rascal.

These new doctrines found a great number of adherents. The turbulence in Paris was steadily increasing and the assembly became uneasy. A violent storm was about to break out over its head so a delegation was sent to the king.

On July 9 Mirabeau addressed him saying, "And how does it strike you, Sire? Do you doubt the attachment and love of your subjects? Did you spill their blood? Were you cruel and relentless? Did you abuse justice? Do the people charge you with their misfortune? Do they name you amongst their calamities? Could one say that the people are impatient of your yoke, and that they are tired of the sceptre

of the Bourbons? No, no. This calumny isn't absurd at all. It just takes a little perspective to colour its blackness."

The Gregorian priest spoke in the same spirit. These deceitful people! At that time the hero of the battle was intoxicated and bribed! Necker had lost his credibility at the court. He was looked upon as the cause of the cruel situation which had transpired and received the order to leave France at once. And the rumour was that d'Orleans would share in his exile.

It is impossible to comprehend what this rumour gave birth to. Paris was in foment and the Royal Palace resembled a hornets nest. A sizeable group went to Curtius [who made and exhibited wax statues of famous personalities and who employed an apprentice who later became Madame Tussaud], where they removed the busts of the duke d'Orleans and Necker. These they covered with a crepe and carried them in triumph mounted on pikes. Then a detachment of Royal German guards arrived and the one who was carrying the bust of the duke d'Orleans dropped the head in the mud. Meanwhile a sabre blow also cut down the wax bust of Necker.

One speaker proposed to proclaim d'Orleans lieutenant-general of the kingdom [it is good to observe that, during this time, Mirabeau proposed the same thing in Versailles] and Necker

to be a permanent minister. Then Camille Desmoulins, a rowdy character, spoke with a gun in his hand, shouting, "To arms! To arms!", brandishing a proposed rallying symbol - the rosette. Initially this was green, but I will mention shortly the time when the colors of d'Orleans were taken instead.

Prince de Lambesc tried to stop the disorder. He was reproached for not having assessed his needs well enough in advance, but in light of the magnitude of this disorder, who could possibly have assessed it properly? The tocsin (alarm bell) sounded the night of the eve of the 14th as a multitude of men were gathered together without knowing why. Gun shops were broken into; barriers were burned and some shops were pillaged. Everything indicated the insurrection was coming to a head.